Chapter 71
During the break, Di Zuo had asked Chi Aibei out several times. Chi Aibei either said he wasn’t in Nancheng or that he was busy. Knowing he couldn’t get the boy out, Di Zuo asked Meng Huaiqing to try. In the end, Meng Huaiqingâthat rebellious fellowâonly sent a single sentence: “Congratulations, see you at school,” completely severing all of Di Zuoâs hopes.
On the day of enrollment, most of the people were freshmen like Chi Aibei, dragging their luggage along, accompanied by various senior brothers and sisters leading the way.
As it was also Lin Xiuâs first time at B University, he wasn’t familiar with the place either. He said to Chi Aibei, “Wait here for a moment. Iâll go ask where the dormitories are.”
Chi Aibei took Lin Xiuâs suitcase and looked around, trying to find a certain someone in the crowd who had said he would come to pick him up. However, before he could find him, his phone chimed.
Di Zuo sent a voice message: “So sorry, baby. Something came up at home, so I can’t come to pick you up. Iâll treat you to dinner another day to make it up to you.”
Chi Aibei let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, something had come up at his house; otherwise, Chi Aibei didn’t want to be called “baby” by him in front of everyone.
A girl passed by Chi Aibei. “Are you a freshman? Do you need help?”
Chi Aibei looked up. “No, thank you…”
Before Chi Aibei could finish his sentence, the girlâs eyes lit up. “Itâs you?”
Chi Aibei looked at the unfamiliar girl. “You know me?”
The girl smiled and said, “I know your partner.”
Chi Aibei: “???” Since when do I have a partner?
Hearing such absurd words on the first day of school left Chi Aibei quite speechless. “You probably have the wrong person.”
The girl said with certainty, “I haven’t. I’ve seen your photo.”
The conversation was getting more and more ridiculous. Just as Chi Aibei was about to say he didn’t have a partner, someone called out to the girl from a distance.
“Coming!” the girl responded. She then said to Chi Aibei, “My name is Li Chun. Iâm a junior in the Student Union. Iâm a bit busy now, so Iâll treat you to dinner another day.”
Watching Li Chun run toward the person calling her, Chi Aibei was completely bewildered… What was going on? Why were so many people wanting to treat him to dinner?
Lin Xiu returned after asking for directions to find Chi Aibei staring at the distance with a frown. He waved a hand in front of his eyes. “What are you looking at?”
Chi Aibei pointed. “That senior sister. She said she knows my partner. Where would I get a partner from? I don’t even know. I told her she had the wrong person, but she insisted sheâd seen my photo.”
Lin Xiu glanced in the direction Chi Aibei was pointing. Li Chun was currently talking to several classmates. Perhaps noticing their gaze, Li Chun looked over and waved with a smile.
Even though it was their first meeting, she was very enthusiastic. Chi Aibei wasn’t quite used to it. He looked at Lin Xiu, only to see Lin Xiu nodding back at her.
Chi Aibei was stunned. “Gege, you know her?”
Lin Xiu withdrew his gaze. “The guest your parents invited during that New Year’s dinner.”
Lin Xiu had a fairly deep impression of this girl. Not just her, but the other two as well. It was mainly because that night, the reactions of those three girls after learning his partner was a boy were so outrageous that even their parents were left speechless.
Neither Lin Xiu nor Chi Wendong had mentioned that night’s events to Chi Aibei, but Chi Aibei could still tell that Lin Xiuâs attitude had been a bit unusual back then. So, he didn’t ask further.
Lin Xiu led Chi Aibei toward the dormitory. On the way, Chi Aibei was still wondering, “Then why would she say she knows me?”
Lin Xiu: “Probably misidentified you.”
Chi Aibei looked at Lin Xiu suspiciously, feeling like something wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Upon reaching the dormitory, just as Chi Aibei was about to knock, the door was opened from the inside. A tall boy walked out, nearly colliding with Chi Aibei.
Behind the boy, a very pretty boy tilted his head and greeted them, “Are you guys in this dorm? Come in, quickly.”
The boy had delicate features, wore a bit of light makeup, and had his wolf-cut hair dyed deep blue at the tips. A sparkling stud earring sat on his right ear.
The tall boy at the door looked back at him. “Iâm leaving now.”
Zhuang Yuan waved him off. After the tall boy left, Zhuang Yuan welcomed Chi Aibei and Lin Xiu inside, introducing himself, “Hello, everyone. My name is Zhuang Yuan. Iâm in the Computer Science department. Iâm from the Twelfth High School. Are you locals?”
Zhuang Yuan seemed like an easy person to get along with. Seeing him introduce himself so thoroughly, Chi Aibei reciprocated: “My name is Chi Aibei. This is Lin Xiu. Heâs in the Finance department, and Iâm in Law. Weâre from the Affiliated High School.”
Zhuang Yuan blinked his eyes, which were decorated with exquisite eyeliner, and said in surprise, “Lin Xiu? Chi Aibei? You two wouldn’t happen to be those legendary Science and Liberal Arts Top Scholars from the Affiliated High School, would you?”
The title “Top Scholar” sounded fresh at first, but hearing it too much was a bit embarrassing.
Chi Aibei looked back at Lin Xiu, only to see a boy holding a washbasin standing at the door. The boy wore black-rimmed glasses. He walked in and asked Lin Xiu, “Youâre the Top Scholars?”
Chi Aibei didn’t know the situation. Didn’t only four people live in one dorm? Why was there another one?
Chi Aibei: “You are…”
The boy placed the washbasin on the table and turned to them. “My name is Wu Yue, from the Seventh High School. I ranked sixth in the city during the Gaokao. I wasn’t in a good state that day; otherwise, I would have scored better.”
These words made the already awkward atmosphere even more uncomfortable. Chi Aibei wasn’t good at dealing with this type of person. “Um, are you also in this dorm?”
Wu Yue walked in with the basin, clearly here to clean. Chi Aibei looked at Zhuang Yuan. “Then the one who just left…”
Zhuang Yuan smiled and said, “That was my partner. Heâs not from our school.”
Chi Aibei was stunned. “Partâpartner? You already have a partner just after starting university?”
Zhuang Yuan was somewhat surprised that his focus was on “having a partner just after starting university” rather than “his partner is a man.” He gave a meaningful look at Lin Xiu, who had been standing behind Chi Aibei without speaking, and smiled. “We got together during the summer break. He came over to help me clean.”
Wu Yue frowned in disgust. He walked up to Zhuang Yuan, who was blocking his bed. “Move.”
Zhuang Yuan had a good personality. Even Chi Aibei could tell Wu Yueâs tone was bad, but he still moved out of the way with a smile. “By the way, my name is Zhuang Yuan, and you two are Top Scholars. Roughly speaking, there are three ‘Top Scholars’ in our dorm.”
Chi Aibei hadn’t noticed the homophone pun yet. Hearing him say that, he said in surprise, “Oh right, youâre also a Zhuangyuan.”
Lin Xiu glanced at Chi Aibei, who was hitting it off with people as soon as he arrived, and patted his head. “Are you sleeping on the top or bottom bunk?”
The top bunk wasn’t actually as convenient as the bottom, but Lin Xiu was taller than him, so it might be inconvenient for him to climb up. Chi Aibei said, “Iâll sleep on the top.”
Chi Aibei took his basin to fetch water. As soon as he left, Zhuang Yuan sat backward on his chair, looking at Lin Xiu who was making the top bunk bed. “Are you and Chi Aibei a couple?”
Lin Xiu looked at him, then at Wu Yue on the opposite bottom bunk, who had stiffened.
Zhuang Yuan rested his hands on the back of the chair and tilted his head, smiling at him. “Earlier, when you heard my partner was a man, neither of you had any reaction. I knew you two were like me.”
Lin Xiu felt this person was doing it on purpose. Someone who could hit it off with Chi Aibei in just a few sentences shouldn’t have such low emotional intelligence to say such things. He looked at Wu Yue, who had suddenly stopped making his bed halfway… He had thought earlier that this person had a good temperament, not getting angry even when looked down upon, but it turned out he was just waiting to be repulsed.
Zhuang Yuan added, “Just now, my partner was making my bed for me just like that.”
Wu Yue got off the bed, picked up his basin, and walked out. When he left, he slammed the door with a “bang.”
Zhuang Yuan looked at the door that had bounced open again and raised an eyebrow.
Lin Xiu: “He seems to look down on you.”
Zhuang Yuan laughed. “Doesn’t matter. Anyway, there are only four people in the dorm.”
Chi Aibei returned with the washbasin and said curiously, “Whatâs wrong with Wu Yue? I spoke to him, but he ignored me.”
Not only did he ignore him, but he also glared at him, leaving Chi Aibei completely baffled.
Zhuang Yuan stood up. “Don’t mind him. Hurry up and finish cleaning. We’ll go to the cafeteria together afterward. I heard the food at B Universityâs cafeteria is delicious.”
Lin Xiu didn’t want Chi Aibei to spend too much time with such a person, lest they invite trouble. “Go by yourself. We have things to do in a while.”
Zhuang Yuan knew he had offended someone and didn’t force the issue. “Alright then. We’ll go together another day.”
Watching Zhuang Yuan leave the dorm, Chi Aibei walked to the bed. “Gege, we don’t have anything to do later.”
Lin Xiu climbed down from the top bunk. “I don’t want to eat with someone I don’t know.”
If someone else had said this, Chi Aibei would have said a few words about them being unsociable, but when Lin Xiu said it, Chi Aibei felt there was no problem. “Then weâll eat by ourselves. Itâs a pity Jiang Yu and Lin Yang didn’t come to B University; otherwise, we could have asked them to eat together.”
In the end, the two didn’t manage to eat alone. Just as they finished cleaning and were about to head to the cafeteria, Chi Aibei received a call from Meng Huaiqing.
When Chi Aibei and Lin Xiu arrived at the cafeteria, Meng Huaiqing and Meng Ying had already arrived. Looking at Meng Huaiqing walking over with drinks, Chi Aibeiâs eyes widened.
Meng Huaiqing smiled. “Long time no see.”
Chi Aibei stared at Meng Huaiqingâs legs. “WheelâWheelchair Gege… Your legs…”
Meng Huaiqing used to always be sitting, so his true height wasn’t obvious. Now that he stood up, Chi Aibei suddenly felt he was magnificently tall.
He was very tall, probably over 190 cm.
Meng Huaiqing moved his legs. “You mean this? A medical miracle.”
Meng Ying laughed beside him. “Don’t trick the little fool. He wasn’t crippled; he just sprained his ankle and took the chance to seize my uncleâs wheelchair for himself. And look at thatâmy uncle beat him up and took the wheelchair back. Since he has nothing to sit on, he can only move those two lazy legs of his.”
Chi Aibei looked at Meng Huaiqing in disbelief. To sit in a wheelchair for so long just for a sprained ankleâis it really okay for the Meng familyâs successor to be this lazy?
Lin Xiu had never thought Meng Huaiqing was a cripple. Knowing his reason now, he felt more speechless than anything.
Chi Aibei: “No wonder.”
Meng Huaiqing: “No wonder what?”
Chi Aibei shook his head. “Nothing.” No wonder the novel didn’t say he was a crippleâbecause he never was.
Chi Aibei said, “Wheelchair Gege… oh no, Huaiqing-ge, itâs great that your legs are fine. Youâre cooler when youâre standing up.”
Meng Huaiqing laughed. “Then do I have to eat this meal standing up?”
Chi Aibei: “Better not. Your height is too oppressive.”
Several people chatted about everything from Chi Aibei and Lin Xiuâs scores to the military training in two days. Finally, the conversation somehow turned to Di Zuo, and Chi Aibei casually asked why Di Zuo hadn’t come.
Meng Ying said, “Because heâs fighting for the family inheritance.”
Unlike Meng Huaiqing, who was the hand-picked successor by the family patriarch, the Di family had several boys in Di Zuoâs generation. Di Zuo wasn’t the worst, but he wasn’t the best either. So, to inherit the Di family, he still had to fight for it.
Chi Aibei let out a distracted “Ah.” “You have to fight for an inheritance? How tragic.”
Similarly not involved in fighting for an inheritance, Meng Ying nodded. “It is quite tragic. Even Youyou, a girl, was called back to pick a side.”
Meng Huaiqing asked Chi Aibei, “What about you? You don’t have to fight?”
Chi Aibei popped a meatball into his mouth and shook his head without any desire. “I don’t have to. I have my brother. Heâll buy me whatever I want.”
In families like theirs, such trust might not even exist between biological brothers, let alone an adopted son. Yet, Meng Huaiqing could somehow understand Chi Aibeiâs sentence. If Chi Aibei were his younger brother, he would probably also offer whatever he wanted with both hands.
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