On their way back to their university, Lin Wenxi asked Zhao Yuan, "Do you think it"s impossible for two boys to love each other the way Yun Che and Ziping do?"
"You should ask Xiaoman such a question instead of me. Or, you can ask w.a.n.g Xiang," Zhao Yuan replied casually while holding a blade of foxtail gra.s.s between his lips.
"I"m wondering what"ll happen when we reunite after being separated for five years," said Lin Wenxi.
"Huh? I think it"ll be pretty normal for us to not meet each other once during five years after graduation," Zhao Yuan spit the blade of gra.s.s and said while looking at Lin Wenxi.
"Oh..." Lin Wenxi remained silent for a moment before adding, "What if I disappear for no reason for five years? What will happen when we reunite?"
"I can"t recognize you at that time."
"Why?"
"You know what. A girl changes fast in physical appearance from childhood to adulthood. Who the h.e.l.l knows what you"ll look like five years later?" Zhao Yuan said teasingly with a smile.
"Be serious!"
"Uhm, I think that we shouldn"t let such a thing happen. I really don"t know how to answer such a question. If there"s no such a thing, I don"t have to answer it." Zhao Yuan smiled helplessly.
"What if it happens?"
"What will you do if it happens?" asked Zhao Yuan.
"Uhm, we shouldn"t let it happen..." Lin Wenxi twitched his mouth.
"What if it really happens?" Zhao Yuan became intrigued.
"Yeah, what if it really happens? What will you do?" asked Lin Wenxi.
"What about you?" asked Zhao Yuan.
"You"re childish!" Lin Wenxi was a little angry.
"Let nature take its course. Didn"t you say that if two people are predestined to meet, they"ll meet each other anyway?" Zhao Yuan said while scratching his head.
Lin Wenxi nodded and said, "Yeah."
That evening, Lin Wenxi said that he had to go home and left the university.
Later, Zhao Yuan called him to ensure that he had reached home safely. The next day, Zhao Yuan"s father left the hospital, and Zhao Yuan went to take care of him. They lived together for a few days and discussed the debts together. When Zhao Yuan was ready to return to the university, he called Lin Wenxi but could not get through to him.
When Zhao Yuan returned to the dorm alone, w.a.n.g Xiang came up to him and asked, "Where have you been together with Wenxi? Where"s he now?"
Zhao Yuan thought in surprise, "What? Lin Wenxi hasn"t returned to the university yet." Right at this moment, his cellphone rang. It was a text message from Lin Wenxi.
"Dear Zhao Yuan, I"ve never expected our story to end so abruptly. I feel as if it has not yet started when it ends. I"ve transferred to another university in a far-away place. Anyway, if we"re predestined to meet, we"ll meet each other someday. Do you think how many years later we"ll meet again? What will you say and do at that time? I"m looking forward to it but at the same time, feel somewhat nervous about it. I"m afraid that you"ll forget about me. But I"ll never forget about you. Besides, please help me take care of Gu Xi. Tell him that I"ll miss him. By the way, I"m the son of the upright official that you"ve mentioned before. I"m sorry to tell you about this now. I really didn"t know how to break this to you. In the end, I want to tell you that after sending out this message, this SIM card will be deactivated. Oh, someone will come to the dorm to pack my belongings. He"s my father"s bodyguard, and his name is Hong Xuan. Don"t provoke him. He"s fierce. In addition..."
As a text message could contain at most 63 words, this farewell letter was sent to Zhao Yuan in 5 text messages. Zhao Yuan looked at the words and imagined how Lin Wenxi typed them out while frowning slightly. He wondered, "What does he want to say in the end of the letter? Why didn"t he finish the letter?"
Zhao Yuan slumped down into Lin Wenxi"s bed and repeatedly read the text messages. He felt as if his body was hollowed out and everything in his life was meaningless. He kept calling Lin Wenxi but never got through to him. In the end, he had no choice but to call Lin Wenxi"s parents.
"Wenxi has transferred to another university." This was the only answer he got.
Zhao Yuan could not believe what he had heard and sat listlessly inside the dorm. Suddenly, the university counselor led a middle-aged man into the dorm. He had dark skin and looked slim and fierce. The man came to pack Lin Wenxi"s belongings.
"Who"re you?" Zhao Yuan asked while sitting on Lin Wenxi"s bed.
"Zhao Yuan, this is a relative of Lin Wenxi. He comes here to pack Wenxi"s belongings, as he has transferred to another university," said the university counselor.
"c.r.a.p! We"ve lived together for such a long time and treat each other like brothers. Why didn"t he tell us anything before transferring to another university?" Zhao Yuan said angrily.
"He doesn"t need to explain everything to you. Get out of the bed," said the middle-aged man.
"Show me your ID card and a certificate that proves your relationship with Lin Wenxi," Zhao Yuan said coldly. He still remembered his father"s words, although his mind was confused now. He just wanted to protect Lin Wenxi.
"You"re not qualified to ask me to do that, Zhao Yuan!" The man said, his face somber. He looked at Zhao Yuan with piercing eyes.
"Stop it, Zhao Yuan. Wenxi"s parents called me to explain this thing beforehand," The counselor said with a solemn face.
"No. I won"t let you take his things away unless you defeat me!" said Zhao Yuan.
To his surprise, the middle-aged man laughed and said, "Hehe, Jifu University does have many daring young men. I haven"t engaged in a fight for a long time. Do you want to fight here?"
"Uncle Hong, he"s Wenxi"s best friend. Please don"t take his childish words seriously. Could you please give me some time and let me have a talk with him?" The university counselor got anxious.
"Let"s go downstairs! After you!" Zhao Yuan to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man was Hong Xuan. He came here to take Lin Wenxi"s belongings home at the request of Lin Ziwei.
Upon hearing Zhao Yuan"s words, he strode out of the dorm room. Zhao Yuan came out of the room after Hong Xuan and then locked the door behind himself. He called Zheng Kai, "Don"t allow anyone to open the door of our dorm unless I come back. And tell this to w.a.n.g Xiang!"
At that moment, Zheng Kai and w.a.n.g Xiang were watching dozens of girls of the dancing team rehearsing on their training ground, and w.a.n.g Xiang was teasing about Zheng Kai"s relationship with Gu Xi. When Zheng Kai was about to teach w.a.n.g Xiang a lesson, he received the call and hurriedly went back to the dorm together with w.a.n.g Xiang.
There was a concrete sports field in front of the dormitory building where male students of the computer science department lived. It was on this sports field that the students gathered for their on-campus freshmen military training. When Zhao Yuan and Hong Xuan came down to the sports field, there were many students down there. Some of them were walking on the sports field, heading for their lecture rooms or their dorms. Some of them were doing experiments. Some were playing badminton. Suddenly someone shouted, "We"re going to fight. Go away, if you don"t want to get injured!"
Some students knew Zhao Yuan and hurriedly dragged the other students away from the place and told them what was going on. Soon enough, a large crowd was gathering around Zhao Yuan and Hong Xuan. The university counselor who was busy dissuading Zhao Yuan from fighting against Hong Xuan suddenly noticed that Hong Xuan was glaring at her, so she hurriedly went to help maintain the order. Fortunately, the students were willing to listen to her and obediently stood inside the safety zone designated by her. The students were curiously watching the duel between the two men, which seldom happened in real life but was often depicted in kung fu fiction.
Zhao Yuan angrily came at Hong Xuan after giving a shout-out, but Hong Xuan just kept dodging him with a completely straight face.
The students enjoyed watching the fight very much, as they had never expected that Zhao Yuan was so fierce and able to jump up so high and do a twist in the air. Neither had they antic.i.p.ated that the middle-aged man was so nimble. He just focused on defending instead of counterattacking.
Among the crowd, there was a boy who knew kung fu. He could not help but shout out, "Side kick! Shoulder throw! Punch with both hands! Trip him up..." Suddenly, someone pulled his collar and threw him out while shouting angrily, "Do you want to try my Dragon-beating Palms!" It was Zheng Kai, and he had just come to this place.
Upon hearing his words, Hong Xuan laughed and said, "That makes sense!" With these words, he turned sideways to dodge Zhao Yuan"s round kick and then attacked Zhao Yuan with palms. Zhao Yuan staggeringly retreated a few meters while covering his stomach with his hands and looking very pale. Zheng Kai wanted to help him but got stopped by him. He gritted his teeth, stood upright and came at Hong Xuan again. He crazily attacked Hong Xuan but only managed to land two punches on some invulnerable parts of the man"s body. Suddenly, he groaned as his body flew backward and then hit the ground. He covered his chest with his hand, and his nose started bleeding.
Upon seeing that Zhao Yuan got bullied, Zheng Kai could not help but join the fight. Zhao Yuan suffered from such an intense pain that he could not speak at the moment. He made lots of hand gestures, trying to stop Zheng Kai, but Zheng Kai ignored it. Before everyone realized what was going on, Hong Xuan had already picked Zheng Kai up by the waist and thrown him to the ground. Zheng Kai got lots of scratches in his arms and legs but still refused to back down. He attacked Hong Xuan again and got punched in the temple. During the process, he accidently hit Hong Xuan"s crotch. He was embarra.s.sed as he clearly felt that he had hit something soft just now. He regretted it very much and but he was too dizzy to get up and apologize.
Hong Xuan felt an acute pain in his crotch and flew into a rage since he thought that Zheng Kai did this on purpose. When he was about to beat Zheng Kai up to teach him a lesson, a slender boy stood in his way. Although the boy flushed with fear and looked nervous, he still opened his arms to stop Hong Xuan. He said, "I won"t let you beat him up!"
Hong Xuan was surprised. He could have easily knocked this boy down with just one palm strike. Nevertheless, he stopped and said.
"Great, you"re a loyal friend, boy. For you, I won"t beat him up! And Zhao Yuan, what else do you want to say?"
"No, nothing. As I get defeated by you, I won"t talk nonsense! I have only two questions. Is Wenxi safe? And how do you know that I"m Zhao Yuan!" Zhao Yuan asked as he stood up, totteringly.
Hong Xuan grinned and said, "Wenxi is very safe. Don"t worry about him. As to your second question, Wenxi only mentioned you to me before."
Before his departure, Lin Wenxi had told Hong Xuan, "Please treat my roommates nicely when you go to my dorm to pack up my things, especially Zhao Yuan. He may want to stop you."
Back then, Hong Xuan had smilingly asked Lin Wenxi, "How do I know which one is Zhao Yuan?"
Upon hearing that, Lin Wenxi replied, "He"s the most handsome guy among my roommates. He"s probably the most handsome guy you"ve met in your life. "And he knows kung fu. Don"t underestimate him."
Hong Xuan considered this comment to be very childish and thus did not tell it to Zhao Yuan.
When Zhao Yuan and Zheng Kai were looked after and surrounded by several students, Hong Xuan asked a few other people to work together with him to pack Lin Wenxi"s belongings. Soon enough, they took all his things away, including his keyboard, books and bedding.
In the end, Hong Xuan pointed at a red sweatshirt and said, "This sweatshirt is not his. It must"ve been put in his closet by mistake." With these words, he left.
Zhao Yuan looked at the sweatshirt, and his eyes were sour. He had been looking for this sweatshirt all this time but failed to find it anywhere. On the first day at the university, Lin Wenxi had worn this shirt.