Chapter 21: Confession

Under the university’s girls’ dormitory building, boys often squatted waiting day and night, regardless of the hour. It was nothing unusual.

When the boy saw the person arriving, he tossed his unfinished cigarette to the ground and stamped it out. He kicked it again, sending the butt flying into the bushes with a rustle, destroying the evidence.

No manners.

“Ming You, I heard you were sick. Feeling better now?”

“You’re waiting for me?” Ming You deeply disliked smoking, no matter the gender. Just Liu Xianhe’s uncivilized act moments ago had landed him on her blacklist. Forget getting a good look from her.

“Yeah, welcome back to school.”

Ming You accepted the flowers the boy handed her with one hand. “Liu Xianhe, you’re not the first boy to wait for me here, but to be honest, you’re the ugliest one.”

Gu Xirui tugged at Ming You’s clothes and whispered, “Same grade, same major—we see each other all the time. Still…”

“Face needs to match.” Ming You promptly tossed the flowers into the trash bin.

Liu Xianhe got off to a bad start, but he didn’t fly into a rage. Instead, he grinned cheekily. “Just two hundred yuan flowers. Our department belle can toss them however she wants. Girls have endless ways to reject guys. Throwing stuff? On another level, that’s playing hard to get. Don’t like this bunch? Next time, I’ll get a different one. Chasing girls takes thick skin, and I’ve got it.”

His spiel was so ridiculous that even Gu Xirui—who had just advised Ming You to save face—wanted to snap, “Are you sick?”

Ming You dropped “Ugly people make more trouble” and headed into the dorm building.

Gu Xirui followed right behind. “Well said.” Even she couldn’t come up with something that savage when pissed. It felt satisfying.

…

For three straight days, Ming You’s messages to Yan Ningxi came after ten at night. Sometimes photos of pretty flowers or tasty food, sometimes tomorrow’s weather forecast, or a few clichéd sweet nothings.

She rarely messaged during the day.

【Ming You: Sister Yan, I want to buy a hoodie. White, black, red, blue, or milk tea color. Pick one.】

【Ming You: Hoodie.jpg】

【Ming You: Want your opinion.】

【Yan Ningxi: White.】

【Yan Ningxi: Milk tea color’s fine too.】

【Ming You: Oh la.gif】

【Yan Ningxi: ‘Oh la’ why?】

【Ming You: When you flip a coin once but want to flip it again after seeing the result. That’s ‘oh la.’】

【Ming You: Am I clever?! [Sneaky smile]】

【Yan Ningxi: Clever.】

【Ming You: Good girl.gif】

【Ming You: These are the flowers I’m picking next for home. Pretty, right?】 The picture showed a matched bouquet of white tulips and gladioluses.

【Yan Ningxi: Planning to be a florist?】

【Ming You: If I open a flower shop someday, I’ll put it on Sister Yan’s commute route.】

【Ming You: How to make you meet me, in my most beautiful moment

For this, I prayed before Buddha for five hundred years

Begged for a worldly bond between us

So Buddha turned me into a tree, growing on the road you must pass

Blossoming fully under the sun, each flower my longing from a past life】

【Yan Ningxi: With ambitions like that, you should’ve applied to an agricultural science university back then.】

【Yan Ningxi: Not saying running a flower shop is slacking off. But after studying broadcasting major, switching to flowers and plants is a mismatch. Means those university years went to waste.】

“My” retracted a message.

“My” retracted a message.

The two messages right after Yan Ningxi’s “florist” question got retracted.

Qi Xuexin was right.

People like Yan Ningxi were boring and no fun.

…

Geographically, both Hengyuan and Huai’an were southern cities, not far apart. But Hengyuan’s autumn came later and shorter than Huai’an’s.

Early in the month, Huai’an cooled down and entered autumn.

Mid-month, Hengyuan cooled down and entered autumn.

Ming You hadn’t messaged Yan Ningxi for two days. She and Yan Ningxi had entered autumn too.

On Saturday, the campus preliminary for the National University Hosting Competition went smoothly. Ming You and Gu Xirui both passed, as did Lin Yiyang. The divisional qualifying round would be next Saturday at Hengyuan Media University’s broadcast hall.

“No surprise in the prelims, nothing to congratulate. Let’s see who comes out on top in the real competition.” Lin Yiyang squinted at Ming You’s face. “Ming You, it’s been half a month. You didn’t secretly get plastic surgery, did you?”

“Lin Yiyang, don’t go too far.” Gu Xirui couldn’t stand Lin Yiyang’s arrogant attitude.

Ming You had been in a funk these past couple days; winning the match didn’t lift her spirits much. Lin Yiyang walked right into it and wouldn’t get off easy.

“Psychosomatic blindness is incurable. Suggest you hit psych first, then ophthalmology. Don’t panic and pick the wrong treatment, or you’ll be blind for life.”

Gu Xirui piled on: “Such pretty eyes. What a shame.”

“Student Ming’s got skills—got our pure and innocent Gu Xirui talking street now, cursing without swears.” Lin Yiyang didn’t get mad; instead, she gleefully turned the spear on Gu Xirui.

“Student Gu, aren’t you afraid of your image collapsing? All that effort building a facade, ruined as ‘gold on the outside, rot within,’ fodder for gossip?”

Her words packed a vicious, insulting punch and successfully pissed off Gu Xirui.

Ming You wasn’t worried about Gu Xirui. She knew her roommate just didn’t bother wasting breath on a spoiled heiress like Lin Yiyang—born into privilege, clueless about hardship, crumbling at setbacks. Out of sight, out of mind.

“Lin Yiyang, take it out on me. My morals suck, image’s trash—plenty of flaws to pick at, not enough? Brush up on idioms when you’re free.”

“Those close to ink get stained black. All your fault.” Lin Yiyang stomped and chased after Gu Xirui.

Ming You stayed in the hall, snapped a photo of the stage, and posted it to her Space feed: 【Prelims victory.】

She switched to her chat with Yan Ningxi, stared at that Snowy Night Cabin avatar with the lit eaves for a good while. Selected the picture, then canceled send. She knew about today’s prelims—would she ask about the results?

Her new hoodie had arrived; movies were watchable too. Talk was cheap; action mattered. Wearing the clothes she picked and watching a movie together—that was action, right?

On the way back to the dorm, she opened the app, bought a train ticket, and booked a hotel in one go.

She changed into casual clothes, stuffed a few essentials into her black sporty crossbody bag, and messaged Gu Xirui, who hadn’t returned yet: 【Xirui, heading back to Huai’an tonight.】

…

In a Western restaurant in Huai’an City, across from Yan Ningxi sat her grad school senior, Luo Yongjun.

Luo Yongjun was in Huai’an on business and invited Yan Ningxi to meet, to discuss their shared advisor Professor Zhang’s sixtieth birthday next month.

Yan Ningxi thought nothing of it and figured she should play host and treat him to dinner. But from downstairs, she spotted him from afar—holding a flashy, eye-catching bouquet of red roses?

And that bouquet of roses now sat on the empty chair to her left.

Maybe because of the red roses, the server kept pushing couple’s set meals while recommending dishes: “This couple’s meal has great reviews,” “This one’s the most popular couple’s deal.”

Yan Ningxi coolly ignored the recommendations and ordered a basic steak single.

Luo Yongjun: “Not tasty? Can’t stomach it?”

“Not that hungry. Can’t finish.”

“You girls care too much about figures. Ningxi, not being hungry is one thing; dieting’s another. Your figure’s been perfect since college. Any skinnier and it’s unhealthy. Don’t fight your body—eat smaller meals more often is fine.”

“Mm.” Yan Ningxi set down her knife and fork, took a sip of black tea. “Professor Zhang’s birthday banquet—lots of classmates joining?”

“Yeah, a dozen or so that I know of. We’re not doing it on the actual day; set it for the weekend before, to celebrate his birthday. Everyone’s busy with careers; weekends are easier to adjust. Professor Zhang likes you a lot. You… no time?”

Whether in the group chat or real life, Luo Yongjun was a smooth social butterfly, getting along with seniors, juniors, brothers, sisters alike.

They had a grad group chat with dozens of members, including Professor Zhang.

Talk of Professor Zhang’s sixtieth had come up, but Yan Ningxi hadn’t chimed in. She rarely spoke anyway.

“I’ll go.” Yan Ningxi replied. “Professor Zhang helped me a lot. I should personally give my blessings at his banquet. You know I’m no good with words, so I didn’t join the discussion.”

“Then I’ll book your hotel too when I do mine. I’ll arrive a day early. Confirm your flight and tell me; I’ll pick you up at the airport, save you the hassle.”

Luo Yongjun was single; once teased at drinks as Yan Ningxi’s rumored boyfriend.

Glasses, neat attire, scholarly vibe—polished, knew boundaries and timing.

Years ago, Yan Ningxi had sensed Luo Yongjun’s romantic interest. But with no real moves, she’d kept him at arm’s length as a senior brother. Peaceful coexistence.

18:35. Ding. Yan Ningxi picked up her phone.

【Ming You: First battle won.】

The girl last messaged her Wednesday night. After retracting the flower shop bit, she vanished.

She wasn’t clueless about why.

Most likely, her preachy comment rubbed the girl the wrong way.

“Boyfriend checking in?” Luo Yongjun had psyched himself up buying the flowers, determined to confess today. Even if rejected, secure a shot at pursuing her openly.

When giving the flowers, nerves cut him short at “Long time no see.” Now, boldness surged back.

“Hm?” Yan Ningxi was sometimes slow to react outside class.

Luo Yongjun pointed at her phone, probing: “You lit up seeing that message. Someone at home missing you, urging you home early?”

Lit up?

Had her micro-expressions been that obvious?

Yan Ningxi got it: Luo Yongjun was indirectly checking if she was single. Human interaction was a profound art.

“No. Message from a… little sister. Sorry, gotta reply.” Among student, friend, sister, she picked Ming You’s cover story. Now she was lying too.

【Yan Ningxi: Congrats.】

【Ming You: Busy?】

【Yan Ningxi: Yeah, tied up.】

Dining with someone, fixating on your phone was rude. Unless they were a close friend or someone you despised. Luo Yongjun was neither.

Yan Ningxi glanced at Luo Yongjun’s nearly empty plate. “Something came up, senior. Need to head out early.”

If no flowers had been bought or given, she wouldn’t feel uneasy, wouldn’t rush to flee. Never scared him in grad school, but today she “feared.”

Feared his sudden overture, feared hearing “I like you,” feared losing this half-friend. Regret would sting.

Her friends were few and far between.

“Alright then… Fine. You’re host today; I won’t stand on ceremony. But we agreed: next time for Professor Zhang’s birthday, I’ll handle hotel and schedule. You just buy the ticket. Food, stay—all sorted.”

Before meeting, Yan Ningxi had offered to treat. Luo Yongjun, knowing her years, knew respecting that was key.

“Thanks for the trouble, senior.”

Yan Ningxi agreed verbally to wrap things up today. Future tabs would settle later.

She wasn’t rich, but she never owed anyone. Never took advantage. Even unconditional gifts—she refused to be the freeloader. Her creed: no shame before others, none before her heart.