Chapter 11
When Du Ruo walked into the boys' dorm, the dormitory auntie didn't stop her.
The corridor was a little dark, and the air was filled with the smell of male hormones, dry and slightly cool, which made her feel somewhat uneasy.
She took a breath and went up to the third floor under the slightly curious gazes of the oncoming boys.
As she walked down the corridor, she saw several girls in different dorm rooms holding various materials and preparing props for the sports meet.
The door of room 308 was open.
Li Wei and several boys from the class were sitting on the floor doing handicrafts. On the table and floor were piles of paint, drawing paper, sticks, ribbons, and golden paper.
The boys were arguing with each other:
"Red and green looks so ugly."
"Your combination is even more ugly, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. You think we’re making a rainbow wand?"
Du Ruo knocked on the door: “What's all the noise about?"
"Perfect timing! The wand, how do you want it? The materials are all here. Just tell us, and we'll make it for you."
"We’re just worried that you won't like our design."
"He wants to glue a bunch of gold streamers to the wand, which is very pompous."
"You're the pompous one, this is called shining and eye-catching!"
The boys started arguing again.
Listening to their respective opinions, Du Ruo found that her dear male classmates had strong practical skills in class and were excellent at experimental design. However, they had a mysterious misunderstanding of aesthetics when it came to the magic wand, either envisioning it as a Sailor Moon prop or something out of the world of Barbie Fairytopia.
Considering that she would be the one carrying the wand across the field, and embarrassment would fall on her, she said: "I’d better do it myself. You guys can focus on other things."
"Okay, sure." They still had to design the class banner and T-shirts.
Du Ruo bent down to choose materials.
The boys chatted while doing their crafts:
"How was Jing Ming’s game yesterday?"
"He made it to the finals."
"Obviously, anyone would guess that. How was the match?"
"He destroyed the opponent's robot in 20 seconds."
"Wow."
She became curious and asked Li Wei: "Has your Prime team been participating in competitions recently?"
"No. It's Jing Ming's individual competition."
"Oh." She didn't ask further.
There were many so people in the dorm there was no place to sit.
Li Wei said: "Du Ruo, you can go to my dorm. It's quieter."
The alarm rang in her mind: Li Wei was in the same dorm as the three boys in the next class.
He added: "My roommates have all gone out, so no one will disturb you. My desk is on the right side of the door."
She hesitated for a second, then took her materials and went to 307.
The lights were on in the room. No one was there.
Stacked bunk beds, towels, a basin, a plastic bottle stuffed with cigarette butts, clothes draped on a chair... It wasn't too messy.
There was a faint scent in the room. It was a mix of male body odour and laundry detergent. It was impossible to tell who it belonged to. But the smell of cigarettes should not belong to Jing Ming. In Du Ruo’s impression, he didn't seem to have the habit of smoking. He carried a very clean scent that could be smelled if you got close.
She put her things on the table to the right of the door.
Li Wei's desk was a mess, piled with books, scraps of paper, and notes. She cleared a little space, then scanned the other 3 beds, and recognised Jing Ming’s desk at a glance, located by the window next to Li Wei's.
It was obvious.
His base cabinet was filled with all kinds of expensive shoes, a Mac on the table, a set of headphones hanging, books and some mechanical models on the shelf, and a bunch of robots under the table.
A pair of ripped jeans and a black hoodie were draped over the bed.
Just as she was about to sit down, she saw the computer on Jing Ming’s desk flicker – the computer was on, and it seemed like he would come at any time.
She thought about it and picked up her things to go to the next door to avoid embarrassment.
But suddenly, Jing Ming's voice came from outside: "You have nothing better to do?"
She was shocked. Before she could react, the door was pushed open. Jing Ming hung up his phone and walked in the door with a dark face. He suddenly stopped and stared at her in surprise. Half a second later, he glanced at her up and down again:
"What are you doing here?"
Caught off guard, she immediately said: "Li Wei asked me to come." After saying that, she placed her things on Li Wei's desk.
Jing Ming looked at her for a while, then raised the corners of his lips and smiled coldly: "Stay here."
He walked back to his desk, moved his clothes off the bed and put them into the cabinet. Then, he leaned against the stairs next to the bunk bed, getting something unknown. After a while, Du Ruo heard the sound of a machine running.
Turning around, a robot that looked like a tank was waving its little pincers and running towards her with determination.
Du Ruo was in a daze as the little robot ran to her feet, turned its two big Q eyes to look at her, then raised its little pincers, and hit her ankle with a “boom”.
After the attack, it turned around and ran away, quickly running behind Jing Ming’s feet and hiding.
Du Ruo: "…"
Jing Ming leaned against the stairs and asked: "Did that hurt?"
"It hurts!"
It was hard to believe that this robot was not weak.
"That's good," he said.
Du Ruo didn’t understand.
And he didn't explain. He seemed to be in a bad mood. He sat down, prepared to put on his headphones, but her attention was captured by the little robot. She was so curious that she asked uncomfortably: "Did you make that robot?"
"Hmm." He replied without looking back, not very enthusiastic.
The embarrassment couldn't suppress her curiosity, and she asked softly: "It walks very stably, but it has tracks, so it should be stable. Does a robot like that still need a gyroscope?"
He paused, his hand with the headphones halfway to his ears. He glanced at her, and said nonchalantly: "You probably haven't covered that part in your textbooks yet, right?"
"Oh. I learned about it after class." Her focus was still on the robot. "Is there a robot competition coming up?"
"Hmm." He hung the headphones around his neck, ran his hand through his hair, and slid a finger on his touchscreen computer.
Du Ruo nodded thoughtfully, planning to go back and look up the competition date and venue.
Such a good opportunity must be experienced
Just as she was thinking about it, he turned his head and looked at her: "Do you want to see it?"
"Ah." She nodded.
He lifted his headphones off his neck, got up, walked to a classmate's desk, took out a ticket from the bookshelf, and handed it to her.
She was stunned, took it, and said: "Thank you."
The competition was scheduled after the sports meet. It was a VVIP ticket, no seat number.
"Arrive twenty minutes early and call me.”
"Oh."
Jing Ming returned to his desk, picked up his headphones again and put them on, ignoring his surroundings, as if she would disturb him to death.
She glanced at him. He was typing on the keyboard with his headphones on. The white light from the screen was reflected on his face, and his eyes were shining.
She suddenly felt like she was back in the Internet café.
She took a deep breath, put away the ticket, and calmly worked on her crafts.
Occasionally, she stole glances at the robot. It stayed at Jing Ming’s feet obediently and silently.
The little guy was really cute, she thought.
She also wanted to learn about robots. Mm, she'd go back and research more about it.
The two of them peacefully minded their own business. His keyboard rattled, while the coloured paper rustled on her side.
Suddenly, his phone rang, playing an English song on his bed, with a laid-back melody, but Du Ruo couldn't catch the lyrics clearly.
The phone kept ringing, but Jing Ming didn’t seem to hear it.
Du Ruo finally heard the lyrics clearly: "I’m listening to you."
The ringing stopped, and after ten seconds of silence, it started ringing again.
Jing Ming still didn't respond.
Haa, playing games with such high volume. Du Ruo called him: “Hey!”
No response.
She picked up a stick and tapped the stairs near his desk, and he looked at her with an indifferent expression, as if facing a stranger who approached him.
She pointed at the bed plank above his head.
Jing Ming took off his headphones, stood up and picked up his phone from the bed. After answering the call, he glanced at Du Ruo, slightly defensive. With others around, he didn't immediately start talking.
The girl on the other end spoke rapidly like pouring beans, making a clatter of noise.
With a calm tone, he said: "Are you done?"
After a few seconds, he said: "In the dormitory. What's the matter?"
"You'd rather play games than come out to see me! Don't make excuses that you're working on some kind of machine!" Du Ruo heard the accusation.
Jing Ming's face turned slightly blue and became a little ugly. He walked towards the balcony away from Du Ruo, as the other end followed up with another big complaint.
He closed the balcony door.
The ball of coloured thread on Du Ruo's desk fell to the ground. As she stood to pick it up, she saw Jing Ming's computer open with Protel running, designing a drawing.
So he wasn't playing games.
She returned to her seat feeling a little guilty, but on the balcony, the fighting escalated.
When Jing Ming spoke again, he was very impatient: "Fine. I’m so f*cking tired from arguing with you all day long."
Not sure what Min En Zhu said back but Jing Ming lost his temper: "Are you f*cking sick?"
"We’re over. Min En Zhu, this time it’s a clean break. Don't come here to beg me again!"
"Whoever gives in is a grandson!" [1] TL/N: 谁服软谁孙子!
"…" Du Ruo was shocked and frightened.
Was she witnessing a breakup?
Why was she still sitting here? She quickly packed her things to leave. Just as she got up, Jing Ming came back from the balcony with a dark face. He threw his phone on the table, sat down, didn’t even look at her and continued to work on his computer.
The headphones crackled.
Du Ruo slipped to the dormitory next door with her hair standing on end.
Half an hour later, she finished making the props and passed room 307 as she left and heard the phone ringing inside. Inadvertently glancing in, she saw the desk lamp and computer were both on, but Jing Ming wasn't there, and the phone kept ringing.
Walking out of the dormitory, she bumped into Min En Zhu, who was anxiously phone calling downstairs.
When she saw Du Ruo coming out of the building, she looked surprised. When they passed each other, she approached with some embarrassment and said: "Classmate..."
"Eh?"
"Can girls enter the boys' dormitory?"
"Normally, no, but during the week before the sports meet, it's allowed. Just these few days."
"Ah, thank you." Min En Zhu smiled with relief, and ran upstairs.
She had such a beautiful smile, Du Ruo thought. She was tall and slender, and she dressed well.
Thinking about it, she couldn't help but wonder, have they broken up?
This matter came to an end very quickly.
On the day of the sports meet, the weather was very good.
The autumn sky was high and blue, and the leaves around the track and field were half green and half yellow, brightly coloured.
The entrance ceremony of each class can be described as spectacular.
Some wore Republic of China uniforms, some were in ancient costumes, some were in Western court attire, some were wearing military uniforms and carrying rockets, and one class even created a steam train.
Du Ruo's class was the last to enter.
That morning, Xia Nan did her makeup and styling. At first, Du Ruo resisted, but Xia Nan said: "No matter what, you're the class flower. Don't let your class down."
Du Ruo then submitted.
After half an hour of fussing, all three roommates were surprised: "Xiao Cao, I just found out today that your facial features are quite nice, but your skin colour is usually too dark."
"My home is close to the tropics, and we have strong sunlight all year round."
"There is basically no sun in Beijing. You'll become fairer. …Oh, your collarbone looks so good."
Du Ruo was also taken aback when she was pushed in front of the mirror. The girl in the mirror was a bit pretty.
With makeup on, her hair styled, a white tea flower pinned in her braid, wearing a white dress and high heels, and the straps of the dress revealing her delicate shoulders and collarbone. She held a shiny and exquisite commanding wand and led the team to the stage.
She picked up the wand and gave various commands in turn, waving horizontally, raising it high, raising it above her head, turning the wand, raising both hands and spinning it.
The boys, one by one, row by row, followed her instructions, changing into various complicated formations, squatting, standing up, changing formations, crossing each other, doing mechanical dances, and doing robot movements.
The entire performance was innovative and joyful, and highly enjoyable to watch.
There was a round of applause on the stage. On the sports field, the students cheered enthusiastically, especially He Huan Huan and the others.
After her performance, Du Ruo put away her staff, and saw from the eyes of the audience that she performed successfully. She smiled confidently and brightly at her roommates, but her eyes met Jing Ming in the crowd. His class was also standing there.
His eyes met hers briefly before he looked away.
...
At the end of the opening ceremony, Du Ruo happily walked up the stands, just as Jing Ming came down from the upper level.
She held her breath slightly, and turned sideways to make room. When the two passed by, he seemed to be in a good mood and said:
"Your outfits’ not bad."
Du Ruo was stunned for a moment, while he had already walked down the stands and was far in the distance.
A gentle breeze rustled the treetops, and flowers blossomed in her heart. She walked briskly to the top of the stand and sat down.
The trees were dense, and their branches swayed with the wind.
The autumn sunlight shined on her in specks of light filtered through the green and yellow canopy.
She carefully gathered her skirt and couldn’t help but touch her collarbone, remembering the way her roommates had complimented her about how good they looked and how beautiful she looked today.
Not long after she sat down, Qiu Yu Chen came over and handed her a jacket:
“Put it on quickly. Don’t catch a cold.”
"I'm not cold." Du Ruo said, holding the jacket in her arms.
"Alright, I’ll let you be beautiful for a while longer." Qiu Yu Chen touched her face, "Dear, you are so beautiful today! But remember to put on clothes later and don't freeze."
"I know."
Du Ruo sat high up and had an excellent view. She gazed at the central track where competitions were taking place, and unconsciously glanced at the stands of the next class. Someone was missing.
But soon, she spotted Jing Ming.
He walked over from the stage, changed out of the class's printed T-shirt and into a set of Adidas sportswear accentuating his fair skin and tall physique. His sunny figure attracted many eyes from the stands.
After taking a few steps, a girl caught up with him and the two of them went to the stands together.
Min En Zhu and him were wearing matching outfits.
The tall girl looked really good in sportswear—refreshing and neat.
Du Ruo fell silent for a moment and put on her jacket.
The autumn wind blew, and her exposed legs became freezing cold.
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