Chapter 105: Dare to Ask Where the Road Lies

Ren Jiaxuan was somewhat surprised that she hadn’t lost her temper this time. Seeing her cold expression, he forced a smile and said, “It’s good that you’re not angry. I got you a gift—take a look and see if you like it.” He pulled out an exquisite jewelry box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a crystal-clear crystal bracelet.

“I don’t like it. You can take it back,” Dong Yanyan replied coolly.

Sure enough, he noticed his expression change again. She just wanted to see if he would lose his temper and throw the bracelet in anger this time.

“I thought you would like it. What do you want then? Tell me, and I’ll take you to buy it,” Ren Jiaxuan said, draping his arm around her shoulder with a good-natured smile.

“Stop buying things. I don’t want anything,” Dong Yanyan pulled away from him, kicked the chair behind him, and started to walk out. Ren Jiaxuan grabbed her arm gently and coaxed, “Yanyan, I’ve already apologized. Just forgive me this once. I promise I won’t shout at you again. I won’t raise my voice, okay?”

“If you don’t let go, I’ll scream,” she said firmly, shaking off his grasp and running out without looking back.

Ren Jiaxuan stood there nonchalantly. Then he called Liu Siying over and asked, “Siying, do you think Yanyan wouldn’t like this?”

Liu Siying picked up the bracelet and looked at it with some surprise. “This is the bracelet she wanted last time but didn’t buy because it was too expensive. She said she’d wait for the New Year sale. Why would she refuse it now?”

Ren Jiaxuan smiled knowingly. “She’s just sulking. It’s okay, I’ll get her something else. When someone’s angry, you just have to coax them.” Calmly, he put the bracelet away and left.

*

That evening, while getting her meal, Dong Yanyan stared blankly through the huge glass window of the cafeteria, her mind drifting again.

“Number Five, look at those two—” Liu Ying glanced back from the front, sneaking a look at the line beside them and whispered in her ear, “I heard from Liu Yan on the dispatch team that these days Yang Lili has been going up to see Qiu Dong often.”

Dong Yanyan looked at the reflections of the two figures smiling in the glass—it was so clear it was like a mirror. Yang Lili and Qiu Dong were dating. She had known this back then, so she wasn’t surprised now. She just hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly. Was Yang Lili obsessed with class leaders? She seemed to pick only class leaders! Dong Yanyan bitterly smiled to herself.

Fortunately, Yang Lili and Lin Feng were not pretentious people. Judging by their current state, it was clear that even if they couldn’t be lovers, they could still be friends without any grudges, and they often looked happy.

Back when they were together, she had been heartbroken and lost; she hadn’t imagined they’d end things so abruptly. Thinking back on her own pain and turmoil, it felt like a cruel irony.

But why couldn’t she let go gracefully? Why did the thought of that person chill her to the bone? It wasn’t a big deal, but she just couldn’t get past it—she only felt anger.

*

The next morning, she was still a little listless as she opened the door. She was startled to see Song Mingcheng waiting right outside her dorm room. She immediately exploded.

“Are you crazy?! The teacher just talked to us yesterday, and today you’re blocking my dorm door! The teacher likes you, so you don’t care? Are you going to leave me any space to live?!”

Song Mingcheng smiled indifferently. “I already cleared things up with the teacher yesterday. The teacher understands. Besides, it’s cold outside waiting for you.”

That single sentence made Dong Yanyan obediently shut up. She felt a pang of guilt. “Then don’t accompany me to deliver newspapers anymore. It doesn’t look good if people see us together.”

“Is your safety more important, or what others say? If something really happened to you, could I live with fifteen years of friendship between us?” Song Mingcheng refused outright.

Dong Yanyan sighed. Seeing her despondent expression, Song Mingcheng was puzzled. She smiled and said, “I’m just a bit tired. Why, now that we’re back, do we have to keep calculating gains and losses, weighing every step? It was simpler and happier before.”

“It’s simple: because we’ve grown up,” Song Mingcheng said earnestly. “Everyone has to grow.”

Dong Yanyan nodded thoughtfully. “Though it sounds cliché, it’s true. If you don’t think more when you grow up, it’s not innocence—it’s foolishness. Was I silly and stupid back then? No wonder I ended up in such a bad state.”

Song Mingcheng chuckled. “Really? I think you haven’t changed much since then—except your temper got longer. Otherwise, how come I didn’t recognize you at first?”

“Song Mingcheng! Remember what you just said; you’ll pay for it!” Dong Yanyan pointed at him angrily, then turned around and bumped her head against the glass door.

Song Mingcheng laughed until he could barely stand straight.

*

“Ren Jiaxuan! What’s wrong with you? You have to memorize these theoretical things! The final exams are coming—aren’t you worried? Look at Dong Yanyan; she’s in engineering, busier than you, but she memorizes better! Aren’t you ashamed?” The beautiful Yang stormed to the back of the broadcasting class, banging a lesson plan on Ren Jiaxuan’s head.

Ren Jiaxuan stood stiffly, unbent as a mountain. Seeing she didn’t stop, he finally gave in. “Teacher, could you stop rubbing salt in my wounds?”

Yang was taken aback, then stopped, shook her aching arm, and smiled gently. “Everyone’s tired. Jiaxuan, sing a couple of songs to refresh everyone’s mind.”

Ren Jiaxuan rubbed his sore head and got up from his seat.

“Perhaps I bid farewell and will not return, do you understand, do you comprehend~~~ Perhaps I fall and will not rise again, are you still waiting forever…”

Across the hall, Mr. Guo in the broadcast class was interrupted in his lecture by the mournful, lingering singing from the broadcasting class. Frowning slightly, he threw down his chalk and said with a smile, “Broadcast class, what class is this? Why are you singing in harmony? Cultural committee, start a song and drown them out!”

Students who had been daydreaming, chatting, or sleeping immediately perked up.

Yang Lili stood and began singing “My Chinese Heart.”

When the broadcast class finished, the broadcast class also erupted into passionate singing. Beautiful Yang slammed the desk and smiled regally, “Broadcast class, do you surrender?!”

“No!!!”

“What shall we sing?”

“Farewell My Concubine!”

Hearing that, Mr. Guo clapped and shouted, “They’re singing ‘Farewell My Concubine,’ we’ll sing ‘Where Is the Road?’”

“In my heart, you are the heaviest, my tears rush to the sky, in the next life I shall still be victorious, the setting sun glows brightly—”

“Seasons pass by one after another, bitter and sweet life experiences, dare to ask where the road is? The road is beneath our feet~~~!”

Teacher Liu Qing came running down from upstairs, basketball in hand, hearing the loud singing from both classrooms. After listening for a while, he recognized the tune.

“Oh? Singing contest! I like this! East has mountains~~~ West has rivers~~ Front has cars, behind there are! Tracks!!!” He opened his throat and sang loudly, striding down the corridor as if no one else was there. His booming voice silenced both classrooms; students rushed out to admire the formidable brother. He left with flair, leaving only his tall, imposing back at the end of the hallway.

*

After class, Ren Jiaxuan leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. Dou Jingxuan saw him like this, tiptoed over, and patted his shoulder. “Hey! What mischief are you plotting now?”

Ren Jiaxuan glanced at her and smiled charmingly. “Don’t disturb me. I’m contemplating life.”

“You won’t get anywhere thinking like that. Why not ask me? Girls understand girls better, right?” Dou Jingxuan coaxed.

Ren Jiaxuan fixed his gaze on her, staring for a long moment, then nodded thoughtfully.

“Then let’s go! If you give her something and she’s not satisfied, buy her something else until she is! If you don’t have this kind of sincerity, don’t bother chasing girls!” Dou Jingxuan eagerly grabbed his arm and pulled him outside.

Before he fully grasped the situation, he was dizzy and dragged to the mall.

The two of them lingered around the jewelry counter on the second floor. Dou Jingxuan was in high spirits, admiring one piece after another.

“Jiaxuan, look at this hairpin! It’s so pretty! Excuse me, is this on sale?” She held a blue diamond-studded hairpin affectionately, examining it repeatedly.

The sales clerk quickly punched numbers into the calculator and smiled. “This one is 20% off now, three hundred and sixty after discount.”

Ren Jiaxuan frowned, examined it, then looked at Dou Jingxuan. Seeing his hesitation, the clerk brought out several more hairpins enthusiastically. “You can also look at these; these styles are the trendiest this year.”

“This red one is pretty too! Yanyan likes red the most!” Dou Jingxuan picked up a red hairpin and held it to her head.

Seeing it looked good on her, Ren Jiaxuan nodded. “Then this one.”

The clerk happily rang it up. He turned to Dou Jingxuan and smiled. “Dou Dou, if you like it so much, why don’t you buy one? That’s not like you.”

Dou Jingxuan frowned sadly. “I can’t afford it—just looking is enough. To be honest, I haven’t been to the mall for almost a month. I just sent Li Bing two thousand yuan the day before yesterday. I only have living expenses left this month.”

“Didn’t you send him two thousand last month? How come you’re out of money again?” Ren Jiaxuan asked.

“His family’s conditions aren’t good. He only gets three hundred a month for living expenses. It’s not even enough for food. Plus, he’s studying in a big city like Beijing. Being too poor would make people look down on him,” Dou Jingxuan smiled.

“That makes sense,” Ren Jiaxuan nodded and smiled. “Pick whatever you like, I’ll buy it for you! Don’t act like a little pauper.”