Volume 9: The Acidity of the Setting Sun
Chapter 25: Leaving Without a Word
In the face of modern communication and transportation technology, any distance and obstruction are nothing but paper tigers—this is what Lu Li had always thought. The old-fashioned tragic dramas were utterly humiliated by modern technology. No matter how far Chu Xiaodong drove him away, he could still contact Chu Jingyi through advanced means of communication, could still ask for her university address, and could see this heart-wrenching girl at any time with just a simple plane ticket.
With this thought in mind, Lu Li gradually dispelled the sorrow of breaking up with Chu Jingyi for the time being and wholeheartedly accompanied the girls around him.
This winter vacation, Lu Li did not have it easy, mainly because his body couldn’t take it. An Baili was always provoking him, and Lu Li naturally wouldn’t let this girl off lightly. An Baili couldn’t handle Lu Li by herself, so she often pulled Zou Yameng in. To Lu Li, Yameng’s combat power was far more formidable than An Baili’s. He had to give it one hundred percent in every intense battle. After several consecutive days of one-against-two, Lu Li gradually couldn’t hold on anymore. Even his current youthful and energetic physique paled in comparison when facing the two enchantresses.
At times like these, he would use various excuses to slip away and go next door to talk to Wen Hupo. With Wen Hupo present, Yameng had to save some face and could only lick her lips, staring at him with the eyes of a leopard. Lu Li would occasionally miss the Yameng of the past, who only dared to act recklessly under the influence of alcohol after he had fallen asleep. The current Yameng, after lowering her bottom line, was so fierce that even An Baili was secretly dumbfounded.
Thanks to the supervision of Foreman Lu, Wen Hupo’s painting efficiency had increased a lot recently. The concept art for Lu Li’s planned second game, Deep Sea Chronicles, was also about seventy to eighty percent complete. Afraid that Wen Hupo’s workload was too heavy, Lu Li deliberately outsourced the most complicated and least technical parts to some recent art school graduates. According to Foreman Lu’s years of experience from his previous life, these recent graduates were the most cost-effective—their professional skills were barely passable, they were very dedicated, and most importantly, they were cheap.
He remembered a colleague from his past life who loved to recruit recent graduates, set a six-month probation period, and then transfer these hard-working students to different positions after six months. The students, unable to bear it, would resign on their own. By relying on this dirty trick, that colleague had gotten through a difficult period and saved his company a large sum of operating costs—of course, Foreman Lu eventually reported him, nipping a competitor in the bud.
In mid-February, Yameng returned to the Capital City, and Lu Li was temporarily liberated from that state of being juiced. After being fiercely injected by Lu Li a few times, An Baili no longer dared to tease him casually. She even suspected that Lu Li’s Price was a heightened libido. Her original words were: “Who uses a person like a cup…”
On a certain night before the start of the second semester of his third year of high school, Lu Li had a beautiful dream. He dreamed that he had gotten Chu Jingyi’s private contact information. During his four years of university, he often contacted the Silly Goose and would occasionally fly to the Capital City for a secret rendezvous with her. That old man Chu Xiaodong was gnashing his teeth in hatred but could do nothing about it. Just as the dream reached its most wonderful point, a slap suddenly came from nowhere. After being woken up by the slap, Lu Li looked around in a daze. He saw the moon hanging high, and the girls on his left and right were fast asleep. Who had slapped him? Was the place haunted? Lu Li just assumed he had been slapped by Chu Xiaodong in his dream and fell back asleep in a daze. Before falling asleep, he vaguely heard someone say: “…he deserved it…”
Time flew by. After Lu Li emerged from the sorrow of his loss, he only felt that time was passing too quickly. Before he could even savor the moments of his youth with the girls, he was already welcoming the last semester of high school.
School had started.
When Lu Li once again slung his schoolbag over one shoulder and stepped into Chuanhai No. 1 High School, watching the younger students with fuzz on their upper lips walk past him with their arms around each other’s shoulders, he suddenly realized that he seemed to be on the verge of adulthood again. The sour, sweet, simple, and carefree high school life was about to wave goodbye to him, like a pot of thick soup that cooled down too quickly. It was only delicious as a delicacy when it was piping hot; once it cooled, it became greasy and hard, only making one regret not cherishing it properly.
In Lu Li’s memory, this period of high school was very special. In high school, he had his sister’s company, there weren’t so many schemes and intrigues on campus, and no one had ever deliberately caused him trouble. But after entering university, people’s hearts became much more complicated…
Carrying a certain inexplicable sentimentality, Lu Li led the two girls into the classroom of Class One of the third-year liberal arts track. Today’s classroom was a little different; more than half of the seats were empty. Lu Li knew that many students had either already taken their entrance exams early, were preparing for employment, or were busy with other things… In short, for this last semester, this classroom would probably never be full again.
Lu Li sat in his seat, his gaze locked on the front door. He was waiting for Chu Jingyi to appear. That girl would definitely not graduate early. She was a dedicated girl, and she still had work arranged by the teacher on her hands. She would never graduate early for her own comfort. But what made him uneasy was that even when the class bell rang, Chu Jingyi’s figure had not appeared, as if she had just vanished. Lu Li anxiously and repeatedly clicked his ballpoint pen. Would Chu Jingyi be late? Had she ever been late?
The head teacher walked into the classroom. “The class president has already taken the early admission entrance exam. From now on, the class president’s duties will be taken over by you, Xiong Lulu. I’ll just briefly talk about two things in today’s class meeting.”
“First, as all of you know, this is the last semester of high school. Everyone comes from different backgrounds, and I know that many of your families are not in Chuanhai. After graduation, most of you will go your separate ways, and it will be difficult to meet again in the future. I hope everyone will get along well with their classmates this semester and leave a good impression on each other.”
“Second, the entrance exams for major universities will begin in three batches this semester. Our school has the qualification to register for the first batch. I ask all students to pay close attention to the official websites of your target universities. As soon as the notice for the first batch of registration comes out, contact me or Teacher Chen from the academic affairs office immediately. We will submit your materials to your target institutions. At the same time, please work hard this semester. I know most of you don’t have anxiety about academic qualifications, but if you want to go further in your respective family businesses, a high academic qualification is essential. Most official positions have strict academic requirements; you can’t get in just by relying on connections. So everyone, please pay more attention to your studies this semester. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask the teachers in a timely manner, so that you can be ‘doubt-free’ when you enter the examination hall!”
“Today’s class meeting is over. You can study on your own. If you need to leave early, just report to… classmate Xiong Lulu.”
Lu Li suddenly raised his hand. “Teacher, um, will Xiong Lulu be acting as the class president until classmate Chu Jingyi returns? Or…”
The head teacher gave him a meaningful look. “Classmate Chu Jingyi’s admission has already been announced. She probably won’t be coming back to school. Lu Li, you have a good mind and good grades. You must work hard in the entrance exam and strive for a good future for yourself. If there’s anything you don’t understand about applying, feel free to come find me at any time!”
This head teacher had taken good care of him for all three years of high school. Lu Li nodded seriously. “Thank you.”
His gaze fell again on an empty seat in the front row, a feeling of emptiness in his heart.
Does this count as completely losing contact? He silently opened his phone and, not giving up, dialed Chu Jingyi’s number again.
“Sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service…”
What modern communication technology, what transportation technology, it’s all bullshit, he thought with self-deprecation.
