Two cups of fresh milk tea
Jiang Yichun had no classes on Thursday, so she arranged to meet He Yinxin on the first floor of the school cafeteria.
The cold, impersonal "received" on WeChat stung her eyes.
She thought of the blunder involving a certain fish app yesterday.
Last night, she explained to him why she had added him on social media.
He Yinxin only replied to her once:
【Received. Is there anything I can do?】
She pondered and struggled for a long time before finally sending out a seemingly very polite invitation.
Although the other party replied instantly and agreed, she was still momentarily taken aback by his coldness when she saw his pure white profile picture and bland period ID.
Jiang Yichun glanced at the two cups of milk tea dangling in his hands and sighed heavily.
I wonder if someone who eats a couple of bites and then puts down his chopsticks would like this?
But you still have to do the right thing, since you're the one who needs his help.
Her phone beeped, pulling her out of her mental turmoil.
: I've arrived. Where are you?
I'm at the door.
Jiang Yichun raised his head and looked towards the entrance of the cafeteria.
A tall figure wearing glasses was standing in the doorway.
The boy had slightly curly black short hair and wore a white shirt with a light camel coat over it.
The sunlight outside the window was a little too bright, and Jiang Yichun squinted, staring blankly as he walked over.
She stood frozen in place.
The man's appearance overlapped with his tall figure under the streetlights that night, only his facial features finally appeared clearly before her eyes.
Isn't this the person I ran into last night when I was buying pig's trotters?
I never expected that a fleeting glance would bring him right in front of me.
"Is it you? Everything is so easy?" The boy strode towards her, a bag slung over his shoulder.
Jiang Yichun stopped in her tracks, and when the boy was about two meters away from her, she subconsciously took a few steps back: "Yes, it's me. My name is Jiang Yichun. It means that the river flows away easily and spring is over."
"Where's the senior?"
“He Yinxin. My mother’s surname is He, my father’s surname is Yin, and Xin means dawn.” He lowered his eyes to look at her, his eyes capturing her gaze through his glasses.
Jiang Yichun looked at his slightly cold and stern face and forced a smile: "Haha, I've heard so much about you, senior. I'm the one who came to ask you about graduate school applications."
She pulled out two cups of milk tea from behind her and waved them at him.
"Senior, let's sit down. And here's the milk tea I prepared for you."
He Yinxin reached out her hand to take the milk tea from her.
"Hey—wait!" Jiang Yichun pulled her hand back as if she had been electrocuted, and smiled obsequiously at him, "Senior, let's give it to you after we sit down."
A ray of light reflected off He Yinxin's glasses. He pushed up his glasses and nodded, "Mm."
He turned around, his back ramrod straight: "Where should I sit?"
Jiang Yichun smiled and pointed to the bread window next to him, clutching the milk tea in his hand: "Let's sit over there."
Without saying a word, He Yinxin strode towards the seat and placed her handbag on a chair to the side.
Jiang Yichun swallowed hard and slipped to the chair in front of him, placing two cups of milk tea on the table as he did so: "Senior, please have some milk tea. I ordered a peach oolong milk tea and a gardenia milk green tea."
"It's a fresh milk tea made with fresh ingredients, and it's very popular right now."
"You, you can just choose one you like."
He Yinxin pointed to the glass closest to him: "I'm not picky, it's fine with me, this one will do."
Jiang Yichun smiled and said, "This is peach oolong. I ordered it without sugar because I think this milk tea is already quite sweet. I also added some ice, but please don't mind. I think milk tea tastes better with ice."
"The tea leaves and buffalo milk used in this milk tea shop smell amazing! I love dairy products!"
Once the topic of delicious food came up, Jiang Yichun seemed to open a floodgate of words, and before he knew it, he had poured out his thoughts on ordering.
She squinted, interlaced her fingers, and saliva was already bubbling in her mouth.
"Oh." He Yinxin looked at her. "So, can I take it now?"
Jiang Yichun's smile froze: "Of course, of course! I was just treating you to a drink, so come on, don't be shy."
As she said this, she pushed the cup of milk tea toward him and then immediately pulled her hand away.
Only after seeing her hand completely withdraw from the cup did He Yinxin slowly place her hand on the cup and pull her to her side.
"Thank you. Drinking tea is good for your health, and adding milk can enhance its nutritional value, but excessive sugar intake is harmful to your health."
Huh? How did a cup of milk tea become his research subject?
Jiang Yichun's smile froze, and her gaze immediately shifted from his fair and bony hands: "Oh, that's why I didn't add sugar."
He Yinxin's face remained expressionless. He curled his fingertips and pulled out a large bag of documents from the side: "Let's get down to business."
"Jiang Yichun, you told me on WeChat that you wanted to know some details about the postgraduate recommendation process?"
Jiang Yichun was taken aback, then her blank mind began to work rapidly. She nodded: "That's right! I want to know what I need to prepare if I want to be recommended for a master's degree at University A?"
He Yinxin glanced down at the data, then looked up at her: "What's your GPA rank?"
"Major is the most important, followed by general category."
"Graduate school admission usually depends on your ranking in your major, and your GPA is currently above average." He looked at her. "Are you planning to apply for a summer camp first, or wait for the subsequent pre-admission process?"
Jiang Yichun picked up the straw, stuck it into the milk tea with a "click," and looked up at him.
Her mind was blank. The new semester had just begun, and she had only glanced at some of the materials for applying to graduate school yesterday before going to bed.
But her brain always kicks in during emergencies.
Summer camps seem to start during the summer vacation, while pre-admission programs begin in the following semester.
"Hmm?" He Yixin raised an eyebrow at her, a wrinkle appearing on his usually expressionless face. "What's wrong?"
His hand ripped a fold in the document.
Jiang Yichun's lips twitched, forcing out an embarrassed smile.
She simply gave up: "I'm impatient, I'll definitely sign up for summer camp first."
"But senior, summer camp isn't just for fun, is it?"
"no."
"This summer camp is very different from what we know as a summer camp."
"It's closer to academic than relaxing."
The wrinkles on He Yinxin's forehead had been smoothed out for some reason.
He explained the meaning of summer camp, pre-recommendation, and recommendation qualifications, and stuffed the materials into her hands: "These are diagrams I drew, take a look."
Like the results from a search engine, the information was organized and official, which enlightened Jiang Yichun.
She nodded as if she understood, then turned and took a sip of gardenia milk tea.
The sweet aroma of water buffalo milk, combined with the delicate fragrance of gardenia, bloomed at the tip of her nose, and the final lingering sweetness of green tea completely cleared her mind.
A slight blush rose to her cheeks.
The words that popped into her mind were arranged and transformed into the words she spoke:
"I want to try summer camp first, since it only considers the GPA of the first five semesters, which is more reliable."
"Of course, if I don't receive offers from other schools, I can only try harder for pre-admission."
Taking a sip of milk tea revitalized her.
Jiang Yichun looked at the boy in front of her.
He Yinxin nodded, her brows relaxing slightly as she avoided the intense gaze directed at her: "Yes. That's what I think too. Your GPA for the first five semesters was indeed quite good."
"However, summer camps are quite competitive. You need to be able to withstand pressure."
Jiang Yichun tilted his head and smiled: "Compared to the competition, I don't want to be worried and scared this semester. Besides, I am indeed in a hurry."
His gaze swept over her a few times, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his fingertips rubbed against the rim of the glass.
He picked up the straw, stuck it into the milk tea with a "click," and took a small sip.
"Hmm. That makes sense."
"Besides University A, do you have any other universities you're considering for graduate school admission?"
"Applying for postgraduate studies is like investing; you can't put all your eggs in one basket."
Jiang Yichun stroked his chin: "Actually, other schools are pretty good too. But I only want to go to A University. A University has always been my dream school!"
Thinking of the ugly faces of his relatives back home, Jiang Yichun clenched his fists tightly.
He Yinxin's eyes lit up: "Yes. This is indeed a very good choice and challenge for you."
Jiang Yichun slightly pursed his lips: "Yeah, so, senior, after you understand these things, can you tell me what I need to prepare for going to University A?"
"I heard..."
“Hmm. My CET-6 score wasn’t high enough, so University A didn’t accept me.” He Yinxin’s hand holding the milk tea cup stiffened, and he lowered his eyes. “But you scored over 600 on the CET-6, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
Jiang Yichun continued to gulp down her milk tea, looking into his eyes.
Those eyes remained expressionless, revealing no emotion whatsoever; he seemed to be nothing more than an artificial intelligence.
“I suggest you prepare a paper; it will be a plus.” He looked into her eyes, then quickly looked away.
Have you written this before?
Jiang Yichun frowned: "A thesis?"
"Uh, do those short papers that are the final assignments count? Like those simple data analysis ones."
He Yinxin shook her head: "No, it's been published—have you participated in any competitions?"
"I have participated in it, and I even won second prize in the national college English competition."
"However, I'd like to be on the safe side."
"After all, there's only one competition, and all the top students at A University are there. I was completely overwhelmed." She shrugged and continued drinking her milk tea. "By the way, senior, what are the written and oral exams like?"
"Advanced mathematics and English are required, and the interview also needs to cover economics," he said succinctly.
"It's quite difficult, and it requires a lot from people."
"Getting into A University definitely requires excellence in all aspects."
Advanced mathematics, economics...
She had long forgotten the knowledge she learned in her first and second years of college and was now only focused on her current courses.
Jiang Yichun swallowed the last sip of milk tea and let out a sigh that was almost a lament.
Seeing her like that, He Yinxin also took a big gulp of milk tea and cleared her throat: "There's no need to be too anxious. There are still three or four months until summer camp."
"you……"
He opened his mouth, only to see her completely bury her head under her arms.
He Yinxin raised her hand, but quickly withdrew it, still clutching the milk tea cup on the side.
"I'm fine, uh, let me catch my breath." She whimpered a few times and waved her hand at him.
He unconsciously rubbed the hem of his clothes with his fingertips, reached out his hand, but quickly withdrew it: "Anxiety about getting into graduate school is normal. You..."
The icy tone somehow evoked a sense of warmth.
"Okay, I know." Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Yichun interrupted, "Senior, you told me you have class later, so you should go first."
He Yinxin opened her mouth slightly, lowered her eyes, gave a barely audible "hmm," and got up to leave.
"See you next time. You can come find me again if you need anything."
He lowered his head, drank his milk tea, swallowed the last sip, and casually tossed the milk tea into the trash can by the door.
He turned his head to look at the girl lying on the table one last time, his eyes flashing, and then turned and left.
Jiang Yichun looked up and found that she was the only one left in the huge cafeteria.
She opened her phone and searched online for the requirements for postgraduate admission to economics programs at University A, which were almost identical to what He Yinxin had described.
She lowered her head again, her voice heavy with sorrow.
Anxiety, academic anxiety, began to sweep over me all at once.
She began to look for a new way out: If she couldn't get a guaranteed admission to graduate school, why not take the entrance exam? Or why not give up graduate school and go home to take the civil service exam?
Then she quickly rejected these ideas: If she gave up the postgraduate recommendation, wouldn't all her hard work in the past two years have been for nothing?
She shuddered, opened her WeChat Moments, and looked at He Yinxin's blank profile picture.
White is a terrifying void, and an invisible pressure weighs down on her.
The image transformed into a white ghost that bounced around on her head, chanting all sorts of strange spells.
She was teleported back to her hometown by a spell.
The ugly faces of those relatives reappeared in her mind.
"Xiao Jiang, I've introduced you to a man. You shouldn't stay in Huaxing City anymore."
She vaguely saw herself wearing a pure white wedding dress, with her relatives sitting on the side counting red banknotes.
Jiang Yichun does not reject marriage itself, but he holds a deep-seated pessimism about it.
Not to mention betting everything on relationships and marriage, she knew she couldn't possibly win big in this high-stakes gamble.
Whenever Jiang Yichun felt frustrated, he would vent by posting on his WeChat Moments.
[This is so hard! Some things seem simple, but they're actually so difficult to do.]
"Beep." The phone rang quickly.
Upon closer inspection, Jiang Yichun realized it was the "pig's trotters" sisters.
She liked her own post on WeChat Moments and then sent herself a message.
Stata, please leave me alone: [Sister, I want to assemble a Basque cake, can you join me? There's a group chat.]
I've tried their food; it's delicious and not too sweet.
Feeling down due to multiple pressures, she immediately responded:
[Add me to the group!]
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