Part 2
“We aren’t meeting by chance,” Tang Xingye said with a tone of understanding.
Zhou Lin nodded, placing a handbag on the table. “Saw you playing with snow, didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Troubling your lordship to personally deliver the test report?” Tang Xingyeâs tone held a hint of teasing.
“Can’t it just be that I wanted to see you?” Zhou Lin asked back, his gaze falling calmly on Tang Xingyeâs face.
Tang Xingye chuckled as if hearing something novel. “That doesn’t sound like something you would say.”
Very illogical? Perhaps. Zhou Lin knew clearly that he had long done many things beyond his established creed and rules. Like silently clearing obstacles on the chessboard of family inheritance to ensure the older generation would have only one undisputed heir; like knowing Tang Xingye wasn’t an Omega and that those old fossils would jump in anger, yet still…
All of this, perhaps just to exchange for a chance. A chance to approach following his heart without worries.
Zhou Linâs eyes flickered.
He said, “Didn’t you teach me this? Whom I want to see is my freedom.”
Tang Xingye shrugged. “Thought you died outside; haven’t seen you for half the semester.”
“Something like that,” Zhou Lin replied lightly, as if talking about something unrelated to himself. “But isn’t this exactly what you wanted?”
Tang Xingye choked. He had indeed thought about provoking roommate relations to make them retaliate against Zhou Lin, like making Zhou Lin lose some money. He had put aside the matter of Lin Moâs sudden car accident.
Zhou Lin watched his subtle expression changes, understanding clearly in his heart. But his face remained calm as if he didn’t care about Tang Xingyeâs attempt to retaliate against him.
What meaning is there in telling Tang Xingye about those games? Proving he is pitiful and needs sympathy? Or proving in a disguised way that other rivals paid a lot? Zhou Lin wasn’t bored enough to add bricks and tiles to his rivals’ credit.
“The report is here, take a look. Didn’t tamper with it.” Zhou Lin felt it was a pity. Rivals didn’t dig their own graves. If they had really installed trackers and monitors, he could have kicked them all out of the game.
Tang Xingye took the document and flipped through it. With Lin Moâs precedent, Tang Xingye couldn’t help suspecting other gifts were tampered with too. He didn’t expect this result.
Zhou Lin suddenly spoke up, handing a clearly printed list to him. “Everything will be delivered this afternoon.”
Tang Xingye took it in surprise and scanned it. Listed were all kinds of scarce raw materials needed for his next high-difficulty experiment, so expensive he usually didn’t even dare type them into the search bar.
He looked up, eyeing Zhou Lin suspiciously. “Were you possessed by the Boy of Wealth today? or did you finally find a conscience to compensate me?”
Zhou Lin didn’t answer directly but took out an exquisitely packaged square box from behind. Opening it, inside was a cream cake about four inches in size, simple in design but embellished with fresh strawberries.
“Happy Birthday,” Zhou Lin smiled.
“I don’t celebrate birthdays.” Tang Xingye froze for a moment, then blinked.
“Why?” Zhou Lin asked. Based on his understanding of Tang Xingyeâs past, this day should have been one where he was surrounded by crowds, receiving countless gifts.
“What is there to celebrate about this festival? Someone always has to celebrate your birth…” Tang Xingye paused and didn’t continue. He pursed his lips, keeping his snow-white face taut.
Zhou Lin looked at him silently, immediately understanding the unspoken second half of the sentence.
Tang Xingye tried to save face and started calculating seriously. “Celebrating birthdays costs a lot of money. You have to treat guests to dinner, give return gifts, and cakes are damn expensive.”
He tried to correct Zhou Linâs wrong values. “With this spare money, better to visit the flea market more. You can find a sack of out-of-print books and even haggle with the boss. That is true happiness.”
He spoke plausibly, as if not celebrating birthdays was a great financial plan worthy of Buffettâs applause.
Zhou Lin: “…”
Tang Xingyeâs mouth could argue white into black.
Zhou Lin looked at his expression of “whoever celebrates birthdays is a fool” and remained silent for two seconds. “You’re right.”
“So you want me to,” he paused, speaking considerately, “return the lab materials?”
Tang Xingye: “…”
He couldn’t hold it. Zhou Lin, this blockhead. Was this a birthday gift? This was a contribution to scientific experiments!
He grabbed Zhou Linâs wrist as he tried to return the goods. “I mean, celebrating birthdays is a meaningless consumerist trap.”
“These materials, their value lies in promoting scientific progress, in their inherent usage attributes. Their existence has nothing to do with the label of a birthday.” Tang Xingye stared at the materials on the list. “You purchasing them is based on an objective assessment of the research project, not subjective emotional consumption for a certain day.”
Zhou Linâs gaze moved slowly from the hand holding his wrist to the face trying hard to maintain composure but actually written with “Give it to me quickly, no returning allowed!”, feeling the kitten’s urgency. The arc of his lips grew wider.
He fully considered Tang Xingyeâs face and put away his phone. “Understood. Research supplies, necessary expenditure.”
Tang Xingye secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quietly moving the list closer to his side, his face still wearing a cold look of “You finally understood the true meaning of science.”
Returning to the dorm, Tang Xingye was sprayed all over his head by a party popper. He froze at the door, watching the dorm that should have been empty; those few people were actually all there.
Gifts were piled on the table. Pei Lian gave an exquisite enamel pendant, shimmering under the light. Tang Xingye picked up the pendant, fingertips rubbing the small cute pattern on it, hearing Pei Lian say softly, “As long as you like it. The pattern on this… I drew it by hand.”
Ji Chen directly handed over a silver key, his tone flat but the content shocking: “The apartment next to the school.” Lin Mo silently pushed over a document, which was the property deed to the old bookstore where Tang Xingye most often went to kill time.
Lu Zhiâs gift was a car key; Tang Xingye didn’t recognize the logo on it.
He was stunned. “But I don’t have a driver’s license.” Lu Zhi reacted extremely fast, changing his tune without batting an eye: “For you to haul books. No matter how many books you find in the future, it will fit.”
Tang Xingye looked at the gifts that obviously catered to his likes and fell silent. This was just a birthday; why did it suddenly feel like he was handed a startup capital package?
Lu Zhi was close to Tang Xingye and was the first to fork a piece of fruit to feed him.
“Full, can’t eat anymore.” Tang Xingye turned his head to dodge. He had already eaten the cake Zhou Lin bought earlier.
Lu Zhiâs gaze fell on Tang Xingyeâs slightly bulging lower abdomen. According to Tang Xingyeâs concept of thrift, if he was truly full, he would still eat a couple of bites.
Looking at Tang Xingyeâs glistening lips, a thought flashed through his mind.
Really so full he can’t eat a single bite? Lu Zhiâs voice tensed unconsciously. “Did he wear it?”
Tang Xingye thought Lu Zhi was asking if Zhou Lin brought the cake and answered honestly, “Brought it.”
“You ate it all?!” Lu Zhiâs tone was a bit unhappy.
“What’s there to not be able to eat.” Tang Xingye looked strange. Just a four-inch small cake.
The next second, a warm palm suddenly covered his abdomen, kneading with moderate force. Lu Zhi frowned, his tone angry yet helpless, mixed with a trace of weird sourness: “…So greedy. Aren’t you afraid of feeling uncomfortable?”
Tang Xingye: “…”
He looked down at the hand moving skillfully on his belly, falling completely silent. What on earth is Lu Zhi talking about?
After a few seconds of stalemate, Lu Zhi seemed to think of something. He suddenly leaned closer, lowering his voice, carrying a probing and suggestive tone: “Then next time, I won’t wear it?”
Tang Xingye was annoyed by this baffling question, just wanting to end this weird conversation quickly, so he perfunctorily agreed: “Sure.”
Lu Zhi was satisfied.
Tang Xingye completely failed to realize that at this moment, their brain circuits were poles apart.
After the birthday, the tense final exam week arrived. This misunderstanding of talking at cross purposes was temporarily buried under the mountain of books and sea of questions.
Tang Xingye checked his paper repeatedly. His foundation was still much weaker compared to students from the city, but thanks to persistent make-up work on basics, the feeling of stagnation and difficulty from the beginning was gone. Now he wrote answers with ease. The bell rang, and he handed in the paper for the last subject.
Exams over, most people’s nerves relaxed, waiting for the school’s official notice for winter break.
Tang Xingye entered the classroom. Classmates were gathered around discussing how to spend the winter break. Ai Ke squeezed over excitedly, shaking a flashy deck of Tarot cards, mysteriously saying he learned some metaphysics recently and insisted on giving him a reading. Having nothing to do, Tang Xingye casually drew three cards.
Ai Ke gripped the Tarot cards, his fingertips slightly hot, heart beating ridiculously fast. He hadn’t just learned Tarot recently; he bought this deck two months ago and practiced secretly countless times just to have a decent excuse to get closer to Tang Xingye.
He frowned at the cards. The spread clearly showed strong and entangled Peach Blossoms (romance). He wanted to remind Tang Xingye to be vigilant, so he spoke solemnly in a tone full of metaphysical aura:
“The cards show… you will bear a weight that ordinary people cannot bear, but eventually, you will reach the shore of light.”
Tang Xingye: “…?”
“It means you will have a lot of Peach Blossoms, needing to deal with several at the same time…” Ai Ke counted the cards, eyes widening. “One, two, three… Wait, is this deck wrong? Why does it show signs of five Peach Blossoms blooming simultaneously?”
Tang Xingye looked at the cards, silent for a few seconds, then suddenly spoke: “You see Peach Blossoms. I see that success in any field means bearing pressures and challenges ordinary people cannot. This is very reasonable.”
“…”
Ai Ke was silent for a few seconds, then realized: “You’re right!”
Looking at Tang Xingyeâs calm and composed side profile, he couldn’t help lamenting as expected of Tang Xingye, this ideological level is just different! Able to interpret such an outrageous romance spread into an inspirational fable of arduous struggle!
A classmate beside them leaned over and whispered to Tang Xingye:
“Ordinary people endure one; does that mean for success, you have to endure five or six simultaneously?”
He slapped his thigh suddenly, as if penetrating a shocking secret. “I understand! So this is the unique path of cultivation to the academic peak! Too amazing!”
Tang Xingye: “…”
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