At the end of March in my senior year, I finished my internship at an accounting firm in Wuxi and returned to university in Nanjing. I wanted to laze around at home for another ten days or so as a rice worm*, but clearly, Mother’s love was reaching its limit. So after raiding the refrigerator one last time, I trudged back to Nanjing, heavily laden.
(*TN: “rice worm” is a Chinese term for someone who lives off their parents)
While still on the train, I messaged everyone in the dorm: Your watermelon is rolling back to Nanjing, all of you better line up at the school gate to welcome me.
Ten minutes later, Si Liang finally replied: Who are you? Don’t know you.
I snickered and my fingers flew across the keyboard: Oh well, never mind then. Poor me, carrying a chicken in one hand and a duck in the other—so heavy! Maybe I should just leave them on the train.
This time, responses came within ten seconds, and more than one:
Si Liang: Ah! Darling, it’s you! Don’t move from the school gate, sister’s coming to get you.
Xiao Feng: Watermelon, thinking of you daily but never seeing you, and now finally, we can share duck legs together.
…Their enthusiasm was spine-chilling.
As soon as I got out of the taxi, I saw an eye-catching group at the school gate. Our dorm had six people, but somehow nine showed up—five girls and four boys…
I only had one chicken and one duck; did they need to bring their significant others too? I secretly regretted not eating a chicken leg on the train first.
“Hehe… everyone’s being too ceremonious…”
Big Sis came over and pulled my ear: “You brat, you sure picked the right time to come back. We’re having dinner at He Sheng today.”
The words “He Sheng” triggered an instant reaction in me—He Sheng = best sour fish = best vinegar spare ribs = best crab roe tofu…
Drooling, I held up the chicken and duck. “Can this count as a special contribution so I don’t have to pay?”
Si Liang gave me a look of despair: “Stop embarrassing our dorm. Zhuang Xu is treating today.”
I froze. Zhuang Xu… I glanced at the person standing far away. While others had stepped closer when they saw me, he remained where he was, wearing a light gray sweater, expressionless.
Zhuang Xu—another name that triggered automatic associations: Finance Department’s most outstanding student = the handsome guy who raised our school’s male standards = Rong Rong’s ambiguous “friend”…
Equals—
Nie Xiguang is an idiotic fool!
My eyes started stinging. After all this time… how pathetic… something was about to overflow…
I immediately looked up at the sky. One second, two seconds…
“What are you looking at?” Big Sis, violent as ever, came over and yanked my ear hard.
They probably all followed my gaze upward. I suppressed a laugh and blinked innocently. “How strange, it’s not raining red rain.”
Zhuang Xu never treated anyone, even when he got the top scholarship. Everyone knew his father had passed away early, leaving only a frail mother and a younger brother in high school. He hadn’t even applied for financial aid.
As soon as I said it, I realized how sarcastic it sounded. Everyone became awkward. A-Fen glared at me reproachfully and pinched my hand hard in front of everyone.
Ouch! When was the last time she cut her nails?! She nearly brought tears to my eyes.
Poor me, I was used to being abused by my dormmates, so I could only feel angry but not speak up. Inside, I was bubbling with grievance—I didn’t mean to, even a cornered dog will bite… of course, I would too when cornered…
Finally, Rong Rong smoothed things over with a smile. “Zhuang Xu signed with Bank A in Shanghai, monthly salary of around eight thousand.”
“Ah.” Bank A! Eight thousand per month! Even graduate students might not get such a salary!
I turned to look at Zhuang Xu in surprise and found him already looking at me, his dark eyes fixed on my face as if wanting to gauge my reaction.
Was that… just my imagination?
Regardless, I should congratulate him. I stepped forward and said sincerely: “Congratulations, Zhuang Xu… um, we’ll be counting on you when we visit Shanghai, for food and lodging, entertainment…”
“Weren’t you supposed to return tomorrow?”
His clear, deep voice cut off my rambling. I stared at his towering figure blankly, my mind confused. What was he asking me?
A-Fen suddenly came over and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward He Sheng. “Zhuang Xu, are you treating or not? I’m starving!”
Later, at He Sheng, facing the table full of delicacies, I remembered—if Mom hadn’t rushed me out, I really would have returned tomorrow. That’s what I told everyone in the dorm yesterday on the phone.
Zhuang Xu… probably didn’t want to treat me at all.
Logically, anyone with a bit of pride would throw down their chopsticks and leave, but… was I that kind of person?
Hmph! I viciously bit into a spare rib. Eating double portions suits my nature better. So I ate only dishes, no rice, chose the most expensive dishes, and ordered freshly squeezed juice…
Like a whirlwind over remnant clouds, like a wolf devouring its prey, like chopsticks guided by divine intervention…
“Watermelon, you look like some kind of animal.” Xiao Feng, sitting on my left, watched me with reverence.
Only then did I realize I’d become the focus of the dining table. Everyone had stopped eating to watch me. Zhuang Xu sat directly across from me, glanced at me once, and then raised his hand to call the server.
“We need to order more dishes.”
Before my face could turn red, Big Sis on my right pinched my leg hard. “Control yourself!”
How depressing. I was just turning my grief into appetite, did they need to be so violent?
Fine, I’ll stop eating. I was full anyway. I listlessly poked at the braised pork in my bowl, wondering how I’d managed to eat it earlier—it was so greasy.
The atmosphere at the table quickly became lively again, with Zhuang Xu’s job naturally being the center of attention. A-Fen and Si Liang’s boyfriends were Zhuang Xu’s dormmates, and after too many beers, they flanked him, slurring: “Zhuang Xu, you’re the best in our department, brother will follow your lead from now on…”
A-Fen and Si Liang watched with smiling faces. Si Liang said, “Then Rong Rong needs to find a new job.”
Xiao Feng asked through a mouthful of food, “Why find a new one? The current one is good.”
“Because this job is in Nanjing, too far from Shanghai.” Si Liang’s tone was suggestive as she winked.
“Oh, ~~~” Xiao Feng drew out the sound knowingly, then suddenly turned to me: “Watermelon!”
“Ah!” I was seriously poking at the pork in my bowl and jumped at her shout. Weren’t they discussing Rong Rong? Why call me?
“The chicken you brought was delicious.”
I was speechless—
Xiao Feng, you’re the real pig.