Chapter 102: Discovery

Tan Mo eventually said yes to the class teacher.

Because Qiao Lan said she could help him write the speech together.

Tan Mo didn't feel too bad about not taking up his time with Qiao Lan, and Qiao Lan helped him revise his speech.

Once the script had been approved, Tan Mo had to get down to the business of preparing his speech, and although he could almost recite it by heart, his tone was flat, sounding uneventful, and there was little expression on his face.

Tan Mo is the kind of person who either does not do it or does it to the best of his ability, so he asked Qiao Lan to mark out any pauses and emphasis in the script, and then went back and found many videos of the speech.

Qiao Lan was astonished when she accepted it again.

In just one day, Tan Mo has gone from the expressionless robot look of yesterday to a particularly natural one.

Very good.

Tan Mo trusts Qiao Lan 100% and when Qiao Lan says it's good, it's really good. Tan Mo puts down the tablet and goes to the bathroom.

It is a very good presentation specifically searched for by Tan Mo.

Qiao Lan took a couple of casual glances, but it was with a couple of extra glances that Qiao Lan's eyes slowly widened.

It's too similar.

It can't even be described as a resemblance, but rather an exact likeness.

The tone of Tan Mo's voice, the expression on his face, and even the occasional physical gestures on his hands were exactly the same as the man in the video.

Qiao Lan froze for a long moment, snapped the video off and put the tablet back on.

When Tan Mo came back, Qiao Lan pretended not to notice anything and after some casual conversation said, "Why don't we do it again, I'll take another look."

Tan Mo has no doubts.

Qiao Lan looked at Tan Mo, who was smiling, frowning and even using hand gestures, and when Tan Mo returned to the dormitory, Qiao Lan almost dashed back to the dormitory.

"Teenagers with Asperger syndrome can apply the skills they learn from drama classes to their everyday lives by observing who is socially comfortable and imitating that person's words and actions."

"There are certainly other benefits to being a master mimic, being able to make yourself popular by living up to your teacher or one of the main characters on TV, but when a person with Asperger syndrome uses the ability to mimic and gain some social skills on the surface, it all becomes false."

Others will no longer believe that they actually have difficulties with social understanding and empathy, and they will live in what they think is the most superficial world, recognising it by their so-called "experience".

Qiao Lan closes the book and sits on the bed in a daze.

The mood is somewhat mixed.

Qiao Lan would not have known Tan Mo had such a talent for mimicry if he hadn't discovered it today, but it could be that he had already been exposed to this kind of training and what he is showing today is the result of his training.

Tan Mo never said it and Qiao Lan never found out, and if she hadn't occasionally watched the video today, Qiao Lan probably still wouldn't have found out anything.

Qiao Lan is not sure if this is good or bad.

Qiao Lan has read the book in her hand several times. There are many so-called "success stories" in the book, but what is success is only what people think is success.

With a successful career, a wife, children and friends, he is like a normal person who sees no difference and has become the envy of many in life.

But what about behind the scenes.

In fact they still don't understand anything.

Not knowing love or friendship, or even affection, they habitually use all kinds of experiences they have seen in books, on TV or in life to deal with things. When a wife gets angry, they don't think about why, but use the simplest way - buying and giving things away. Qiao Lan saw a case in a book where the wife asked her husband in desperation whether he loved her or not, while the husband with Asperger syndrome asked her with a cold face.

"Didn't I buy you a present?"

They don't know what love is, they only know the "ways of love" that others show.

It's scary.

This is not what Qiao Lan would like to see.

But thinking differently, imitation can make them more like normal people, make other people like them and accept them, make them fit in, even if it's fake, but the hug back to them is real.

This again is tempting.

So Qiao Lan doesn't know if this is good or bad.

She wants other people to like Tan Mo, but she doesn't want Tan Mo's life to turn into an endless show someday, even to her, and she can't tell if it's genuine or habitual.

What exactly do we do?

I couldn't think of anything, so I called Tan Mo on video.

It took a long time for the other side to pick up, and when they did, there was a flash before their eyes, and then a sudden white mist.

Qiao Lan: "Is there a problem with the ...... phone?"

"No," Tan Mo wiped the white mist off the camera with her hand and the picture came back to life, but Tan Mo's face was still invisible in the camera.

Tan Mo is taking a bath.

The phone was shoved in from outside by my roommate and the bathroom was full of fog, instantly steaming the phone camera with a white mist.

Tan Mo dried the camera and stood the phone on the side of the washstand, which was not high enough for the camera to be aimed at Tan Mo's waist and stomach.

Qiao Lan stared at Tan Mo's beautiful abs for a few seconds, and then felt a little uncomfortable holding the phone in her hot hands.

Qiao Lan was afraid of accidentally capturing something even more inaccessible, such as the lower part of the camera, so she looked away.

With his beautiful abs in the way, Qiao Lan was ashamed to find himself a little disappointed.

Tan Mo realised that Qiao Lan seemed a bit quiet today. Usually, Qiao Lan was the one who talked all the time when she called and she mainly listened.

Glancing into the phone screen, he saw his pretty girlfriend, her fair face very visibly tinged with a blush.

Tan Mo froze, then glanced down as if thinking of something.

Qiao Lan must not have seen anything that he really shouldn't have seen, because he was pretty much done washing when the video was connected, not all over the place, and the position where he had just put his phone was such that he couldn't rightly be filmed too low.

Usually, he teases him blindly, but he is as thin-skinned as a piece of paper.

Tan Mo thought of something and suddenly his heart beat a little faster and he lowered his voice and said, "What month is it today."

"Nineteenth of September," Qiao Lan replied dutifully, her eyes drifting.

"What day is today next month."

October 19?

Qiao Lan froze before responding, "It's your birthday."

"Eighteenth birthday."

"Ah."

"Today next month, I'll be an adult."

Qiao Lan: ...... So what? What does it mean to be an adult, is that what she wants?

But Tan Mo stopped there and said nothing, changing the subject without any embarrassment and asking her what she was doing now.

Qiao Lan now remembers what she has just been fretting about.

But I don't know how to say it anymore.

Whatever Tan Mo may have been to the others, it was true to her. Just a few seconds before, Tan Mo had made a real and somewhat subtle expression of her thoughts and desires, and although it was a little embarrassing, it was not fake.

Perhaps there is a compromise in this matter.

Perhaps Tan Mo is different from other people with Asperger's syndrome. The book says that most people with Asperger's syndrome don't even like anyone, but Tan Mo liked her.

Maybe Tan Mo could study other people to turn herself into a normal person while still remaining true to herself and still looking her best in front of her. And now that she has started studying psychology, she will be able to tell if Tan Mo is telling the truth or not, and as long as she doesn't get fooled over, everything has a chance of being saved, right?

Qiao Lan sighed silently and looked at Tan Mo in the camera and whispered, "Reading a book and thinking of you in the meantime."

"By the way?"

"You have to read without distractions, I've absorbed half of it for thinking about you, be content."

Tan Mo looked at the girl's face with a smile and laughed.

OK.

In fact, he had just been in the shower and had stopped by to...think about Qiao Lan.

But that's better left unsaid.

After hanging up the phone number, Qiao Lan searched the internet for books on Asperger syndrome and then searched for titles to buy, as she had to know more about the disease.

Two days later, the Freshers' Conference was held and Tan Mo spoke as a representative of the new students.

With a natural and funny speech, a delicate and deadpan face and a nice clear voice, this is indeed an honour, Qiao Lan looked at her boyfriend's handsome appearance on the big screen and was proud beyond compare.

But when the pride was over, Qiao Lan realised that something was wrong.

Tan Mo has made a name for himself in front of all the new students, and those who knew about it before are now aware of it.

The day after Tan Mo's speech, Luo Man was playing on his phone while soaking his feet, rambling to Qiao Lan about what he had done for Ji Su today.

"I just confessed my love to Ji Su on our campus public wall.

"I don't know," was the tidy reply from all three.

Luo Man sighed, "Forget it, I'll try to get into the club in a few days after the orientation.

"Well," Qiao Lan said, not paying much attention.

"And a confession with your boyfriend."

Qiao Lan: "Hmm...hmm?"

"It's super, two pages in and there's one, ���, another one."

Qiao Lan touched his phone by his pillow, tapped on the public number, found the so-called confession wall and just clicked in to see the latest confession in hot air.

[Aaaahhh Tan Mo is really good looking, love him so much!]

[Future boyfriend, I hope you meet these points: 1. 187 in height, 2. 9.8 or above in looks, 3. Top 10 provinces in high school exams, okay, I'm talking about Tan Mo from the maths department, be my boyfriend!]

[Sister is moved, Tan Mo Sister is in love?]

Qiao Lan: ......

Is this really the highest academic institution in the country? Shouldn't it be full of super-educated people who are bored with their studies? Shouldn't it be all about the handsome boys and the sage books?

And Tan Mo already has a girlfriend, okay?

As a result, scroll down a little further and

[ Tan Mo I don't care if you have a girlfriend, I'll wait for you to break up!]

When I clicked on this confession, there was a stream of people asking if Tan Mo really had a girlfriend. Is his girlfriend pretty and so on.

Qiao Lan stared at his phone in silence for a long time, then reopened Tmall and quickly placed several orders.