RCJM Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Hii

Once again, sorry for the late update! And I have further bad news...

I'm going overseas for two weeks so I won't be uploading potentially for the next 3 weeks, but I will try to make it up when I get back > <

Hope you enjoy today's chapter~

Du Ruo sat in the stands, looking at the sports field.

He Huan Huan held a large bag of potato chips, munching on them. She handed one to Du Ruo, who stuffed it in her mouth, and found it tasteless.

On the sports field, long jump and high jump participants were competing. 

He Huan Huan bit off half her potato chip and suddenly sighed: "Ah, sometimes I really want to fall in love."

The absent-minded Du Ruo came to pay attention and looked at her strangely: “It’s autumn now, so suddenly?” She saw that He Huan Huan was looking somewhere in the stands.

Jing Ming was sitting at the bottom of their class's stand, his long legs resting on the railing, playing with his phone, his head down. Min En Zhu sat beside him, leaning against him, sometimes touching his collar, sometimes playing with his hair. Very intimate.

He seemed to be playing a game and paid no attention to her; she leaned over to look, then naturally wrapped her arm around him, looked at his screen and laughed to herself. After laughing, she lightly pecked his cheek, subtly and quickly without leaving a trace. 

Jing Ming was still looking at his phone and had no reaction to the kiss.

Du Ruo stared at them.

"Don't you sometimes want to fall in love?" He Huan Huan withdrew her gaze and said honestly, "I sometimes do think about it. I feel a little envious when I see others falling in love, but it’s only occasionally. Haha."

"There are many boys and few girls in our school. If you think about it, you will easily find a boyfriend."

"Really? Then why don't our senior sisters have boyfriends?"

"..." Du Ruo looked at her speechlessly. "I'm comforting you. Can't you just accept this kindness without talking back?"

He Huan Huan chuckled. Du Ruo couldn't help but laugh too.

At the bottom of the stands, Jing Ming stood up; he intended to watch the two girls from their class compete in the three-legged race. Min En Zhu, on the other hand, had no interest and stayed seated, playing with her phone.

Jing Ming walked down from the stands and headed to the competition area.

He Huan Huan put away the potato chip bag and said: "The three-legged race is starting. Our class has two more girls competing. Let's go watch."

Du Ruo agreed. She was the only girl in their class so did not sign up for this event.

At the starting point of the track, He Huan Huan went to cheer for her classmates.

Du Ruo caught sight of Chen Si and Wang Huai Yu, who were walking around with their legs tied together. A group of boys from their class, Jing Ming, Zhu Tao, and others were standing around giving advice. 

Zhu Tao: "Hold on to each other's arms.”

Zhang Lei: "Shout the beat. One, two, one."

Jing Ming didn't say anything and looked at the "three legs" of the two moving around. Suddenly, he laughed: "They're going to fall."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Si and Wang Huai Yu stumbled, and Zhang Lei and others quickly reached out to support them.

Jing Ming folded his arms and watched.

Chen Si scolded Jing Ming: "You jinx."

Jing Ming was amused: "Is it my fault that you can't coordinate well?"

"Of course it looks easy to you."

"Can't you use your brain?" Jing Ming teased. "Your steps are too small, too broken and frequent. Naturally, it is not easy to keep in tune. It would be weird if you didn’t fall. Take bigger steps, reduce the number of steps, and lower the frequency."

Wang Huai Yu thought about it: "You're right."

Xia Nan overheard and said: "Got the secret, thanks."

Jing Ming glanced at her and then joked to Chen Si and Wang Huaiyu, "The tricks’ been heard by your opponent, good luck with that."

Chen Si: "We won’t really lose. What if we tie?"

Jing Ming said: "Xia Nan's legs are longer than yours."

Chen Si laughed angrily, stretched out his arm and pointed at Jing Ming twice.

All the girls laughed.

Du Ruo didn't share the happy atmosphere. She and Jing Ming couldn't get along like ordinary classmates. It had always been that way.

The referee blew the whistle for participants to gather. The onlookers dispersed.

On the signal, pairs of girls with legs tied together ran towards the finish line, while the boys smiled and cheered beside the track.

As expected, Xia Nan and Qiu Yu Chen took first place, followed by Chen Si and Wang Huai Yu in second place.

Du Ruo went up to congratulate them.

Qiu Yu Chen was untying the rope on her leg. When she saw Du Ruo, she was surprised: "Xiao Cao, aren’t you running the 400 metre race? Why are you still wearing a skirt now?"

"... Oh my God, I forgot!" Du Ruo broke into cold sweat. "I'll go back and change right away."

He Huan Huan grabbed her and said: "Don't even think about it! The 400 metres is about to start. All the boys from our class have gathered. 

Sure enough, there were fewer boys around. Some of the boys had left during the two-legged race, and they were now assembling at the other end of the field.

Several volunteers came over to clear the track, announcing that the race was about to begin.

The four of them had just entered the field when the starting gun sounded, and the men's race had begun.

Du Ruo panicked: "What do I do now?"

He Huan Huan: "Just wear this outfit and run. Don't worry, there's no rule that says you have to come in first. The important thing is to participate. The sports meet is just for fun."

"But I can't run in high heels."

Xia Nan, the owner of the high heels, quickly took off her sports shoes: "Let's switch."

"..."

"What are you waiting for? Take them off quickly."

Du Ruo removed her shoes and put on Xia Nan's sneakers. Then she looked at herself in the formal dress and covered her face: “Does it look strange?"

Qiu Yu Chen laughed: "Now you care about looking strange?"

He Huan Huan found it amusing and was very excited: "Skirts and sneakers are popular now!"

Du Ruo sighed, feeling hopeless: "It’s over. If I run like this, I will attract everyone’s attention. So embarrassing…"

Xia Nan glanced at her: "Don't worry, I'll take pictures of you when you’re running."

"..." Du Ruo whispered, "No photos."

Qiu Yu Chen shrugged: "We definitely won’t be the only ones taking photos."

He Huan Huan cheered: "Exactly! Haha, it's going to be so much fun!"

"You guys..." Du Ruo sighed in resignation with no more time to chat. Her top priority was to rush to the 400-metre meeting point.

Her three dormitory friends followed to cheer her on.

The four girls ran like crazy across the grassy field.

Du Ruo rushed out of the field and ran to the starting point, looking around for the registration point. Someone shouted at her: "Watch out!"

She froze as everyone around her moved left and right, as if something dangerous was coming.

Footsteps were approaching quickly from behind.

Du Ruo turned around.

Jing Ming crossed the finish line of the 400-metre race at high speed and crashed into her!

He was shocked and could no longer stop and avoid her. He instinctively reached out and hugged her, and the two collided  and fell to the ground. His chin hit her temple hard, and she grimaced in pain.

Boys are so heavy!!!

She was going to be crushed!

Apart from feeling pain all over her body, he was hot and sweating, and his heat enveloped her. He weighed on her like a mountain.

He was so heavy she could barely breathe, her heart pounded wildly, and her internal organs were aching.

Jing Ming was stunned. He quickly put his hands on the ground, stood up, and picked her up, glanced up and down, and asked: "Are you okay?"

Du Ruo's heart was racing uncontrollably. Her face turned red and white, and her whole body ached. She couldn't say a word, and just shook her head mechanically.

Min En Zhu ran up to Jing Ming and asked anxiously: "Are you hurt?"

Jing Ming said: "I'm fine."

Min En Zhu looked at Du Ruo with a puzzled expression and a hint of dissatisfaction.

No girlfriend would like the scene that unfolded.

She asked Du Ruo: "Why were you blocking the finish line?"

Jing Ming wasn't interested in getting involved and said: "Let's go."

Min En Zhu left her alone and followed Jing Ming.

Although Du Ruo was shocked by the collision just now, she had no time to take care of her violently beating heart. She quickly walked to the starting line and sprinted on the track as the starting gun sounded.

She ran like the wind, as if she were trying to escape from some monster looming over her.

She held her fluffy white skirt and ran wildly on the runway. She appeared delicate but was taking the lead.

"Look at that girl, she’s running in a skirt!"

The students in the stands were all drawn to the spectacle, smiling kindly, watching, cheering, and taking photos with their phones.

Lively, cute, willful, and free, this was what a university sport meet should be like!

They wouldn't know how panicked the girl holding her skirt truly felt.

What a beautiful misunderstanding.

Jing Ming walked through the centre of the track and field, slowly calming down his frantic heartbeat after running 400 metres.

Min En Zhu stepped forward and held his hand, saying: "You are not allowed to hug other girls in the future, got it?"

Jing Ming was confused: "Hug who?"

"Just now." She pouted and said: "Don’t you know others will fall for you too?"

Jing Ming was speechless: "Nonsense."

He walked toward the stands and happened to see Du Ruo running across the track holding her skirt. She looked slender and weak but could actually run faster than a rabbit.

After Du Ruo ran the 400 metres, she looked like a fish thrown ashore, her blood vessels about to burst. The originally beautiful dress was now soaked with sweat and wrinkled.

All her classmates came over to congratulate her for finishing first, but she could only gasp for breath, unable to react.

She drank some water and slowly made her way across the field, and her condition began to improve slightly.

She returned to the stands and sat there for a long time, but she didn't know why she was sitting there.

Gradually, the heat and chaos within her body subsided little by little. The sweat evaporated, and she felt a faint, invading coolness.

All the commotion had disappeared, receding cleanly, like a beach at low tide.

As if nothing had happened.

As evening approached, most of the competitions had ended, and there were only a few people in the stands.

Du Ruo absentmindedly glanced in that direction. Everyone in Chen Si's class had already left.

Qiu Yu Chen came over and said that their class was dismissed and asked if Du Ruo wanted to go back to rest.

Du Ruo agreed.

The various colourful ribbons and gold streamers from the opening ceremony in the morning were now scattered on the field. At this moment, as the sun set, the field looked deserted and messy.

Du Ruo and her roommates walked back to their dormitory. Along the way, the autumn breeze blew gently, and the leaves rustled above their heads.

After a lively day, the music ends and everyone disperses.

A sense of desolation after the festivities swept over them, like the returning tide of the sea at night.

The four girls were a bit weary. They were all tired after a long day and couldn't find the energy to speak. They walked quietly through the campus together.

Du Ruo walked, raised her head, took a deep breath, and looked at the sky, the setting sun, the trees, and the windows of the boys' dormitory building.

On the balcony of the third floor, there was a white shirt hanging out to dry with a black embroidered ribbon on the back of the shirt.

She immediately recognised it as Jing Ming’s. He had once worn it to a public English class.

The night wind blew, and she felt a little cold. She wrapped her coat tightly and quickened her pace: "Let's go back to the dorm quickly, I’m freezing to death."

"You're wearing too little." He Huan Huan said, "But you look really pretty, Xiao Cao. So beautiful, you truly turned into a little fairy today, hahaha."

"Pfft." Du Ruo laughed and said, "Now this little fairy is coming back to reality. Going back to the dorm, changing clothes, eating, then heading to the library!"

Qiu Yu Chen sighed weakly: "You're still going to the library today? I have no energy."

Xia Nan: "I'm not going either, I'm exhausted."

Huan Huan: "I have to go, I haven't turned in the group assignment yet."

Du Ruo smiled: "Let's go together then."

Translated by evienRose

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RCJM Chapter 11

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.

Translated by evienRose

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RCJM Chapter 10

Chapter 10

At 6:50 in the evening, the sky was getting dark, and quite a few students were out running on the sports field.

On one side of the field, separated by a long row of green plastic barbed wire, was a basketball court.

The boys were playing basketball in full swing.

The sound of the ball hitting the basket, the squeaking of sneakers on the ground, and the sound of shouting could be heard.

Summer had passed, but autumn had not fully arrived yet.

The weather was perfect, not hot but a cool night.

Du Ruo ran a few laps around the track, then gathered with her classmates under the big poplar tree on the sidelines.

There were a few boys wearing basketball uniforms with flushed faces who had just come off the basketball court.

Everyone gathered together to discuss the entry formation for the sports meet. [1]

Du Ruo suggests that with 22 people in the class, she and one classmate should hold the class sign at the front of the formation. The remaining twenty students should form four rows of five, perfectly aligned.

Saved time and effort.

Unexpectedly, a group of boys shook their heads, saying this isn’t high school, and just holding up the class card wouldn't allow them to wholeheartedly participate in the overall entrance performance.

The implication was that their class flower should play a greater role.

Du Ruo asks: "Have you already thought of a plan?"

Li Wei shared their initial idea: one boy holds the class sign at the front to lead the way. Excluding him, Du Ruo stands at the front of the team, escorted by four boys behind her, followed by a four by four formation.

Du Ruo: "You’re putting me in that position… am I going to be holding something?"

"Yes. Have you seen the Thai movie, 'A Little Thing Called First Love'?"

"No."

"It’s okay, it's just a shiny wand. Kind of like a kid’s fairy wand, but a bit bigger than that," Wan Zi'ang said. "We'll make it even more delicate than in the movie."

Du Ruo became cautious: "You're not going to make me wear a princess tutu skirt and dance with a fairy wand, right?"

Her imagination was quite strong.

The boys in the class were taken aback for a moment before laughing. They pursed their lips shyly and smiled.

"Why are you so cute?"

He Yi said: "No. How embarrassing would it be for you to dance alone. We're learning transmission control, so let’s make it related."

Zeng Ke Fan said: "You'll use the wand to make various commands. Then we'll respond with different movements."

Du Ruo understood, her eyes sparkled: "Sounds fun. Who came up with this idea?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a basketball flew towards her at high speed and hit the green plastic barbed wire behind her head. A loud bang exploded as it hit the fence, and she screamed while covering her head, and jumped away in panic.

She was so frightened that her heart almost exploded. When she turned her head, she saw the basketball bouncing away. Jing Ming, who was dressed in a basketball uniform, rushed over from the other side, extending his arm to catch the unruly basketball. The ball returned to his hand, he turned his wrist and the ball hit the ground and bounced back up. He tapped it a couple of times, and instantly gained control, smooth and seamlessly.

His head was covered with sweat, his hair wet in tufts, and the tips of his hair jumped with the movement of his body.

Enemies on a narrow road? [2] 

Jing Ming was flushed, panted and looked towards the wire fence, and raised his chin at the boys in Du Ruo’s class as a greeting. His eyes swept over Du Ruo, and he paused for a second, as if he wanted to express something, but in the end, he didn’t.

He didn’t ask about her situation, turned around dribbling the basketball and ran away, and even made a three-step layup, which went straight into the basket.

With a heroic appearance, the many girls watching cheered and applauded.

Du Ruo, who was almost scared to death and whose heartbeat hadn’t calmed down: "..."

She gave Jing Ming, on the court, a resentful look, and cursed in her heart, ‘I hope you fall and get hurt!’

Li Wei called the students in the class to gather. 

The twenty-two students lined up according to height, and walked back and forth on the track first.

"One, two, one! One, two, one!"

Du Ruo was lined up alone, so there was no need to consider left and right alignment. As she walked, she inadvertently looked to the other end of the barbed wire.

On the basketball court, Jing Ming played with the ball like flowing water, passing and catching, feinting, passing behind others...

She could even hear the harsh and sharp sound of basketball shoes abruptly stopping and pivoting on the court as he changed direction, crisp and powerful.

He evaded the opponent’s defence, rushed to the basket, and jumped up. The defender jumped to block, but he was just feigning and suddenly dropped down, spun around, and jumped away from the defender’s opening. With his back to the basket, he tossed the ball over his head and slammed it backwards, and the basketball went into the hoop with a resounding sound.

He landed easily.

Stealing the limelight.

So handsome! Even the boys watching all applauded.

Even Du Ruo was momentarily stunned, and her heart stopped beating.

Basketball was really exciting!

However, that guy, acting all tough. It would be funny if he suddenly tripped.

Under her feet, she stepped on her shoelace and fell to the ground with a bang.

"......"

She winced in pain, tears welling up in her eyes. But saw that Jing Ming happened to walk over to the sideline for a drink, and witnessed her fall into the mud.

All the boys from the class rushed over, and two of them grabbed her arms and lifted her up: "How come you fell?"

Du Ruo moaned miserably: "My shoelaces were loose."

A boy helped her tie it.

"No need." She was so flattered that she endured the severe pain in her knees and wanted to squat down to stop him. However, before she could react, the other party had swiftly tied her shoelaces. She was so moved that she thanked him repeatedly.

"Can you still walk?"

"I can. It’s fine."

But out of consideration for her “leg injury”, the boys insisted on letting her rest aside.

The rest of the team continued to practise marching.

Du Ruo sat on the sidelines and watched, and occasionally, she unconsciously turned to glance at the basketball court. After a few glances, Jing Ming and the others had dispersed.

The sky grew darker.

The high-altitude lighting towers by the sports field suddenly turned on, and a circle of strong white lights lit up all at once, illuminating the field like daytime.

In the flickering white light, Jing Ming's figure was exceptionally clear, his purple-gold basketball uniform and tufts of black hair, sharp as a sword.

Amidst the shifting shadows, he went under the basketball hoop to pick up his jacket, took out his phone from his pocket, put the jacket over his shoulder, and walked off the basketball court while looking at his phone.

Boys were still playing in the other courts, and the court where he had been on also quickly flooded with a group of newcomers.

Du Ruo tilted her head and watched him leave the court. Across the distance of two barbed wire fences, there were many figures, and he quickly disappeared.

She turned her head back and looked at the sports field under the white light.

The sky was completely dark, the temperature was low, and it was a bit cold. She wanted to leave and go back to the dormitory to change clothes.

She didn’t sit on the sideline for long. Everyone walked back and forth a few times, and after getting acquainted with each other, they disbanded. 

Du Ruo dashed back to the dormitory like the wind and saw no acquaintances on the way.

Back in the dorm room, it was pitch black. Only Qiu Yu Chen was watching an American drama with a desk lamp on. He Huan Huan and Xia Nan had gone to the library.

Seeing her come back, Qiu Yu Chen paused her computer, and said: "Didn't you ask Huan Huan to take your backpack to the library for you? You said you’d go directly after practice?"

"Ah! Oh! Right! I’m going." She left in an instant.

"Why are you so absent-minded?" Qiu Yu Chen muttered, tapped her keyboard, and the American drama resumed.

Du Ruo went to the library for self-study. After reading for a while, she started sketching circuit diagrams, and quickly creating several complex designs. She felt pleased with herself.

With plenty of time left, she continued to read the book, covering content that the teacher hadn't yet discussed. Around nine o'clock, the phone in her pocket vibrated.

It was strange since she had just spoken to her mom yesterday. She had also seen her classmates recently. Who could it be?

"Jing Ming” was written on the screen.

Du Ruo was quite surprised, leaving her books and pens behind and rushed to the corridor to answer the call. "Hello?"

On the other end, a voice that sounded impatient and in a bad tone said: "Where are you?"

She rolled her eyes in confusion: "The library. What's wrong?"

"Come out for a while," he said.

"Huh?" She became a little wary. "Why?"

"My parents sent you a computer. It's here with me. Take it quickly"

Surprised, delighted, and grateful, she hurriedly exclaimed: "Thank you, uncle, aunty and thank you." Although she was grateful, she felt ashamed and uncomfortable, so she repeated awkwardly: "Thank you."

"..." Jing Ming paused for a second, then urged: "Just come and get it now."

"Oh. I'll be right over."

"Don't come to my dorm." He ordered, "Go behind the Administration Building."

The call ended.

Du Ruo knew that he didn’t want others to see him, so he found a secluded place.

He was already doing her a favour by giving her the computer. She had troubled him enough.

Afraid of making him wait, she hurried to the agreed location.

Away from the teaching area, there were fewer and fewer people on the road.

Under the dim streetlights, the shade of the trees were mottled.

The weather at night during this time was really good – cool, neither cold nor hot.

But she was anxious, and her hurried steps made her break into a slight sweat.

The Administration Building was dark and the doors were closed.

The road in front was straight and wide, and there was no one around.

The sides were lined with dense locust trees, flower beds filled with short shrubs. There were buildings on both sides of the yard with unknown purpose, without light and quiet. They were all constructed in the architectural style of the Republic of China period, which looked a little dark.

The streetlights were hazy, but the moonlight was very bright tonight, covering everything in a frosty light glow.

She stood on the steps by the side of the road, tiptoeing and playing around, breathing heavily to calm her heartbeat.

In the cool moonlight, she stepped on the steps and walked up and down waiting for him.

After waiting expectantly for a while, perhaps the sweat on her body had evaporated, she began feeling a bit cold.

Feeling chilly, she squatted down hugging herself.

Soon, footsteps came into the quiet world.

She stood up immediately.

Jing Ming came, with one hand in his pocket and the other carrying a large paper bag.

With a dull expression, he handed her the paper bag.

Du Ruo grew even more excited: "Is it a laptop?"

Jing Ming took a few seconds to understand what she meant, and laughed: "What age is it? Girls still use desktop computers in their dormitories?"

This time, Du Ruo didn't care about his teasing. That’s right, girls all used beautiful laptops. Why would anyone buy a bulky desktop?

It was rare for her to answer his words with good humour: "Isn’t it only the boys' dorms that use them?"

"Some of them have high-spec ones for gaming," he replied lightly.

"Thank you." Du Ruo said, smiling at him.

It was the first time she had smiled so freely in front of him.

Under the moonlight, her complexion appeared softer and fairer than during the day. Her eyes curved when she smiled, and there were faint dimples at the corner of her lips.

He looked at her quietly for a second, his gaze calmly swept over her from head to toe.

She wore a T-shirt with a shirt as a jacket. As the cold wind blew, she shivered.

Jing Ming asked lighted: "Out of money?"

Du Ruo didn't react: "Huh?"

He said: "No money to buy clothes?"

"..." Du Ruo’s happy heart returned to its original state in an instant, and her gratitude to him for giving her the laptop was gone. Why is this person’s mouth so annoying! However, being in his debt, she couldn’t say anything harsh. With a stiff expression, she picked up her bag and turned around to leave.

"Wait," he called her from behind.

Du Ruo, reflexively stopped, annoyed for a while, and stared back at him: "What?"

He raised an eyebrow and asked: "Aren't you cold wearing so little clothing?"

She was stunned, and a warm feeling suddenly appeared in her heart. Feeling a bit at a loss, she looked at him. So that's what he meant. She regretted misunderstanding him just now and didn't know how to respond.

He stepped forward, took out his wallet from his pocket, and handed her a stack of cash: "Take it."

Her blood rushed to her face in an instant. She clutched the paper bag tightly and shook her head: "No need. I have enough money."

The money he handed over was not taken back, and he didn’t have the heart to argue with her, so he bent down and stuffed the money into the paper bag and left.

With wet eyes, Du Ruo grabbed the money out of the bag.

"I really don't need it." She rushed up to him, pressed the money into his hand, and ran away desperately without stopping.

She ran back to the dormitory in one breath. Her back was covered in sweat, her mouth was dry, and she was gasping for breath.

She leaned against the stairwell, dazed.

The motion sensor light went out, and it was dark.

She felt a trace of sadness, but didn’t know why.

It would’ve been fine if it was like what they agreed to at the beginning - to not meet once on campus.

At least then she could pretend to keep a bit of dignity in front of him.

She lowered her head dejectedly and touched her cold forehead, only to see a hundred yuan bill still left in the paper bag.

Translated by evienRose

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[1] ‘sports meet’ - like an athletics carnival

[2] ‘enemies on a narrow road?’ - kind of means ‘why do we always meet, we must be fated enemies?’

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RCJM Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Du Ruo was crying and scared. She didn't want to walk back in the middle of the night, what would she do if she was in danger.

Jing Ming, that bastard!

A minute later, her phone rang again.

This time, she quickly wiped away her tears and pressed the answer button filled with righteous indignation.

Jing Ming's voice was cold and angry: "Are you crazy, hanging up my call?"

She ignored him with disdain.

The other end waited for a while, probably considering the danger in the middle of the night, he lowered his voice, and confirmed: “Du Ruo Chun?”

Du Ruo guessed his thoughts and thought resentfully: "I'm in danger! I’m going to die! You’ll regret this to death!"

After thinking about it, she found that this threat was useless, he thought she was insignificant anyway. 

She said angrily: "What do you want!"

Jing Ming paused and asked: "Where are you?"

"On the street."

"Which street?"

"The street on the way home"

"..." He endured it, not knowing whether she was pretending to be stupid or just being dumbfounded, and said: "Open the map and see which street you’re on."

Du Ruo: "I came from the countryside, I don't know how to use it."

Jing Ming: "..."

Unbelievable.

As soon as he heard her tone, he knew she was deliberately being difficult.

He wasn't someone with a good temper to begin with, so he replied angrily: "It’s already so late, why are you acting like this?"

"I'm going to walk, I'm hanging up."

"Hey, we need to..."

Beep... Beep… she hung up...

In the underground parking lot, after a second of silence,

"Damn it!"

With a dark face, Jing Ming drove along the route back home, scanning the sidewalk the whole way. Pity for him, he could only drive his flashy sports car at forty kilometres per hour, the passing cars probably thought he was out of his mind.

After driving two blocks, he finally saw Du Ruo, actually walking.

This woman, did she know how far it was from home? Was she planning to walk forever?

Jing Ming pulled onto the side road, parked beside her, waited for a few seconds, and saw that she didn't move: "Hey, get in the car."

Du Ruo: "I won't."

He looked at her like she was insane: "Are you out of your mind? Making trouble at this hour."

She couldn't argue with him, so she walked away.

He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, endured with great effort, and slowly drove along the side, following her.

"Get in the car."

"... Can you get in the car?"

"If you have something to say, get in."

"Hey! Don't walk away."

Finally losing patience:

"Du Ruo Chun, if you don't get in the car, I'm leaving. This place is dangerous. If something happens to you, who will be at a loss, me or you?"

Du Ruo suddenly stopped, stood still for a few seconds, struggled internally, and realised even if she was angry with him she shouldn't joke with her own safety. In the end, she got into the car.

Jing Ming calmed down a bit, but he was still annoyed and said: "Didn't I tell you to wait in the parking lot? It’s already so late, why are you running around?”

Du Ruo turned a deaf ear, not even looking at him. 

Just as he was about to get angry, he saw her eyelashes were wet and her lips were tightly pressed.

Did she cry?

He froze for a moment, pursed his lips tightly, and remained silent.

Starting the sports car, he got back onto the main road.

After driving two blocks, he asked casually: “Didn't I tell you to wait in the parking lot—"

"I was there," Du Ruo interrupted, "You forgot."

Jing Ming was stunned once again, his mind taking a turn, and finally understood.

It’s not that he forgot her, but that he misjudged the time back then, thinking it was still early and not yet midnight. So he sent Min En Zhu home first. He came back after 15 minutes, but she was nowhere to be seen, and he thought she left without saying anything. 

"I... didn't forget." He raised a hand and rubbed his brows guiltily, "I misread the time, I thought it was only eleven o’clock."

Du Ruo ignored him

He knew he was wrong and didn’t speak anymore.

The two went home, got out of the car, entered the house, went upstairs, and each went to their respective rooms.

Silence.

During breakfast the next day, Ming Yi asked Du Ruo and Jing Ming how it was last night.

Jing Ming bit into his sandwich not saying a word.

Du Ruo spoke: "We went singing."

"Was it lively?"

"Mm."

Ming Yi smiled and turned to Jing Ming: "Does Xiao Ruo sing well?"

Jing Ming furrowed his brows, and gave a vague “mm”: "It was okay."

Ming Yi: "Xiao Ruo, are you leaving after lunch?"

Du Ruo: "Let’s go after breakfast, I want to go back to school early."

Ming Yi didn't try to keep her, then turned to Jing Ming: "You should also head back to school early, and send Xiao Ruo back."

Uncharacteristically, Jing Ming did not object.

After breakfast, he drove Du Ruo back to school. Like last time, he parked the car on the side of the road outside the campus. After Du Ruo packed her things and got out of the car, he drove away.

The two still didn’t speak a word, and neither paid attention to the other. 

Du Ruo stood on the side of the road, watching his car disappear, and couldn't help rolling her eyes.

...

Over the next week, Du Ruo tried to find a part-time job as a tutor, but she couldn’t find a suitable one.

Firstly, some destinations were too far away, it could take three or four hours to travel back and forth by car; if expenses are shared with travel fees, the hourly salary is pitifully low, and her academic workload was too heavy. Secondly, there were too many activities at school. There will be a sports meeting in the courtyard and her class was organising a fall outing. Once these activities were over, the midterm exams will come as scheduled.

Looking at the calendar on the wall, Du Ruo sighed: "Why can't there be a few more days in a month?"

"Xiao Ruo, it’s only freshman year. Don't be so nervous. Take it easy and enjoy university life. It's okay to relax occasionally." Xia Nan replied while curling her eyelashes in the mirror.

Du Ruo leaned in curiously: "What are you doing?"

"Curling my eyelashes."

"What’s the point of clamping it?"

"To curl them." Xia Nan put down the eyelash curler and blinked at her: "Look, aren't they curled now?"

"Hmm... they are."

"Come on, let me curl yours. Come, sit here," Xia Nan stood up and gave the chair to Du Ruo. She bent down: "Just open your eyes naturally."

After curling one side, she curled the other.

Qiu Yu Chen came in with a bucket of freshly washed clothes, walked to the balcony, glanced at Du Ruo’s table, and said: "Xiao Cao, you have classes in the next two periods."

Du Ruo jumped up from the chair with a gasp and covered her eyes, and didn’t care about the eyelashes that were clipped off.

"My god! I forgot!" She hurriedly grabbed her textbooks, and rushed out of the dormitory with one eye teary.

Xia Nan glanced at the few remaining eyelashes on the curler, and shook it a bit: "That must’ve hurt…… Oh, Xiao Ruo's eyelashes are quite long."

...

Du Ruo rushed into the laboratory at the last second when the class bell rang, and fortunately was not late.

Her favourite seat in the front row was still reserved for her.

This class was a lab session, continuing with the topic of RC series circuits.

The teacher didn't care about this small episode, and after Du Ruo sat down, he started teaching:

"We've covered the basics in the previous classes. The content may seem simple and basic, but don't take it lightly. Every complex circuit is made up of individual elements, and each of them is a simple factor. For instance, this simple RC series circuit, with different values, arrangements, input frequencies, and signal forms—or to put it another way, by using different input and output ports—can show different circuit functions. Such as coupling and decoupling circuits, low-pass and high-pass filters, phase-shift circuits, integration and differentiation operation circuits. All of these build upon this foundation... How about it, is it simple?"

The students smiled.

Du Ruo frowned and thought, seeming to have an epiphany.

The teacher continued: "Everyone, remember, when you get to university, you have to draw inferences from one instance and integrate with another. After laying a solid foundation, you can build it layer by layer, simplifying the complex, and breaking down the complexity."

The content of the class was not complicated. The students had to design a circuit diagram themselves, then actually conduct the wiring experiment.

After the lab session, although Du Ruo was able to quickly catch up with the pace, she began to feel dissatisfied with the current situation.

For the past month or so, her goal was to keep up with the teacher.

But now, she felt that what was taught in class was just the basics. What made people stand out were the ‘inferences’ and ‘integration’ of ideas outside of class.

She didn't spend enough time in the computer room and laboratory, and she didn’t have enough time for self-study. Moreover, she needed a computer, and the computers in the school computer room were too slow.

But she couldn't afford one, for now.

Working part-time during the winter vacation and saving money on food and expenses, she should be able to afford a regular desktop computer next semester.

Du Ruo pondered, put her books away and walked out of the laboratory.

Several boys in the class ran past her and swarmed into the laboratory at the end of the corridor, and some turned their heads and waved at her, beckoning her to come along.

She followed and ran to the circuit laboratory, where a group of boys gathered around an experimental setup, all with an expression of fun anticipation, but also with a bit of seriousness in their laughter:

"F*ck, don’t mess around, kid."

"It's going to burn, it will burn."

Jing Ming slanted one shoulder, and stood loosely in front of the test bench. There were a bunch of red and black wires on the table, and the experimental setup was also plugged with complicated lengths of wires.

He plugged the ports one by one, and connected the wires. A complicated circuit diagram lay beside it.

Li Wei stood in front of the bench with a few boys from the mechanical and electrical engineering class, tracing the circuit diagram with his fingers slowly, frowning and silently calculating the circuit equation.

Someone said: "Have you tried it in the software? Have you shown it to the teacher? What if it blows?"

Jing Ming snorted and ignored him.

Du Ruo glanced at his confident face, stretched her neck curiously, and leaned over to look at the circuit diagram.

Her mind went blank at first glance.

Resistors, capacitors, diodes, filters, and inductors—other than recognising the symbols and lines on the diagram that looked like a treasure map, she really couldn't comprehend how it worked.

Before Li Wei and the others could figure it out, Jing Ming had already connected the wires, turned on the power, and turned the knob of the voltage regulator to increase the voltage.

Everyone around shrank back at the same time, as if he had fired a gun. Du Ruo also flinched, expecting an alarm to go off, but no.

In the silence, there seemed to be a very thin and crisp sound of electric current, and the green light was on.

"Wow." The students gathered around again, curiously observing the setup following the wiring on the instrument.

Jing Ming raised an eyebrow and curled his lower lip. Then he caught sight of Du Ruo standing nearby, struggling to figure out the diagram, tangled in her thoughts. She raised her head sadly and dazed, and finally met his gaze.

He raised his eyebrows.

Du Ruo: "..."

She felt tight in her chest, and she turned around to leave.

Ha!

Looked down on again.

What the heck! Who’s showing off? Knowing how to design complex circuits and successfully experimenting without burning out the machine, you think you’re so amazing, and can throw it in my face?!

...Yeah.

Du Ruo’s face puffed up sullenly like an eggplant.

She had to admit that she was very envious of Jing Ming.

He could do everything.

She heard that he even formed a robot research and development team called Prime. Among the freshmen, all the top-ranked elites with special admissions were under his command. 

A little person inside her heart fell to the group and acted spoiled:

Aww! I want that too!

Ugh—

I also want to have extraordinary skills to show off.

Stop!

She tapped her forehead, stopping these pointless thoughts.

If she had time to daydream, it was better to think about the key points of the class.

She walked out of the laboratory, went down the stairs, and ran into Chen Si and Wang Huai Yu from the dormitory next door. They were in the same class as Jing Ming, and asked Du Ruo: "Want to eat together?"

She thanked them for their invitation with a smile, and said, "The cafeteria is too crowded at this time. I'll go later."

"Going to the library now?"

"Computer room." Before she finished speaking, Li Wei’s laughter came from behind her: “So hardworking.”

Du Ruo turned around and joked: "Go to the computer room to play games."

"With the computers in this school? You might as well play on calculators." Li Wei followed down the stairs, along with his three dorm mates, Zhang Lei, Zhu Tao, and... Jing Ming.

Du Ruo's smile faltered.

Jing Ming had his head lowered, fingers tapping his phone. Zhang Lei and Zhu Tao frowned and loolooked at his phone screen, as if there was something important on it.

Li Wei said: “Oh, by the way, Du Ruo, gather at the field at 7 o’clock in the evening."

"For what?"

"Next week's sports meet. We'll discuss the opening ceremony."

"Oh that’s fine."

Chen Si overheard and asked: "What kind of opening act is your class planning to do?"

Li Wei: "We haven't figured it out yet. The guys mentioned some ideas casually, and the general consensus is to highlight our class!... Flower!"

Du Ruo: "..."

From the back of her head, a certain guy snorted a laugh, which sounded both lazy and unbelieving.

Du Ruo clenched her teeth,

Chen Si and Wang Huai Yu also giggled: "Let's wait and see."

"..."

Alas, forget it. Just go with the flow.

...

Du Ruo went to the computer room after leaving the laboratory building, and Jing Ming and the others walked in the opposite directions.

Li Wei muttered to himself: "Sigh, how can we design something that highlights the importance of our class beauty?"

Jing Ming scratched his eyebrow lazily, and said casually: “What effect do you want? How about giving Cinderella a magic wand, turning a pumpkin into a carriage drawn by white horses, and making crystal shoes?"

Li Wei slapped his forehead: "That's a good idea!"

Jing Ming: "....."

Friend, are you out of your mind?

Translated by evienRose

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RCJM Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jing Ming was silent for a while, thinking he had misheard: "What?"

Ming Yi: "Aren't you going to hang out with your friends? Xiao Ruo doesn't have many friends here, so take her with you."

Jing Ming frowned and wanted to say something, but Du Ruo waved her hand immediately: "Auntie, no need, I'll be back to school soon—"

"There’s still one more day off tomorrow. Why go back so early?" Ming Yi said, looking at her son with a tone that left no room for refusal. "It’s been a long vacation; both you and your dad have been outside all this time. Xiao Ruo has been with me for so long; you should take her out to have some fun too."

Jing Ming raised his brow, glanced at Du Ruo, and unexpectedly didn't say anything, as if he was too lazy to argue. He collapsed on the sofa and started playing with his phone again.

Satisfied, Ming Yi smiled and said to Du Ruo: "Go and change your clothes."

Du Ruo didn't want to go!

But now it’s like this, it would be hypocritical to evade, so she could only bite the bullet, and go to the guest room, randomly choose an outfit from the clothes she bought a few days ago and change.

She walked back to the living room and said to the person nestled on the sofa: "Done."

Jing Ming was playing a mobile game, he raised his eyes to look at her and his gaze paused on her for a second.

Du Ruo wore a white short-sleeved shirt with a dark denim suspender skirt.

He could tell at a glance that this outfit should have been bought by his mother. Clothes make the man, and he had to admit, there was indeed some change.

He put away his phone, grabbed the car keys from the coffee table, and walked out.

Du Ruo: "Uncle, Auntie, I'm going out."

"Go ahead, have fun."

She ran out quickly.

With Jing Ming’s temper, he had no patience to wait for her.

He got into a blue convertible sports car, and Du Ruo followed, fastened her seat belt, and wondered how many cars his family had.

Although the Jing couple often teased and scolded their son, they actually spoiled him.

Halfway through the journey, his phone rang, and Jing Ming put on Bluetooth earphones: "I'm on the way, wait a bit."

Don’t know what the other party said but his expression changed slightly, and he seemed a little annoyed: "Who are you mocking? ... My mother didn't say anything. Is there any point in saying such sour words?"

The other end immediately showed weakness, his facial expression softened, and after a while, the conversation continued normally again.

"After a few days of diving, I finally got a little tan." A voice complained, "But only a little, damn."

"I flew for 14 hours, and within two hours of arriving home, I came out to meet you. Still don’t think I pay attention to you? ... During winter vacation, I will take you to Palau for a trip. This time, I promised my niece and nephew."

Only then did Du Ruo realise the person on the other end was Min En Zhu.

He turned the steering wheel to make a turn, then smiled with a hint of mischief: “Really? Then I’ll have to take a good look. Alright, I’ll hang up now.”

On both sides of the road, the CBD buildings were brightly lit. Driving through the traffic was like weaving. The red tail lights looked like floating water lanterns in the river.

Jing Ming spoke: "After returning home, when my mother asks, don't mention seeing Min En Zhu, got it?"

Du Ruo was looking at the night view of the city, and it took a few seconds to realise he was talking to her. She turned around: "Huh?"

Jing Ming thought she didn’t know who Min En Zhu was, and said: "Min En Zhu, my girlfriend."

"Oh. Got it." Du Ruo nodded.

"If my mother asks you, don't say you met her at school either."

"... " Du Ruo nodded again, feeling a little guilty.

Jing Ming took Du Ruo to a KTV house that was high-end and resplendent. [1]

A handsome waiter bowed, led the way for the two of them, and entered a private box. Du Ruo didn't see Jing Ming's friends filling the room, nor did she see Min En Zhu.

There was no one in the box.

Jing Ming called over the waiter, ordered a few things on the tablet, handed over his credit card, and looked back at Du Ruo: "Sit down."

Du Ruo sat down, the denim dress rubbing against her knees, making her feel a little uncomfortable.

She was flustered in her heart, trying to figure out why Jing Ming brought her here alone.

Were they going to sing here together?

She thought about it and found it impossible.

Would Min En Zhu join them later... will she be a third wheel?

Thinking about this, she felt it was even more impossible.

The waiter left, the light in the private room was dim, and singing from the next room could be heard faintly.

Jing Ming stood, and Du Ruo sat.

He looked at her, she looked at him. They did not speak for a while, and quickly looked away in embarrassment.

Jing Ming glanced at the screen, walked to the song selection screen, swiped a few times, and asked: "Have you ever been to KTV?"

Du Ruo: "After the college entrance examination, I went with some classmates”.

Jing Ming moved his hand away from the screen and turned around. There was no need to teach her anymore.

Du Ruo was very sensitive, she noticed this detail in an instant, and was a little moved by his thoughtfulness. But the next second, she heard him say: "You can have fun here, I’m going to leave."

She fell from the clouds to the dirt and stared at him without blinking.

He didn't look into her eyes: "I have something to do. Ask your classmates to come over and play. When it’s time, go to the parking lot and wait for me. 12 o'clock, don't forget." After he finished explaining, the waiter came back with his credit card. He took the card and left. 

She was left alone in the huge box.

On the screen, girls in short skirts were laughing, singing, and dancing.

The air conditioner was too strong, and a chill crept up her legs.

Du Ruo was stunned on the sofa for a long time. After a long while, she slowly understood the prickling feeling in her heart, which may be called sadness.

He clearly didn’t show his usual contemptuous expression today, on the contrary he was quite polite.

She couldn't blame him either.

It was her own fault for coming out when he had a date.

She was no one, why would he care about her?

Anyway, he had always looked down on her.

But even though she didn't do anything wrong, she felt ashamed?

She remained in a daze until the door was pushed open again, and the waiter came in with a huge plate of fruit and a huge plate of snacks, which almost filled the table.

She recovered and said to the waiter: "Thank you."

"You're welcome, please take your time." The waiter smiled as he left.

There was a colourful fruit platter, golden fried chicken nuggets, French fries, and onion rings. The food was slightly comforting.

Du Ruo thought, if He Huan Huan were here, she would be very happy. Feeling so gloomy on her own, it was too depressing. Since she was here, she might as well make the most of it.

Didn't she say she wanted to enjoy life?

She stretched out her arm and stuffed a piece of kiwi into her mouth, it was delicious; she ate another piece of dragon fruit, delicious; she ate French fries and chicken wings, it was so delicious that she cried.

Forget it, she forgave him. At least he ordered so much food; he had a conscience.

But it’s still sad.

Was she used by him? He was too lazy to argue with his mother and be nagged, so he abducted her to KTV?

What was she, a shield? Could he buy her off by ordering a bunch of food before leaving?

Ah!

While Du Ruo was eating, she angrily took out the small ticket under the plate, took a look, and almost lost her eyes.

Private room (large, luxurious), 1008 yuan;

Fruit platter (large, premium), 588 yuan;

Snack platter (large, premium), 388 yuan.

She hurriedly ate a strawberry to suppress her shock, and of her own initiative, saw a trace of apology in the prices.

She was good at self-comfort, making herself feel a little better.

She ate blueberries, chewed cherries, and called her roommates to have the whole place to themselves!

Taking her phone, she sent a message in the dorm group chat: "What are you guys up to?"

He Huan Huan returned a picture of a bunch of sesame twist pastry shops on the street. She was still in Tianjin.

Qiu Yu Chen: "I'm with my parents playing in the suburbs, it’s packed with people, so crowded!"

Xia Nan didn’t reply, so she probably hadn’t seen it.

Du Ruo knew that nobody would be able to come. Feeling a little disappointed for a moment, she perked up again: "Come on, I'll sing for you!"

Qiu Yu Chen: "Deadly. Not listening."

She laughed, selected a bunch of songs, and sent voice messages while she sang.

Voice messages bombarded the dormitory group chat one after another.

She didn't care if they were listening or not; just assumed there was an audience on the other end. After all, she rarely let herself go like this.

After singing a few songs, Qiu Yu Chen sent a message: "Oh my god, you sing so well?! You should join a talent show, my friend! I'll be your cheerleader."

He Huan Huan: "I'll be your agent! Counting the money."

Qiu Yu Chen: "Go away!"

Du Ruo rolled on the sofa laughing.

Occasionally, there were people passing by outside the private room, peeking through the narrow glass, maybe curious about the ambiguous lights and shadows inside, but the person inside was simply entertaining themselves.

Du Ruo sang for a while, chatted for a while, and ate for a while. Time passed quickly.

But after ten o'clock, everyone in the group chat dispersed, busy with their own affairs.

She was also tired. Playing was exhausting.

She couldn't enjoy herself anymore, turned on the original soundtrack, laid down on the table and listened to the music.

After a lively night, at this moment, it quieted down. She was enveloped in an atmosphere of peace following the partying. 

She felt tired, and didn't want to sing or eat anymore, and just lay there on her back with her eyes wide open.

A sad song began to play from the speakers:

"You say you're very lonely, and life is very hard.

You've long forgotten how to find happiness,

Too many burdens, feeling more helpless,

When there's no music, all you want to do is dance alone..."

Without warning, a tear fell from the corner of her eye.

Du Ruo quickly wiped it away, but more tears came, like a broken string of beads.

The exhaustion, tension, and hardship that had been suppressed in her heart for a whole month burst out in an instant. She couldn't control it anymore. She simply laid down on the table, and let it all go.

...

Du Ruo was pushed awake.

The waiter asked: "Do you want to extend your time?"

Her mind was in a mess, her cheeks stung from the dried tears. She looked at her phone, it was 12 o'clock.

"No need." Her neck was sore, her feet were numb and she got up to leave. Looking at the unfinished fruits and snacks on the table, she felt distressed, and said: "Can you pack these for me?"

The waiter gave her a strange look, but went to get a takeout box without saying a word.

...

Du Ruo carried the paper bag down to the underground parking lot of the mall and walked around for a while.

Jing Ming's blue sports car was very eye-catching, and she didn't have to search for long before she saw it.

Jing Ming was sitting in the driver’s seat, with his arm resting on the car door, lightly tapping his fingers.

Du Ruo trotted over immediately.

When she got closer, she found Min En Zhu sitting in the passenger seat. She leaned on Jing Ming, put her arms around his neck, and pouted.

Jing Ming smiled, lowered his head and kissed her. Min En Zhu didn’t let him go and stuck to him even tighter.

Du Ruo was in a daze as she saw Jing Ming gradually become more interested. Min En Zhu breathed slightly, her voice delicate and soft.

Du Ruo's face was on fire, and she immediately hid behind a pillar. Recalling the scene she had just seen, her heart was beating wildly, as if her chest had been squeezed.

Before she could calm down, the sports car started on the other side.

Du Ruo panicked and instinctively wanted to run out, but she didn't dare.

It wasn't until the car drove away that she quietly poked her head out to look. The red tail lights flashed at the end of the aisle and disappeared after turning a corner.

He forgot she was still here.

He even said that when it’s time, he wants her to come down and wait for him in the parking lot.

Liar.

...

After leaving the mall, the cool night breeze flowed in, causing her clothes and skirt to flutter, along with the paper bag in her hand.

The wind in the north was too strong, she was not used to it. After walking a few steps, she felt disheartened by the cold wind.

She walked to the subway station in a daze, but it had already stopped running.

Take a taxi? Too expensive.

She searched for the route with her phone, and walked back along the quiet street in the middle of the night.

The lights in the office buildings of the CBD and the residential buildings were all turned off.

There was no one on the street, only street lamps.

The streets were wide, the overpasses were quiet, and cars whizzed by from time to time.

The city was so grand that no corner was familiar to her.

As she walked, she burst into tears.

Her phone in the pocket of her suspender skirt vibrated, and through tear-filled eyes, she saw the name "Jing Ming" on the screen.

Furious, she pressed the red button hard, and hung up!

"Go away!"

But who would hear this roar?

Clutching her phone, tears were already streaming down. She squatted on the side of the road all of a sudden, crying loudly.

_______________________ 

[1] ‘KTV’ stands for Karaoke TV 

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