Chapter Fourteen
The year's plan starts in spring.
At the start of the new semester, Cheng Xiangbei made a detailed study plan. Lu Nan remained the same, reading comics, playing games, and spending time in the library, living a comfortable life. The only change was that more people were now surrounding the two of them.
For example, Yu Mufeng, and Meng Tianze.
First, there's Yu Mufeng. Because they studied together before winter break, he and Lu Nan developed a preliminary friendship. Since his family is wealthy, Yu Mufeng often treated his comrades to meals and drinks. As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to do so," so the comrades' impression of Yu Mufeng changed.
Out of politeness, whenever Yu Mufeng invited his roommates to dinner, he would ask Lu Nan if Cheng Xiangbei would be there. Eight out of ten times, Cheng Xiangbei wouldn't go, but he would often pick Lu Nan up at the restaurant entrance after the meal.
[Nannan, have you finished eating?] Cheng Xiangbei's text message arrived right on time.
Lu Nan patted her tummy and typed in a reply: [I'm full, come on over!]
Tomorrow is Saturday, no classes, the two of them are going back to their apartment to spend the night.
Yu Mufeng leaned over and asked curiously, "Lu Nan, whose text message was it?"
"Oh, a tiger!" Lu Nan shook his head and grinned.
"Lu Nan, Cheng Xiangbei is so concerned about you!" Zhong Wei laughed. "You won't admit it even if I say he's your father, but even your childhood sweetheart wouldn't care about you this much!"
"Go away, my dad's doing just fine! Who cares about him?" Lu Nan scoffed, unconvinced.
"Since Xiang Bei has time, why don't you come and get together?" Yu Mufeng said.
"Oh, there seems to be some kind of lecture in the East District!" Lu Nan scratched her head. Anyway, Cheng Xiangbei never interfered in their dormitory affairs, saying that he was obliged to help them and that they should keep their distance from sweet talk.
Just then, Cheng Xiangbei arrived. "Everyone's here!"
Yu Mufeng stood up and said, "Have you eaten yet? Let's eat together!"
Cheng Xiangbei shook his head and smiled, "I've already eaten, Nannan, can we go now?"
Lu Nan stood up, and Cheng Xiangbei automatically picked up his schoolbag. Everyone was used to Cheng Xiangbei's role as a follower; it would be strange if he didn't treat Lu Nan like a king one day.
"Aren't you going back to your dorm?" Yu Mufeng asked.
"Sigh, they go back to their relatives' houses every week!" Lu Nan is almost never away on weekends, and Zhong Wei and Yang Shaofan are already used to it.
"I see!" Yu Mufeng nodded. "Then be careful on your journey."
Under the dim streetlights, Cheng Xiangbei slowly rode his bicycle.
The bicycle's rear seat has been modified; it's sturdy and comfortable to sit on. Folding pedals have also been added to the outside of the rear wheel, also for Lu Nan.
"Did you eat well?" Cheng Xiangbei joked.
Lu Nan put her paw on Cheng Xiangbei's shoulder and let out a small burp. "It's alright, I just don't know how Yu Mufeng is so rich and has so much free time, he's already eaten here four times this month."
"Since he's treating, you should eat."
"But we can't eat like that all the time! Besides, eating with them isn't as comfortable as eating with you," Lu Nan pouted. "I'm not going next time. I get tired of eating fancy meals all the time!"
"Nannan, let's go home and cook. I'm still hungry!"
Lu Nan immediately sat up straight and asked nervously, "Didn't you say you ate it?"
"I ate a piece of bread before the lecture, and I'm already exhausted."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" He pinched her waist, which was turned northward. "Ride faster, let's hurry home."
Cheng Xiangbei laughed and said, "No rush, I've had enough hunger."
"Idiot! You big idiot tiger!" In the shadow of the streetlamp, Lu Nan reached out and wrapped her arms around Cheng Xiangbei's waist, leaning gently against his back. Warm and comforting, his tiger, hehe. The early spring breeze blew gently, making one's heart itch. Cheng Xiangbei's eyes were overflowing with tenderness, and he freed one hand to hold Lu Nan's hand.
Going to the library to read books has become a habit for Meng Tianze.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he couldn't help but look towards the window every time.
Lu Nan didn't go to the library every day. He was rather casual about reading; if he felt like it, he'd be there all day, and if he didn't, he'd stay in his dorm. Besides, the business school and engineering school had different curriculums and different free times, so the chances of them meeting were extremely slim. Even so, Meng Tianze would still make time to go to the library during his free time.
"Lu Nan, I'm going to the convenience store to buy something!" Zhong Wei patted Lu Nan's shoulder and whispered.
Lu Nan nodded and continued reading. He wasn't reading a book, but rather the manga "Captain Tsubasa." The library was well-lit, and apart from the rustling of turning pages, there were very few other sounds. So the sound of the chair opposite him being pulled out easily reached his ears.
Looking up, Lu Nan recognized the other person; he seemed to be someone named Meng. She smiled at him and continued studying the comics.
"Hi!" Meng Tianze sat down, opened his book, and greeted him politely.
Lu Nan was so engrossed in the intense atmosphere of the competition that she didn't hear it.
Meng Tianze's expression became complicated. He didn't know if the other person had genuinely not heard or was pretending not to. To be honest, Meng Tianze was considered one of the top students in the business school, but he never expected that every time he encountered Lu Nan, his pride would be wounded.
"Lu Nan?" he called again in a low voice.
"Hmm." He responded instinctively, completely unaware of who was calling him.
"What are you looking at?" Meng Tianze disregarded the library's rule against chatting. He had been wandering around the library for half a month before finally running into Lu Nan, and he couldn't miss this opportunity.
"Huh?" Lu Nan looked up blankly. Her bangs drooped down, obscuring her sleepy eyes. She couldn't be described as pretty, but Meng Tianze's heart stirred at the sight, and his voice softened unconsciously. "What are you looking at?"
Lu Nan followed the other person's finger down. "Oh, a comic book!"
Meng Tianze looked at the cover Lu Nan was holding up, shook his head with a chuckle. "Why do you like looking at this?"
Lu Nan rolled her eyes at him. What kind of talk was that? Comics are so great, they've been her spiritual nourishment for so many years! "You don't understand!" she said dismissively, then buried her head and remained silent.
Meng Tianze watched him, engrossed in the story, sometimes frowning, sometimes grinning foolishly, his expression incredibly adorable. His heart softened, and a gentle smile curved his lips.
Because of rewatching Captain Tsubasa, Lu Nan became obsessed with football again and would often go to the football field to hang around.
There's nothing special about the engineering school except for the large number of boys. With so many boys, there are bound to be many athletic prodigies. They were all in the same class, and seeing Lu Nan running over excitedly, they saved him a seat. But what they didn't know was that Lu Nan was an athletic complete idiot who would trip and fall even when he ran fast.
"Lu Nan, can you be any more talented?" the captain shouted anxiously. It wasn't entirely his fault; a beautiful pass finally landed at Lu Nan's feet, but the great Lu Nan kicked the ball three times and still couldn't get it off the ground. The ball was stolen by the opponent, and the attack was halted.
"Yes, I'm sorry!" Lu Nan made a "sorry" gesture and smiled guiltily.
"Alright, just be more careful next time!" It was just a practice match, and the captain didn't want to be too harsh.
The soccer ball was passed around among the players, and Lu Nan ran all over the field chasing after it, panting heavily, but he couldn't touch it even once. "Ah! I'm not playing anymore!"
"Nannan?!" Cheng ran northward from afar.
"Tiger!" Lu Nan felt wronged and sat on the ground with her legs stretched out.
"What's wrong?" Seeing his lover looking aggrieved, Cheng Xiangbei quickly knelt down. "Who bullied you?"
Lu Nan shook her head. "Nobody bullied me..."
"What's wrong?" He gently patted her head reassuringly.
"I can't even get a kick out of this lousy soccer ball!" He gritted his teeth, "This is too much! They won't even let me kick a single ball!"
Cheng Xiangbei chuckled; Lu Nan's lack of athletic talent wasn't a new thing. He took out his phone from his pocket and said, "Dezi, bring a ball to the soccer field."
A questioning voice came from the other end. Cheng Xiangbei laughed and said, "Don't ask so many questions, just come when I tell you to!"
When Li Weide called Liu Fei and Luo Ming to the football field, he learned that they were there to accompany the prince in his studies.
"Boss, is it okay to spoil a kid like this?" The group formed a loose formation and passed the ball around at an extremely slow pace. Of course, the ultimate goal was to get the ball to Lu Nan's feet.
Cheng Xiangbei smiled, dribbling the ball nimbly with his feet, while Lu Nan anxiously called out from the other side, "Tiger, pass the ball quickly!"
After building up the anticipation, he gently passed the ball, and it landed perfectly at Lu Nan's feet. Li Weide covered his face, thank goodness there were no acquaintances there, otherwise he would have been so embarrassed!
Several people accompanied Lu Nan to practice her footwork, which finally helped to salvage Lu Nan's lost self-esteem.
"Boss, what do you say?" Luo Ming grinned slyly. He'd thought being summoned by the boss was something important, but it turned out he was just playing house with Lu Nan. Did they think everyone was just killing time?!
Taking advantage of Lu Nan chasing the ball and getting far away, Cheng Xiangbei lowered his voice and said, "You guys have worked hard, you can choose any spot you like..."
"Our boss is a true bro!" Li Weide winked knowingly. "I love playing soccer with Lu Nan the most!"
Luo Ming and Liu Fei scoffed, saying that anyone who could fight Lu Nan for twenty minutes without getting angry was practically a god.
Cheng Xiangbei laughed, "Lu Nan's ball skills... well, it's best not to air our dirty laundry in public."
In the distance, Lu Nan was gesturing as if she was about to shoot. Cheng looked north at the sky and shouted, "Nan Nan, score one more goal and then we'll go eat!"
Lu Nan turned around and gave a victory sign. Cheng Xiangbei and Li Weide waited with smiles to see Lu Nan shoot.
"Hey! How did this go? Want to bet?" Li Weide asked excitedly.
Everyone shook their heads in unison. Was there even a question? When had Lu Nan ever scored? Sure enough, Lu Nan kicked the ball. First kick, missed; second kick, the ball only rolled a meter. Luo Ming's lips twitched, Li Weide covered his face, and Liu Fei and Cheng Xiangbei forced themselves to remain calm, their expressions unchanged.
From afar, Lu Nan was furious. He took a run-up, then unleashed a powerful kick, sending the ball soaring high into the air. Everyone watched as the beautiful arc of the ball pierced the net and crossed the boundary line…
"Ah!!!" came the woman's scream.
The group exchanged bewildered glances; something was wrong.
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