Chapter 323
The new semester began, and Wang Jiazhi unexpectedly received a generous scholarship, and so did he, whose life became much more comfortable. Finally, a newspaper published Wang Jiazhi's novel, and she won a prize in the school's writing competition.
She was incredibly excited, calculating her scholarship and royalties. She wondered if the school would give her a bonus, but she doubted it. She continued to live frugally, determined to buy him the dark blue fabric with light sky-blue stripes. Besides teaching, she also secretly took on handicrafts, knitting sweaters for others, earning every penny. Wang Jiazhi continued to write letters to her father tirelessly, asking for money, refusing to accept any that she wouldn't receive.
The school was going to hold a commendation ceremony, and the winners would go on stage to receive their awards. Wang Jiazhi had thought she would wear the new dress, but… he actually… bought the pink dress again.
"I told you not to buy it, we can't afford such expensive things."
"Got it, for the last time."
"I don't believe you!"
She really felt guilty. It was one of the rare times she lost her temper with him, and she didn't even look at the clothes on the bed.
Xiao Shuang advised: "Just give it a try, it looks pretty good, of course he knows what's going on."
She complained, "Of course he knows how much he earns. He works multiple jobs and then doesn't eat, drink, or sleep to save money. He's totally lying to me. I don't believe he's just working two jobs."
This guy is particularly good at hiding things. Even though they are together every day, she just can't find out what extra work he is doing.
It was like this every time, but there was nothing he could do. He would look at her with tears in his eyes and forget everything.
She put on the dress, a candy-pink tulle gown with long, lantern-shaped sleeves and a V-neck with wide ruffles, revealing a patch of snow-white skin below her neck. The color was so bright that the light shone on it, making it sparkle like a gem. She looked like a dreamy, ethereal pink peony.
Xiao Shuangdao said to the next-door dorm: "Come and see, Wang Jiazhi is so beautiful!"
Huang Liju and several other girls rushed in and exclaimed, "So beautiful!"
Wang Jiazhi lowered her head and asked shyly, "What are you doing?"
That day, when she put on that dress, he put a white crystal butterfly necklace on her from behind, which just filled the blank space of her white skin. She had her hair parted in the middle and tied a long light pink butterfly silk ribbon at the back.
“So beautiful.”
She still felt a little guilty and said, "Don't buy such expensive things again in the future."
"I will definitely discuss this with you later. It's just that everyone else has clothes like this, but you don't have any."
"You always say that." She rested her head on his shoulder.
When Wang Jiazhi and Xiaoshuang came back after helping out, there were only a few seats left in the front row, so she could only sit in the back row very close to Meng Shunying and Lai Xiujing.
Lai Xiujin saw them and deliberately said to Meng Shunying, "I don't know how many lifetimes Kuang Yumin must have accumulated to be so lucky to have a girlfriend as good as you. She's both talented and beautiful, and comes from a good family. Even her name sounds noble and elegant. It's not like names like Zhi, Lan, or Feng. They're so tacky and unbearable."
Wang Jiazhi heard this and said, "I think my name is very good, like a magical herb or elixir. Unlike some people whose names seem noble and have a special origin, they bloom in the morning and wither in the evening, leading to a short life and early death, which is extremely unlucky."
Meng Shunying turned around abruptly and said, "Wang Jiazhi, what did you say?"
Wang Jiazhi smiled and said, "I'm speaking human language. Anyone who understands human language will know what I'm talking about."
Lai Xiujin said angrily: "Wang Jiazhi, how did you become like this now? You don't look like you used to be at all. We don't even recognize you anymore."
Xiao Shuang said: "What has happened to you? You are no longer as easy to bully as before. Are you unhappy?"
Lai Xiujin said: "What's your business?"
Xiao Shuang said, "Why don't I have anything to do with it? Why do you always interrupt others when they are talking?"
Lai Xiujin said, "Wang Jiazhi, don't think you're great just because you have someone to back you up. You're being arrogant."
Wang Jiazhi said, "Who is backing me up? I have my own abilities and don't need to rely on anyone. Unlike you, you feel uncomfortable without a man to lean on."
"you!"
Wang Jiazhi said, "What's wrong? Are you angry out of shame? Don't think that others don't know you're gossiping behind your back. You're such a gossipmonger at such a young age. Scientific journals say that 174cm is the ideal height for optimal health. The taller you are, the more likely you are to die early, and the longer the nerve transmission distance, the more likely you are to make stupid mistakes. You're so stupid that you can't do things yourself, but you blame others for it."
Xiao Shuang said, "Just be happy if you want to. There's no need to flatter others just to flatter yourself."
Meng Shunying and Lai Xiujing were a bit of a bully, so they turned around angrily and said nothing.
Kuang Yumin and several other people stood in a row to receive the award. Meng Shunying specially bought him very expensive fabrics, and instead of using the bouquet provided by the school, she bought expensive champagne roses and went on stage to present them to him personally.
When Wang Jiazhi saw Kuang Yumin wearing high-end clothes, she thought to herself that she must buy Lan Jie a piece of high-end clothes.
With limited funds, they could only buy cheap flowers, and the styles available at the florist were too ordinary. Wang Jiazhi thought of using wildflowers, which would be both economical and beautiful. So she and Xiaoshuang took the bus to the mountains to pick some the day before. They each carried a large bucket on the bus back, attracting many people to watch them.
Wang Jiazhi had asked the florist to make simple bouquets, but at night she and Xiaoshuang mixed in wildflowers, which instantly gave the bouquets a fresh and elegant look. They worked until almost dawn, their room overflowing with flowers.
The bouquet given to the principal was cheap white peony from the flower shop, with purple-blue orchids picked from the mountains in the middle.
The principal realized that it was Cailan who wanted to give him medicine, and when he saw the girl who presented the flowers smiling sweetly, he smiled with joy.
Lai Xiujin said: "Look, she is very good at pleasing men."
The gift for Jin Qiaochu was yellow roses, paired with purple windmill-like clematis, with small white wild chrysanthemums and red wild strawberries in the middle.
Jin Qiaochu smiled and said, "This is such a beautiful combination. I want to plant purple clematis at home when I get back."
In comparison, the bouquet of gorgeous champagne roses that Meng Shunying gave to Kuang Yumin seemed out of place, like a wealthy businessman dressed in gold and silver sneaking in among the elegant mountain hermits.
After the award ceremony, the person hadn't left the stage yet. As he walked past the stage to set up things, Meng Shunying heard a girl in the front row say, "Look, those guys all look better than Lan Jie when they're alone, but when he stands next to them, even with his plain clothes, they all seem to pale in comparison. It's amazing."
Meng Shunying was very annoyed when she heard this.
Wang Jiazhi won the first prize and walked onto the stage in a dreamy candy pink dress, looking absolutely radiant. When it was time to give her flowers, he went up and put a wreath of white peonies on her head. The buds of the peony flowers had a little pink center, and the gaps between each flower were filled with purple-blue forget-me-nots, which matched her dress perfectly, making her look like a princess in a fairy tale.
He hadn't told her about the show at all, and he felt very embarrassed. He just winked at her, flashed a few times, and then quickly left with a smile.
Someone in the audience said, "Lan Jie is so shy."
Another girl said, "Wang Jiazhi covered her face. They really are."
The people in the audience also started to make a fuss.
Another girl said, "Before they got married, he was living on coarse food and spent all his money on Wang Jiazhi."
"He doesn't need to. He wears old cloth clothes, but he is really elegant and graceful."
"They're both quite similar, both with that cool, elegant air, a bit otherworldly. They enjoy writing and drawing, and are fond of history. Wang Jiazhi is also beautiful even when she's dressed simply. It's true, she's beautiful even without makeup. Actually, they both have similar temperaments. There are some who are prettier than her, but that kind of temperament is truly rare. Even in coarse linen, she's still like a deep valley orchid. No wonder Lan Jie only likes her."
"Her writing has been published in newspapers, and the teachers really appreciate it. I read it, and it's truly brilliant. Her paintings are also excellent, and they even graced the cover of the school magazine. People say Jin Qiaochu's paintings are great, but I think hers are more poetic and ethereal. I heard she even purchased and designed the flowers today; they're truly original and unique."
"I said the florist had never seen anything like this before, and it's true. Although they're cheap flowers, they're truly poetic. This person has truly refined taste."
"To be honest, the other influential figures are also very talented, but they all come from wealthy families, and their excellence is inseparable from their wealth. Take those oil paintings, for example. Jin Qiaochu has been learning since she was a child, and her family has carefully nurtured her. Wang Jiazhi heard that she only learned for a few months, but her paintings are still so good. Even with such a poor family background, she is still so talented. No wonder Lan Jie and her like-minded and like her so much."
Meng Shunying and Lai Xiujing in the front row listened without saying a word until the show was over.
It’s a pity that Wang Jiazhi was not there. If she had heard it, she would have been very happy.
When they got back, Kuang Yumin angrily said, "What else can they do besides attracting attention?"
Meng Shunying said: "In my eyes, you will always be the best."
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