It wasn’t that they truly believed Xu Zhi was overly confident or anything, but her tone sounded so much like a joke that no one took it seriously. They just assumed the two were from the same hometown and now happened to meet in a foreign place, naturally having things to chat about. After all, as everyone knows, life isn’t like a TV drama – there aren’t that many handsome guys paired with beautiful girls.
The two of them did make a good-looking couple, but they both had that clean, aloof aura. It was hard to imagine what it would look like if they were to kiss. So, no one pursued the matter further.
Afterward, it seemed Chen Luzhou didn’t seek out Xu Zhi again, and the roommates’ gossip-loving hearts were put to rest.
During the previous month, with military training and the intense selection of student union and class committee members, everyone was busy trying to make an impression on the seniors. The campus was lively, but there was an underlying sense of restlessness. After National Day, everyone slowly settled into an orderly campus life.
During those days, discussions about Chen Luzhou were never far from Xu Zhi’s ears. Once, while eating in the cafeteria, she overheard two male students talking: “You know that handsome guy who joined the Humanities and Sciences Experimental Class? The girls in our class keep saying he’s so handsome. I took a look and didn’t think he was all that. I couldn’t see what was so great about him. That is, until last night when our dorm played Werewolf with Li Ke and his group. Li Ke invited him over too.”
The other male student’s interest was piqued. “Oh? Is he good at logic?”
The first student said, “He’s alright, but I feel like he was holding back. Li Ke said Chen Luzhou was the top scorer in their province. You know, S Province has optional modules in their exam. He didn’t take those, and still scored 733 points, only about twenty points less than Li Ke. If you add the 60 points from the optional modules, wouldn’t his total score be over 790? That score is terrifying. But that’s not the point. The point is, I changed my opinion of him last night. I used to think all handsome guys were stuck-up, but he’s quite fun.”
“How so?”
“Before we started playing, the atmosphere was pretty good. Li Ke joked about charging a table fee because we always play in their dorm and leave a mess, getting scolded by the dorm supervisor. He suggested we pay some mental damage fees. Everyone just laughed and agreed. Then, as we were playing, two of Li Ke’s roommates started arguing. Those two have always had hot tempers and often argue during games. Before, it was just bickering, but now that they’re more familiar, last night they got angry and started throwing cups. Chen Luzhou was probably shocked too. After exchanging a glance with Li Ke, he joked, ‘Does today’s table fee include the cost of this cup? Are you trying to scam me?’ Li Ke said, ‘You’re so petty. What’s wrong with scamming you a bit?’ Chen Luzhou replied, ‘How about I scam you instead? Call me daddy, and I’ll show you what being petty means.'”
“The atmosphere immediately lightened up. I used to find it boring every time I played Werewolf with Li Ke’s dorm mates. By the end, there was always some unpleasantness. If it weren’t for him last night, I think we would have parted on bad terms again. It felt like our friendship as classmates was almost ruined by these games.”
Xu Zhi thought this indeed sounded like something Chen Luzhou would say. During that period, Xu Zhi didn’t need to ask where he was. She could occasionally see posts about him on social media. Almost every day, someone would post photos of him playing basketball on the court. Xu Zhi had even zoomed in on one of those pictures. Although it was blurry and not very clear, she could still make out that he indeed wore two layers when playing basketball – a white T-shirt underneath, with a red, blue, or black jersey on top.
He usually played basketball at night. The outdoor court’s lights were dim, and there were many people, both boys and girls. One difference between Chen Luzhou and guys like Jiang Yu was that Jiang Yu and other popular guys in their department would occasionally let their eyes wander, absentmindedly glancing at the girls watching from outside the court, checking if there were any pretty ones. Chen Luzhou, when playing basketball, focused solely on the game. Even during breaks, he would just lean against the basketball hoop with his arms folded. Although many people were watching him, Chen Luzhou remained completely focused, his eyes following the ball up and down. This single-minded attitude deterred many of the flirtatious girls.
The captions on social media posts from people in the Humanities Department were all along the lines of: “The pride of our department.”
The senior girls’ captions were: “Finally, we’ve got a handsome guy with a reserved aura.”
Everyone was just fangirling a bit, but it seemed no one had seriously tried to pursue him yet. Only a few had made subtle attempts at flirting.
**
After October, many campus activities began to unfold in an orderly manner. The inter-department basketball tournament and the campus Top Ten Singers competition were in full swing simultaneously. Xu Zhi’s female dormitory happened to be right across from where the Top Ten Singers auditions were held, so every afternoon, they could hear the various, often disastrous, wailing sounds right on schedule.
Xu Gongzhu and Du Qilan complained that the last performance they heard must have cost the singer at least four girlfriends, all fleeing overnight as if by a steam locomotive.
Du Qilan remarked that this was not too bad. After all, their school wasn’t known for excelling in arts and sports, so they were used to it. The truly talented singers wouldn’t come to perform, while those who couldn’t sing would go up and yell a couple of lines. They might as well just applaud.
During those days, Xu Zhi was frustrated with her structural drawing assignment. The teacher said she was good in all aspects, but her structure lacked focus and failed to catch the eye. This kind of feedback was annoying because you couldn’t pinpoint the problem, let alone know where to start improving. The teacher might as well have written “You have no talent, you’re not suitable for architecture” on her assignment. It seemed polite, but this kind of gentle criticism was what made people feel powerless and defeated.
Their structural design professor had this style of grading assignments. Everyone had a bunch of problems in his eyes, but the biggest issue was always “lack of focus.” On the first day of class, the professor specifically mentioned that a lack of focus in composition is the biggest challenge for architects in their professional careers. It’s like when you present something to a client, and they can’t pinpoint the problem but feel something’s missing and ask you to revise it. You don’t know where to start, and after a few rounds of this, most people end up changing careers. This was a lesson learned from many of his senior classmates. Of course, he wasn’t discriminating against these students, but they might need to put in more effort to find inspiration.
Xu Zhi was leaning on the dormitory railing, feeling hopeless as she tried to find inspiration.
Suddenly, a familiar melody rang out.
“Everyone lacks something, that’s why we become unhappy in an instant—”
“Maybe only you understand me, so you didn’t escape, crying while holding me tight, whispering how much you love me—”
Xu Zhi listened for a while, not quite sure, so she sent a message.
[Xu Zhi: Did you join the Top Ten Singers competition?]
[The reply came quickly: ?]
During that period, besides having breakfast with her every morning, Chen Luzhou was hardly to be found at other times.
[Xu Zhi: I just heard what sounded like your voice, singing “Want Freedom.”]
[He replied again: Bro is in the library studying.]
Xu Zhi roughly knew that he was trying to catch up on all the previous courses he had missed. The midterm exams were coming up soon, and she had heard that 30% of the first semester’s midterm exam scores would count toward the final exam. If he didn’t work hard, and forget about transferring majors, he wouldn’t even be able to take a second major.
[Xu Zhi: What time did you sleep last night?]
[He replied: Two o’clock?]
[Xu Zhi: How about we eat breakfast separately from now on?]
[He replied: Who are you going to eat with, Jiang Yu?]
[Xu Zhi: Come on, didn’t you tell Zhu Yangqi that I could date whoever I want?]
The next second, a call came through. Xu Zhi was standing on the dormitory balcony at the time. The evening campus scenery was beautiful, with the sunset’s long, red haze enveloping the entire campus. Beijing wasn’t a city that loved rain; Xu Zhi hadn’t seen much rain since she arrived. The air was much drier than in Qingyi. Although it was October, the wind blowing on her face was still a bit chilly, but the scenery was pleasant. Below, a young couple sat on a stone bench in the small woods, kissing passionately, making the entire evening air feel charged with emotion.
Xu Zhi’s lips were dry, and she wanted to drink some water but was too lazy to go inside to get it. She simply leaned against the railing, letting the evening breeze blow over her. She licked her lips, then answered the phone. Before she could speak, it seemed he had already walked out of the library, otherwise his voice wouldn’t have been so clear. She heard him ask with a laugh, “What else did Zhu Yangqi tell you?”
The couple in the small woods below still hadn’t separated, sticking together for quite a while before the girl reluctantly stood up from the boy’s lap.
Du Qilan and Xu Gongzhu had gone inside after listening for half the conversation, but Xu Zhi was still standing there. She found that the more she licked her lips, the drier they became. Beijing’s wind was sharp and astringent. She sighed and said, “Nothing much. You go back to studying. We’ll talk after the exams.”
“Is Jiang Yu very annoying?” Chen Luzhou asked casually.
Jiang Yu hadn’t contacted her for a while, probably busy with department affairs. Xu Zhi didn’t pay much attention to it. She had originally planned to tell him not to waste time on her if he contacted her again, but coincidentally, Jiang Yu hadn’t actively sought her out since then.
“Not as annoying as you.”
He was standing under a tree at the entrance of the library, holding the phone to his ear with one hand. He was wearing a white crew-neck sweatshirt, the sleeves loosely rolled up to his elbows, revealing his fair, slender arms. He was holding a black retractable pen, repeatedly clicking the cap, looking rushed, as if he had taken this call amid his busy schedule. “Cherish these days while you can. After I finish my exams, you’re going to get beaten.”
Xu Zhi looked at the glorious sunset over the campus and suddenly felt cheerful. She laughed, “Chen Luzhou, you’re so weak. I thought the academic god of First High would be good at everything.”
“The academic god of First High might not be good at everything, but Chen Luzhou will be after a bit of effort.”
Xu Zhi suddenly became curious, “Well, I’d like to see how well you do on the midterms then.”
He laughed on the other end, “Alright, I’m also looking forward to seeing how the dark horse from Qingyi performs.”
When people go to another province, they tend to automatically amplify their sense of regional identity. For example, seeing a fellow Chinese person abroad makes you feel like long-lost relatives reuniting with tears in your eyes. In China, students from the same province naturally form a group. This is even more so for classmates from the same city.
There were quite a few people from S Province at the school, and Qingyi had the largest representation among them. Everyone knew that S Province’s First High School produced academic geniuses, so people from First High had an inexplicable sense of superiority. It was as if only they could represent S Province’s education and student strength. Whenever someone asked about other Qingyi students, they would immediately deny it, saying, “No, they’re not from First High.”
Xu Zhi had encountered this situation several times with students from other schools. When someone would ask, “Oh, they’re from your Qingyi too, right?” the First High students would immediately shake their heads, “No, they’re not from our First High.” It was quite frustrating. Did not being from First High mean they weren’t from Qingyi? It was as if people from other schools couldn’t represent Qingyi, casually dismissing others’ efforts. No matter where they were, First High students always had this sense of superiority. Maybe not all of them, but at least the majority were like this.
Chen Luzhou’s phrase “Qingyi’s dark horse” warmed Xu Zhi’s heart. He always seemed to touch her in some inexplicable way. At that moment, Xu Zhi thought that if she could only keep one trump card in her life that couldn’t be taken away, it might be him.
Oh, but Old Xu wouldn’t work either.
Well, maybe Old Xu first, then.
After hanging up the phone, Xu Zhi suddenly felt full of energy. She had to admit, Chen Luzhou was truly a person who filled others with hope. In just this short while, he had recharged her.
The library was crowded and quiet, filled with the soft sounds of pencils scratching on paper and pages turning. Chen Luzhou returned with his pen and had just pulled out his chair to sit down when Li Ke, who was sitting next to him, was about to speak. A beautiful girl walked over, her hair tied in a high ponytail, with a broad forehead and meticulous makeup. Her foundation was applied thickly like putty, but her skin was indeed fine and delicate. She had a slim, tall figure – Li Ke roughly estimated she must be about 1.75 meters tall.
The girl looked down at Chen Luzhou, her skin as white as snow, smiling politely and asked, “Chen Luzhou, is anyone sitting here?”
Li Ke instinctively glanced at Chen Luzhou, suddenly remembering who this girl was. She seemed to be from the Foreign Languages Department. But how did they suddenly get on a first-name basis? They appeared to know each other already. Li Ke didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt nervous for his Qingyi dark horse. After all, how could Chen Luzhou not have anyone pursuing him?