Ling Ke had finally managed to regain his tranquility when the beeping of his phone broke the silence. There was a new message —
Qi Feng – “Where are you?”
……
Could you imagine the feeling of being electrocuted by an “idol” whom you had been admiring from the side-lines for so many years?
Especially if that “idol” was someone whom you think of when releasing your inner desire.
Ling Ke was now a tongue-tied corpse who could only gawked in surprise and disbelief at the message.
It took Ling Ke another few seconds to absorb the fact that he was already cla.s.smates, in fact roommates with Qi Feng and had even added him on WeChat. He then settled into deep contemplation on what to reply to the first message he had received from Qi Feng.
In the end, Ling Ke chose to turn off his WeChat and pretend he had not seen the message.
…Yes, he should continue his exploration of the school grounds and keep his distance from Qi Feng.
Qi Feng was bored after washing the blankets. Ling Ke had neither returned to the room nor replied his message.
Looking at his WeChat, Qi Feng realised that his post had garnered a lot of likes and there were even many comments asking him about his “new friend”. Only Ling Ke had not bothered to comment on his post.
Of course, his friends/online followers would not know whom he was referring to, but it should be pretty obvious to Ling Ke, right?
Since they were friends, Ling Ke should have liked his post after seeing it, right?
Or, did he not see the post yet?
…
Even Gao Jun Fei had liked his post. Why did Ling Ke not see it?
What in the world was he doing?
Frustrated, Qi Feng switched off his phone and stuffed it in his pocket.
He knew that he was being overly demanding. He had only known Ling Ke for two days. Ling Ke had no obligation to stick to him all day.
But he could not help his desire of having Ling Ke by his side again.
After Gao Jun Fei had left the room to settle the Wi-Fi issue, Qi Feng was also unable to sit still and he left the room too.
Like many other universities, F University also had its own special scenic spot. It was called the Garden of Book Fragrance.
The Garden of Book Fragrance was located at the south-west side of the campus. It was not very large and had a pavilion, as well as a small lake inside it. There was a wooden bridge across the lake where long chairs and stone tables were scattered around. The long gra.s.s growing in the area added to the charm of the place and its overall carefree ambiance.
Because the garden was close to the library, the atmosphere here was rather serene and peaceful. Almost everywhere, there was a student reading a book under a tree.
However, this was not only a place for diligent students. It was also a romantic spot for young couples. The sense of mysteriousness the long elusive plants gave off as well as the complicated layout of the place helped to create a romantic yet illicit ambiance.
The lake inside the garden was rather famous. Although it was dubbed the “Mandarin Duck Lake”, the lake was often referred to as the “Pear Lake” because the shape of it was exactly like a pear. Even though it was called a lake, the size of it was actually that of a pond.
No one knew where the origin of the name “Mandarin Duck Lake” had came from but there was a running joke that the lake used to be home to a few wild ducks. Many ignorant couples had mistaken the wild ducks for mandarin ducks and as a result, the name “Mandarin Duck Lake” was gradually popularized.
Ling Ke was sitting on a wooden bench as he listened to a senior introduce the lake to the new students.
The senior was smiling as she disclosed to her juniors, “Rumors are that if you come here after quarreling with your partner, you will definitely be able to find your partner here too!”
The juniors chuckled and one of them retorted good-heartedly, “Doesn’t that mean that everyone who is here is actually waiting for their partner?”
Ling Ke: “……”
…..Of course not!
He was just roaming about the school grounds and happened to chance upon this place. He had only rested here because of the picturesque view and the cool breeze.
Waiting? There was no relationship whatsoever between him and Qi Feng. So, there was no reason for him to be waiting.
He was complaining internally about the inaccuracy of the student’s words when he spotted Qi Feng.
Just opposite Mandarin Duck Lake stood a tall hunk. This hunk was currently walking in Ling Ke’s direction.
As mentioned earlier, Mandarin Duck Lake was rather small. Once you spot someone on the other side, it was very likely that the other party had also seen you.
This meant that there was no time for Ling Ke to hide.
He felt a mixture of surprise, terror and disbelief as he stared at Qi Feng.
What’s with this logic?
The moment you fear something will happen, you know that it will definitely happen.
Ling Ke swore that the thought of Qi Feng coming to find him had not occurred to him. His heart was still not ready for another encounter. Otherwise, he would not be loitering outside and avoiding returning to his room.
Now that Qi Feng had appeared in front of him, what should he do? He felt a sense of helplessness.
In the next second, Qi Feng, who was walking around aimlessly, spotted Ling Ke.
Qi Feng was also startled. He had thought that Ling Ke left because he had something to attend to. Thus, he did not expect to see him here.
As the saying goes —
“You always chance upon the thing you have been looking for in the place where you least expect it!”
Qi Feng broke into a grin as he quickened his pace towards Ling Ke,
This caught the attention of the juniors who were listening to their senior’s introduction of the lake. Some of the girls even whispered to each other, “Ahh…that guy is so handsome!”
Qi Feng simply walked past them.
As though afraid that Ling Ke would run off without him, he shouted, “Ling Ke!” even before he was ten meters away from him.
Ling Ke glanced at the tree beside him. He wonder if he would still make it on time if he hung himself now?
Qi Feng walked straight to Ling Ke. His smile carried a hint of frustration. “Didn’t’ you see my message? Why didn’t you reply me?”
“……Oh, you sent me something?” Ling Ke pretended to fiddle with his phone. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Qi Feng did not mind. Now that he was front of Ling Ke, he couldn’t care less about whether Ling Ke had replied to his message.
The juniors did not notice that there was another handsome guy so near to them. Seeing two gorgeous guys had aroused their curiosity and rekindled their excitement. They were now reluctant to leave and thus they continued a stream of aimless chatter as they slowly inched their way closer to Qi Feng and Ling Ke, hoping to listen in to their conversation.
Of course, Ling Ke noticed this but could not do anything because Qi Feng had already sat down beside him.
“What are you doing here? I could see you staring at s.p.a.ce from a distance.” Qi Feng asked.
“I just came here to look around.” Ling Ke was indignant. He had also seen Qi Feng staring about vacantly as he walked around just now.
Qi Feng glanced at him and teased, “Since you were going out to explore the place, why didn’t you invite me? Are we not friends?”
Ling Ke: “…”
“Even though, we have an air-conditioner in the room, you would rather come here in this hot weather.”
“To admire the scenery…” Ling Ke murmured in his heart as he thought to himself, “Since you find it hot, then why did you also come here?”
Of course, he dared not answer. He was afraid that Qi Feng would have a terrifying answer for this.
However, this terrifying answer did not come, instead an equally terrifying and bold move followed. Qi Feng stretched his arm and rested it on the back of the bench.
Although he was not touching Ling Ke, the fact that Qi Feng’s hand was on the bench behind his back, it was almost as though…he was putting his arms around Ling Ke!
Ling Ke was startled. His brain almost exploded. Now, he dared not move an inch!
He felt like he could hear soft squeals coming from the group of girls.
Qi Feng was used to being a spectacle. He did not seem to mind the girls’ stares. He followed Ling Ke’s line of gaze and looked at the lake in front of him. He casually asked, “This lake is quite pretty. Does it have a name?”
“…I am not sure.”
He had barely finished his sentence when the senior whom was introducing the lake just now suddenly uttered in a loud voice, “This is Mandarin Duck Lake; also known as F Universality’s Love spot…”
She babbled on, from the origin of the name to the part about the couple…essentially repeating everything she had previously said.
Qi Feng appeared to reach some enlightenment. “Oh I see.”
The awkwardness Ling Ke was feeling was too overwhelming. Oh G.o.d, couldn’t they have mercy on him?
Of course, the G.o.ds did not seem to have heard Ling Ke’s plea.
Because Qi Feng immediately turned towards Ling Ke and used his finger to point at the distance between them as he enunciated each word slowly, “Then for both of us to meet here…is it considered fate?”
His eyes were smiling but there was a hint of seriousness in his tone.
Ling Ke immediately jumped up from the bench. “Never mind, it’s only a few wild ducks and people can actually develop such weird stories from it. They sure have a lot of free time.” In his mind, he was frantically repeating to himself, “I am straight. I am straight.” to prevent himself from getting the wrong idea.
Qi Feng blinked his eyes as he thought to himself, Oh, he is angry.
So he continued, “I was just kidding.”
Ling Ke: “……” Luckily, he had not take his words seriously. It was really too dangerous!
Ling Ke’s face darkened. “Let’s go back. There are too many bugs here.”
Qi Feng nodded. As if to lightened the atmosphere, he showed his arms to Ling Ke. “Yeah I just got bitten here. And my hands too.”
Ling Ke: “…”
Actually, Ling Ke had a special trait – he was a natural repellent against bugs. Even though he could feel many bugs flying in the bushes beside him, he had managed to escape unscathed. He was simply finding an excuse to leave the place.
Little did he expect the excuse he had came up with to sound like he was being concerned about Qi Feng’s well-bring.
Some people just had the ability to attract bees and b.u.t.terflies. Even bugs could not resist such charm.
Both of them returned to their room, only to find it in an utter mess. Gao Jun Fei was sitting in the middle of the mess, his hands tangled with various cables. Beside him sat an old modem.
“Eh? Both of you have returned?” Gao Jun Fei raised his head to look at them. “Which one of you has a laptop? Can try connecting to the Wi-Fi. I have already set up the thing.”
Qi Feng was full of disbelief and admiration as he asked, “You set it up by yourself? So smart?”
Gao Jun Fei laughed. “That’s of course.”
Ling Ke took out his laptop and placed it on the desk. “Where did you get the cables from?”
“My brother used to live in this hostel too. He managed to bribe the hostel manager and got someone from outside to set up the cables…” Gao Jun Fei explained as he fixed the last plug in. “Now it is done. Let’s first connect to the Wi-Fi.”
Ling Ke attempted to connect to the Wi-Fi.
“Gao Jun Fei is your master.”
Ling Ke: “…….?”
Gao Jun Fei repeated it again. “Yes, gaojunfeiisyourmaster. That’s the pa.s.sword.”
Ling Ke was speechless.
To be able to set up the Wi-Fi for them, he was indeed worthy of being called that. Anyway, they only had to type in the pa.s.sword once to connect, so Ling Ke and Qi Feng did not really care.
Ling Ke tested the connection with both his phone and laptop. “Yeah it works.”
Qi Feng took out his wallet, preparing to give Gao Jun Fei the fee for the Wi-Fi connection. After all, Gao Jun Fei had set it up using his own money.
Gao Jun Fei collected twenty five yuan a month from each person. It was not too expensive.
“The Wi-Fi speed is not that fast. Would be sufficient for the three of us, but definitely not for a fourth person.”
Ling Ke reminded him, “But our room has four people.”
Gao Jun Fei let out a bitter laugh. “Why should we care about him? Anyway, we three will use it first. Who ask him to be the last to come? Why should he get to enjoy the Wi-Fi?”
Qi Feng silently lit up a candle in his heart for the poor Xie Qi Bao as he thought to himself, “Well, actually he came yesterday.”
Qi Feng also frowned. “He will surely ask if he sees us using the Wi-Fi. If we don’t tell him, wouldn’t it seem weird?”
Gao Jun Fei raised his eyebrows. “Let’s see how well he performs later.”
Extra:
Qi Feng: “Where are you?”
Ling Ke ignores the message and decides to continue walking around the school.
Qi Feng: “???” Not only did you not like my post, you even dare to ignore my message! Why are you so stiff!
Qi Feng: “Then for both of us to meet here…is it considered fate?”
Ling Ke immediately clarifies. “Nevermind.” (Don’t think too much!)
Qi Feng blinks his eyes: Dang, I knew it he doesn’t have any hint of romantic inclination towards me.
T/N: please don’t ask me why it has such a weird/ugly name – Mandarin Duck Lake. I din’t know the meaning of the lake name so I just went to directly translate its name and. I didn’t even know there was such thing as Mandarin Duck o.o