Finally, the first class was over.
“Shen Xingruo, Shen Xingruo?” Lu Xingyan stood up and grabbed Shen Xingruo’s hoodie hood.
Shen Xingruo finally turned around.
Lu Xingyan had intended to have a proper explanation with Shen Xingruo, but his mischievous nature got the better of him. With a sudden inspiration, he pulled the hood forward—covering Shen Xingruo’s head.
Though Shen Xingruo’s hoodie was a simple pure black style, it had cat ears designed on the hood. When worn, the cat ears drooped down, and there were three whiskers on each side, looking somewhat cute.
Lu Xingyan couldn’t help but curl his lips upward.
Though he appeared calm on the surface, inside, he was bursting with laughter, thinking, “Haha, my girlfriend is such a cold-faced cutie! Only I can have such a cutie!” Fortunately, Lu Xingyan had learned to stop when things were going well; after teasing for three seconds, he quickly let go.
Shen Xingruo expressionlessly removed the hood and swiftly flicked it toward his face like a flying dagger.
Liu Ling, sitting beside them, couldn’t help but ask quietly, “Xingruo, is this your boyfriend?”
They both wore identical black hoodies, and they even had matching silver rings on their middle fingers, making it obvious they were a couple.
Shen Xingruo remained silent for a moment before nodding.
This was exactly the effect Lu Xingyan wanted; he felt instantly relaxed.
He glanced at Liu Ling and greeted, “Hello, I’m Shen Xingruo’s boyfriend. Are you her roommate?”
“If Xingruo has a bad temper, I hope you can bear with her and take care of her more often. Thanks,” he added politely.
Lu Xingyan didn’t seem like the kind of guy who was easy to approach, so Liu Ling was a bit surprised by his courteous manner of speaking.
She quickly waved her hands in response, “No, no, we’re not roommates, but Xingruo is quite nice. During military training, she always ran with me. It’s not troublesome at all.”
Shen Xingruo’s three roommates were sitting in the front row. In just one or two minutes after class, everyone knew her boyfriend had arrived, and they came over to join the crowd.
During their time in high school, Lu Xingyan often appeared aloof and indifferent, and combined with the rumors circulating in the school, many girls were a bit afraid of him. But whenever he wanted to make friends, he always managed to show his best side.
Just a few exchanges, and he left a good impression on Shen Xingruo’s roommates.
He even politely mentioned that he was in a hurry this time and didn’t have enough time but promised to treat them to a meal next time.
It was quite surprising; he acted like a fool in front of Shen Xingruo, but in front of her roommates, he knew exactly how to strike the right balance.
Politeness in excess but closeness in deficit. When he spoke with them, he always maintained a respectable distance, occasionally making affectionate gestures toward Shen Xingruo. Shen Xingruo found herself inexplicably satisfied with this, and all thoughts of reprimanding him vanished without her realizing.
Lu Xingyan’s main purpose for coming over this time, besides building their love nest, was to assert his dominance. However, since he had been staying off-campus these past two days and hadn’t even seen any of Shen Xingruo’s classmates, he had sneaked out early in the morning to tail her to the classroom. Now that his objective was achieved, Lu Xingyan had no intention of staying longer.
Shen Xingruo saw him off downstairs. The autumn sunlight wasn’t as intense as it was in midsummer. She helped him zip up his backpack from behind and reminded him, “Don’t lose your ID card, and if the airplane food isn’t good, eat something else after landing. Send me a message when you reach the school, and pay attention in class. Oh, and as I mentioned before, I joined the school orchestra. We have practice tonight, so I might not be able to pick up your video call. If I don’t answer, don’t call again. Wait until I get back to the dorm later, then I’ll call you.”
Lu Xingyan lazily saluted, “Roger that.”
Once his backpack was secured, he turned back, cupped Shen Xingruo’s face, their noses touching, leaned in, and planted a kiss on her lips.
“Okay, I’m off. Remember to miss me.”
His voice was lazy and playful, with a hint of coquettishness.
Shen Xingruo’s ears turned slightly red as she urged him seriously, “Go on, I need to get back to class.”
Lu Xingyan stepped back, blew her a kiss, and walked away, turning around three times before leaving.
Lu Xingyan’s visit turned out to be quite fruitful. Not only did he earn praise from Shen Xingruo’s roommates, but his discussions with Shen Xingruo also became the talk of the day among their classmates. In essence, anyone interested in pursuing Shen Xingruo now knew she was already taken.
Shen Xingruo’s various qualities made her stand out in this prestigious school. It wasn’t just her appearance; her unique aura ensured she was never overlooked in a crowd. Apart from students from other departments, even within their class, many boys harbored feelings for her. Some of the boys in the class felt disgruntled upon seeing Lu Xingyan, thinking he looked like a playboy and wasn’t suitable for Shen Xingruo at all. They were secretly disappointed to find out that Shen Xingruo could also be swayed by appearances.
However, girls’ perspectives on people are somewhat different from boys’. They thought Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan were truly a perfect match! They were like a match made in heaven, both in terms of talent and appearance!
In the evening, almost every girls’ dormitory was buzzing with talk about “Shen Xingruo’s boyfriend is so handsome!” and “They are such a perfect couple!”
Some girls who were also in long-distance relationships envied Shen Xingruo’s boyfriend, saying, “Her boyfriend treats her so well. It’s only been the start of the semester, and he eagerly came to see her. I feel like my boyfriend and I will break up sooner or later. A few days ago, when I asked him when he would come to see me, he said the train station was too far from his school, and flight tickets were too expensive lately. I was so frustrated.”
Shen Xingruo wasn’t quite aware of these private discussions. After Lu Xingyan left, she felt empty for most of the day. She remembered feeling gloomy for quite a while at the start of each school year during elementary and middle school. She didn’t expect to have a similar feeling during their first separation in a long-distance relationship.
As the last breath of summer’s breeze quietly dissipated, the weather gradually turned cooler, and the taste of autumn became stronger. As she gradually adapted to university life, the sense of loss from their separation also faded away slowly.
As long as there were no extra activities at school, Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan would meet every weekend. In the course of their relationship, they unconsciously developed some habits. They would save up good movies to watch together when they met, and they would always take each other to eat at their favorite restaurants. Their WeChat chat history was filled with Shen Xingruo sharing various books and Lu Xingyan sharing all sorts of silly videos.
Perhaps, love meant wanting to share everything you love with the other person and firmly believing that they would love it too.
Their weekend meetings weren’t always Lu Xingyan flying to the capital city; often, Shen Xingruo would return to Star City. However, her trips back home were always packed with errands. She would always bring gifts to visit Pei Yuelu and Lu Shan, occasionally meeting with Fang Jingran, who was now attending Mingli School.
Coincidentally, this year, Wang Youfu resumed teaching the first-year class, which happened to be Fang Jingran’s class. Fang Jingran said that Mr. Wang would occasionally start his lectures with, “You guys are the worst class I’ve ever taught,” as a way to discipline them. The key was that Wang Youfu said this with such confidence, citing as evidence the fact that “the previous class produced a provincial arts top scorer” and “even the least studious student in the class got into Star University.”
Furthermore, after Lu Xingyan entered university and turned over a new leaf, he surprisingly maintained a fake teacher-student relationship with Wang Youfu. Since Star University and Mingli School were not far apart, Wang Youfu got hold of Lu Xingyan’s timetable and then, through him, obtained the timetables of some other classmates studying at Star University. He would occasionally call them to the school to invigilate exams and alter test papers. The freshmen often saw Wang Youfu’s so-called evidence walking around Mingli School.
As autumn passed and winter quietly approached, the first semester of freshman year also unknowingly came to an end. Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan were in the same major, so they could review synchronously when the final exams approached. However, this synchronous review made Lu Xingyan feel the long-lost fear of being dominated by Shen Laoshi.
“Don’t even think about going out to play during the winter vacation. Find an English cram school and review with high school students. I doubt you’ll pass the CET-4 next year,” Shen Xingruo said after checking Lu Xingyan’s English. She then checked his modern and contemporary literature. “You haven’t read ‘Sinking’ or ‘A Night of Drunken Spring Winds.’ You haven’t even looked at Yu Dafu’s works. Then what Chinese literature are you studying?”
Lu Xingyan attempted to argue, “Yu Dafu’s works are too explicit. I’m a righteous baby.”
Shen Xingruo raised an eyebrow. “Does your scientific development outlook and agricultural thoughts also involve explicit content?”
Lu Xingyan was at a loss for words.
“With your current attitude, do you still expect to transfer to a better university? Are you planning to have Uncle Lu donate a building to Star University to secure a spot for you? I suggest you just remain a virgin for life.”
With that, Shen Xingruo coldly hung up the video call.
Coincidentally, Lu Xingyan’s roommate had just come out of the shower. Lu Xingyan’s favorite pastime in the dormitory was displaying affection. Although his dorm mates had never seen Shen Xingruo in person, they had seen her photos and often intruded during their video calls.
Everyone envied Lu Xingyan for having a girlfriend of Shen Xingruo’s caliber, and there was no dissent about it. However, the crucial point was that Lu Xingyan often exuded a sense of superiority borne out of his experiences.
When Lu Xingyan’s roommate heard Shen Xingruo’s scolding through the video call, he was initially surprised, but then he approached eagerly and asked, “Brother Yan, are you still a virgin?”
Lu Xingyan remained silent.
“So, when you frequently run to the capital city to see your girlfriend, are you just ‘seeing’ her in the literal sense?” his roommate teased.
Lu Xingyan stayed silent.
“Pfft—” His roommate couldn’t hold it in and burst into laughter. “Hahaha, I’m sorry, Yan ge, I couldn’t help it. Hahaha, I’m laughing so hard I can’t breathe!”
“Why aren’t you laughing to death? You don’t understand a thing. That’s called couple’s humor,” Lu Xingyan retorted, trying to play it cool.
“Hahaha, don’t bully me just because I’ve never been in a relationship. Hahaha, are you and your girlfriend calling each other ‘virgin’?” his roommate joked.
“Virgin, I miss you,” Lu Xingyan played along.
“Virgin, I miss you too,” his roommate replied.
“Like this?” Lu Xingyan asked.
“Hahaha, this is priceless. I can’t take it… I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts!” his roommate exclaimed.
Lu Xingyan remained silent.
It was tough having roommates who had all managed to get into top universities; they weren’t easily fooled.