Chapter 18 College Life
As September approaches, the afternoon sun filters through the glass windows, casting dappled shadows across the quiet cafe. Jiang Le clutches a cup of coffee, casually flipping through a financial magazine.
At that moment, a furry little bear bag landed on the table in front of her with a "pop". She looked up and saw Li Yan hurriedly pulling out a chair and sitting down, beads of sweat still hanging on his forehead.
"Phew, I almost died of heat on the way." She took a tissue and wiped it on her face randomly.
Jiang Le glanced at her and pushed a glass of iced juice over to her. "You asked me out, and you're so embarrassed to be late."
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Li Yan clasped her hands together and winked playfully. "There was a traffic jam on the road, so there was nothing I could do." She picked up the cup and took a big gulp. She shivered from the cold, then breathed a sigh of satisfaction. "I'm alive!"
The waiter brought out a few desserts in due time. Li Yan ate tiramisu in small bites while mumbling, "School is about to start, and it will be hard to see you once you go to X University."
Jiang Le was admitted to the top university in the country without a doubt, while Li Yan was admitted to a 985 university in the city.
Jiang Le gently stirred his coffee and suddenly asked, "What did she say to you that day?"
Li Yan paused with his fork in his hand and looked away uncomfortably. "What else can I say... Just explain that the breakup text message was sent by her mother and asked me to wait for her to return home."
"Well," Jiang Le seemed to have expected this, "so what do you think?"
The man who always wore a smile as warm as the sun now had a sad face, tinged with pain. "To be frank, I feel that ever since I've been with her, the choice is no longer in my hands. I like her, and I can wait for her. But for her, a little love is too insignificant in the face of her family background. Her parents are still so young. Five years, ten years, I'm willing to wait, but will she still have the strength?"
"I don't want anyone to suffer in silence because of this relationship. But I'm also afraid... She's been holding on for so long, and I'm the first one to turn around and leave..."
Li Yan is always like this. When he is emotionally excited, his speech becomes incoherent. The more he tries to express himself clearly, the more tangled he becomes.
But Jiang Le understood. She put down her coffee cup and looked Li Yan in the eye. "If your pain comes from the disparity in your family background, then from today on, that excuse no longer exists."
Li Yan was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Jiang Le, it's not just this, there's also Chen Ting..."
"Do you believe her?" Jiang Le interrupted her. "If it's someone I love, I will trust her unconditionally. Li Yan, what exactly do you like about Chen Ting?"
Li Yan was stunned and opened his mouth but no sound came out.
"Do you only like how good she is to you? Don't you like her abilities, her courage, and her feelings for you? If you like her, why can't you trust her wholeheartedly?" Jiang Le's questions came one after another, hitting the nail on the head.
She didn't understand what Li Yan was hesitating about. It seemed that he always put himself in a low position and was passive in everything, but in fact, in this relationship, Li Yan always held the dominant position.
"You think she's having a hard time, so why don't you be more determined, Li Yan? You've never been a coward." Jiang Le's gaze was like a torch, as if it could illuminate the deepest cowardice in her heart.
Li Yan clenched her fists, her gaze drifting. Chen Ting was still holding on in the front, but she had already retreated.
The next second, she suddenly grabbed her backpack, looking panicked: "I..."
Jiang Le waved his hand in understanding, "Go ahead."
In fact, Li Yan had asked her out this afternoon specifically because she didn't dare go to the airport to see Chen Ting off. She was afraid of getting hurt and ending up with nothing.
"You are much younger than her parents."
Watching Li Yan's hurried departure, Jiang Le chuckled softly, turned on his phone, and said to the person opposite: "I hope you can help her change her habit of being late. Otherwise, she almost missed your flight."
Amid the noisy background of the airport, the other party was silent for a few seconds before a stiff "Thank you" came out.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Le ordered another matcha cake in a good mood. She had just taken several sips of black coffee to match the mood, and the bitterness was so bitter that her tongue was numb. She urgently needed something sweet to reduce the bitterness.
While savoring the dessert, I lamented the ups and downs in my love life. It turns out that the sweetness and bitterness between people in life are never the same.
–
On the eve of reporting, Jiang Congyue refused to leave Jiang Le's room no matter what, and circled around her again and again.
"I bought an apartment near your school. If you don't get used to the dormitory, you can move in. The layout inside is exactly the same as here. If I weren't so busy recently, I would..."
Jiang Congyue, who had been walking around for a long time, suddenly stopped and turned her head to look at Jiang Le, who had been motionless for a long time. The latter was looking at her with a playful expression.
After a while, Jiang Le finally spoke slowly: "Jiang Congyue, have you forgotten where I came from?"
Jiang Congyue immediately lost her temper. She was so worried that she was confused. She ruffled Jiang Le's hair and said, "When I'm done with this, I'll go to Taipei to see you."
Jiang Le couldn't stand her clinginess anymore, so he smiled and pushed her out: "I know, I know. If you keep nagging, I'm really going to be unable to pack my luggage."
After the door was closed, Jiang Le squatted down and continued to pack his luggage.
Ever since Jiang Congyue gave her the longevity lock, she rarely had skirts in her wardrobe, and even if she did, they were styles with pockets. So Jiang Le's suitcase was filled with all kinds of T-shirts and trousers.
As she folded clothes, she muttered quietly, "Why doesn't anyone design more pockets for skirts? They look better in skirts..."
When the day of departure finally arrived, Jiang Congyue held Jiang Le's hand tightly at the airport, her tone full of reluctance: "Take good care of yourself when you are out there alone. Don't forget to eat like you did before when you started studying..."
If an uninformed passerby sees this scene, they would probably praise the deep love between the grandparents and grandchildren.
"..." Jiang Le was a little amused. It was only a two-hour flight, but she had made it into a life-and-death separation. "I'm just going to school. It's not like I won't be coming back."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Congyue's acting addiction became even stronger. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of his eyes: "If you don't have enough money, call me. Don't treat yourself badly. Don't worry, our family can still afford to support a college student..."
If Jiang Le hadn't just seen the sky-high inheritance a few days ago, he would have almost believed it.
After a long delay, Jiang Le finally boarded the plane. After taking her seat, she felt a wave of parting sadness as she stared out the window at the terminal, as if she could see through the thick glass to the people inside.
It was not until the plane took off and the huge airport shrank to the size of a sesame seed in her sight that she slowly leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
–
X University is truly one of the nation's top universities. The tree-lined campus is well-organized, with distinct teaching buildings and dormitories.
But the only downside is...
Jiang Le dragged the suitcase silently and walked for most of the day. He was sweating profusely as if he had just been pulled out of the water, but he didn't even see the shadow of the dormitory building.
The dormitory buildings were scattered in the four corners of the campus, and as luck would have it, the one she was assigned to was in the most remote corner.
Enduring the heat and the people who kept approaching her to chat with her, she finally found her destination.
Fortunately, the dormitory was on the first floor. She carried her luggage, got the key, and walked straight to the room.
Two people had already arrived at the four-person room, each packing their things and chatting idly. Jiang Le's arrival just happened to disrupt this delicate balance.
Both of them seemed relieved and began to introduce themselves.
One is called Milin and the other is called Wen Qiqi, both of them are a bit introverted.
Michelin, it's a very interesting combination.
Jiang Le nodded and gave her name, then stopped talking. Her presence made the other two even more at a loss for words.
Jiang Le seemed to feel no embarrassment and started to tidy up his desk.
The deadlock was not completely broken until the arrival of the last person.
A girl in a bright long skirt came skipping in, her face flushed with excitement, and distributed local specialties to everyone one by one.
Jiang Le pinched the beef jerky that looked very chewy and said softly, "Thank you."
With Guli as the host, the atmosphere in the dormitory immediately became lively. Everyone introduced themselves in detail. They came from all over the country and had different majors.
Jiang studied finance, Guli studied international economics and trade, while Milin and Wen Qiqi, one majored in computer science and the other in law.
Someone joked that the four of them could start a company together, and Guli seriously considered the feasibility of this proposal.
Jiang Le felt that the college life that everyone longed for was no different from his high school life. Going to and from get out of class, eating and going to the library, everything went on in an orderly manner.
Of course, Jiang Le, who has been the focus of attention since the beginning of the school year, has not had an easy life either.
In this campus full of top students, most people are more or less arrogant.
Therefore, when Jiang Le rejected someone's advances for the hundredth time, she was stopped by several people as soon as she came out of the library.
She frowned slightly as she carried her schoolbag. The other person looked hostile, but she didn't want to argue, so she took a step aside.
"Hey!" Someone slid forward and opened his arms to block her way. "Student Jiang Le, wait a moment."
Jiang Le opened his eyelids and said lightly: "Get out of the way."
The man turned around to look at the person behind him and said with a stiff upper lip: "Wait a minute, my brother has something to tell you."
Then, a man was pushed forward. He was tall, sunny, and handsome. He held a large bunch of flowers in his hands. His face flushed as he spoke hesitantly: "Jiang, I liked you the moment I saw you on the first day of school. I confessed my feelings to you at noon, which was really hasty. So I prepared a bouquet of flowers as a way to start over. Is that okay?"
"..." Autumn had recently arrived and she had forgotten to wear more clothes. After hearing what he said, she felt even colder.
"Sorry, I don't like you." Seeing that the other party had no ill intentions, Jiang Le politely declined and turned to leave.
"Why are you like this?" someone behind the boy shouted in dissatisfaction.
Jiang Le was a little surprised. This boy seemed to be a good person and his heart was quite sincere, but the people around him were not satisfactory.
But she did not expect that birds of a feather flock together.
The next day, the campus forum was abuzz with rumors that the goddess from University X was in love, along with a blurry photo. Under the dim light, the two people seemed to be very close.
Under the post, an account suspected to be the person involved replied: "Thank you for your blessings."
When Jiang Le was eating in the cafeteria, Guli pushed her cell phone in front of her, and the post was on the screen.
"What's going on?" Guli shook her phone. "Even our high-class beauty is finally feeling the spring breeze?"
Jiang Le's face darkened and he immediately denied it: "It's fake."
"Wow!" Guli perked up immediately. "I knew it! They don't tell the truth. I'm going to curse these idiots who spread rumors to death!"
Anxious, Guli blurted out a few words in the strange accent of her hometown.
Before Jiang Le could react, Milin and Wen Qiqi had already joined the fray indignantly. The three of them were swiping their fingers and blasting the post like crazy.
“…”
——
Jiang Congyue:7
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