Volume 12
Chapter 8: If Life Were Only Like the First Time We Met
Lu Li was still a little apprehensive. His coming to find Chu Jingyi was a complete whim. He just felt that after traveling a thousand miles to the Capital City, it would be wrong not to see that girl one more time. But what could he say when they really met? How would he say it? What could he do for her? He had no idea about any of this.
Perhaps not seeing her was the best choice.
When the taxi stopped at the south gate of Capital University, Lu Li, on the contrary, hesitated and was unwilling to get out. The driver called him twice before Lu Li, as if waking from a dream, pushed the door open and got out. He looked at the simple yet grand entrance of Capital University. Countless young men and women shuttled back and forth. Youth, knowledge, and passion converged here. This was perhaps the place on the land of Shenzhou that was closest to a utopia.
Looking at the radiant smiles on the faces of those university students, Lu Li dazedly realized that his own life had completely diverged from theirs. He didn’t belong to this utopia. Before, he couldn’t understand the feeling of “being more timid the closer one gets to home” because he had no sense of homesickness. But now, he was standing at the entrance of Capital University, yet he was timid about meeting the Silly Goose.
After standing at the entrance for a while, he attracted the attention of a group of young male and female university students. “Hello, classmate. Did you forget your student card? We saw you standing at the entrance for a long time.”
Lu Li let out a sound of surprise and turned to look at them. It was three pairs of men and women, seemingly three couples. “No, I’m not a student at Capital University. I’m just here to find a friend.”
“Looking for someone?” one of the girls raised an eyebrow slightly. “Classmate, let’s go in together. If we take you in, you won’t need to have your card checked.” Unable to resist the enthusiasm of this group of young students, Lu Li was swept up and pulled into Capital University.
“Classmate, who are you looking for? This is Capital University. There are few people I don’t know,” another boy said, patting his chest. “What’s your friend’s name?”
Lu Li hesitated for a moment. He wanted to hear how the Silly Goose had been doing in Capital University during this time, so he answered truthfully, “Her name is Chu Jingyi.”
To his surprise, the six of them were stunned and looked at each other. Then they asked, “Are you sure it’s Miss Chu? You know Miss Chu?”
Miss Chu? Lu Li hadn’t expected the approachable silly goose to have such a distant title. He didn’t want to cause any trouble for Chu Jingyi’s university life, so he said, “Yes. We used to be in the same high school, just classmates. I’m here in the Capital City on business this time and came to visit her on the way.”
“Understandable, understandable. Every week, all sorts of people come looking for Miss Chu from the School of International Economics for all sorts of reasons. Not to mention high school classmates, even junior high and elementary school classmates have come!” They came back to their senses. They had subconsciously imagined Lu Li to be someone important to Miss Chu, but now that they thought about it, he was probably just another playboy who had come because of her fame.
…
Lu Li walked slowly with them on the campus of Capital University. University students were somewhere between professionals and students, still full of foolish passion, and their attitude toward Lu Li was also quite enthusiastic.
“Are there a lot of people who come looking for Chu Jingyi… oh no, Miss Chu?” Lu Li asked.
“Of course. The only daughter of the youngest cabinet minister! The sole heir of the Chu family’s direct line! Do you know what that means!” That boy was a little excited and was stepped on by his girlfriend. “It means if you’re chosen, you’ll save yourself two hundred years and three generations of struggle! Ahem, of course, I’m already taken, so I naturally don’t have the slightest interest.”
After entering university and seeing a wider world, an ordinary person could finally realize how extraordinary Chu Jingyi’s family background was.
“This is much more impressive than that recent, sensational imperial son-in-law! What princess? In terms of status, she really can’t compare to our school’s Miss Chu!” He puffed out his chest as he spoke, taking pride in Chu Jingyi being from their school. Although what he said was an exaggeration, it wasn’t entirely wrong. In terms of power alone, the only daughter of the Chu family was clearly much more powerful than the Fourteenth Princess. But that girl, Chu Jingyi, didn’t like to compete, didn’t like fame and fortune, and certainly didn’t like to show her face. Compared to the Fourteenth Princess, her exposure was surprisingly low.
Lu Li followed their words and said with emotion, “I didn’t expect Miss Chu’s family background to be so outstanding. I didn’t pay much attention to it when we were studying. Is Miss Chu very strict? Why don’t you call her by her full name, but call her Miss Chu?”
“Strict isn’t the word for it,” a girl who had been listening quietly shook her head. “Miss Chu’s personality is famously cold and aloof. I’ve never heard of her having any friends, nor have I seen her get close to anyone. At school, she’s also someone no one dares to provoke. She comes and goes alone. Everyone respects her and calls her Miss Chu. Classmate, actually, there are not a few people like you who find all sorts of reasons to get close to Miss Chu. The most exaggerated one was that third-year student last month. He hung upside down from a tree and played the guitar, hoping to attract Miss Chu’s attention. Miss Chu just said lightly, ‘Please respect your own life,’ and then left.”
Cold and aloof? Comes and goes alone? How could these words be associated with that sweet and silly girl? For a moment, Lu Li even thought they were talking about a different person from the one he knew. But he soon realized that the Silly Goose’s life had suddenly undergone a huge change, her family had fallen apart, her love life had been frustrated, and the values she had cultivated for eighteen years had been impacted. Maybe she really had become more introverted and silent… He felt a bad taste in his mouth. He didn’t want the innocent and pure little sun from his memory to just sink into silence.
It seems she’s not doing well.
The universally loved class president had become the Miss Chu who was respected from a distance. It was hard to say if it was a good or bad thing, but there was always a bad taste in his mouth.
“Classmate, I advise you not to rashly go looking for Miss Chu. Her bodyguards will directly twist you up and send you to the police station. There’s a precedent for this. Before, a senior, relying on his family having some weight, presumptuously went to block the door of the School of International Economics classroom.”
Lu Li’s heart also leaped. “And then?”
“Then he was directly pressed to the ground by the bodyguards, and his carefully combed, greasy hair became a mess.” At this, the group burst into laughter. “That bastard deserved it. He usually acted so arrogantly just because his family had a little money and power. This time, he hit a steel plate with Miss Chu and lost all face. Afterward, he didn’t even dare to leave any harsh words and ran away with his tail between his legs.”
Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief. Chu Jingyi had bodyguards. He had guessed as much, but he had never seen them. How could the direct daughter of the great Chu family not have protection? It was just that before, he was on the Chu family’s whitelist, so they just turned a blind eye to him.
“Anyway, classmate, if you’re going to rashly go looking for Miss Chu, you’d better forget it. At least you have to do something to make her notice you,” that boy said again. “If all else fails, you can do a backflip, or bite a lighter. Really, maybe Miss Chu has seen enough of the upper class and would prefer this kind of thing?”
Lu Li grunted twice. He decided it was better not to disturb Chu Jingyi. At most, he would just see her from a distance. If he met with Chu Jingyi again, who knew how much trouble it would cause for her. As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard someone beside him say, “Classmate, there, look, that’s Miss Chu up ahead. Don’t be impulsive. She’s walking over. You’d better not act foolishly.”
Lu Li looked up in astonishment and saw, not far away, a pretty young girl in a goose-yellow long dress looking at him. The girl had an oval face, crescent moon eyebrows, a face like a fresh lychee, and lips like pink cherries. She possessed the typical classical beauty of Shenzhou—demure and elegant, gentle and generous. Lu Li had always felt that she was suited to hold a small round fan and sing in a soft, gentle voice: “If life were only like the first time we met, why would the autumn wind sadden the painted fan?”
Yes, if life were only like the first time we met. If life were only like the first time we met…
