Chapter 245: The second year of university begins

Xu Tingsheng stood helplessly by the side for a long time.

In his previous life, a seventeen-year-old boy had let down a sixteen-year-old girl. He had still been insensible then, not knowing how much it truly meant to her. The current Xu Tingsheng was 32 years old.

Yet, he was still only able to disappoint her.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Wu Yuewei had interacted most comfortably with Xu Tingsheng with her silence and her support all this time, not making things difficult for him and not being a burden on him.

That year in ninth grade. Then, yet another year in twelfth grade.

This was a girl who was much too sensible.

Even for this one day and one night, she thought that she had already been too wilful, doing things that she would not have done originally. Even as she acted like this, she was still, first and foremost, thinking for Xu Tingsheng.

She could actually ‘make things difficult’ for Xu Tingsheng, ask him to do a lot for her, because she was one of those people who had a place in his heart, being able to cause him to feel guilt and remorse.

Yet, she hadn’t.

Xu Tingsheng hesitated for a bit before trying to say as naturally as possibly, “I should still send you off. That’s what we agreed on last time.”

Wu Yuewei hid the two plane tickets, saying, “No need. Really, there’s no need to.”

“...I’m sorry,” Xu Tingsheng said after a long pause.

“Right, how has it become like this?”

Wu Yuewei did not look up as she said, “I’ve never thought that liking someone could be so painful. But it just happens that I do like you. You just didn’t do eye calisthenics and instead talked to me, and I came to like you. It was clearly just like that back then. I thought it was.”

Those times were already very, very distant for Xu Tingsheng.

As for Wu Yuewei, she still remained immersed in them.

At the departure gate before their separation, Wu Yuewei began walking forward yet soon returned, telling him, “Senior, if there’s a day when no one else wants you, I will.”

“...” Xu Tingsheng was rendered at a loss for words.

“But, how is that possible, right? I have this unfair thought...if only you were very useless. Hehe,” Wu Yuewei flashed a brilliant smile.

He watched from behind as her slender figure gradually vanished into the distance.

Xu Tingsheng believed what she had said. She had originally loved even that most useless him.

......

The aeroplane glided across the runway and rose into the sky, tugged by its speed and gravity.

Wu Yuewei who was sitting on a plane for the first time began feeling nervous, her ears ringing as her breathing became laboured.

The air stewardess smiled as she came over to comfort her, teaching her how to conquer these symptoms.

As an air stewardess, she had actually seen many first-time passengers who felt nervous and fearful before. Yet, ones like this young girl before her were really few and far between.

Even as she listened earnestly, nodded earnestly, complied earnestly, tears were also silently flowing unimpeded down her face.

The air stewardess was unable to set her mind at ease.

Wu Yuewei told her, “I’m fine. I’ll be okay very soon. I’m just thinking about someone. He was originally supposed to be sitting here.”

Having no one to confess this to, Wu Yuewei chose to suddenly blurt it out like this.

As she did so, she pointed at the seat that was beside her. It was empty.

......

Four hours later, Xu Tingsheng received a text from Wu Yuewei notifying him of her safe arrival.

He sent her a reply, but no further reply came.

Back at the riverside residence, Cen Xiyu had already left while Fang Chen had moved out as well, moving into the Yanzhou University staff hostel.

With that, it was again just Lu Zhixin and Xu Tingsheng who remained in the riverside residence. Xu Tingsheng left the Golden Retriever, Dongdong, there, requesting Lu Zhixin to look after him. Then, he returned to his dormitory to stay.

That night, the last of their number, Zhang Ninglang, returned as well.

Before Xu Tingsheng fell asleep, he finally received a reply from Wu Yuewei, “On the first day of university, everything is brand new. I’ll do fine; don’t worry about me, senior. In the future....will senior please...try your best...not to appear in front of me again. If we meet again, I’m scared that I will still like you.”

......

The next morning, Xu Tingsheng’s roommates all unexpectedly woke up earlier than usual and tidied themselves up incomparably earnestly, with even the socks on their feet being new. This included Zhang Ninglang who had always been shy and reserved.

Tan Yao excitedly woke Xu Tingsheng up.

Seeing this, Xu Tingsheng blearily asked, “You guys...what’s with this?”

Tan Yao’s face was radiant as he exclaimed, “Off to collect fresh new juniors! Today’s the day the freshmen matriculate.”

So, apparently, their second year of university had arrived. They would be seniors now.

As soon as Xu Tingsheng heard the word ‘junior’, he felt highly discomfited as he shook his head and buried himself back under his blanket.

Tan Yao pulled his blanket away, “I didn’t think that you would go, and it’s not that I want you to anyway. Hey, will you lend me your car keys?”

Xu Tingsheng asked dismally, “You want to go pick up juniors in a Mercedes-Benz G500?”

Tan Yao said, “Yeah.”

Xu Tingsheng said, “So overtly flashy-can you get anyone good this way?”

“You’re speaking like I want to find a good chick,” Tan Yap said disdainfully, “Good chicks are so bothersome. Being in a serious relationship is such a bother.”

Tan Yao had only fallen for one person in university, and after getting to know a little more about her...he had already thrown in the towel.

He had his reasons, and very good reasons at that. Xu Tingsheng passed him his car keys.

Therefore, things got very interesting in Yanzhou University that day. Someone drove a Mercedes-Benz G500 which cost over 1.5 million yuan between the reporting area and the dormitory buildings, chaperoning female juniors. It was just the female juniors; the male ones had no such luck.

Beneath numerous gazes of varying kinds, the chicks who dared to get on that car...were either wholly impervious to what others thought about them or were not all that easy to deal with.

Fortunately, Tan Yao and Li Xingming were tougher nuts to crack.

This car became the most trending topic in Yanzhou University and the whole of Xishan Academy City that day.

“Luckily, no one knows that the car is mine,” Xu Tingsheng thought.

Xu Tingsheng dismally holed himself up in his dormitory room for the entire day. When his roommates returned, they were all in a great mood even for Old Wai and Lu Xu who already had girlfriends. Using their own words, they had finally gotten a good kick off the ‘senior’ drug.

Xu Tingsheng only paid Zhang Ninglang heed as he asked him how it had gone.

Old Wai answered on his behalf, “Lil’ bro met a chick from the same village today. Not only did he carry her bags, he even helped her to get water.”

Xu Tingsheng asked, “Which course?”

Old Wai answered, “She’s from our own vegetable garden. The water is tender, fresh are the crops.”

Therefore, the chick was also from the Chinese course.

Because of this, the guys from Chinese 03 collectively moved out for a visitation to the freshmen dormitories to call on their female juniors. Even Xu Tingsheng whom everyone thought was uninterested in this matter went on his own accord, walking beside Zhang Ninglang.

The guys bet amongst themselves, competing on getting the numbers of their female juniors. The first two in the rankings would not have to be on classroom duty for the entire semester. Instead, they would be subbed by the bottom two in the rankings.

Xu Tingsheng neither opposed nor participated in this. At most, he would just escape when his turn came and he had to sub for someone.

Zhang Ninglang did not oppose this as well as he just smiled, “I’m definitely going to lose then.”

There were never more than four dormitory rooms per batch for the guys in the Chinese course. As for the girls’ rooms...they could fill up an entire row.

As they walked, they saw there were indeed a number of good quality juniors. The seniors were also not weak in their methods. If they met any who were difficult to deal with, they would simply all surge forward in succession. There basically weren’t any juniors who slipped through the net.

Zhang Ninglang and Xu Tingsheng did not obtain the number of even a single female junior.

Entering another room, Xu Tingsheng saw Zhang Ninglang suddenly stiffening beside him.

“Which one is it?” Xu Tingsheng asked.

“The one with the plait,” Zhang Xinglang said softly.

There weren’t many girls who were still willing to put their hair in plaits in this day and age. There were even fewer who dared to do so and could still pull it off successfully.

There was a girl amongst the juniors with a slick, jet-black plait. Xu Tingsheng remembered a saying ‘When my hair is long and my waist is too, senior will be able to marry me too’. Secretly telling this to Zhang Ninglang, the latter grew even more nervous, even more afraid to speak up.

Wave after wave of seniors met defeat at the hands of the girl with the long plait.

All of them were thinking that it seemed like the first one to slip through their net had appeared.

Xu Tingsheng repeatedly urged Zhang Xinglang on but to no avail. Exasperated, he eventually just sent the latter over with a good kick.

As he regained his balance, Zhang Ninglang saw the girl with the long plait looking smilingly at him, not saying a word.

“My, my handphone broke during the summer holidays. I don’t have one now,” Zhang Ninglang stammered.

The entire room of people burst out into guffaws.

“I originally thought that it wasn’t really necessary. Because of that, I wasn’t intending to buy another,” Zhang Ninglang continued, “Still, if you’ll give me your number, I’ll go and buy one tomorrow.”

“Really,” Zhang Ninglang said.

“Okay,” The girl with the long plait replied.