"We can’t let you pay for the meal, you’re a freshman, it’s supposed to be us giving you a welcome dinner. Tonight, I’ll treat," Ma Yao insisted, being the straightforward and generous type.
Bai Xiao smiled without saying anything, while Lin Xiang quickly covered Ma Yao’s mouth, "Just forget about it, with Bai Xiao we can get in on something good! If we follow you, we’ll end up eating steamed buns and duck blood soup on the street. Please, spare us."
This foodie had been looking forward to Bai Xiao’s banquet for a long time and was not about to let Ma Yao ruin it.
Ma Yao, annoyed, clenched her fist and reached out to scratch Lin Xiang, "You should go on a diet, I’m warning you, you need to control your mouth!"
"Diet! Of course, I’ll diet, but only after I’ve had this meal from Bai Xiao," Lin Xiang said with a mischievous smile, dodging and hiding behind Bai Xiao, using her as a shield.
Ma Yao tried scratching a few times but missed, and grumbled with itching teeth, "What do you mean my steamed buns and duck blood soup aren’t good? The place by the door tastes really authentic; the entire campus says their food is delicious."
Her standards for food were really low. However, when it came to Sanda equipment, that was Ma Yao’s passion—she was willing to spend whatever it took.
Even if she was hungry, she would try to buy them. This woman had a special love for Sanda; it was a mystery why she didn’t pursue it but chose to study medicine instead—it didn’t make sense.
Bai Xiao’s eyes crinkled with amusement. One of the biggest advantages of student life is gaining a group of sisters and close friends. The relationships are different and purer compared to everyday friends and colleagues—more genuine.
Perhaps that’s the charm of student life.
In the afternoon, everyone went to their respective classes. Bai Xiao spent her afternoon in the library, earnestly borrowing a big volume of Shennong’s Materia Medica. It’s not that she lacked a foundation; in her previous life, she had dabbled in it to some extent for the sake of keeping up appearances, sadly learning it halfheartedly.
But her foundation was definitely solid; after all, in her previous life, Shang Kaiwen was afraid she’d draw too much attention and become the target of powerful people who she would struggle against. To protect against this, she had even arranged for several esteemed Traditional Chinese Medicine Masters to tutor her for a while, so her basics were more than passable.
Bai Xiao was more eager to learn real Acupuncture, prescriptions, and pulse diagnosis. If she could master these and combine them with her ’special ability’, she could become an infallible Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor and reach the pinnacle of her life in no time.
After reading for an entire afternoon, she realized her shortcomings—what it meant to be superficial. The charm of Traditional Chinese Medicine started with practice, with the initial understanding of the mysteries and applications of classic prescriptions.
It seemed she had much to learn.
Glancing at her watch and seeing it was six o’clock, she hurried to find Ma Yao and the others; she couldn’t go back on her word. Besides, having come to Modu, if she hadn’t properly tasted the local cuisine, it would have been a wasted trip.
After dinner, she’d still have time to give Ah Er Ge a call. They had agreed to speak daily on the phone. Writing letters wasn’t impossible, just too slow. Bai Xiao had considered buying a cell phone but couldn’t get past the idea of looking like a nouveau riche. She decided to wait.
In a few years, pagers would be better.
For now, she had to make do with the telephone.
Upon returning to the dormitory, she found Ma Yao and the others already there. Seeing Bai Xiao, Lin Xiang beamed with joy—as far as a food lover was concerned, no news was good news.
The four of them left the dormitory, and Bai Xiao had specifically inquired about a nearby famous local restaurant—apparently, it was a luxury hotel.
But for one meal, she wasn’t going to worry about money.