306 Gathering (Part 1)

The list of outstanding campers from University A was published online three days after the interviews.

Jiang Yichun opened the list, and her name was ranked first among the outstanding campers.

"how so?"

Her hands and feet instantly turned ice cold.

They were just one spot away from being recognized as outstanding campers, which would have essentially secured their place at University A.

Jiang Yichun scratched his head, thinking about his overly nervous performance that day and the little incident during the group assignment.

She sighed deeply and buried her head in her arms.

Although the chances of being the top candidate for outstanding camper and getting into University A are high, it's still still a bit short.

If no one skips A University before me, then I'm in danger.

Jiang Yichun still finds himself reaching his anxiety threshold over seemingly trivial matters.

All the hard work of the past three or four months and the efforts of three years of university have turned into a joke because of this one small mistake.

But... there are so many outstanding people among the competitors, isn't it amazing that I got a spot as an excellent camper candidate? Getting a spot doesn't necessarily mean being rejected.

She was torn in two by this outcome; one half comforted herself, while the other half pushed her into the abyss.

The boy who had been there for her through those tough three months never contacted her again after that day when he delivered the cake.

A pair of hands landed on her shoulders: "Xiaochun, Yanyue is back today, so our whole 306 dorm is together. Want to go out and have a get-together?"

Jiang Yichun turned around and looked at Yang Fei standing behind him.

Two shallow tear tracks hung at the corners of her eyes.

She remembered that Yang Fei and Lin Yan had finally broken up a few days ago.

Yang Fei had a smile on her face, but Jiang Yichun heard her sobbing and humming in the middle of the night.

It was clearly a fast-food romance, clearly an accumulation of dating experience, but when the moment of separation came, there might still be lingering heartache.

After all, even a short-lived love is still love.

Jiang Yichun forced a smile at her: "Okay, let's go when they get back."

"No need, Xingxing and Yanyue bumped into each other at the airport. That shop can store luggage, so they went there first." Yang Fei took Jiang Yichun's arm. "So let's go over there. Do you want to put on some makeup?"

Jiang Yichun looked up at the dusty cosmetics on the table—those were gifts from her mother.

The suppressed memories of her mother were unearthed from the depths of her heart, and her mother's image became clear again in her eyes.

"Xiaochun, Mom has stocked up on a bunch of cosmetics. We can't use them all, so you can take them and use them. Of course, you don't have to use them if you don't want to."

"I like people who are pretty, but Xiaochun just needs to be happy, so she doesn't have to be pretty."

"As long as it's Xiaochun, that's fine."

She didn't use cosmetics much when she was in college, finding them a bit of a hassle.

But today...

Jiang Yichun raised her hand and picked up the foundation: "Okay, Feifei, I was just thinking of trying it out."

"I want to see what a different version of myself looks like."

"Great! I'll help you. I'm practically a little beauty blogger now!" Yang Fei slipped over to Jiang Yichun's side.

Yang Fei looked at the bottles of cosmetics and her tone became sharp: "My god, D* foundation, Ji*xi loose powder, Xiaochun, are you a rich woman?"

Jiang Yichun was taken aback and shook his head: "No, it was left to me by my mother. I don't know much about these things."

"Oh, Xiaochun's mom. Then your mom must be a fashionable beauty." Yang Fei laughed and picked up a powder puff to apply foundation to Jiang Yichun.

Jiang Yichun pursed his lips, smiled, and nodded.

"Yes. My mom is very beautiful... and very gentle."

The cosmetics clattered together, making a crisp, tinkling sound. Yang Fei, holding a powder puff and brush, quickly applied a light makeup to Jiang Yichun.

Jiang Yichun blinked and looked at himself in the mirror. His complexion was indeed better than before.

She touched her lips.

"Come on, Xiaochun, put on this lipstick again, nude, for a pure and innocent look, hehe." Yang Fei took out a lip gloss from her drawer and placed it in Jiang Yichun's palm.

Apply lip gloss, and the makeup look is complete.

"Xiaochun is so pretty now!" Yang Fei said with a smile, taking Jiang Yichun's hand. "Let's go, let's go to that Western restaurant!"

"Yan Yue said she'd treat us to a meal. After all, she just got back from filming."

Yang Fei's exquisite makeup skills and compliments captivated Jiang Yichun, causing her to temporarily forget about that damned outstanding camp candidate.

"Okay, let's go!" Jiang Yichun grabbed Yang Fei's hand and the two strode towards the school gate.

The summer evening breeze ruffled the stray hairs on Jiang Yichun's forehead. Today, she had her hair tied in a braid, which hung loosely over her shoulders, swaying gently in the breeze.

She was wearing a light pink floral dress and a bow necklace.

A gentle breeze ruffled her hair. Jiang Yichun smoothed the stray hairs that fell across her forehead and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

She was chatting with Yang Fei about random things when her eyes caught sight of a familiar figure by the tree.

He Yinxin was wearing a white T-shirt and making a phone call under a tree.

He seemed a bit thinner than before, and there were several bulging veins on his arms.

Upon encountering him, Jiang Yichun's heart pounded wildly as if a trigger had been activated, and his voice became stiff as he spoke.

She hurriedly tried to look away, but he seemed to sense something and looked at her.

"Snap." The phone in He Yinxin's hand fell to the ground.

He remained standing under the tree, motionless.

Jiang Yichun glanced at him, her ears burning. She lowered her head and whispered to Yang Fei, "Let's... let's hurry."

Yang Fei glanced around, smiled knowingly, and then pulled Jiang Yichun away from the campus.

He Yinxin was left standing under the tree, clutching his chest, his white T-shirt creased from being pressed down.

He was burning up and didn't even bother to pick up his phone, which had fallen to his feet, leaving the other person shouting on the other end of the line.

"Hey bro, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Xiaochun..."

He couldn't help but laugh foolishly.

He Yinxin was startled and quickly pulled herself out of her rosy fantasy, picking up her phone from the ground: "It's nothing."

"Oh, bro, you're watching Crush, right?"

"Cough, don't talk nonsense... A cat was just rubbing against my leg."

"Is the cat named Xiaochun?"

"Yes, this cat is cute but it keeps scratching me, but it also rubs against my legs sometimes."

"It's just that I used to make her angry, so she's ignoring me now."

"She hasn't shown up for a month, and today... I'm very lucky. (Referring to me, I'm lucky.)"

He Yinxin chose to talk nonsense like Jiang Yichun to change the subject, but as he spoke, the excitement in his heart was gradually covered by a bitter feeling.

He took a deep breath and immediately changed the subject: "By the way, what about next week..."

The other party didn't press the matter and continued to talk to him about serious business.

Jiang Yichun and Yang Fei were already sitting in a Western restaurant near the school.

Su Yanyue and Zhang Xingxing were already seated, browsing the menu on their phones.

Jiang Yichun plopped down on the sofa chair, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at the two people in front of him.

Su Yanyue wore light makeup, but even the concealer couldn't cover the heavy dark circles under her eyes.

She exuded an eerie aura, unlike the relaxed and joyful feeling one would expect after filming wrapped.

Although Zhang Xingxing looked tired, she remained calm. She kept her head down as she ordered food, occasionally asking for opinions from those around her.

Jiang Yichun didn't speak, but pursed his lips and looked around.

The image of the boy who had just flashed before her eyes resurfaced in her mind.

He Yinxin, that silly girl, seems to have lost a lot of weight again.

I wonder if he has resolved his family issues.

Although they stood me up, well... there's nothing I can do about it.

If anything happens to Grandma, I will rush back even if I'm at summer camp.

Speaking of which, why was that idiot staring at me like that, like a pervert?

The sentence from He Yinxin's memo resurfaced in her mind: "I like her."

He likes me, but he doesn't say anything. He just sends me food and umbrellas, and records his little things in his notes like a weirdo.

What a stupid fool.

But……

The image of him sweating profusely at the food exhibition gradually appeared before Jiang Yichun's mind, along with fragments of her time with him, which gradually pieced together in her mind.

His image lingered in her mind like a persistent, buzzing little bee.

Her cheeks flushed again, and Jiang Yichun quickly focused her attention on the small screen in front of her.

"I want pizza... wait, why does this Western restaurant sell crispy duck pizza? That's not right."

"Won't the Italians smash this store up?"

"Because this is a Western fusion bistro," Su Yanyue smiled at her, her voice slightly hoarse.

bistro?

The gentle and handsome face of He Yinxin in my mind was immediately replaced by the greasy face of "Ham Bro".

After spending that agonizing hour with Ham Bro, Jiang Yichun successfully developed "bistro PTSD".

But eating bistro with my roommate really helps relieve that PTSD.

She could understand once again the meaning of the liar's statement that "eating with you will make the calories disappear."

Tsk, how come everything I think of leads me to him?

Jiang Yichun shook his head again, forcing an awkward smile: "Oh, is that so? Then... let's have a crispy duck pizza."

"Are you sure, Xiaochun?" Yang Fei, sitting to the side, asked, her voice trembling.

"This pizza looks so awful."

Jiang Yichun finally snapped out of his daze: "Not sure, haha, I'll try something else."

She moved her hand back to her phone and casually ordered a few dishes.

The Western food was quickly served by the waiter, along with a complimentary bottle of red wine.

Jiang Yichun's gaze immediately locked onto the red wine.

"Who ordered this?" Her face was reflected in the wine bottle as she stuffed a bite of steak into her mouth.

Su Yanyue raised her hand and smiled, "I ordered it. I know that besides Xingxing, Xiaochun and Feifei both drink red wine, right?"

"It's rare that the four of us are all together today, so I'll treat you guys... to a drink with me?"

She blinked, her peach blossom eyes sparkling.

Jiang Yichun looked into those eyes; she could always glimpse inexplicable emotions in Su Yanyue's eyes.

Exhaustion, helplessness, and a touch of sadness.

That feeling resonated with the anxiety in her heart.

Jiang Yichun raised his hand and lifted his glass: "Come on, drink!"

Yang Fei, who was sitting to the side, raised her glass: "I'll join in too."

Zhang Xingxing smiled and shook her head: "Then I won't participate. I'll just enjoy my orange juice."

Su Yanyue glanced at the three of them, then smiled and narrowed her eyes: "Alright, let's drink!"

"Thump."

As the glasses clinked, the red wine swayed and gradually disappeared as the girls talked.

The alcohol was taking effect, and all three of them, except for Zhang Xingxing, were slightly tipsy.

Su Yanyue tilted her head back, took a big gulp of red wine, and let out a long breath: "Everyone, are you willing to listen to my story?"

"I went to film a movie... and something bad happened."