Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Fang Yao: “You two are already at the point of inviting your roommates to dinner. It’s practically the same as being together, isn’t it?”
Song Yiyi looked worried. “Actually, I’m very conflicted. I always feel guilty about being an old cow eating young grass[1].”
“Aren’t you only a year older than him?” Shu Mian tilted her head and looked over, her smile soft. “How is it an old cow eating young grass?”
Song Yiyi once mentioned that she and her Crush were deskmates in high school.
Later, the boy moved to another city because his parents were transferred for work.
The two were quite destined to meet; both were admitted to Peking University and even met on the day of freshman registration.
Song Yiyi repeated a grade in elementary school, making her a year older. She liked the boy quite a bit, but was also conflicted about the age gap in their relationship.
“Even a day older is still older, let alone a year older. Besides, he has the kind of puppy-like appearance that makes him look younger… But it’s strange, I’ve seen plenty of handsome guys, but I only have that fluttery feeling with him. I’ve never had that feeling with anyone else.”
Shu Mian rested her chin on her hand and said, “Because you like him, you can experience feelings from him that you can’t experience from others.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Xiang Sang said.
Fang Yao: “Don’t think so much. What’s wrong with a younger brother? He will put all his energy into you. You will be very happy.”
Song Yiyi rushed over and covered her mouth, “I think you’re the real Emperor of Desire… Then you all have to come to dinner next Sunday.”
Okay~
….
The classes had now begun.
Shu Mian studied journalism. There weren’t many classes in her first year; they were mostly introductory courses.
University was different from high school. The departments were different and the courses were scattered, so it was not as easy to bump into each other. She hadn’t seen Tan Xuzhe again this week.
In addition to the journalism group she had previously signed up for, she also signed up for a drum and percussion club.
She didn’t know any percussion instruments, but she could draw, so she applied to the publicity department.
Tan Xuzhe could play the drums.
His drum performance at the Grade 11 New Year’s Eve party was a huge hit, and his video was still pinned to the top of the school’s video account. It went viral at the time, garnering nearly two million likes.
She wanted to try her luck, just in case Tan Xuzhe had also signed up for the club.
However, when she went for the interview on Friday night, he was nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps they were still just not meant to be. Shu Mian convinced herself to stop paying attention to him, but unexpectedly, fate gave her hope again.
On Sunday, it was Song Yiyi’s crush’s birthday. The two of them went out alone during the day, and the dinner they were treating everyone to was scheduled for the evening. Xiang Sang went there directly after finishing her part-time job.
Only Shu Mian and Fang Yao left from the dormitory.
The place wasn’t far, and Fang Yao had an electric scooter, so she took her there.
But they were stopped by traffic police on the way. “Electric bikes are only allowed to carry children under the age of twelve.”
Fang Yao lamented her bad luck, “Pinduoduo clearly said I was the luckiest person.”
Shu Mian also smiled bitterly, “The law of conservation of energy, I’ll be lucky next time.”
The traffic police officer overheard this and said, “This is for your safety too. Don’t worry, there won’t be a fine. You two can each post on your WeChat Moments and get ten likes before you go.”
After the two of them posted on their WeChat Moments and got enough likes, he reminded them: “Don’t delete the posts right away. Leave them for at least 24 hours. The other person should choose another mode of transportation and not carry any more passengers.”
With more than three kilometers to go, Shu Mian told Fang Yao to ride her electric bike ahead while she went to the roadside to find a bicycle.
There were few bikes nearby, and it took her a while to find one that she could ride.
Upon arriving at the destination, Shu Mian walked while looking down at her chat history, searching for the private room number that Song Yiyi had posted in the group.
As she reached the corner, a tall figure blocked her way.
“Excuse me.” Shu Mian looked up and saw the person in front of her, her heart skipped a beat for a moment.
Tan Xuzhe was very tall; she had overheard others discussing that he was 1.88 meters tall.
While she herself was 1.67 meters tall, which was considered tall for a girl, but she looked a little petite next to him.
Outside the corridor window, the setting sun cast its last rays, bathing him in a layer of orange light.
Tan Xuzhe casually held a cigarette between his lips, one hand in his pocket, the smoke swirling around his face. This gesture made him appear roguish and unruly, adding a touch of frivolousness and debauchery to his demeanor.
As far as she could remember, he started smoking during a period of great depression in the second semester of his junior year of high school.
It was possible to be overly fond of someone you like. Shu Mian thought he looked charming when he smoked, with a kind of roguish charm that made people fall for him.
She blurted out instinctively, “Tan Xuzhe, what are you doing here?”
As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn’t help but cough twice; she didn’t like the smell of smoke.
Tan Xuzhe looked down at her, then immediately threw the cigarette into the ashtray on the top shelf of the nearby trash can and stubbed it out.
“So domineering, huh?” He raised an eyebrow slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips, his tone teasing. “You can come, but I can’t?”
“…No, that’s not what I meant.”
Shu Mian avoided his gaze, saying, “I just think it’s quite a coincidence.”
“It’s quite a coincidence. I also wanted to ask you a question.”
She looked up blankly.
Tan Xuzhe took a step closer to her, leaning slightly forward to close the distance between them.
He didn’t understand what was wrong with him. He knew this girl was easily teased, but he had this wicked urge to see her blush.
A roguish smile lurked in his eyes, and his voice held a hint of mockery, “Why is it that every time we meet, you have to bump into me?”
“…”
“I didn’t mean to.” Shu Mian’s cheeks instantly burned, and she explained in a soft voice, “I was looking down at my phone just now.”
Sure enough, she blushed.
Upon catching a glimpse of her rosy cheeks, Tan Xuzhe suddenly felt a tickle in his heart, wanting to pinch them, wondering if they were soft.
Suppressing the urge, he curled his thin lips into a slightly roguish smile, “Watch where you’re going next time, or you might bump into someone.”
“…”
“I know.”
Shu Mian didn’t know where she got the courage from, perhaps because she accidentally noticed that Tan Xuzhe’s ear tips were also tinged with a light red.
So her long eyelashes fluttered, and she asked sweetly, “Can I just bump into your arms?”
She regretted it as soon as she said it, and lowered her head, not daring to look at his expression.
The girl, with her clean and innocent face, spoke softly and in a way that didn’t suit her courage, just like a kitten that had been provoked and had to stretch out its claws, making people’s hearts itch.
Tan Xuzhe stared at her fair face, remaining silent for a moment.
Shu Mian’s phone vibrated at that time; it was Song Yiyi calling, probably urging her on. Before he could speak, she quickly said, “I have to go now.”
Tan Xuzhe watched her figure quickly enter the private room at the end of the corridor, raising an eyebrow.
Cheng Ji came out of the adjacent restroom after washing his hands, repeating his words with an exaggerated expression and a particularly cheeky tone, “Why do you always have to bump into me every time we meet?”
“Watch where you’re going next time, or you might bump into someone!”
Tan Xuzhe glanced at him sideways and said, “Get lost.”
Cheng Ji had a smug look on his face. “Tan Xuzhe, Tan Xuzhe, even the ocean isn’t as wild as you. I’ve never seen you so flamboyant before.”
This person has a face that looks like he knows how to manipulate emotions, yet he remains pure in body and mind, always keeping his distance from the opposite sex. How could he have ever teased a girl like that?
“Of course you haven’t seen it.”
Tan Xuzhe said lazily, “After all, someone like you, I’m too lazy to even lift my eyelids.”
Cheng Ji: “…”
Damn, he wants to live such a harsh life too.
….
Shu Mian entered the private room, where there were two boys present in addition to her three roommates.
One of them was fair-skinned, handsome, and looked very young; he was clearly Song Yiyi’s “puppy crush.” The other boy had wheat-colored skin.
“Mian Mian!”
Song Yiyi immediately grabbed her and roared, “Do you know who Fu Xingfan’s other two roommates are? It’s Tan Xuzhe and his friend! This guy has been keeping it from me all this time!”
The fair-skinned and handsome boy was indeed her crush, Fu Xingfan. He sounded aggrieved, “You keep talking about handsome guys, I’m afraid you’ll ask me to set you up.”
“…I just like looking at handsome guys, I don’t have any ulterior motives.”
Shu Mian was stunned for a moment, not expecting it to be such a coincidence… No wonder she ran into Tan Xuzhe outside earlier.
“But Tan Xuzhe left after sitting for only a short while… By the way, they just left not long ago, didn’t you run into them outside?”
Before Shu Mian could answer, the wheat-skinned boy grinned and said, “Let’s get acquainted, classmate. I’m Ye Feng.”
She smiled politely and said, “Hello, Shu Mian.”
At this moment, the door to the private room was pushed open from the outside, and Tan Xuzhe and Cheng Ji entered one after the other.
Fu Xingfan was quite surprised, “Huh? Didn’t you say you had something to do and were leaving? Why are you back again?”
“Oh, nothing’s wrong again.” Tan Xuzhe’s tone was quite nonchalant, his gaze casually falling on the girl who smiled and revealed her dimples.
Cheng Ji stood there speechless; nothing could stop this guy from showing off like a peacock.
The two took their seats. Shu Mian sat with her roommates, while Tan Xuzhe happened to sit opposite her.
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[1] “Old cow eating young grass” translates the Chinese idiom 老牛吃嫩草 (lǎo niú chī nèn cǎo). It literally means an old cow eats tender green grass. Metaphorically, it describes a romantic relationship where the man is much older than the woman (a May–December romance).
