Chapter 64 The Fragile Man
Chapter Sixty-Four: The Vulnerable Man
Throughout the Lunar New Year period, the weather was freezing cold, with occasional snowfalls.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Su strolled around the city with Zhou Yunqi.
As the 1980s began, people seemed to be happier than before, and the incense at temples flourished. Many citizens came to Yonghe Temple to offer incense on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Lin Su knew that Zhou Yunqi didn't believe in these things, but she still pulled him along to light incense.
As we came out, he asked, "What wish did you make?"
Lin Su shook her head: "I didn't make any wishes, I just lit a stick of incense for peace."
He chuckled softly: "I did make a wish."
"What?"
He straightened her collar: "I hope your studies abroad go smoothly." Lin Su's pupils dilated in surprise.
"What's wrong? Why are you so surprised?"
Lin Su murmured, "You expect me to study abroad?"
“Of course, why not go if you have the ability to learn? Learn from the barbarians to subdue them,” he said, looking at her as if teasing her, “and boost the national economy, we will thank you.”
Hearing this, Lin Su snorted, "You're quite willing to let me go to a foreign country."
"It's only two years, and besides, I've been traveling a lot during these two years. Thinking about it, the timing is quite coincidental." He said, taking her hand and walking forward. "By the time you come back, I should be back too."
If you do the math, it's just right.
Lin Su was free, but Zhou Yunqi was going to visit relatives. He asked Lin Su if she wanted to come along, but Lin Su was lazy and said, "Next time?"
He had an indifferent expression: "Anyway, they're just some irrelevant relatives, so it's fine if we don't meet them. My uncle is urging me to take you there, but I want to put it off for now."
He seemed to still be sticking to his own opinion; he wouldn't take her to his uncle's house unless anyone there took him seriously.
In the blink of an eye, it was the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the day to welcome the God of Wealth. When Lin Su woke up in the morning, she nestled in his arms, unwilling to get out of bed, and asked him, "When are you leaving?"
He said, "It just so happens to be the day your school starts."
This year, the Lunar New Year was late, so school started early; Lin Su School started on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.
Lin Su said, "What a coincidence."
He hugged her and smiled, "I'll leave just in time for you to go to school, so I won't have to see you crying."
Lin Su said seriously, "I won't cry. You'll be back in July. It's you who can't bear the separation."
The man paused, and finally let out a soft "ah".
Lin Su froze, staring intently at him. He looked back at her, a smirk playing on his lips: "What, can't I be vulnerable for once?"
Lin Su was both amused and exasperated. She buried her face in his chest and whispered, "Then you're quite fragile."
"Considering how vulnerable I am, you should be on top tonight, no matter what."
Lin Su: "I was already up there last night..."
"You mean just those two minutes?"
Lin Su nudged him: "It's not just two minutes, is it?"
"Oh, two and a half minutes."
"..."
Even without him saying it, Lin Su understood that he had postponed his return. Fortunately, it was the Lunar New Year, and some business had not yet started. Although the factory machines were running, everything was normal with the old factory manager there.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Lin Su returned to school, while he flew southwest, minimizing the sadness of their separation.
Many times when she thinks about it, Lin Su feels that Zhou Yunqi is a man who is gentler than the gentlest.
The ice and snow are gradually melting, and the weather is getting warmer day by day.
Lin Su became very busy. She wanted to secure a spot for studying abroad, so she kept improving her English by participating in the school's English Corner and communicating with foreign teachers alongside English majors.
In mid-April, when the campus was in full bloom, Lin Su happened to run into her counselor on the way.
When discussing studying abroad, the counselor said that in addition to reviewing the previous semester's final grades, they would also hold a selection interview for the applicants, since they need to finalize three places in June in order to arrange visas.
The counselor said, "Lin Su, although your exam results are very good, ranking first in your major, we also need to evaluate some other things, so you'd better make some preparations."
Lin Su readily agreed.
The interview mainly assesses students' bilingual (Chinese and English) communication skills, their understanding of professional knowledge, and their insights into economic development.
As a result, Lin Su became even busier.
There were whispers in the dorm that these government-funded spots were mostly given to people with connections, and whoever had the strongest backing had a better chance.
Lin Su also understood that for someone like her with no powerful backing, it was perfectly normal to be eliminated unless there was a significant gap in her abilities.
But she still wanted to give it a try and didn't give up.
On a Saturday in mid-May, Lin Su finally finished her interview.
The interviewers included not only professors but also department leaders, and the questions they asked were extremely rigorous.
She introduced herself in English, then gave a short speech in English, and answered their questions carefully.
After the interview, she returned to her apartment complex.
Feeling utterly bored at home, I suddenly remembered that ring, so I took it out and put it on my ring finger to take a look.
It looks great.
Although the diamond wasn't very large, it sparkled brilliantly under the light.
I haven't been in much contact with Zhou Yunqi lately, only occasionally writing him a letter. By now, the sugarcane should be finished being processed, but the factory still has a lot of follow-up work to do.
He'll be back in two months.
Time flies.
Lin Su looked at the ring and suddenly wondered, if Zhou Yunqi came back and saw her wearing the ring, would that man be scared?
Probably not, he'll just be happy.
...
The next day, she met up with Zhang Wenqiu for a shopping trip. On the street, fashionable girls were wearing beautiful dresses, with a much wider variety of colors and styles than before, adding a touch of vibrancy to the street.
Zhang Wenqiu said, "Lin Su, when you came to my house, I thought the sun had risen in the west."
Lin Su: "You dislike me that much?"
"It's not that I don't like you, it's just that it's too unexpected. When was the last time we contacted each other? More than half a year ago?"
Lin Su said, "There's no way around it, I'm just too busy."
"What are you busy with?"
Lin Su recounted the recent situation.
Zhang Wenqiu was surprised: "My God, you're going to study abroad?"
"It's not certain that I'll be selected; I've heard there will be people with connections."
Zhang Wenqiu said, "There are definitely people with connections, but as far as I know, if there are three spots, they wouldn't dare to fill them all with people with connections, otherwise it would be too unfair."
"Let's see. It's okay if we don't go."
But Zhou Yunqi seemed to care even more than she did, and last time he even encouraged her to prepare well for the interview in his letter.
While strolling around, I asked Zhang Wenqiu what she had been busy with lately. She said, "Just going to class. I go home on weekends. Our school is different from yours; there isn't as much pressure."
Lin Su then asked, "Aren't you going to choose your major in your second year? So, are you going to study education or journalism?"
She shook her head: "I don't know yet, maybe they're going to do journalism."
"Not wanting to be a teacher?"
"Unless I become a university teacher, I don't want to be a junior or senior high school teacher, but the chances of becoming a university teacher right after graduating from our school are too low."
She then added, "But I think you'd be quite suited to be a university professor."
"Me? How should I put it?"
She thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it's because you taught elementary school before. I feel that if you graduated, you could be a university professor. You have that kind of presence, don't you?"
Lin Su smiled and didn't continue the conversation. She wasn't really sure about the future; she'd see if she could study abroad first.
The topic veered back to journalism and being a reporter, and Lin Su's mind instantly drifted to Guan Chenxi, who worked at a newspaper.
She had only thought about it for a moment, but she didn't expect that there were some people and some things that she couldn't even think about. After taking a few steps, Lin Su ran into Guan Chenxi.
At the time, the two of them were in a department store, intending to look at sandals, when Guan Chenxi, arm in arm with an older woman, perhaps her mother, happened to walk towards them.
Lin Su spotted her immediately, grabbed Zhang Wenqiu's arm, and squeezed into the bag counter next to them.
Zhang Wenqiu asked, "You want to buy a bag?"
Lin Su: "Just browsing."
Behind them, Guan Chenxi passed by with a woman on her arm. Lin Su vaguely heard the woman muttering, "You just leave like that, there's nothing I can do about it."
After they walked past, Lin Su pretended to pull Zhang Wenqiu along, saying, "Let's look at the shoes first."
She thought Guan Chenxi hadn't seen her, but when she was walking out after buying the shoes, she saw Guan Chenxi again. This time, it seemed like the other person was waiting for her on purpose.
Lin Su was taken aback.
She gave a dry laugh: "Do you have time to chat?"
Lin Su was completely confused: "You want to talk to me?"
Guan Chenxi: "Yeah, it's just a little chat before we part. It'll only take a few minutes. My mom is still waiting for me at the door."
Although they really had nothing left to talk about, Lin Su noticed that Guan Chenxi's expression was off, and that she mentioned parting... She nodded.
Zhang Wenqiu went to the restroom, while Lin Su stood on the railing on the second floor of the bustling mall, looking at the reborn woman with puzzlement.
Guan Chenxi got straight to the point: "I resigned."
"You resigned?" Lin Su was stunned.
"The journalism world doesn't need another mediocre journalist like me."
"Where are you going?"
"Let's go check out Shenzhen in the south."
Lin Su: "Go into business?"
"Maybe."
Anyway, she's been reborn, and with the advantage of information asymmetry, it's not impossible for her to become a female boss.
Actually, Lin Su didn't hate Guan Chenxi. On the contrary, she felt that Guan Chenxi was quite awkward. After being reborn, she still had emotional attachments... Lin Su then went along with the conversation: "It seems that the country over there is going to focus on development, and it's adjacent to Hong Kong. There should be quite a few opportunities."
Guan Chenxi didn't reply, only saying, "But that's not what I want to talk to you about."
Lin Su looked at her questioningly: "So you want to talk?"
Guan Chenxi pursed her lips: "Let's talk about your boyfriend."
"Do we still need to talk about him?" Lin Su sighed. "That's true. If we didn't talk about him, you wouldn't have come to me."
She smiled, a sense of relief on her face: "I ran into him at the airport that day. I happened to be doing an interview, and that's how we met. So I asked him a question."
"What's the problem?"
Ask him what he likes about you.
Lin Su couldn't understand her thought process and said speechlessly, "Can you please stop being like this..."
Guan Chenxi said, "Boring? I think I'm pretty bored too."
Guan Chenxi's expression changed: "I asked again, if you leave, will he leave?"
It was that same question again. Lin Su couldn't stand her stubbornness and said, "Don't you think you're getting stuck on this issue and can't get out of this dead end? We just want to live our lives well, but all you're thinking about is death and dying for love. You're too pessimistic and too self-pitying."
She seemed to be mocking herself: "Yes, that's what he said too. After that day, I suddenly felt like I had been awakened."
Lin Su sighed: "You have a privileged family background and outstanding abilities. You really shouldn't waste your energy pursuing things that don't belong to you."
Guan Chenxi snorted: "You're so much younger than me, yet you speak so maturely."
"There's no way around it. I almost lost my life when I was a sent-down youth, so of course I want to live a good life."
Zhang Wenqiu had already come out of the bathroom and was looking at the two of them curiously.
Seeing this, Lin Su said, "Let's not talk about this anymore, we have to go. Since you're going to the south, I wish you a safe and smooth journey."
Guan Chenxi smiled and said, "Thank you."
After a while, he asked again, "Don't you want to hear his answer?"
Lin Su stood there, paused for a moment, then pursed her lips and said to her, "You don't need to tell me, I know the answer."
Guan Chenxi shrugged: "Actually, he didn't answer me, but then again, how could you not know the answer?"
From beginning to end, she was an outsider; she was the one who got too caught up in the role.
On the other side, Zhang Wenqiu asked with a blank expression, "What answer? What response?"
Lin Su smiled calmly: "It's nothing. She just asked me if my boyfriend loves me."
Zhang Wenqiu: "Is that even a question? Of course it's love."
"Is there something wrong with her?"
Lin Su smiled faintly, and as she smiled, her nose suddenly felt sore.
...
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