Chapter 141 Miss me? But Jiang Yueming doesn't like me saying that...
There are only so many things to do in university. Li Leshan's approach of juggling part-time work and studies is actually quite fulfilling. At least his days are packed with activities. It's good that his schedule is full, at least he doesn't have to think about Jiang Yueming all the time. But even if he does think about Jiang Yueming all the time, it's not a good thing.
Although he's still busy, it feels much easier than in high school. He no longer has to get up at five every morning and go to bed before dawn, nor does he have to rely on his twenty-minute lunch break to catch his breath, and he no longer has to worry about Li Yong's threats...
The journey has been full of ups and downs, with losses and gains. I don't know how I got through it all. Looking back now, it hasn't been that long since I left that period, but it feels like an eternity. Perhaps it's because I've experienced so much.
Li Yong… Li Leshan still gets a headache just thinking about him. He doesn’t know if this feeling can be considered stress, so he usually tries to control himself and not think about it anymore, not to make himself unhappy. In any case, he has nothing to do with him anymore.
But how did he just disappear? A fog of confusion enveloped Li Leshan's mind. He was too busy during his senior year of high school to think about it, so he had put the question out of his mind. Now that he had some free time, it had come back to him.
But do I really have to think about it? Do I really have to think about him? Li Leshan asked himself honestly. He wasn't that curious. No matter where he went, whether he was alive or dead, or whether he was still in Shengping, did it have anything to do with him?
"Leshan, Leshan?" Sister Qiuxin waved to him, a little worried. "Are you alright? I've been calling you for ages."
Li Leshan quickly snapped out of his daze, shook his head, and asked Qiu Xin what her plans were.
"Lunch is ready," Sister Qiuxin handed him a boxed lunch on the small square table in front of him. "Try my cooking. Is the braised eggplant in it salty enough? I don't know, if it's too salty, tell me and I'll put less salt in it next time..."
"Thank you, sister." Li Leshan said in sign language.
"Don't be so polite with me, eat more, look how skinny you are." Sister Qiu patted his shoulder and walked outside.
It was lunchtime. Li Leshan figured Jiang Yueming was probably alright, so he made him a video call.
Li Leshan didn't call a second time after the first call went unanswered. Perhaps he was busy, or something else was going on. In any case, getting a call from Jiang Yueming was quite difficult.
However, not long after, Jiang Yueming called again. She was still wearing the same outfit: a short-sleeved shirt and a jacket. This would be a bit chilly in Beijing, but it would probably be just right in the south.
"What's up, Lele? Missing me?" Jiang Yueming grinned, his handsome face appearing on the screen.
The first thing he heard was this guy spouting nonsense. Li Leshan smiled and gestured to him, "Have you eaten yet? I'm eating right now."
He showed Jiang Yueming the food for today.
"Is there any meat?" Jiang Yueming glanced at the food, which looked alright. "Eat more. Are you outside?"
"Yes, I'm at my part-time job." Li Leshan signed. He didn't have class until the afternoon, so he could eat first and then rush back to school.
Looking at the surroundings behind him, which seemed unfamiliar, unlike a dormitory or school cafeteria, Li Leshan asked again, "Have you eaten? Are you out too?"
“Oh,” Jiang Yueming’s camera panned across the ground, “I just finished class and I’m squatting in the corner. The cafeteria is crowded right now, I’ll go eat there later.”
"What class are you taking?" Li Leshan asked. He had a computer class in the afternoon.
Jiang Yueming thought for a while, "It's a water class. The teacher is incredibly cunning, even more so than Yin Guiying. She checks attendance twice, and there's so much homework that my hands hurt from copying."
He placed his hand in the middle of the camera lens and said in a tone like an old man, "Give me a hand massage."
Li Leshan pinched his hand from a distance, and it was clear that he had probably copied a lot, as there were ink marks on his hand.
“Then I won’t disturb your meal,” Jiang Yueming blew him a kiss, “I’ll hurry up and go eat.”
Li Leshan smiled and nodded. "Okay, eat more."
He put his phone in his pocket, quickly finished his meal, and got busy again. He helped Sister Qiuxin calculate the accounts for last week's purchases, tidied the shelves, moved goods, and stopped working at two o'clock to catch his two-thirty class.
He now knows exactly which floor and class number his classes are on. When he first arrived, he hadn't checked the location beforehand, and he always arrived at the classroom right on time, running until his back was sweating.
It's gotten cooler lately. In late October and early November, Beijing is filled with falling leaves, and the scenery is truly beautiful. Li Leshan walks to and from work, stepping on the ginkgo and sycamore leaves. Even someone like him who doesn't usually enjoy looking at scenery can't help but stop and admire them.
There's a math competition going on recently, a national one. First there's the provincial competition, and then you advance to the national competition. Li Leshan is preparing for this one, spending all his free time in the library working on the problems. Sometimes he gets really stumped by the questions—they're difficult, unusual, and strange.
These kinds of questions can't be solved simply by doing tons of practice problems. It was the first time he felt his brain wasn't up to the task. The other day, he sent Jiang Yueming a page of questions, and she didn't say a word for thirty minutes, saying she fell asleep after just one look.
The dormitory has an 11 p.m. curfew. Li Leshan was so engrossed in doing his homework that he almost forgot the time. He only found out it was 10:30 p.m. when Xue Ang called him.
He hurriedly packed his things, glanced around the library, and saw that the cleaning lady had already started cleaning. He didn't even notice that so many people were walking and stopping around him.
Pushing open the dormitory door, all three of them turned to look at us.
“Jie’er, didn’t you also sign up for that competition? Look at Leshan, and then look at you.” Xue Ang’s comparison between the two of them was not intentional; the gap was simply too great.
"Can I compare to Leshan?" Zhuang Jie had a clear understanding of his own position. "I'm just a participant. You know, registration adds two points to the comprehensive test. I have zero points in the comprehensive test right now."
“But you,” Zhuang Jie turned around, “you got a perfect score on the college entrance exam in math, why don’t you sign up for a math competition or something?”
Although those who get to this level are basically all pretty much the same, Zhuang Jie's math score of 130 is considered low among this group. He only managed to get it by relying on English and Chinese. Math is a tricky subject sometimes.
Xue Ang shrugged. "Then I can't compare to Leshan either."
“That’s true,” Zhuang Jie gave Li Leshan a thumbs up. “There’s still one more perfect score out there, right around the corner.”
"Li Cheng, you're always so quiet," Zhuang Jie teased another roommate. "What was your math score again...?"
Li Leshan smiled at them and sat back down. He rubbed his slightly sore eyes. Getting a perfect score in math was a complete fluke. He usually scored around 145 on tests, and when he estimated his score, he thought he would be short in the part-time points. Who would have thought that he would be lucky in the college entrance exam?
"Hey, are you going to participate in the basketball tournament soon?" Zhuang Jie asked Xue Ang. "Every class has to put together a team, even if we have to. The class monitor asked me about it the other day."
"Why would I sign up for this? The competition is on Friday afternoon. I'd be crazy to go to a competition when I don't have classes," Xue Ang said. "They don't schedule activities when I have classes, but as soon as I don't have classes, everyone rushes to kiss me. Why not hold it on Saturday or Sunday? I don't know about the participation rate, but the protest rate would definitely be 100%."
"What a waste of your 185cm height." Zhuang Jie was too lazy to pay any more attention to him, and turned to urge Li Leshan, "Leshan, why don't you sign up? If we don't get enough people, the squad leader will kill me."
He assured the class monitor that he could definitely gather enough people, but when they actually did, it turned out to be so difficult. There were so many guys in their class, but they were nowhere to be found when it really mattered.
Li Leshan was a little embarrassed. He really, truly, had the will but not the ability. The fast-paced life of junior and senior high school left him with virtually no time for recreational activities. As for basketball, he'd only touched it once, around the time of his high school entrance exam.
Jiang Yueming excels at this; he's an all-around athlete. Aside from things like the triple jump and high jump... he's truly an all-rounder.
“I can’t,” Li Leshan said in sign language. “I’m not very good at basketball.”
"What did he say?" Zhuang Jie turned to ask Xue Ang.
Now, they rely almost entirely on Xue Ang for communication in their dorm. He's practically a sign language interpreter. Although they can communicate on their phones, it's still better and faster to communicate offline than online.
“He said he’s not very good at basketball,” Xue Ang said, sitting down on the table. “You just had to push Leshan, didn’t you? Li Cheng is right there, why don’t you get him a chance?”
“You think he didn’t instigate it?” Li Cheng interjected. “I was already on the list.”
“Then you…” Xue Ang was a little surprised, “then you’re really easy to talk to.”
"So you guys don't want to go pick up girls or anything?" Zhuang Jie slumped back, leaning against the table. "Girls! Girls!"
Xue Ang glanced at Li Leshan indifferently, and seeing that the man had no reaction, said, "Then you can't call him Leshan anymore."
"What do you mean?" Zhuang Jie asked, puzzled.
Li Leshan finally reacted, his gaze shifting to Xue Ang's face, meeting his eyes.
What was he going to say? Li Leshan looked away again, wondering: Should he say "he likes men" or "he is gay"?
“If he goes there, what chance will you have of picking up girls?” Xue Ang laughed. “He’s so handsome.”
"Damn it!" Zhuang Jie roared, "Can't you speak properly? Do you know that this is how I started my four-year college romance?"
Li Leshan's eyes darkened. Sure enough, Xue Ang could understand. He probably understood from the very first time. The first time, he pretended to understand, and now, even though he clearly understands, he doesn't reveal his sexual orientation, perhaps to give him a way out.
Actually, it's okay if you say it. Li Leshan thought to himself, but Jiang Yueming doesn't like me saying this.
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Author's Note: Happy New Year and Happy New Year's Day to all my lovely readers!!!
Everyone has been with "The Puppy" from 2025 to 2026, and of course, they've been with me too, hehe. Some of you have even spent two New Years with me!!
I hope we all have a peaceful and prosperous new year, and that we all make a fortune!!! (Isn't that a very sincere blessing? [laughing])
Thank you everyone! "The Puppy" is nearing its end. While writing a happy ending, I will continue to work hard to bring you more and better works. Although I'm not a very good author yet, I already have a group of the best readers in the world! [pat on the head]
Thank you for your companionship, thank you for the encounter!!!
Thank you all so much, I love you all so much, let's grow together in the future!
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It's been cold lately, everyone please keep warm! (I just braved wind, rain, and snow to pick up my takeout, and I'm freezing! TT) Please be careful when going out in rainy or snowy weather, be mindful of slippery roads!
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