Chapter 38 Orange (1) She really wants to see him!
January 7, 2011, Rain and Snow
[Studio Team (3/4)]
Yang Yang: Is everyone free this weekend? Want to go back to the studio to see the teacher?
Ren Zijian: Okay, but I have something to do on Sunday afternoon, so Saturday is fine.
Lin Xia: Me too.
Yang Yang: Hey, hey, how come you two are so in sync? What's your secret?
Ren Zijian: No, there was a lecture at the institute on Sunday afternoon. Lin Xia and I both wanted to attend, and we had a hard time getting the tickets.
Lin Xia: It’s ×××’s lecture.
Yang Yang: What? XXXX is visiting China? I like his style the most among all the art masters! Why didn't he come to Linda for a lecture?! I'm so jealous of you, the art lovers from Qing Dynasty!
Sun Pingan: Tsk——
Yang Yang: What's up, Old Sun? Why don't you just go invisible and pretend to be dead? Don't be sour grapes! Are you going to see the teacher this weekend? Hurry and reply.
Sun Pingan: Go away, what’s wrong with me?
Yang Yang: Anyone who didn’t get into Tsinghua University will be jealous.
Sun Pingan: Who said I didn't get into Tsinghua University? Don't you know I ranked first in the school entrance exam? Who didn't even pass the school entrance exam?
Yang Yang: Sun Pingan! You're exposing my shortcomings again!
Sun Pingan: I’ve told you so many times, don’t call me by my full name!
Seeing that the two were about to start another verbal fight in the group, Lin Xia shook her head helplessly and exited the chat interface, intending to continue attending class. Just as she put her phone down, she suddenly found a message from Ren Zijian:
【Shall we go together tomorrow? 】
Lin Xia subconsciously looked in front of her to where Ren Zijian was sitting, and saw that he was also looking back at her, so she replied:
[Okay, see you downstairs in the dormitory.]
Not surprisingly, Ren Zijian passed the college entrance exam and was accepted into the Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts, where he became a classmate of Lin Xia, though they were in different departments: Lin Xia in Arts and Crafts, Ren Zijian in Ceramics. During their first year, all freshmen at the academy took the same foundational course, and the two often crossed paths in the classroom.
Yang Yang went to Linyi University, while Lao Sun failed in his liberal arts courses again and missed the chance to go to Qingmei University. He really didn't want to go through the pain of repeating a grade, so he settled for the second best and is now studying stage design at the Academy of Chinese Opera.
Fortunately, the four of them are still in Beijing. They get together from time to time, eat, go shopping, walk on the street and chat. Their revolutionary friendship remains.
At half past eleven, the teacher finished the get out of class on time. Lin Xia packed up her things and left the Academy of Fine Arts building with her roommates.
It had just rained and snowed this morning, and the ground was a bit slippery. Lin Xia's cycling skills were not very proficient, so she didn't ride her bike and walked towards the Bauhinia Garden Canteen with her roommates.
Along the way, countless students on bicycles whizzed past her, making the scene particularly spectacular. There were even traffic jams at some narrow intersections, but Lin Xia had already gotten used to it.
It's the end of the first semester of her freshman year, and Lin Xia has been at Qingmei for almost four months. Having already experienced intensive training, the transition to university away from home has been a breeze. Like every other freshman, she's been through the usual routine of enrollment, orientation, development, military training, classes, clubs, and extracurricular activities. Qingmei has been just as perfect as she imagined it would be—in many cases, even better than she imagined. This is a premier university, boasting top-tier academic resources, a diverse roster of the finest professors and students, state-of-the-art facilities, and a comfortable learning and living environment. As the saying goes, there are only great scholars here, and no ordinary person here. Lin Xia, a native of a small northeastern city, is like a tiny goldfish, leaving her confined aquarium and diving into this vast ocean, swam freely and dazzled by the sights.
In just a few months, she changed a lot. She became more cheerful, outgoing, curious, and willing to communicate with others. Even He Chuan said that he felt she had finally gotten rid of the depressing shadow left over from her senior year of high school.
Well, He Chuan, maybe now he should be called...her boyfriend He Chuan.
Six months ago, they confessed their feelings to each other in the hospital and officially got together. Lin Xia stayed in the other empty bed in the ward for one night, and the next day she had to say goodbye to He Chuan and go to Shenyang to reunite with Song Ci. A sudden misfortune put the plan of going abroad for exchange on hold. Then in September, He Chuan was discharged from the hospital to recuperate, and Lin Xia went to military training for the start of school. By the National Day, Lin Xia's closed-door military training was over, and He Chuan had returned to Hong Kong. Thus began their long-distance relationship.
However, for them, this is actually a more familiar way. Everything is the same as before. They communicate through MSN every day and share the trivialities and feelings in life and study. Although they cannot meet, their hearts are connected. Letters can be delivered by carrier pigeons, and the world is close to each other. Their thoughts and feelings will not be cut off.
.
On Saturday morning, Lin Xia and Ren Zijian met downstairs of the Zijing Apartment, and then set off together to Wudaokou to take the subway. Along the way, they met up with Yang Yang and Lao Sun, and the four of them returned to the studio in Tongzhou together.
Now the studio has naturally welcomed a new batch of new students, and the staff structure of the teachers has also been adjusted, but everyone still feels very friendly and familiar. They chat with the teachers, talk about their university life, and help their younger classmates revise their paintings. The time passes easily and happily.
For them, perhaps the training period was the real "little senior year" with laughter and tears, hard work and passion, so they have deep feelings for the painting studio, but do not have much sense of belonging to the high school where they actually attend in their hometown.
Before they knew it, it was already very late and the last bus had already left. Since they had no classes tomorrow as it was Sunday, they simply booked a room at a nearby hotel, four people to a standard room, not planning to sleep but to play games all night long.
At that time, they had just started college and had just left the constraints of their homes. They were poor and playful, bold and simple. They had no grudges against each other and were open and honest with each other. Such pure friendship would never be encountered again after this age.
Tired of playing Landlord (Dou Dizhu) and Three Kingdoms Kill, Yang Yang recently learned a new card game called UNO, which she brought with her, intending to play with everyone. The rules are simple, with four colors of cards, and anything is possible. The best fun is playing with familiar players, and the chances of trapping and swindling, or failing or turning the tables, all make everyone laugh.
Old Sun was narrow-minded and still unhappy about Yang Yang's previous bullying of him, so he targeted her for several rounds in a row. Once, he even forced her to draw 16 cards in a row, which made Yang Yang so angry that she yelled.
Lin Xia was laughing so hard with the IOU on her face that she lost, when she found her cell phone ringing. She glanced at the screen and couldn't help but feel happy. She said something to the others, picked up her phone and left the room.
There is a window at the end of the corridor. It is already midnight, and there are few lights outside the window. It is quiet.
"He Chuan!"
She picked up the phone and called her name happily. She liked calling him that. Although it was her full name, there was an unknown intimacy in it.
"Xia Xia, what are you doing? Are you back to school?"
That familiar, calm and gentle voice came to my ears.
They agreed to call each other every Saturday night, and in order to save her phone bill, he would take the initiative to call her every time.
"No, I'm not going back tonight."
Lin Xia told him the whole story truthfully, and He Chuan didn't say much, just reminded:
"Be safe and don't play too late."
"I'm with my classmates, so I'll be fine." Lin Xia said with a smile, "By the way, how's your house search going?"
He Chuan is a senior this year. Unlike universities in mainland China, the Chinese University of Hong Kong does not necessarily provide students with four years of accommodation. The specific regulations vary from college to college. The United College where He Chuan is located is good in every way, but it only provides students with three years of guaranteed accommodation. When they reach their senior year, they need to move out of the school and rent a house independently.
He Chuan had been hospitalized due to injury and had requested a long leave. The school was flexible and allowed him to delay his leave, but now the deadline has arrived.
"I've found one. My former roommate has a vacant room in his current apartment that he can sublet to me. The price is good, and it's close to school. I'll be moving in in the next few days."
"That's great, you're roommates again this time."
He Chuan responded and asked:
"When does your vacation start?"
"This week is our last week of classes, and next week is exam week. But our art school doesn't have final exams, haha, so we can leave almost next week. Will you come back this year?"
"Maybe I'll be back for a few days around the New Year."
"Really?" Lin Xia was very happy, but immediately became discouraged. "But even if you come back, you will go back to Beijing. I will definitely go back to Wangchun, and we will still not be able to meet."
From summer to winter, they haven't seen each other for half a year. Although they call each other every week and send messages every day, these cannot replace real, face-to-face interactions. She really wants to see him!
He Chuan understood her feelings and told her:
"If I go back to Beijing, I will find a chance to see you."
Lin Xia was pleasantly surprised, but also a little worried: "Will we make it in time? Will we be in too much time?"
He Chuan probably had a plan already made, and said to her: "No, there's still time. But it may not be too long, only about a day."
"One day is fine!" Lin Xia nodded repeatedly, "Then I'll say it's a class reunion, and then we'll meet up!"
He Chuan smiled and said, "Okay."
After that, they chatted briefly for a while. He Chuan said that he would not delay her from playing with her classmates, and the two said goodbye reluctantly.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Xia was still very excited. They would be able to meet soon, and now she was looking forward to the New Year!
"Who are you talking to on the phone? Why are you smiling so happily?"
Lin Xia looked up and saw Ren Zijian walking towards her, asking in a teasing tone:
"My boyfriend is checking up on me?"
"No, just a normal phone call."
Lin Xia was a little embarrassed. The fact that she had a boyfriend was no longer a secret; almost all her friends and classmates knew about it. But she was still a little shy, unable to bring it up as openly and publicly as everyone else. Sometimes she wondered why everyone else had adapted so quickly, even though they'd all come from high school, where premature love was strictly prohibited.
"I heard from Yang Yang that he's attending university in Hong Kong? When can we meet him?"
"You also said he was in Hong Kong, and I couldn't see him even if I wanted to." Lin Xia sighed, "Why did you come out too? Don't you want to continue playing?"
Ren Zijian was helpless: "Those two people started arguing again."
Lin Xia laughed: "What a rival!"
"I'm hungry. I'm going to the small supermarket downstairs to buy some food. Do you want to join me?"
"Yeah, I'm a little hungry too."
Ren Zijian laughed, his usual sunny and cheerful face: "Then let's go."
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