Chapter 432: Chapter 408: The Five Elements Lack the Fundamental Tendon Chapter 432: Chapter 408: The Five Elements Lack the Fundamental Tendon The sheriff had spent so much time with those two dogs, his imitation of their barking had even started to sound more like the pups’, transitioning from a sound resembling grown dogs to that of young ones. No wonder Zheng Tan hadn’t recognized it earlier.

Having not seen them for over a month, both the small local dogs had grown a lot. “Qianli” had much yellower fur, while the patterns on “Shunfeng” had become clearer. The sheriff remained the same old.

“Shunzi, come back!” Old Man Lan called from the flower shed.

Old Man Lan still referred to the brindle local dog as Shunzi, but for the students who frequently visited the small flower bed, they preferred to call it “Shunfeng.” The students always gravitated to the more interesting option, and Old Man Lan didn’t get angry when they called it “Shunfeng”; he let them be. With Qianli around, everyone would think of the name “Shunfeng,” and every time the students called out “Shunfeng,” they did so with laughter, a teasing undertone in their voices, though Shunfeng didn’t pay much attention to anyone other than Old Man Lan.

A month ago, Old Man Lan had bought two small puppies. He was especially fond of the little yellow dog Qianli, but soon discovered that when it came to guarding the house, Shunzi was more vigilant. Qianli mostly followed Shunzi’s lead; Shunzi barked, and it would bark, but whenever someone came by, although Qianli would be a step behind in barking, it was always the first to charge forward.

Shunzi didn’t seem particularly lively, but it was the most alert; Qianli would rush to the front, the enforcer, ready to exert brute force; as for the sheriff, it was just there for the excitement.

The more Old Man Lan watched the two dogs, the more he liked them. As for that extra… cat, well, might as well consider it raising two and a half dogs.

The sheriff’s owner really got a good deal with this cat, one worth two: it could catch mice like a cat and watch over the house like a dog with its early warning barks.

That student then pushed his bike inside the moment the gate to the small flower bed opened.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Shunzi wagged its tail and laid back down–it recognized this person, and with Old Man Lan present, there was nothing for it to do. Qianli continued to bark several times, finding it boring to be the only one barking but not returning to its spot, instead running back and forth between Old Man Lan and the student.

“Oh, Heitan’s back?!” Seeing Zheng Tan, Old Man Lan’s already smiling face creased even more as he waved Zheng Tan in.

Zheng Tan had intended to go inside and look around, but then he heard someone calling him from behind. Turning his head, he saw Xiong Xiong riding a bicycle at the corner of the road just outside the small flower bed, waving at him.

Zheng Tan’s first reaction upon seeing Xiong Xiong was–that guy’s definitely skipping class again!

Why “again”, you ask?

Because during his strolls around the campus, Zheng Tan had bumped into Xiong Xiong skipping class several times.

Old Man Lan also heard the shout, stepped outside to look and saw it was Xiong Xiong. He waved to Zheng Tan, “Go on, go on. Now that you’re back, come and visit whenever you have time.”

Zheng Tan walked over, curious about what Xiong Xiong wanted.

Ever since the East District courtyard group dwindled down to just Xiong Xiong, he initially struggled to adapt. However, three months down the line, he had gotten quite used to it–after all, he was still on familiar turf, only missing the company of his buddies, which was a bit lonely.

Xiong Xiong pushed the bike along, beckoning Zheng Tan to follow while talking to him.

Those who grew up with Xiong Xiong and were close friends with Jiao Yuan had some understanding of Zheng Tan, so they talked to him more like they would with a person, rather than how one might address other cats and dogs.

It turned out, Xiong Xiong had his eyes on a freshman girl from the normal university. He had taken a fancy to her in September when he went to visit with Fu Lei. Now, Xiong Xiong was in the midst of pursuing her, going to the normal university to deliver flowers every day at this time. The flower shop where Xiong Xiong ordered flowers was located on a street between Chuhua University and the normal university. That shop was reputed to have the best flowers, gaining some renown in the area, and many students from both the normal university and Chuhua University went there to order flowers.

However, Xiong Xiong had been told by his roommate that he needed to deliver the flowers personally to show his sincerity. Thus, he made the trip to the flower shop every day to pick up flowers and then delivered them personally to the normal university.

Chuhua University wasn’t too far from the normal university. Zheng Tan had followed an old man there once; he certainly found the walk long, but it was different on a bike–it wouldn’t take long to arrive. However, there was a stretch of road under construction near there, which meant riding through got one covered in dust. To maintain his already not-so-great image, Xiong Xiong preferred to ride his bike to the flower shop to get flowers and then take a taxi to the normal university.

The challenging part for Xiong Xiong was that the security around the flower shop wasn’t good; it was rife with thieves, including bike thieves. Just two weeks ago, he had asked a kiosk owner to watch his bike and came back to find it gone. So unreliable!

Xiong Xiong pushed his bike, complaining to Zheng Tan as they walked.

And Zheng Tan couldn’t help but reflect on how that kid who used to give his mom rapeseed flowers on Women’s Day had now learned what being romantic meant.

However, Xiong Xiong’s pursuit seemed challenging; he still hadn’t succeeded. When it came to being crafty, Xiong Xiong was the least adept among the four chums of the courtyard.

When people heard that Xiong Xiong, in his pursuit of the girl from the normal university, was from Chuhua University, they’d give him a thumbs-up: that’s the way to go, a real talent!

Unfortunately, during just his second encounter with the girl, Xiong Xiong managed to reveal just how much water was mixed in with his talents. But in this era, anyone who could pull strings or find a way through the back door was considered to have a golden touch–others who wanted such advantages didn’t have them yet.

No matter how the girl viewed Xiong Xiong, the fact that she hadn’t outright rejected him gave him hope, and his eagerness was evident. He had yet to dare tell his mom about this, deciding instead to wait until he actually won her over before reporting to the “Empress Dowager” to ask for an increase in logistical support.

Most parents in China are quite interesting. Before college, they always tell their children not to engage in early romance, not to get too close to the opposite sex, and if they see someone of the opposite sex getting along well with their child, they will inquire indirectly, intending to nip any blossoming relationship in the bud. But once the college entrance exams are over and their child has started university, they begin to nag, asking if their child has gotten close to anyone of the opposite sex and when they will bring them home to meet them, and so on.

Why do many kids eagerly wish to graduate from high school so fast? Because once they graduate, they’re officially permitted to chase girls, brazenly and with the strong support of logistics!

Xiong Xiong’s mom knew he was bad with money, so she kept a tight grip on his funds. Now, in order to get a girlfriend, Xiong Xiong spent most of his money, apart from basic living expenses, on taxis and buying flowers. He had just bought a new bike and none of the classmates he knew would skip class to watch it for him. Xiong Xiong had intended to pay someone near the flower shop to keep an eye on it, knowing that with money as the motivation, they wouldn’t be neglectful. But when he reached into his pocket, he realized funds were tight. Luckily, he ran into Zheng Tan today, so his usually slow brain worked overtime and he came up with an excellent idea–have the Cat help watch the bike.

It would only take a little over an hour to return, just in time for lunch, so it wouldn’t delay Zheng Tan’s meal.

Zheng Tan didn’t mind; he had nothing better to do and it was rare to see Xiong Xiong like this, so he lent a hand.

“My mom says I lack the Metal element because money slips through my hands so quickly. But I don’t think so,” Xiong Xiong said.

Zheng Tan thought to himself: It’s not the Metal element you lack, you’re clearly missing a screw.

“I think I lack the Love element. Despite being so handsome and extraordinary, why are girls so hard to impress?”

Zheng Tan: “…” No matter how you look at it, it was hard to associate “handsome” with this guy. As for extraordinary… Well, Xiong Xiong was exactly 180 centimeters tall and weighed 180 pounds–oh, that was his weight from last year. Due to the energy drain of senior year, his weight had actually dropped a bit, but once high school was over, he shot up to nearly 190, on his way to 200, far from being muscular.

As they left the school gate and passed by a dumpling shop, Xiong Xiong sighed dramatically, mimicking a world-weary mature tone, “Ah, there goes my unreturning rolling pin!”

Speaking of rolling pins, it was a legendary tale from the East District. Once, an old lady from there had been planning to make dumplings at home but lacked a rolling pin, so she went out to buy one. On her way back, she encountered a thief. After spotting him, the old lady wielded the rolling pin in her bag and beat the thief mercilessly. It was surprising that the septuagenarian could hit so hard, knocking out one of the thief’s front teeth. The thief was eventually caught by the public and handed over to the police station, but the story spread among the nearby residents, getting more fantastical with each retelling. The tale of the old lady thrashing the thief with the rolling pin became as epic as Monkey King wielding his Jingu Bang to vanquish demons.

The adults exaggerated the story for a laugh, but the kids took it to heart, treating the rolling pin like some sort of divine weapon. Anyone who carried a rolling pin in their bag was deemed mightier in their tall tales.

However, Xiong Xiong and his peers grew up, learned more, and understood the use of hyperbole all too well.

As they became adults, they realized not everything was as they imagined when they were young, but many people still spoke and behaved in the same way, as a way to reminisce about their bygone childhoods. After all, who hasn’t done a few silly things when they were kids?

So even though Xiong Xiong no longer used the rolling pin as a weapon, he continued to keep it as a collectible, until the day his mom found it and threw it away. His mom had said: “What’s a big guy like you doing with a rolling pin? Can it help us roll out dough at home?”

The flower shop was a distance away from the school gate, about a ten-minute bike ride. Xiong Xiong had Zheng Tan crouch in the bike basket, but Zheng Tan declined, feeling it was good to run a bit after sitting so much recently.

Xiong Xiong slowed down the bike, leading Zheng Tan towards the flower shop.

After arriving at the flower shop, Xiong Xiong parked his bike in front of a telecommunications company’s office, where there were some other bikes.

“Okay, we’ll leave it here. Not too many people around,” Xiong Xiong said after locking up the bike.

Zheng Tan looked around. The stretch of shops was busy with people coming and going; indeed, this spot had fewer people. There wasn’t a designated parking lot nearby either, so no wonder Xiong Xiong was troubled without someone to keep an eye on his bike.

Once Xiong Xiong picked up the flowers he had reserved from the shop and checked the time, he hurried to hail a taxi.

Zheng Tan squatted on the bike seat, watching Xiong Xiong’s taxi drive away, thinking: Charge on, Xiong junior. This is as far as I can help you.

Not far from where the bike was parked was a bus stop with several people waiting for the bus.

A young man, munching on a sandwich with his backpack on, stood waiting for the bus, aimlessly scanning his surroundings. When his gaze landed on Zheng Tan, he paused, then looked at the road to make sure his bus wasn’t coming before walking over to Zheng Tan.

After approaching Zheng Tan, the young man took a bite of his bacon sandwich and then offered some of the bacon to Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan looked at the bacon now close to his nose but didn’t respond.

“Not eating?”

Seeing that Zheng Tan wasn’t interested, the young man ate the bacon himself and then tore off some bread to offer.

Zheng Tan: “…” (To be continued. If you like this work, please feel welcome to vote for it on Qidian (wuxiaworld.site), and cast your monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.wuxiaworld.site to continue reading.)