Chapter 3

The next day, I accompanied my junior sister to participate in the final stage of the independent enrollment examination at F University, the interview.

My junior sister went in, and I waited outside. It was at this moment that Lu Haoyang sent me a text message: “Do you like ice cream?”

I was puzzled and replied honestly, “I like it, but I’m afraid to eat it because I’m afraid of getting fat.”

“Don’t worry, I have a DQ coupon. Shall we go together?”

I was about to reply to him when I heard my junior sister’s voice, “Sister Xiaoya!” I looked up and saw that she had already come out.

How did it end so quickly? I immediately approached her and asked, “Finished so soon? How was it?”

My junior sister looked confident and talked to me extensively about the questions the interviewer asked and how she responded to each one. We chatted while walking outside the school, and in the process, I completely forgot about Lu Haoyang’s question. When I finally remembered, I took out my phone and realized that it had been four hours since his last message.

I felt guilty and immediately sent him a text message: “Sorry! Something came up just now. I won’t go, you can go.” Unlike usual, I didn’t receive a reply from Lu Haoyang after sending this message.

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Mbl satydkglap blzrle xl pvknj vbl okpb sd vbl oyzz. Rv oyp rzynle dlkvbla bktb dsa zso, kd rkdj nszsa, yde iwknjzu tsv pwcxlatle kd y ply sq nszsaqwz pvknju dsvlp. R vbswtbv vs xuplzq vbyv pwnb y csakdt ynvkhkvu oswzed’v nyvnb ydusdl’p yvvldvksd, ps R fwpv oasvl psxlvbkdt aydesx. Nkvvzl eke R jdso vbyv psxlsdl oswze ynvwyzzu pll vbkp “csakdt” okpb yde lhld nsdvynv xl.

“Nw Tysuydt?”

I had almost forgotten about him.

On the other end of the phone, Lu Haoyang’s tone was unfriendly. “Han Xiaoya, I’ve fulfilled your Women’s Day wish.”

I was stunned for a moment. By now, it had been a week since Women’s Day.

“Oh…” For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond. “Actually, I don’t want others to spend money on me, so I’ll give you the money for the book.”

I murmured, unable to express my feelings. It felt strange.

Lu Haoyang fell silent for a few seconds and spoke coldly, “Fortunately, I had foresight and didn’t pay for it. The book is cash on delivery. It’s downstairs at your place. Come and get it.”

“…”

How could there be such a person!

Without saying goodbye, I hung up the phone and rushed downstairs in my slippers to find the delivery guy he mentioned.

But after surveying the entrance of Building 5 for a while, I didn’t see a single delivery person. I was annoyed and thought that he had probably tricked me again. Just as I was about to turn around and go back, I heard a series of clear bicycle bell sounds. I followed the sound and saw Lu Haoyang sitting on a bike, one leg on the ground, his gaze on me.

I stood still and didn’t say anything.

Lu Haoyang looked at me for a while, took off his backpack, and pulled out a book from it—it was a brand new copy of “Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography.” He waved the book in his hand at me, and I took a step forward, walking towards him. I reached out to take the book, but he evaded and looked at me. “You seem interested? Running off to participate in a disguised blind date.”

“…”

What disguised blind date? He said it in such an offensive way!

I directly took out a 100 yuan bill from my bag and handed it to him. “Here’s the change!”

Lu Haoyang didn’t take the money but held my hand instead, stuffing the book into my hand. “Treat me to a meal.”

I stood still, unable to respond for a while. Finally, I managed to utter a word, “But…”

“No ‘buts.'” Lu Haoyang didn’t let me finish my sentence. “Whether you want to or not, you have to treat me. You were the one who said you’d pay back the money for this book.” By the time I snapped back to reality, I realized he had already left, leaving only a gust of wind behind.

I stood there holding “Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography,” staring at his back for a long time. Today’s Lu Haoyang was so different from before that I couldn’t understand him at all.

After being “forced” to treat him, a few days later, I received a message from Lu Haoyang while I was in managerial accounting class.

“When are you free? Treat me to a meal.”

I placed my phone on the desk and secretly replied, “You tell me, I’m available.”

He was straightforward and immediately responded, “How about tonight?”

At that moment, the professor at the front was discussing the key topic of internal control. I had no interest in bargaining with him any further and simply agreed, “Okay, you decide on the location. Let’s meet at the Southeast Gate at 5 o’clock.”

Lu Haoyang replied, “Okay!”

He seemed to be in a good mood. This guy liked to show off his English whenever he was in a good mood.

I still had classes in the afternoon, and by the time I rushed to the campus gate, it was already 5:05. Lu Haoyang had been waiting there for I don’t know how long. He was still sitting on his bike, just like when I saw him last time, with one leg on the ground. I quickened my pace and walked towards him, greeting him, “Lu Haoyang!”

Lu Haoyang turned his head at the sound and saw that I wasn’t riding a bike. He got off his bicycle and asked, “You don’t ride a bike?”

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“You can’t ride a bike?” he asked while leisurely walking towards the bike shed.

I kept up with his pace. “No,” I answered honestly, “because my bikes have been stolen twice, so I don’t dare to buy another one.”

Lu Haoyang asked me what I liked to eat, and I said anything was fine, but added, “I don’t like sushi.”

He nodded.

I walked alongside him, not knowing where he was taking me.

Throughout the journey, he kept talking, pouring out his preferences. For example, he disliked any food with strange flavors, and hot pot was one of them. He also mentioned that he was quite skilled in using a single-lens reflex camera.

I joked, “Too bad you haven’t found the leading lady for your lens.” He didn’t mind and joked back, “That’s because I don’t want to find one.”

I pretended to be unyielding and asked him sarcastically, “Really?” But deep down, I already had an answer. Someone as accomplished and wealthy as him could easily pursue any girl he wanted.

Lu Haoyang appeared to be someone who frequently went out to eat, drink, and have fun. He had excellent skills in choosing restaurants. We settled down at Lao Che Ji, a well-known Hong Kong-style tea restaurant in Beijing.

Dinner time was not long, but Lu Haoyang continued to talk non-stop. In the meantime, he mentioned several classmates from his class, and I guessed their names instantly, which impressed him.

“How did you know their names?” he wondered.

I had just swallowed a piece of barbecued pork when I set my sights on the last remaining shrimp dumpling on the table. Just as I was about to reach for it, a pair of chopsticks picked up the dumpling and placed it in my bowl.

I looked up, smiled at the owner of the chopsticks, and replied, “Because we attended the summer English camp together before. But you weren’t there, you went to Cambridge University for an exchange program.”

Lu Haoyang pondered for a few seconds, suddenly realizing, “Oh, right! I was the intermediary for you back then. How did I forget about this?” he muttered to himself.

I quickly interjected, “You must have been busy with important matters.”

I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and on the way back, I savored the memories. “The shrimp dumplings at Lao Che Ji were really good! Oh, by the way…” I turned my head to look at Lu Haoyang beside me and found him smiling at me. When our eyes met, my heart skipped a beat. But before I could regain my composure, I realized that I had forgotten what I wanted to say.

Lu Haoyang remained silent, allowing an awkward silence to linger.

The awkward silence…

I couldn’t bear it and cleared my throat, finally diverting the topic from food. “Hey, look!” I pointed my hand towards the right side of the road ahead.

Following the direction of my finger, Lu Haoyang saw a silver-colored metal statue. The sculpture depicted a child, naked and resembling a beggar.

“It’s so strange…” I mumbled to myself, pulling Lu Haoyang’s arm and walking towards the sculpture.

Lu Haoyang didn’t move, so I turned my head to look at him, only to find his gaze fixed on my hand.

“Why are you pulling my clothes?” he pointed to my hand resting on his arm, raised his head, and looked innocent.

I was at a loss for words, not knowing why I had pulled his clothes…

Feeling embarrassed and flustered, I adopted a defiant attitude. “I, as a girl, don’t care about such things. Why do you care?” I said, disregarding his willingness, and forcefully dragged him to the side of the sculpture.

I pretended to be looking at the sculpture, but my mind had long wandered elsewhere. I heard Lu Haoyang’s lazy voice by my ear, “Since you like it so much, take a picture and study it slowly.”

“Huh?” I was taken aback, looking at him, and with a sudden “Oh,” I agreed.

Lu Haoyang, apparently caught off guard, hesitated for two seconds before pulling out a single-lens reflex camera from his backpack.

Why is he still carrying a single-lens reflex camera with him… Before I could come to my senses, I heard him say again, “Go ahead, I’ll take a picture for you.”

Really take a picture?! I felt awkward and said, “No… forget it, let’s go back. I was just joking,” and I walked ahead with my head down.

I felt like there was a pond in my heart, and a stone had been thrown into it, causing it to never calm down again. This feeling wasn’t good at all.

Lu Haoyang didn’t push me and walked beside me.

Suddenly, I heard his voice, “Xiaoya.”

Hmm?

I looked up at him. Little did I know that in that instant, without any sound, his camera flashed. When I realized I wanted to cover my face, that moment had already been forever captured by the lens.

“You!”

I reached out to snatch his camera, but unfortunately, he had the advantage of height, holding it high so I couldn’t reach it. I watched as Lu Haoyang gracefully put the camera back in his backpack, and all I could do was stare in disbelief.

He walked forward calmly, without a trace of emotion, took a few steps, and then turned back to look at me. “Aren’t you coming?”

I stared at him for another two seconds before mustering up the courage to step forward with determination.

I had a feeling that this time, I came out at a disadvantage in front of this boy named Lu Haoyang, but I couldn’t quite explain what it was exactly, not even to myself.

Lu Haoyang escorted me to the entrance of my dormitory building, and with an indifferent attitude, I bid him goodbye and went inside. At the corner of the staircase on the ground floor, I stopped and stood by the window, looking at the spot where he had just stood, not moving for a long time.

I took out my phone, no message from him, and then opened Renren (a Chinese social networking site). Lately, I had been visiting Renren more often.

At a glance, I saw Lu Haoyang’s latest post, a status update: “Look up at the stars in the sky and find that the stars really twinkle.”

In less than 10 seconds, there were already five or six comments:

“God… What happened to you?”

“Are you okay… (⊙﹏⊙b sweat)”

…

Comments like that, and Lu Haoyang didn’t reply to any of them.

Among them, a rather peculiar comment came from Pan Zicong, with only one emoticon: a mischievous smile.

I smiled to myself, pursed my lips, put away my phone, and looked at the sky through the window.

It seemed like the stars really do twinkle.