Tercer matrimonio

Capítulo 119

Although Zhang Chunhua was unaware of Shanglin's total assets, she knew that Shanglin was wealthy and always thought that no matter how capable she was, she, as a young woman, couldn't hold onto this family fortune. Qiu Jianguo and his wife both had their own businesses, so they constantly urged her husband to seize power.

Therefore, she was the only one in the family who disliked Li Changsheng's identity, and she even wanted to introduce another distant nephew to Qiu Shanglin!

What does it mean to keep the good stuff within the family? Even the old folks were bewitched by Li Changsheng and treated him like a treasure!

Changsheng knew what kind of person she was, so he ignored her. He focused solely on cultivating his relationship with Shanglin. Everything was going well; a few days before school started, they went to Beijing together and had a great time. Yesterday, after settling Xialin into her school, they had a disagreement about the registration process.

Changsheng wanted to report together; he was quite shrewd. He knew the university was full of lecherous men, so he wanted to establish his identity first to prevent anyone from making the wrong move on Qiu Shanglin.

Shanglin didn't want to go together. It wasn't that she was being picky, pretending to be single when she clearly had a boyfriend. It was just that school had only just started, and she didn't want her classmates to think she was dating in high school.

The two had a falling out, and Shanglin got angry. This morning, she didn't say a word, abandoned Changsheng, and had Hua Ge bring her over.

After trying to hide for a long time but still failing, she was angry, and this anger showed on her face as she ignored Li Changsheng.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Li Changsheng proceeded cautiously, and the two walked towards the girls' dormitory.

The dormitory at Shanglin is on the fourth floor. Because it is an old campus, not only are the buildings old, but the facilities are also incomplete. There is no water dispenser in the dormitory, and each floor shares a large bathroom.

They arrived at the dormitory and put down their luggage. There were already a few people chatting in the dormitory. When they saw them come in, they all greeted them and helped them put their things away. Although the roommates were friendly, the looks they gave Changsheng and Shanglin were somewhat meaningful. Shanglin was annoyed, so he chased Changsheng away, made plans to have dinner together, and then made the bed.

A few roommates sat chatting: "Hey, did you hear? Fan Chen is also at our school this year!"

"More than that! He's from our department—I wonder if he's even in our class." The speaker was Fu Lele, who was overjoyed.

"Hehe, I wish he were really from our class! I like him so much!" Another girl exclaimed excitedly, her face flushed.

After Shang Lin finished tidying up, he sat down and listened to their conversation. Upon hearing this, he asked in surprise, "Who is Fan Chen?"

Several girls stared at her simultaneously, exclaiming incredulously, "You don't know Fan Chen?"

Shang Lin felt guilty. Could it be some kind of celebrity? He shook his head guiltily: "I don't know."

Fu Lele clutched her heart and pretended to faint: "Oh my god, oh my god, there are actually people in this world who don't know Fan Chen—Qiu Shanglin, may I ask what you were doing in high school?"

Shanglin replied guiltily, "Studying..." doing business, disciplining his younger brother...

Don't you watch TV?

"Look, I watch the news and weather forecast, even though it's often full of nonsense..." I watch financial and political news even more...

Fu Lele shook her head incredulously: "My God, my God, your life is like a dried-up pond! Fan Chen, it's Fan Chen—if you don't know Fan Chen in this life, you've lived in vain!"

With the help of her roommates' enthusiastic explanations, Shang Lin gained a basic understanding of Fan Chen.

Fan Chen, male, 23 years old, background unknown, but his parents are said to be overseas Chinese who returned to China to invest and are quite wealthy. He starred in his first television drama at the age of thirteen, thus embarking on his acting career. With his melancholic and handsome face, he swept across Southeast Asia. His career reached its peak at eighteen, winning the Golden Swan Award for Best Newcomer for his role as a beloved and outstanding student in a youth idol drama. His deep, melancholic gaze evoked sympathy, earning him the nickname "Little Tony Leung." Currently, he is a top-tier actor in China, very famous, and adored by countless young women.

What's even more commendable is that, despite his success in the entertainment industry, he wasn't content with his achievements. Instead, he was proactive and studied diligently. Although his studies were disrupted by his entertainment career and he couldn't continue his education in time, he remained hardworking and persevered. Finally, at the age of 23, he was admitted to the Mass Communication program at F University. He truly has real talent and learning!

Vinegar Sea

Normally, university freshmen are required to undergo 15 days of military training, ostensibly to toughen their bodies and strengthen their team spirit. In reality, it's a way to intimidate them and show them that university is different from high school, so they should behave themselves and not cause trouble.

Before school started, Shanglin was quite worried. It was so hot, fifteen days! Wouldn't she be as dark as charcoal after those fifteen days? Seeing her worry, Changsheng gave her a bad idea: to go to the hospital and get a medical record proving that she was sick and couldn't do strenuous exercise, because he was afraid the school wouldn't let her go.

Shanglin glared at him: You're the one who's sick!

Why should I curse myself when I'm perfectly fine?

Fortunately, a minor issue arose at the school, and the school leaders and the supervisor in charge of military training were busy dealing with it. Seeing that they couldn't handle everything, they decided to just give the training for three days as a formality and then call it a day.

As if on cue, the weather cooperated. Just as the instructor with the Cantonese accent was reprimanding the freshmen for lining up properly, a torrential downpour began, and they were dismissed for free time. Most students opted to sleep in, making up for the disappointment of having to get up at five in the morning.

The next morning, the playground was still wet, so the instructors led everyone in the classroom for a morning of moral education and a historical recollection of the Long March. In the afternoon, the playground finally dried, but it was temporarily requisitioned by a leader to play a football match with foreign guests, and the students were called to act as cheerleaders.

On the third day, they finally got to train properly. The junior instructors had just gotten the hang of it and hadn't had their fill of training when the school announced that the military training was over.

The students in that grade were incredibly lucky, while the older students who missed out on the excitement were furious and cursed the school for being unfair.

Qiu Shanglin weighed the two large bottles of sunscreen she had specially prepared and was a little worried. She hadn't even finished using them, and they would go bad if they expired.

Just then, Xiao Shang from the next dorm came over for a visit, grabbed a bottle to take home and use, and casually put the remaining Shanglin bottle on the windowsill, treating it as a communal item for the dorm.

Xiao Shang snatched the sunscreen, cracked some sunflower seeds, and kept talking nonstop: "Classes officially start tomorrow. You guys are so lucky, Fan Chen is in your class. Hey, let me tell you, when I go to check him out, you'd better save a good spot—the girls are all going crazy, discussing going to check him out after the first class tomorrow!"

Fu Lele scoffed: "What a pathetic sight you are! You can see it in general classes too, why do you have to come all the way to our class to watch?"

Xiao Shang scoffed, "That's easy for you to say when you're not in my shoes! How many general education classes are there? And the classrooms are so big, who knows if Fan Chen will even show up? You guys are so lucky, you're in that small classroom sharing the same air and fate with Fan Chen. Oh, just thinking about it makes me want to faint with happiness..."

Shanglin slept on the lower bunk, near the window, on the inside side. She sat on the edge of the bed reading by the daylight. Xiao Shang chatted and laughed for a while, then felt neglected and casually asked, "Shanglin, what are you reading?"

She smiled and turned the cover over to show her.

The shopkeeper saw four large, gold-plated characters: "Financial Management".

His mouth dropped open: "Seriously? What are you looking at?"

Fu Lele said, "You didn't know, did you? Shanglin chose financial management as an elective and was even planning to audit other people's professional courses!"

She stared in disbelief, "You've already gotten into university, so you can just make do. Are you really planning to work as hard as you did in high school? I was wondering why you're not interested in Fan Chen at all. You've put all your heart and soul into this."

Fu Lele teased, "Her mind isn't on her studies at all; it's probably all on her childhood sweetheart—with a childhood sweetheart who's both good-looking and talented, of course she wouldn't be interested in Fan Chen!"

They often joked about the two of them.

Having too much debt doesn't bother them. Shanglin has become thick-skinned now. Let them say whatever they want, as long as they don't get angry.

Xiao Shang, a die-hard fan of Fan Chen, was displeased upon hearing this: "How can Li Changsheng compare to my Fan Chen? My Fan Chen is so handsome and charming, while your Li Changsheng..." He made a disdainful face.

Shanglin was also unhappy: "What's wrong with Changsheng? Changsheng also has thick eyebrows, big eyes, and an extraordinary temperament. How can he not be as good as Fan Chen?" My child, what gives you the right to say he's not good?

Xiao Shang stuck out her tongue: "The guys all say that your Li Changsheng looks rough around the edges, but he's actually really cunning and shrewd!"

Shang Lin laughed heartily. That's right, regardless of who trained him—but when it comes to cunning, probably no one can compare to Yin Yeyao…

As expected, when classes officially started, the crowd was enormous, all coming to see Fan Chen. Just like the posters Fu Lele had plastered all over the dormitory walls, Fan Chen was handsome with a pair of melancholy eyes, but his speech and behavior were generous and proper, and he also had a good sense of humor. Surrounded by people, he calmly listened to the lecture. After class, the girls excitedly crowded around his desk, asking for autographs and photos, and he obliged them all.

The spectacle lasted for a full week, and it's said that school security guards stopped countless fans of Fan Chen who tried to break into the campus, demonstrating his immense popularity.

During their late-night chat, Shanglin remarked that Fan Chen was lucky to have survived being watched.

As for me, being a student, I've become somewhat immune to Fan Chen because I'm used to it—in the words of the boys, so what if he's a celebrity? He's still just a guy with two eyes and a nose, he'll still lose credits for being late or skipping class, and he'll have to retake exams if he fails.

Fu Lele quietly replaced the posters covering the wall with those of another male celebrity.

As for Fan Chen?

Sorry, he's using it as a cushion under the table!

After a month of school, the students gradually adapted to school life, became more active, joined clubs, organized social events, and ran for student council. They left behind the dull and boring high school life and learned to adapt to their new life.

Li Changsheng thrived; as class monitor, he also joined the school basketball club and student council, constantly shuttling between several clubs. Gu Zhiyuan warned him to spend more time with Qiu Shanglin, lest she suddenly disappear.

He had a bitter pill to swallow.

Qiu Shanglin asked him to accompany him?

Leaving aside elective courses, she was practically never seen outside of class and bedtime. As soon as get out of class ended, a car would pick her up; she was going to work in management at Mocha Cat's Beijing branch, to expand the Bougainvillea company… She wasn't naturally clingy, hated being followed, and craved freedom. Was he, a grown man, supposed to do nothing, make no friends, and just spend all his time as her follower?

That's so hurtful to someone's self-esteem.

Of course, this does not mean that their feelings for each other have faded.

When Shang Lin got off the bus at the school gate in the evening, Li Changsheng was already waiting for her. The two walked together to the girls' dormitory, chatting about their experiences, interesting stories, and insights from the day. Their conversation was so casual that it seemed like they were an old married couple who had been together for a lifetime.

Qiu Xialin exclaimed that they were so boring. Love should be passionate and fiery.

Changsheng scoffed at it.

After all the excitement and passion, things eventually settle into a routine. He didn't see anything wrong with his relationship with Shanglin.

Everyone needs to eat, sleep, and work. You can't just spend all your time dating and not do anything or eat, right?

Neither he nor Shanglin were fond of being idle; after a few days of doing nothing, they both felt uncomfortable. They figured it was better to do as much work as they could while they were still young and mobile.

Qiu Xialin scoffed at this, and after entering university, he became completely decadent. He played, played, and played like a madman until he failed a subject in the midterm exam and was severely warned by his sister, at which point he slightly restrained himself.

New Year's Day arrived in the blink of an eye, and the department organized a New Year's dance party. Shang Lin, who rarely stayed in the dormitory all day, was dragged by her classmates to a clothing store outside the school to buy clothes to wear to the dance party.

Like other dormitories, they also followed a seniority system, from the eldest to the sixth oldest. Because Shanglin was the youngest, she was ranked as the youngest, affectionately called the youngest.

Today, the eldest sister, fourth sister Fu Lele, and fifth sister came out. Beijing winters are quite chilly, and the girls walked and laughed. Fu Lele wanted to buy a wool skirt, but the eldest sister scoffed.

"You'll freeze to death, and you're still wearing a wool skirt! You're just showing off!"

She pouted: "Do you expect me to dance in a down jacket?"

The fifth brother said softly, "You can't wear a down jacket outside, but you can wear less underneath."

Turning her head, Fu Lele saw Shang Lin pursing his lips and remaining silent, and asked, "What good ideas do you have?"