Chapter 59 Ran Away Again
Wen Zhi was completely unaware of what had happened in a corner of the campus.
He took a hot shower, climbed into bed early, played on his phone for a while while leaning against the headboard, and then gradually felt sleepy, so he put down his phone and prepared to go to sleep.
The other roommates also turned off their computers, took showers, and went to sleep. The noisy dormitory quickly quieted down, with only the hum of the air conditioner running.
The dormitory building is not well soundproofed, and you can often hear laughter coming from upstairs and downstairs.
As her consciousness began to fade, Wen Zhi heard the sound of an iron gate gently closing coming from the dormitory downstairs. It was especially clear in the quiet night, as if someone was just returning to the dormitory.
These days, freshmen really stay up late having fun.
The thought flashed through his mind, but he didn't think much of it. He turned over, and his consciousness completely disappeared into darkness.
The next morning, Wen Zhi had just woken up and hadn't even opened her eyes when she smelled a light aroma of food.
He got up, lifted the bed curtain, and peeked out, only to find that Fang Wenxiu had gotten up early today and brought breakfast from the cafeteria for the three of them.
In the dormitory, Fang Wenxiu is usually the one who gets up the earliest. Sometimes when he goes out to buy breakfast, he will also buy a portion for his other roommates.
"Thanks." Wen Zhi grabbed his phone from the bed, transferred money to Fang Wenxiu, and then immediately jumped out of bed. After washing up, he sat down at his desk and took out a still-steaming breakfast from a plastic bag.
The breakfast packaging in the cafeteria is very simple; it consists of disposable tableware without any patterns, all packed together in a small, transparent plastic bag.
A bowl of golden, soft pumpkin porridge, two thin-skinned, generously filled steamed buns, and a cup of soy milk looked very appetizing. He picked up a small plastic spoon and sipped the porridge slowly.
When Song Juelan's message popped up, he remembered that he wanted to show it to Song Juelan, so he raised his phone, took a picture of the half-eaten bowl of pumpkin porridge on the table, and sent it to the other party.
For some reason, Song Juelan didn't reply immediately as usual today; he sent a message a while later.
Song Juelan: [How does it taste?]
Wen Zhi sipped her sweet porridge while typing on her phone screen.
Wen Zhi: [Delicious, both sticky and sweet]
Wen Zhi: [This shop has the best pumpkin porridge!]
The two chatted for a bit as usual, and everything seemed normal.
In dormitory 203, several people had just woken up from their beds.
"Hey, Brother Song, weren't you about to go out?" Fei Kangcheng rubbed his eyes as he came out of the bathroom. He was surprised to see Song Juelan still sitting at his desk.
When he got up, he saw that Song Juelan had already changed into his outdoor clothes and was standing at the door bending down to change his shoes, looking ready to go out at any time.
But now, he sat back down at his desk, his brow furrowed, staring intently at his phone.
Song Juelan didn't even look up: "We'll talk about it later."
Seeing that he seemed to be dealing with something important, Fei Kangcheng didn't dare to disturb him any longer and quietly returned to his seat.
Song Juelan kept her head down, her slender fingers sliding across the screen, zooming in and out on the breakfast photo Wen Zhi had sent. No matter how she looked at it, the photo didn't reveal any information.
He couldn't pinpoint Wen Zhi's location based on the photo.
Wen Zhi doesn't usually go out for breakfast. Sometimes the photos she sends him only show simple bread and milk.
Therefore, Song Juelan was not too disappointed. He paused his fingertip above the screen for a moment, then neatly turned off his phone and quietly waited for lunchtime to arrive.
"Hey! Great news!" He Jin rushed in from outside, shouting to his roommates, "The dorm next door has prepared a whole table of food and invited us over for lunch! I took a look, and it looks quite lavish!"
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Upon hearing this, Ding Mingjun immediately stood up and skillfully picked up his bowl and chopsticks, which he used specifically for free meals.
Wen Zhi also turned off her computer and followed her roommates out. As soon as they reached the corridor, they smelled an enticing aroma of food. Many people from the dorms peeked out to find the source of the smell.
"Come in quickly!" Old Zeng from the next dormitory waved to them enthusiastically, then looked at the bowls and chopsticks in Ding Mingjun's hand, "Oh, why did you bring these? I've prepared everything for you."
In the next dormitory room, there was a folding table with several sets of disposable bowls and chopsticks on it, and a sumptuous meal of four dishes and a soup in the middle.
Ding Mingjun's eyes lit up: "Wow, Lao Zeng, you did all of this?"
"Yes." Old Zeng smiled憨厚ly, took out a few small stools and placed them next to the folding table. "Old Zhou and Old Zhang from our dormitory both went out to do something, so the two of us can't finish eating."
The group sat down at the table in high spirits, picked up disposable bowls and chopsticks, and began to chat and eat.
"Oh, it's that delicious smell coming from your dorm! What are you eating?" A loud voice came from the doorway, and everyone looked up.
Sun Rongtao arrived uninvited, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over Wen Zhi at the table before asking Old Zeng, "You don't mind if I join you, do you?"
Old Zeng took out the last small stool from under his desk and handed it to Sun Rongtao: "Please sit wherever you like."
Sun Rongtao took the small stool and tried to squeeze next to Wen Zhi, but He Jin, who was quick-witted and agile, stopped him.
"Aren't there still empty seats over there? Why do you have to squeeze in between us?" He Jin asked rudely.
He already disliked Sun Rongtao, who clearly had feelings for Wen Zhi, and since he lived in the dormitory next to theirs, he always tried to get close to Wen Zhi.
Last time, he insisted on a one-on-one duel with them in the game. After they lost, they had no choice but to team up with Sun Rongtao. It wasn't until later that he realized Sun Rongtao was trying to get close to Wen Zhi, and he held a grudge about it ever since.
Sun Rongtao reluctantly picked up his small stool and went around to the other side of the table to sit down.
The atmosphere at the table remained unaffected; the group continued eating and chatting, and even opened a few cans of chilled beer.
When Song Juelan sent her message, Wen Zhi, as usual, picked up her phone, took a picture of the sumptuous meal, sent it, and added an explanation that she was having dinner at a friend's house.
This time, there was silence on the other side of the screen for a long time.
At the dinner table, Ding Mingjun was complaining that he had been feeling bored lately. Since he didn't have many classes during his senior year, the sudden free time made him feel a little uneasy.
"Hey, how about you come hang out with us?" Old Ke was the most sociable of the group and knew everything about campus events. "There's a party in a couple of nights, and a lot of freshmen will be there."
Ding Mingjun immediately perked up and agreed without thinking, and even wanted to invite a few of his roommates to go together.
Wen Zhi hadn't been to a party in a long time. The last time she attended a party was at the swimming pool for a farewell party. She'd been feeling really bored at school lately.
So, at Ding Mingjun's urging, all the students in dormitory 303 decided to go to the party with Lao Ke.
Old Zeng, who has a girlfriend, cautiously asked, "Old Ke, that was just a regular party, not a social gathering, right?"
Old Ke spends more time participating in activities than sleeping every day, so asking him to remember the nature of each activity is really difficult.
His chopsticks paused in mid-air. He thought seriously for a moment before hesitantly nodding: "It should be right."
Ding Mingjun nudged Wen Zhi lightly with his shoulder and teased, "Your boyfriend is so strict, he even has to report when he eats. Would he let you go out with him?"
Wen Zhi retorted instinctively, "Who said he was controlling me?"
Song Juelan hadn't really interfered with him; she was just a little overly concerned. Besides, Song Juelan was probably thousands of kilometers away, so how could she possibly care about him?
Apart from the few people in dormitory 303, everyone else at the table was frozen in place.
After a long while, Lao Ke finally came to his senses, his eyes widening in disbelief: "You have a girlfriend?"
There were so many people in school lining up to pursue Wen Zhi, but Wen Zhi quietly started dating someone.
Sun Rongtao's face immediately turned extremely ugly, but he still didn't quite believe it.
"What's so strange about that? Xiaozhi didn't date before because she didn't have anyone she liked." He Jin calmly picked up a piece of curry beef with his chopsticks and continued, "He said he'd bring his girlfriend over to meet us when he had the chance, right?"
Wen Zhi gave a hesitant "Mmm".
The news was so explosive that even after the meal was over and everyone was helping to clear the dishes, the conversation at the table was still about Wen Zhi and that mysterious person.
After helping Lao Zeng clear away the dishes, Wen Zhi slipped back to her dormitory and climbed into bed for a nap without a care in the world.
He woke up naturally, yawning as he climbed out of bed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed two books on his desk and remembered that they were about to expire.
With nothing else to do in the afternoon, he picked up the two books, tucked his phone and student ID into his pocket, and leisurely went out the door, heading towards the library.
People come and go in the square in front of the library. The tall sycamore trees cast dappled shadows. Several students sit in the shade of the trees and chat quietly. A gentle breeze passes through the leaves.
As Wen Zhi passed by the shady trees, she was attracted by a few cooing gray pigeons. She stopped, took out her phone from her pocket, pointed the camera at the leisurely plump pigeons, took a picture, and sent it to Song Juelan.
Wen Zhi: [It's as fat as the kitten I met yesterday!]
After he finished speaking ill of the group of fat pigeons, he walked briskly toward the library.
Several students under the shade of the tree looked up and saw only a tall and slender figure disappear like a gust of wind at the library entrance, leaving behind a faint fragrance in the air.
Dormitory 203.
Fei Kangcheng was startled by the sudden sound of a chair being pulled behind him. He turned around and saw Song Juelan stand up abruptly, take a few steps to the door, quickly bend down to change his shoes, and in the blink of an eye, his tall figure disappeared through the doorway.
Before he could even utter "Brother Song," his steady footsteps had already quickly faded into the distance.
"What's going on? Why the rush..." He scratched the back of his head in confusion, muttering to himself.
Song Juelan strode to the stairwell, not even wanting to wait for the elevator, and took three steps at a time to descend the stairs. After leaving the dormitory building, she headed straight for the library.
He recognized the photo Wen Zhi had just sent him as being taken in the square in front of the library at a glance.
He didn't know Wen Zhi lived nearby before, and he wouldn't connect similar places, but now that he knows, the location in the photo becomes very clear.
When I arrived at the square in front of the library, it was still bustling with activity. Groups of students walked by carrying books, their laughter carried on the wind, the leaves rustled, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass.
The plump pigeons were still foraging under the shade of the tree, but the person who had stopped to take pictures earlier was nowhere to be seen.
The students under the shade of the tree looked up again and saw a tall, aloof boy standing under the tree. His dark eyes were fixed on the innocent, chubby pigeons. Sweat beaded on his angular face, and his long, slender hands were clenched into fists.
Song Juelan pursed his thin lips. Although he knew in his heart that it was impossible to catch Wen Zhi so easily, he was still somewhat unwilling.
He stood there for a long time until his phone vibrated again in his pocket.
He took out his phone and saw that Wen Zhi had sent him another photo. The photo showed a shaved ice dessert piled high with strawberry jam and milk foam, and a fair hand was holding a small spoon.
Wen Zhi: [It's so hot today!]
Song Juelan's gaze froze instantly. She quickly zoomed in on the photo, found the shop logo on the plate, immediately opened the navigation software to search for it, and then took long strides without hesitation.
This dessert shop is hidden deep in the woods behind the school auditorium, and it's usually hard to notice it. This was the first time he had ever heard of such a shop on campus.
However, when he rushed to the dessert shop, he saw the staff clearing the tables, and on the tray was a bowl with only a few pink ice crystals left.
They ran away again.
Song Juelan stood at the shop entrance, his clothes soaked with sweat.
If he wasn't certain he hadn't alerted her, he would have even suspected Wen Zhi was deliberately playing games with him.
At the same time, a faint doubt arose in her mind—Wen Zhi was also with Xiao Tang, could she really run that fast?
With a heavy heart, he turned and left the dessert shop, only to have his phone vibrate again as he gripped it tightly in his hand.
Song Juelan took a deep breath and opened the message. This time, the photo Wen Zhi sent showed a slender branch of a tree with only one small, translucent, bright red fruit on it.
Wen Zhi: [Found the first fruit of early autumn (starry-eyed)]
Wen Zhi: [It looks delicious!]
Song Juelan's brows relaxed slightly because of those two sentences, but then she frowned deeply again.
Where is he supposed to find this tree with only one branch showing?
With a sharp gaze, he quickly scanned his surroundings and soon spotted a small grove of trees not far from the dessert shop. Without hesitation, he headed towards it.
Beyond this grove of trees lies the area for picking up packages, hence the large number of students moving about in and out of the grove.
When Song Juelan circled the grove for the third time, he finally found the bright red fruit on a slightly shorter branch.
Wen Zhi was standing under this tree when she discovered this unique fruit and took that photo.
He bent down to carefully observe the small fruit that had successfully caught Wen Zhi's attention. After a long while, he straightened up, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly caught a glimpse of something that looked like a card lying quietly on the ground next to the thick tree trunk, like Cinderella's glass slipper waiting to be discovered.
Song Juelan's gaze lingered on it for a moment, then he bent down and picked it up, discovering that it was a student ID card.
His long, slender fingers, slightly stained with dirt, gripped the edge of the student card, casually turning it to the front, his gaze sweeping idly over the name field.
Immediately afterwards, his movements froze completely, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
In the name field, a familiar name was prominently displayed—
Smelling gardenias.
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Author's Note: Thank you to OrangeCan'tHaveSeeds for 7 landmines~
Thanks to Shu, Little Fish, Sweet Wine, and Seaweed is Delicious for the landmines~
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution!
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