Chapter 50 Fang Minzhou immediately put the... behind her...

Fang Minzhou immediately closed the door behind him.

Fang Min was stunned, but she couldn't worry about that now. She lowered her voice, wanting to ask Wang Kan what she was doing there, but the words caught in her throat. Wang Kan couldn't speak either. In their awkward silence, the corridor lights went out.

In the darkness, the elevator buttons and the escape markers in the stairwells emitted a faint glow.

Fang Min was incredibly nervous at the thought of her parents behind the door. She walked around Wang Kan and pressed the elevator button. Wang Kan's tongue suddenly stopped tumbling out: "I didn't know how to tell you, so I just wanted to come find you... and then I accidentally bumped into your dad downstairs..."

Fang Minzhou glanced at him: "I'll tell you later."

Wang Kan then realized that Fang Minzhou had pressed the up key, which didn't seem to mean he wanted to get rid of him, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

In the enclosed elevator lobby, the mirror reflected their backs. Wang Kan stood one step behind Fang Minzhou; he couldn't see her face, and staring nervously at the back of her head.

Stepping out of the elevator, a short walk down the stairs leads to the rooftop. The dim, motion-activated lights come back on, and Wang Kan follows closely behind, his steps neither heavy nor light, enveloped in Fang Minzhou's faint shadow.

Fang Minzhou never expected Wang Kan to come to her door. Her mind was in turmoil, and she didn't know what to say. She just kept walking forward.

The rooftop, usually adorned with flowers and plants, was mostly taken down due to the typhoon, leaving it empty. A worn-out white parasol lay in the corner. The apartment buildings weren't tall, offering panoramic views of the city's nightscape at varying heights. The rain had almost stopped, and a cool breeze carried a damp mist across my face.

She walked straight to the wall, which was half her height, and heard Wang Kan call out to her sadly from behind, "...Are you still going to talk to me?"

His cautiousness made Fang Minzhou's eyes suddenly sting from the wind. She looked up forcefully, sniffed, and after a while, turned away.

Through the darkness of the night, she first said to Wang Kan, "I ran into your cousin yesterday..."

"Mm," Wang Kan replied softly, "She told me, and also about the materials you compiled, thank you..."

"...How is your mother's foot?"

"It's alright, she was discharged today, and she... asked me to thank you."

There was silence for a moment.

Wang Kan looked at Fang Minzhou.

After his cousin handed him the documents at the hospital, his mother asked a few questions and, after learning the whole story, scolded him for being self-righteous, stubborn, and for not discussing his college application with his family. They all said that Fang Minzhou was so kind, considering his feelings, but he didn't appreciate it.

However, he didn't want to consider that.

He was able to get into Jiangda University because of her. He just wanted to go to the same university as her, or at least in the same city. Now that Fang Minzhou is going to Beicheng, isn't it only natural that he should go to Beicheng too?

Mom said that's not how things should be considered. "If you think like that, even if you go to Beicheng, there will be other problems between you, and the other parents won't feel at ease with you."

Sure enough, downstairs, Uncle Fang asked him about his future plans. “Minzhou’s mother and I are not old-fashioned. We don’t support your relationship because you are too young. You just finished the college entrance exam and haven’t even filled out your college applications yet. Don’t say anything yet, let me finish. But we respect Minzhou’s ideas, provided that you understand the difference between priorities and what is most important. Do you understand?”

He could only explain it clearly.

"What did my parents... say to you?" Fang Minzhou asked him.

Wang Kan found it difficult to summarize, “My uncle said…you told them about our situation.”

Fang Minzhou's eyes darted around for a moment, then she hummed in response.

Wang Kan's heart raced. She licked her lips and gave a dry laugh: "He didn't say anything. He asked if we had a fight... I said no, it was my fault, so I wanted to talk to you, but I was afraid you were still angry."

“…Wang Kan, I’m really angry.” Now that he’s made it clear, Fang Minzhou no longer hides it. “I’ve already told you, Lin Sinian and I are just classmates.”

“I know, I acted impulsively that day… I apologized to Lin Ssu-nien.”

Hearing this, Fang Minzhou was a little surprised, "...What did he say?"

“It’s not that I don’t want you to go to Beicheng, I just…” Fang Minzhou took a deep breath, “I just hope you can think more seriously about yourself.”

Wang Kan came to Fang Minzhou to apologize and to make peace. He didn't want to argue with Fang Minzhou anymore, but her words were like a scalpel cutting open his wound. He couldn't help but ask her, "So, you went to Beicheng based on your own considerations?"

Fang Minzhou understood Wang Kan's implied meaning. A breeze blew between them, and she said, "Yes."

"Then..." Wang Kan smiled wryly, "what are your considerations for us?"

He really wanted to ask Fang Minzhou: if she could consider his feelings, why did she never consider his feelings? He was full of anticipation for the two of them to go to university together, but then she told him over the phone that they would be in a long-distance relationship. He immediately bought a train ticket for the early morning and rushed back to Zhangcheng, only to see and hear that she had made plans to go to Beicheng with other boys. How could he not go crazy? But it all seemed to be his fault.

He should have just applied to Jiangda University without her having to tell him, and then apologized beforehand? Is that what she wanted?

In the darkness of night, Fang Minzhou could not see Wang Kan's expression clearly, but the sound of the wind seemed to carry his silent accusation.

Fang Minzhou felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Wang Kan was the one who hit him, and Wang Kan was also the one who uttered those harsh words, yet he acted as if he had suffered a tremendous injustice. Fang Minzhou suddenly felt incredibly foolish; he had known from the beginning that Wang Kan was just that kind of capricious person.

She felt they had been out for a while, and continuing the conversation might not yield any results. So Fang Minzhou said to Wang Kan, "Why don't you go back first? It's too late. We can talk again tomorrow."

Fortunately, it's not time to fill out college applications yet.

But as she passed by Wang Kan, he grabbed her arm.

She couldn't break free the first time. Wang Kan called her Minmin, and those two words felt like unplugging a duct of emotion. Fang Minzhou really didn't want to say anything more to Wang Kan; she was afraid she would lose her mind. The second time she tried to break free, she used force, but with a "smack," her freed hand struck Wang Kan's face.

The howling night wind subsided after a few seconds. Fang Minzhou froze, her anger instantly freezing. Panicked, she touched the spot where Wang Kan had been hit: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Wang Kan lowered her head and said, "It's nothing."

"Let me see..." Fang Minzhou said anxiously.

"It's really nothing, I wasn't hit," Wang Kan said, his voice trembling slightly. He gripped Fang Minzhou's hand tightly and said jokingly, "You're not going to break up with me like this, are you?"

“What…” Fang Minzhou was completely flustered. “No…”

Why would he think that?

Wang Kan stared at her intently, a forced smile on his face.

The wind during a typhoon is completely different from the wind on the beach, but Fang Minzhou felt as if she had been in the same storm from beginning to end.

“Wang Kan…” she gently touched his face, “I never thought about breaking up.”

But Wang Kan's eyes clearly showed a lack of confidence. Fang Minzhou didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What kind of person was she in his heart? She emphasized again, "Really."

She won't say goodbye.

She never considered breaking up with him while they were dating.

Should she promise anything else? But a hot breath came down and she was kissed, her mind went blank, and she could no longer speak.

The typhoon has passed, taking away the recent continuous rain and sadness.

As they sucked, her teeth were unexpectedly forced open by the tip of his tongue. When Wang Kan accidentally bit her, Fang Minzhou cried out in pain. Wang Kan, as if waking from a daze, pulled away. Their foreheads touched, and they struggled to control their disordered breathing, saying regretfully, "I'm sorry, I..."

In his arms, Fang Minzhou shook her head slightly.

Wang Kan suddenly felt an overwhelming emptiness in his heart, so he hugged Fang Minzhou even tighter, as if drawing some kind of energy from her. His kiss landed on her forehead, slowly moving down from her trembling eyelashes to her cheeks, before finally kissing her lips again.

This time, her tongue cautiously probed inside, the unfamiliar warmth and moisture almost making her faint. Wang Kan tensed up, and Fang Minzhou was equally breathless. She didn't know why they were kissing, but she instinctively and clumsily responded. In a brief pause between breaths, she suddenly remembered where she was. Her parents were waiting for her downstairs, and her fingertips went numb as if she had been electrocuted.

After an unknown amount of time, their lips finally separated. Once their breathing had calmed down, Fang Minzhou still dared not look into Wang Kan's eyes, but she remembered that he had injuries.

There were no lights on the top floor. She wanted to check, so she led Wang Kan to the entrance and used the light from the hallway and her phone to guide them.

But Wang Kan was a bit too tall, so the two of them squatted down.

Face to face, Wang Kan's gaze was too direct, and Fang Minzhou couldn't stand it. He told him to close his eyes, but Wang Kan wouldn't listen, so Fang Minzhou had no choice but to cover them with his hands.

After a while, my palm felt a ticklish sensation as my eyelashes gently brushed against it.

After examining her carefully, Fang Minzhou felt much more at ease. Two days had passed, and judging from the condition of her face, Wang Kan's condition was not as serious as Lin Sinian's; there were no red or swollen marks on her left cheek where she had accidentally hit herself.

She recalled their first meeting, when she had a bad impression of him because of the injury on his forehead. But now, the injury on his face indirectly affected her a little more.

"Are you all better?" Wang Kan asked. "I told you, I'm fine."

“…Okay.” Fang Minzhou put away her phone.

Wang Kan opened his eyes.

"Does it still hurt?"

Wang Kan shook his head.

The two were still too close, and Fang Minzhou calmly reminded him, "Be careful, remember to apply the ointment, and be careful not to leave a scar."

“No, not at all,” Wang Kan replied.

When he closed his eyes just now, he had involuntarily held his breath. Now that he was relaxed, his breaths intertwined with Fang Minzhou's again. As he listened to Fang Minzhou speak, he naturally stared at her mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing. Fang Minzhou saw this and tried to get up, but Wang Kan grabbed her hand. Her heart skipped a beat, but Wang Kan's face stopped just inches away. She saw the glint in his eyes and heard her own rapid heartbeat.

They both had something to say, but neither spoke. The hallway lights went out again, and their warm lips met once more.

This kiss wasn't deep; it was light and quickly ended, but their hands remained clasped together, giving them the courage not to back down now.

"So... how do you plan to fill out your college application?" Fang Minzhou tried to get to the point.

Wang Kan: "Beicheng University".

Fang Minzhou: "..."

Wang Kan smiled, "Then I'll fill in a few more schools in the north. What if I get lucky and snag a bargain? In the end, I'll definitely fill in Jiangnan University and Jiangnan University of Science and Technology as safety schools. That should be fine, right?"

After a long silence, Fang Minzhou nodded.

Wang Kan squeezed Fang Minzhou's hand and asked her with some difficulty, "...You really want me to go to Jiang University? Aren't you worried about a long-distance relationship at all?"

"...What are you worried about?"

Wang Kan's eyes widened: "Do you know what a long-distance relationship means?"

They were classmates for two years in high school, only sitting at the same desk for one year. Now they're going to be in a long-distance relationship for four years, and Fang Minzhou doesn't seem to care at all? The comforting effect of close contact instantly failed. "We might only see each other a few times a semester, and Beicheng and Jiangcheng are so far apart, and..."

What's even more cruel is that they're not by each other's side. If something were to happen to Fang Minzhou, he wouldn't be able to get there in time. The more Wang Kan thought about it, the more he regretted it. Suddenly, he realized he still couldn't fill Jiangcheng...

Fang Minzhou was a little embarrassed. Of course, that wasn't what she meant. "Actually, even if we're in the same school but not in the same major, we might be on different campuses with different class times. Some schools in Beicheng are quite far apart, so the actual situation is probably similar. We can meet during the holidays. Isn't National Day just a month after school starts?"

It wasn't that she didn't want to be in the same city, but she couldn't selfishly watch Wang Kan waste his points. His points were earned through his hard work; he wasn't her study companion.

Wang Kan didn't want to listen to Fang Minzhou's analysis and explanation of these objective reasons. If you really want to calculate it, then after National Day there's only New Year's Day, and New Year's Day is only three days long.

He was quite self-centered, but from the beginning, he minded Fang Minzhou making decisions for him so easily. It made him feel like she didn't need him, if only she hadn't been so rational...

If she loses control even a little bit for him.

“Furthermore,” Fang Minzhou felt it necessary to correct some of Wang Kan’s ideas, “university is also a place for learning, we…”

She was speaking when Wang Kan pulled her to her feet. Her legs were numb, so Wang Kan asked her, "Do you know how many couples die in long-distance relationships?"

Fang Minzhou was taken aback and asked in return, "Do you think we could do that too?"

Wang Kan did not answer.

He was afraid.

Fang Minzhou looked at Wang Kan: "I don't think we will."

"……Why?"

"I don't know, but I think... as long as we like each other, there shouldn't be any major problems. If there's anything, just talk it out and communicate properly; there's always a way..."

She spoke earnestly, which, in Wang Kan's view, was like the way she patiently studied difficult problems when she was in school, because she felt that there was no problem that could not be solved.

Good students seem to be idealists very easily.

She always said he was naive, but wasn't she just as innocent?

But he chose to believe Fang Minzhou because she said, "We like each other," and "You said that no matter what happens, you are not allowed to mention breaking up."

Fang Minzhou's face flushed after realizing what she meant, but she didn't spoil the mood. She nodded and softly said, "...You too."

Distance is a problem, but not an absolute one. Fang Minzhou truly believes this, and there's even a saying, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder." Wang Kan's cousin said that feelings are unpredictable, but if you like someone, you like them. If it's true love, you can be together, right? If there really is a day when you separate, it certainly won't be because of distance.

If that day really comes... Fang Minzhou can't imagine it. She chooses to be optimistic, and perhaps it will be a peaceful breakup, when they both have better options.

Then she won't regret it.