Chapter Twenty-Eight: Divination
Lin Yu finished her water, the glass clinking against the marble countertop. She looked down at the picture Chen Guang had sent, and suddenly felt a little absurd that the little trinket she'd casually given him years ago had been kept by him.
In the years that she was away from him, Chen Guang got married, divorced, and perhaps had a brief romance in between.
This shuttlecock, like that chat window that's always pinned to the bottom of his WeChat contact list, is nothing more than an old object buried at the bottom of his memory. Now, he's dug it out and turned it into a prop for his performance of deep affection.
She turned around and dragged Chen Guang into the blacklist, a cold smile playing on her lips.
The name "Wang Wei" flashed through her mind inappropriately, lasting only 0.1 seconds, but Lin Yu caught it precisely. Perhaps Chen Guang sent this picture to remind her that the qualitative change in their relationship probably began with this shuttlecock.
The throne was her nominal first love, and although the relationship was short-lived and melodramatic, it did exist. Lin Yu hadn't thought about this person for a long time; he was like a withered leaf that had accidentally fallen into Lin Yu's memory, which she gently brushed away before sliding to her feet.
......
On the evening of the day the physical education exam ended, Lin Yu unexpectedly received a friend request from a stranger. The profile picture was a cartoon dog, and the friend request included the polite message: "Nice to meet you, I hope we can be friends."
Lin Yu felt a little awkward about this direct approach. She stared at the unfamiliar friend request on her phone screen for a long time before finally clicking the accept button. The other person then sent a series of enthusiastic self-introductions.
It turned out that Wang Wei was Lin Yu's classmate in physical education and studied computer science at the same campus. In general classes with dozens of students, they were like two parallel lines, never intersecting. What truly caught Wang Wei's attention was Lin Yu's "outstanding" performance in the final exam.
"You look especially cute when you're playing shuttlecock with your lips pursed and focused." New messages kept pouring out of the chat box like the water from Baotu Spring.
"And I never expected that such an interesting soul was hidden beneath her quiet exterior." The undisguised praise in her words made Lin Yu's cheeks flush involuntarily.
Lin Yu had never heard such blatant praise from a man before. Even though the praise didn't come from Zheng Qi, Chen Guang, or anyone else she cared about, her self-esteem was greatly satisfied at that moment. After all, praise from a stranger of the opposite sex was the highest form of recognition for a girl Lin Yu's age.
As for how to handle his relationship with the throne, Lin Yu was unsure and had to turn to his roommates for advice.
The gossip atmosphere was instantly ignited. Several girls huddled together, carefully examining the two's chat history and the boy's WeChat Moments. Since Renren.com leaves a record of visits, Qian Zan volunteered to use his own account to spy on Lin Yu.
Wangwei isn't very active on social media, only occasionally uploading photos of animals. Judging from his posts, it seems he has more than one cat or dog at home.
"People who like small animals can't be all that bad, right?" Qian Zan said, resting his chin on his hand, making a bold guess based on his lack of romantic experience.
"His speech is a bit greasy! But he looks especially cute when he's serious." Zhang Yimeng couldn't help but shrug his shoulders. "Ugh... I can't stand this!"
"What if he's handsome?" Qian Zan countered. After a moment's thought, the two of them threw their heads back and burst into laughter.
Yao Fangfang had just returned from driving school and had passed her second driving test smoothly. She was in a good mood and peeked out from behind the bed curtains to look at the scrolling Renren.com page on the computer screen.
"It wouldn't hurt to get to know each other, but..." She paused tactically.
"But what?"
During high school, the concept of puppy love was abstract and shrouded in mystery for Lin Yu. Teachers always said that she would be free in college, as if the stirrings of puberty would arrive unexpectedly at some point, like menstruation.
It wasn't until I got to college that I realized the "no early dating" rule was just a temporary lie. Every night, heart-pounding love stories unfolded downstairs in the dorm, and even the usually conservative Lin Min started to wonder if she had met the right person.
"But didn't you say you were going to get together with Chen Guang?" Yao Fangfang's expression seemed rather intriguing.
"Who is Chen Guang? The handsome guy who always studies with you?" Qian Zan asked curiously while munching on a can of crispy cashews.
"Chen Guang? Are you kidding me?"
Lin Yu excitedly rolled out of bed and snatched the phone back from Zhang Yimeng's hand. "He said today that he wanted to find a girlfriend a million times better than me. Go away and cool off somewhere else."
The subtle sense of humiliation he felt off the court returned once more. Lin Yu didn't want to succumb to Chen Guang's inconsistent attitude, confirming the shame of his own unrequited love and giving him the power to humiliate him a second time.
"Alright, alright, you two are sworn enemies, you can't marry within three generations, okay?" Yao Fangfang had to speak up to calm her down when she saw that she was agitated.
"When we meet, we're like fighting cocks, wanting to strangle each other. But when we get back to the dorm, we can't stop talking about each other. If we're in danger, no matter how late it is, we'll come to protect you. We'll ask you to eat with us all the time. Ordinary classmates wouldn't make me care like this."
Lin Yu gave a guilty hum, and couldn't help but wonder what Yao Fangfang would think if she knew that he had drooled while sleeping on Chen Guang's lap and had even seen his butt.
Zhang Yimeng looked at Yao Fangfang with suspicion. "Is that so? That's quite interesting!"
"Listen to her, you haven't sorted things out with Zhang Yunzhou yet," Lin Yu changed the subject. "Tell me honestly, is he pursuing you?"
Yao Fangfang pulled back the curtain and sat cross-legged on the bed. She combed her long hair to one side, wrung out the excess water from the ends, and looked up at Lin Yu, who had darted back to the upper bunk like a monkey.
"So what if he is? Lots of people are after me. Let's see if he has the ability." She had just taken a shower, and her wet hair accentuated her delicate features.
Lin Yu was speechless at her words, completely captivated by her near-perfect beauty. Even if she said the Earth was shaped like a pentagram, Lin Yu would only agree, saying, "Yes, yes."
At this moment, she envied Yao Fangfang's confidence and composure, which did not cause her to have drastic emotional fluctuations due to the judgment of others.
"Is she really no different from the other suitors? She actually got punched by your ex-boyfriend, so she deserves more sympathy than the others, right?" She lowered her head from the top bunk, leaned closer to Yao Fangfang, and carefully observed her expression.
"Besides, all the other suitors send flowers, look at them!" Lin Yu got more and more excited as he spoke, pointing excitedly to the bottles and jars piled high on the table. "Nutritional supplements, health products, skin care products, toiletries, vitamins, collagen, luxury face creams, imported toothpaste."
"I suspect his family runs a cross-border warehouse, and they're clearing out inventory in disguise, making sure you're thoroughly marinated from head to toe, so you can feel their presence with every breath!"
Zhang Yimeng was taken aback by her machine-gun-like speaking speed. "How come I never noticed you were so talkative before? I should really send you to Tianjin to learn crosstalk. I'll be your manager in the future, and I'm sure you'll make a fortune."
"Is business all you think about?" Like begets like. Lin Yu sensed the Zhang Yimeng family bloodline awakening within her.
"Hey, Lin Yu, haven't you noticed?" Qian Zan chuckled, his mouth full of half a braised chicken foot. "Back in freshman year, you were so quiet all the time, I thought you had a vocal cord defect! Now look how great you are, you even know to actively share your relationship progress with us."
"You've completely transformed in the last two years." The chicken skeleton was tossed into the trash can beside the bed with a clatter, a definitive statement. "Tell me, is it all thanks to that Chen Guang?"
"What does it have to do with him? It's because I get along well with you guys!" Lin Yu crossed her arms and refused to admit it, as if having any connection with Chen Guang was a form of mental pollution to her.
As he spoke, Qian Zan pulled a gleaming tortoise shell from the drawer and weighed it in his hand. "How about I tell your fortunes?"
"What do you mean? Do you mean we three will live happily together?" Lin Yu joked, leaning on the edge of the bed and swinging his legs lazily.
"Don't be too greedy, Banban!" Zhang Yimeng slammed his fist on the table in protest against her shameless behavior.
"Is this reliable?" Lin Yu dangled halfway up the upper bunk railing, his arm hanging limply, drawing circles in the air aimlessly.
"It's just for fun, isn't it?" Qian Zan winked at Lin Yu. "So, are you in or not?"
Lin Yu raised his arm and held up one finger. "The word 'dare' doesn't exist in my dictionary, Lin Yu's dictionary."
"Who should we count first?" Qian Zan eagerly pulled out his leather notebook, which he always carried with him and whose edges were already curled, and pretended to push up his thick glasses.
"Do you even need to ask?" Zhang Yimeng exchanged a mischievous glance with Yao Fangfang. "Of course, the male lead has to be the grand finale."
"Got it!" Qian Zan snapped his fingers loudly, then turned and gave Zhang Yimeng a high five in perfect unison.
She squatted on the chair like a fortune teller, stretching out her plump, lotus-root-like hand towards Lin Yu on the upper bunk. "Miss Lin, sincerity is key, come down and cast a divination!"
Lin Yu lay sprawled on the edge of the bed like a boneless rag doll, not wanting to appear overly enthusiastic. "Can't we calculate it with numbers too?"
Qian Zan rolled his eyes at her helplessly, then lowered his head and scribbled down the numbers Lin Yu had given her on a piece of paper while flipping through a worn-out leather notebook, looking just like a charlatan pretending to be a fortune teller.
"You..." Qian Zan frowned, feigning maturity, rubbing his smooth chin with his fingers, pretending to pinch a non-existent beard, shaking his head and looking serious, which drew a burst of laughter from everyone.
"The hexagram Gou changes to Dun, and the official ghost is in a void period; the lines are inauspicious!"
"Gibberish, speak human language!" Lin Yu sat up with a jolt.
"The Gou hexagram indicates that the suitor may be newly appeared, or that the relationship between the two parties is trending towards rapid development."
"The presence of the responding line generating the self line indicates that the other party is proactive and the woman is likely to accept it. However, the hexagram text is inauspicious, suggesting that the other party may have hidden intentions or that the relationship may be gradually becoming distant. Caution is advised to avoid impulsive involvement."
"Simply put..." Qian Zan drew a large circle on the paper, enclosing the written result within it.
"This relationship came and went quickly. Although the other person took the initiative, they may have other ideas. I advise you to observe more closely."
Zhang Yimeng pointed at Lin Yu from afar. "Greasy and womanizing? That's not quite right! No way!"
Lin Yu picked up a pillow as if to smash it, but the tips of his ears turned strangely red.
Qian Zan wrote the name of the king in the upper left corner outside the circle, folded the paper in half to reveal the blank part. "Now it's time for your destined partner. Are you ready?"
"What a load of rubbish..." Lin Yu said with a look of disgust, but her gaze was fixed on Qian Zan's waving arm. As she wrote and drew, she couldn't help but feel a secret longing.
The pen scratched across the paper, and Qian Zan suddenly clicked his tongue: "This one's even fiercer."
"How fierce?" Lin Yu's eyes widened, and his body involuntarily leaned forward.
“The primary hexagram is Kui, and the changing hexagram is Weiji.” Qian Zan pointed to the scribbles on the paper and said, “This indicates that you are prone to misunderstandings due to poor communication, and you may also be provoked by a third party.”
"The void position of the responding line indicates that the man's attitude is ambiguous and he does not take the initiative to explain, causing you to overthink."
"Pfft..." Zhang Yimeng interjected, "That means you two are on 2G and 5G respectively, with a signal jammer in between."
"What nonsense!" Lin Yu suddenly straightened up, and the bed creaked in protest.
"Promoting feudal superstitions in the dormitory is forbidden!" Zhang Yimeng hooked an earphone off his neck, leaned out from the lower bunk, and put his arm around Qian Zan's shoulder with a smile.
"This is traditional culture!" Qian Zan protected the tortoise shell like a precious treasure. "The Five Elements and Yin-Yang have scientific... uh, philosophical basis! The philosophy of the I Ching! Do you understand!"
"Alright, alright, this divination is making Lin Yu question his very existence." Seeing the tense atmosphere, Yao Fangfang grabbed Lin Yu's drooping arm. "Instead of worrying about this, why don't you come with me to get your driver's license? Four wheels are much more reliable than two legs."
So, during their late-night dormitory chat, Lin Yuzheng didn't get a chance to win a prize, but unexpectedly received a driving school receipt. Three days later, on the weekend, he inexplicably joined the ranks of those taking driving tests, along with Yao Fangfang. And at the driving school, he unexpectedly ran into Wang Wei, who was also there to learn to drive.
Under the sunlight, Wang Wei was struggling with the parking space marker, looking utterly defeated, his T-shirt soaked with sweat. He turned and saw Lin Yu, his hands slipping on the steering wheel, almost hitting the curb.
"Is this what you meant by four wheels being more reliable?" Lin Yu gritted his teeth and pinched Yao Fangfang's waist, the two of them hugging and laughing together.
A coach's angry roar came from afar: "Hey kid! Where are you looking? The car's going to hit the pole! Ouch!"
Lin Yu's memory of the throne was not clear; he only vaguely remembered that the king had a clean-cut appearance, always wore black-rimmed glasses on his nose, and had a smiling look in his eyes. He appeared refined and shy.
Yao Fangfang and Lin Yu were at different stages of their studies, but their paths coincided with the throne. As a result, their lives began to overlap frequently in the period leading up to the final exams.
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