He didn't realize that his shy, hesitant expression only made everyone think he had some difficult past he didn't want to talk about.
At once, all the older professors looked at him with even more compassion.
Professor Lu took his hand and patted it gently.
Rong Xingyu felt a warmth spread through him. As he looked at the old man, a sudden memory from his past life surfaced.
He thought of the old veteran who ran a secondhand book stall on the corner. The man had lost a leg in an accident and in his old age, he dragged his disabled leg out every day just to make a living.
He had a bad temper. Every time Rong Xingyu's sweet potato cart accidentally bumped his stall, the old man would curse him harshly.
But whenever books came in that Rong Xingyu might like, the old man would secretly hide them under the pile, pretending to be annoyed as he shoved them at him later.
