Life at school was relaxed and pleasant. Although winter was slowly approaching, it couldn't stop the budding romances on campus. More and more freshmen, who had been at university for a few months, were finding partners. They appeared in pairs on the school's sports fields, in the hallways, in the small gardens, on the grass by the lake, and even near the secluded drum tower.
This seemed to be the best age, with eyes full of both clarity and foolishness, their shoulders carrying nothing but the breeze and the moon. Even girls who weren't exceptionally beautiful possessed a youthful vitality that made them irresistibly charming.
It's best to fall in love in college. Who knows how many years later, classmates who have entered the workforce will remember this piece of advice.
They would have a sudden realization.
If you don't fall in love at such a perfect age, you'll find that once you enter the narrow confines of society, it's hard to meet someone who wants nothing from you, someone who is happy just being with you.
One day, as evening approached, Quan Yafeng finished his classes and walked alone through the tree-lined avenue. He furtively returned to his dorm and shut the door.
He flopped onto his bed, took out his phone, and in no time, a sappy smile spread across his face, his cheeks flushing red.
Quan Yafeng wasn't looking at anything weird, nor were there any coquettish sounds coming from his phone. On the screen were merely a few photos of a girl.
Quan Yafeng almost reluctantly swiped past one photo, then stared intently at another for a long while, completely lost in thought, before swiping back again. The girl in the photos was youthful and pretty. What was most striking was her skin, so fair it seemed to glow. She wore round-framed glasses, wasn't tall—the petite type—had short hair, and a lovely mole on her neck.
The photos weren't taken from particularly good angles. The girl was even wearing a down jacket, and her smile was indescribably shy.
The more he looked, the softer his heart grew, the more smitten he became.
The girl's name was Li Bing. She was in the same class as Chen Yuan and Liu Nan. She was the type of girl who did well in her studies and had a very quiet personality. In the few months they'd been classmates, he had never even seen her speak loudly. She usually only hung out with a few close girlfriends, her voice as light as a falling feather. She loved watching cartoons, especially fond of *Boonie Bears* and *SpongeBob*.
She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but from the moment he first entered the classroom, Quan Yafeng had paid special attention to Li Bing.
She was the perfect embodiment of his "white moonlight." Even back in school, he'd always had a soft spot for quiet girls who were good students.
Without a doubt, Li Bing completely met Quan Yafeng's criteria for a partner.
But he had yet to confess his feelings to such a wonderful classmate. Funnily enough, they had never even exchanged a single word. They had added each other as contacts for school business, but other than that, they hadn't communicated at all.
Quan Yafeng had never told his roommates, but in class, he was always paying attention to Li Bing.
Two days ago, someone had publicly confessed to Li Bing on the school's confession wall. He had, of course, seen it, and a strong sense of crisis washed over him.
Quan Yafeng felt it was time to make a move and contact her...
In the chat window, he typed and deleted, over and over again.
After struggling for a long time, he finally managed to type out a single line:
"You there?"
The moment he sent it, he immediately regretted it, slapping his forehead. Could there be a worse opening line?
'Whatever,' Quan Yafeng thought.
'Being too slick isn't good either. It's never wrong to be sincere.'
He stewed for a long time, carefully choosing his words, and typed out a long paragraph. He had skipped basketball and come back to the dorm early today specifically to avoid being disturbed by his roommates.
When you truly love someone, you're always cautious.
A few minutes later, Quan Yafeng read the text in the chat box over and over again, took a deep breath, and slammed the send button with his eyes closed!
"Li Bing, this is Quan Yafeng from our class... Actually, I've had a huge crush on you ever since school started. Even when you're not doing anything, just sitting at your desk, my heart skips a beat when I see you. I'm really curious about what kind of person you are and have always wanted to get to know you, but I never had the chance. I know you like watching cartoons, I watch Boonie Bears a lot too! I think you're really cute, quiet, and beautiful... Could you please give me a chance to get to know you? We can start as friends."
After sending it, Quan Yafeng gasped for breath, his heart pounding even more wildly than it would after an hour of a full-court basketball game.
He stared at his phone screen, reading the message over and over.
But a reply was slow to come.
He could only turn off his phone screen and stare blankly at the ceiling, waiting for the sound of a notification.
BUZZ—
Hearing the notification, Quan Yafeng rolled over and opened his phone with great anticipation, only to find a notification for a huge coupon from PDD.
Screw you, PDD!
Frantically, he opened the chat window and reread the message a few more times. But now, he felt his actions had been too reckless! How could he have just revealed his feelings directly? Especially without getting to know her at all first. It was far too frivolous.
"Sorry, wrong person."
Quan Yafeng typed out those three words in a panic.
Then he suddenly realized he had included his own name! How could he have sent it to the wrong person?
He hastily retracted the message.
"Li Bing, I was possessed just now."
"Please understand."
「Ten minutes later.」
Li Bing still hadn't replied.
In despair, Quan Yafeng typed out three words.
"I'm an idiot."
...
When students of Landa University gathered in small groups on the tree-lined avenue, the scene always felt vibrant and full of life.
Inside the Student Union's Arts Department.
Chen Yuan was completely unaware of his dorm leader's despair. He was currently in an interview.
In front of him stood three department heads from the Student Union, with other members of the Arts Department to the side. Liu Tingyue was one of the heads. The scene was nothing short of formal.
Although it was a student activity, the procedures were followed to the letter.
After a brief self-introduction, Chen Yuan was even asked to improvise a speech about his plans after joining the Arts Department.
"I was the head of the Arts Department in high school, so I have experience organizing performances, daily activities, and with the proper procedures and formats for school events. If I can join this department, I will spare no effort to help my fellow students, actively serve them, and follow the school's arrangements..."
His expression was calm and his tone unhurried as he fluently recited the pledge he'd made when joining the club in high school, having changed almost nothing but the first sentence.
Liu Tingyue was very satisfied, and the members around her nodded repeatedly.
Well, the Arts Department was composed entirely of girls. They barely heard a word he said; all their attention was on Chen Yuan's face.
Although the other two department heads were male, they had already discussed it with Liu Tingyue beforehand.
This really was just a formality.
"Alright, welcome to the Arts Department, Chen. We hope we can work hard together and contribute more to Landa University!" After the three heads raised their hands in agreement, Liu Tingyue proactively stood up and shook Chen Yuan's hand.
The girls around them let out a small cheer, excited by the injection of masculine energy into the Arts Department.
"I'll add you to the group chat, Chen Yuan. We usually come to the department for meetings in the afternoon. We'll give you advance notice for any activities."
"Okay."
Chen Yuan was added to the Arts Department's group chat. At the same time, he opened his phone and saw a message from Jiang Yao.
...
「Five kilometers away.」
Jiang Yao was lying at home, tossing and turning. Every so often, she would open her phone to see if Chen Yuan had replied.
Although they hadn't officially talked about getting back together, their relationship had clearly grown much warmer.
Their chats had become increasingly clingy, and they were always calling each other "baby" and "sweetie," acting very childish.
Of course, all of this was kept secret from Jiang Ning.
For the past few days, Jiang Yao had been going out often—to have secret dates with Chen Yuan, naturally.
Jiang Ning found it a bit strange. Why had her previously socially anxious sister suddenly become so interested in the outside world? She was happy to see it, but she couldn't help feeling a little sad inside. Her sister wasn't as clingy with her recently. In the past, she used to wail and demand to be by her side every single day.
CLICK—
Pushing the door open, Jiang Ning walked into the bedroom. She strode in on her long legs, wearing slippers and carrying a plate of cut fruit.
"Lazybones, come have some fruit. It's really sweet."
Jiang Yao jumped, hastily turning off her phone screen and looking over.
"You're the best, Sis." She forced a calm expression and gave a silly smile.
"Not going out today?"
"I am. I'm meeting a friend tonight."
"Okay, then I'll head to the university to take care of some things."
"Where are the toothpicks, Sis? Am I supposed to eat this with my hands?"
"I forgot. Go get them from my study. They're probably on the desk. If not, they should be in a drawer. Just look around."
Jiang Yao chirped, "You got it!" and ran out the door barefoot, ignoring Jiang Ning's scolding as she dashed into the study.
The desktop was neat and tidy; there was no jar of toothpicks in sight. She had to open the drawers, and after rummaging around for a bit, she finally found the toothpick box in the third drawer. But at the same time, a small, lake-blue jewelry box caught her eye.
"What's this?" she wondered, picking up the jewelry box and opening it.
A moment later, Jiang Yao, still crouching by the desk, snapped the box shut. Her expression was a little strange as she lowered her eyes in silence.
Inside the jewelry box, that ring lay quietly.