Chapter 21 Spring Green (4) Xia Xia, I will never reject you...
Lin Xia's training studio was in Tongzhou, which was a long way to get there by subway and then by bus. It was already very late after dinner, so He Chuan took her home.
High school life was still boring and dull, no matter how many words were said about it. Besides, Lin Xia and He Chuan went to the same high school and even had some of the same teachers, so talking about it wasn't interesting at all. He Chuan's college life, on the other hand, was much more interesting to Lin Xia. She was the one asking curious questions along the way. He Chuan didn't say much, but he was patient in answering her questions.
“Is your school campus large?”
"It's quite big. The Chinese University of Hong Kong is the largest university in Hong Kong."
"Which is bigger, Tsinghua University or the Chinese University of Hong Kong?"
He Chuan thought for a moment and replied, "Tsinghua University should be larger, but CUHK is built on a mountain, so it would be more tiring to walk there than Tsinghua University."
A university built on a mountain? Lin Xia couldn't imagine it.
“Why is it built on a mountain?”
"Maybe it's because land is so expensive in Hong Kong."
"Do you live on the mountain or at the foot of the mountain?"
"On the mountain."
"It would be so tiring to go up and down the mountain every day. Are there a lot of dormitories? Can I choose?"
"It's possible, but it's a bit complicated. The school doesn't divide the dormitories by major, but by college."
"Academy?" Lin Xia was puzzled. "What does that mean?"
He Chuan was also a little embarrassed, not knowing how to explain it to her. He carefully chose his words as he spoke, "The Chinese University of Hong Kong has a very unique system called the college system. There are nine colleges in the university, each with a different management model and cultural atmosphere. When new students enroll, they can choose a college of their choice, where they will eat and live. Classes will still be taken on the central campus according to their major, but the college will be the student's main activity and social circle for the next few years."
Lin Xia was confused, not quite understanding what was being said, but she felt vaguely that this system sounded familiar:
"...Is it, like Harry Potter's school of wizardry?"
When she was in the first year of high school, her deskmate Xu Chang rented a Harry Potter book and lent it to her. The first one, The Philosopher's Stone, was okay, but after reading the second one, The Chamber of Secrets, she was a little scared and couldn't sleep.
"Almost the same," He Chuan laughed. "It's just that the colleges aren't divided by a sorting hat. You have to fill out an application like the college entrance exam, and then you have to go through an interview. When I first went there, I knew nothing and filled out my application almost blindly. Later, by chance, I was assigned to the United College. I'm lucky, though. The scholarship and accommodations at the United College are pretty good. Although the accommodation is on the mountain, and you have to go up and down the slope every day, there are elevators, buses, and pedestrian bridges, so it's quite convenient. Plus, there are fewer people on the mountain, so it's quieter, with nice scenery and a good ecosystem."
"Good ecology...what does that mean?"
"There are a lot of animals," He Chuan said slowly. "There are a lot of mosquitoes and midges. You can see squirrels, monkeys, badgers, wild boars and snakes in the mountains."
So university can be like this?
Lin Xia was surprised, and at the same time she remembered: "Our studio is in the suburbs, and sometimes we can see squirrels. The other day, a super-large gecko even got into our dormitory!"
"Are you scared?"
"It's okay. I'm not too afraid of this cold-blooded animal."
He Chuan smiled and joked, "But you're afraid of mice, bugs, the dark, ghosts, and the end of the world, right?"
He's exposing her shortcomings again. How annoying!
Lin Xia glared at him angrily and turned her head away angrily.
At this time, the subway stopped at the transfer station, and suddenly a lot of people got on. He Chuan and Lin Xia, who were originally standing in the middle of the car, were suddenly squeezed to the side. He Chuan was afraid that Lin Xia would be squeezed, so he asked her to stand on the inside, and he stood on the outside to block the crowd.
At this time, there are almost no cars on Wangchun Street, but the Beijing subway is still crowded, especially the direction from the city center to the suburbs, where too many people commute long distances to work every day.
This is the corner where the two carriages are connected. Lin Xia leans against the wall of the carriage, and He Chuan stands in front of her, holding the wall behind her with his hands.
The two of them were incredibly close, wearing very little in the summer. As the car swayed and the crowds swarmed behind them, their skin would occasionally touch. His warm breath fanned over her head, and the scattered strands of hair on her temples brushed against his arm. He tilted his head slightly, his gaze averted to the side, and she lowered her eyes, fixed on the second button of his collar.
The air conditioning in the car was turned up so high, but they both couldn't help feeling hot. Her ears hidden in her hair and his collarbone exposed in his collar were both stained with the same blush.
She said softly, "You said before that you didn't speak Cantonese, so how did you learn it?"
There was some noise around, so He Chuan had to lower his head a little more to hear her clearly. At that moment, Lin Xia suddenly smelled the scent of soap on his clothes, which was very clean and fresh.
He smiled, his chest vibrating slightly.
"Remember, we watched a lot of Hong Kong movies with original soundtracks back then?"
She nodded. How could she forget? She would never forget everything that happened that summer.
"I actually practiced listening at that time, and it did help a little, but not much, after all, movies are very different from reality. There is a special Cantonese club on campus to help foreign students learn Cantonese. Also, my roommate is from mainland China, Chen Weipeng, from Guangdong. His English is very poor, and I don't speak Cantonese. We practiced speaking together every day, and we both improved."
"Besides, what about your roommates? Do you have any other friends?"
"Well... there are also one or two classmates who go to the library and cafeteria together."
"What else?"
"there is none left."
"Really?"
He Chuan lowered his eyes and looked at the neat little whorls on Lin Xia's head, feeling a little amused:
"What exactly do you want to know?"
Unexpectedly, the next moment, she suddenly looked up. Although her face was slightly red, she still mustered up the courage to look directly into his eyes, her voice trembling slightly:
"I just want to know if you have a girlfriend..."
Their eyes met and remained silent for a few seconds. He Chuan opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he was suddenly bumped by someone behind him. He leaned forward and his chin hit Lin Xia's forehead hard.
The collision of their bones was incredibly painful. Lin Xia's eyes lit up with tears. He Chuan was not feeling well either, accidentally biting his tongue and leaving his mouth full of blood. The two of them, one holding their forehead and the other their chin, looked pathetic yet amused, and they couldn't help but laugh.
Many people got off at this stop, and the area around became much more empty. He Chuan changed his position and leaned against the wall of the carriage side by side with Lin Xia. The isolated little space that had just formed between the two of them disappeared.
But He Chuan still answered Lin Xia's question very frankly:
"No, because I really don't have the time, and I don't have the plan."
He was studying law. Hong Kong's legal system was fundamentally different from mainland China's. His classes were almost completely packed, his professors were from all over the world, and the curriculum was taught entirely in English. Just keeping up with the pace was arduous and demanding. Not to mention the extracurricular activities of reading literature, writing papers, improving his GPA, working part-time, and participating in various activities and competitions to secure housing. He wasn't particularly bright or gifted, so to excel, he had to work harder and more diligently than others. He chose to study at CUHK for his own future, an opportunity he cherished a thousand times over.
Hearing that he didn't have a girlfriend, Lin Xia finally felt relieved.
Yes, he is so busy working hard for his ideals, and he should not have the time to think about these trivial things. He is not like the boys in her class who are holding their breath every day to go to college and find a partner to fall in love in college.
A little happy, a little unhappy, well, very conflicted.
The subway arrived at the station soon. After getting off, they took the bus and finally returned to the studio after about twenty minutes.
The studio is located in a very remote area, with few residential buildings around. There are no pedestrians or cars on the road, only a beam of light from a tall street lamp. It is very quiet.
From the west to the east of the city, even if I send you thousands of miles away, we must still say goodbye.
Lin Xia and He Chuan said goodbye under the lights, just like the curtain call of the male and female protagonists in a stage play:
"So, I'm going back?"
"Go back and take good care of yourself."
"Okay, you too."
"Um."
"Thank you for accompanying me today to do what I have always wanted to do. I am very happy."
"Just be happy."
"Where will you be on your next vacation?"
"I'm not sure either, are you?"
"Actually, I'm not sure."
So, there was no next appointment.
The two were silent for a while, and finally He Chuan spoke first:
"It's late. Go back and have some rest. You have classes tomorrow."
Lin Xia racked her brains, but couldn't think of anything else to say, so she could only nod reluctantly:
"goodbye."
"goodbye."
But I don’t know when we will meet again.
Even this one day seemed stolen.
He Chuan stood there, watching her back as she left, looking back every few steps, taking in her reluctance and sadness. He pursed his lips, clenched his hands in his pockets, and suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, just staring at her exit in silence.
Lin Xia walked for a long time before reaching the gate. Then she suddenly stopped, as if she had just remembered something, turned around and ran back quickly, shouting as she ran:
"Phone number! You forgot to give me your phone number! I have a cell phone! I just asked for your number, I almost forgot!"
She ran so fast that she couldn't help but bend over, gasping for breath. She tried to raise her face but still had a bright smile on her face. The eighteen-year-old girl held her cell phone in front of him and said breathlessly:
"Quick, enter it!"
He Chuan lowered his eyes to look at the small and beautiful flip phone covered with rhinestones and stickers. His heart suddenly skipped a beat and he couldn't help holding his breath.
In fact, he didn't forget, he just deliberately didn't remind her.
Just like today at the hospital gate, he deliberately didn't call her, just like in the past two years, he had the opportunity to go back to Wangchun, but he deliberately didn't go back.
Naturally, there were various external concerns, but the most important thing was that he was afraid. He was afraid that if he indulged himself, he would end up losing everything and suffering complete defeat.
He is actually a very timid person.
"Are you sure?" he asked in a low voice.
Seeing that he didn't move, the smile on Lin Xia's face slowly faded. She hadn't expected his reaction and felt a little confused and at a loss.
"What's so uncertain about this? You don't want to give me your phone number? Are you... afraid that I'll keep calling you and disturbing your studies?"
She tried to explain earnestly:
"I'm just a little bored here. I won't call you often. Long-distance calls are so expensive. At most, I'll send you a text message occasionally. It definitely won't affect you. If you find it troublesome and don't want to, forget it..."
The more she spoke, the angrier and more aggrieved she felt. She took her phone back and was about to leave in anger.
However, the next second, she felt her wrist tighten and someone suddenly pulled her.
She turned around and saw a faint smile on his face, mixed with a little helplessness, a little compromise, and a little complexity that she couldn't understand.
"How stupid." He sighed.
"What's wrong with you?" She frowned, unconvinced.
He didn't say anything, just let go of her wrist, took her phone, entered his own phone number into it, and put it back in her hand.
Then he reached out and touched her head and said to her:
"No disturbance, no influence, no trouble, no unwillingness."
"Call as much as you want, text as much as you want, as long as it doesn't interfere with your painting. If you feel tired, homesick, sad, or can't hold on any longer, I'll talk to you."
"Xia Xia, I will never refuse you."
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