Chapter 49
The student dormitories at Beiyi University are standard four-person rooms with bunk beds and desks underneath. Zhao Luyu, who was on his bed, didn't take it seriously since no one was paying attention to him.
He glanced at the group messages and then asked Ni Zhen below, "Is Chen Yan's homework with you?"
Before Ni Zhen had even finished copying, she immediately denied it, saying, "No."
Zhao Luyu sneered and exposed him: "Bullshit."
"..."
Zhao Luyu glanced at the class representative in the group chat urging him to finish his homework, and urged Ni Zhen, "Hurry up and copy it, we're urging you to finish your homework."
"Wait for me for ten more minutes."
"Okay, hurry up and get to the point." Zhao Luyu asked, as if remembering something, "What were you guys talking about just now? What was that about friends?"
Ni Zhen was copying homework and couldn't do two things at once, but seeing that Chen Yan still seemed distracted, he rolled his eyes and explained to Zhao Luyu on the bed, "Xiang Wan introduced Chen Yan to others as her friend."
Zhao Luyu had just woken up and was still a bit confused. Hearing this, he asked blankly, "And then?"
“…” Ni Zhen quickly copied the last word, got up and handed the notebook to his bed, “and then he was very excited.”
Zhao Luyu was still completely bewildered: "What's there to be excited about?"
"I'm excited because this is the first time Xiang Wan has introduced him as a friend, not a younger brother."
Zhao Luyu: "..."
Zhao Luyu looked at Chen Yan, his brow twitching. However, he had seen Chen Yan become even more pathetic because of Xiang Wan, so he wasn't too surprised.
But when Chen Yan wasn't looking, he complained to Ni Zhen, "Look at Chen Ruilin, he's such a good-for-nothing."
Ni Zhen looked at his handsome face in the mirror: "He's always been so pathetic in front of Xiang Wan."
Ni Zhen has never liked anyone in his life, and he thought Chen Yan was like this because Xiang Wan was the person he had liked since high school.
He had never experienced this kind of pure affection, so he looked at Zhao Luyu with some curiosity: "By the way, did you have someone you liked in junior high or high school?"
"..." Zhao Luyu's hand holding Chen Yan's homework trembled. He suddenly remembered that he had thought Chen Yan was a girl and had fallen and broken his leg while climbing over the wall because he liked him.
He first touched his nose, then flatly denied it, saying, "No."
Ni Zhen didn't suspect anything and immediately believed her: "Okay."
In the early hours of the morning, Ni Zhen and Zhao Luyu were playing video games, while Chen Yan, lying in bed, was suffering from insomnia because of the words "He is my friend"...
*
The next day, Chen Yan went to the library to study. Although he had dark circles under his eyes, the corners of his lips were always turned up.
In the boys' dormitory on the other side, Zhao Luyu didn't wake up until almost noon.
He got out of bed and found that Ni Zhen was already awake: "Has Chen Yan finished writing the code for that mini-program?"
"Hmm." Ni Zhen had just woken up and yawned. "I tried running it once, and the previous bugs have been fixed."
Although all three chose finance as their major, they were all interested in computer science. Their reasons for choosing finance differed from one another.
Chen Yan did it because of Xiang Wan, Zhao Luyu did it because of the major his family arranged for him, and Ni Zhen did it because he wanted to continue copying Chen Yan's homework.
While completing their finance credits, the three of them set up a studio in their spare time, writing programs and selling them to large companies.
Chen Yan designed and wrote the program and code, Zhao Luyu went to attract clients, and Ni Zhen was responsible for negotiating prices.
Despite such a rudimentary division of labor, the studio remained strangely stable.
Zhao Luyu and Ni Zhen only had a superficial understanding of code, and Chen Yan just happened to dislike dealing with people. The remaining two were a man with family resources and a smooth talker.
They're only freshmen, and the three of them are already financially independent.
The two had suggested moving out and renting a studio a long time ago. The reason they had been living in the dormitory was that Chen Yan didn't dare let Xiang Wan know about his partnership in starting a company, so the three of them had been staying in the dormitory.
The two also asked Chen Yan why he didn't dare to tell Xiang Wan, and the answer he got was that he was afraid Xiang Wan would abandon him.
The two men grimaced at this reason, but since Chen Yan had to write all the code, they had no choice but to listen to him.
Zhao Luyu threw the homework he had copied yesterday at Ni Zhen. Ni Zhen caught it with one hand without turning around: "Zhao, what are you doing?"
"Give this to the class representative when you hand in your homework." After saying that, Zhao Luyu started rummaging through his closet looking for a suit. "Ni Zhen, I'm going to meet Mr. Wang from Xuxin Technology in a bit. Do you want to come with me?"
“I’m not going. Last time, the director of Xinyang Kitchen Cabinets seemed interested in cooperation. I have a dinner appointment with him this afternoon.” Ni Zhen finished copying the homework and started changing her clothes.
The director of Xinyang Kitchen Cabinets is incredibly stingy and always tries to bargain; he's bound to drink at today's dinner.
The thought of drinking that night made Ni Zhen feel nauseous even before she had a sip of alcohol.
Both of them had to meet clients, so they argued over who got to use the restroom. After washing up, Zhao Luyu, being vain, would apply hair gel in front of the mirror.
Ni Zhen finished packing first. He looked at Chen Yan, who was returning to his dorm room, and asked him with some surprise, "Aren't you always in the library at this time? Why are you back in your dorm?"
Hearing the noise, Zhao Luyu poked his head out of the bathroom: "Chen Ruilin? Why are you back?"
Chen Yan looked at the two of them, his tone was indifferent, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his face: "I have made an appointment to have dinner with Xiang Shuhan."
"..."
"..."
Upon hearing this, the two almost had a heart attack. One of them had to act like a grandson, and the other had to drink with a smiling face. In the end, Chen Yan was going to have a nice meal with his goddess.
Zhao Luyu paused in his shaving, exchanging a glance with Ni Zhen, who was sitting on the stool.
'Why is this kid so comfortable?'
'From now on, you'll write the code.'
'……'
The two exchanged a quick glance, and instantly felt at ease.
Zhao Luyu: 'It's just playing the fool for once.'
Ni Zhen: 'Just a little drink.'
Zhao Luyu was the first to leave. Before leaving, he looked at Chen Yan, who was standing in front of the mirror, unusually agonizing over which pants to wear, and patted him on the shoulder: "When Jiang Zhuochun had a crush on Xiang Wan, he told me that Xiang Wan likes guys who wear white shirts."
"Remember to iron it; I have a garment steamer in my closet."
"They're gone—"
Chen Yan: "..."
Although he felt the other person might be unreliable, his hand still honestly chose the white shirt...
*
The semester passed quickly, and after about two weeks of school anniversary celebrations, the school was on holiday.
With a month to go before the Lunar New Year, Xiang Wan originally planned to spend the holiday at Bei Yi, but her parents said they still couldn't come back this year and invited Xiang Wan and her friends to spend the New Year in Northern Europe.
The New Year has a very special meaning, and Xiang Wan felt that they probably still wanted to spend it with their families, so she only tentatively asked the trio.
However, to her surprise, no one wanted to leave, and the number of people who went increased from 5 to 10.
Xiang Wan knew that Wang Yidong and Xia Yueshen would most likely go. Neither of them had many relatives or friends, so they would basically follow her wherever she went.
Chen Yan will probably inform his mother-in-law at the hospital and then go to Northern Europe with them.
But to her surprise, the trio's parents also agreed to let them spend the New Year in Northern Europe. The second thing she didn't expect was that the trio also invited Jiang Nan and Zhou Xinyi, the siblings.
After the stage play, perhaps because of Zhou Chengze's leading role, the group of eight all liked him very much and would bring the siblings along to almost every group activity.
After deciding to let go of her resentment, Xiang Wan didn't worry too much about the two siblings. Therefore, she never said anything when the trio frequently called them, and always acquiesced.
So things turned into a large group of ten people going through airport security, checking in their luggage, and taking off together.
In the airport terminal, Xiang Wan looked at the six suitcases that Wang Yidong and Xia Yueshen were carrying, hesitated for a long time but finally couldn't help but say: "We're just going there for two months, we're not moving to Northern Europe."
Xia Yueshen was even more helpless than her when she heard this: "I already advised her when we were at home, but she insisted that you were afraid of the cold and that you should bring more with you."
"..."
Xiang Wan was somewhat speechless, silently pushing her suitcase and accompanying them to check in their luggage. After she paid the excess baggage fee, the remaining eight people had also finished checking in their luggage and arrived.
On their way to the waiting room, everyone was staring at them. They were already a group of handsome men and beautiful women, and with so many people around, some even mistook them for celebrities and were taking pictures of them with their phones.
Once on the plane, the group took their seats according to their tickets.
For this trip to Northern Europe, their airfare was paid for by Xiang's mother, who also booked first-class tickets for them. Xiang's mother even asked Xiang Wan if she needed a chartered flight, but she didn't want to be too high-profile, which is why she booked first-class tickets.
After the plane took off, Chen Yan was sleeping, Xia Yueshen and Wang Yidong were talking quietly, and Zhou Chengze and his sister were staring blankly at the clouds outside the window.
Surrounded by three people, Xiang Wan looked at Shen Feiyang and Che Nanbei and asked, "I originally thought that your two families would not agree to you spending the New Year abroad."
Che Nanbei nodded: "That's right."
"Well..." Xiang Wan was interrupted before she could finish speaking, "My mom agreed without saying a word when she heard that you were here too."
"..." Xiang Wan blinked, not expecting that she had such prestige in her aunt's heart.
“My grandpa did too.” Shen Feiyang untied his bun. “At the dinner table, as soon as my grandpa heard what you said, before my parents even expressed their opinion, he immediately agreed.”
When the old master of the Shen family was mentioned, Xiang Wan chuckled, recalling the conversation she had with him when she was in the third year of junior high school.
Every year after that, when she visited the Shen family for the New Year, Old Master Shen would give her a large red envelope and let her take a lot of New Year's goods home with her.
A direct flight from North America to Northern Europe takes more than 12 hours.
Everyone went from being excited at the beginning to getting tired, until eventually, everyone fell asleep on the plane...
*
It was 12 hours later when they landed in Northern Europe.
Although we were prepared for snow in Scandinavia, everyone still shivered when we got off the plane.
After collecting their checked luggage, the group didn't care about their appearance and opened their suitcases right there in the airport terminal. Everyone put on another down jacket over their original one.
They had just changed their clothes when Li Xia arrived.
He was 20 minutes late because the road was too slippery. Xiang Wan received a text message from him as soon as she got off the plane.
When they arrived at the airport, it was daytime in Northern Europe. Looking at the vast expanse of white snow outside the airport, everyone's face was filled with excitement.
Although the trio had been to Northern Europe before, this was their first time visiting in winter, so they were all very excited.
Because there were too many people, Li Xia drove two cars out, and the other car was driven by the Xiang family's driver, following behind Li Xia's car.
The trunks of both cars were packed full of luggage. Although they were both large vehicles, each one was full of passengers.
The Xiang family's villa in Northern Europe was located halfway up a mountain, and it took them another two hours to arrive at the villa.
Li Xia arranged rooms for everyone and thoughtfully prepared brand-new daily necessities for each person.
After a long journey on the plane, plus a two-hour drive from the airport to the villa, everyone looked exhausted.
"Li Xia, don't prepare my dinner. I just want to get a good night's sleep," Xiang Wan instructed.
"Me too."
"I also……"
…
The group was too exhausted to speak, and without even touching their luggage, they all went back to their rooms.
Xiang Wan's room was the same room she had in Scandinavia when she was a child. Looking at the childlike paintings hanging on the wall, she chuckled softly.
These drawings must have been scribbled by her when she was a child, but her parents actually framed them.
But she was too tired to appreciate it, so after a quick wash, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep...
*
When Xiang Wan woke up, it was already midnight.
She tiptoed down the stairs, thinking that everyone else was jet-lagged and that she was the only one awake.
However, when she went downstairs, she saw Chen Yan making coffee.
Chen Yan heard the noise and saw her on the stairs.
In front of the dim floor lamp, the two people stared at each other for a long time without saying a word.
At four in the morning in the Nordic time zone, you can still see the heavy snow falling outside through the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows.
In the snowy landscape, Chen Yan, dressed in his pajamas, is sleepily brewing coffee.
He was wearing a ripped, low-cut sweater, and his bangs hung down obediently, covering part of his eyebrows.
Upon seeing Xiang Wan, he chuckled softly, his voice gentle and soothing: "Would you like a cup of coffee, sister?"
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