Upper Third Chapter

  Zhu Xiaobei said: "Zheng Wei, stop it for me. You're walking back and forth in the dorm like a bear that's been fed sulfuric acid, it's infuriating."

  Zheng Wei let out a loud cry: "Why do you always say I'm annoying? Zhuo Mei cracked sunflower seeds for half an hour during lunch break today, you didn't say anything. Li Wei Juan was walking around here with her earphones on for half a day, singing off-key non-stop, you didn't say anything either. I just took a few steps and you can't stand it, you're all bullying me! Why can't you understand my inner pain?

  Seeing her reaction so intense, Zhu Xiaobei estimated that he had just hit the nail on the head, and hastily smiled, "Mainly because your gloomy expression is seriously inconsistent with your Jade Face Little Flying Dragon image, I just said it like that, let's go, nothing to see here, continue, continue."

  Ruan Wan, who had just finished bathing, walked out of the bathroom with her hair scattered, and happened to see this scene. She pursed her lips and smiled: "I guess Zheng Wei is now in a fierce inner struggle again."

  It was just dinner time, and there were only three of them in the dormitory. Zheng Wei heard Ruan Wan's words and didn't care about her usual small dislike for her. She let out a sad cry and sat down on the bed, leaning against the desk in front of it, saying: "I'm conflicted! What should I do?"

  "Is it also related to the legendary Lin brother?" Ruan Wan asked while combing her hair.

  "What else do you know?"

  Even Zhu Xiao Bei burst out laughing, "With that little broken heart of yours, it's written all over your nose and eyes, anyone can see it."

  "I'm really conflicted, it's been half a month and he still hasn't come to find me, I also can't find him, could he have been kidnapped? I'm hesitating whether or not to go to his school to look for him."

  "Go ahead, I'll support you spiritually. Take a good look and see if he's been taken away by another girl," said Zhu Xiaobei.

  "Lin Jing is not that kind of person!" At this time, Zheng Wei began to defend her crush again. "He said he would wait for me, and he definitely will. I've decided, if Muhammad doesn't go find Shan, then Shan will go find Muhammad. Next, I'll go to the University of Political Science and Law."

  Zhu Xiaobei slapped his thigh, "Ah, this is your style!"

  Ruǎn Wǎn, who had finished combing her hair, said, "You'd better think carefully, what if he still doesn't show up?"

  Zheng Wei was already on the bed picking out clothes, "He's not here, I'll wait until he gets back... How about this set... or this one?"

  Zhu Xiaobei didn't know how many sets of clothes she had changed into, until Ruan Wan cleaned up and was about to go to the library. Zheng Wei put back on her original blue floral blouse and denim skirt, "Seems like this one is still the best."

  Ruan Wan took a look, "This set is indeed not bad, pure and lovely, quite suitable for you." Zheng Wei, however, frowned at the small mirror, "There's such a big pimple on my forehead, how can I see people like this?"

  Zhu Xiaobei pretended to be dizzy, "Woman, your name is Trouble, I'm too lazy to deal with you, Ruan Wan, are you going to the library? Wait for me."

  Ruan Wan stood at the door waiting for Zhu Xiaobei, and casually said to Zheng Wei, "What's one pimple? As the saying goes, 'the cicada's noise is more quiet than the forest, the bird's song makes the mountain even more secluded...'"

  "What do you want to express?" Zheng Wei looked at Ruan Wan with a bewildered face, "Is there such a pedantic engineering student like you?" She had always been weak in language since she was young, so she especially disliked people who were overly concerned with words and phrases. Her stepmother was just her stepmother, specializing in saying things that Snow White wouldn't understand.

  "Let me put it in a way that you can understand," said her stepmother. "The bigger the zit, the whiter your face will be. You can go out looking beautiful."

  "Really?..." Zheng Wei's heart skipped a beat, she carefully examined it and the more she looked at it, the more reasonable it seemed. When she lifted her head, Zhu Xiaobei and Ruan Wan had already walked out of the door, she hurriedly chased after them, "Hey, you guys haven't told me which bus to take to get to the University of Political Science and Law yet!"

  The University of Political Science and Law, and G University are the most famous key universities in this southern city. Geographically, they are not far apart. Zheng Wei took a half-hour bus ride and stepped into the gate of the University of Political Science and Law. She walked around, imagining that Lin Jing had also walked through the same roads countless times, seeing the same scenery, and feeling a sense of familiarity with the unfamiliar surroundings. It turned out that even universities could have such different feelings.

  The biggest characteristic of G University is that no matter what time it is, people walking around campus are always in a hurry, carrying books and rushing to their destinations. Even the most laid-back person would unconsciously follow the rhythm of those around them and quicken their pace. Even the mice ran faster than elsewhere. After 10 pm, the main roads on campus were almost deserted.

  In comparison, the University of Political Science and Law in front of Zheng Wei seemed much more lively. Not only did the surrounding buildings seem to have a stronger sense of life, but there were also more people on the roads. Beautiful and fashionable girls walked by one after another, making it hard for one's eyes to take it all in. No wonder the boys from G University considered this place their paradise for finding love.

  Zheng Wei felt a small pang of jealousy in her heart. Lin Jing lived in such a "garden of flowers" every day, no wonder he was never in his dorm and was always so carefree.

  She didn't know the exact location of Lin Jing's dormitory, but being a cute girl has its advantages. When asking for directions, it was surprisingly smooth sailing. On the third time asking for directions near the graduate student dormitory building, a boy who claimed to have an impression of Lin Jing directly took her upstairs.

  "Ah, it seems like this room."

  After the boy who led the way left, Zheng Wei looked at the door of the dormitory and found that it was ajar. She knocked on the door perfunctorily and pushed it open to take a look inside. The room was more spacious than her current dormitory, with only two beds, both of which were upper bunks for sleeping and lower bunks for books, luggage, and computers. This was what Lin Jing had told her before, but among the two beds she saw, one still had bedding and pillows, while the other was empty. A boy sat at the computer desk on the lower bunk, intently playing games, but it wasn't Lin Jing. For a moment, Zheng Wei thought she had come to the wrong place, but the boy had already seen her peeking inside, so he stopped moving his mouse and asked, "Little sister, who are you looking for?"

  Zheng Wei's heart skipped a beat as she recognized the voice. It was probably this boy who had answered the phone the last few times, repeatedly saying that Lin Jing wasn't there. It seemed she hadn't mistaken the door. She felt a bit more at ease. Since she had found his lair, waiting patiently would ensure she wouldn't miss him. When he came back, she would give him a good scolding.

  "Hello, is Lin Jing living here?"

  "Are you looking for Lin Jing? He originally lived here..."

  "What? He moved dorms? No wonder, did you ask him where he moved to?"

  The boy looked surprised and said, "He left two days ago."

  "Go? Go where?" Zheng Wei was taken aback for a moment, her expression dull and blank.

  "I'm going abroad, I'm going to America, how come you don't know?" The boy had a look of it's-only-natural.

  "You're lying! I just called him two days ago, and you said he was just out. How could he go to the US without telling me?" Zheng looked at the boy with disdain.

  "Oh, I see, you're that girl who always calls Lin Jing." The boy looked enlightened.

  "That's right, it was me. So be honest with me, where did he go and when will he come back? It must be that you didn't pass my phone number to him, right?" Zheng Wei asked furiously.

  The boy looked wronged, "Why would I cheat you? He indeed went to Los Angeles a few days ago. Our department only has one exchange student quota, and it's him. This is not a secret, if you don't believe me, just ask the people in the neighboring dormitory, everyone knows. What's the point of cheating you, a little girl? As for your phone call, he knew about it long ago. He told me to say he wasn't there, what could I do?"

  He hadn't finished speaking when he was intimidated by the killing intent on Zheng Wei's face, "You're just deceiving people! If Lin Jing really went to America, why wouldn't he tell me? And if he were around, how could he not answer my calls? What are your intentions?"

  The boy took a step back, laughing and crying at the same time, "Good heavens, what could I possibly have in mind? You can take a look at that empty bed, it was originally Lin Jing's to sleep in."

  She gave him a wary glance, then looked at the empty bed he was pointing to. Her sharp eyes noticed something on the bedside table. From afar, it seemed familiar. She walked up and picked it up - a pocket-sized edition of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales. She held it in her hand, feeling so familiar that she knew without opening it that page 32 still had her scribbles. This was once her favorite book, given to her by Lin Jing as a birthday gift. As if trying to prove herself wrong, she frantically searched for the page and clearly saw the crooked pen marks - "Yu Mian Xiao Fei Long Cang Shu".

  "Honestly, I didn't lie to you." The boy was still muttering behind her, but suddenly found that this fierce girl's mouth was pursed and her eyes were red. Before he could react, he heard an earth-shattering cry, "He really left, why didn't he tell me?"

  Zheng Wei doesn't remember how long she cried in Lin Jing's former dormitory, starting from standing and later squatting down, holding onto the pants of a male student and continuing to cry. The crying attracted most people on that floor to come and watch, even the old man who took care of the dormitory came over. Everyone asked what the male student had done to bully such a young girl, and the male student was both embarrassed and wronged, repeatedly claiming he was being bullied by Lin Jing. In the end, they coaxed and begged Zheng Wei, who was exhausted from crying, to take her to the bus station, paid for her bus fare, and only breathed a sigh of relief as they watched her leave on the bus.

  Zheng Wei's eyes were already red and swollen like peaches from crying on the bus, but tears still flowed profusely, as if she wanted to vent out her sadness, confusion, disappointment, and grievances through this hysterical crying. However, no matter how heartbroken she was, she had to admit one fact: her Lin Jing, who had been her goal since childhood, the Lin Jing who promised to wait for her, had left for America without leaving a single word behind. The whole world knew he was leaving, but only Zheng Wei didn't know; before leaving, he even deliberately didn't answer her calls. The more she thought about it, the more heartbroken she became, and finally burst into tears again with a loud "waa". Everyone on the crowded bus stared at this girl who cried like rain pouring down on pear blossoms - what kind of heartbreaking thing could make someone cry so miserably? Soon, kind-hearted people gave up their seats for her. Zheng Wei didn't decline, sat down and continued to wipe away tears; she felt like a little girl selling matches, with the short flame extinguished, she was abandoned by the whole world.

  When she returned to the dormitory, it was exactly 8:30 in the evening. None of her roommates had come back yet. She sat on the edge of her bed, thinking about the high morale when she went out earlier, and felt a sense of being in a different world.