LRTH - 17

It was her first time getting drunk, and she had done what she considered the boldest thing in her life.

Even if it was only in a dream.

When she woke up the next day, she could vaguely hear birds chirping outside. Sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains, leaving a column of light on the bedspread.

Fang Nanzhi sat up in bed. Her temples were throbbing, and she felt a bit dizzy.

It slowly dawned on her that she was not in her own room. She had been passed out from drinking the liquor Xu Yuanhao had secretly brought out last night.

A sense of panic set in. She had never done anything so rebellious before, and her family would definitely be unhappy if they found out.

Fang Nanzhi quickly took out her phone, wanting to send a message to Xu Tingyou, asking her to tell Xu Yuanhao not to let it slip when they got home...

But as she was typing, some fragmented images suddenly came to her mind.

“I like you.”

“I really, really like you.”

Her fingertips froze instantly. She looked up in a panic, trying to figure out if the images in her mind were real.

They were a mess, completely disjointed, as if they were just a dream.

Right, it must have been a dream...

After all, in a real situation, she wouldn’t have the courage to confess to Li Yizhou.

Fang Nanzhi felt a little relieved, but not completely. She was a little afraid of that “what if.” What if she had been so drunk that she couldn’t tell the difference between a dream and reality?

When she came out of the room and went downstairs, she was still very nervous.

Most people had gotten completely drunk last night. The living room was empty and silent.

Fang Nanzhi stood in the living room, rubbing her temples.

“You’re awake.” Suddenly, someone came out from the kitchen. He was holding a glass of milk, and his hair was a bit messy. He also looked like he had just woken up.

Fang Nanzhi froze in place.

Li Yizhou took a sip of milk, his voice a little hoarse. “There’s food in the kitchen. Go eat something when you’re awake.”

His expression was normal, and there was nothing unusual about the way he spoke to her.

So yesterday must have been a dream.

Fang Nanzhi nodded. “Okay.”

After walking a few steps, she turned back, as if to confirm things one last time, and asked, “I was drunk last night, right?”

Li Yizhou said, “You were. You three are something else. Didn’t I say no drinking for minors? Why did you drink anyway?”

Fang Nanzhi was a little embarrassed. Of course, she couldn’t tell him that it was because she was in a bad mood last night...

“I’m sorry.”

Li Yizhou frowned. “You don’t need to apologize to me. Just don’t do it again.”

“Oh...”

“Go eat.”

“Wait a minute.” Fang Nanzhi swallowed hard and asked, “When I was drunk, did you take me back to my room? I... don’t remember.”

“Yes.”

Fang Nanzhi’s heart leaped again. She cautiously asked, “Thank you. Did I... was I badly behaved when I was drunk? Did I say anything strange?”

Li Yizhou paused slightly, and a fleeting memory came to him of her leaning softly against him, her hand gripping his shirt.

He looked away. “No.”

“That’s good...”

“Ahhhhh, my head hurts so much! My stomach, too!” At that moment, there was the sound of flip-flops clattering on the stairs. Zhao Ke was awake.

Both of them looked over.

“Help! Don’t you guys feel bad?”

Li Yizhou said, “Who told you to drink so much and mix your drinks yesterday?”

“Damn...”

“There’s medicine on the table. I bought it yesterday. If your stomach hurts, take some.”

Zhao Ke hugged Li Yizhou, his voice filled with affection. “Brother Zhou, you’re the best to me.”

“Get lost.”

“When did you go out to buy it yesterday? I didn’t see you.”

“After I took the three minors back to their rooms.”

Zhao Ke looked at Fang Nanzhi. “Junior, it was wrong for you guys to sneak a drink yesterday. You’re too young to be doing this.”

Fang Nanzhi’s face instantly turned red, and she was at a loss for words.

Li Yizhou glanced at her and said to Zhao Ke, “Mind your own business. You have no right to talk.”

________________________________________

When Fang Nanzhi was having breakfast in the dining room, everyone else gradually woke up.

Song Chuxuan brought a bowl of porridge from the kitchen and sat down across from her, eating in small bites. Soon after, Xu Tingyou and Xu Yuanhe also came to have breakfast.

Xu Yuanhe didn’t like porridge, so he poured a glass of milk and toasted a slice of bread. The glass was a little full, and when he put it down, he accidentally shook it, spilling a little.

“Give me a tissue,” he reached out his hand.

The dining table was rectangular, and the tissue box was at the far end from him.

Fang Nanzhi realized the tissue box was very close to her, so she took out two tissues and handed them to him.

Xu Yuanhe paused when he saw her handing them to him, then took them.

Song Chuxuan looked at the two of them, her eyes unreadable, then lowered her head to eat her porridge.

The short interruption didn’t draw anyone’s attention. After breakfast, everyone went for a walk in the nearby park and then had lunch at the villa before heading home.

The graduates were in a relaxed state, but for the first-year students, there was still a long way to go.

The final exams were just a few weeks away. Although Fang Nanzhi had a lot of regrets and feelings of loneliness, she had to seize the time to study.

A few days before the first-year final exams, the college entrance exam scores were released.

Fang Nanzhi learned from Xu Tingyou that Xu Yuanhe had gotten a very good score and could go to the finance department at Minghai City University of Finance and Economics. Finance was the best major at that key university. Huang Yurou was so happy about it that she was already planning a celebration banquet for him.

Zhao Ke didn’t do well, but it was expected. It was said that his family was already preparing to send him abroad for “further studies.”

And Song Chuxuan, she also got into her dream university, the Foreign Language Institute in Minghai City.

Fang Nanzhi had checked. The Foreign Language Institute was very close to Minghai University, where Li Yizhou was going, just one street away.

On the day of Xu Yuanhe’s celebration banquet, Fang Nanzhi and her family were also invited. The banquet was held at a hotel, and many people came.

Huang Yurou had Xu Yuanhe stand at the entrance to greet guests. When Fang Nanzhi arrived, she saw his cold expression and knew how reluctant he was.

“Liaoliao, you’re here.”

Zhao Liyun said, “Congratulations, congratulations. Yuanhe is amazing.”

Huang Yurou: “Oh, Liaoliao’s grades are very good, too. She’ll definitely do better than him later.”

“That’s not true...”

The two families exchanged pleasantries. Fang Nanzhi secretly glanced inside. There were too many people, and she couldn’t find the person she wanted to see.

She looked away and handed the bag in her hand to Xu Yuanhe. “This is for you. Congratulations on getting into your dream university.”

Zhao Liyun had taken her to pick out the gift. It was a men’s bracelet from a luxury brand, a fashionable sports style that was very suitable for a college student.

Xu Yuanhe lowered his eyes, looked at it, and took it. “Thanks.”

Fang Nanzhi smiled. “You’re welcome. By the way, has Tingyou arrived?”

“Yes.” Xu Yuanhe gestured to the right side of the room. “Over there.”

“Okay, then I’m going to find her.”

“Oh.”

Fang Nanzhi went to sit with Xu Tingyou. Not long after, Huang Yurou went on stage to greet everyone and announced that all the guests had arrived.

Given the relationship between Xu Yuanhe’s family and Li Yizhou’s, the latter should also have come, but Fang Nanzhi didn’t see him.

“Why isn’t everyone here?” In the middle of the meal, Fang Nanzhi asked casually.

Xu Tingyou: “Huh?”

Fang Nanzhi: “I saw Zhao Ke and the others. Where’s Li Yizhou?”

“Oh, Brother Yizhou? He went to a neighboring city a couple of days ago. It seems his family has a project there, and he’s going to observe this summer.”

“Oh, I see...”

“He probably won’t be back until school starts,” Xu Tingyou said. “Graduation is so great. You can do whatever you want in the summer. If I finish my college entrance exam, I’m definitely going to go play for a while...”

Xu Tingyou was lost in her own fantasy of a happy post-graduation life, but Fang Nanzhi was a little distracted.

Because this meant that she wouldn’t see him for a very long time...

Forget it. What would it matter if she saw him now?

He and Song Chuxuan were a match made in heaven. Why was she overthinking things?

Later, Fang Nanzhi didn’t stay in Hangzhou for the rest of the summer.

Not long after her final exam results were released, she went back to her hometown with her parents to live with her grandparents.

Her grandparents were shocked by her return because Fang Nanzhi had lost so much weight since they last saw her. Her grandmother even wondered if she had been mistreated in Hangzhou.

After a lot of talking, her grandmother finally believed that she had lost weight in a healthy way.

Of course, she absolutely couldn’t tell her family about the time she had gone on a diet to get through her plateau.

After her parents rested for two weeks in their hometown, they had to go back to Hangzhou. Before they left, Zhao Liyun got her a membership card for the gym closest to their home and hired a personal trainer for her.

Zhao Liyun was worried that Fang Nanzhi’s weight loss methods weren’t healthy, so she simply arranged for a professional to accompany her.

Fang Nanzhi also enjoyed working out with the trainer sister because the trainer arranged a very reasonable plan for her. It was much more effective than her own mindless exercises. The trainer could also help her get through her plateaus in a very healthy way.

And, most importantly, she could briefly forget about a certain person in the exhaustion of her workout.

“Liaoliao, has anyone ever told you that you look really good without your glasses?” The trainer sister said with a smile one day at the gym after she had just gotten out of the pool.

Fang Nanzhi held her swimming goggles in her hand and went to her chair to put on her glasses. “Huh? No...”

“Then I’m telling you now. Your eyes are very beautiful, really. Wearing those thick black frames is a waste. I suggest you get a pair of gold-rimmed ones or just wear contacts.”

Fang Nanzhi was very nearsighted and couldn’t see clearly without her glasses. “Contacts... I’ve never tried them. They seem a little scary.”

“They’re not scary at all. I wear them sometimes, too, if there’s an important event where I can’t wear my glasses.”

“I see...” Fang Nanzhi smiled. “I can try.”

“Oh, and you should change your hairstyle, too. Have you always had such a long fringe? Don’t have a fringe. Your forehead is very nice. It would look better if you showed it.” The trainer sister shook her head and sighed. “You’re such a beautiful girl, but you’re hiding yourself completely.”

Fang Nanzhi had been working out with the trainer sister for over a month. Although there was an age difference, they had become very good friends.

The trainer was a very stylish girl. She was happy to see her “student” had changed so much after working out with her, and she wanted to make the girl even better.

Of course, she could definitely be better because the trainer found that the girl had a great foundation.

She had height, a pretty face, and surprisingly fair skin. She was simply buried under her baggy clothes and an unstylish look.

“I’m not that pretty...” Fang Nanzhi murmured.

The trainer’s eyes widened slightly. “Are you misunderstanding yourself?”

Fang Nanzhi was a little embarrassed.

The trainer said, “Hey, after we’re done here, let’s go get a new hairstyle. I go to a place that does a great job. Also, if you want to buy contacts, I’ll go with you to choose some.”

Fang Nanzhi had a great two months. She was very proud to see the changes in her body.

After the summer break, she said goodbye to the trainer sister and returned to Hangzhou.

With the start of school approaching, Fang Nanzhi said one evening while tidying her school uniform, “Mom, I want to buy a new school uniform. Can I?”

Junhua Experimental School issued two to three sets of uniforms for each season. For summer, there were three sets: two pairs of pants and one skirt for girls.

The three sets in her closet were the ones she had bought at the beginning of her first year of high school, and they were all too big for her now.

Zhao Liyun: “Of course. I already thought of that and re-ordered them for you.”

School uniforms could be ordered from the school’s official website. They were not cheap. Fang Nanzhi took her phone and looked at the order. The size was now suitable for her, but...

“Mom, I never wear the skirt, so you don’t have to buy that one.”

“Why not wear it? My daughter is so pretty, why wouldn’t you wear a skirt? Wear it! Liaoliao, be confident. You don’t have to be afraid to wear a skirt now.”

________________________________________

On the first day of school in September, all the students returned to school.

The former first-year students were now second-year students, and they had moved to a different teaching building.

Zhang Lanlan arrived at school fifteen minutes early today. At the school gate, she ran into Qian Feng and some other classmates. After not seeing each other for a whole summer, the first thing they talked about was homework. As they were talking, someone suddenly tugged on her shirt.

“Hey, is that a new first-year student? She’s so pretty.” As soon as he said that, everyone’s eyes followed his gaze.

A girl with a backpack was walking toward the teaching building. She was wearing their school’s summer skirt uniform.

A shirt, a plaid skirt, and two long, straight, and fair legs were visible below the skirt. They were not skinny legs but had a perfect amount of muscle, which completely attracted people’s attention.

She had her hair in a simple ponytail with a short, messy French fringe that showed off her well-shaped eyebrows and full forehead.

She wasn’t wearing makeup, but her skin was so soft and fair that it was almost glowing in the sunlight. Her eyes were bright and lively, but her overall demeanor was not cute. Her aura was very unique, like a cool beauty.

They had a lot of beautiful girls at their school. There was Song Chuxuan, who had already graduated, and Xu Tingyou, who was in their class.

One was sweet, and the other was cool, but they were both very pretty.

However, the girl in front of them was obviously more eye-catching because she was so fair that she was practically glowing in the sun.

“I’ve never seen her before. She must be a new first-year student. I wonder what class she’s in,” Qian Feng said, his eyes glued to her.

Zhang Lanlan inexplicably felt that she looked familiar, but she didn’t know why. She looked away, her voice filled with both envy and displeasure. “It has nothing to do with you what class she’s in. You’re so annoying.”

Qian Feng gave an awkward smile and stopped talking.

Another classmate next to him said, “We’ll know what class she’s in if we just watch which classroom she goes to.”

Zhang Lanlan: “Why? Are you guys going to follow her to the classroom?”

“Oh, we’re just looking.”

A girl said, “We don’t have to follow her. We’ll find out soon enough. She’s a beauty; you can’t hide that.”

“True, true.”

Even though they said that, their eyes never left the girl.

As they watched, they suddenly realized that the girl was not walking toward the first-year teaching building but... toward the second-year building.

“Huh? Is she going the wrong way?”

“She’s not a first-year student?”

“Ah, could she be a new second-year transfer student?”

“What class is she in?!”

The quiet chatter didn’t stop until the girl went upstairs and walked naturally into their classroom.

Second-year (4) class.