Chapter 17: Record of Moving to the City in the 90s 17

Early the next morning, on the way to class, Zhang Meijuan muttered quietly to Su Huandan.

“There are eight of us in this dorm. At first glance, everyone seems fine, but after spending some time together, you realize that aside from Ma Mei, none of them are worth being friends with. About Liu Li, the one who talked about you last night, she’s been getting really close lately with a guy from the business school. Too bad the only thing he has going for him is his face. He’s nowhere near as generous as Yu Zexiu. Forget buying her specialty dishes from restaurants, he hasn’t even bought her a single meal from the school cafeteria. On the contrary, Liu Li has bought food for him several times and even delivered it to his dorm. Never mind whether it was right or wrong for her to bring food to a guy, that’s her business and none of ours. But just because she can’t compare to you, she gets all sarcastic and snide, then puts on this act like she’s giving you kind advice. That’s too much.” Zhang Meijuan was the kind of girl who was sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued.

No matter what it was, she had her own standards for judging things. If she didn’t like something, she usually pretended not to notice. But if someone crossed her, they would definitely learn what it felt like to be left speechless and choking with anger.

And crossing Su Huandan counted as crossing her too.

The two of them had never really had any especially heartfelt conversations. At the very least, neither of them was the type to share their private thoughts with others, not even with close friends.

But during this time, going to and from school together and living in the same dorm, they had both come to feel that they got along perfectly in every way.

“Who cares about her? Liu Li’s from Shanghai, and her family is pretty well-off too. Didn’t Sister Ma Mei say that Liu Li plans to go abroad after finishing her undergraduate degree? Someone like her won’t be running in the same circles as us in the future anyway. As long as we can get by day to day, that’s enough.” Silently, Su Huandan added to herself that people like this existed everywhere, the kind who couldn’t stand the sight of you and just had to needle you with a few nasty remarks.

Liu Li wasn’t just one person. She was simply a typical example of a whole group like that.

Zhang Meijuan nodded in agreement. “That’s true. But we still need to explain ourselves when it’s necessary. Otherwise, if ugly rumors spread out from our dorm, then even if they’re not true, it’ll still damage our reputations. After all, since we live together, outsiders will only think whatever they say must be true. But what exactly are you planning to do about Yu Zexiu?”

It didn’t look like they were just ordinary friends.

Zhang Meijuan wasn’t the kind of person who judged by appearances. She genuinely felt that Yu Zexiu was very different, more eye-catching than any of the other guys she’d seen at school.

It was strange, wasn’t it?

He was clearly still a chubby little guy with buck teeth, yet he drew more attention than even the officially chosen campus heartthrob, and somehow made people overlook his looks.

There was just something about him that was hard to describe.

An air of nobility.

If Su Huandan knew what Zhang Meijuan was thinking, she would have used those exact words, an air of nobility.

“I’ll test him for a while. If he can keep it up and doesn’t quit halfway, then we’ll date.” She had never dated before, but so what if she gave it a try?

Yes, really date.

Truly, seriously.

Su Huandan had never been someone who cared much about appearances. In a man, the first thing to look at was his sense of responsibility, the second was his ability, the third was how he conducted himself, and only after all that did looks come last.

She hadn’t come up with that herself. It was something a fellow patient from her previous life had summed up from her own life experience.

The old lady was already sixty, and she had been married four times.

The first time, she married for the man’s face. In the end, once he made something of himself, he didn’t even want the children and went off to live with his mistress.

The second time, she married for money, thinking a rich man could help her raise her children. Sadly, his character was bad and he had no sense of responsibility. Not only would he not help raise the children, he wasn’t even willing to provide household living expenses.

The third time, she chose a man with a sense of responsibility. She lived ten normal, hopeful years with him, and he even helped raise her children. Unfortunately, the man had bad luck. He died of esophageal cancer before enjoying even a single day of good fortune.

The fourth time, she looked for someone like the third man. It was a true twilight romance. All their children were grown and had families of their own, and the two old people both had pensions, so they wouldn’t burden their children. Living together as companions meant they wouldn’t be lonely, and it also eased the burden on their children. But after three years of marriage, the old lady got sick. Stomach cancer, and already late-stage. Yet the old man never abandoned her. He actually sold his house to scrape together money for her treatment, and in the end, he buried her.

How much love could there really be in just three years of marriage?

What supported the old man enough to do that was nothing more than a sense of responsibility.

After seeing the old lady’s whole life, then looking at how her own family had treated her, wasn’t it all about responsibility in the end?

Su Huandan valued that more than anything.

So during her freshman year, she had visited all the famous scenic spots in the capital. She had eaten all kinds of good food too. And whenever a style of clothes or shoes became trendy on the market, if she liked it, Yu Zexiu would buy it for her.

They weren’t officially together, yet they had already gone through every step of a normal courtship.

At the end of freshman year, when summer vacation began, Yu Zexiu took Su Huandan to the bus she would ride home. After putting her luggage on the rack, he ran off to buy her tea eggs¹ and fruit. Then he reminded her again and again to be careful on the way, not to fall asleep, and to call him when she got home. Yu Zexiu had already given Su Huandan all the phone numbers for his family home.

Right before they parted, Su Huandan grabbed the hand of Yu Zexiu, who had turned to leave. He had slimmed down quite a bit that semester and wasn’t nearly as fat as before. His fingers had distinct knuckles now, long and well-shaped, and really quite handsome.

Yu Zexiu was stunned. Deep down, Su Huandan had always been rather aloof. Forget holding hands, even if the two of them walked a little too close together, she would instinctively avoid him.

Looking at their joined hands, Yu Zexiu’s eyes suddenly reddened. Did this mean she had agreed to be with him?

“Yu Zexiu, once you make a decision, it’s for life. Remember that, okay?” As soon as Su Huandan finished speaking, she let go of his hand. The ticket seller was already urging Yu Zexiu to get off quickly, the bus was about to leave.

Yu Zexiu darted off the bus, then chased after the slowly starting vehicle, his smile brighter than ever.

“I heard you, I understand. Just watch what I do!” Even after the bus had disappeared from sight, Yu Zexiu was so happy that he kept running after it for another kilometer.

After leaving the station, he didn’t go straight home. Instead, he got on the Number Two bus and headed directly to the company where his mother worked.

Ms. Meng only saw her son after finishing her meeting.

“Mom, that doctor in the plastic surgery department you mentioned last time, the one who can straighten my teeth, is he reliable? If not, I’ll go ask at a big hospital.” Yu Zexiu had ignored his teeth all these years, but now he was suddenly asking about them. How could his mother not know? He had finally won the girl over.

Yu Zexiu had fallen for a girl from his school. Forget his family, even the entire compound knew about it.

His childhood friends had certainly done their part spreading the news.

“So there’s something going on? When are you bringing her home for us to meet? Don’t worry, our family is very open-minded. Being from different backgrounds might matter to other families, but it’s absolutely not an issue for ours. None of your brothers had political marriages², and it’ll be the same for you.” Ms. Meng reassured her son. As long as the girl was a good person, the family would definitely approve.

Yu Zexiu rarely blushed like this. “It’s not time for that yet. I just feel like… if I don’t get my teeth fixed, I might not be good enough for her. She’s really beautiful.”

That nearly made his own mother sick with envy.

The smell of young love was just too much!

Translator’s Notes