That’s called interest
This is the second time Qiao Yu has experienced in life? It is hard work in the cold window.
And this time it is even more severe than the previous one. The memories of the past are now very distant, but Qiao Yu still remembers that she was never a student who would study late into the night, barely attending cram schools, relying on a bit of cleverness to achieve above-average grades, and finally going to a decent university.
Qiao Yu is no longer the person she used to be, living aimlessly. She now has an extremely clear goal.
Teachers and classmates are amazed by her diligence. As her grades naturally improve, time seems to pass by incredibly slowly, yet in hindsight, it feels like just yesterday.
One day, she encountered her former homeroom teacher at school. He is now teaching a freshman class, but he still remembers Qiao Yu. He patted her on the shoulder with regret and encouragement, saying, “If you can successfully enter the same school and come back with Lin Qing, I will prepare candy for you both again.”
Qiao Yu obediently nodded her head. What was he thinking? Giving out red-wrapped candies to the two of them?
As the days approached, those around them were shrouded in a tense atmosphere, each one as if facing a formidable enemy. Qiao Yu, on the other hand, calmed down, even managing to soothe the nervous system that was overworked on the sleepless night before the exam.
“Phew, phew, it’s okay, host. I’m fine, I’m calm now, okok.”
“…Really? You sound like a robot who just finished an electronic marathon.”
“It’s okay! I am completely prepared! Now is the time to do our best and leave the rest to fate!”
“…”
Qiao Yu blinked slowly in the dark and chuckled playfully.
“Unfortunately, the heavens in this world have never favored me.”
“I now only believe in man-made efforts.”
Her voice was low, devoid of any intense emotions, yet the system felt that these words were particularly heavy, causing its mood to cool slightly. Just as it was thinking about what to say to reassure the host, it heard Qiao Yu return to her relaxed tone.
“Of course, if you are still panting like earlier during my exam tomorrow, then it really would be a sign of my impending doom.”
“…I won’t be like that!”
Having received very reliable assurances, Qiao Yu received meticulous care from her parents the next day, and before entering the exam hall, she received a kiss from her lover as a talisman.
There was no reason to fail.
The college entrance examination lasted for two days. Honestly, Qiao Yu did not find it to be lengthy, as time flew by quickly in the examination hall. Whether it was the mock exams she had taken before or the real deal of the college entrance examination, which she was experiencing for the second time, she was calm and experienced.
But after finishing the final exam, Qiao Yu silently closed her pen, feeling as if she had just ended a long battle, finally able to sheathe her sword.
The dust settled.
The time for submitting college preferences comes before the release of exam results, but students are provided with answer sheets to estimate their scores. As Qiao Yu opened the preference submission interface, Lin Qing was sitting on her bed, eyes wide open, repeatedly flipping through the answer booklet, even more focused than Qiao Yu.
“…Is this really the score? You won’t make a mistake in your estimation, right? And these careless errors in filling out the answer sheet…”
“I won’t.”
Since the end of the college entrance exam, Lin Qing had maintained a high level of nervousness. Before the exam, she could restrain herself from showing it to avoid affecting Qiao Yu, but after the exam, it was like hitting rock bottom. Qiao Yu could only comfort her repeatedly with a wry smile, opening her arms towards Lin Qing.
After hesitating for a while, Lin Qing finally made up her mind and put down the answer booklet, getting off the bed and leaning into Qiao Yu’s embrace.
“Trust me a little more, even though I can’t present any concrete evidence now, but I did check it multiple times back then.”
“…Yes, I’m sorry, I’ve been worrying unnecessarily lately.”
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This kind of comforting, which had become an established routine, was as effective as ever, quickly calming down Lin Qing. Qiao Yu’s body warmth was reassuring, but in these past few days of probably studying too intensely, she had clearly lost weight again.
She had already slimmed down significantly in the two years before leaving, and now even the recently purchased home clothes had become loose on her, accentuating her slender shoulders.
Lin Qing felt a pang of heartache, blaming herself for how she could be adding pressure to her at this time. She resolved to find a way to help Qiao Yu gain a little weight in the future.
She felt guilty for putting all the weight of her head on Qiao Yu’s shoulders, so she slightly raised her head. However, she was taken aback when she saw the laptop screen on Qiao Yu’s desk.
“…Have you already submitted your college preferences?”
“Yes.”
The answer she received was expected. Lin Qing furrowed her brows and extended her arm to reach for the mouse. Qiao Yu cooperatively moved her chair closer to the desk, allowing Lin Qing to operate the computer more conveniently.
The only college preference she saw was a solitary option: Beicheng University, which was Lin Qing’s university.
“…”
Lin Qing’s hands clenched, momentarily unsure of what to say.
You see, if one’s desired college preference is not accepted, it may lead to a dilemma of not having backup options, so most candidates tend to list lower-scoring schools as a safety net. It is rare to see a situation like Qiao Yu’s, with only one preference. Although preferences can be modified before the deadline, it was evident that Qiao Yu had made up her mind early on.
“Well, I also don’t have any other schools I want to go to.”
Seeing through Lin Qing’s concerns, Qiao Yu smiled and casually remarked, her tone giving no hint of a last-ditch effort.
“Don’t worry, don’t overthink it.”
She gently patted Lin Qing’s back, who was worried on her behalf, and softened her tone.
“I will come to be by your side.”
Even before estimating her score, Qiao Yu was more certain of this than anyone else and more eager than anyone for that day to come.
Ah, she suddenly realized.
The days waiting for the acceptance letter might be very difficult.
The start of the school year.
She politely declined her parents’ suggestion to drive her to school, knowing that parking would be difficult during this time, and being so close, her parents could come at any time, so it wasn’t necessary to do it today. Qiao Yu lightly packed her bag and entered the school gate.
Although the familiar feel of the school bag always gave her a sense of high school again, the fresh surroundings and the young people in casual attire passing by highlighted the difference here.
In the crowd were many middle-aged adults who looked like parents, probably accompanying their children for enrollment. There were signposts and volunteers guiding the way from the school gate, warmly directing the new students to their registration locations.
Oh, even though she had already attended university for three years, seeing this scene now still felt so intriguing to Qiao Yu.
Lost in thought, Qiao Yu vaguely remembered the name of her university at the time, but couldn’t recall many details, only remembering it was nothing like the vibrant campus life, but rather busy with writing and deadlines, often tired and staying in the dorm—
“Oh!”
Lost in thought, Qiao Yu was suddenly bumped into by someone from the side, catching her off guard and causing her to stagger a few steps.
“S-Sorry! I was just pushed by someone… I’m sorry, senior!”
Qiao Yu looked up, only to see a girl dragging a huge suitcase. It seemed that she had lost her balance after being pushed while carrying the heavy load, causing her to bump into Qiao Yu. The girl was now desperately apologizing to her.
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“It’s okay—senior?”
Qiao Yu responded with confusion, starting to worry that maybe she looked too old to be mistaken for a senior… But after seeing the girl’s baffled gaze scanning her bag and empty hands, she understood. It was her overly lightweight gear that caused the misunderstanding.
“I’m actually a freshman too, I just live nearby, that’s why I have fewer things with me.”
Although being called a senior was quite a novelty, Qiao Yu corrected the misunderstanding straightforwardly. The person across from her apologized profusely for mistaking her age, causing Qiao Yu to feel a bit awkward due to the excessive politeness, making it difficult to find a space to interject.
“Um, I’m about to go—”
During a pause in the other person’s speech, Qiao Yu finally managed to speak up before her, indicating the registration direction with a troubled expression, signaling that she needed to go.
In the distance, a row of small tents could already be seen, with senior representatives from each department waiting for the new students’ enrollment. Qiao Yu had arrived early, but she could see the crowd around her gradually increasing, feeling that it wasn’t a good idea to waste time standing with this classmate.
“Ah, since we’re both freshmen, why don’t we go together?”
Caught off guard by the sudden invitation, Qiao Yu looked at the girl in a dilemma, who was still enthusiastically talking non-stop.
“By the way, what major are you in? Maybe we’re in the same department!”
She seemed like a very cheerful girl, someone who could quickly make friends even in unfamiliar environments.
Qiao Yu didn’t dislike this kind of person, but now she had to think of a suitable reason to decline the invitation, because—
“—Is everything okay? Do you need help?”
A soft and familiar female voice came from the front, causing Qiao Yu to instinctively smile as she heard it.
Qiao Yu looked in the direction of the voice, and there she was, standing vividly, with a hint of light makeup.
Usually accustomed to seeing her in a natural state, even then Qiao Yu already thought she was beautiful enough. But now, she looked extraordinarily captivating, with delicate features framing her mesmerizing eyes and a subtle charm that effortlessly captivated Qiao Yu’s gaze, creating a stunning effect that almost made her forget to breathe.
However, their eyes met for just a moment before she casually looked away, as if there was no intention to greet Qiao Yu. She simply raised an impeccable gentle smile and gracefully walked over, unceremoniously inserting herself between Qiao Yu and the other girl, causing Qiao Yu to step back half a pace to make room for her.
“I noticed that you seemed to be in a bit of trouble. Is everything okay?”
“Ah, no… “
Truly a beauty, she made even the outgoing and talkative girl from earlier speechless in her presence. Qiao Yu suddenly felt like laughing but stifled it while lowering her head, only to be discreetly stepped on by the person in front, prompting her to tightly press her lips together and regain her composure.
“Which department are you from? Have you not registered yet? Your luggage seems quite heavy. Why don’t you let our volunteers help—” Before she could even lift her head to look around for someone, a male student wearing a volunteer badge dashed over from the side and swiftly carried the girl’s suitcase away.
Wow, even though he appeared like a gentleman just there to help, the speed at which this brother sprinted was almost leaving afterimages. The intentions of wanting to perform well in front of someone were probably understood by everyone present.
See, just getting a casual ‘thank you’ made him stumble away in a daze. Hmm.
Qiao Yu suddenly found this scene a bit glaring, and she awkwardly cleared her throat.
Meanwhile, the person in front remained completely unaware, still conversing with the girl and kindly pointing out the direction she needed to go. The girl kept expressing gratitude, almost becoming like her fan within these short five minutes. Before leaving, she even looked over with warm eyes and spontaneously asked.
“Could I ask for the senior sister’s name?”
“Of course.”
She tidied her messy hair behind her ear and calmly replied.
“My name is Lin Qing.”
She spoke as she lowered her gaze slightly, then slowly shifted her focus to Qiao Yu, her obsidian-like eyes swirling around before finally softening into a gentle expression.
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“Please take care of me.”
“What a kind person…”
Under the tent, Li Hua watched from a distance as Lin Qing helped two new students, unable to help but sigh.
“Just seeing a school sister in distress and taking the initiative to help, what a kind-hearted person! How decisive! How…”
“Enough, stop talking. Why are you praising her in my ear? Besides, there’s nothing impressive about it.”
Cong Ye had just been assigned a task by Lin Qing before she left, leaving him in charge temporarily. He was flipping through the list of new students with a bad mood, feeling resentful about being stopped by Lin Qing when he had wanted to approach Qiao Yu earlier.
“Why can’t I praise her? Are you jealous that Lin Qingqing can’t handle compliments?”
“Come on, Ah Hua, don’t project your own thoughts onto others. Do you really think I haven’t heard people compliment her before?”
“Don’t call me Ah Hua!”
Cong Ye rolled his eyes, not bothering to respond to him. He retaliated by calling him “Ah Hua” repeatedly ten times before finally looking satisfied. Seeing Li Hua’s dejected expression, he adopted a tone of teaching a naive child.
“You don’t get it. Lin Qing enjoys helping others, that’s called interest.”
