The Great Worm Lich

The long-haired girl held back her sadness and silently smiled. Instead of answering Guo Caiying, she waved and greeted Zhang Lisheng beside her. “You must be that little countryman from Sichuan Caiyang mentioned, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Ai Chuhe!”

“Nice to meet you, big sis Ai! I’m Zhang Lisheng!” The young man replied in his distinct local accent.

Upon hearing his authentic Chinese Sichuan accent that really did not go well with Stanford’s rich and idyllic California-style campus, Ai Chuhe could not help but smile bafflingly despite being mentally prepared. “Caiying was right, little fellow countryman. The way you talk is indeed amusing.”

This seemed to have lifted her sadness a little.

“I can speak Mandarin as well, but I’m just not too used to it.” Zhang Lisheng shrugged in a Western manner and pointed to the bicycle the girl with long hair was pushing. “Big sis, you don’t use this bike anymore?”

Ai Chuhe was dumbfounded before looking down at the racing bike that she had spent many fond memories with. As her expression dimmed, she forced a smile and pushed the bike to Zhang Lisheng. “I don’t use it anymore. Take it, it’s a gift to you.”

“You don’t have to give it to me as a gift! I can just buy it from you!” The young man did not have the intention to accept any gifts from anyone for no reason and was not willing to waste his time arguing about it too.

Without further ado, he took the bike and quickly took out a few hundred dollars from his pocket before placing them directly into Ai Chuhe’s hand. Turning around, he got on the racing bike right away and left. “Big sis Guo, big sis Ai, thank you for your help! I still need to go to the library!”

Unfortunately, Zhang Lisheng lived in a small mountain village when he was still in Western Sichuan, so he had never ridden a bicycle before.

After he came to New York, the city where he lived in was too big, so he drove a car right away. When he saw other people riding a bicycle in such a relaxed manner, he thought he could learn such a small matter without a teacher especially after his transformation that gave him a strong physique and the fact that he had excellent balance by practicing martial arts. However, as it turned out, the reality was quite different.

Due to the reason that the strength he possessed was too strong, when he pedaled the bike with slight force a few times, it immediately sped up rapidly and the handlebar twisted left and right uncontrollably. In the end, the young man fell onto the ground together with the bicycle.

When the two Chinese girls who still had not reacted saw this absurd scene, they laughed for a moment before running over him to pick him up. “Junior brother, are you okay? Don’t tell me that you’ve never learned how to ride a bike before?”

In the snickering of the US students around them, Zhang Lisheng awkwardly pushed the bicycle away from him and stood up by doing a kip-up. “I’ve never ridden a bike before. I thought it wouldn’t be hard to ride, but who knew that…”

“To think you actually turned away and left suddenly after giving so much money to me.” Without counting the USD notes in her hand, Ai Chuhe directly placed them back into Zhang Lisheng’s pocket before helping him to lift up the bicycle. “I’m giving this bike to you, not selling it to you!”

“I just met you today, so it’s not too good for me to take your bike without any reason…”

“We’re from the same hometown, we’re all Chinese, so of course we need to help each other out when we’re in a foreign country. For example, if it was me who had just enrolled today and came across you when I’m trying to look for a bike, and it just so happens that you have one that was not in use, would you sell it to me or give it to me for free?”

“Of course I wouldn’t sell nor give it to you for free! I’ll tell you where to get a new one instead.” Zhang Lisheng blurted out.

The two Chinese girls did not expect him to answer like this, so they could not help but be stunned. A few seconds later, it was Guo Caiying who first snapped back to reality and said, not knowing whether to cry or laugh. “You’re really weird, fellow countryman! Let me ask you if you ask Chuhe to buy a new one, what would do with the one you have that was not in use then?”

“If it really has no use to me, I’d just place it on the campus with its key and let it be.”

Upon hearing this, the two girls became dumbfounded again.

“You have extra things, but you don’t want to do any favor with it too. Instead, you want to just give it out anonymously to anyone who needs it. This mindset is similar to the US people…” Ai Chuhe commented in a whisper.

“The US people would still write a sign and place it on the bicycle before throwing it out. I won’t even do that! I’m me and I’m different from the others,” Zhang Lisheng blurted out with a smile. After saying so, he did not know why, but he felt extremely elated.

Upon seeing the unimposing young man’s elated expression, Guo Caiying suddenly reached out a hand to tap on Zhang Lisheng’s head. “There’s nothing to be proud of when you have a weird brain. Alright, since I don’t have anything to do today, your senior sister and I will kindly teach you how to ride a bike.”

After the girl tapped him in a kindly manner that did not hurt a bit, Zhang Lisheng did not feel offended but merely waved a hand and said, “You don’t have to worry about it. After the fall just now, I know how to ride it naturally already.”

“You know how to ride it already after just one fall? Show me then!” Guo Caiying said with wide eyes.

Zhang Lisheng nodded and took the bike once again from Ai Chuhe before riding on it. In the middle of the long-haired girl’s warning—”Stop showing off, Junior Brother. It’s easier to learn how to ride a bike if you’re younger. You’re now…”—he continued to ride the bike forward in a swaying manner.

Gradually, his riding speed began to get faster and his balancing was getting stable and stable. Not long after, he rode the bike on the campus road skillfully and made a U-turn back. Looking at the slightly dim sky, he asked, “So how about it, big sisters? I’m quite skilled in it, right? Alright then! Since you two gave me a bike, I will treat both of you to a big meal tonight!”

“You finally showed your tail! You actually wanted to ask us out for dinner, but you still wanted to put on some show! Tell me, you actually knew how to ride a bicycle before this right?”

“This is, indeed, my first time riding a bicycle! Due to the reason that I’ve practiced martial art before, my balancing is quite good, so it’s fast for me to learn this. As for dinner, well, if big sis Ai is willing to accept my money, it doesn’t matter to me whether we go for dinner or not.”

Zhang Lisheng immediately made Guo Caiying’s choke on her words. The girl was dumbfounded for a moment before studying the young man’s face. In the end, she smiled helplessly. “Little fellow countryman, your brain is indeed very weird. Chuhe, since this Little Brother Zhang has already said so, you’d either have to take his money or we’d have to go for a meal with him. Why don’t we just go have a meal with him at the New O Restaurant and you can release your tension as well?”

Ai Chuhe opened her mouth. When she was just about to say something, she noticed her best friend kept blinking hard at her so she nodded reluctantly.

“Alright, Junior Brother! We’ve unanimously decided to honor you with our presence in accompanying you for dinner, but it’s up to us to choose which restaurant to go!”

“That’s great! I have no idea which restaurant is good in Stanford anyway,” Zhang Lisheng rode on his bike and nodded carelessly. “Let’s go!”

“There’s no need to rush. Let Chuhe and I change our clothes first. Since the restaurant is too far away from here, we’ll have to go by bus later,” Guo Caiying replied before pulling Ai Chuhe’s hand and turned to run into the apartment building not far away.

Looking at the silhouette of the two girls who suddenly ran away, Zhang Lisheng could only push his bike to one side and place it nicely before standing outside of the building and walking back and forth. After more than ten minutes, he finally saw Guo Caiying and Ai Chuhe who were wearing tailored fit dresses that showed off their beautiful figures walking out of the apartment building while holding onto elegant handbags.

The two girls were dressed much more beautifully than the clothes they wore just now, but to Zhang Lisheng who was already used to entering the high-end clubs in New York, this was not a shock at all. However, he still said very politely, “The two of you look very beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Ai Chuhe replied with a smile but Guo Caiying said nothing with a grave expression.

At this moment, the sun began to set and the afterglow of the setting sun was about to sink into the horizon. The street lights on the campus began to light up one after another and the three of them walked under the fluffy lights to the nearest bus stop.

“That asshole Wang Zhaosheng actually dumped you like this? Is he really human? If it wasn’t for you who squeezed out 300,000 for him from your own living expenses when he was on the verge of being kicked back to China for falling sick and could not get a full scholarship, he wouldn’t have been able to graduate with a Ph.D. from Stanford’s Biology Faculty! He actually did such things in less than two weeks after he went back to China? Hmph! Wait till I give a call to my dad! I’ll make sure he gets more than he bargained for! A person with such a character cannot be put in an important position…” On the way, Guo Caiying suddenly snarled out loud in anger.

“Caiying, I will be angry if you continue like this,” A painful look flashed across Ai Chuhe’s eyes. “I originally didn’t want to tell you, but it’s you who insisted on inquiring it. I believe that Old Wang must be forced to make such a decision. I believe in him! Even if people do fall out of love, they wouldn’t have fallen out of love so quickly. Besides, you didn’t hear his tone when he called. Really! It really is…”

“Believe in him? He’s not a doctor who studies high-energy physics anyway. Besides, it’s now a new era. Even if he studied high-energy physics and built nuclear weapons, it’d still be impossible for him to get a job that would require him to go for five years straight without being able to have any contact with the outside world. To think that he actually said that it’s a special mission given by the country or something, so he wanted you to understand him? Hmph! What a ridiculous breakup excuse!”

When Zhang Lisheng heard Guo Caiying saying “five years straight without any contact with the outside world” and “special mission given by the country”. He, who was casually walking on the side, suddenly had a change of expression. With a thoughtful look on his face, he murmured, “Stanford Biology’s doctor? Five years straight without being able to have any contact with the outer world… Interesting! Very interesting!”

The two girls did not notice the young man’s murmuring. “I believe he really has no other choice. Please don’t ever call your dad! I don’t want to ruin his future because of my sake…”

“You’re too stupid! It’s obvious that he’s lying to you…”

“Stop saying it, Caiying. please, I beg you!”

Upon seeing her best friend’s pained expression, Guo Caiying sighed and said loudly, “Alright! Let us stop mentioning those bad things and let us get drunk today!”

At this moment, Zhang Lisheng, who was by the side, saw Ai Chuhe’s sad expression, so he hesitated for a moment before suddenly chiming in, “Big sis Ai, don’t be sad. Your boyfriend must have been recruited by the government to go to the supernatural realm to do some research. He didn’t abandon you but is forced to do so for he doesn’t want you to wait for him your entire life.”

“He’s been recruited by the government to go to the supernatural realm to do some research?” Ai Chuhe’s eyes lit up right away, as though she was gripping on her final life-saving straw. “Go to the supernatural realm to do some research? That’s right! It’s highly likely! This is Wen Yan. He can’t have any contact with the outside world for five years! He’s doing this for my sake! He broke up with me for my sake! Caiying, the reason Old Wang broke up with me is for my sake! No! I must wait for him! I will tell him that I’ll always wait for him!”