The first one to return was Ruan Wan, she pushed open the door and saw Zheng Wei sitting alone with a tear-stained face, her eyes gazing blankly as she sobbed. She couldn't help but be startled in her heart, quickly putting down her book and walking over, "What's wrong, who bullied you?"

  Zheng Wei saw a familiar face, and couldn't care less that it was Ruan Wan, the person she disliked the most. Her first reaction was to grab Ruan Wan's sleeve and sob, "Ruan Wan, Lin Jing is gone!"

  Ruan Wanxin relaxed a bit, earlier she was most worried that Zheng Wei would be bullied by someone when he went out alone at night. Upon learning that it was Lin Jing who had encountered trouble, she sat down beside Zheng Wei and slowly asked what had happened. At this time, Zheng Wei's tears had already dried up, but he couldn't stop sniffing his nose, and intermittently managed to recount the ins and outs of what had just happened.

  "Why, I don't understand, what did I do wrong? We were just talking fine before, and then he suddenly left. He can leave if he wants to, but at least say something to me! Ruan Wan, you tell me, why is this?"

  Ruan Wan felt a bit awkward, but she couldn't think of anything to say. She sat with Zheng Wei for a while and heard him muttering to himself, "What should I do?" She patted his hand and said, "Wait." Then she squatted down and pulled out a small cardboard box from under the bed. This was not the first time Zheng Wei had seen this box; he thought it was where Ruan Wan kept her books. Ruan Wan quickly tore off the packing tape, and indeed the top layer of the box was filled with books. She removed them, and with a flourish, pulled out two cans of beer - one for herself and one for Zheng Wei.

  Zheng Wei was startled, and she mechanically took it, even forgetting to sob. She squatted down like Ruan Wan, flipped through the cardboard box with her hands, and involuntarily exclaimed "wow". Under a few thin books, there was actually a whole case of canned beer. She looked at the beer, then at Ruan Wan, and subconsciously rubbed her eyes. Was she, Zheng Wei, too normal, or had everyone around her become abnormal? Why did everything turn upside down in just a short period of time?

  "Aren't you asking me what to do? At this time, I don't know how to advise you either. Is this thing good? How come, haven't you drunk it before?"

  To be honest, in the eighteen years prior to this, Zheng Wei had indeed never drunk beer, but she certainly wouldn't admit it. As soon as Ruan Wan's words fell, she whooshed open a beer can and raised it above her head with one hand, "What can wash away worries? Only Du Kang!" After saying that, she tilted her head back and poured the beer into her mouth.

  "Slow down, slow down." Ruan Wan saw her momentum and couldn't help but feel both annoyed and amused. She was just an eighteen-year-old girl of the same age as Zheng Wei, although she had some emotional experience, she hadn't suffered any emotional setbacks. She knew that for someone like Zheng Wei, any verbal comfort would be futile, it's better to let her get drunk and have a good cry, maybe after that she'll feel better.

  Zheng Wei's drinking style was bold and impressive, her speed was also astonishing. Ruan Wan had only taken two sips when she flipped the empty can over, belched, and leaned forward to grab another beer from the cardboard box.

  "Hey, slow down, you've had enough, it's not good if you overdo it." Ruan Wan stopped her. She brushed away Ruan Wan's hand, "Stepmother! What are you being stingy about? It's just this little beer, I'll return a whole truckload to you another day!" As she spoke, she opened the second can.

  When she was halfway through her drink, she started pulling Ruan Wan and began to talk about the trivial matters of Lin Jing from childhood. She said that in the big courtyard where she grew up, she was the child king among her peers, and older brothers and sisters all liked her, but she only liked following Lin Jing who never played with them; The little kids were crazy in the yard, the big kids went out to be crazy, only Lin Jing was on the balcony at home, copying, his focused profile was so good-looking, from what time began, it deeply deeply imprinted in Xiao Zheng's heart. When she was in elementary school, she solemnly declared in front of many adults, "Lin Jing, listen, I will marry you in the future." The adults all laughed with their heads down, Lin Jing also couldn't help but laugh, he lowered his head and pinched Zheng Wei's serious little face, "Even the famous Dingding's jade-faced little dragon wants to marry me, I'm really too honored. But little dragon, you're still too young." She said, "Wait for me, you must wait for me, I will catch up with you."

  She said she would do it, and in her memories, she had been chasing after him all along. He was four years older than her, when she was in the third grade of elementary school, he was in junior high school, when she was in junior high school, he was in senior high school, when she was in senior high school, he left home to attend university. Finally, she caught up with him and took the exam in G city, and Little Flying Dragon had grown into a beautiful young woman. She thought that they would finally be together, but unexpectedly, without saying a word, he went to America. Why could she never catch up with him?

  "Ruan Wan, don't you also think like Li Wei Juan and the others that Lin Jing doesn't exist at all and I made her up? They'll definitely laugh at me when they get back."

  Ruan Wan shook her head, "I believe it, he must exist, a boy who can catch the eye of Jade Face Little Flying Dragon, must be exceptionally outstanding, that's why he went to America. Is it because he was afraid you'd be heartbroken, so he didn't dare say goodbye? Maybe after settling down over there, he'll give you a call."

  "Really?" Zheng Wei still had a tearful expression, but seemed to have also acknowledged Ruan Wan's words. "I think so too, he obviously likes me, I know." She pulled Ruan Wan's hand and for the first time told someone about the light kiss that fell on her eyelashes on the bus, something she hadn't even told her closest mother.

  As she spoke, Ruan Wan also finished the beer in her hand and unconsciously opened another can. She began to tell Zheng Wei about the boy who taught her how to drink beer. The boy said that at first, the taste of beer is bitter and astringent, but don't rush to swallow it, let it linger on your tongue, and gradually you'll feel the natural fragrance and sweetness. This feeling is like a flower blooming on the tip of your tongue. As she spoke, the boy also bloomed a flower in her heart. During their high school days, two excellent students leaned their hearts together. It wasn't that no one knew about their relationship; teachers and parents were all anxious, especially the boy's family. Under the condition of not affecting their studies for the college entrance exam, they tried every possible means to pressure them. What can stop the love between 17- or 18-year-old teenagers? Amidst various pressures, the boy who grew up in an ivory tower, shy and fond of calling her "sister" when they were alone together, firmly held her hand.

  It wasn't that they hadn't thought of attending the same university, but the boy had scored high and got into a prestigious national key school favored by his family, while Ruan Wan missed it by one point and ended up in her second-choice school, also a famous polytechnic university, but still far apart. When they parted ways, they promised each other that no matter what, they would stick together until the clouds cleared and the sun came out again. So phones, letters, internet - every possible means of communication became a bridge between them.

  "Even if you're in contact like this, but separated by such a distance, aren't you afraid that he'll change his mind one day?" Zheng Wei asked absent-mindedly.

  Ruan Wan bit her beautiful lips, "I believe in him, just like I believe in myself. Why not? If the final outcome can't be changed, isn't it happier to believe?"

  Zheng Wei seemed to understand and yet not understand, "Ruan Wan, I'm really jealous of you. You're prettier than me, smarter than me, and even your relationships are smoother than mine."

  Ruan Wan smiled, "Who can compare to the invincible Jade-Faced Little Flying Dragon? Not to mention boys, even I like you."

  Zheng Wei hooked her arm around Ruan Wan's shoulder, "Since you have a crush on me, I'll take you in. On days without men, let's comfort each other."

  Ruan Wan touched her chest and said, "You're quite vulgar."

  "No matter how tacky, it can't compare to your name. Honestly, I've been tolerating your name for a long time. Ruan Wan - soft pipe, I also have straw and fallopian tube... It's settled then, from now on I'll call you Ruan Ruan, which sounds much better than your full name."

  Ruan Wan couldn't stop laughing. "My boyfriend also calls me that, it's just Ruan Ruan, a name is just a code."

  When Zhu Xiaobei pushed the door open, she saw Zheng Wei and Ruan Wan sitting on the floor with their backs against the bed frame, shoulder to shoulder, with several empty beer cans rolling around in front of them.

  "My goodness gracious, what's going on?" She walked over with a clucking sound, "Zheng Wei, your eyes are quite impressive, weren't you stung by a wasp or something?"

  Zheng Wei didn't think it was a big deal, patted the floor beside him and shouted, "Zhu Bei, come over quickly and sit down, there's plenty of beer to drink here, hurry up, let me hug you left and right."

  Zhu Xiaobei snorted, "Are you all crazy? Ruan Wan, you're also going crazy with her." But despite saying that, he proactively walked over and picked up a can of beer from the cardboard box. "This is actually good stuff, although it's not as good as our Northeastern highland barley wine, but it'll do."

  They say three women are a play, and three girls are no exception. After tumbling around, the three of them giggled foolishly, chatting back and forth. Ruan Wan was slightly better off, while Zheng Wei and Zhu Xiaobei would burst into laughter at the slightest provocation, holding their chests and backs in laughter. Sometimes Ruan Wan would ask, "What were you laughing at just now?" Zheng Wei would chuckle and say, "I don't know what I'm laughing at either, Pig North laughs, and I laugh too, haha." "I only laughed because I saw you laughing so hard, you big silly dinosaur, hehehe."

  Then burst into laughter together.

  When everyone was laughing, Zheng Wei asked with a big tongue, "You all say, what are your dreams? We are all dreamy new era girls, Ruan Ruan, you first."

  "What about me?" Ruan Wan lowered her head and pondered, "I'm a person without grand ambitions, I don't seek the best, just comfort. If you ask about dreams, my only dream is to stay young forever, laughable, right? Even I myself can't imagine what it would be like to grow old."

  "Same here." Zheng Wei nodded in agreement, "Sometimes when I'm walking on the street, I see those elderly ajummas with yellow faces and those balding, pot-bellied ajusshis, it's really terrifying."

  Zhu Xiaobei said, "A woman's youth is fleeting, after passing 25 years old they start to get old, by the time they reach 30 years old it's like a yellow flower that has wilted, especially in our Northeast region, girls all marry early and age faster. One of my older female cousins is 23 years old, with two kids, looking just like she's 32."

  Zheng Wei patted her chest, "Girls like us should always stay young!"

  "So, my dream is to always be young and happy, then die in the happiest state. I prefer this kind of ending."

  "You're kidding, right? You'd be happy even if you were dead." Zhu Xiaobei said with disdain. "My ideal is that when I'm still young and beautiful, the person I secretly love tells me that he's also been secretly in love with me for a long time." She seemed to be fantasizing about that scene, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

  "Little rascal, I didn't expect you to be secretly in love with someone!" Zheng Wei pushed Xiao Bei away, "I dislike people like you the most. You clearly have feelings for someone, but you hide and conceal them. If you don't say anything, who would know?"

  "You don't understand, feelings are beautiful when they're ambiguous. If I confess and the other person doesn't feel the same way, how embarrassing would that be? As long as I don't say anything, I'll always have hope and something to think about. Maybe someday my dream will come true, and it turns out he's been secretly in love with me too."

  "Just fantasize about it," Zheng Wei said. "Maybe by the time you meet at the university for seniors, both of your spouses will have passed away, and he'll say something like that to you."

  "Shoo." Zhu Xiaobei rushed up, Ruan Wan hurriedly pulled open, "Zheng Wei talk about your grand ambitions."

  Zheng Wei supported her cheek with her hand and said, "You know about Wuyuan, right?"

  "Isn't that the famous tourist spot with the rape flowers?" Zhu Xiaobei answered quickly.

  "En, it's there, my dream is to go to Wuyuan."

  Ruan Wan smiled, "If I'm not mistaken, Wuyuan should be within the borders of your hometown province, right? It's not that hard to get there, do you really need to make it a dream?"

  "Whatever, whatever, got confused after drinking." Zhu Xiaobei

  "They don't understand. Wuyuan is not too far from my home, I've never been there, but since childhood, I've always heard my mother talk about it. In Wuyuan, there's a small village called Lijiazhuang, where my mother was sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. There's an old locust tree in Lijiazhuang, and my mother said that she met her first love under that tree, they secretly got engaged there, and even bid farewell to her loved one there. All her joys and sorrows were witnessed by that old locust tree, it's so romantic. I've always thought about that old locust tree in my heart, feeling like it's right next to me. So I must go to Wuyuan, find that tree, of course, not alone, but with the one I love - who also loves me. Let the old locust tree be a witness to our love too." As she spoke, her happy face dimmed again, "Originally, I thought I could go with Lin Jing, but now, I don't know anymore."

  "What are you doing?" Zheng Wei's words were interrupted by the sound of the door being pushed open, and Li Weijuan and He Luyao returned at the same time. He Luyao saw their appearance and was incredulous, her mouth slightly ajar. Li Weijuan stomped her foot and said: "You three are actually drinking in the dormitory, how can this be? If Teacher and Dorm Aunt see you, you'll be in big trouble, it's too decadent!"

  Zheng Wei curled her lip, "Even if the teacher comes, it's still us three who are in trouble. How can you always manage to avoid getting into trouble? What's with your restless jumping around?"

  Zhu Xiaobei patted her buttocks and stood up, "Comrade Li Weijuan, if I may say so, the dormitory head doesn't seem to be you either, so you don't have to worry about that. Just do what you need to do, we'll take care of our own decadence, and you can continue being noble."

  Only Ruan Wan lowered her head and picked up the empty cans on the ground, "Let's just say one less sentence."