Chapter 57 The air conditioning frequency remains unchanged, Wang Kan…

The air conditioner frequency remained unchanged. Wang Kan lowered his head and carefully wiped Fang Minzhou's hands with a tissue. Fang Minzhou saw that his ears were red as blood.

She guessed hers was the same.

Later, Wang Kan went to the outside bathroom and gave her the bathroom in the room. In the mirror, Fang Minzhou saw that her face was indeed bright red.

She turned on the tap and bent down to wash her hands, but no matter how much she washed, she couldn't wash away the touch and warmth from before. Even the places on her body that had been touched and licked were still faintly hot. When she was a child, playing science games, she would use a magnifying glass to focus sunlight on a single point and ignite paper. Fang Minzhou now felt as if she were being looked at by countless magnifying glasses.

The water was lukewarm, and she broke out in a sweat again, bewilderedly marveling at the differences in male and female physiology, feeling a bit like the proverb "knowledge gained from books is ultimately superficial," and ashamed that she had used the poem in this context. She looked up again, the blush on her face still lingering.

She began to understand why Wang Kan had stayed in the bathroom for so long.

Fang Minzhou tried to distract herself by observing the bathroom, which was quite clean, as was the entire house. Wang Kan was home alone; she wondered if the house was naturally well-maintained or if someone had specifically cleaned it.

It should be the former, right?

Toothbrushes and some basic toiletries were placed on the washstand, facing different directions. Fang Minzhou hesitated for a moment, then reached out and arranged them neatly.

When she came out of the bathroom, Wang Kan had already returned.

He was leaning against his desk, lost in thought, when he saw her, he stood up straight as if being punished, looking awkward and unable to say what he wanted to say.

Fang Minzhou slowly walked to the edge of the bed and sat down. Wang Kan visibly breathed a sigh of relief and sat down next to her as well.

The window was open, and although it was already dark, the lights were not on. The orange-red sunset streaked across the sky, casting its last rays onto the ground. A breeze blew in, carrying the scent of baked grass and trees.

When Wang Kan tried to hold her hand, Fang Minzhou smelled the same fresh scent of hand sanitizer on him, and then she realized why Wang Kan had opened the window.

“…I have to go home,” she said.

“…Okay,” Wang Kan said. “I’ll take you there later.”

"No need, I can take a bus back myself."

Her parents knew she was with Wang Kan today and told her to come home for dinner tonight. Her father even said meaningfully that Wang Kan could come over for dinner whenever she was free.

When they met in the morning, Fang Minzhou relayed her father's words to Wang Kan. Wang Kan's face twitched a couple of times, but she said defiantly, "I dare to go, but I'm afraid your father won't dare to actually let me in."

Even if I were to meet the parents, it wouldn't be today.

Time is running out.

Wang Kan gently kneaded Fang Minzhou's hand for a while before looking at her and hesitantly asking, "Just now... how did you feel?"

He couldn't be said to be completely calm at the moment, but now that he was dressed again, he felt a little more embarrassed. He felt a bit ashamed about what had just happened, but he still had to ask the questions he needed to ask.

Fang Minzhou curled her fingers and enveloped Wang Kan's fingers in her palm, then asked, "...And you?"

"Me? I'm perfectly comfortable." How obvious.

Fang Minzhou looked at their intertwined fingers and mumbled two words: "Me too..."

"Also what?" Wang Kan pressed his forehead against hers, wanting to hear her say a complete sentence.

Fang Minzhou raised her eyes and said it very softly, "...comfortable."

A series of soft, persistent kisses descended upon her, and Wang Kan, suppressing her breath, asked, "What should we do? Why don't you stay here?"

"...Don't talk nonsense."

Wang Kan smiled, then sighed. They were going back to school tomorrow. "Shall I come see you next week?"

Fang Minzhou looked at him in surprise.

Wang Kan pretended not to understand, "Um, what's wrong?"

"Are you serious?" Fang Minzhou asked.

Wang Kan kept his sigh to himself, saying it was just a joke, and seized the last bit of time to continue kissing her.

But on the first weekend after returning to school from the holiday, Wang Kan flew to Beicheng again.

It was Friday again. This time, he waited directly at the only place in the way of the teaching building. Fang Minzhou and her roommate walked down the steps while talking. Unexpectedly, she bumped into a pair of smiling eyes looking at her in the crowd.

The weather in the northern part of the city turned cool in October. Wang Kan, dressed in a flamboyant leather jacket, stood casually under a red maple tree. With his broad shoulders and long legs, he attracted a lot of attention.

Fang Minzhou slowed her pace until she stood still. Her roommate looked in the direction of her gaze, and upon recognizing her, reacted more strongly than Fang Minzhou, giving her a playful shove. Fang Minzhou snapped out of her daze and, amidst the low murmurs of teasing, walked towards Wang Kan.

Seeing Fang Minzhou's face grow increasingly red, Wang Kan's lips curled up higher and higher. He was enjoying the moment, even though it was only a short distance, it felt a bit like the bride walking towards the groom at a wedding.

When Fang Minzhou walked up to him, he took her hand, but couldn't help but frown, "Why are your hands so cold?"

“It’s always been like this,” Fang Minzhou said.

Wang Kan observed her expression, "Does she see I'm unhappy?"

I was happy, but due to the occasion, I couldn't express my joy freely. "Why are you here?"

"I want to see you," Wang Kan said casually, rubbing Fang Minzhou's hand. "Don't you want to see me?"

Asking a question you already know the answer to...

Seeing Fang Minzhou's reproachful expression, Wang Kan smiled.

However, Fang Minzhou couldn't help but ask him, "You took leave again?"

Wang Kan glanced at her, like a child who already knew he had done something wrong, and said sincerely, "It won't happen again next time."

Fang Minzhou: "..."

She didn't believe it. Although she was genuinely worried for him, she didn't want to say anything discouraging.

He's not really unable to prioritize; it's all because of her... If she's still angry, how heartless of her.

She then asked, "How did you get here? Did you take a flight this morning?"

"Um."

Fang Minzhou looked closely at Wang Kan's face. He had dressed himself up very well and did not look tired, but how could he not be tired on such an early morning flight?

"Let's go eat?" Fang Minzhou's ambiguous attitude made Wang Kan a little nervous. He tentatively asked, "What do you want to eat? I looked it up this time, and there's a Western restaurant near your school that looks pretty good. Have you eaten there?"

Fang Minzhou shook his head.

"Shall we go then?" Wang Kan raised his eyebrows, looking very excited, as if he were going on an autumn outing.

Fang Minzhou couldn't help but chuckle, raised her hand to straighten his collar (which was perfectly fine), and replied, "Let's go."

Since she already had post-holiday syndrome, it wouldn't be unreasonable to see her again, right? However, Fang Minzhou still reminded Wang Kan not to take leave to fly to see her again.

She's already busy; I heard her architecture studies are very demanding. Missed classes, the fatigue of the long journey, the money spent—all the expenses, it's only a matter of two days at most. Why bother? And then have to endure another separation.

"Okay, I won't do it again next time," Wang Kan promised her.

But he came again the following week.

Fang Minzhou's classmates openly envied her for having such a good boyfriend who flew to see her every week. Wang Kan also felt that her telling him not to come was just a lie. Only Fang Minzhou knew how anxious she was for him.

She chose to have another proper talk with Wang Kan.

First, her studies were the priority. Second, she listed the expenses he had incurred from his three trips to Beicheng since the start of the semester, each trip costing almost a month's living expenses for her.

Wang Kan said he was rich, and Fang Minzhou knew that, but money shouldn't be wasted like that. "Besides, this isn't your money; it's your parents' money."

Wang Kan then put away her nonchalant attitude, "Then I'll take a hard seat next time, it's the cheapest, much cheaper than flying."

Fang Minzhou stopped talking, looked at him quietly, and after a long while asked, "Did you understand what I said?"

Wang Kan understood Fang Minzhou's meaning, but Fang Minzhou couldn't understand him.

Wang Kan wanted to say that she really didn't need to worry about the money. She just needed to wait for him happily every week. She was happy when she saw him, but she always restrained herself. She also wanted to say that if she hadn't been unwilling for him to apply to a school in Beicheng, he wouldn't have had to travel back and forth between the two places. That was why he didn't want a long-distance relationship. Was it really only possible to see each other once or twice a semester?

She could tolerate it, but he couldn't.

And could she really tolerate it?

He also has classmates in long-distance relationships, but they all seem to want to see each other every day.

Wang Kan knew that Fang Minzhou had feelings for him, cared about him, and was concerned about him, but he felt it was not enough. The university was too big, and Beicheng was too big. She was someone who always looked to the future, and he was afraid that she would look further and further away and then she would lose sight of him.

But if I say these things, won't we argue?

He shrugged. "Should I ride my bike here? Or just run? That way I won't have to spend a penny."

Wang Kan took out his phone and seriously checked how long it would take to run from Jiangcheng to Beicheng. "It's about a thousand kilometers. If I run twenty kilometers a day, wow, it will take fifty days."

The imagery was so vivid that Fang Minzhou, who had intended to watch him cheat with a cold eye, almost burst out laughing.

Although he managed to hold it in immediately, all his efforts were in vain.

"Aren't you angry anymore?" Wang Kan leaned closer to her and said softly, "I understand, I won't come next week."

Fang Minzhou hadn't intended to argue with him, so she nodded.

The new week started, and Wang Kan didn't come. Just as Fang Min and Zhou Gang felt things were getting back on track, she received a call from Wang Kan on Friday night.

He finished his daytime classes and had an afternoon flight, so he's only arriving now.

Fang Minzhou was speechless.

Tonight, she was going to secretly celebrate Zhuo Rui's birthday. Fang Minzhou and Zhuo Rui weren't exactly friends; she was just a junior. Zhuo Rui was a low-key person, but his friends were deliberately making a scene and invited the debate club members as well. They thoughtfully told them in advance not to prepare gifts or ask for money, just to make it more lively by having enough people.

After thinking it over, she realized she couldn't go back on her promise, especially since Wang Kan had once again shown up uninvited. She could only tell Wang Kan to wait for her at the hotel for a while, saying, "I'll be back soon..."

"Can't I not go?" Wang Kan asked abruptly on the other end of the phone.

Fang Minzhou stopped.

Wang Kan remained silent for a while before speaking first. His previous impatience was gone, and his tone was relaxed: "Are you that close to that senior? It's just a club, isn't it?"

Fang Minzhou took a deep breath silently, "...because I've already promised someone."

Wang Kan's breathing quickened. "Okay, I'll wait for you at the hotel. Come back soon."

He conceded, and Fang Minzhou, not wanting to press further, agreed.

The call ended.

But what does it mean to be very familiar with someone, and what does it mean to be just a club?

But once they got to the private room, Fang Minzhou had some regrets. On one hand, she was worried about Wang Kan waiting for her at the hotel and couldn't join in everyone's excitement. On the other hand, when Senior Zhuo discovered the real purpose of the dinner, although he showed just the right amount of surprise and helplessness, Fang Minzhou felt from his subtle act of taking off and putting his watch back on that he might not really want a surprise party.

Surprises are always joyous occasions, and even water mixed with a little alcohol is still alcohol. If you really ruin the occasion, you'll be letting others down. These are some of the common sense principles of adulthood.

Zhuo Rui put his watch back on and unexpectedly met Fang Minzhou's gaze. He was slightly taken aback, then smiled at her, and Fang Minzhou returned the smile.

The cake was brought in by a senior student. From the ambiguous and teasing attitudes of the people around her, Fang Minzhou realized that this was actually a game within a game.

After cutting the cake and staying a while longer, Fang Minzhou explained to one of the senior students who organized the gathering. The senior student smiled and patted her to let her go, saying, "Oh, you should have said so earlier. I didn't drag you along. I've delayed your date."

"No……"

After making sure she hadn't left anything behind, Fang Minzhou was about to slip away when her senior happened to walk by. This was a bit awkward, and Fang Minzhou was caught in a dilemma. But Zhuo Rui casually said to her, "Let's go."

Fang Minzhou nodded, and the senior student behind her came to her rescue: "Minzhou's boyfriend came to see her. She came especially to celebrate your birthday."

Zhuo Rui smiled upon hearing this, "Thank you, but I'm sorry, they dragged me here."

"What...?" the senior student said, dissatisfied.

Fang Minzhou quickly added "Happy Birthday" before taking his leave.

Fortunately, the restaurant where she was celebrating her senior's birthday was located on the school's food street. When Fang Minzhou got into the hotel elevator, it was just past eight o'clock. She felt that it wasn't too late, but she still hadn't received a reply to the message she sent to Wang Kan.

She stepped out of the elevator and pressed the dial button.

No one answered.

Fang Minzhou stared in disbelief as her phone screen went dark.

She hadn't done anything wrong, and he was already angry?

For a moment, Fang Minzhou thought she might as well just go back to her dorm, but she suppressed her anger and walked to room 8102. She knocked twice on the door, waiting to see if Wang Kan would open it for her.

Soon, the door opened.

No light came out of the room.

Fang Minzhou felt a warning bell ring, but the next second, she was pulled into a dark room.

A hot, wet kiss rained down on her, leaving Fang Minzhou stunned. Her voice was muffled by a tongue that forcefully penetrated her. The more Fang Minzhou struggled, the more fiercely the dark figure pressed down on her kissed her. She was pinned against the wall, and when Wang Kan's hand lifted her coat and slipped inside, Fang Minzhou seized a moment of respite, dodging his lips and shouting, "Wang Kan!"

Her voice was trembling slightly.

Wang Kan paused, her rapid breaths hitting Fang Minzhou's face.

The curtains were drawn tightly, so she couldn't see Wang Kan's expression, but she felt he seemed to smile. The light was suddenly turned on, and she closed her eyes abruptly, frowned, and opened them again. She saw that Wang Kan was indeed smiling, and he complained in a joking tone, "Who told you to go celebrate another boy's birthday?"

Perhaps she should have said something comforting and soothing, since that's just Wang Kan's temperament, isn't it? Then they could have moved on from any unnecessary friction or conflict, just like before.

But a feeling of exhaustion, like the sudden brightness of the room, overwhelmed Fang Minzhou's heart.

"Why can't I go celebrate another boy's birthday?" she asked.

The lights were bright, and this time, Fang Minzhou could clearly see that Wang Kan's smile had stiffened.