Chapter 76 Never easily go down the wrong path with Song Juelan...
Wen Zhi looked up from his phone screen and noticed a heavy atmosphere in the dormitory. His three roommates all looked at him with complicated expressions.
"...What's wrong?" His eyes showed a hint of confusion.
Is it really that strange to bring your partner home for the holidays?
Ding Mingjun had just witnessed Wen Zhi's boyfriend's "magnanimity" that morning, and the thought of the consequences of Song Juelan discovering that Wen Zhi was two-timing him sent a chill down his spine.
"Why don't you... reconsider?" Ding Mingjun couldn't bear to see Wen Zhi courting disaster, so he advised her in an extremely tactful way.
Coming to his senses, He Jin also chimed in with concern, "Yes, isn't this a bit too risky?"
Wen Zhi was completely bewildered by what they were saying, her face full of confusion: "What do you mean?"
Ding Mingjun thought he was pretending to be stupid, sighed with mixed feelings, and finally broke the ice: "We all know, you're dating two people at the same time."
Wen Zhi's eyes widened slightly in an instant, as if she had heard something unbelievable.
Did you date two people at the same time?
Him?
"I didn't..." Wen Zhi retorted weakly. After being with Song Juelan, how could he have the energy to provoke anyone else?
“It’s okay, we’ll keep it a secret for you.” He Jin reassured him first, then said in a serious tone, “But if you bring Junior Song home and he finds out, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
Fang Wenxiu also joined in the admonition with a serious expression: "It's best to keep the two of them far apart, that's the safest way."
Wen Zhi huddled helplessly in the chair, weakly defending herself, "I really didn't..."
Why would these three people think he was two-timing? He's not that bad, is he?
Seeing that he refused to admit it, Ding Mingjun had no choice but to harden his heart and produce evidence: "Then what about that long-distance relationship you mentioned before? It can't be Song, the junior who lives downstairs from us, can it?"
Three sharp gazes locked onto Wen Zhi, as if they had already seen through the truth.
Wen Zhi finally understood what was going on.
Oh, so it turns out he dug his own hole before.
“...It’s him.” Wen Zhi explained in a low voice, lacking confidence.
Ding Mingjun seemed not to have heard clearly: "What?"
Wen Zhi raised her voice slightly: "That long-distance relationship partner, it's him."
The air fell silent for a moment.
"You mean... you're in a long-distance relationship in the same dorm building?" Ding Mingjun's tone was full of disbelief.
Wen Zhi didn't know how to explain this misunderstanding, so she could only say the key point: "Well, because... I didn't know he was studying here too."
This seemingly confusing explanation left Ding Mingjun somewhat bewildered, unsure whether he should believe it or not.
He Jin, who had been silent for a long time, was deep in thought. His mind, which had been immersed in the fanfiction on the forum, quickly connected all the clues and guessed what had happened.
His expression gradually brightened, and he said confidently, "I understand! Is it because Xiao Song wanted to give you a surprise, so he didn't tell you that he also got into S University, right?"
He had seen this scene in a fanfiction!
Wen Zhi was momentarily stunned by this overly reasonable assumption, but quickly followed up by nodding, "...Yes."
However, he was more frightened than surprised.
The other two were also convinced by this explanation, and their faces showed expressions of sudden realization.
"So it turns out it's the same person!" Ding Mingjun breathed a long sigh of relief, the worry that had been lingering in his heart finally dissipating. "I was worried that this would be exposed."
Wen Zhi then remembered that when Song Juelan introduced himself to them that day, the three of them didn't mention the long-distance relationship at all. It turned out that they were helping him keep the secret of "two-timing" back then.
"Hey, how did you and Xiao Song meet?" He Jin asked with great interest.
“During the summer vacation, I enrolled Xiaotang in a swimming lesson.” There was nothing to hide about this part, so Wen Zhi answered truthfully. “He happened to be working part-time as a coach at the swimming pool, and that’s how we met.”
"Wait, swimming coach?" Upon hearing these words, Ding Mingjun suddenly remembered something, grabbed his phone from the desk, and started searching for something.
Then, he found the video that had gone viral online in the dormitory group chat history, quickly opened it, and then turned his phone screen to other people: "Could it be him?!"
The video playing on the phone screen was the one where Song Juelan was secretly filmed at the swimming pool. The image was a bit blurry, only capturing a side profile and smooth muscle lines, so he wasn't quite sure yet.
Wen Zhi looked at the familiar figure on the screen and nodded obediently.
All three were utterly shocked. That handsome coach who went viral online was actually Song Juelan, and he'd already been dating Wen Zhi?!
Ding Mingjun almost jumped up from his seat: "You're something else! You pretended not to know me back then, but you'd already got your hands on me!"
He Jin stared down at the video, still deeply shocked.
This reality... is far more exciting and thrilling than the fanfiction on the forum.
*
After the truth came out that night, the three people in dormitory 303 finally stopped feeling guilty in front of Song Juelan.
After Wen Zhi and Song Juelan's relationship was made public, related posts on the campus forum increased exponentially, becoming several times more popular than before, and the forum was bustling with activity every day, like a New Year's celebration.
He Jin became completely obsessed with reading posts in the forum's CP (couple) section. He would leave a vivid and detailed little anecdote in the post from time to time, and then leave, leaving a group of people shouting that it was so good in his reply.
No one knows why this mysterious person's jokes are so captivating, as if they were witnessed firsthand.
Before we knew it, the National Day holiday arrived, and the sound of suitcase wheels rolling echoed through the dormitory corridors, making the entire building feel much emptier.
Wenzhi's flight was in the afternoon, so she slept until she naturally woke up, leisurely packed her things, and prepared for departure.
Seeing that it was almost time, he said goodbye to his roommates who hadn't gone home yet and planned to go downstairs to find Song Juelan.
As soon as I pushed open the dormitory door, I saw a tall figure standing backlit, his body outlined in gold by the light, quietly waiting at the door.
Wen Zhi's eyes lit up slightly. She closed the dormitory door behind her and walked quickly to Song Juelan: "Why didn't you say you were coming?"
"I just got here a short while ago." Song Juelan reached out and took the small suitcase from his hand, put her own black backpack on top, and carried it together.
Once Wen Zhi's hand was free, she immediately reached for Song Juelan's hand, her fingertips slipping between his fingers, and their hands naturally intertwined.
During the holidays, students carrying suitcases can be seen everywhere on campus, hurrying by.
Having set off several hours early, the two had plenty of time and strolled leisurely toward the school gate.
Since most people at school found out about their relationship, Wen Zhi became more at ease. Even though many classmates passing by cast glances at them, the two still held hands tightly.
On the way to the airport by taxi, there was a short traffic jam, but they arrived at the airport just in time. They checked in smoothly, went through security, entered the waiting area, and found seats.
The waiting area was bustling with activity, and flight information announcements were made over the loudspeaker from time to time.
Wen Zhi glanced at the estimated arrival time on her phone screen, turned her head slightly, and looked at Song Juelan, who was somewhat silent beside her, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Song Juelan looked up and met his gaze, hesitated for a moment before asking, "Have your parents said what kind of partner they hope you will find?"
Wen Zhi thought about it carefully for a moment and shook her head: "They didn't mention anything about that."
When he was in middle school, his parents were worried that he would fall in love too early and gave him a few words of advice. Later, they found that their son was not interested in this kind of thing at all, so they were completely relieved and let him be.
“However…” Wen Zhi suddenly remembered something and added.
Song Juelan's expression tensed slightly at those two words: "But what?"
Wen Zhi recalled that day when he admitted to Rong Rui that he had a girlfriend, and Rong Rui seemed very worried. He also noticed during their video call a few days ago that Rong Rui was quite concerned about his girlfriend.
"However, my mom doesn't seem to trust my judgment much," Wen Zhi said, pursing her lips slightly as she came to this conclusion.
Logically speaking, he's a grown man, it's perfectly normal for him to be in a relationship, so Rong Rui's reaction shouldn't be so overly tense.
Who rushes to have their partner brought home to meet them after only a short time of dating?
Song Juelan's expression grew even more serious, automatically interpreting the sentence as Wen Zhi's mother having very high standards for her son's partner.
A fair hand suddenly reached out and gently pressed on his furrowed brow. Beautiful eyes blinked at him softly: "What's the rush? Haven't you already won over one of our family members?"
Song Juelan didn't react for a moment, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Then, Wen Zhi smiled and told him the answer: "Xiao Tang, he likes you very much."
Song Juelan finally understood, and a slight smile appeared on her lips because of this consolation that was hardly a word of comfort.
After spending the summer together, his relationship with Xiaotang was indeed quite good, at least he didn't have to worry about Wenzhi's younger brother being dissatisfied with him.
"Xiao Tang keeps saying that she wants to take swimming lessons with you again next summer vacation."
Wen Zhi placed her hand on Song Juelan's thigh, her expression slightly ambiguous, but her tone was like that of an ordinary parent, blinking her long eyelashes as she asked, "Coach Song, will you still be teaching next year?"
Hearing that long-lost, slightly provocative address, Song Juelan's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he raised his hand to cover Wen Zhi's hand: "Mm."
He seemed to suddenly remember something, raising an eyebrow slightly, and then added slowly, "I remember, you haven't finished your swimming lessons yet, have you?"
Wen Zhi's smile froze slightly.
Last time I went to the swimming pool with Song Juelan to learn to swim, but for some reason we ended up kissing in the pool and I didn't even learn a single move.
He still remembers thinking back then that he should never easily get involved with Song Juelan in the future, and now that thought is even more firm.
"...I guess I'll pass." Wen Zhi muttered under her breath, quickly pulling her hand back and immediately becoming much more obedient.
When the plane arrived in City A, it was already completely dark outside the window.
The two got into the pre-booked car, and as soon as they left the airport, they got stuck in traffic.
On the first day of the short holiday, people set off to visit relatives or travel, causing traffic jams on the wide roads. Every car could only move forward as slowly as a snail.
Seeing that she didn't know how long she would be stuck in traffic, Wen Zhi called Rong Rui on the way to tell them not to wait for her for dinner.
We stopped and started along the way, the scenery outside the car window was almost still, and soothing background music from a late-night radio station played from the car radio.
Wen Zhi initially had the energy to chat with Song Juelan for a few minutes, but then she gradually closed her eyes, tilted her head to the side, leaned on Song Juelan's shoulder, and fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up, the car had already exited the highway. A cool night breeze blew in through the car window, and the scenery along the roadside became increasingly familiar.
He groggily took out his phone and found that it was already past midnight. There were many missed calls on the screen, all from his parents.
Once Wen Zhi regained consciousness, she quickly called her parents back to explain that her phone had been accidentally muted and she hadn't heard the call.
He reassured Rong Rui, who was looking worried on the other end of the phone, "I'm with my boyfriend, everything's fine."
Rong Rui was relieved and then added, "Let me know when we get to the entrance of the community, and your dad and I will come down to pick you up."
"good."
Wen Zhi hung up the phone and saw that Song Juelan's residential area was not far ahead. She quickly asked the driver to pull over at the entrance of the residential area.
The streetlights flashed past the car window, and Song Juelan frowned slightly: "I'll take you home first, then we'll take another taxi."
"No need for that trouble, my parents said they'll come downstairs to pick me up." Wen Zhi gently patted Song Juelan's leg. "It's so late, you should go home and get some rest. You're coming to my house tomorrow."
The car stopped by the roadside. Wen Zhi, fearing that Song Juelan would disagree, immediately opened the car door for him and urged him to go home quickly.
After Song Juelan got out of the car, she placed one hand on the car door, her gaze still fixed on his face: "Let me know when you get home."
"Uh-huh."
The car door closed, and the driver stepped on the gas, heading towards another residential area a few kilometers away.
In the residential area, Rong Rui and Wen Lexian had come downstairs early and were waiting under the streetlights at the entrance of the building.
The night wind was chilly. Rong Rui, with a wool shawl draped over her shoulders, looked towards the entrance of the residential complex with a hint of nervousness on her face: "Will we be able to meet Zhizhi's boyfriend soon?"
Wen Zhi had originally agreed with them that she would bring her boyfriend back to meet them tomorrow, but unexpectedly, her boyfriend would be bringing her back tonight, and she wasn't mentally prepared.
"It's good to see her sooner, so we can have some peace of mind." Wen Lexian put his arm around her shoulder reassuringly.
Rong Rui's brows were still slightly furrowed, her heart filled with unease.
A few minutes later, a car slowly drove in from the direction of the community entrance, its headlights illuminating the green belts on both sides of the road.
Wen Lexian and Rong Rui first noticed the car model; it was an ordinary economy sedan, just as they had expected.
External conditions were not their primary concern, so neither of them lingered on the car, instead keeping their eyes fixed on the driver's side door.
The car slowly stopped in front of them. The driver's side door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man in his forties with a slightly balding head got out and went straight to the trunk.
Rong Rui's beautiful eyes widened slightly, and she almost lost her balance, leaning weakly against Wen Lexian, who was also looking astonished.
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Author's note: I'm late, and the ending was a bit of a struggle qwq
Just a few more chapters to finish!
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