Meng Yan's Transformation

"Grandma, I'm not as good as you say. Don't praise me like that in the future. You're making me feel embarrassed. You're exaggerating too much. Even if you want to be a god, you can't call me a fairy in front of outsiders. That college student from the city will laugh at me! I really didn't know you had such a rich imagination. If you were born in the Tang Dynasty, Li Bai would have worshipped you as his teacher."

When Xiao Wenying spoke, she pouted and looked at the old lady with a strange and angry expression.

"Who is Li Bai? Is he that great? Why did he choose me as his teacher? Why aren't you as good as I say? Everyone who has seen you praises you for being beautiful, sensible, and cultured. When you grow up, you must become the top female scholar and go to university in a big city in the heart of our motherland. You must become a great figure. They praise you much more than I do, and I can't even learn from them. Look at that young man from the city just now. His eyes were full of praise when he looked at you, and he was staring at you straight. Maybe he is still peeking at you from the hold. Who told you to be so pretty and cute? It's not enough for people to look at you, and they want to look at you again and again... Hehehe"

As the old lady spoke, she stretched her neck to look into the cabin.

Little Wenying was amused by the old lady's words and started laughing. She also stretched her neck to look into the cabin like the old lady.

I was so scared that I quickly withdrew my gaze from Xiao Wenying's face and began to scan the cabin.

The cabin was spacious, and the wood beneath my feet bore the marks of time. Each grain seemed to tell of past trials and tribulations. The wood's color was not monotonous, but a crisscross of light and dark, like a natural ink painting. Some areas were heavily worn, the marks of my feet's comings and goings. Gently touching the wood, I could feel its roughness, yet also a solid heaviness, like the touch of an old man's wrinkled hand—rough yet full of power and stories. In a corner of the hold lay a pile of books, and I was as surprised as Columbus discovering the New World. I picked up the top volume and saw it was "Eugenie Grandet" by Honoré de Balzac, a giant of French critical realism. I opened the pages, still filled with readers' annotations. I glanced at the books below: "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell, "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte, and Nietzsche's "Thus Spake Zarathustra" and "The Birth of Tragedy." Some of these books I had only heard of but never had the opportunity to read.

"Xiao Wenying, are all the books in the cabin yours? Can I take a look?"

As I spoke, I rushed out of the cabin.

"Yes, it's me. These are my extracurricular reading materials for this summer vacation. If no one needs a ferry, I'll read them. I've read some of these books several times, but I still like to read them again because I get a different feeling every time. Big brother, if you like reading these books too, you can take them and read them. Reading on a moving boat is bad for your eyes, and you won't be able to read much if you don't go ashore soon. You said this is your first time on my boat, so you might as well enjoy the scenery. I'll lend you the book, and you can read it when you get ashore."

Xiao Wenying's face was filled with a happy smile as she spoke.

"Can you really lend it to me? That's great! I'm here to visit my cousin. She's visiting her grandmother, who lives on the other side of the river. I'll come find you on the shore in three days and return the book to you!"

When I spoke, I felt like I had received a treasure, and was as excited as a little child.

"Of course, big brother, you don't have to rush to return my books. Summer vacation has just begun, and I have to wait until it's over before going back to school in the city. You can take a few more books and read them for a longer time."

When Xiao Wenying was talking, she couldn't help laughing when she looked at me.

I felt that I had lost my composure, behaving like a child in front of a little girl who was much younger than me. I felt a little embarrassed, so I quickly put away my innocent and ecstatic smile and straightened my clothes.