RCJM Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After the military training ended that day, they dispersed on the spot.

Min En Zhu jumped down from the stands like a bird, took Jing Ming’s arm and walked away.

He Huan Huan admired: "She's really beautiful. Even her back looks good."

Xia Nan: "Of course, otherwise, how could she be called the school belle?"

Min En Zhu wore a white chiffon blouse and dark blue pencil pants today. Her legs were naturally thin and straight, and she wore sky-defying high heels, making her not much shorter than Jing Ming.

Du Ruo recalled that she was a head shorter than Jing Ming. The way he naturally looked down at her, coupled with his condescending expression, was really terrible.

"She's quite tall," said Qiu Yu Chen. "Is she about 1.7 metres?"

"Well, taller than me." Xia Nan was 1.7 metres tall. Du Ruo and Qiu Yu Chen were two or three centimetres shorter than her, but even two or three centimetres in height meant a world of difference in temperament.

"Shall we go eat?" Foodie He Huan Huan changed the subject in a second.

"..."

"I'll take a shower first, I'm so dirty."

"Me too. If you don’t go to the bathroom, where do you two go to wash?”

"There’s a shower next to the washroom."

"Isn’t there no hot water there?"

“We’ll go to the water room to pick it up."

"You're really going through a lot of trouble," Qiu Yu Chen said.

"We’re not eating now... Let's go buy some fruits then." He Huan Huan's mind was only thinking about food.

"..."

The four chatted and went to the fruit shop.

The store smelled fruity, and was crowded with many freshman who had just finished their military training.

Du Ruo looked around and was shocked by the prices. A kiwi fruit cost ten yuan a piece, enough for her to eat two meals in the cafeteria. The cherries were almost two hundred yuan per catty [1], equivalent to her living expenses for six days. As for the mangoes, durian, red grapes, and longans, they were not outrageously priced, but they felt a bit extravagant to her.

After pondering for a while, she finally chose four bananas and two oranges, exactly ten yuan.

Qiu Yu Chen bought a catty of cherries and washed them for everyone to eat at night.

Du Ruo only ate one and didn't take more. She knew that the bananas she shared with her roommates were worthless.

"Take some more."

"It's enough, I still have the longan that He Huan Huan gave me."

"Take two more," Qiu Yu Chen urged.

Du Ruo couldn’t resist, so she took one more.

Cherries are round, cute and delicious, no wonder they were so expensive.

She thought about finding a part-time job. But she couldn't be too hasty to earn money; at least wait two or three months after starting school to see if there was enough time. After all, studies came first, especially in such a prestigious university that never lacks outstanding students.

A few days ago, Du Ruo was sitting at her desk reading a book when Qiu Yu Chen came in humming an English song. Du Ruo was surprised to find that her spoken English was as standard and fluent as the original version. 

In contrast, Du Ruo's English that she had learned back home was difficult to express, and hard to understand.

She was deeply stimulated, bought English reading materials and audio, and went to the sports field to read English every morning. On the first day she went, she found that there were many students studying in the morning, even earlier than her.

This was university; people who were better than you worked harder than you.

...

After the military training, university life officially kicked off, and everyone began to run around various buildings and laboratories with books.

Du Ruo and her three roommates were all in different classes with different schedules, it was all over the place. The chances of going to and from the dormitory and canteens together were greatly reduced.

The workload in the first year was heavy, especially for the major courses with intensive theoretical classes. Everyone focused on their studies, only gathering at night to go to the library together.

Du Ruo had been a studious child since she was young. Regardless of whether it was major courses or general courses, compulsory courses or elective courses, small class teaching or large lectures, as long as she focused on listening in class, she could quickly catch up with the content. After class, she would review and consolidate the material and look over the difficult points, so she never found it too strenuous.

But even so, she often felt like she was falling behind.

Many boys in the class were extremely knowledgeable. Their inadvertent knowledge when chatting with the teacher, or answering questions in class or operating machinery made Du Ruo feel ashamed. Every now and then, like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers [2], she was showered with a bunch of unfamiliar knowledge points, leaving her to look them up in the sea of books after class.

This invisible pressure compelled her to spend even more time buried in the library, reading from Schopenhauer to Wittgenstein, from Planck to De Broglie.

But there was another invisible gap that was difficult to fill—their strange divergent way of thinking and their imagination that broke through the sky.

She was only left to watch and marvel. While benefiting from them discussing new ideas, she also fell into the melancholy of "how come they can grasp it, but I can't."

Du Ruo still remembered that when she was admitted, her high school home room teacher told her: After you go to university, you will meet many people who are better than you. Don’t panic, don’t be angry, and don’t be depressed. Study hard, live well, and walk your own path step by step.

She remembered this, and was not in a hurry.

She genuinely admired and appreciated the boys in her class. They were always full of curiosity and enthusiasm for the unknown, and they really loved what they learned. Even the boys who normally seemed ordinary and introverted would become eloquent when talking about their areas of interest, their eyes shining.

They were very friendly to Du Ruo, and even took care of her. Whether about studying or daily life, they would readily answer any questions she had, and helped with any tasks she was busy with. Once, Du Ruo encountered a problem she didn’t understand and was asking Wan Ziang for advice. When several boys around heard it, they all leaned over and explained to her one by one each point thoroughly, providing additional knowledge.

It was like having twenty-one brothers sitting in the classroom and laboratory.

The first row of the small classroom became her exclusive seat, and no one competed with her. During lab classes, the position closest to the lecturer was also left for her.

Even during large lectures in the department, they would help reserve a seat for her.

In public English class that day, He Huan Huan followed her to a good seat and couldn't help sighing: "The treatment of class flowers is really different."

Du Ruo gave her a sideways glance speechlessly.

Public English was taught in large classes, and the lecture hall was full of people.

Before the class bell rang,

Du Ruo opened her book and recited the words silently when a lazy inquiry came from behind her:

"No one’s sitting here right?"

In an instant, all the hairs on her body stood on end.

Why is it him again?

Why come here instead of sitting in the last row?!

She knew he was asking Wan Ziang who was diagonally behind her. They were in neighbouring dorms and had naturally become acquainted since the start of the semester.

Wan Ziang said: "No one."

Jing Ming tossed his book on the table, sat down slumped and said: "F*ck, I'm late. The last few rows are all taken."

Du Ruo: "..."

Wan Ziang: "If you don’t want to take this class, next time I can roll call for you."

Jing Ming sighed: "This teacher and my mother are classmates, she knows me."

Du Ruo: "..."

Already thinking about skipping classes just after school’s started, truly wasting his father’s painstaking efforts.

She didn't realise that her slander against him was becoming more and more harsh, like Ah Q’s resistance [3], against his arrogance and rudeness towards her.

While she was silently scorning him, there was a "clang" sound under her chair. His foot had kicked her butt through the thin board.

Du Ruo was startled: ?????

"Oh. Sorry." Jing Ming leaned forward slightly, his low voice spoke close to her ear.

Her ears tingled.

In the lecture hall, the chairs in the front row were short, and his legs were too long. While stretching, he accidentally kicked her chair, so he quickly retracted his legs and adjusted his sitting posture.

"The last row still has more space." Jing Ming muttered to himself.

Du Ruo looked down at her book and didn't dare to turn around.

Seeing that she didn't look back, Jing Ming paid more attention. His voice wasn't so low that people couldn't hear it, but the person in front didn't respond at all. She must have quite a temper?

He squinted his eyes and looked at the back of her head for a while, and felt a sense of familiarity, then tilted his body slightly to the side to look at her, slowly recalling, and realised that it was Du Ruo.

At this moment, her ears were flushed red.

The corner of his lips hooked into a smirk, and he stopped caring.

The bell rang, and class began. The classroom fell silent.

Du Ruo was no longer affected by Jing Ming. His legs didn't move anymore, and the people behind her were still, as if they didn't exist.

She listened attentively, took notes, and silently recited words and sentences from time to time.

Halfway through the class, the teacher asked someone to read the text.

Du Ruo lowered her head silently, avoiding eye contact with the teacher.

Presumably, at that moment, everyone avoided looking directly at the teacher. The packed classroom was enveloped in a silence that seemed to have deepened several degrees.

But Du Ruo couldn't endure the silence. Out of curiosity, she raised her eyes and glanced at the teacher.

And, got caught.

Teacher: "You, read the first few paragraphs of the text."

She struggled helplessly and weakly pointed behind her. It's him, right???

Teacher: "Not him. It's you."

Du Ruo: "..."

Her heart trembled as tears filled her eyes. Soon, it turned into a kind of impassioned bravery. Although she had been studying for less than a month, her basic pronunciation had improved, so there was no need to be ashamed.

Take it as an early review!

She flattened the textbook with her hand and began to read:

"Aletterortelephonecallcomesfromsomeoneyouhavenotmet,andyoufindyourselfimagingwhatthepersonlookslike,puttingafacetothehiddenvoice.Areyouanygoodatthis?Sometimesitiseasytogetitwrong—"

She read extremely slowly, properly enunciating each word, and her pronunciation was not flawed, but the sentences lacked fluency.

After reading a few paragraphs, the teacher said: "Okay."

She stopped.

"There is no problem with pronunciation, but you were too nervous. Don’t be so nervous next time.”

Du Ruo nodded, very satisfied with her performance. Her hard work over the past month has finally paid off. As long as one works hard, there will be progress. 

While she felt excited and encouraged, the teacher said: “Next, continue.”

The moment Jing Ming spoke, Du Ruo was dumbfounded.

A foreigner sat behind her.

"John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station——"

His speech was slightly faster, his pronunciation smooth and clear, and was even very casual and relaxed, with natural fluctuations as if it were his mother tongue.

But this was English.

Even Du Ruo had to admit that the voice behind her was very charming and pleasant to listen to.

He Huan Huan even looked back at him in surprise for a while.

He read a long paragraph, and the teacher didn’t stop him.

He frowned, too lazy to read, stopped, and glanced at the teacher.

The teacher smiled: "Your spoken English is excellent. Next."

Du Ruo was dumbstruck, her mind buzzing.

She was faintly flustered, as if the defensive line in her heart that scoffed at him was about to collapse.

What was even more disconcerting was another obscure and cruel fact: Some people tried desperately to catch up but end up exhausting themselves to barely reach the starting line, only to see others pulling ahead, leaving them behind.

It won’t be like that, she told herself, it won’t.

Fortunately, the next class, Jing Ming returned to the last row, and the distance between the two seemed like a hundred thousand miles. Besides, with so many students in this large class, it won’t be until next semester before it was her turn to read again.

She was safe.

…

Until the end of the month, the department's student union would recruit new students.

All four girls in the dormitory went, and met Li Qing He who spoke at the freshmen assembly last time. He was the president of the student union.

The recruitment process was very simple. One by one, they introduce themselves and share their special talents.

Qiu Yu Chen and He Huan Huan's performance were eye-catching.

Xia Nan wasn’t bothered and didn't go on stage, she just came to join in the fun.

As for Du Ruo, she didn't have much hope, and just took it as an opportunity to get to know more people from the same department.

The recruiting process was lacklustre. Xia Nan, with a cold and indifferent demeanour, whispered a few words from time to time providing background: who was the top scorer in which province, and who was the champion of the national physics competition.

When Du Ruo listened, she felt like a gopher who was hit on the head one after another. 

Walking back to the dormitory after the meeting, the branches and leaves on the trees were lush, but they couldn't block the brilliant lights of the teaching building and the library. Behind each crystal-clear window were students studying hard at their desks.

Du Ruo sighed: "Our school really has hidden dragons and crouching tigers." [4]

"Right?" He Huan Huan gnawed on the ice cream she’d just bought from the store, "Our class masters are one after another, scaring me so much that I have to eat snacks every day."

"When don't you eat snacks?" Qiu Yu Chen complained, "I’ll go, when did you get that ice cream, I didn't even notice?"

"Just now. Want a bite?"

Qiu Yu Chen took a bite.

"Xiao Ruo?"

Du Ruo shook her head.

"Xia Nan?"

Xia Nan shook her head and suddenly said: "Oh, by the way, Jing Ming was also specially admitted."

Du Ruo asked: "For sports?"

Xia Nan gave her a strange look and said: "He's very powerful."

"He won first place at the World Youth Robot Competition. Three times."

_______________________

[1] ‘a catty’ is 600g

[2] ‘like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers’ - casually using special terms and concepts in their conversations

[3] ‘Ah Q’ - he persuades himself mentally that he is “superior” to his oppressors even as he succumbs to their tyranny and suppression (if you’re interested in his story, you could probably search him up)

[4] ‘Our school really has hidden dragons and crouching tigers’ - there are many hidden talents and outstanding students within the school

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

RCJM Chapter 5

 Chapter 5

"What are you doing here?"

When Du Ruo heard it was Jing Ming, alarm bells rang in her head. Thinking he was talking to her, she turned her head reflexively.

The light from inside the dormitory shone out, like backlighting.

Jing Ming stood in front of the beautiful girl with his hands in his pockets, his expression was very indifferent, his brows were slightly raised, but it would make people’s hearts tremble.

Du Ruo had experienced it before. He was the best at making subtle expressions. He could reject people from thousands of miles away without saying a word. The mocking of his eyes and brows were a lethal weapon, more harmful than punching and kicking with vicious words.

Fortunately, he didn't see her. Du Ruo breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Wei hurriedly moved behind a big tree to avoid them. He whispered to Du Ruo: "That’s my roommate and also my high school classmate."

Du Ruo pretended not to know Jing Ming nor show any interest: "Oh."

Disregarding Jing Ming's indifferent expression, Min En Zhu smiled and reached out her hand to pull him: "Have you had dinner yet? I haven't—"

Jing Ming resolutely avoided it, taking a step back: "Speak quickly if you have something to say, then leave."

"Why did you block me?" 

Min En Zhu was not angry, tilting her head she said in a charming voice: "I say a few words, and you get angry. Why such a bad temper?” She stepped forward and poked his chest with a finger to show her intimacy. 

But he waved her hand away impatiently: "I have a bad temper, so what?"

He wasn't that easy to win over.

Min En Zhu took another step forward, raised her head and whispered something only Jing Ming could hear.

At this end, Du Ruo took the stack of books from Li Wei, saw a piece of paper sandwiched in the first book, and asked: "What's this?"

"Oh, the books I received are the required textbooks. On the paper are the recommended reading materials listed by the teacher." Li Wei opened the paper to show her a long list of books, and they were not cheap.

"Do you want to buy all of these?"

"That’s for sure. How can I learn enough with just these few textbooks?" Li Wei refolded the paper and put it back into the book.

Du Ruo was sweating inside, but luckily the Jing family gave her extra money to buy clothes, otherwise her living expenses would be stretched.

The dark night perfectly concealed her fluctuating emotions. As she was thinking, there was a big commotion nearby.

Jing Ming stood for a while, got annoyed, and turned back to the dormitory.

Min En Zhu rushed forward with a big stride and hugged him from behind.

It was the time people went to shower, and quite a few students were carrying toiletries in and out.

Jing Ming was taken aback, and immediately released her hand.

Min En Zhu staggered but didn't let go, and shouted: "I said something wrong, okay? I was wrong, okay?"

A tinge of red appeared on Jing Ming's fair face, and he became angry from embarrassment: "Min En Zhu, what are you playing at?"

Min En Zhu: "Being shameless."

Jing Ming: "Let go!"

Min En Zhu: "No!"

Jing Ming: "Are you a dog?"

Min En Zhu: "Woof!"

Jing Ming: "......"

Jing Ming looked up at the sky with a sullen face. He didn’t know whether to hold back a laugh or hold back his anger. 

Min En Zhu put her arms around his waist and giggled.

Li Wei watched all of this and couldn't help but laugh as he walked over: "Alright, you two, stop flirting."

Jing Ming's face slightly paled: "Who's flirting?"

Min En Zhu loosened her grip.

Li Wei said: "You two used to mess around like this in high school, and you're still messing around in college."

Min En Zhu shot Li Wei a look, pleading he wouldn't provoke Jing Ming.

Li Wei blinked in understanding.

Min En Zhu smiled and changed the topic: "I thought I saw you from a distance, but you didn’t come say hi."

"I had something to take care of." Li Wei turned back, "This is our class—"

On both sides of the road, trees covered the sky. The scattered street lights shone on the ground.

"Hm? Where did she go?"

Du Ruo had already carried the stack of books, sneaked into the crowd through the darkness and fled.

"Left so quickly." Li Wei scratched his head and said, "I wanted to introduce you to our class flower."

Jing Ming let out a snort with not the slightest interest in whoever Li Wei was talking about, and walked down the steps.

Li Wei: "Where are you going?"

Jing Ming: "To have dinner, want to come?"

Li Wei: "I already ate."

Jing Ming waved his hand and left without looking back.

Min En Zhu took his hand, turned back and smiled at Li Wei: "Let's meet up next time."

……

Du Ruo carried the books back to her dormitory, her heart was pounding, and she was covered in sweat.

So hot!

She grabbed the collar of her T-shirt and fanned herself. The other three people in the dorm had disappeared. That was probably for the best. She was not in the mood to share gossip about Jing Ming with everyone.

She didn’t rush to read the books, instead took out the piece of paper and added up the prices of the books she needed to buy.

436 yuan. 

Du Ruo's living allowance was 1000 yuan per month. Fortunately, before the semester started, the Jing family had given her another 600 yuan to buy clothes, which was enough to cover the book fees.

But, how long will it last? There would always be a time when she needs money urgently.

Could she go to the Jing family and ask for more? She couldn't do it. Especially when she thought of Jing Ming's face.

There was only one lamp turned on in the dorm room. She sat at her desk, chin resting on her hand, lost in thought.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and He Huan Huan rushed in with a basket of toiletries: "It’s too much! The bathhouses in the north are too hot!"

Du Ruo quickly closed her calculator and asked, "What happened?"

He Huan Huan turned on the main light, and put the basket on her desk, catching her breath. "People in the north are so bold! There are no partitions in the bathroom, let alone curtains!"

Du Ruo widened her eyes: "Huh?"

"Everyone is naked, completely exposed. You look at me, I look at you, each rubbing their own bodies. Their chest, their butt, water splashing everywhere... As soon as you enter, it's all bodies! Naked bodies! White, naked bodies! It's so shocking!" He Huan Huan used her storytelling abilities to the extreme.

"Where’s Xia Nan and Qiu Yu Chen?"

"They said that's how the bathhouses are like here. I can't believe it! I haven't even shown my bare butt to my mother! You get me, right, Xiao Ruo?"

“I do… Are there really no partitions and curtains?”

“None!... Why don’t you go and have a look?”

Du Ruo shook her head vigorously: “No. It’s hard for me to accept your description.”

The two were silent for a while, sat facing each other sadly, not knowing what to think. 

After a long time, Du Ruo asked, "Then where should we go to take a shower?"

"..."

"There seems to be a shower room behind the washroom."

"But no hot water."

"well..."

"well..."

Both sighed at the same time.

University life had not yet started, and there were already a lot of worries and problems. 

Before going to bed that night, Du Ruo sat at her desk and reviewed everything that had happened in Beijing since she arrived. She thought about it and finally wrote down the most important sentence on a sticky note:

"Study well."

Stuck on the wall above her desk.

Study well. Other than that, there was no other way.

Studying would begin two weeks later, because freshmen had to receive military training before school started.

In September, the heat in Beijing was still hot.

The sky was clear blue without any clouds.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, the sun was scorching. As dazzling as a broken mirror, shining sharply into people’s eyes.

On the training ground, freshmen dressed in camouflage uniforms were divided in square formations one after another according to their departments, lined up neatly in military stance.

On Du Ruo's side, the silence lasted more than half an hour.

Finally, the instructor released them: "At ease!"

"Sit down where you are and rest for fifteen minutes."

There were sighs and moans through the group. Everyone was sweating profusely and fell down one after another.

There were very few girls in the academy, so Du Ruo and the others stood in the first row, with all the boys behind them.

Du Ruo crossed her legs and took off her hat to fan herself. Her hair was half wet, her face and neck were covered with sweat.

He Huan Huan was sneaking candies and handed one to Du Ruo. Seeing her like this, she was surprised. "Du Xiao Cao, why are you sweating so much? Yu Chen, look at her."

Qiu Yu Chen handed her a tissue: "So afraid of the heat?"

"It’s not that." Du Ruo wiped her whole face with the tissue, troubled: "I am prone to sweating.” As she spoke, she went around Qiu Yu Chen and crawled aside to get her water bottle.

Qiu Yuchen patted her butt.

Du Ruo: "..."

She squatted by the edge of the track and raised her head to drink water. After drinking most of the bottle, she turned around inadvertently and almost choked.

Jing Ming was at the top of the penultimate row. He glanced at her distressed look, and continued talking to his friends in a blink of an eye.

Du Ruo held her breath inexplicably.

At this moment, she looked sloppy, while he was wearing a camouflage uniform, looking very handsome. He seemed to be fine even after standing in military stance for half an hour.

After a week of military training, she had tanned several degrees, but he was still so white.

Not even the UV rays were fair.

She screwed up her water bottle, exhausted after mentally beating the villain in her heart. She returned to her place listlessly and sat down, letting the hot track scald her bottom.

Xia Nan took out the rose spray and sprayed it on her face.

A bit of the mist drifted onto Du Ruo's face. It felt cool, but she dodged unconsciously.

Xia Nan pointed the spray at her: "Why are you hiding? You need to stay hydrated, too."

Du Ruo closed her eyes and turned her head: "No. The more you spray, the more dry it will be."

"How can that be? It's hydrating."

"With the temperature so high, and being exposed to the sun, it evaporates instantly. When it evaporates, it will quickly absorb the moisture from the skin," Du Ruo explained.

"..."

Xia Nan was at a loss, and silently put away the spray.

The track was filled with students enduring torture.

Du Ruo was wilting like a vegetable, and turned around to avoid the sun’s rays.

She was fanning herself with her hat absentmindedly. At a certain moment, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that on the straight line from her to the other corner of the line, every row of obstructing boys moved at the same time. Suddenly, her line of sight became unobstructed, and Jing Ming was sitting at the end.

Almost reflexively, Du Ruo put her hat on her sweaty hair in an instant to save her ashen image.

Jing Ming was chatting with someone with a light smile. Not sure if he had noticed something, his gaze swept in her direction.

Du Ruo was startled and hurriedly turned her head to avoid it, but Jing Ming's gaze stopped midway, and in the end, his gaze never reached her. Instead, he frowned, lowered his head, and took out his phone from his pocket, had a glance, then looked back at the stands.

Du Ruo breathed a sigh of relief, and strangely followed his gaze.

Min En Zhu was sitting in the stands with her chin resting in her hand. She was wearing a pair of sunglasses, which made her face as small as a palm.

Jing Ming smiled and raised his chin towards his girlfriend in the stands.

Min En Zhu smiled and waved at him.

There was a burst of booing from the group of boys.

"Don't make trouble!" He scolded with a foolish smile.

Du Ruo looked away, remembering that night from a week ago. The way Min En Zhu wrapped her arms around Jing Ming and acted coquettishly. It was a touching scene, but made her heart itch. A very strange emotion.

She had never been in love since she was a child, not even a crush.

The life she walked was all associated with books. But it turns out girls could be like that.

Love...

What is it like?

She didn't know,

And was a little curious.

But this feeling only lasted a fleeting moment, as inconspicuous as a breeze blowing across a lake, and was quickly forgotten.

Translated by evienRose

_______________________

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

RCJM Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Du Ruo was enshrouded in a gloomy mood, and even the final introduction of the class teachers couldn't lift her spirits.

When the freshman assembly ended, the students visited several laboratories in the university according to their class, and watched the senior students operate all kinds of precision instruments on the test bench. Her depressed feelings were finally swept away, and she was once again full of expectations and motivation for university life.

After the laboratory tour, they had a class meeting. 

The Control Systems major had only one class of 22 students, with 21 boys and one girl.

Yes, that girl was Du Ruo.

She sat in the middle of the first row, right in the centre, with no one else in that row. The boys either sat at the back or in the next two rows, as if an invisible barrier surrounded her.

The class teacher’s surname was Yang, and his name was Chang Qing. He was a middle-aged man in his forties, full of smiles, a little shy, and had a very scholarly sense.

As the only girl in the class, Du Ruo had been mentally prepared.

As expected, the first thing Mr. Yang said was: "Ah, we have a giant panda in our class."

The boys all laughed lightly, and she couldn't help but smile too.

Mr. Yang was very easy-going and let everyone introduce themselves one by one. Although the students came from all corners of the country, about half of them were locals.

Du Ruo noticed a boy named Li Wei who sat behind her during the assembly and seemed to live in the same dormitory as Jing Ming. He introduced himself as a local with an easy-to-remember name, a combination of Li Bai and Wang Wei, two famous Chinese poets.

After everyone finished their introductions, they couldn't remember every detail about each person, but they would gradually get to know each other through their study life. However, Du Ruo, as the only female student, was a rarity, and no one would forget that she came from the southwestern border and was named Du Ruo.

Mr. Yang then asked everyone why they chose this major and what they knew about it.

The classroom fell silent, and some faces showed silent caution.

Du Ruo was one of them. She knew nothing about this major.

Isn't going to school ultimately about acquiring one or more skills, earning money to support oneself and one's family? She thought.

During high school, she only knew to bury her head in books and practice exercises. The school had cut off all extracurricular activities, so how could she know anything beyond her textbooks?

Other students had probably chosen their majors randomly as well.

But Li Wei raised his hand and said loudly: "I've loved cars since I was a kid, and I'm particularly interested in automated stamping production and assembly. The various tasks in the production line require sensor control. So, I chose this major, haha."

Du Ruo understood every word he said but couldn’t comprehend the deeper meaning behind his words.

She began to feel a little panicked and her cheeks flushed.

Mr. Yang smiled warmly and nodded: "Very good, what about the rest of you?"

Another student named Wan Ziang said: "My family owns a factory, and I've been dealing with machine tools since I was young. However, the instruments and circuits in my family's factory don't work smoothly, and the precision is not high. It damages the machine tools and results in wasted materials. So, I want to figure out the ins and outs here, in case I can make a breakthrough. Hehe."

Mr. Yang praised him, and said: "Ambitious. In the field of industrial technology, even a small breakthrough," he touched his thumb and index finger together, drawing a tiny gap in the air, "can bring about a great increase in productivity. A small breakthrough in key technology can even lead to a revolution in the entire industry.

Our major has a wide range of applications, including energy, medical treatment, food and chemical engineering, robot transportation, machine tools, cars, elevators, and so on. There are plenty of stages for you to display your talents."

He said, "It’s great that you are still young. When you're young, you can dream as big as you want, and go as far as you want! And my responsibility as a mentor, and the responsibility of all the teachers in our department, is to impart our lifelong knowledge to you and give you a push.

Children, run forward without restraint!"

Everyone was quiet. A wave of emotions surged in their hearts, but the ripples were silent.

Twenty-two pairs of thirsty eyes focused on this middle-aged man.

Inexplicably, Du Ruo felt her eyes becoming a little wet. Was she embarrassed or ashamed? She didn't know.

The class meeting wasn't long, and a temporary monitor [1], Li Wei, was elected. He collected everyone's contact information and said it would be distributed to everyone after printing it into a form.

When Du Ruo returned to the dormitory, the other three had returned too. He Huan Huan was in the same class as two girls in the dormitory next door, and went there to play.

Du Ruo entered the room and asked the remaining two: "What did you talk about in your class meeting?"

Qiu Yu Chen: "What else is there? Self-introduction, and then chat."

Du Ruo opened her wardrobe, took off the ripped T-shirt, and changed into another, carefully checking for any loose threads before wearing it, and asked, "Why did you choose your major?"

Xia Nan shrugged her shoulders, while browsing a shopping website on her phone: "I'm interested in computers."

Du Ruo looked at Qiu Yu Chen: "What about you?"

"Same." Yu Chen turned on her computer, ready to watch dramas.

Du Ruo closed the cabinet door, sat down at her desk, and fell silent.

Qiu Yu Chen noticed and went to her side: "What's wrong?"

Du Ruo fiddled with her fingers and talked about what happened at the class meeting just now, and whispered: "They all understand, but I don't know anything about my major, and... I didn't choose it out of interest. It feels like I'm a little behind..."

"That's okay, you'll understand when you learn it later. When you were born, did you know anything? Aren’t you proficient in language, mathematics, physics and chemistry now? No one is born knowing it all. If you want to understand what you'll be doing tomorrow, start learning now." 

Xia Nan looked down, turned over her phone and said, “Yu Chen, is that app you mentioned reliable? The face masks are cheaper than the market price; I hope they’re not fake.”

“I heard it from someone else too. If you’re not sure, go buy it over the counter.”

Qiu Yu Chen went to Xia Nan’s side, and the two of them started shopping for clothes, commenting on which ones looked good and which ones didn’t include free shipping.

Du Ruo watched them and was comforted in an instant.

Thinking she should also buy some clothes, she joined them.

The three of them were busy choosing clothes when He Huan Huan opened the door and came in, bringing a small piece of news: “The other two girls in the dormitory next door are in the same class as Jing Ming.”

Du Ruo: “......”

Is there some kind of law? The more you want to avoid, the more they appear? Li Wei, their class monitor, was Jing Ming’s roommate, and her roommate next door is Jing Ming’s classmate.

In the future, that name will often linger in her ears.

Perfect.

Qiu Yu Chen said: “There are quite a few good looking guys in our University but he should be a school grass. Hey, Xia Nan, what about his girlfriend? Is she also at our school?

“No, she’s studying at some vocational college. Her grades were poor when she was in school. We were not in the same class, so I don’t know much about her.”

“Is she pretty?”

“Very pretty.”

Qiu Yu Chen didn’t have much interest in gossip and quickly changed the topic to something else: “Huan Huan, do you want to buy clothes or not? We’re bargaining with the store. Let’s buy together. It’s free shipping.”

“Why didn’t you call me earlier? Unbelievable.”

After they finished shopping online, it was already 7pm. They went to the cafeteria for dinner, then leisurely walked back to the dormitory building.

Halfway, Du Ruo’s phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, is this Du Ruo?" The lively male voice was very familiar.

"You are..."

"So quick to forget! I'm..."

"Oh, monitor." She recognised him in time and repeated, "the class monitor."

Li Wei chuckled over the phone, and said: "The books have been distributed. We just moved them to the dormitory. The boys live together, so it was easy to distribute. Which dormitory are you in? I can bring the books to you."

"It's okay.” She was embarrassed to bother him, “I'm not in the dormitory right now. I'll come find you."

"Sure."

Du Ruo walked to the male dormitory and saw many people carrying books in and out. 

She sent a text message to Li Wei: “I’m here.”

As soon as it was sent, she heard the sound of someone running behind her. As soon as Du Ruo turned around, Jing Ming appeared to be rushing towards her. His tall figure approached, passed in front of her eyes, and swept over a gust of wind.

Before her heart reached her throat, his figure had already flashed past, running up the stairs in steps of twos and threes, disappearing into the dormitory. The faint scent of the boy lingered in the air, and melted into the night.

Du Ruo knew he didn't notice her at all. Like she was an obstacle, no different from a tree.

This unequal relationship made her feel a little unhappy.

Jing Ming was halfway up the stairs when he saw Li Wei going down with a stack of books in his arms. He wondered, "Where are you going?"

Li Wei smiled: "Sending books to our class flower." [2]

Jing Ming frowned, surprised the "class flower" had already been chosen. Then he remembered that there was only one female student in their class, so she was the "class flower."

He lifted the corners of his lips, smiled, and continued upstairs.

In late summer, the night breeze rustled the leaves of the treetops, and blew through Du Ruo's clothes gently, feeling both cool and refreshing.

She looked up at the night sky above the shadows of the trees, with the wind still blowing. This was university.

She stood by the flowerbed near the dormitory entrance for a while. A very beautiful girl came opposite, with long hair, a long blue dress and a thin belt around her waist. Under the short dress were a pair of long and fair legs.

The boys coming in and out looked sideways one after another, and even Du Ruo couldn't resist looking at her a few more times. As she looked, she unconsciously took a few steps back, creating some distance between them.

The girl folded her arms and made a phone call: "I don't care, you tell him to come down.... I'm downstairs right now! ...Who told him to block me?… Then tell him to answer the phone.... You tell him to come down…. Tell him, if he doesn't come down, I'll break into the boys’ dormitory!"

Du Ruo shrunk her neck and looked at the sky: "Campus life is truly exciting. You can even watch a romance drama while taking a walk after dinner to pick up books."

When I go back, I can share this gossip with Yu Chen and the others.

While thinking about the gossip, Li Wei came out and suggested: "The books are quite heavy. Let me help you carry them back.”

"No need, I can carry it myself." Du Ruo quickly waved her hand, not wanting to trouble him, and said, "I used to do farm work at home, this is a piece of cake."

Li Wei was stunned, and couldn’t help laughing. He was about to say something when…

From the side came Jing Ming's cold voice, full of disgust: "What are you doing here?"

Translated by evienRose

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[1] 'class monitor' aka class leader is elected by the class to help assist the tutor in relaying messages to the class, handing out work, collecting homework, creating a group chat etc

[2] 'school flower' is basically the female version of a school grass - an exceptionally popular and pretty female student

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

RCJM Chapter 3

Chapter 3

On the afternoon before school started, there was a freshman assembly in the university.

In the large lecture hall, there were two rows of girls sitting at the front, while the back was filled with boys.

The assembly hadn’t started yet, and whispering could be heard throughout the hall.

Du Ruo listened attentively to the conversations around her. They were all newcomers exchanging a few words.

“Which major are you in?”

“Which province are you from?”

“How many girls are in your class?”

She paid special attention to the girl’s attire, which was not much different from that in high school, with short hair and ponytails; blouses and T-shirts; jeans and pants.

Nobody deliberately dressed up; they had a more studious vibe.

The top female students in science and engineering didn’t seem to care much about their appearances, at least they didn’t show much concern when they first entered school.

In Jing Ming’s eyes, they would seem unsophisticated.

She could easily imagine Jing Ming’s face – appearing expressionless, but the corner of his lips would be imperceptibly curved, thinking she were a ridiculous clown; with a hint of mockery in his eyes, easily making people feel inadequate and worthless.

She was somewhat afraid of him, or perhaps it was – hate.

Hated his unreasonable and blatant dislike towards her.

Du Ruo looked at the girls around her, and then at herself. Wearing a clean white T-shirt and jeans, sitting among her classmates, she didn’t appear out of the ordinary. 

She breathed a sigh of relief, then casually glanced around. The boys' faces were youthful and immature, and their clothes equally lacked sophistication like a high school student’s. Everyone was the same, just ordinary students, nothing fancy.

But the next second, her eyes were involuntarily drawn towards someone. It was simply because that person was too eye-catching.

Jing Ming came in from the back door of the hall.

He was tall and had fair skin. He was also wearing a white shirt, but the white of his clothes were several degrees whiter than that of others in the room.

Only then did Du Ruo realise that everyone’s white clothing was divided into grey, cream, beige, a yellowish white, a worn-out white and countless other whites.

As soon as she turned her head, the girls around her unconsciously followed suit, gradually forming a flock effect like geese, with the whole room echoing with the sound of girls turning their heads one after another.

Apart from Jing Ming’s exquisite appearance, there was an indescribable carefree but mysterious charm in his every gesture and movement. Jing Ming had a casual yet arrogant demeanour, without the slightest restraint and apprehension of a freshman.

With one hand playing with his phone and the other in his pocket, he stepped down the steps from the back door. He paused briefly, and took a moment to send a text message. His expression was not very good, his brows were frowning, and he silently mouthed “f*cking hell”. After sending the message, he raised his eyes in annoyance and noticed that the entire room of students were quietly looking at him.

He gave a condescending look, like he was looking at a bunch of muddy potatoes. His dark eyes swiftly scanned the classroom and found his three dormitory mates. They had saved him a seat. He put his phone back in his pocket and walked down the steps unhappily.

Du Ruo immediately turned around,

The empty seat was right behind her!

Her repulsion of Jing Ming was even deeper than she had imagined.

Coming to Beijing for studies, she originally carried joy and hope. However, on her first night in Beijing, Jing Ming dealt her a heavy blow. He saw her as a poor relative who came from the countryside to freeload. In his scornful eyes, she was not even worthy of being called a poor relative, but more like a beggar.

The sense of superiority she had from being accepted into a prestigious institution in her hometown vanished completely, because Jing Ming, this “spoiled rich kid”, was studying at the same school, and he was even a “special admission”.

Isn’t that a more advanced pathway?

Compared to him, her years of hard work and perseverance were like a joke. Maybe that’s how he saw her, otherwise he wouldn’t act so arrogant and mockingly in front of her.

A shadow flashed behind her and descended.

The folding chair was opened, and Jing Ming sat down.

“Why are you here so late?”

“Isn’t the meeting at five o’clock? I’m not late.” Jing Ming’s voice was laid-back and reasonable.

“That’s true.” His roommate didn’t think much of it, and laughed, “It’s 4:59 and 30 seconds, truly not late.”

“Sitting in the classroom is so boring. Once school starts, are you not afraid that I won’t have time to save you a seat?”

He was chatting casually behind her, and she felt uncomfortable all over and couldn’t breathe well.

At this moment, the classroom suddenly quietened down as several male teachers entered the classroom one after another. They were all dressed in typical engineering men’s clothes, wearing Polo shirts and pants.

Their looks were as low-key and easy-going as their clothes, even a little shy, and they didn’t take the initiative to make eye contact with the students.

There were a few of them who were slightly chubby, and revealed a somewhat naive posture when walking, appearing very approachable.

The students stared at them with bright eyes, like little chicks waiting for the mother hens to return to the nest, wondering which one belonged to them.

The teachers sat down in the empty seats in the first row, and the backs of their heads were inspected by a bunch of students.

He Huan Huan nudged Du Ruo’s arm and whispered: “Guess who is your class teacher?”

Du Ruo shook her head: “How would I know?”

He Huan Huan snickered: “I don’t know either.”

Du Ruo found an exceptionally young male teacher sitting at the end of the first row, who looked like a student. He had a handsome side profile, looking at the podium thoughtfully.

Qiu Yu Chen whispered: “That teacher is too young. I don’t want him as my teacher.”

Du Ruo was surprised: “Why?”

Qiu Yu Chen: “The older ones are more experienced. Following this teacher, I’m afraid I won’t learn much.”

Du Ruo nodded with a look of understanding: “I don’t want him either.”

After she finished speaking, she noticed Jing Ming from the corner of her eye. Although he didn’t look at her, she was startled and immediately straightened her face.

She made up her mind not to turn her head, not even ten degrees.

The welcome ceremony is presided over by the vice dean.

First, the dean delivered a speech, introducing the school, its history, current status and future development direction. The dean also shared some encouraging words, reminding the students not to forget their goals, to study hard, to innovate, to exercise, to plan their four years of university wisely, growing in all aspects, and contribute to the country.

The freshmen had just experienced their first step since passing the college entrance examination, each of them carried unlimited expectations for the future, and were filled with ambition inspired by these words. The young faces radiated with brilliance.

Jing Ming didn’t pay attention to the speech at all. He kept playing with his phone under the table. Gradually, he became irritated, and finally blocked a certain profile on WeChat. Still not satisfied, he opened up his contacts and blocked “Min En Zhu”.

He held the phone in his fingers and raised his eyes.

After the dean’s speech, next up was the student representative, Li Qing He, a sophomore senior. It was the young man sitting at the end of the first row who was mistaken by Du Ruo and the others as a teacher.

“So its senior brother.”

Compared to the freshmen in the audience, Li Qing He had shed his youthful awkwardness and exuded a mature aura befitting an upperclassmen. He spoke and smiled with ease, sharing his insights and experiences of studying with the younger students in a relaxed and composed manner.

There were bursts of laughter from time to time.

However, in Jing Ming’s opinion, he didn’t find Li Qing He’s speech the least bit funny. He felt he was just putting on airs of being experienced, fooling the freshmen like they were elementary kids.

He lost interest in listening, and with lowered eyes, he looked at his phone. That person had already been blocked, and there were no new messages on his phone. 

He raised his eyelids in displeasure, and inadvertently glanced at the girl in front of him. Why… does she… look so familiar? His gaze had swept past, but stopped and moved back one seat.

Oh, isn’t that, Du Ruo Chun, right?

Coincidentally, she appeared right under his nose again.

When sending Du Ruo to school that day, Jing Ming didn’t look at her the whole time. His impression of her was still of the time he picked her up at the train station – dirty hair, yellowish skin, cheap clothes, malnourished figure, and a sweaty body odour mixed with the smell of the train carriage.

This time, her hair was washed clean, short, fluffy and soft. Perhaps due to lack of nutrition, it had a brownish yellow colour.

“Yellow-haired girl,” this nickname, he thought, suited her, and couldn’t help laughing.

On the side facing him, her short hair was pinned just behind her ears, slightly curled. The straight ends of her hair revealed her slender neck. The classroom’s fluorescent lights unintentionally highlighted her complexion, making her appear whiter. It really gave a beautifying effect.

She wore a crisp T-shirt, looking completely different from the sloppy girl at the station that day.

Jing Ming didn’t show much interest. He glanced up and down and noticed a spot on her T-shirt where the thread had come loose, exposing a small patch of skin about the size of a fingernail. He smirked again, curling his lips.

Isn’t the ugly duckling still an ugly duckling after cleaning its feathers?

He couldn’t be bothered to think about it more, so he withdrew his gaze.

On the podium, the senior was still sharing his experiences. Ah, there’s nothing more dull and boring in this world than attending an assembly.

He picked up his phone but couldn’t really play games either.

Half a moment later, he suddenly thought of something. Slowly recalling it, his eyebrows furrowed, and he quickly typed a text message and sent it.

In front of him, Du Ruo’s phone made a “ding” sound. The sound was not loud, but enough to attract attention.

Not to mention, the surrounding classmates, even the teachers turned around to look.

On the podium, Li Qing He paused for a second, then continued.

Du Ruo blushed with shame, hurriedly silenced her phone, and saw that it was a text message from Jing Ming:

“Where did the money for your clothes go? Embezzled?”

Du Ruo was puzzled, but had no intention of responding. Just as she was about to put her phone away, the screen lit up again with a message: “Your clothes are torn.”

Shocked, she turned to look at him in panic.

Jing Ming stared blankly at the podium, not looking at her, appearing an outsider to her dilemma.

Afraid of attracting attention, she hurriedly turned her head back, cheeks flushing. She inexplicably felt like everyone was looking at her, their gazes piercing countless holes through her.

Her palms were sweaty, and she quickly sent a message asking: “Where?”

But, the other party no longer had the kindness to reply to her.

After Li Qing He finished his speech, there was a round of applause. Then it was the freshman representative’s turn to speak.

Du Ruo carefully turned her head to check her shoulders on both sides. No problem. Then she looked at her sides.

There was a loose thread on the right side of her T-shirt, about one centimetre long, not noticeable when she was still. But with slight movement, it would create a small circle.

If someone accidentally saw it, she would feel embarrassed and awkward, but it wouldn’t make her feel ashamed or inferior.

But unfortunately, this “poor and pitiful little hole” was seen by Jing Ming. Du Ruo immediately felt that it would be better if one of them died.

Translated by evienRose

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Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

RCJM Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Jing family lived in a high-end villa area. Inside the residential compound, there were flowing streams and luscious trees that provided ample shade.

The car drove through the light and shadows of the magnolia street lamps, and stopped in front of a white three-story European-style building. Both upstairs and downstairs were lit with lights like a sparkling jewellery box.

Jing Ming turned off the car.

Du Ruo opened the door with the seatbelt on. She unbuckled her belt, and got out of the car.

A man who looked to be in his thirties walked out from inside the house and asked: “Do you have any luggage?”

Du Ruo didn’t recognise him, and wasn’t sure how to greet him. Jing Ming walked towards them and said “Uncle Chen, there’s a suitcase in the trunk. Bring it inside.”

“Mm, okay.”

Uncle Chen smiled at Du Ruo, and she returned a smile. He walked to the back of the car and she followed. Du Ruo then apologetically said: “The box is a bit heavy. Let me help you.”

“No need, no need.”

“It really is quite heavy.” Du Ruo insisted with embarrassment and helped him carry the box.

Jing Ming glanced back, already a few metres away. Too lazy to care, he entered the house first.

After Du Ruo entered the house, she then realised that it truly was like a jewellery box.

In the living room, were crystal chandeliers that shone brilliantly, both dreamlike and enchanting. The curtains hung from the high-ceiling like a waterfall. When looking outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see a garden that seemed to never end. The living room was even bigger than a classroom, furnished with a long European-style sofa, a blue wooden coffee table, and a curved staircase carved with intricate spiral detail.

There were even several tall trees placed inside the house.

Everything was beautiful and felt distant.

But the welcoming smiles of the Jing couple – Jing Yuan Shan and Ming Yi – were warm and familiar.

“Why was the train so delayed?” Mother Ming Yi, asked with a smile.

“I’m not sure. It seems to be to make way for the high-speed train.” Du Ruo said, stealing a glance at Jing Ming. The young man was lying on the sofa, texting, his long legs resting on the armrest, with no posture at all, like a cloth.

“Ruo Chun, you’ve grown taller haven’t you?” Father Jing Yuan Shan commented, “Since the last time I saw you last year, you seem to have grown taller.”

“But you’re still so thin,” continued Ming Yi. “You need to eat more and gain some weight.”

The Jing couple were too enthusiastic, leaving Du Ruo no room to speak, so she sat quietly on the sofa with legs together.

“You haven’t eaten right? Are you hungry? Aunt Chen made a table full of dishes, but we didn’t expect the train to be so delayed. We’ll heat it up for you.”

“I… I ate instant noodles on the train.” Du Ruo felt somewhat apologetic, and couldn’t help but glance at Jing Ming again. He was still slouched on the sofa, texting without a hint of guilt or embarrassment.

“That’s fine too. If you get hungry later, you can come have a late-night snack.” Ming Yi said.

Jing Yuan Shan sighed: “Ruo Chun is very sensible, and has worked hard to get accepted into such a good university.”

Jing Ming was playing with his phone, seemingly oblivious to what was said.

Du Ruo noticed that the Jing couple’s attention was completely focused on her. Fearing that Jing Ming may feel belittled, Du Ruo said slowly, “Jing Ming is also in the same school as me. He is also very impressive.”

Nevertheless, Jing Ming didn’t react as if their conversation had nothing to do with him.

Jing Yuan Shan also appeared visibly dissatisfied, furrowing his brows and said: “That little rascal, forcing him to study is like trying to force a cow to drink water! I have hired so many tutors for him, all of them famous teachers. Despite all this, I still have to specially hire someone to monitor him during classes, cause he would slip away and people would be chasing after him all over the city! Fortunately, he managed to enter by satisfying a special admission quota. This troublesome little rascal can't be compared with you. Your conditions were so difficult, yet you can still diligently study and learn.”

Du Ruo felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles, smiled awkwardly, and dared not look at Jing Ming. The sound of his fingers typing beside her ears did not stop for a moment.

Jing Yuan Shan hadn’t finished scolding and turned his head to look at Jing Ming. He exclaimed: “Have you no backbone? Where are your manners when sitting!”

Jing Ming put his legs down, sat up, and leaned into the sofa.

“You should learn more from Ruo Chun in the future!”

Jing Ming laughed out loud: “Don’t keep calling her Ruo Chun, Ruo Chun, she’s changed her name. It’s Du Ruo now. The Du Ruo from the poem ‘Cai Fangzhou Xi Du Ruo”, very artistic.” [1]

Du Ruo’s cheeks grew hot. She lowered her head and slightly clenched her fingers.

The Jing couple were startled for a moment, but quickly responded: “Changing is good too. This name sounds nice.”

“Xiao Ruo.” Ming Yi spoke aloud and lightly chuckled. [2]

Then said, “You must be tired from the train ride. How about going upstairs and resting early?

Du Ruo hurriedly stood up and said: “Uncle, Aunty, I brought some local specialties for you.”

She opened the suitcase and took out a large smoked ham and a pile of air-dried sausages, saying: “My mother made all these, she’s very skilled.”

Ming Yi smiled: “That’s great, I was just craving ham a few days ago, and here you are, bringing the specialty here.”

Aunt Chen stored the food away in the kitchen.

Jing Yuan Shan said: “These things are very heavy. You worked hard, Xiao Ruo. It must have been tough to carry it all the way here.”

Du Ruo smiled: “It was okay.”

Jing Ming while lounging on the sofa, playing with his phone, lazily glanced in her direction and snorted: “Your clothes were cramped with smoked ham and sausages the whole way. You still willing to wear them?”

With a disgusted expression, he stood up, stuffed his phone into his pocket and prepared to leave.

Ming Yi said: “That’s right. Jing Ming, go to school with Du Ruo tomorrow. After registering, take her to buy a few sets of clothes.”

Jing Ming immediately became somewhat irritated, with a face that said “Why is it me again?” He had something to say, but upon seeing his father’s expression, he couldn’t be bothered to argue back and went upstairs with a straight face.

Du Ruo slept in the guest room that night, but wasn’t quite accustomed to it. Sure enough, her clothes smelled like smoked ham. The smell made her stomach growl, afterall, she had only eaten a bowl of instant noodles.

She didn’t go downstairs for a midnight snack either, afraid it would cause trouble.

In the middle of the night, she heard Jing Ming go downstairs to find something to eat, but she did not follow.

The next day, Du Ruo received an iPhone 6s from the Jing family, a phone that was no longer being used, having been replaced. It looked almost brand new, with no significant damages, and came with a new local SIM card.

Jing Ming drove the car to the opposite side of the school gate, stopped, and realised a serious problem. He drove a red sports car today, which was very attention-grabbing.

That wasn’t a problem.

But Du Ruo was also sitting inside the car. So what did this mean?

Du Ruo, being quite sensitive, guessed his concerns and said: “How about we say our parents are friends?”

Jing Ming turned his head and looked at her. Under his sunglasses, his handsome face showed no expression: “Really?”

Du Ruo: “.......”

“It’s okay to say we’re distant relatives.”

The corner of his mouth twitched: “I have relatives far and wide, but none are like you…”

Before he finished speaking, she consciously nodded: “En, not as poor as me.”

He did not feel guilty at all, rather was annoyed. He took out a card from his pocket and handed it to her: “My mum said your living expenses are in the card, and the password is your birthday. I’ve transferred the money for buying clothes to your card.” After a brief pause, he turned to look at her and jokingly said, “You don’t need me to accompany you, right?”

She shook her head: “No need.” She was ready to push the door open and leave.

“Stop!”

She turned around and spoke softly: “Is there anything else?”

“When we meet at school, pretend you don’t know me.” His tone was almost commanding, “Do you hear me?”

Du Ruo slightly opened the door with her fingers and nodded: “I hear you.”

She took her luggage and got out of the car.

Jing Ming’s red sports car sped away.

“You think I want to know you?” Du Ruo muttered in resistance, although futile.

She didn’t let him affect her mood. She looked across the street at the wide school gate and took a death breath. Carrying her luggage, she went up the overpass bridge. Coincidentally, she saw his red sports car make a U-turn on the road, pass under the bridge, and drive into campus, attracting the attention of many people.

After walking across the bridge and walking into campus, her heart started to feel excited once again.

A long wide path lined with trees, lightly shaded with streams of sunlight passing through. Exactly the way a university should look like.

A red banner was drawn across the treetops – “Welcome New Students”

As she continued to walk in, there were waves of clubs recruiting members. Seniors were laughing and chatting, and distributing promotional flyers to new students.

Du Ruo collected a pile of flyers, and headed towards the dormitory first.

In an engineering university, there are few female students. In science and engineering majors, there are even fewer female students.

In the dormitory, there were three different majors across the four female students.

Du Ruo was studying Control Systems Engineering, her two Beijing roommates, Qiu Yu Chen and Xia Nan, were studying Information Engineering, and her other roommate from Chongqing, He Huan Huan, majored in Mechanical Automation.

The four of them were very excited when they first arrived, and immediately got along.

Qiu Yu Chen was very amazing, both generous and lively. She had already explored the dorms, and after a while, had even figured out the situation in the rooms next door. Now having returned to their dormitory, she reported to her sisters (roommates):

“The dormitories on the west belong to the Faculty of Arts. There are many girls, and they all belong to the same class; the dormitories on the east have two that major in Mechanical Automation and two in Mechatronic Engineering.”

After she finished her announcement, she grinned at Du Ruo, “Congratulations, you are the only girl in your class.”

Du Ruo didn’t react but asked: “Why?”

“Silly girl.” He Huan Huan even spit out in dialect, and said with a laugh, “The dormitory is arranged according to the major, and there is no one in the next dormitory with the same major as you, so aren’t you the only girl?”

“……ah?” Du Ruo was surprised and had an awkward expression on her face.

Xia Nan trimmed her eyebrows in the vanity mirror, and said slowly: “Being the only girl is not that bad. All the boys in class will spoil you.”

Du Ruo was still disappointed and said: “I still want a girl to keep me company.” She longed for Huan Huan, “If only Huan Huan had the same major as me. If I had known, I would’ve applied for Mechanical Automation.”

He Huan Huan hugged her: “Don’t worry, don’t worry. We will be together after class.”

Xia Nan looked left and right at the shape of her eyebrows in the mirror, and said: “The class schedule is different.” She turned the mirror and looked at Du Ruo in the mirror, “Look, you don’t know it yet, but it’s actually a blessing.”

“Who knows if it’s a blessing or not?” Qiu Yu Chen sat on a chair, put a pair of long legs on a desk, and said, “I walked around the school today, but I didn’t see many handsome seniors. Where are they hiding? Not even willing to come out and meet their junior sister on reporting day.”

He Huan Huan said: “I didn’t see many handsome guys among the freshmen either. They were all quite average.”

Du Ruo inexplicably thought of Jing Ming, but did not speak.

The next second, Qiu Yu Chen suddenly moved her legs, turned around and lay on the back of the chair, and said: “There is one!”

He Huan Huan pointed at her, and said in unison: “The one driving the red Ferrari” “– –Fuck, he was so fucking arrogant.” Qiu Yu Chen said the second half of the sentence.

Du Ruo sat silently on the spot.

Oh, everyone saw it, huh.

Xia Nan: “Who was it?”

 

“I don’t know, but probably some second-generation rich kid,” joked Qiu Yu Chen. “The most annoying kind. He knows he’s talented and rich, but he really is handsome.”

Xia Nan was not interested. Afterall, she hadn’t seen the person in real life, so there was nothing to discuss.

But that evening, when the four of them went to the cafeteria to have dinner, Du Ruo saw Jing Ming.

At that time, the four of them sat around a table. Each ordered different dishes and shared with each other. At the table next to them, some girls whispered to each other: “Hey, isn’t he that person?”

“The one driving that red Ferrari.”

“Hey, where do you think he parked his car?”

“Who knows.”

“Our school indeed hides many talented individuals.”

Du Ruo looked up and saw Jing Ming with several male students from their dormitory walking over holding food trays. Jing Ming saw her, but his gaze quickly averted, as if he didn’t recognise her at all.

She lowered her head and continued eating.

The group of boys passed by Du Ruo’s table, with Jing Ming following behind.

Xia Nan called out: “Hey, Jing Ming!”

The boy stopped, and Du Ruo kept her head down, catching a glimpse of the hem of his white shirt next to her cheek. He had changed his shirt today, with a black embroidered cloud pattern running down from the upper right side.

His voice sounded lazy as it fell from above her head: “Oh, you got accepted?”

“Go die.” Xia Nan chuckled and scolded, her tone familiar, “What about you? You’re here so early? I thought you’d wait until the last day.”

“It was boring at home.” He showed no interest in staying, “I’m leaving.”

The shadow casted over Du Ruo’s head moved away, and her shoulders relaxed as if a weight had been lifted.

He Huan Huan saw Jing Ming walking away and said: “That’s the person Yu Chen and I saw. Xia Nan, you know him?”

“He was my classmate in high school, in the same class. He was the school grass [3] back then. I remember in our freshman year, even the senior girls would come to our classroom to see him,” Xia Nan explained.

Qiu Yu Chen raised an eyebrow and picked up a green bean from Du Ruo’s plate: “Then why didn’t you pursue him? The opportunity was right in front of you.”

Xia Nan picked up an eggplant from Qiu Yu Chen’s plate and replied: “What pursuit? He’s already with our school’s beauty.”

Translated by evienRose

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[1] these are the Chinese characters for the poem if you were curious: '采芳洲兮杜若'

[2] 'Xiao Ruo' means Little Ruo, and is really just an endearing nickname or can be used in a teasing way, referring to Du Ruo

[3] 'school grass' is used to describe a male student who is considered exceptionally attractive and popular among his peers, similar to the concept of a "heartthrob" or "campus prince." It is often used to refer to someone who is considered good-looking and admired by many at their school or university.

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