Chapter 90: Side Story 4 (1/5)
“Clothes, shoes…and the bedding set I bought you the other day, did you pack everything?”
“Yes, yes, if I pack anything else, the suitcase will explode.”
“Suitcases don’t explode that easily. There’s still some space left. I asked your father to buy some local specialties; I’ll pack them for you. Share them with your roommates, remember to get along with them, after all, you’ll be living together for four years.”
“I know, I know…”
“But don’t be a pushover just to get along with them! If you’re being bullied, don’t put up with it…”
“Mom…” the teenager, dressed in a thin shirt, pushed the middle-aged woman out of the room. “Don’t worry, I’m a grown-up now, not some helpless child, I can handle things myself.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the little girl sitting on the sofa, watching TV, glared at him. “Jiang Heng, you’re dead! I heard you talking about me!”
Jiang Heng said, “I think I have a few bags of chips left in my room.”
Zhou Xingxing’s expression immediately changed. “Gege, when are you leaving? Xingxing will see you off!”
“See him off? Why?” The woman glared at her and turned off the TV. “Zhou Xingxing, have you finished your homework? Your teacher told me you were fifth from the bottom in your class for the final exams! Fifth from the bottom! Your brother was getting little red flowers at your age!”
The little girl pouted at the blank TV screen. “He’s not my real brother! If I didn’t do well on the exams, it just means you and Dad didn’t pass on your good genes to me! It’s your fault!”
“You little…!” The woman rolled up her sleeves, her gaze scanning the living room for a suitable weapon.
Zhou Xingxing, like a monkey, climbed onto Jiang Heng’s back. “Gege, save me! Mom’s going to hit me!”
“Get off me! You’re as heavy as a pig! Can your brother’s skinny frame even support you?!”
Jiang Heng, holding the sliding child, chuckled, his eyes crinkling with amusement.
The sound of the door opening came, and a middle-aged man stood at the entrance, looking at them. He bent down to change his shoes. “What’s going on here?”
Jiang Heng smiled. “Dad, you’re back.”
Zhou Xingxing, clinging to his neck, said, “Dad, Mom’s going to hit me!”
“Oh.” The man didn’t even look up. “Serves you right. If you were as well-behaved as your brother, your mother and I would have a lot fewer gray hairs.”
Zhou Xingxing, indignant, kicked her legs in the air.
Jiang Heng, looking at the shoe prints on his light-colored T-shirt, pinched her ear. “Zhou Xingxing, so you take your anger out on me? You’re dead meat.”
He put her down on the sofa and started tickling her, the little girl’s shrieks of laughter echoing through the living room.
The woman glanced at them, then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, a smile on her face.
The man, unfazed by the commotion, took out a bag of cheap tea leaves from a drawer and made himself a cup of strong tea in his thermos.
After they had finally calmed down, the man took a sip of his tea and asked, “All packed?”
Jiang Heng, holding two oranges, gave one to Zhou Xingxing and started peeling the other. “All packed. Why are you back so early today? No overtime?”
“I told my supervisor I wasn’t working overtime. You’re leaving for university tomorrow morning; I wanted to be home for breakfast.”
The man glanced at Jiang Heng. He was naturally thin, and even after two months of his wife’s attempts to fatten him up, he still looked slender and frail, his pale skin accentuating his large eyes, his round face making him look innocent and…easily deceived.
“If you’re not sure about going alone, I can take a day off and drive you. Your mother and I are worried about you going to City A by yourself.”
“I told you, I’ll be fine.” Jiang Heng took a bite of his orange, his face wrinkling at the sourness. “It’s too much trouble, the round trip would take at least two or three days. And I can really handle it myself! It’s not that far from City A, just a five-hour train ride.”
Jiang Heng’s confidence wasn’t unfounded. He had meticulously planned his journey and was confident he could reach A University safely.
His biological parents had died in a car accident when he was five, and the Zhous, a childless couple from the same village, taking pity on him, had adopted him.
Everyone was poor back then, and even though they adopted him, they couldn’t offer him much.
Fortunately, they were hardworking and, seeing his academic potential, moved to the county town, determined to provide him with a better education.
Although the county town wasn’t comparable to a big city, it was still better than the small village they had come from.
The couple had a mortgage, and after Zhou Xingxing was born, Jiang Heng, knowing their financial struggles, tried his best to save money, to be frugal.
This was his first time leaving the county town.
His adoptive parents were naturally worried and wanted to accompany him, but he had refused.
Thankfully, his meticulous planning paid off, and he arrived safely at the train station, one suitcase and one large duffel bag in tow.
It was the start of the new semester, and the university town was bustling with activity. Volunteers from different universities held signs welcoming new students.
Jiang Heng looked around and finally found the sign for A University.
He walked over, his youthful features drawing attention under the bright sunlight, and before he could even speak, he was surrounded by a group of enthusiastic female students.
“Which department are you in? We can help you with your luggage and show you to your dormitory.”
“Welcome to A University!”
“What’s your dorm number? What’s your name?”
“Let’s exchange contact information…”
“…”
Jiang Heng, overwhelmed, was ushered onto a bus. He turned around with difficulty. “Hey! My luggage…”
A tall girl, carrying his duffel bag, squeezed onto the bus and tossed it onto the overhead luggage rack. “The back seats are full, I’ll put it up here. Remember to take it when you get off.”
There were only two seats left at the back of the bus. The girl sat down with Jiang Heng.
The innocent, fresh-faced boy was incredibly endearing, and Gao Zhilan, after observing him for a while, smiled and introduced herself. “Hello, I’m Gao Zhilan, from the student union. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.”
Jiang Heng, looking at the scenery outside, was still overwhelmed by the unfamiliar surroundings and, after a moment of awkward silence, finally managed to ask, “Is the cafeteria food good?”
He had been forced to live on campus during his third year of high school and had suffered through a year of terrible cafeteria food, and two months of his adoptive mother’s cooking hadn’t helped him gain back the weight he had lost.
Gao Zhilan chuckled. “A University has five cafeterias, with all kinds of food from all over the country. Someone even made a food guide, I can send it to you if you add me on WeChat.”
Jiang Heng took out his new phone and added her.
Gao Zhilan glanced at the phone. It was new, but not the latest model, even a few years old, and paired with his slightly faded jeans, she immediately understood his…financial situation.
“We also have a part-time job group chat. If you’re interested in earning some extra cash, I can add you to it.”
Jiang Heng was thrilled.
He thought, he was so lucky to have met such a kind senior.
The bus ride from the train station to the university took half an hour. Many freshmen were arriving today, and there weren’t enough volunteers. Gao Zhilan was supposed to be heading back for a meeting. She looked at Jiang Heng and asked, “Which dormitory building are you in?”
Jiang Heng told her his dorm number.
“Perfect, I’m going that way, I’ll take you there.”
Jiang Heng, pulling his suitcase and duffel bag, followed her. Her phone kept ringing as they walked, and Gao Zhilan, after ending another call, muttered angrily, “Always calling and rushing me! I want to flush their useless heads down the toilet!”
She turned to Jiang Heng apologetically. “I was going to take you all the way to your dorm, but these people keep calling, I’m afraid I have to take a shortcut.”
Jiang Heng, holding the map he had received along with his acceptance letter, said, “It’s okay, I can use this.”
Gao Zhilan looked around, then spotted a familiar figure ahead. “Wait here, I’ll find someone to take you.”
She pulled Jiang Heng and his luggage towards the figure and yelled, “Lu Yichuan!”
The tall figure ahead paused and turned around, revealing a handsome, refined face.
Lu Yichuan was holding a book, and as he turned around, Gao Zhilan shoved Jiang Heng into his arms. “I think you’re also in Building 5. This freshman is in the same building as you, take him to his dorm, I’ll treat you to dinner later.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her phone rang insistently again.
Gao Zhilan hurriedly said goodbye to Jiang Heng and rushed off.
Jiang Heng was silent for a moment, then looked up at the pristine white shirt so close to his face, a faint, slightly bitter scent clinging to it.
He took a couple of steps back and met the man’s downcast gaze.
“Uh…” Under his scrutiny, Jiang Heng felt a little awkward. He clutched the handle of his suitcase and said politely, “Hello, Xuechang. I’m Jiang Heng, a freshman.”
Lu Yichuan’s eyes scanned the boy’s bright eyes, then he smiled gently. “Hello, Lu Yichuan.”
Jiang Heng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Such a gentle smile, it seemed the coldness from before had been his imagination.
He smiled back. “Thank you for your help!”
The dormitory wasn’t far from here, just a ten-minute walk.
Jiang Heng, pulling his suitcase and duffel bag, walked beside Lu Yichuan. He glanced at him. The man’s posture was tall and straight, his shirt crisp and clean, his sleeves rolled up neatly, a thick English book in his long fingers.
He looked exactly like the ideal senior his female deskmate in high school had fantasized about.
Jiang Heng felt a sudden surge of…familiarity.
“Xuechang Lu,” he said, “what’s your major?”
A breeze blew past, and Jiang Heng caught a whiff of that faint, slightly bitter scent again.
“Finance.”
“What a coincidence! We’re in the same school! I’m in Business Administration.”
Lu Yichuan didn’t respond.
Jiang Heng asked again, “What laundry detergent do you use?”
Lu Yichuan’s footsteps faltered.
“Oh, I’m not trying to pry or anything, I just…smelled something when I got closer.”
After a few seconds of silence, the man finally said, a hint of exasperation in his voice, “That’s cologne. If your laundry detergent smells that strong, it means you didn’t rinse it properly.”
“Really?” Jiang Heng scratched his head. “I was wondering why my clothes smelled so fragrant today. So it’s the laundry detergent.”
He added, trying to save face, “It’s not that I don’t know how to do laundry, these clothes were washed by Zhou Xingxing. She’s my…younger sister, a five-year-old.”
Lu Yichuan: “…”
He wasn’t particularly interested in this suddenly appearing freshman’s personal life.
Just as he was thinking this, the freshman beside him leaned closer. “Can you smell it? The jasmine scent on me is really strong, isn’t it? I thought you were wearing the same thing.”
Lu Yichuan, drawn in by his words, instinctively lowered his head, his gaze falling on the slender neck so close to his face.
He smelled a cheap jasmine scent, a strange sweetness beneath it, a warm, almost intoxicating fragrance, like…the scent of skin, mingling with the strong jasmine, wafting towards him.
Lu Yichuan abruptly took a step back, his voice turning cold. “What are you doing?”
Jiang Heng, oblivious to his reaction, straightened up, and the strange fragrance dissipated in the wind.
“I was just…letting you smell it, in case you thought I was making fun of your…laundry skills.”
Lu Yichuan’s fingertips twitched, and his gaze moved from the boy’s neck, flushed warm from the sun, to his face, his clear, amber eyes like polished gems.
There was no wind, and in the hot summer air, filled with the buzzing of cicadas, he seemed to smell that…sweet scent of skin again.
