DXXZL - 41

At the end of September, it was raining. Outside H University’s gate, students holding umbrellas came and went as raindrops splashed into puddles on the ground. By the entrance to a computer parts shop, Jiang Tu leaned against the wall with a black backpack slung over his shoulder. He held a cigarette between his fingers, bringing it to his lips for a light drag. His gaze was distant and cold as he watched the rain curtain, waiting for it to stop.

Next to the computer parts shop was a fast-food restaurant. The girls passing by couldn’t help but glance at him a few times.

Jiang Tu’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and saw a text from Yuan Yang, the dorm leader. Yuan Yang wrote: “Jiang Tu, when you come back later, could you grab some food for us at the school gate? Anything will do. It’s hard to order takeout on rainy days. Is that okay?”

Jiang Tu replied with a simple: “Okay.”

He slipped his phone back into his pocket. A girl holding an umbrella approached him, her face flushed, and cautiously asked: “Excuse me, don’t you have an umbrella? We can walk together—I’ll take you to the dormitory building.”

Jiang Tu glanced at her, his voice indifferent: “No need, thank you.”

His tone and expression were so cold that the girl, who had mustered up the courage to approach him, bit her lip and walked away, visibly disappointed.

After a while, the rain eased up.

Jiang Tu entered the fast-food restaurant and bought three meals. He exited the shop and walked toward the dormitory. Pushing open the door, the three roommates sitting in front of their computers turned around. Yuan Yang smiled and stood up: “Oh, you’re back! Thanks!”

“No problem,” Jiang Tu said as he placed the food on the table.

Each meal box had a receipt attached. Yuan Yang handed him the money for their meals.

Jiang Tu accepted it and set it on the table. Then, grabbing a clean set of clothes, he headed into the bathroom to take a shower. Once he was inside, his roommate Du Yunfei lowered his voice and said to Yuan Yang: “So, when you said someone would bring food back, you meant Jiang Tu? We’ve been living together for almost a month now, and I still haven’t gotten used to sharing a dorm with someone so cold.”

Yuan Yang, the dorm leader and also the class monitor, broke apart his chopsticks and smiled: “Jiang Tu may seem cold, but he’s actually very easy to get along with. If you ask him for help, he’ll do it if he can.”

Du Yunfei sighed: “Even though he’s cold, there are still quite a lot of girls who like him. Look at our dorm’s phone calls—eight out of ten are for him.”

Unfortunately, Jiang Tu usually didn’t answer those calls.

And the more aloof he seemed, the more girls chased after him.

College was different from high school. There were no teachers chasing after students about early romances, nor parents telling them, “You shouldn’t date this early.” So, once people got to college, they often acted like wild horses freed from their reins, quickly jumping into relationships.

Jiang Tu gave off a cold and hard impression at first glance. He seemed difficult to approach, but he was handsome, with a quiet and aloof demeanor that attracted many girls. One day, when Lin Jiayu was organizing photos, her roommate’s eyes lit up upon seeing Jiang Tu. She pointed and asked excitedly: “Wow, who is this?”

The photo was taken on Jiang Tu’s 18th birthday at a barbecue restaurant. It happened to be a picture of Lin Jiayu and him together. In the photo, Jiang Tu wore a black jacket, his expression indifferent as he stared at the camera. He looked good in pictures, but even better in person.

Before the college entrance exam, Lin Jiayu had said she wanted to attend Beijing Normal University, but then suddenly decided against going to Beijing. In the end, she went to Guangdong. Two days before school started, Lin Jiayu had called Jiang Tu, but since then, they hadn’t spoken for over half a month—it was Jiang Tu who had unilaterally cut off contact. She sighed and said: “I grew up with him.”

Her roommate immediately asked: “Wow, your boyfriend?”

Lin Jiayu quickly shook her head: “No, no! He doesn’t like me, and I don’t like him…”

“Not even someone this handsome?”

Lin Jiayu smiled: “He already has someone he likes.”

Her roommate asked: “Is she pretty?”

Lin Jiayu replied: “Prettier than the prettiest girl in our school.”

Her roommate pressed further: “Ah, so are they dating?”

Lin Jiayu said: “No…”

Zhu Xingyao didn’t even know that Jiang Tu liked her.

On a night in Berlin, Germany, Zhu Xingyao opened her laptop in her room and logged into QQ. Not long after the start of the semester, the group chat of her high school classmates was lively. Everyone shared fun stories about their universities, talked about which clubs they joined, and complained about how bad the cafeteria food was at their schools. Communication among them was still warm and frequent.

Occasionally, someone in Class 3-1’s group chat would mention Jiang Tu. Someone said: “Even though he didn’t go to Tsinghua, H University isn’t bad either. It’s just a pity.”

Zhu Xingyao opened the chat box with Jiang Tu.

Star in the Distant Sky: “Brother Tu, are you doing well at your new school?”

Jiang Tu: “Fine.”

Star in the Distant Sky: “Brother Tu, is the food at your school good?”

Jiang Tu: “Good.”

Their conversations were always like this—simple and brief. Due to the time difference, his replies were often delayed, and when they did come, they were only one or two words. It left her feeling frustrated, hurt, and helpless.

QQ blinked, signaling a message from Ding Xiang.

Ding Xiang: “Goddess, did Brother Tu give you his number?”

Ding Xiang: “I asked him for his number, but he didn’t reply.”

Zhu Xingyao looked at the chat window. She had sent him a message a few days ago.

Star in the Distant Sky: “Brother Tu, you still haven’t given me your phone number.”

It had been almost two weeks, and he still hadn’t replied. Zhu Xingyao figured he probably wasn’t going to tell her. Her lips pressed into a frown as her eyes stung with frustration. She typed back to Ding Xiang: “No, he hasn’t told me either.”

Zhu Xingyao was already 18 years old. In her short life, she had always had things go smoothly—she’d hardly experienced hardship, nor had she ever felt neglected or deeply hurt. The one time she did feel pain, it was because of Jiang Tu. The only person who had ever coldly ignored her was Jiang Tu, and the one who made her feel wronged was also Jiang Tu.

…

On the evening of October 1st, just as Zhu Xingyao finished her class, she received an unexpected surprise.

Lu Ji, Xu Xiangyang, Li Xixi, and three other classmates had come to Germany for a trip and were now waiting at her school gate. Overwhelmed with joy, Zhu Xingyao nearly ran out to meet them. There was nothing more heartwarming than seeing close friends in a foreign land.

Wearing a sweater and carrying her cello on her back, Zhu Xingyao rushed to the school gate. As soon as she arrived, Li Xixi leaped forward. The two girls embraced, laughing and jumping with excitement. Zhu Xingyao asked happily: “What are you guys doing here? You didn’t even tell me!”

“Haha, we wanted to surprise you!” Li Xixi said cheerfully. “During military training, they discussed where to go for the National Day holiday. Lu Ji suggested Berlin, and since the break is eight days long, we all decided to come together.”

Zhu Xingyao smiled and looked over at Lu Ji and the others. She asked: “Where are you staying?”

Lu Ji, wearing a black baseball jacket with his hands stuffed in his sweatpants pockets, walked up to her and looked down with a smile. “At a hotel—it’s already arranged.” He glanced at her cello. “Where do you live?”

“Near the school,” Zhu Xingyao replied. She looked at him and then turned to ask Li Xixi: “Do you want to check out where I live?”

“Of course!” Li Xixi exclaimed.

Zhu Yunping and Ding Yu had rented a spacious apartment for Zhu Xingyao, worried that living alone might not be safe. They also found her a reliable female roommate, also Chinese, who studied piano. Her name was Jiang Mi, and she had come to Germany a year earlier. Zhu Xingyao called her “Senior Sister.”

The sound of the cello and piano together created heavenly music, and the two often practiced together, forming a close bond.

When Jiang Mi saw Zhu Xingyao return with a large group of people, she was astonished. Zhu Xingyao explained with a smile: “These are my high school classmates, and those three are their college classmates. They’ve come to Berlin to visit and also travel around.”

Lu Ji corrected her: “You got the order wrong—it’s to see you first, and traveling is secondary.”

Zhu Xingyao froze, while Li Xixi burst into laughter. Jiang Mi winked teasingly at her. Zhu Xingyao bit her lip, lowered her head, and quickly changed the subject: “Come in, everyone!” After setting her cello aside, she turned to ask: “What do you guys want to eat?”

Li Xixi had already started exploring the apartment as soon as she entered. Zhu Xingyao and Jiang Mi had decorated it beautifully. Li Xixi jumped in front and said: “Let’s cook something ourselves! How about hot pot?” She pointed to the wide white rectangular dining table. “The atmosphere here is perfect.”

So, the group went to the supermarket to buy ingredients and hot pot base, then returned to prepare the meal.

As the three girls washed the vegetables, Jiang Mi leaned over to Zhu Xingyao and whispered: “Tell me, is Lu Ji pursuing you?”

Zhu Xingyao hesitated, unsure how to explain what happened in high school when she and Lu Ji were caught dating early and were harshly reprimanded by Principal Liu, who then kept a close eye on them. Before she could respond, Li Xixi interjected: “What do you mean ‘pursuing’? They’ve been a couple since senior year of high school!”

Zhu Xingyao froze and quickly said: “No… that’s not true…”

Jiang Mi’s eyes widened in confusion. “So, are you together or not?”

Li Xixi also paused, turning to look at Zhu Xingyao. “Did you and Lu Ji break up? When?”

“Who said we broke up?”

Lu Ji, who had been standing unnoticed by the door, spoke up. His gaze fixed on Zhu Xingyao as he said softly: “Zhu Xingyao, we never said we were breaking up.”

Zhu Xingyao’s expression clouded with confusion. She had always assumed that after being scolded by Principal Liu and being separated from Lu Ji, that marked the end of their relationship. But now, reflecting on it, she remembered writing him a letter agreeing to be his girlfriend—and they had indeed never formally said the words “break up.”

During the hot pot dinner, Jiang Mi eagerly asked Zhu Xingyao how she and Lu Ji got together. Li Xixi enthusiastically shared the story: “You don’t know—Lu Ji made an entire starlight installation to confess to Stars! It shocked the whole school.”

Jiang Mi’s eyes sparkled. “Wow! What did it look like?”

Lu Ji paused mid-bite, his lips tightening. Listening to Li Xixi exaggerate the story, he suddenly found the hot pot tasteless.

Lu Ji and the others stayed in Germany for five days and returned home on October 6th. After seeing them off, Zhu Xingyao returned to the apartment and sat on the couch hugging a pillow, feeling a little sad.

Jiang Mi, who had been playing the piano, stopped and came over to ask: “Are you feeling upset about saying goodbye to your boyfriend?”

Zhu Xingyao paused, then shook her head lightly. Earlier at the airport, Lu Ji had hugged her and kissed her forehead. Last August, she had agreed to be his girlfriend, but during the past year, they hadn’t had much interaction. Now, suddenly, it felt like she had a boyfriend again.

No—that wasn’t quite right. This boyfriend had always existed; it was she who had agreed to it.

But why did she feel so confused and empty?

…

During the National Day holiday, Jiang Tu spent his days and nights working. Aside from attending classes, he had no time for leisure.

One night in mid-October, Jiang Tu finally opened QQ and saw a message from Ding Xiang.

Ding Xiang: “Brother Tu, we don’t know how you’re doing lately. No one has heard from you. The goddess said you didn’t even give her your phone number. She seemed pretty upset. Can you try to stay in touch with everyone once in a while?”

Jiang Tu opened the chat box with Zhu Xingyao, stared at it silently for a moment, and then replied to Ding Xiang: “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

Ding Xiang was online and quickly responded upon seeing Jiang Tu’s reply: “Brother Tu! Finally caught you online! What have you been up to during the holiday? We haven’t seen you on QQ. Oh, by the way, did you know that Li Xixi and Lu Ji went to Germany to visit the goddess during the holiday?”

Just like in high school, Ding Xiang talked a lot, especially when it came to topics involving Zhu Xingyao.

Jiang Tu lowered his eyes and replied: “Is that so?”

Ding Xiang: “Yeah! Li Xixi even posted photos in her album.”

Li Xixi had created a photo album titled “Germany Trip,” filled with hundreds of pictures. Jiang Tu scrolled through them one by one. When he saw a photo of Lu Ji’s hand resting on Zhu Xingyao’s shoulder, a sharp pain pierced his heart, and even his breathing felt suffocating. Staring silently at the photo, Jiang Tu had to admit—they truly made a perfect match. From appearances to family backgrounds, Lu Ji was excellent, and no matter how much Jiang Tu tried to deny it, the truth remained: Lu Ji was far more suited for Zhu Xingyao than he ever could be.

Lu Ji had liked Zhu Xingyao for three years, starting from their first year of high school. He had the time, the money, the freedom—nothing held him back. Whenever he wanted to see Zhu Xingyao, he could simply go.

Back in high school, when they had started dating early, Jiang Tu had taken the cowardly route and reported them, leading to their separation.

But now? What did he have to stop them? What right did he have to intervene?

He could barely keep up with his own life. He owed Uncle Lin money, needed to earn his tuition and living expenses, and had a broken, run-down home to deal with.

Jiang Tu closed the webpage and exited Zhu Xingyao’s chat window.