Chapter 57  

"One, two, one, two........" The Taekwondo Club members wearing their uniforms were having a physical fitness training session on the field and the slender Jia Shao was particularly eye-catching in the crowd. Excitement was displayed on her face and she was bouncing around with her short hair fluttering in the wind.

Suddenly, she stopped and looked sharply around her. Her nose sniffed like a dog and her alert eyes roamed over every corner of the field.

Students were coming and going and everyone seemed to be in a hurry but there was no sign of the person she was looking for.

Perhaps, her sense is wrong?

"Junior Sister schoolmate, follow up!" The senior schoolmate in front called out to her. Jia Shao hurriedly quickened her steps to catch up but she still had a suspicious look on her face.

She can actually feel that person's presence but can it be she is oversensitive?

When her dashing figure had run far away, the boy leaning against the tree trunk under the cherry tree revealed a faint smile on his face before walking away.

"Zhen Lang!" The handsome figure wearing a white shirt tucked into his pants was neat and clean. He halted his steps and stood still, then turned around to look towards the voice that called out to him.

Behind him was a woman wearing a long skirt that was fluttering in the wind. Her black hair was loose like a waterfall and her tall figure was graceful and elegant.

His habitual gentle smile appeared and he held up his hand in greeting. "Hi!"

Taking small steps, the long skirt lifted up in beautiful waves in the wind faintly outlining her good figure but it was not excessively obscene. The girl's smile was reserved and sweet. "It's rare that schoolmates from the same high school can enter the same university. I'm here especially to meet fellow townsmen*."

(Townsmen, countrymen, etc., means people from the same place, eg., country, city, town or village.)

He nodded and began to walk slowly. "I know."

The girl's sparkling eyes flashed with shyness and looked up at the tall man beside her. "You know?"

"Um......" Zhen Lang responded. "The admission list posted at the campus gate has your name listed under my name."

The girl's gaze silently dimmed. "Oh......"

He noticed the disappointment in the girl's eyes and there was no other expression on her face. Gentle alienation is sometimes more terrifying than straightforward hard words.

"Zhen Lang, can I ask a favor from you?" Bai Wei followed up to keep in step with Zhen Lang. She bowed her head and looked very pitiful.

Raising his hand, he waved the book he was holding. "I'm sorry. The professor is still waiting for me. Let's talk another day."

The words that were about to spill from her mouth had to be held back and she nodded, watching the handsome figure slowly disappeared from her sight.

In the male dormitory, Zhen Lang's hands were clasped behind his head with his eyes closed as he enjoyed the warm spring breeze blowing through the window and he had a faint smile on his lips.

There was a light knock on his bed and he opened his eyes slightly into slits, at the same time lifting his eyebrows out of habit.

Lin Zi Chen was holding the edge of the upper bunk while he looked down at Zhen Lang on the lower bunk. He had a sunny, ambiguous smile on his face and narrowed his eyes at Zhen Lang. "I heard that you were together with the Beauty of the Chinese Department."

Zhen Lang responded by wrinkling his eyebrows and then lazily closed his eyes. It was his way of expressing he was not commenting to such an idiotic question.

Lin Zi Chen's smile was mysterious and infuriating. "You have a beauty as your girlfriend and you don't even tell your friends. Are you afraid we will snatch your girlfriend away?"

Zhen Lang shook his head in disdain. "We just exchanged a few sentences when we met on campus and it is not like the way you think."

"Is it?" Lin Zi Chen raised a finger in front of him and blew a whistle. "Do you think I am the type of person who listens to rumors? If I don't have the female protagonist's personal confirmation, do you think I will ask you?"

Finally, Zhen Lang opened his eyes wide and frowned. "Did she say that?"

"Your precautionary measure in guarding the secret is very well done." Lin Zi Chen dragged a chair over, threw a long leg over the chair and sat down to lean against the chair back. "If it was not Bai Wei who announced in public that you are her boyfriend, won't all of us be still in the dark?"

The person lying on the bed lifted his eyebrows and his eyes were completely awake. "In public?"

"Of course......" Lin Zi Chen was about to continue when suddenly, there was a knock on the door. A gentle figure was standing at the opened doorway. "Can I see Zhen Lang?"

Lin Zi Chen threw Zhen Lang a look which said 'Are you still pretending to be ignorant?' and jumped up from his chair. "I'm going out to eat something and I'll be back in 2 hours."

When he brushed past Bai Wei on his way out, he could clearly see a faint blush spreading on the girl's face that was lowered.

Zhen Lang stood up and his tall figure blocked off the sunlight outside the window. Instantly, the room became cold. He took a light sip from the cup of warm tea and the steam from the tea blurred the eyelashes of his downcast eyes. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking.

"I'm sorry." Bai Wei's hands were clasped in front of her and her voice was a bit shaky. "I didn't do it deliberately. Recently, a senior classmate has been pursuing me and it had caused me a lot of trouble. I don't know how to refuse him and coincidentally, today he saw us together. When he asked me whether you are my boyfriend, I had to admit to get rid of him."

"Um......." Zhen Lang's answer was just a sound and there was no change to his expression.

Bai Wei's nervousness gradually relaxed and she raised her eyes with a hopeful gaze. "If this matter offends you, I will clarify. Just that......."

She stopped speaking and gently looked at him. Involuntarily, she took a step forward.

Zhen Lang continued to drink his tea and remain quiet as if he had not heard her.

In the corridor, there were sounds of footsteps coming and going and in addition, the carefree shouts of male voices combined with a variety of voice tones in discussions could be heard outside the door. Occasionally, a few chuckles sounded and in the ears of sensitive people, it gave a feeling of uneasiness.

She had paced outside the boys' dormitory for a long time before she summoned enough courage to enter the building under a variety of questioning gazes. At this moment, receiving only Zhen Lang's silence gave rise to a feeling of unpleasantness in her heart.

"Are you not talking to me?" The long wait for him had made her heart feel more and more uneasy and the distorted voices outside the door sounded like an irony to her. "Can you at least tell me where you stand?"

Zhen Lang put down the cup of tea and put both his hands in his pants pockets. He leaned against the edge of the table and overlapped his legs. "Didn't you say you will clarify this matter? What else do you want me to say?"

Suddenly, shock filled her eyes and her mind blanked out as she stood in front of him. For a long time, she could not say a word.

Zhen Lang let out a light laugh. "Do you want to tell me that our meeting this afternoon was accidental? When I stood under the tree for a quarter of an hour, you also didn't make any move to leave. Did you really just want to say a simple hello to me? If you wanted to reject a pursuer, I believe a polite blunt refusal is more acceptable than a lie. If you just wanted to look for a shield, I think there are a lot of people around you who are very willing to offer themselves. What's more......" His clear eyes were piercingly straightforward, jabbing right into one's heart which made the woman in front of him lowered her head in silence. "With your usual elegance, if you really wanted to refuse the pursuer, you would have chosen the most appropriate way instead of admitting to having an ambiguous relationship with another man in public. If I am your boyfriend, naturally I will be ecstatic but you and I are very clear........we are not."

"That......" The bowed head suddenly lifted up and the beautiful long hair was pushed back. "Can you be my boyfriend?"

She took a deep breath and her body stiffened unnaturally. This sentence seemed to have drained all her courage.

When she first entered high school she had always been arrogant. For the first time, she found her position had lowered when the first results notice was released. She looked at the name that was listed before hers and those two words were engraved in her heart ever since.

She had changed from being unable to accept the fact he was better than her to admiration for him.........and from observing him in secret to adoration for him. She also did not know when she had made the decision to enter the same university as him but it was almost a year since they entered the same university and her dreams and hopes never came true.

She had spent months to devise such a comprehensive plan to test him and everything was lost when he had countered her with just a few questions. Disregarding the need for arrogance and restraint, she could not help but ask.

A smile slowly bloomed on his handsome face and it stretched out as if in slow-motion which made the other party's heart experienced countless somersaults in a short time.

When the charming smile had stretched to the most extreme point, the gentle, low-pitched male voice sounded faintly in the room. "No."

It was only a word. His indifferent and casual expression icily shattered everything into pieces.

Bai Wei was completely shocked. She could not imagine how he could still remain so elegant and gentle when he said such a ruthless word.

"You......" Struggling within herself, she could not finish her words because his eyes revealed coldness, alienation, and indifference. Even though the distance between them was so close, yet she still felt so far, far away.

"Go and do what is necessary to clarify this matter." Zhen Lang shook his head. "You are a good girl. Don't joke around with your reputation."

Bai Wei slowly retreated backward. She did not want to listen to his ruthless words anymore. She turned around and fled........a delicate back view which made people sigh.

Zhen Lang did not chase after her and only lightly withdrew his gaze. Lazily, he poured another cup of water and stood next to the window. From where he stood, he could clearly see the field in the distance and the members of the Taekwondo Club were still practicing diligently.

Sipping the water lightly, his smile was as warm as the water in the cup.

Bai Wei realized that Zhen Lang had not specifically said what she had to clarify on the matter. Instead, the rumor about the two of them as a couple spread in an incredible speed to every corner of the campus like a raging fire on the grassland.

The beauty of the Chinese Department and the handsome, low-key talent of the Medical School being together was not something that a lot of people expected but it was also found to be reasonable. Although this matter hurt the hearts of countless people, it was still a matter not to be picked on and questioned.

Bai Wei's heart once again was ignited with a small flame. The news that floated around her told her that Zhen Lang never said anything when he was questioned by people who wanted to know more. Instead, this situation gave others the feeling of silent admission.

Perhaps, that day, Zhen Lang was only angry with her for going public about the two of them and was not really rejecting her?

Or perhaps, since he was praised by so many people around him, he had now changed his original intention. After all, men's need for face is stronger than women's.

Or is there also a possibility that he is waiting for her to be more intimate with him and give her a chance just to test her?

When the seeds of hope are planted, there is always the eagerness to water it to encourage growth.

Bai Wei put down all the pride in her and on Zhen Lang's way to class, on the ground floor of the boys' dormitory, the school library and anywhere that Zhen Lang usually frequents, she would make an appearance.

"Bai Wei........" In the afternoon heat wave, the lively shouts of people drifted over. The person under the tree wore a white shirt without a trace of sweat. "Don't spend any more unnecessary effort on me. You should go back."

The girl bowed her head and mumbled. "Do you really don't like me? Not even a little?"

Zhen Lang laughed bitterly. "Bai Wei, I told very clearly the last time. I had always hoped you will clarify this matter."

Tears gleamed in her beautiful eyes and she was about to cry. "Is it because I am not good enough?"

His words were still as calm and it seems he did not hear the accusations in her voice. "You are very good......really."

"Then you......"

"In this world, there are a lot of good things and I can't have all of them. This kind of thing can't be forced, right?" The gentle voice seemed to be trying to pacify and convince the other party.

"I don't want us to break up!" She shouted reluctantly and all her usual elegance and reserved demeanor had disappeared.

"When were we ever together?" Zhen Lang shook his head and sighed. He started to walk towards the boys' dormitory. "I'm sorry. I don't think you should come here anymore in future."

"You have someone you like, is that right?"

Zhen Lang gave a slight nod without any intention to hide. "Yes."

"Then I will say that you have very heartlessly abandoned me after playing with me." There was a decisive expression on her beautiful face. "A few months had passed and everyone knows we are a couple, so I won't clarify anything. If you insist, then you will become a person who plays around with women and the girl you like will become the third wheel* who destroyed our relationship."

(Third wheel is a third party who gets entangled in a couple's relationship. This third person's involvement is harmful to a couple's relationship either causing a rift or a breakup.)

He halted his footsteps and without looking back, he said. "You can do as you please. My only advice to you is that a girl's reputation is very precious. Don't gamble with your reputation."

The conversation between the two people ended here and the tears rolled down the girl's face as she watched the handsome back view slipped away. Bai Wei watched as Zhen Lang walked into the distance and she bit her lip silently with a decisive expression on her face.

During the days of summer vacation, Jia Shao who had an inter-school competition coming up decided not to go home and stayed back on the campus for training. At the same time, Zhen Lang also gave up the chance to go home because of the so-called medical experiment report.

In the sweltering weather, Zhen Lang held up a cup and stood by the window. The Taekwondo team members who were training on the field were all sweating profusely and dragging their feet like dead dogs. But someone who was running in the forefront was full of energy. The hot sun did not dissipate her passion instead, it boosted her power.

"Faster!...... Let's run a few more laps!" In just a few months, she had become the center of the entire team and directed her seniors to continue. As she ran near the edge of a particular building, her gaze was automatically drawn towards the location of a certain room and subconsciously, an expression of disdain appeared on her face.

*Kuang!* The door of the room was pushed in hard from the outside by someone. Lin Zi Chen pulled out a can of beer from the plastic bag and threw it over to Zhen Lang. "Drinking warm water on such a hot day.........only you can stand it."

Zhen Lang smiled and pulled the ring on the can. Holding up the can, he took a sip while Lin Zi Chen, who was draped over a chair, also took a big mouthful.

"You are really something. Your girlfriend came running all the way under the scorching sun to help you wash your clothes and even if your heart ached for her, you should not have immediately chased her away." Lin Zi Chen shook his head and his attitude was extremely contemptuous of someone. "It has spread throughout the whole campus that you have found a virtuous girlfriend. So many people are envious of you."

The corners of his mouth curled up and the smile in Zhen Lang's eyes was still cold. "Is it?"

The days he did not go home, Bai Wei also did not go back. Instead, her visits became more frequent.

Shrugging his shoulders, Lin Zi Chen did not continue to talk about this matter instead he mysteriously moved closer to Zhen Lang. "Zhen Lang, do you know a girl by the name of Jia Shao? I heard the both of you were schoolmates from junior high school to high school."

The hand holding the can of beer instantly tightened but the expression on his face remained calm. "Why?"

"I want to pursue her." Those five words came from Lin Zi Chen and he was straightforward.

"Have the two of you been in contact?" He was somewhat surprised. No.......from his eyes, it was obvious that he was extremely surprised.

Lin Zi Chen casually nodded. "We've been in contact for quite a while. I think a girl like her is really rare. She doesn't rely on men nor uses a man's wealth as a yardstick. She strives for self-improvement and is independent. You know I don't like girls who are clingy. Will you help me?"

"You want my help?" He burst into laughter and very quickly he nodded his head. "How do you want me to help you?"

He nudged an elbow into Zhen Lang and winked. "Let's use the old way of inviting her out and then I will take care of the rest."

"It's her birthday next month." Zhen Lang seemed to drop a hint.

Lin Zi Chen's eyes suddenly brightened. "What birthday gift does she like?"

What does Girl like? She likes to swear at people. Does Lin Zi Chen dare to pursue her?

Zhen Lang poured a mouthful of beer into his mouth. "She has special complex feelings for cream cakes......very special......really very special."