Feng Jiayue admitted that he was extremely surprised when he went downstairs. He had been doing his studies alone in his dormitory, preparing for the final exams, when suddenly the old man in the gatehouse called: "Your girlfriend is looking for you." His tone was undisguisedly smug, as if he knew some terrible secret.
His...girlfriend? Feng Jiayue was incredulous. How could he, the person directly involved, be so unaware of this sudden addition?!
He spotted the figure immediately. She wasn't exactly familiar, but she wasn't stranger either. He didn't know whether to be angry or amused. He walked over and asked, "What are you doing here?" She must still be a high school sophomore, right? Why did she travel across half the city to find him? He scoffed. Was she a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken? She must have been carrying a bellyful of wicked schemes along with her, hadn't she?
Since meeting Xi Ruohui, he has begun to harbor endless doubts about the fundamental proposition of human nature being inherently good.
Xi Ruohui smiled very patiently, as if apologizing for using such a low-class method, and then handed over an envelope: "Here you go." Feng Jiayue took it and examined it; it was a crumpled pile of small bills of various sizes: "What's this?" Ruohui was a little embarrassed: "Last time you treated our classmates to a movie..."
Feng Jiayue snorted, knowing that it was better late than never and there was still hope. He coughed and accepted the list without any hesitation: "Anything else?"
"What?"
"Interest." He'd been using his precious funds for so long for no reason; shouldn't he offer some compensation? He usually didn't comment on Liang Yiqun's penchant for flirting with young girls, but now, he vaguely felt he shared that same wicked sense of humor.
Huh? Ruohui's expression was strange and complicated. After a moment, she stammered, "I only brought two extra yuan." She raised her face warily, wanting to defend her legitimate rights. "I still need to take the bus home later."
"What should we do then?" Faced with Yang Xier, who was cunning and treacherous and subverted the classics, he didn't mind doing evil deeds like Huang Shiren.
Why did she have to come to us like that?!
Ruo Hui looked down, opened the loosely slung backpack on her back, and silently pulled out something: "Will this work?" Feng Jiayue took it and saw that it was a cross-stitched pig pendant.
He glanced at her, and she immediately denied it: "I didn't embroider it..." She seemed to mutter something else, but he didn't listen carefully. He weighed the actually light little thing in his hand: "Hmm, is there anything else?"
He seems to have decided to continue playing the role of Huang Shiren.
Xi Ruohui sniffed and continued rummaging through her bag. Finally, she simply turned the bag inside out, spilling the contents onto the floor in a chaotic mess. She squatted down, and after a long while, she picked out a coupon, closed her eyes as if in pain, and placed it in Feng Jiayue's hand: "Here you go."
Feng Jiayue glanced at it and was slightly taken aback. It was an admission ticket to a small stamp collecting exchange in the city. Limited edition, with a gathering of experts. He loved stamp collecting, but knew that not many people attended. A slight ripple stirred in his heart, so much so that when he came to his senses, he didn't notice the faint regret in her eyes as she looked down.
Feng Jiayue looked at her.
Two years later, he finally saw the faint emotion in her eyes, and her once thick-skinned face began to blush slightly.
Well, at least he knows he needs to improve. He was just forcing things to grow too quickly. How pathetic.
He coughed lightly, stopping his wandering thoughts: "That girl, does she have leukemia?"
Ruohui was stunned for a moment, then asked, "A-Ruan?"
The night sky was filled with stars, and two long shadows of people were cast on the rooftop under the moonlight.
Ruo Hui rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the night sky: "Aruan is pretty, a bit arrogant, and has a bad temper. Aside from a few boys who like to chat her up, most of the girls in the class don't like her," she shrugged. "I think so too. Until later, I found out she never played with us because she couldn't bleed." She lowered her head, her toes unconsciously drawing something on the ground. "Later, our homeroom teacher, Da Niu, said that since we were classmates, whatever Aruan wanted, as long as it wasn't plucking stars or touching the moon, we should try to get it for her." She said softly, "Including herself, everyone knows she won't live past eighteen."
Feng Jiayue remained silent for a moment, then called out, "Xi Ruohui." It was as if he were calling her for the first time. He savored the moment, finding no awkwardness, and couldn't help but call out again, "Xi Ruohui..."
Ruo Hui seemed not to hear, her hand unconsciously drawing circles on the ground: "I don't really like meddling in A-Ruan's affairs. There are so many people in the class, they don't need me. But, A-Ruan is just like my mother, she's just like that, she doesn't fit in with anyone, she's not liked at all. Then, when I was eight, she left a letter and disappeared." Her voice choked for a moment, "Then, when I was sixteen, she came back. She invited my dad and me to dinner, holding a boy's hand, and a man was following behind. That's when I found out..." "So it turns out she divorced my dad long ago behind my back and ran off abroad with her childhood sweetheart to get back together. No wonder she always deliberately picked fights with my dad before." Her voice was calm. "I couldn't stand seeing my dad acting like he didn't care about anything, smiling and talking to them, so I overturned a table full of food and ran away. Later, my dad chased after me and told me that the outcome wasn't important because we can't predict it, and we should learn to enjoy the process." She lowered her eyes. "At that time, I didn't understand. But when I saw Ah Ruan lying there, suddenly I understood everything."
She turned to look at Feng Jiayue: "That pendant was embroidered by Aruan, and that voucher was given to me by Aruan. She just wanted to see you." A month later, Aruan passed away peacefully.
That was the first time Ruohui learned what the impermanence of life meant.
You have to learn to enjoy the process. So she's always trying to find happiness for herself and those around her. She's been slowly growing, gradually correcting her past oversights or mistakes.
She frowned, clearly not a talkative person, and didn't understand why he had to tell her so much without her understanding.
Feng Jiayue listened silently. The shy girl sat beside him the whole time, carefully trying to find things to talk about with him. She knew nothing about stamp collecting, but it was clear that she was studying very hard. If she hadn't been so nervous that the book in her hands accidentally slipped to the ground, he might not have realized the key to this.
Even now, he can't help but feel fortunate that, despite his anger at the time, he maintained his usual composure. Respect for the deceased allows him some peace of mind.
But those who are alive… he narrowed his eyes, not necessarily so lucky: “Xi Ruohui.” His tone returned to the ambiguous smile he had when they first met at F University.
It's here! Ruo Hui's scalp tightened: "Hmm?"
Feng Jiayue stroked his chin and smiled faintly: "Why bother with this empty title?"
In the moonlight, the figures appeared blurry.
"Sigh." Ruohui tossed and turned, then buried her head deep in the sheets.
A moment later.
Sixty-seven?
"No, it's seventy-three."
"No, it's eighty-eight!"
"..."
"..."
Ruohui yanked back the sheet: "What's all the noise about?!"
Shen Congrong's eyes widened: "I was just about to ask you, sister, what are you doing sighing and groaning so late at night?" Er Ya chimed in bluntly: "I have an elective exam tomorrow, Xi Ruohui, let me tell you, if you disturb my train of thought, you better watch out after I finish the exam!!"
Ruohui slumped listlessly against her arm, weak and then gritting her teeth, "He really thinks he's Fan Liuyuan!" Congrong, with her sharp ears, asked, "What?" She jumped onto Ruohui's bed and whispered something in her ear, "Hey—" Ruohui's ears turned bright red instantly. That stinky Congrong, she'd been completely corrupted by that unpredictable Zhang Zhao.
The problem lies precisely in that one sentence!
Yes, she lied to him, tricked him, and played pranks on him. Yes, she occasionally stole glances at him, spied on him, and wondered if he was in a bad mood and if he might cause trouble for others. But she just...
Okay! She admits she wasn't in a rush to quit the club, wasn't living aimlessly, and hadn't recently gotten into the mood to play pranks on people again, or perhaps it was because...
But how could he... how could he...
She groaned again and continued burying her head in the sand.