In the end, Cen Jin spared this tender, pure sapling. First because of environmental limitations, and second because she wasn’t completely ready yet.
After chatting intermittently in the car, Cen Jin let Li Wu return to his dorm before driving away.
A few days later, while organizing briefs at her computer, Cen Jin received a link from an old classmate asking: “Is this you?”
Cen Jin’s brows furrowed slightly as she clicked to look.
It was a post on F University’s BBS Sunshine forum. Cen Jin logged in with her old account and found photos of herself from the Halloween party. The eye-catching title read: “Sharing our Physics Department’s campus idol’s girlfriend – she’s amazing.”
Below were discussions about her:
— Must be noona romance? The woman looks like she really knows how to have fun.
— Beautiful smile, great figure too.
— Physics majors get this lucky? Is it too late for me to transfer?
— You’d need the campus idol’s looks first.
After a few comments, the topic derailed, focusing on her young boyfriend.
— I’ve seen your department’s idol in the cafeteria before, he’s truly handsome, tall and good-looking.
— Why haven’t I run into him in the cafeteria???
— Above poster, he jogs at the south field every morning, around 6:30, you can usually catch him unless it’s raining.
— Why are you still looking when he’s taken? Think he’ll be yours just by looking? He clearly prefers older sisters.
— Beauty belongs to everyone, what’s wrong with looking?
— Li Wu? He’s an incredible genius, got into Professor Zhang’s lab as a freshman, won tens of thousands in scholarships last year, gets any academic award he wants, super impressive.
— He used to always be with that other genius from his dorm, you know? I even secretly shipped them. Then suddenly he has a girlfriend, speechless.
…
Cen Jin smiled faintly as she finished reading, then closed the webpage and replied to her classmate: “Yes, that’s me.”
Her classmate, who stayed at the university to teach, teased: “Didn’t expect you’d left the jianghu but your legend lives on. How did you meet?”
Cen Jin pondered for a moment: “Just a coincidence.”
…
That night, after finishing her daily video call with Li Wu, Cen Jin was so tired her eyelids were fighting each other. She fell into bed and immediately dozed off.
Perhaps influenced by that post from earlier, she had an unpleasant dream.
In the dream, she found herself back at that familiar Japanese restaurant near her old company, the time, scene, and decorations exactly the same. Suspicious, she climbed the stairs to the second floor step by step.
Just as she reached the second floor, she saw a man and woman sitting across from each other at the same booth.
But it wasn’t Wu Fu and Bian Xinran.
Facing her direction was Wan Chun, her face memorably pretty.
Across from her was a young man in a white shirt, broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, thick black hair.
A chill crept up Cen Jin’s spine inch by inch – this back view wasn’t unfamiliar to her.
Wan Chun seemed to sense her presence, her bright eyes suddenly glancing over, then curving into a provocative smile of certainty.
The young man, perhaps noticing Wan Chun staring in one direction, also turned around.
The moment she saw his face, Cen Jin felt like she’d fallen into an ice cellar and jolted awake.
Her heart pounding uncontrollably, face pale as paper, she frantically grabbed her phone and called Li Wu, not caring what time it was–
Li Wu was awakened by the violent vibration beside his pillow.
Squinting at the name on the screen, his eyes immediately widened as he sat up straight to answer, but before he could ask anything, the other end launched into a tirade:
“Li Wu, are you even human? I really misjudged you! I’m so angry! I never want to talk to you again!”
Li Wu was completely bewildered: “?”
With his roommates’ breathing thunderous, he could only speak softly: “What’s wrong?”
The outburst seemed to finally stabilize the woman’s emotions, her tone becoming much calmer: “What have you been doing behind my back?”
Li Wu was confused: “What did I do?”
She insisted: “I saw it in my dream.”
Li Wu let out a couple of soft chuckles, then quickly covered his mouth to avoid disturbing others: “What… how can you be this cute?”
Cen Jin said coldly: “Goodbye, I’m going back to sleep.”
Li Wu looked around and lowered his voice to tease her: “Can you have some good dreams for the rest of the night?”
Cen Jin snorted lightly and hung up.
―
The next day, Cen Jin felt that her behavior last night was like someone with the mental age of less than ten. Even when Li Wu specially messaged to check if she’d slept well afterward, she was too embarrassed to bring it up again.
Around noon, she suddenly received a call from the source of her nightmare, saying he’d come to see her.