Because of what happened before bed, Yun Li’s slight drowsiness quickly vanished. She managed to reply, “I accidentally pressed it, sorry,” but received no response.
She stared at the screen for a long time.
Troubled by this, Yun Li couldn’t sleep soundly. She spent the night drifting in and out of sleep, waiting anxiously.
When she woke up the next afternoon, her first instinct was to check her phone. Contrary to her fears, there was a reply. Fu Shize had responded at 7 AM:
[Mm]
It seemed like a casual response upon waking, without even punctuation. Yun Li couldn’t tell if he believed her explanation.
Her mood didn’t improve. She got up and went to the living room. Deng Chuqi was lying on the sofa playing a game. Glancing at Yun Li, she checked the time and asked, “Were you out thieving last night? When did you go to sleep?”
“I’m not sure, maybe around 3 or 4,” Yun Li replied, sitting down next to her. “Has Xiaxia gone out?”
“She left early this morning.” Knowing Yun Li’s unstable sleep schedule, Deng Chuqi hadn’t woken her. “Why are you sitting down? Go wash up and eat.”
Yun Li didn’t move, looking half-dead.
Finishing her game, Deng Chuqi put down her phone and asked curiously, “What’s wrong with you?”
Yun Li let out a long sigh.
“Unfamiliar bed?” Deng Chuqi guessed.
Yun Li shook her head.
“Bad dream?”
Another head shake.
“Didn’t sleep well?”
Halfway through shaking her head, Yun Li paused and nodded instead.
“So what happened?” Deng Chuqi felt her forehead. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“No,” Yun Li said, unable to hold it in any longer. “I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“Last night before bed, I accidentally sent an emoji to Xiaxia’s uncle.”
“Huh? What did you send?”
Yun Li handed her the phone.
Seeing her serious expression, Deng Chuqi took it solemnly and looked. When she saw the content, her expression froze.
After a few seconds, she burst out laughing.
The tense atmosphere shattered.
Yun Li frowned. “Don’t laugh!”
Deng Chuqi tried to hold back but ended up laughing even harder. “Okay, okay, give me a moment.”
“Don’t you think this is serious?” Yun Li was very depressed. “Won’t he think I’m weird?”
“Or maybe he’ll think I’m perverted?”
“Or worse, that I’m vulgar!”
“It’s not that serious,” Deng Chuqi said. “You already explained to him.”
“But, but,” Yun Li stammered, “isn’t this disrespecting an elder?”
Amused by the term, Deng Chuqi teased, “Well, elders are usually more understanding and forgiving towards the younger generation. Besides, he’s already indicated he understands.”
Yun Li looked at her pleadingly.
“It’s nothing, don’t be so depressed,” Deng Chuqi said, remembering something. “By the way, when did you ask for his WeChat? I didn’t want to ask yesterday in front of everyone.”
Yun Li fell silent.
“Why are you quiet now?”
Feeling guilty about being caught, Yun Li’s mind raced. “Well, that…”
Deng Chuqi drawled, “That…?”
“Well,” Yun Li stared at her, shoulders slumping as she decided to come clean, “Okay, I’ll tell you. But don’t tell Xiaxia.”
“What is it?”
“The WeChat I asked for,” Yun Li confessed softly, “was her uncle’s.”
Deng Chuqi was stunned.
After Yun Li briefly explained what happened, Deng Chuqi was shocked but felt it made sense. “No wonder I thought you were acting strange that day. So there was this connection between you two.”
“It’s hardly a connection,” Yun Li said dejectedly. “We just exchanged a few words.”
“Why are you so discouraged? You got his WeChat in the end,” Deng Chuqi patted her head. “And he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity?”
Yun Li had lost her courage. “Forget it, he already rejected me.”
“Rejecting a WeChat request is nothing. Think about it – if he gave his WeChat to everyone who asked, wouldn’t that make him seem too easy? He might just be the slow-to-warm-up type,” Deng Chuqi said. “Let me tell you, in my experience, guys like Xiaxia’s uncle may seem cold and unapproachable at first, but once you win them over, they’ll be devoted to you for life.”
Yun Li sighed, wanting to say “I don’t dare pursue him,” but couldn’t bring herself to.
Deng Chuqi examined the chat log with only four messages again. Raising an eyebrow, she suddenly covered the middle two messages and said with a smile, “Doesn’t it look much better this way?”
Following her lead, Yun Li looked.
With the middle messages covered, the meaning changed completely:
Yun Li: [Be my wife]
Fu Shize: [Mm]
Staring at her face, Deng Chuqi teased, “Lili, you’re blushing.”
Yun Li snatched back her phone, embarrassed and angry. “I’m not blushing! I’m going to wash up.”
Based on what Deng Chuqi knew about Yun Li, asking for someone’s WeChat was difficult enough, let alone asking a stranger for directions. In all the time they’d known each other, this was the first time she’d heard Yun Li express interest in a man.
To help her friend’s love life, Deng Chuqi occasionally encouraged Yun Li to message Fu Shize over the next few days.
Yun Li ignored her suggestions, letting them go in one ear and out the other.
She was as stubborn as a rock.
Since she had to report to school the next day, Yun Li ate a little and went home.
At home, Yun Li daydreamed for a while before starting to pack. Yang Fang had sent her quite a few clothes recently. She slowly stuffed them into her suitcase, folding them neatly only to spread them out again to look at them.
Without realizing it, she began choosing what to wear the next day.
After wasting a lot of time on this, Yun Li snapped out of it and stopped procrastinating.
She couldn’t help feeling a certain way.
It was similar to the anxiety she used to feel before attending gatherings, but this time, there was something else. A faint, almost imperceptible emotion at the bottom.
It was like the anticipation of finally getting a long-awaited mystery box.
A feeling of both dreading and wanting to know the outcome.
…
Yun Li didn’t sleep well that night either. She got up early the next day to prepare.
With her luggage packed, Yun Li spent most of her time on makeup. Once everything was ready, she took a pastry roll from the fridge for breakfast and packed the rest in a bag.
At the same time, Yun Li received a message from Fu Zhengchu saying they were at the community entrance, but the security guard wouldn’t let unregistered cars in. He asked which building she lived in so he could help her move her things.
They arrived earlier than the agreed time.
All of Yun Li’s luggage consisted of one suitcase and two large bags containing a comforter, pillows, and a mattress topper, all quite bulky. She had planned to make two trips to bring everything out, but now there wasn’t time.
Not wanting to delay them, Yun Li didn’t refuse and replied: [Building 11.]
Fu Zhengchu: [OK.]
Yun Li turned off the lights and appliances, locked up, and struggled to bring her luggage into the elevator.
Fu Zhengchu was already downstairs. He took her luggage and greeted her.
Just like when they first met, the young man was talkative and enthusiastic. He chatted non-stop during the short walk, commenting on everything from how big the community was to how nice the landscaping looked.
Leaving the community, Yun Li found herself back in the car after a long time.
Fu Zhengchu said cheerfully, “Uncle, we’re here!”
Sitting in the back right seat, Yun Li felt she should also greet him.
But she struggled with how to address him.
Using his name didn’t seem appropriate, but simply saying “hello” felt too impersonal. Remembering what Xia Congsheng had said that day, Yun Li steeled herself and followed Fu Zhengchu’s lead: “Hello, Uncle…”
As soon as she said it, Yun Li immediately felt it was wrong.
The other two didn’t seem to find it strange.
Fu Shize turned his head and nodded politely. “Hello.”
“…”
Yun Li lowered her eyes, feeling inexplicably flushed.
She took out some water from her bag and drank a sip, pretending to be calm.
The drive to Nanjing University of Science and Technology took only a few minutes.
At the school gate, Fu Shize found a place to park. The three got out of the car.
Fu Zhengchu unloaded the luggage from the trunk one by one. His luggage wasn’t much, just one suitcase. The rest was all Yun Li’s things.
Fu Shize took the bag from Fu Zhengchu’s hand and placed it on top of one of the suitcases. “Anything else?”
Fu Zhengchu took out another bag. “That’s all.”
Yun Li felt bad about letting them do all the work. She said softly, “Thank you. Let me take one.”
“It’s fine,” Fu Zhengchu said nonchalantly. “It’s not heavy on top of the suitcase.”
In the end, Yun Li was left empty-handed, carrying only a thermal bag with some pastries.
Walking beside these two, she suddenly felt like she was back on her first day of college. Back then, with Yun Yongchang and Yun Ye there, she didn’t have to carry any heavy items either.
The current situation seemed like a replay of that time.
Yun Li glanced to the side.
Hmm…
It was still one elder and one younger brother.
This wasn’t Yun Li’s first time entering Nanjing University of Science and Technology. She had been here twice before for her second-round interview, and living in Qilixiang recently, she occasionally passed by. So the university wasn’t completely unfamiliar to her.
The registration point was set up at the east gate.
After entering, there were many tents on both sides of the campus, each labeled with different departments. Fu Zhengchu suddenly remembered to ask, “Senior, which department are you in?”
Yun Li: “Automation.”
Fu Zhengchu looked around and then said, “Automation is over there.”
It was close to lunchtime, so there wasn’t much of a queue.
Yun Li went to complete the procedures. As she was finishing up, the person at the registration point mentioned that the volunteers had gone to help people move their luggage, so she should wait there for a while.
Hearing this, Fu Zhengchu, a seasoned third-year student, immediately said, “No need for that. I know the way. Senior, I’ll take you there.”
The Nanjing University of Science and Technology campus was large, and it would take about 20 minutes to walk from this gate to the dormitory area. With their luggage, they decided to wait and take the campus shuttle to the dorm area.
Each shuttle could only carry about a dozen people and looked like a sightseeing car. Fu Zhengchu seemed to know the driver and sat near the driver’s seat to chat with him after boarding.
Yun Li and Fu Shize sat side by side in the back row.
She wanted to chat with him but couldn’t think of anything to say. Words came to her lips but felt inappropriate, and after several attempts, she dejectedly decided to give up.
After a while, Yun Li saw Fu Shize take out his phone and open WeChat, scrolling down. Most of his contacts were saved with full names, including Xu Qingsong, who was considered one of his nephews.
Yun Li didn’t dare to peek anymore and turned her head, pretending to look at the campus scenery along the way.
Many students were in groups, and the surroundings were lively and noisy. At this moment, she heard Fu Shize speak, his tone lazy like a cat basking in the sun: “What’s your name?”
Yun Li looked over at the sound, meeting Fu Shize’s gaze.
Unsure if he was talking to her, she hesitantly asked, “What?”
Fu Shize repeated, “Your name.”
Not knowing why he suddenly asked this, Yun Li felt a bit nervous: “Oh, I’m called Yun Li…” She accidentally bit her tongue, “…Li.”
Then she added, “Li as in centimeter.”
Fu Shize nodded, saying nothing more.
Completely confused about the situation, Yun Li’s brain was still in a state of shock. The next moment, she saw Fu Shize open her WeChat chat window, and that awkward conversation appeared before her again.
Yun Li felt a headache coming on. She then saw Fu Shize’s fingertip move slightly, opening the window to edit the contact name.
Yun Li understood.
He wanted to change her contact name.
Their seats were very close, and she could see Fu Shize’s slightly raised eyelashes, distinct and clear, and his pure white skin without any wrinkles.
Aside from the gloominess in his eyes, Fu Shize was entirely a handsome and otherworldly beautiful young man.
He looked completely indifferent, seemingly not caring at all about the message she had sent.
Yun Li felt relieved and a little disappointed at the same time. She then averted her gaze, trying not to think about anything, and looked out at the scenery outside the car.