【36】The prerequisite for disenchantment is to experience it yourself first
The planned dinner treat fell through when Tan Xu unauthorizedly paid for it. Liang Zhiyao considered quietly transferring the money to him. But after that night's conversation, she began to feel ashamed of her self-protective hesitation and ultimately didn't dare to act. Forcing the transfer would seem like she was eager to break away from him, and she didn't want to do that. So she silently calculated her start date and payday—the good news was that Americans were used to living from one meal to the next, so salaries came in biweekly, not monthly. She would receive her first internship paycheck after Thanksgiving, and it wouldn't be too late to make up for the meal then. When they returned home that night, the atmosphere between them was strange, a delicate feeling of a window paper that hadn't been broken yet seemed as thin as a cicada's wing. Liang Zhiyao still couldn't quite grasp Tan Xu's true intentions, and at the same time, she felt like she was in a mess. She wanted to talk to Ye Xin, but she seemed incredibly busy lately. Then, remembering how she'd promised her before about Tan Xu that she wouldn't have any feelings for him, she didn't know how to begin. The weather had been perfect this weekend, a rare, last-minute warm spell before winter arrived. She should have taken the opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy the last of autumn's scenery. Instead, Liang Zhiyao stayed home for two days, aside from grocery shopping, mostly just chatting and gossiping with his roommates. The first bit of gossip came from Ye Xin—ever since she discovered Cheng Yan and Liu Siyan's breakup, she'd become elusive, leaving early and returning late for several days in a row. This Saturday, she tiptoed home again, arriving at 10 p.m., only to be caught by Liang Zhiyao brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed. The two finally sat cross-legged on the sofa for a long-awaited evening chat, finishing a bag of puffed snacks. Ye Xin was quite frank, sharing directly with her, "I went out on a date alone with Cheng Yan today." "So soon?" Liang Zhiyao's eyes nearly popped out. "It was just a date," she said. "Just getting to know each other. No real progress yet." Liang Zhiyao was still shocked. However, rather than attributing it entirely to the effectiveness of Ye Xin's newly learned "routine," she preferred to believe that the two had already formed a favorable impression of each other when they first met. For young people who already have feelings for each other, the events that set the story in motion may be merely interchangeable opportunities; even if there's no such thing as this one, there will always be another. But she couldn't help but ask, "Don't you mind that he just broke up?" "…
The originally planned dinner treat came to an end when Tan Xu picked up the tab without her permission. Liang Zhiyao considered transferring the money to him quietly. However, after that night's conversation, she began to feel ashamed of her hesitant and withdrawn mentality out of self-protection, and ultimately did not dare to put it into action.
If she forced the transfer, it would seem like she was eager to draw a line between them, and she didn't want to do that.
So she silently calculated her start time and payday - the good news was that Americans were used to living from one meal to the next, so salaries were not paid monthly, but every two weeks. After Thanksgiving, she would receive her first internship salary, and it would not be too late to make up for this meal then.
When they returned home that night, the atmosphere between them was strange, a subtle feeling of being close yet already as thin as a cicada's wing. Liang Zhiyao still couldn't be sure what Tan Xu was thinking, and at the same time, he felt like a mess.
She wanted to talk to Ye Xin, but the other party seemed very busy recently. She also remembered that when she mentioned Tan Xu to her before, she had vowed that "I would not have any thoughts about him", and she didn't know how to start for a while.
The weather was excellent this weekend, a rare last warming up before winter. We should have seized the opportunity to go outdoors and appreciate the last late autumn scenery, but in the end, Liang Zhiyao stayed at home for two whole days except for going to the supermarket to buy groceries. The most he did was eat melons and chat about gossip with his roommates.
The first piece of gossip came from Ye Xin. Ever since she discovered Cheng Yan and Liu Siyan had broken up, she had suddenly become elusive, leaving early and returning late for several days in a row. This Saturday, she tiptoed home again, arriving at 10 p.m., and Liang Zhiyao, who had just finished brushing his teeth and was about to go to bed, caught her red-handed.
So the two of them finally sat cross-legged on the sofa and had a long-awaited night chat, and by the way, they finished a bag of puffed food.
Ye Xin was very frank and shared with her directly: "I went out on a date alone with Cheng Yan today."
"So fast?" Liang Zhiyao's eyes almost popped out.
“It’s just a date,” she said. “Just getting to know each other. Nothing concrete has happened yet.”
Liang Zhiyao was still shocked. However, rather than attributing this entirely to the effectiveness of Ye Xin's newly learned "routine", she would rather believe that the two people had a good impression of each other when they first met.
For young men and women who already have feelings for each other, all the events that set the story in motion may just be replaceable opportunities. Even if there is no chance this time, there will be a next time.
But she still couldn't help asking, "Don't you mind that he just broke up?"
"That's not so bad..." Ye Xin said casually, "Liu Siyan and I aren't that familiar with each other, so it's not too awkward. Besides, to be honest, I was dating another guy last month."
"Well...anyway, he's been in a lot of relationships that broke up after a month or two, so it seems better than a relationship that lasted three to five years and then broke up."
At this moment, she suddenly remembered the truth or dare game on Road Trip, so she cut out the part where Cheng Yan claimed that he hadn't had many girlfriends in more than three months and told it to Ye Xin.
"That's pretty much what I thought," Ye Xin said. "People like that are either immature and too playful, or they simply don't understand what they want. It's okay, and it actually makes me feel a little relieved."
"Huh?" Liang Zhiyao was puzzled.
Ye Xin seemed to have changed her perspective on love overnight, and she blustered, "Since he doesn't seem like someone who takes relationships particularly seriously, I guess I don't have to play the gentle, good-tempered, and understanding lady like before. It's better not to pretend to be anyone and quickly find someone else if you don't like him."
"Really? You're so cool?" Liang Zhiyao showed a suspicious expression and couldn't help teasing her: "Why do I feel that people only tell themselves a bunch of 'failure is okay' before they encounter something they really want?"
Perhaps they are afraid that after expressing their strong desires, they will face the dilemma of having their hopes dashed.
She was clearly confused about her own affairs, but she was always confident that she could be a good military advisor to her friends. She felt that Ye Xin's face, which was supported by her chin, was clearly flashing with an irrepressible smile, but she was just being stubborn and resisting.
"Anyway, I'm in a pretty good mood right now," Ye Xin said. "I don't know why 'disenchantment' has suddenly become so popular in the past two years. It's about demystifying shopping, minimalism, and dating, and there are all kinds of pitfall avoidance guides. And there's always a bunch of people with impressive resumes saying that prestigious schools are boring and big companies are just so-so... But isn't demystification premised on experiencing it yourself? These people can only say this after going through it, so why should they be so-so? If you haven't tried it, you're bound to be envious."
"Well, Ye Zhe," Liang Zhiyao smiled and gave her a new nickname, "I think you are right."
In the past, she had always felt an inexplicable protectiveness towards Ye Xin, but now she felt that the rather sacred "guardian" status was nothing more than her self-righteous, wishful thinking. In many things, the other party actually saw things much more clearly than she did.
As for the second piece of gossip I heard this weekend, it has nothing to do with love, and it is not a relaxed and enjoyable bystander's perspective.
Qin Lu was the first to learn about this. On Sunday afternoon, the three of them, rarely together at home, had lunch together in the living room, where they discussed a scandal she had just heard about in the lab.
"There's a computer science graduate student in our lab who's also working on the project. He said something big happened this week," she said. "A Chinese freshman was reported for mid-term cheating, and a junior who took the exam for him was implicated."
Ye Xin was listening to a story with great interest, but Liang Zhiyao's heartbeat suddenly quickened. He asked her, "Do you know the name of the boy who cheated?"
"Let me think..." Qin Lu recalled, "Wu Yiyuan? I think that's his name. Do you know him?"
She shook her head calmly, but a storm was surging in her heart.
If I remember correctly, when the junior who called himself William added her as a friend, his WeChat ID was Yiyuan_Wu, followed by a string of numbers similar to his birthday.
After all these days, thinking back on it now, his proactive approach to me still felt a bit strange. After all, most people wouldn't approach stranger seniors so abruptly to discuss such matters, and this person's goal was so clear.
And now, he was quickly reported after cheating.
Could such a coincidence happen?
"Compared to that freshman, I'm more concerned about the junior who took the exam for me," Ye Xin said. "After all, they're both in the Computer Science Department and in the same class as us. If they're also Chinese, then Zhiyao should know them, right?"
"Oh, this gunman's story is even more interesting," Qin Lu said excitedly. "It's said that he's not short of money, but he recently got a very rich girlfriend. He wanted to show off and buy her expensive gifts, so he agreed to take the exam for her."
Liang Zhiyao almost immediately had a strange intuition and asked her, "Is this junior boy called Han Xingzhou?"
"Yes," Qin Lu said, "so you two really know each other."
"...More than just knowing him, you can even say he's Zhiyao's enemy. Let me give you a brief summary of the situation." Before she could answer, Ye Xin became excited and told Qin Lu the whole story of the rumor from beginning to end, leaving Qin Lu, a doctoral student who spent every day in the laboratory, amazed.
"It sounds like a cowardly man who doesn't do anything and a spoiled daughter from her family are quite a match," Qin Lu commented. "It's a good thing you guys found a way to fight back. The spread of that rumor should be limited. At least we haven't heard anyone in the lab discussing it."
Ye Xin was extremely excited: "Is this what they call wickedness being punished? They spread rumors about you before, and now they are getting their comeuppance. Don't accuse me of gloating, this kind of plot sounds really cool."
Liang Zhiyao felt that the whole thing was going on in a very strange way, with so many subtle clues and coincidences that it didn't seem like something that happened naturally.
"What will happen to these two people?" Ye Xin asked again, "Will they be fired?"
"It seems like first-time offenders wouldn't be expelled outright. Usually, they'd fail the subject they cheated on and receive some sort of punishment," Qin Lu said. "But that freshman had someone take the exam for him in more than one class. And their cheating wasn't just free help between friends; it involved money. That's a pretty serious offense, so neither of them will likely get away with it."
Upon hearing this conclusion, Liang Zhiyao's heart began to beat wildly.
She could hardly help but begin to imagine what kind of ending she would be facing now if she had not come to her senses in time and had been bewitched into accepting that tempting and sky-high "offer".
For her, the timing of the invitation was such a coincidence. It happened to be when the coffee shop was about to close and other opportunities seemed hopeless. She felt despair and anxiety in her heart, and everything really just happened in a moment.
Thinking of this, she suddenly took out her cell phone, looked through the 500-person group that William and she had added as friends, and tried to search for his name.
William did not leave the group chat, but they had deleted the friend, and the other party had set the Moments to not be open to strangers, so he could not see anything.
She opened Instagram again and tried several combinations of Chinese and English names, and finally found the other person's account through clues from mutual friends.
His Instagram wasn't set to private, so all his photos were visible. She scrolled down a bit and finally found a photo of them having dinner in a restaurant. In it, besides William himself and a few international students she didn't recognize, Lin Jiayue was also there.
The photo was posted on the Sunday after the power outage, which was the day before the other party added her as a friend and asked if he could take the exam for her.
She felt a chill down her spine at the series of coincidences, but she couldn't help but feel suspicious. She didn't know if she was overreacting or if there really was such terrible malice in the world.
The incident continued to ferment for two days, even reaching the domestic media through an unknown source. Several public accounts scrambled to report on the alleged cheating by Chinese students at prestigious American universities, and the shady industry behind it, which thrived on demand for "taking exams on behalf of others" and "substitute classes." This spawned several viral articles with over 100,000 views, quickly going viral.
Out of the principle of protecting students, the school officials never officially issued a notice, but the pseudonym "William" appeared openly in various articles.
Suddenly, the reputation of international students was once again tarnished, and the value of prestigious universities was called into question. The comments section was filled with outrage, and Liang Zhiyao and all the alumni were implicated, being labeled "rich second generation," "spendthrift," "smoking, drinking, clubbing, and tattooing"—down to the level of dandy kids who had to go abroad to get into a domestic university. Even high school classmates she hadn't spoken to in a while asked about this on WeChat, leaving her feeling both amused and annoyed.
People get easily tired of hearing the same story over and over again. Consequently, the media's coverage shifted, and soon, new articles emerged from a different angle, revealing the "gunman's" desperate motive: to buy a limited-edition luxury bag for his wealthy second-generation girlfriend. Han Xingzhou and Lin Jiayue's English names also appeared in these articles, seemingly confirming Ye Xin's saying, "Evil will be punished."
This reporting direction somewhat deviated from the actual incident, but it unexpectedly ignited the sexual urges of many male viewers. In the comment sections of several articles, the criticism was directed at Lin Jiayue, who was accused of materialism and overindulgence, leading Han Xingzhou down a wrong path. Compared to her, the perpetrator himself was relegated to a pitiful state of mind, having been momentarily confused.
Within two days, some resourceful netizens dug out their "North American International Students' Complaints" post that spread rumors about Liang Zhiyao and was quickly deleted after being debunked. They implied that Lin Jiayue was a willful, spoiled, and arbitrary rich second-generation, so it was not surprising that such a thing happened.
Men are often very united in this kind of situation, as evidenced by various infidelity scandals. Slandering women and making men invisible is a common practice. Suddenly, public opinion shifted its focus from international students cheating on exams to a heated, gender-based verbal battle.
Liang Zhiyao didn't care about these changes in public opinion, but he was troubled by the bold yet reasonable dark speculation in his heart for several days. Finally, he couldn't help it and took the initiative to find Lin Jiayue after class one day.
She searched for the other person in the classroom and suddenly realized that Lin Jiayue and Han Xingzhou seemed to no longer be together in recent days - every time they were in class, not only did they keep a distance from Liang Zhiyao as before, but the relationship between them also went from being inseparable to being strangers.
Compared to Liang Zhiyao back then, the attention and discussion they've received recently has been a hundred times greater. Furthermore, the cheating scandal hasn't just spread among Chinese people; many Americans have heard about it, too. The two have been feeling incredibly uncomfortable in the classroom lately.
"Want to go downstairs for coffee?" Ever since the submission and rumor-busting incident, they'd basically ignored each other during their classes. This was the first time they'd spoken. Seeing Liang Zhiyao approaching, Lin Jiayue didn't bother putting on the fake, cheerful smile she'd put on that time they went to the coffee shop. She grumbled back, "Are you kidding me? Is there anything we can talk about?"
Liang Zhiyao pondered this matter for a long time. It was just a guess, but to prove her thoughts, she had to show she knew everything. So, feigning composure, she said, "I know you're the one who reported William."
Upon hearing this, the other party's expression changed.
She felt even more certain, and pressed Lin Jiayue, "I'm just curious about the whole story. If you don't want to tell me, I'll use my chat history with William to expose you to the media as the whistleblower. Seeing a girlfriend report someone for cheating, and then the boyfriend gets implicated as the scapegoat, will probably make people even more excited."
At that time, she told Tan Xu that she was not one to repay evil with kindness, and that was indeed the case. When she had the energy to face malice, she didn't necessarily have to do anything, but at least she could clarify the matter and not choose to suffer in silence.
"...You're quite cruel," Lin Jiayue sneered. "If I tell you the truth and satisfy your curiosity, won't you tell them about it?"
"No," she shook her head firmly, "Of course you don't have to trust me."
Lin Jiayue looked at her for a few more seconds, but didn't say much. He put away his schoolbag as if in agreement and went downstairs with her.
They walked along the sidewalk for two minutes and came to another cafe on campus that was still open. This was the same cafe that Lin Jiayue had used as a pretext to say "the drink wasn't good enough" when she dragged Han Xingzhou to the shop where she worked.
"Go here?" Lin Jiayue asked.
"Okay," she said with a smile, "but let me make this clear first. Although I was the one who took the initiative to talk to you about something, my financial situation is really as 'very difficult' as you said. So I won't treat you. We can each pay for our own meals, okay?"
Author's Note
Reversible light path
author
08-06
These two chapters don't feature a male protagonist, and Sister Lin is back for a limited time, so I'm consciously adding an extra update on Thursday. -w- I really want to update quickly, especially since these chapters are more tangled than ambiguous, so I think you might not be too keen on them. However, the plot after chapter 40 is still being polished between work hours, so I can't rush. After all, this is my first serious writing experience, so I want to make it as perfect as possible. This story won't be long~ I can finish it within 200,000 words. If you want a more enjoyable reading experience, you can wait until the end of the month to come back, haha, it's okay.
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