13 friends
Miao Yue grabbed Zhou Qi at the corner of the elevator and handed him the phone without saying anything: "If you don't leave it for me, I will block you all day." Zhou Qi frowned and replied unhappily, "Don't you have your own things to do?" After saying that, he was about to walk around Miao Yue and leave, but Miao Yue grabbed his arm and replied with a smile, "It didn't exist before I asked for it."
While the two were arguing, Zhou Qi's teacher came out of the elevator. He looked at Zhou Qi and then at Miao Yue, adjusted his glasses, and said with a smile, "Zhou Qi, you know our Miao Yue." Miao Yue saw her chance and said before Zhou Qi could say anything in reply, "Brother, I'd like to get to know you, but I don't have the chance."
The teacher in charge of the class was also a top-notch person. He patted Zhou Qi on the shoulder and said, "That's your fault, Zhou Qi. Having more friends means more opportunities in the future, right? Come, let me introduce you today. Hey, this is Dean Miao's daughter Miao Yue. She just graduated from studying media abroad. A while ago, Dean Miao asked Xiaoyue to shoot some promotional videos for our school."
Zhou Qi couldn't refuse anymore. He couldn't remain aloof in a place where relationships and power were paramount, nor could he refute the saying, "More friends, more paths," even if Miao Yue's gaze at him was filled with raw, naked purpose. So what? They always found excuses to accuse someone of something, and they had plenty of ways to defame the powerless.
Zhou Qi once believed that everyone is born equal and has the right to accept and reject. But later he gradually realized that even if he did not covet those vain things that did not belong to him, it was difficult to separate himself from the system of chasing power and money, just like a zero-sum game.
In the competition, if you don't want to get a 1, you will only end up with a 0, which means you lose everything.
His original intention was simply to get something that belonged to him that matched his abilities.
He did not reply to Miao Yue, nor did he open the message sent by Miao Yue.
At first, Miao Yue only occasionally sent him good morning and good night messages, and he would politely reply a few words when he was free. Later, she asked him out several times, but he declined each time. As a result, she would block him downstairs of the dormitory every night, making it known to everyone in the building that Zhou Qi was very lucky. He hated such vulgar words being used about Miao Yue, and he also hated it when he was the subject of such vulgar words.
Sometimes, he'd vent his anger by not returning to the dormitory, leaving her waiting downstairs. But the next day, she'd appear again in the teaching building, the hospital, or the library. Zhou Qi felt truly helpless. He never felt he had any charm that could make a woman, whose career and family were far superior to his, repeatedly devote her time and energy to him.
He began to agree to some of Miao Yue's date requests, such as taking a walk on the playground.
He started at the starting point of the track, circling around and around, confessing his life story and past to Miao Yue, using countless derogatory and even self-deprecating words to describe himself, hoping that Miao Yue would see his true self, and then leave in anger. But Miao Yue seemed to be increasingly interested in him. She liked his honesty and openness, which was completely different from the "elites" she had encountered in the past who used clumsy means to package themselves.
She seemed to have fallen in love with him. Realizing this, Miao Yue felt like she was going crazy.
Because next month she was getting engaged to the man her family had carefully chosen for her. This was a fact, a fate, she had come to accept the moment she realized she was merely a tool for maintaining power. She enjoyed the freedom afforded by wealth and the power afforded by her birth, even willing to sacrifice a marriage she didn't care about for it.
But now she wants love even more greedily.
Zhou Qi was such a proud and aloof man that he even avoided her, even though she wasn't yet bound by marriage. Furthermore, she would be bound by moral and legal constraints to approach him in the future. Miao Yue repeatedly told herself that what she couldn't obtain was perhaps the best, infinitely beautified by memories, and resentment was the best medicine to fuel the nostalgia.
But she knew that she couldn't deceive herself. Even if she couldn't get Zhou Qi, she didn't want others to get him. Just like when she missed the piano competition due to illness when she was a child, she could only be first, or there would be no such competition.
...
After Yang Xiao spent a few days living alone in a dormitory, she got another roommate, Wang Ruopeng.
She was a shy, introverted girl with a soft voice. She knocked softly on the dormitory door again and again, occasionally whispering hello. Yang Xiao was sitting at her desk reading. When she heard this, she immediately stood up and opened the door for Wang Ruopeng. The door was actually not locked.
As soon as Yang Xiao opened the door, what she saw was Wang Ruopeng’s red face and evasive eyes.
She immediately greeted him warmly, "Hello, my name is Yang Xiao, the Yang of little white poplars, and the Xiao of 'The scenery is like the waves, the wind is blowing coldly.' I'll help you with that!" Then she took the bags from Wang Ruopeng. Wang Ruopeng felt relieved to see Yang Xiao so cheerful. It seemed that the roommate the dorm manager had mentioned as arriving early was actually quite easy to get along with.
"Well, um... my name is Wang Ruopeng, which is like the lotus pod." Wang Ruopeng racked his brains but couldn't figure out how to link his name with ancient poetry like Yang Xiao, so he simply told her the original intention of his parents' name: like the lotus pod, it clears away heat and relieves fire, and it tastes good.
Yang Xiao's smile widened when she heard it. "What a nice name!" She felt a little embarrassed by Wang Ruopeng's compliment and chuckled as well. Seeing her shy expression, Yang Xiao stopped praising her and walked inside with her things, a smile on her face. Wang Ruopeng's bed was next to Yang Xiao's, and they were leaning against the same wall.
Yang Xiao stood at the desk, glancing at Wang Ruopeng as she busied herself with making the bed. Seeing her somewhat unskilled hand making the sheets, she stood up to confirm. "Ruopeng, do you really not need my help?" Wang Ruopeng shook her head, saying she could handle it herself and letting her rest. Hearing that she didn't need her help, Yang Xiao sat back down at the desk and continued reading.
"Um, Yang Xiao, can you help me take a look at my quilt?" Yang Xiao heard Wang Ruopeng's muffled voice above her head. She immediately replied "I'm coming," put down her book, and walked over to take a look. Wang Ruopeng poked his head out from under the quilt, his face flushed with boredom, and said, "My quilt seems to be a bunched up no matter how I put it in."
Seeing her dazed look, Yang Xiao thought Ruopeng was like a drowsy kitten that had just woken up. She pursed her lips to suppress a smile and asked her to give her half of the quilt and shake it out. By the time they finished cleaning up, it was already lunchtime. Hearing that Yang Xiao was going to eat, Ruopeng immediately took the homemade rice sauce and left the dormitory with her.
The school was a bit deserted before the start of the semester. Even the cafeteria had only one window open, and the dishes were limited. Wang Ruopeng walked around but couldn't decide what to eat, so he ordered a bowl of white rice with some rice sauce and sat down across from Yang Xiao. Seeing Yang Xiao eating with gusto, Wang Ruopeng couldn't help but ask, "Are these beans so delicious?"
After swallowing the food in her mouth, Yang Xiao nodded and said, "It's delicious, try it!" Then she picked up a bean and put it on Wang Ruopeng's rice. "Do you only eat rice?"
"And the beans you gave me and the rice sauce my dad made." Wang Ruopeng unscrewed the can and pushed it toward Yang Xiao, asking her to try his cooking. Yang Xiao didn't refuse. From the moment Wang Ruopeng took the can of rice sauce, she knew it must be delicious. The shredded radish inside was fragrant and crispy, so she didn't dare to ask for more.
Yang Xiao picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and put it on the rice. She couldn't wait to eat it with the rice. Her mouth was filled with the aroma of the food that was fried and stewed, and the most eye-catching part was the minced meat mixed in it. Yang Xiao's appetite was greatly increased after eating it.
"It's delicious. Your father is amazing." Yang Xiao gave Wang Ruopeng a thumbs up while savoring the food.
"Then eat more. My dad is a chef in the hotel. He cooks everything delicious." Wang Ruopeng looked proud after hearing this and put some rice sauce in Yang Xiao's bowl. "Thank you, Ruopeng. It's delicious. No wonder you didn't want to eat anything when you were choosing the dishes. It was like me looking at the stones by the river. I had no appetite."
Wang Ruopeng laughed out loud, a rare occurrence, after hearing her analogy. Then, realizing they were in the empty and quiet cafeteria, she blushed a bit. Yang Xiao thought she truly resembled a cat, so she leaned over and said, "Ruopeng, you're like a kitten. The kind with soft fur that gets a little fluffy when you wake up, both fearful and affectionate." Wang Ruopeng blushed again and told her not to say such things. Curious, Yang Xiao pressed the question.
Wang Ruopeng thought over and over again, not knowing how to tell her. He couldn't just tell her that he was reading a novel under the covers at home last night, and that the domineering president kept calling the heroine "Little Cat". That would be too embarrassing.
"In short, you are not allowed to describe me as a cat." Wang Ruopeng pouted, his face still a little hot.
"Okay, okay." Yang Xiao thought she was embarrassed and didn't bring up the subject anymore, continuing to eat. After a while, Wang Ruopeng hesitated and said, "Whatever you want, oh." Yang Xiao was even happier, her smile never falling. She couldn't tell if she was happy to have made a new friend, or just happy that Ruopeng was so cute.
"Can I call you Cat?" Yang Xiao and Ruopeng walked hand in hand on the way back to the dormitory.
"Sure, I'll call you Xiaoxiao then."
"No problem, Kitty."
"Oh, I'm suddenly a little uncomfortable with this name. I always feel that it's too..."
"Cat, cat, cat." Yang Xiao called Ruopeng in her ear again and again as if mischievously.
Wang Ruopeng's mind was inappropriately filled with the various plots of the domineering CEO novel, which almost made him burn like a red apple. He gently shook off Yang Xiao's hand and ran forward.
"Wait for me, cat." Yang Xiao shouted from behind.
This is another important friend in Yang Xiao's life. Like Mao Qiu, she possesses the innocence and playfulness of a young girl. Their relationship is free of the melodramatic plot of feuding and the bloody intrigues. They share the same joys and troubles, cherishing each other and healing their wounds. They are friends.
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