Chapter 25 (1/2)
If I can forget about the entire world
At least there’s you
That is worth treasuring to me
After six months of frosty silence, they finally returned to a normal, diplomatic relations.h.i.+p. The two would occasionally chat online and ask after each other. According to Zhang Yuan, his work has been going well lately. A professor from his university started a small company. The professor cared little for the reputation of the company, for he was already famous in his own right, but was merely running it for a profit. He also encouraged the young ones like Zhang Yuan to apply patents for their software creations. As for his professional cla.s.s, results were ordinary but still acceptable. Only his university results were bad, only sc.r.a.pping 58.5.
“An extra mark is a waste, a mark lesser is a crime,” Zhang Yuan said. “Look, it’s mainly because I performed too badly on the listening and writing test, dragging the c.u.mulative score.” He Luo had earlier prepared and mailed the TOEFL reference material to him and suggested that he find more specialised guidance books in the library.
Zhang Yuan said, “We really do have those books in our library. I’ve seen them. How much time do I need to read everything?”
“Why don’t I help you pick a few books this coming break?”
By the time He Luo returned to her hometown once again, the autumn leaves were already covered in white frost. Putting away her dresses in Beijing for a sweater and jeans, she took a train to meet Zhang Yuan. On her way there, she called his dorm using her mobile phone. Zhang Yuan’s voice was hazy and thick from sleep.
“Ah, it’s already noon?” he said. “I saved on breakfast money again.”
“So you know.” He Luo chuckled. “I’ll reach in another ten minutes. You still have to thank me for being your wake-up call.”
The driver chimed in. “You’re here for a friend? Your boyfriend?”
He Luo was momentarily surprised, lips curling. “I never said that.”
“I can tell from the tone of your voice.”
When He Luo reached the entrance of Zhang Yuan’s dorm, there was no sign of him. She waited by the window, the wind sweeping her face, sending her hair flying everywhere. Her feelings were a mix of hopefulness and apprehension, as if she was still that girl dreaming of a ridiculously unrealistic romance who only wanted to leave him the impression of her smiling before turning away.
She heard a shout from the stairs leading down the dorm hall and saw Da Gang running down and waving his hand. “Little Lady He, we’ve finally met again.”
“Yeah.” He Luo’s hand was gripped in his, so hard it hurt.
“Finally there’s someone to knock some sense into him and make him live like a human.” Da Gang sounded excited. “During the new year, they all said you initiated the breakup but I’ve maintained that Little Lady He isn’t that kind of sn.o.bby person. When I asked Zhang Yuan that brat, he refused to say anything and spent every day and night reading and tinkering with his computer, so much that his eyes were red like a rabbit’s. Didn’t you notice he’s gotten thinner? When I pat him on the back, there’s just a hollow sound inside.”
He Luo’s heart ached as she listened and nodded. “I’ll talk to him, but I hope he’ll listen… We really did break up.”
Da Gang looked stunned and stammered, “H-How is that possible?”
When she pushed the door open to their room, she saw that he was filling his cup with water from the faucet and drinking it. His hair was tousled and messy. “Wait for me. I’ll be ready soon,” he said. He Luo nodded and, quickly and secretly, pressed her eyes. She frowned when she noticed the ashtray on the table, filled to the brim. She grabbed the rubbish bin sitting nearby and cleared it. She really wanted to throw the ashtray as well but after some thought, she decided to tuck it away at a corner of the bookshelf.
Zhang Yuan’s hair had grown a fair bit, there was even stubble on his face. When he saw He Luo observing him, he rubbed his chin. “I can’t keep shaving it off. I’ve been staying up lately, so there’s some acne on my face. If I keep shaving, it’ll irritate my skin.”
She said, “Right, right. You always stay up late, you’ll only be satisfied when you become an owl. Hurry up and go grab something to eat. At this hour, don’t say breakfast, you might not even get lunch.”
“Have you ate?”
“Yeah. I ate quite late too, about 10 am.”
As usual, at 12 pm there were only cold soup to be found at the canteen. Zhang Yuan grabbed a chocolate bar and a yoghurt drink from the convenience store and said, “Let’s find a place and finish these.”
They sat on a bench on the top floor of the library. The sun poured through the gla.s.s ceiling. The day was fair, carrying warmth. Drinking the yoghurt drink, eating the chocolate bar, they chatted about everything and anything. Zhang Yuan extended his arm to throw the empty carton inside the bin, creating a beautiful arc. His aim was as accurate as ever.
As if nothing has changed.
“Do you still play basketball often?” He Luo asked.
“Very rarely.” Zhang Yuan got up, hitting his lower back. “I haven’t exercised much lately, every corner of my body feels rusty. But I don’t have the leisure time like I have in high school, nor am I as carefree. I can only choose to sacrifice.”
“No matter how difficult is it, you still have to be careful with your health.” He Luo worried.
“Yes, that’s the capital revolution has given us,” Zhang Yuan said. “I don’t have experience, neither do I have a network. Other than my young age, good health, I don’t have anything else worthy for comparison.”
“It doesn’t sound like a proper career.”
“I always thought there’s something wrong with your line of thinking.” Zhang Yuan pulled a straight face, pretending to be solemn.
Was that true? Sealed with a kiss, the cross on the envelope. Do you still remember? He Luo lowered her head. She couldn’t tell if it was sweetness or sourness in her heart that she felt.
Noticing her silence, Zhang Yuan hurried to add, “Honestly my ambition is to look for a rich woman. Can I still do that?”
With a pfft, He Luo laughed out loud. “Maybe if you tried two years ago. Now? We’ll talk after you go home and recuperate for a few months.”
After joking around awhile longer, Zhang Yuan suddenly frowned and pursed his lips.
“What’s wrong?” He Luo asked.
“My stomach doesn’t feel quite right,” he said. “It can’t be that the yoghurt expired?”
“That’s impossible. I also drank it.”
“In your world, whatever you like won’t expire.” Zhang Yuan smiled. “It’s fine, I’ll just run a few times to the washroom.”
“Why don’t you go back and take some laxatives?” He Luo said. “Since you’ve been staying up so often lately, it’s inevitable you’ll have digestion problems. Do you want to ask Zhao Cheng Jie for advice?”
Zhang Yuan gritted his teeth. “That quack? Forget it. I still want to live a few more years.”
The two of them walked around the large reading room and selected a few reference books. The suns.h.i.+ne felt toasty warm. Zhang Yuan handed He Luo his white-and-light-green jacket and went off to borrow the stack of the books they have selected at the counter.
“And then? And then?” Tian Xin pressured He Luo to continue. “Is it that you tightly hold onto his jacket, unwilling to let go?”
He Luo nodded, smiling.
Tian Xin snapped her fingers. “I knew that’d happen. What happened after?”
After…
After, when there was n.o.body around, she hugged the jacket as if she was embracing happiness in her arms. She sniffed the jacket, there were no traces of sweat, only a faint detergent fragrance. She stood there alone, dazed as she reminisced about the feeling of hugging him.
Watching He Luo’s dreamy expression and Tian Xin’s excited, gossipy face, Li Yun Wei couldn’t help but pat them on their shoulders. “My two young misses, are you two really here to help me pick out my anniversary gift?”
“Yes, yes.” Tian Xin nodded. “But you’re unhappy with all our selections.”
Li Yun Wei compared the few watches on her right wrist and said, “En, they’re all quite similar. None are particularly eyecatching.”
Tian Xin sighed deeply. “Dating is a really time-consuming and money-eating sport. You’re already buying matching watches for your and Xu He Yang’s anniversary. What about in the future? Won’t the expenses just keep s...o...b..lling until it’s out of control?” She then grabbed He Luo’s hand and waved it. “This two are even more outrageous! PT950! It’s actually a platinum ring!”
“Look carefully. There’s nothing there,” He Luo said. “I put it away after the summer break. Originally I planned to return it to him.”
“I’m guessing there’s no need for that now,” Li Yun Wei grinned. “Right. How are you two progressing so far?”
He Luo sighed. “What’s there to progress? It’s neither here nor there. Zhang Yuan has been so busy he doesn’t even have much time to eat and rest. I don’t want to distract him by saying other things. Even if we want to get back together, we still have to have a good talk first. Or else it’ll just be a repeat of our past mistakes and problems. It’s because our roads have intersected at one point in the past, that we have to be all that more careful now. A human can’t somersault twice on the same stone.”
Tian Xin said, “Then go and sit at their room every day, with your chin down and puppy eyes, act like you’re admiring his busyness.”
He Luo rubbed her chin. “Good thing I’m wearing long sleeves or I’ll definitely get gooseb.u.mps all over. Besides, their room... it’s better if I don’t go.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Isn’t it because Da Gang and Ah Xiang Po?” He Luo said. “The other day I hid Zhang Yuan’s ashtray. He was looking for it so I took it out from the shelf. Inside there was actually… it’s all Da Gang and Ah Xiang Po’s fault. They did it while we were away…”
“What did they do?” Li Yun Wei and Tian Xin asked at the same time.
“Have you seen Xiong Ao Jianghu?” He Luo suddenly said.
“Don’t change the topic!” Li Yun Wei said. “Hurry up and continue. You gave Zhang Yuan that ashtray, and Da Gang and Ah Xiang did what?”
“They were obviously trying to emulate Li Hu Chong matchmaking Yi Lin’s parents. They left something for us in the ashtray.” He Luo lowered her head. “I won’t say it anymore…”
“What was it? A note?” Li Yun Wei asked.
“A ring?” Tian Xin shook her middle finger. Realising it was ungraceful, she put it down.
After hesitating for a good while, He Luo finally gritted her teeth and said, “Condom…”
“What’s that?” Li Yun Wei didn’t understand.
Fortunately Tian Xin was also someone who has already studied for GRE. She was so excited that she kept on pestering He Luo to ask, “So did you end up using it afterwards? Hey, did you or didn’t you? Right, have you two ever used it?”
He Luo stomped her feet. “What are you thinking? Of course not.”
Tian Xin was even more overjoyed. “Oh, so that’s how is it! You two don’t even use one when you did it back then!”
Li Yun Wei was even more confused. “What, what is it?”
A helpless He Luo showed a stern face at Tian Xin. “If you keep laughing, I’ll stop talking to you! I’m trying to tell you about my problems seriously, but you’re laughing at me.”
Tian Xin said, “Who told you two to push and pull without any progress? I’ve already said, everyone is feeling anxious but you both are still being so slow. Truly, the king doesn’t worry but the eunuch panics.”
He Luo loosened her shoulders. “I really think he doesn’t have time to consider anything else. He’s living on India timeline. He’s staying up so often he’s damaging his immune system. Even his digestive system is suffering. The other day he’s got a stomachache.”
“A stomache? It’s probably gastric,” Li Yun Wei said. “My digestive system isn’t that good either. You know what’s going on in my family. After that incident, I haven’t gotten back on track with good eating habits so I’ve been getting gastric all the time. You have to tell him to go see a doctor.”
He Luo nodded.
Li Yun Wei returned to picking the watches. She then suddenly turned around, eyes wide. She asked, unsatisfied, “What exactly is condom?”