Chapter 108: Who We Were Then

Glancing at the few remaining classmates nearby, she offered him a faint, indifferent smile. "If you like it, take it." She then lowered her head again to read her letter.

Yang Xiaohai smiled somewhat awkwardly, whispered a thank you, and returned silently to his seat.

Lin Feng entered through the front door of the classroom shortly after, pulled up a chair beside her, and sat down. Looking at her with a smile, he said, "Yanyan, I have something to tell you."

He was wearing a thick woolen coat today that was both textured and stylish, but Dong Yanyan seemed to have lost her capacity for infatuation; she had stayed up too late the night before.

"What is it?" she asked, turning her head with a smile.

"You know we haven't had a suitable candidate for class league secretary, so Song Mingcheng has been acting in the role. After deliberation by the class committee, it’s been decided that you should take the position. Furthermore, Director Tang has personally recommended you for the Student Union. We can work together from now on."

Seeing his professional and gentle expression, Dong Yanyan offered a flat, indifferent smile and refused immediately. "I don't think I'm suited for it. The teacher should find someone else."

Lin Feng was visibly taken aback. He didn't press the matter, but continued, "Think it over. Now, for our second order of business—this one you’ll definitely be interested in. New Year's is approaching, and the school is organizing a gala. Each class needs three performances, and I plan to submit your magic act. Start preparing; I have faith in you."

"Sure! I won't let you down!" Dong Yanyan replied readily.

"Really? Show me another trick then," Lin Feng said with a smile.

"Alright! Look, this is one finger~~~~" Dong Yanyan pretended to be mysterious, wiggling her right index finger in front of his eyes. Then, she covered her right hand with her left. "Watch closely—abracadabra!" She pulled her left hand away quickly, holding her right hand in a V-shape, and laughed triumphantly, "Now it's two!"

Lin Feng blinked, then chuckled. "I can do that too, watch~~~~~" He held up a finger with a mock-serious expression. Dong Yanyan pounced on him instantly, pinning his right hand down and grabbing his finger, laughing, "Change it! Go on, change it! See, it’s still just one!"

"It moved to my left hand, look! One! Two! Three! Four! Five!" Lin Feng held his left hand high in the air. Dong Yanyan swiped at it several times but couldn't catch it.

"What are you showing off for? Like you're the only one with five fingers?" Tiantian draped her arm over Lin Feng’s shoulder and said with a sweet smile, "It's almost noon, shouldn't we be heading upstairs?"

Lin Feng glanced at his watch and smiled. "You're right, it's about time. Let's go!"

"Where are you guys going?" Dong Yanyan asked curiously.

It was Lin Feng's turn to look surprised. "Our two dorms are having a get-together this afternoon, of course we're going to our dorm!"

"A get-together? Why am I always the last one to know?" Dong Yanyan complained.

"Sister Number Five, the dorm head announced it this morning when everyone was there. Who knows what you were staring blankly at? Probably thinking about Ren Jiaxuan!" Tiantian hugged her neck and teased.

"We have activities every week; our lives are so rich and colorful! The food in our mouths is what really counts. Without him, were you afraid I wouldn't have a handsome guy to tease? Let’s go, don't be late." Dong Yanyan patted Tiantian's cheek, sounding nonchalant.

Lin Feng watched her display of cynical, hoodlum-like behavior and shook his head with a smile.

***

Several of them went upstairs, where Li Hui and Liu Ying were already helping Jiang Fan and the others set up. Four desks were pushed together in the middle of the dorm room, covered with drinks, alcohol, and washed fruit. Several plates were filled with stir-fried side dishes. Leng Yue and Yu Xia were squatting on the floor by a spirit stove, using a small spatula to stir-fry, while Xiaohan and Xinran helped out on the side.

Dong Yanyan only just remembered that they had each handed in ten yuan that morning for food. What a memory she had!

"Number Five, Number Eight, you two have it good, coming here just to eat," Li Hui said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Dong Yanyan used a toothpick to stab a piece of apple and popped it into her mouth. "Sister, it's not that I'm lecturing you, but at a time like this, you should give the boys a chance to show off, rather than doing the work ourselves."

"Exactly!" Tiantian agreed, clutching her arm.

"Fallacy!" Leng Yue teased.

"Dong Yanyan, learn from others. Don't go around bullying every boy you see, thinking we are all—"

"Shut up!" Song Mingcheng was cut off mid-sentence by Dong Yanyan’s blunt interruption. "Get to work! Stop standing around like a hands-off manager!"

Song Mingcheng laughed dismissively. "I know your specialty is beef stewed with tomatoes. I bought canned beef, but couldn't find tomatoes, so I bought potatoes instead. You make beef stewed with potatoes. Just do your best, and we'll make do." He shoved two enormous potatoes into her hands.

Dong Yanyan grabbed a paring knife and began peeling them rapidly. Seeing his relaxed and self-satisfied expression, she couldn't help but jab at him. "Song Mingcheng, I remember you used to be a man of few words. Why is your mouth so sharp now? This is a bad trend; you’ve lost all your mystery. Gold and jade have turned into bricks and rubble."

Song Mingcheng chuckled. "Isn't 'throwing bricks' your specialty? You throw them at whoever you see! Hey, do I look like a brick to you right now? If you need something done, just say the word, I promise to do exactly as you say!"

The way he said that was so much like Ren Jiaxuan that Dong Yanyan felt a fleeting sense of loss. "Thanks... but! Could you die if you didn't tease me?!" She glared at him playfully, lit the spirit stove with a lighter, and once it was hot, poured in some oil. She tossed in some green onions to flavor the pan, threw in the rest of the ingredients with various seasonings, stirred them quickly, added water, and covered the pot.

Ten minutes later, the steaming beef stewed with potatoes was ready. The table was filled with food and drink. The room was so steamy that a layer of white frost formed on the windows, reflecting the hazy silhouettes inside. Everyone gathered around the table and raised their glasses. The scene felt so familiar, yet the person standing beside her was Lin Feng, not Yang Xiaohai. Back then, she had hoped so much that Lin Feng would be by her side; perhaps now, her dream had come true.

Dong Yanyan sighed to herself.

Lin Feng picked up his glass and smiled. "I’ll propose a toast first. Meeting and gathering here is fate. Let’s drink to our destiny!"

Everyone laughed and clinked glasses. After downing a glass of beer, Dong Yanyan felt a little warmth in her heart.

Lin Feng turned to her and smiled. "Yanyan, you say a few words too."

Dong Yanyan smiled. "Let our dorm head do it. I'll just follow along."

Li Hui raised her glass and said happily, "To our friendship!"

After another glass of beer, Dong Yanyan felt a bit dizzy. She knew she had reached her limit. In the past, whenever the two dorms gathered, Yang Xiaohai would always drink for her. She hated the taste of beer, truly hated it, but tasting it now, it wasn't actually that bad.

***

Her head was truly spinning. She pulled up a chair and sat down. While others were engaged in lively conversation, she buried her head in an apple.

The glass in front of her was refilled. She looked up and saw Yang Xiaohai standing before her with his glass. She picked hers up, clinked it against his, and drained it without hesitation.

"Yanyan, I—"

"No need," she said. "I can only say that my state of mind is something you wouldn't understand. I have a bad temper, but I should still thank you all for not holding it against me." Dong Yanyan laughed indifferently. Both her dreams of love and friendship had been ruined by him and Lin Feng. It was her own fault for having a fragile heart, but they had certainly been careless in wounding it so mercilessly. Men were just that heartless; women were just that dramatic!

Yang Xiaohai finished his drink and turned back to chat with others, still wearing that same innocent, rogue-like expression.

Dong Yanyan laughed at herself: *If only life could always be like that first meeting, why worry about the autumn wind blowing against the painted fan?* The meeting was so beautiful, yet the acquaintance was so wretched.

"Yanyan, why are you starting to get all sentimental again?" Lin Feng sat down beside her and whispered.

Look at that. It was no wonder she had once been so hopelessly infatuated with him; sometimes, even she didn't know what her own heart was thinking, but he did.

"When people's hearts change easily, they say it’s the heart that is fickle. Lovers might break up one day, but friends are for a lifetime. I once held that as a truth, but... *Once we have met and come to know each other, would it have been better if we had never met at all?*" Dong Yanyan mumbled, quoting poetry.

"That doesn't fit the happy and harmonious theme of today. Come on, fellow countryman, let's have a drink." Song Mingcheng walked over with a beer bottle and filled her glass to the brim.

Dong Yanyan propped her head up with her hand, staring at the foam at the rim of the glass with a frown, and shook her head painfully. "I can't drink anymore. Any more and I'll be wasted."

"Sister Number Five, if you don't drink, aren't you showing a lack of respect? I'll drink for you!" Tiantian took her glass, clinked it with Song Mingcheng, and downed it in one gulp.

Dong Yanyan chuckled. "Tiantian, you really don't treat anyone like an outsider!" She knew perfectly well that Tiantian was the one who had stirred the pot when she had argued with Ren Jiaxuan; she just hadn't said anything. A fifteen-year-old girl, occasionally betraying someone to maintain her own popularity—it was just immature and thoughtless.

Tiantian froze for a moment, then gave an awkward smile and sat down on the side without another word.

Gu Xiaohan couldn't stand it and said to her somewhat unhappily, "Yanyan, why are you talking to Tiantian like that? She just argued with He Jingxuan for your sake this morning and even cried for a long time."

Dong Yanyan felt a surge of warmth. Looking at Tiantian’s aggrieved expression, she felt a pang of pity.

"I'm sorry, Tiantian," she said softly. "But why did he argue with you because of me? Can I not say that He Jingxuan is a menace? If he has a problem with me, why pick on you? I'll go have a word with him later!"

"Forget it. If you really go, it'll just make things more chaotic. Isn't it messy enough already?!" Leng Yue teased. "Everyone is happy today, let's not bring up unpleasant things."

"Exactly, exactly. Leng Yue made so many dishes, let's eat!" Jiang Fan added with a smile.