Chapter Twelve: White Jasmine and Red Rose

  Before the holiday was over, Su Yisuo returned to school. According to Jiang Zhanlin's words, as a woman of the new era, she should not waste her youth in that small bed at home. However, for Su Yisuo, returning to school early simply meant moving the place where she stayed from home to the dormitory.

  This evening Su Yisu was watching TV in her dormitory. Suddenly the phone rang again.

  "Yi Su, are you in the dorm?" came Jiang Fengchen's tentative voice from the other end.

  "Ah."

  "I'm under your dorm building, can you come down for a bit? I have something to talk to you about."

  "Okay, wait a minute, I'll go down." Without thinking much, Su Yisu hung up the phone and ran downstairs with a "thud thud thud".

  Downstairs, Jiang Fengchen stood confidently with his hands in his pockets, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. The wind rustled through the bamboo forest, sweeping across Jiang Fengchen's hair and then blowing towards Su Yisuo's cheek.

  Seeing Jiang Fengchen's figure, Su Yisuo walked quickly and asked: "What can I do for you?"

  "I... didn't have anything going on, just passing by and thought I'd drop in to see you." Jiang Fengchen spoke hesitantly, his eyes darting back and forth.

  "Uh..." Su Yisu didn't notice Jiang Fengchen's expression, only feeling as if countless crows were flying over her head.

  "Since we're all here, why don't we take a walk? A stroll wouldn't be bad either."

  "Alright..."

  Two people strolled through the garden after a fight, the strong fragrance of jasmine wafted in the wind, faintly mixed with the scent of jasmine. Jiang Feng Chen looked at the flowers by the side of the road, lowered his head and smiled lightly: "It's October already, the jasmine is still blooming."

  Su Yisu also gazed at the swaying jasmine, somewhat melancholic, "October is its last blooming period, it will wither soon."

  Jiang Fengchen looked up at her and suddenly asked: "What is the flower language of jasmine?"

  Su Yisuo thought for a moment and replied, "Many countries regard jasmine as the flower of love. Men and women also like to give each other jasmine flowers to express their eternal love. It symbolizes loyalty, respect, purity, chastity, simplicity, elegance, charm... and you are my life."

  "You are my life...... Hehe, I thought its flower language was 'don't leave me'."

  Su smiled lightly, "Indeed, there is such a saying, but the language of flowers is diverse and varied, it's just taking what you want to believe or can rely on."

  "So, for Jasmine, which one would you rather accept?"

  Su Yisu was stunned, she had never thought about this question. Jasmine, Mo Li, it's so obvious, but she gave another answer, maybe no need to say more, in her consciousness, it is recognized as "you are my life".

  Seeing Su Yisu not responding, Jiang Fengchen smiled slightly and continued: "Is it 'You are my life'? Otherwise, you wouldn't have told me this flower language."

  Su Yisu looked up at him in surprise, never expecting that her thoughts would be so easily seen through.

  Jiang Fengchen raised an eyebrow, not explaining, and continued: "In this world, there are many flowers that can represent love, but roses are the most direct, aren't they? However, jasmine is pure, chaste, noble, and elegant, which is something that roses can't compare to. What do you think?"

  Su Yixin's astonishment deepened, when did this Jiang Fengchen become so knowledgeable about flowers?

  Jiang Fengchen seemed to have seen through her doubts and explained, "In order to have common topics to talk about with you, I've been doing some homework these days." After a pause, he carefully looked at Su Yisu again, "You won't look down on me because of this, will you?"

  "I won't..." Su Yisu almost subconsciously replied, and even she herself couldn't figure out what reason made her so unguarded against the person in front of her.

  Jiang Fengchen let out a sigh of relief.

  As they spoke, the two of them had already walked around the large backyard, Su Yisuo turned back to look, that small piece of bamboo forest was still swaying left and right, the dim yellow light from the lamps on the road spilled down, casting dappled shadows on the ground, it was as if it had the feeling of "accumulated water empty clarity" as described by Su Dongpo, only this place was brightly lit everywhere, even the night sky was as bright as daytime, and the faint moonlight was nowhere to be found. Suddenly hearing Jiang Jiaolong calling out to her from upstairs, Su Yisuo came back to her senses, responded with a sound, apologetically bid farewell to Jiang Fengchen, then hastily went up the stairs.

  Seeing Su Yisuo disappear from the staircase, Jiang Fengchen also let out a sigh and returned to his dormitory.

  October slipped away quietly in people's hands like flowing water, without making a sound. The jasmine finally withered, but the azalea bloomed more and more magnificently. Along the school path, in the flowerbeds, on the balconies, and in the corridors, they burst forth in thousands and tens of thousands, even if no one appreciated them, they still bloomed radiantly, a brilliant red, dyeing the entire campus.

  During class breaks, classmates all walk out of the classroom to exercise and move around.

  Su Yisu was fiddling with the petals of a camellia flower while nervously calling out for the arrival of winter break.

  Li Shuiyan glared at her and said, "It's only been a few days since school started, and you're already looking forward to winter break. You deserve to be disappointed."

  "Hmm, don't bother yourself with it."

  "Hey, Yisuo, long time no see." A familiar male voice suddenly came from beside her ear. Su Yisuo and Li Shuiyan turned their heads to look, and Jiang Fengchen was standing at the stairs entrance with a smile all over his face.

  "Huh?" Su Yisuo was stunned and asked in a daze: "How did you end up here, isn't your classroom downstairs?"

  "I... I have a friend on the fifth floor, I went up to find him for something, and came down just in time to see you, what a coincidence."

  "It is... quite a coincidence." Su Yisuo could only follow his words and replied.

  "Don't you think this world is amazing? Since we got to know each other, I often run into you in class. Huh, how come I never noticed before?"

  "I think you're deliberately showing off in front of me." Li Shuiyan snorted, whispering disapprovingly into Su Yisuo's ear.

  Su Yisu pinched Li Shuiyan's arm lightly, hinting that she shouldn't show her dissatisfaction too obviously. She smiled and replied: "Maybe... Class is about to start, let's go in." As she said this, she nodded at him and pulled Li Shuiyan into the classroom.

  "You pulled me for what? He's obviously up to no good!" Li Shuiyan said, refusing to give in and insisting on her own point of view.

  "Don't think so badly of human nature..."

  "You think too highly of human nature." Li Shuiyan pouted, suddenly leaned in close to Su Yisou and whispered solemnly: "No gift is given without expectation of reward, either treachery or theft."

  "Cut..." Su Yisuo snorted in disdain.

  Time is still passing, and in the blink of an eye, it's another quiet weekend night. The classmates who have been tied up for a week are already physically and mentally exhausted. Those with boyfriends or girlfriends have gone on dates, those with plans have gone out to play, and the study enthusiasts are all buried in their books in the classroom. The entire campus is empty. Even Jiang Shu, who had promised to accompany Su Yisou mountain climbing every week, has disappeared without a trace. Lin Lu had asked for leave early due to family matters and went back home. Su Yisou was left wandering aimlessly around the campus with nothing to do. She didn't want to go to the classroom or outside, so she ended up hiding in her dormitory.

  The backyard was just in front of Su Yisuo's dormitory building, and it was a must-pass place for her to return to the dormitory. Due to the school's strict control over early love, what was originally an excellent dating spot was now desolate and cold, with only the cold streetlights standing alone there.

  As she walked through the winding path, Su Yisuo was intoxicated by the strong fragrance of night-blooming flowers and felt dizzy. Suddenly, someone jumped out in front of her and shouted "Yisuo", startling her so much that she let out a loud cry as well.

  Patting her startled heart, Su Yisuo only discovered that the person who came was Jiang Fengchen, and she couldn't help but pretend to be angry: "Jiang Fengchen, why is it that every time you appear, your method is always so unexpected?"

  "Me..." Jiang Fengchen's originally smiling face became flustered, "I didn't know you hadn't seen me..."

  "Alright..." Su Yisuo didn't want to dwell on the issue anymore, but when he saw Jiang Fengchen's hands still behind his back from start to finish, and the night-blooming jasmine branch stretching out from behind him completely blocking Su Yisuo's line of sight, he couldn't help but curiously ask: "Jiang Fengchen, what are you holding in your hand?"

  "Hearing this, Jiang Fengchen became awkward again, stuttering and unsure of how to continue."

  Su Yisu was bewildered and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

  Jiang Fengchen took a deep breath, pulled out the bunch of red roses hidden behind him, and stared at Su Yisou with his eyes wide open. With deep emotion, he said: "I don't know why, but from the moment I saw you for the first time, I felt like I fell in love with you. Before, I didn't believe in love at first sight, but your appearance made me firmly believe in it. Every day, I try my best to create opportunities to run into you by chance, just so that you can remember me more deeply... Yisou, at this moment, I've used up all my courage in front of you, hoping that you can accept me..."

  Su Yisuo was completely stunned, and that one bunch of charming red roses was clearly held in Jiang Fengchen's hand, motionless, but she felt it kept swaying in front of her eyes, making her dizzy and disoriented.

  Jiang Fengchen waited for a long time but couldn't get Su Yisuo's response, so he carefully called out again: "Yisuo? Yisuo?"

  "Uh...ah?" Su Yisuo suddenly came back to her senses, looked at Jiang Fengchen, then looked at the bouquet of red roses, and only then did she react to what was in front of her. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed, her eyebrows furrowed together, unsure of how to respond.

  "Is it...?" Jiang Fengchen waited anxiously for her answer, wanting to say something more, but his tongue was tied and he couldn't utter a single word.

  "Jiang Fengchen," Su Yisu seemed to have made a huge decision, and said loudly: "We are still young..."

  "No, Suo, that's no excuse!" Jiang Fengchen interrupted her, "Don't you like me? You can say it straight out, I...I can accept it."

  "I..." Su Yisu couldn't say those words, so she lowered her head and replied: "Just think of me as someone who hasn't fallen in love yet." As she spoke, she didn't even lift her head, preparing to run back to the dormitory around Jiang Fengchen. However, she was caught by Jiang Fengchen's grasp. Jiang Fengchen gazed at Su Yisu with scorching eyes, shoving the bouquet of flowers into her hands and saying: "You haven't completely rejected me, so please don't reject this bunch of red roses either. It doesn't matter, I'll wait until the day you fall in love." After finishing speaking, he didn't bother Su Yisu anymore, took a few steps back, turned around, and walked out of the backyard garden.

  Su Yisu's expression was dull as she watched Jiang Fengchen leave, without saying a word, and even forgot the rose in her hand. After a long time, she finally came back to her senses, sighed, and lamented. What is love? Is it elegant white jasmine or enchanting red roses? I don't understand, I understand familial love and friendship, but I just can't grasp this thing called love. I always thought roses were tacky, but at this moment, it seemed radiant.

  You think you're untainted and extraordinary, but you'll always end up with a hint of ordinariness. Because even if roses are common, they still represent love. When you pursue love, you can't help but yearn for a beautiful red rose.

  But what is love?