Chapter Seven We Were All Spoiled Children

  In the university campus, it's not hard to distinguish between freshmen and seniors. Those who are excitedly walking together with several boys or girls are freshmen, while those who are strolling hand in hand on the small path are seniors; those who are rushing to class with all their might five minutes before the lesson starts are freshmen, while those who are slowly crawling towards the classroom after the bell has rung for a long time are seniors. Those whose eyes shine brightly and look forward to the future four years are freshmen, while those whose eyes are dull and smile ambiguously are seniors... Of course, some people prefer to distinguish between them in this way: those who scream when they find a worm in their food in the cafeteria are freshmen, while those who feel surprised and dare not swallow when they don't see any worms in their bowl are seniors.

  No matter what, compared to the three years of high school torture, university life is no different from heaven. Faced with the relaxed learning and unsupervised freedom, many people feel like birds released from a cage, excitedly flapping their wings for a while, but suddenly not knowing where to fly. According to He Luyao, when her first semester was about to end, she still dreamed repeatedly of returning to the days before the college entrance exams, and woke up in a cold sweat.

  Zheng Wei's first enlightenment about skipping class came from Old Zhang, who was known as the "all-knowing" one in the school. With a mindset of just going through the motions, after joining the Go club, she had also gone to the activity room where the club was located several times. Sometimes it was after school, sometimes during class time. No matter when she arrived at that dilapidated activity center, she could always see Old Zhang's figure. Finally, one day, Zheng Wei couldn't help but ask out loud the doubts in her mind: "Old Zhang, why are you always here? Don't you need to attend classes?" Old Zhang smiled nonchalantly: "Silly girl, do you think everyone is like you guys, diligently attending every class? I'd rather spend my precious youth doing something I enjoy than wasting it on boring courses." At the time, Zheng Wei thought to herself, no wonder people say that the Go club is a club for students who are held back a year.

  Even as a freshman, the courses for engineering students are quite tight. In addition to four professional courses, there are also public foreign languages and Marxist philosophy, legal foundation, and other compulsory public courses. The daily course schedule is usually packed, and any spare time is spent on endless calculus homework. Zheng Wei indulged in her sleepiness one rainy morning, using a headache as an excuse to skip class. After worrying for a while, she found that the consequences were not as severe as she had imagined - in fact, there were no consequences at all. From then on, she became more and more daring, skipping classes whenever possible, except for professional courses which she was afraid of falling behind in. At first, she would ask Ruan Ruan to forge a doctor's note for her, but after using up all the non-terminal illnesses, she stopped bothering with notes altogether. This situation worsened after her parents bought her a computer, and she became known as the "king of skipping classes" in her dormitory, along with Zhuo Mei who was notorious for being lazy. Occasionally, they would be joined by Zhu Xiao Bei, who also hated Marxist philosophy. The three of them would spend their time watching TV dramas from various countries, including Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, the US, and Taiwan, without any discrimination. Sometimes they would get so engrossed in the shows that they would forget to eat, relying on Ruan Ruan to bring back food for them after class.

  Ruan Ruan wasn't always fully focused in class, but she had a principle of not skipping classes unless there was a special situation. She'd rather be absent-minded than absent. As she put it, since Zheng Wei skipped classes so frequently, if she did the same, they might not even know what's going on in their mixed dormitory or in class, let alone if someone took roll call. Usually, the class monitor would take attendance, and although Ruan Ruan's fake excuses were laughably bad, the monitor would turn a blind eye due to Zheng Wei's charming smile and good reputation in class. However, if they encountered a strict professor, things wouldn't be so easily settled. There was once when Zheng Wei skipped "Civil Engineering Overview" with reckless abandon. The professor teaching that course was notorious for being one of the three toughest professors in the civil engineering department. Before class started, he would meticulously take roll call and get furious if there were too many empty seats. He'd slam his hand on the desk and shout, "You dare to skip my class?! Don't you know who I am?! If you're absent twice this semester, your final grade will be zero!" At times like these, Zheng Wei would watch TV in their dorm room until she was moved to tears, then Ruan Ruan would rush back during the break between classes, panting and out of breath. Since their courses were usually two consecutive classes, when they saw Professor Li's furious face, Zheng Wei's weakness became even more apparent. "Sorry, Professor Li, I've had diarrhea for two days, so I missed one class."

  It's a good thing that people look innocent and pure. Even Professor Li, who is known for being strict and serious, couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic when he saw Zheng Wei's big, innocent eyes and the sincere expression on her face. He waved his hand and said, "Little girl, don't eat too much junk food, it's bad for your body and will affect your studies. Go back to your seat, this time I'll let you off." It's said that later on, some of the boys in the class tried to imitate her method, but not only did they fail to avoid being marked absent, they also got scolded by Professor Li until their faces were red with shame. The boys secretly lamented why they weren't born as beautiful girls. When Zheng Wei heard this, she said, "It's all about natural talent, what can you do? Besides, the first person who used this method was a genius, but those who followed were just stupid."

  What's even more infuriating is that at the end of the semester, when the final exam results came out, Ruan Ruan's grades were consistently in the top three, and even Zheng Wei, who was always slacking off, somehow managed to pass every subject with flying colors - of course, having taken the Marxism exam sitting behind Ruan Ruan was a crucial factor.

  Not long after the start of the second semester, a change occurred in the 402 dormitory. He Luyao, who had always claimed that she would never fall in love in college, was pursued by a senior from her hometown after several gatherings with old friends. At first, the senior constantly found excuses to invite her out for meals and walks in the park. Li Weiwan, who had always been sharp-eyed, asserted that the man had ulterior motives, but He Luyao vehemently denied it, insisting that they were just good friends. This left Zheng Weina puzzled for a long time, and she privately asked Ruan Ruan, "Isn't He Luyao's hometown in the suburbs? It only takes two hours to get there by car, is it necessary to have frequent gatherings with old friends?" Ruan Ruan smiled and replied, "Let's wait and see." In the end, the two of them rapidly warmed up to each other, often appearing together on campus with affectionate expressions. He Luyao finally had to blushingly admit that she had indeed accepted the man's pursuit.

  For this, Li Wei Juan, who had a closer relationship with He Luyao, was still indignant for a while. In her opinion, the boy was not tall, not handsome, and came from a rural area. Although He Luyao's family was also from a rural area, under better circumstances, she should have chosen someone with better conditions. When Li Wei Juan said these things, He Luyao listened silently without saying a word. In the end, she only replied in a low voice: "I think he treats me well."

  "You're stupid, he's good to you when he's chasing you, besides, what's the use of being good, with a man who has no prospects, his whole life will be useless." Li Wei Juan was quite indignant. She herself was very popular in the student union, clever and sharp-tongued, and looked pretty good too, so she wasn't lacking in admirers. However, she had high standards, her motto being: choosing a partner is a woman's second chance to choose her own destiny after birth. After she made it clear that she wouldn't consider anyone from a poor family background, many suitors retreated."

  Zhu Xiaobei, who had never gotten along with her, couldn't take it anymore. "If you ask me, what pot matches what lid is fine as long as they fit. Rich playboys aren't unheard of, but they're not stupid either, why would they fall for you? Of course, the 'you' I'm referring to here is a general term, not directed at anyone in particular. Anyway, He Luyan, I support you, love whoever you want, what's it to anyone else?"

  It turned out that soon after, Zhu Xiaobei made a joke. That day, she opened the water and returned to the dormitory, just in time to see He Luyao on the bed with Zheng Wei and several others looking at photos with relish. She went over to take a look and said: "He Luyao, is this your dad standing next to you? He looks quite young."

  Zheng Wei suddenly covered her stomach and laughed, He Luyao didn't say anything, but the expression on his gentle face was also extremely difficult to see. Xiao Bei was still inexplicably puzzled when he heard Ruan Ruan say a sentence: "Xiao Bei, you probably didn't bring your eyes, the one next to Luyao is her boyfriend. However, although you didn't see clearly, there's one thing that you said correctly, Luyao and him do have some husband-and-wife-like relationship."

  Zhu Xiaobei felt a bit embarrassed, realizing she had misspoken. The aftermath of this incident was that her classmate He Luyan was distant towards her for a long time, until much later when she came to understand and began to chat with her again. From then on, Xiaobei spoke more cautiously, but privately felt wronged. She told Zheng Wei and Ruan Ruan, "Her boyfriend indeed looks quite 'mature', that's why I was misled into saying the wrong thing. Now thinking about it, Li Weijuan's selfish words were also right, why did she find someone like that?" Ruan Ruan said to her, "How can you know what others want when you're not them? They themselves are clearest on what they want."

  It's said that in G University, there isn't a single girl who doesn't have boys chasing after her. This statement is true, and even the most ordinary girls can find their "dragon knights" here. As for the six beauties of the dormitory building, they are like flowers in bloom, and the people standing guard downstairs are lined up one by one. Each person has a few or more candidates behind them, with Ruan Ruan being the most popular, but she had already declared that she had a boyfriend early on. Although she gets along well with boys, she always gives off an aura of being unapproachable.

  Zhuo Mei is a local, and she often goes back home, so she doesn't spend much time in school. She's the type of person who would rather do less than more, as Zheng Wei puts it, she's a "tree sloth". Her goal is to graduate safely and then get married off through family introductions, continuing her lazy life. As a result, she doesn't pay much attention to the people around her.

  Most of the boys who like Zhu Xiao Bei are straightforward and simple-minded, including some tall and handsome guys over 1.8 meters. However, according to her, she actually likes introverted boys, having secretly liked one since elementary school. Unfortunately, that didn't work out, and there hasn't been anyone suitable around her.

  The most popular and sought-after girl is undoubtedly Yu Mian Xiao Fei Long (Jade-faced Little Flying Dragon). With her pure and sweet appearance, hot-blooded and outgoing personality, she's a favorite among both young and old. One time, Ruan Ruan saw her laying out a brand new deck of cards on her bed, muttering to herself, and asked what she was doing. She replied that she was numbering and sorting the boys who liked her, busy as can be.

  Ruan Ruan laughed at this and sat down next to her, watching as she introduced each one. The worst condition was the Two of Spades, a Chinese literature major who wrote her a 14-line modern poem, making her go hungry for days. Ruan Ruan was more interested in the King of Hearts, "Isn't that Xu Gongzi?"

  Zheng Wei didn't feel embarrassed and asked with admiration: "How did you know?"

  Ruan Ruan said: "I think among these people, the one with the best conditions and the most compatible temperament with you is him. Apart from Xu Kaiyang, who else can have such high scores?"

  Zheng Wei held the red heart K and muttered to herself: "Kai Yang is quite to my taste, but we just click too well, and somehow it feels like something's missing."

  Here is the translation:

  I first met Xu Kaiyang at Old Zhang's Go club. Old Zhang was the president, and after Zheng Wei joined the club, he also fulfilled his promise to give her the title of vice-president. This was rare in the club, but there were only about twenty members, all male, and no one objected to Old Zhang's proposal. Zheng Wei was delighted to become the vice-president, but soon discovered that this position was a thankless job. Not only did she not get any benefits, but she also had to replace Old Zhang at various club meetings, which was exhausting. After being involved in the club's work for some time, she realized that the Go club's survival depended largely on Old Zhang's behind-the-scenes efforts. His decision to send Zheng Wei to attend those club meetings was a wise one. Even when other large clubs saw her, they didn't dare say anything harsh, and when it came to allocating funds, Zheng Wei, under Old Zhang's guidance, pestered the student union secretary until they got the largest funding in the Go club's history. Little Zheng Wei naturally became the Go club's star. The old members of the club even organized a "Little Flying Dragon Cup" new player Go challenge for her, but in reality, the only new player participating was Zheng Wei herself. At that time, she had just begun to understand what a corner and a star were.

  It seems that she really has no talent for Go, and although her masters are all top-notch, they have all failed to teach her the game. Even Old Zhang, known as the king of endurance, couldn't take it anymore and said that she was a hopeless case. In the end, the only one who continued to accompany Zheng Wei in her struggles was a quiet and introverted boy named Xu Kaiyang. Zheng Wei's impression of Xu Kaiyang came from the private gossip of Li Wei Juan and others, so in her mind, the legendary Xu Gongzi should be a carefree and flirtatious young master, with a face full of peach blossoms and a charming smile. But it turned out that he was actually a simple and innocent boy. When he played Go with her alone, Zheng Wei couldn't help but size him up - he looked very good, with a proper and decent appearance, clearly a well-behaved child, completely different from what she had imagined. Whenever she looked at him, his face would turn red, and his chess skills, which were praised by Old Zhang, would often make mistakes, making Zheng Wei want to laugh out loud and tease him.

  Xu Kaiyang likes Zheng Wei, which is a secret that everyone in the Go club knows but doesn't say out loud. When they're together, it's like they're two peas in a pod, and even Old Zhang thinks they're a good match. Xu Kaiyang usually only has an interest in playing Go and doesn't really care about girls, but when he met Zheng Wei, he fell head over heels for her. Whether she was smiling sweetly or being mischievous, he couldn't get enough of her. Zheng Wei also noticed his feelings and liked him too. Maybe people with simple natures are more likely to click immediately. They would eat together, play Go together, and go shopping together, and when they were together, they were both happy and carefree like kids. But is this love? Zheng Wei thought that her liking for Kaiyang was like her liking for her dad, mom, grandpa, and grandma, and Ruan Ruan - it wasn't the same as her liking for Lin Jing. When she liked Lin Jing, her emotions were like a rollercoaster, up and down, high and low, but with Kaiyang, all she felt was pure joy, like having a great playmate.

  It's been a long time, and Zheng Wei has gradually stopped thinking about Lin Jing. She still knows that her feelings for Kai Yang are not love. "I even go shopping with him for underwear, it feels like we're sisters. When I think about kissing him, my heart feels weird. How can this be?" she says to Ruan Ruan. Ruan Ruan is also helpless in this situation. In short, Kai Yang has never explicitly expressed his feelings, and Zheng Wei continues to be friends with him, seemingly unaware of the situation. Her heart's balance sometimes leans towards him, but more often it leans towards the unknown side.

  "What kind of person are you looking for?" Ruan Ruan asked.

  She said, "I always feel that the person I'm looking for should be someone who can make me sad and also make me happy, someone who makes me willing to fight for him with all my might. I don't love those who love me, but only love those whom I love."

  Many years later, Zheng Wei remembered this conversation and had a bitter smile on her face, just like Ruan Ruan's at the moment. She thought that she was indeed a spoiled child back then.