Chapter 1: Breaking into the boys' dormitory at night, quite brave 1
The smell of air conditioning filled the meeting room, which was less than 50 square meters. Mixed in with it was the thick smell of sweat.
The bone-chilling summer vacation has just passed, and various school activities have come one after another. It feels like jumping from one extreme to another.
Chen Yiying, who had not yet recovered from the summer vacation, was sitting in the first row on the right side closest to the electronic whiteboard. Because it was too hot, she braided her waist-length hair into a ponytail. At this moment, the electronic whiteboard was already filled with dense black oil-based pen written by Peter. Chen Yiying held the pen and sat in a posture to record important matters of the meeting. But this sitting posture did not affect her closing her eyes and dozing off, because the air conditioning in the conference room made people feel tired, especially for those who watched dramas in the middle of the night until the early morning.
Just when Chen Yiying was groggy and about to fall into a dream, someone grabbed her thigh fiercely. This "death pinch" made her wake up instantly.
She tried to maintain a normal facial expression and mechanically turned her head to the left to look at Huimei who was carefully recording the meeting content. Huimei also turned her head and raised the corners of her mouth, smiling without showing her teeth, as if to say, are you awake now?
Chen Yiying took a deep breath and continued to feel Peter's saliva flying towards her.
Peter is the dean of the student union at De Rucci University and one of the most powerful leaders in the school. Although his name may sound like the right-hand man of a fashion magazine editor, he is actually a middle-aged man with protruding front teeth and a slightly plump body.
Peter's biggest hobby is to call for meetings at 8 o'clock in the morning, and he would nag endlessly. Therefore, the student leaders at all levels are most afraid of receiving his text messages in the morning.
Chen Yiying, who just wanted to go back to the dormitory to sleep, raised her hand and pushed the frame of her glasses. This action, which could easily be misunderstood, successfully attracted Peter's attention.
"Chen Yiying, since you raised your hand, please give a speech." Peter's penetrating voice shattered Yiying's sleepiness, but this was just the beginning of the tragedy. Because then, Huimei handed her the proposal book she had written.
Before reading out the proposal on the notebook word for word, Chen Yiying still felt that she was the happiest person in the world. Because Huimei was not only her college roommate, but also her best friend in high school. The biggest reason was probably that their hobbies were both terrible. Every time Yiying recalled her time in high school, she would always sigh that probably no girl would raise cockroaches together during class.
"Since our school is going to participate in the city badminton friendly tournament, I suggest that the badminton team should undergo devilish training..." Chen Yiying picked up Huimei's notebook and read the original text, "In addition, the time between Red May and the friendly tournament is not far away, I suggest that the school provide a sponsorship of one thousand for each club..." The word "yuan" was stuck in her throat, and the only sound in the conference room was the flapping of mosquitoes' wings.
Peter is well-known for being stingy. You can never talk about money, otherwise the consequences will be very serious.
"Today's meeting ends here." Peter turned off the projector and computer with a gloomy face and asked everyone to leave. Just when Chen Yiying thought she might have escaped, Peter announced the most tragic notice she had ever received since she enrolled: "Yiying, hand me a 5,000-word plan tomorrow, hand it in hand."
"Oh... okay..." When Chen Yiying wanted to strangle the culprit, Huimei had already escaped.
"The sound of cicadas accompanies the wandering clouds. After the memories begin, I quietly look into the distance. The ancient well and dry pond covered by weeds scatter a wisp of the past..."
When Yiying walked out of the meeting room, Huimei had already stepped into the lotus pond path that she had to take to get back to the dormitory. The lotus pond was surrounded by shrubs and trees. In the summer, the gentle breeze blew through, and the cool shadows of the trees were mottled, which was particularly refreshing.
If Chen Yiying took bigger steps, she would be able to catch up with Huimei. This best friend who made her write a plan actually had the nerve to hum "Koi Choi"!
"It's so hot, the carp have all sunk to the bottom of the water." Hui Mei stopped by the lotus pond and bent over to look at the carp in the pond. The dark green pond reflected her pink suspender floral dress and white lace shawl. Her thin bangs and curly hair draped over her shoulders made her round face look very pretty. Her skin color is whiter than that of other girls, which is said to be genetic. But in Chen Yiying's opinion, it's just because she stays at home!
"Fireflies!" Huimei screamed, and then ran away. But that was not because she really saw fireflies, but because she saw the reflection of Yiying raising his foot to kick her into the water to feed the goldfish.
"If you leave a step later, I'll throw you into the pond to feed the goldfish!" When Chen Yiying put her foot down, Huimei had already disappeared without a trace.
Chen Yiying was originally just an unknown student . She just wanted to spend four years quietly, then go out to find a stable job and have enough food and clothing. Then she would marry the one she loves, have a boy and a girl, and live happily for the rest of her life. However, when she first came to Demoiselle University, she was dragged by Huimei to sign up for clubs everywhere. If she hadn't entered the wrong classroom, she wouldn't have been inexplicably appointed as the new student union president by Peter. Afterwards, she was told that Peter was only attracted by her 1.7-meter height!
Whenever Chen Yiying recalls her time as president of a college, she always feels that she was like the Queen of England for four years. Because she was not needed in almost any affairs of the school, the only thing she could do was to write plans, sign and stamp, and agree to rent venues for certain clubs. Having loved sports since she was a child, she took on the responsibility of captain of the badminton team after her seniors graduated.
"Oh, by the way, we need to get everyone out to practice." Chen Yiying finally remembered the important matter and hurriedly took out her phone to edit a text message. It was at this time that she met the boy who turned her college life into a tragedy.
A pushing force came from behind Chen Yiying, and the mobile phone she had just taken out fell into the lotus pond in a beautiful arc, making a "plop" sound.
That was the first smartphone in Chen Yiying’s life, and he died heroically in that way!
"Which bastard!" Chen Yiying rolled up her sleeves and waved her fists, but she turned around and almost bumped into the boy behind her. She quickly took a step back and stood firm.
This was the first time Chen Yiying met Qiu Zhuoping. In the middle of summer, he was wearing the same long-sleeved white shirt as the waiters in a western restaurant. But the difference was that he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows. The fabric of the shirt was also very thin, so thin that his protruding collarbone could be clearly seen. He stood under the mottled shadows of the trees, his hair seemed to have not been trimmed for a long time, covering his ears and gently resting on his cheeks.
There was nothing else in his eyes, he just quietly looked at the iron cage that was lifted to his chest. In the cage was a white and fat hamster, which was chewing melon seeds with great enjoyment. And what had just hit Yiying was the cage that was suddenly lifted up.
Chen Yiying took a deep breath and waited for the boy who was less than half a meter away from him to apologize. Unexpectedly, the boy played with the hamster in the cage as if nothing had happened. When his slender fingers touched the hamster's head, a frosty smile suddenly appeared on his expressionless face. Such a smile made the tiny beads of sweat on his upper lip shine brightly.
Just this kind of brilliance stirred up a tsunami of anger in Yiying's heart.
"Classmate, you just knocked my phone down!" Faced with a boy who acted as if nothing had happened after making a mistake, Chen Yiying really wanted to crumple him into a ball and throw him into the garbage dump.
"According to Newton's law, a mobile phone will not break if it falls vertically into water." The boy raised his eyes slightly, glanced at Yiying, and walked away. "The water is only up to your knees. It's still not too late to get it out now."
Just like that, Chen Yiying watched the boy's back disappear in the sparse light. At that time, Chen Yiying firmly believed that such a boy would never have a girlfriend!
"Yiying, I bought some mung bean soup to help you cool down." When Huimei walked into the dormitory carrying some mung bean soup, Chen Yiying had already tied her hair into a bun. She held a hair dryer in her left hand and a fan in her right hand, drying her phone while fanning herself to cool down.
"What happened to your phone?" Huimei looked at the dismembered phone on the study desk and immediately imagined many scenes.
"Fell into the lotus pond." Yiying pouted angrily.
At that time, Yiying sincerely felt that a narcissistic and arrogant boy like Qiu Zhuoping should be exterminated from this world. But when Qiu Zhuoping really disappeared from her world, she found that Qiu Zhuoping had already been engraved in her bones and could not be shaken off.
"So it's really you!" Huimei exclaimed and quickly took out her cell phone to check the school's public Weibo.
The latest one was about fishing for a phone in a lotus pond. There was no caption on the post, but the accompanying picture was a series of photos of Yiying fishing for a phone in a lotus pond. When Huimei saw this post, she thought the person in the photo looked familiar, and she didn't expect it was really Yiying.
"You've become a public figure without realizing it. Are you excited?"
Yiying rolled her eyes at her and changed her posture to blow the phone.
Huimei jokingly grabbed a mineral water bottle and used it as a microphone during the interview, and continued to ask: "Please tell us about your feelings. Oh, and how deep is the water in the pool?"
Chen Yiying paused for a moment, glared at Huimei, and said with a sudden smile: "Anyone who can wear my top as a dress will drown if he falls down!"
Huimei puffed up her cheeks and picked up the disposable chopsticks on the table to curl her hair. Curling hair is Huimei's specialty, and Huimei has a certain accomplishment in hair design, so the girls in the class like Huimei more and often come to the dormitory to ask Huimei to design their hair and make-up. And Chen Yiying can't find a pair of chopsticks every time she eats fast food!
"Let me help you blow it. I've already made an appointment with the badminton team members. They're waiting for you at the east gate of the gymnasium." Although Huimei likes to play pranks, she always shows up when Yiying needs her the most.
Yiying changed into sportswear and carried her racket to the gymnasium. The gymnasium and the sophomore girls' dormitory were separated by a lotus pond. Opposite the lotus pond was the gymnasium, on the left were the canteen and teaching building, and on the right were the counselor's office and library. This favorable time, place and people pattern allowed most students to form a three-point one-line lifestyle .
When Chen Yiying walked around the cobblestone path and arrived at the east gate of the gymnasium, the team members came forward to report the situation to Yiying.
All the badminton courts were occupied, but there was only one boy practicing on one of the courts. The players had negotiated with him, but he was unwilling to give up the court.
"President, it's that boy who was practicing alone and refused to give up the court to us no matter what." Liang Geqi, whose eyes were easily filled with tears when she spoke, guided Yiying to look into the gymnasium.
The familiar white figure made Yiying's nerves excited all of a sudden. When she got closer, she saw that the boy with long legs and white T-shirt was the bastard who caused her phone to fall into the water!
"Excuse me, classmate." Yiying might have been arrogant at that moment, because her phone fell into the water, so her tone was not very good. She carried her racket and nodded slightly like a gangster, "I am the president of the student union. Now, I ask you to give this court to us to practice."
The boy just glanced at Yiying lightly, looking somewhat indifferent, but rolled his eyes as if he was thinking, and then smiled faintly with an embarrassed look.
He gently brushed the bangs that slightly covered his forehead, and his lips were pursed into a line but then raised into a beautiful arc. Yiying originally thought that he would give up, but he continued to play badminton and said word by word: "I refuse."
"You!" If there weren't so many people, Chen Yiying might have rushed up and punched him in the chin from bottom to top. But soon, Yiying thought of a better solution than violence. She pointed at the boy with her racket: "Then let's play a game. If I lose, we leave; if you lose, give us the court!"
Many years later, Yiying still remembers that Qiu Zhuoping smiled disdainfully without changing his expression and simply said "OK".
Yiying, who originally wanted to "kill the boy on the spot", was beaten badly instead. Every ball the boy hit made Yiying exhausted. His swinging posture seemed to be strictly trained, and he was very comfortable and easy. In contrast, Yiying seemed to be competing with him with physical strength, without any skills at all.
"Yiying, what are we going to eat later?" Yiying, who was still fighting for the last goal to win, was disturbed by Huimei's voice. The last ball hit him right in the middle of his eyebrows and landed at his feet.
"You lose." The boy said coldly. He seemed to be breathing evenly, not like he had undergone strenuous exercise. But Yiying was sweating profusely, as if he had just taken a shower.
After Huimei learned about the situation, she went to help Yiying get the court back. Yiying remembered that when Huimei said, "If you don't give up the court, that girl will be your girlfriend," Qiu Zhuoping showed a look of disgust, and didn't even say anything, and just packed up his racket and left.
"Qiu Zhuoping, why are you leaving? Didn't you ask me to play badminton?" When Qiu Zhuoping walked to the door, a boy wearing a denim T-shirt and riding inline skates was about to come in. He was wearing elegant black-rimmed glasses and holding a cup of milk tea. He was as white as a snowman that would melt in the sun.
"It's over." At that time, Qiu Zhuoping just glanced back and left the gymnasium.
Only Yiying remembered that look, which seemed to be curious, or scrutinizing, embarrassing and shy.
Out of curiosity about Qiu Zhuoping, Yiying secretly used Peter's account to log into the school's personnel file system. After learning that Qiu Zhuoping was a top student in the Department of Finance and Management and a badminton singles champion, Yiying made a decision that she still regrets.
"Yiying, come down quickly. If you are caught by the dormitory manager, you will be asked to write a self-criticism." After nine o'clock in the evening, the school was shrouded in the yellow street lights. The soft light rendered the campus tranquil.
Under the light, Huimei looked even smaller, and her floral dress swayed in the night breeze, like a flower that would bloom at any moment.
Yiying had already climbed up the water pipe of the boys' dormitory to the balcony on the second floor. That was Qiu Zhuoping's dormitory, and the reason why she broke into the boys' dormitory at night was to invite Qiu Zhuoping to join the school badminton team and win glory for the school!
"Qiu, I'm going downstairs to buy some scallion pancakes." The person who spoke was Xu Shushu, Qiu Zhuoping's only roommate.
Chen Yiying happened to hear these words when she climbed onto the balcony. After the owner of these words finished speaking, he left the dormitory and closed the door.
The scene Yiying saw afterwards was something she would never forget. Just as she climbed onto the balcony and stood firm, Qiu Zhuoping happened to open the balcony door. A warm mist came over, as if it was about to melt in Yiying's breath.
Qiu Zhuoping, with his lower body wrapped in a bath towel, was wiping the water droplets dripping from the ends of his hair with a coffee-striped towel. His jade-like skin was misted with water vapor, and the outline of his muscles could be vaguely seen on his strong chest.
However, in these few brief seconds, something unexpected happened to Chen Yiying. Qiu Zhuoping's bath towel fell off without warning, and every detail of his body was seen by Chen Yiying. After a moment, it seemed as if the still time was restarted by the crisp closing sound of the French window, but Chen Yiying still stood stupidly outside the French window until it was opened again.
"Why are you on the balcony of my dormitory?" Qiu Zhuoping's cold voice was filled with murderous intent.
Chen Yiying looked at Qiu Zhuoping, who had changed into shorts and a T-shirt, and smiled awkwardly.
"I didn't see anything just now." She added without trying to cover up the truth.
Qiu Zhuoping picked up a book as if nothing had happened and sat at the desk to read it. It seemed that he was not surprised by girls climbing over the wall into the boys' dormitory.
"You're quite brave to break into the boys' dormitory at night." Qiu Zhuoping sneered and read the English version of Stray Birds in his hand. There was a beautiful shadow under his lowered eyes, which was reflected by his cicada-wing eyelashes under the light.
Chen Yiying stared at him blankly, and it took her a while to remember the purpose of her visit.
"I would like to invite you to join the school badminton team. I heard that you have won the badminton singles championship before."
"Do you want to climb down from the balcony the same way you came, or walk out from the dormitory door ?" Qiu Zhuoping slammed the open book shut.
Although she knew she had failed, Yiying still refused to give up. She stayed in Qiu Zhuoping's dormitory and refused to leave, threatening to make public what she had just seen.
Qiu Zhuoping seemed to be irritated, glared at her fiercely, and pushed her towards his bed step by step. Just when Yiying sat down on the bed, not too far away from Qiu Zhuoping, the door of the dormitory was opened at an inopportune time.
“Qiu, do you want a pork floss pancake or a bacon pancake…” The man didn’t finish his words, and the rest of the words seemed to be stuck in his throat.
