Well, this was awkward. Su Qingqing stuck out her tongue.
So it wasn’t that modern university students were overly open—it was just her own overthinking...
“Seriously, I give up on you.” Ming Xue half-chided and knocked a knuckle on Su Qingqing’s head. “Come with me and get your clothes!”
“Okay~”
Su Qingqing leisurely followed behind Ming Xue.
It was already noon. The sun shone directly overhead, casting the hottest golden light on everything it touched. The wide canopy above the stage blocked out the sun and created a patch of shade. Ming Xue walked precisely at the border where the sunlight met the shadow.
Su Qingqing could already see fine beads of sweat forming at the nape of Ming Xue’s fair neck. Still, she kept walking. Her outstanding figure traced beautiful curves with each step. Even from a distance, Su Qingqing felt like she could smell a warmth on her body, as if mingled with sunlight.
For the first time, Su Qingqing felt peaceful.
This kind of life didn’t seem so bad. Though pretending to be a delicate girl was exhausting, at least the smile on her face and the warmth in her heart weren’t fake.
If—if her past self hadn’t experienced such a twisted fate—could she have become someone like Ming Xue, radiating the warmth of the sun?
Maybe... she should try a new life?
Su Qingqing thought to herself. As for that Zhongmeng girl... better to forget her altogether.
“Susu, come over here already!”
Ming Xue had fetched a size S military training uniform and was just about to hand it over, only to find Su Qingqing still standing in place, dazed.
A little frustrated, she stomped her foot, quickly walked over, and shoved the clothes into Su Qingqing arms.
“I grabbed an S. Let’s try it on in the changing room. Easier to exchange if it doesn’t fit.”
“There’s a changing room here?” Su Qingqing blinked. How nice—college life, she thought again with a little awe.
“Of course there is. It’s meant for the sports students, but your big sister here has connections, heh~” Ming Xue grabbed Su Qingqing by the wrist and half-dragged her into the changing room.
The stalls inside were narrow. Once two girls squeezed into the same one, the temperature rose sharply.
Ming Xue’s cheeks flushed again. Still, she maintained her “senior” composure, arms crossed, trying to sound calm. “Change already, don’t be shy.”
Su Qingqing suddenly laughed. “Why would I be shy?”
She lifted her oversized top, and two perky white bunnies bounced into Ming Xue’s view. Especially eye-catching were the two crisscrossed band-aids stuck over the bunny mouths.
Ming Xue let out another startled gasp. She turned an ear toward the hallway outside, then lowered her voice, “Susu, that’s not good for your body! No matter how much fun you’re having, don’t play around in this heat!”
She scolded seriously, but didn’t even realize her own face was flushed so red it looked like it might drip water.
“Sister Ming, you’ve got it wrong. I’m only like this because I don’t have any bras.”
Ming Xue clearly didn’t buy it. “Then how did you pay the tuition earlier?”
Su Qingqing smiled wryly—not pretending this time, but genuinely—and replied, “A friend helped me pay. If it were just me, I wouldn’t even be in school anymore.”
Ming Xue was slightly moved. “What about your parents? Why didn’t they support you through college…”
“They’ve been dead for years now,” Su Qingqing replied.
Ming Xue’s lips parted, her gaze softening with sudden vulnerability. She tried to say something to comfort her, but when the words reached her lips, they all felt meaningless. In the end, thousands of sentiments were reduced to the simplest phrase, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be so careful around me, Sister Ming. I’ve long since gotten used to it. Honestly, it’s kind of nice they died early. I get to skip a few more holidays. Otherwise, the pressure would be overwhelming.”
Even Su Qingqing didn’t realize that, as she said this, her face was lit with the brightest, most radiant smile.
But the more dazzling her smile, the more it ached Ming Xue’s heart, especially when compared with what she’d just said.
Ming Xue tore open the package and pulled out the light blue camouflage uniform, gently saying, “Stick your arms out, the pants are easy, but the top needs to fit properly.”
Su Qingqing nodded obediently.
It was a kind of rare obedience and tenderness—something she hadn’t felt in years.
“This set fits well, but you really can’t go without a bra. Otherwise…” Ming Xue bit her lip, her tone slightly coquettish. “Want to borrow mine?”
Su Qingqing glanced at the rather generous assets on Ming Xue’s chest and chuckled silently. “Sister Ming, isn’t yours a bit too big?”
“Huh?!”
Ming Xue looked down, suddenly realizing what she’d said. The blush spread like water soaking into tissue, even reaching the tips of her ears. She fanned herself with a hand behind her ear and muttered, “Ugh, this summer is way too hot. I’ll measure you later and buy you a few myself.”
Perhaps worried about hurting Su Qingqing’s pride, Ming Xue quickly added, “But if I buy them, you’ll have to come help me in the student council as payment, okay~”
Su Qingqing nodded—that counted as a promise.
She tried on the uniform—it fit perfectly. After changing back into her original clothes, she walked out of the changing room.
“Let’s go to the dorm first~” Ming Xue had just finished speaking when her phone inconveniently rang. She gave an apologetic look and stepped aside to answer.
The call was short, but her face gradually grew serious.
After hanging up, Ming Xue walked up to Su Qingqing and said, “Susu, I’m really sorry. That was the counselor just now—one of our classmates fell and got hurt at the school gate. I need to go check on her, so you’ll have to head to the dorm on your own.”
Su Qingqing shook her head. “It’s okay, Sister Ming. I can manage by myself. Go ahead—and drink lots of water, it’s hot.”
After Ming Xue left, Su Qingqing dragged her suitcase alone, following the map toward her assigned dormitory building.
Being alone was the norm. She was used to it.
Or maybe… she had just gotten used to it not long ago.
So, standing beneath the dorm building, Su Qingqing raised a hand to shield her forehead from the sun, gazing into the burning sky.
At the start of the school term, the dorm wasn’t filled with only girls—there were their parents, boyfriends, too. They flowed in and out of the dorm’s giant maw like fish.
Standing in the middle of the crowd, Su Qingqing seemed out of place—like a foul-smelling stone.
Hmm… no, Su Qin would be the smelly stone. Su Qingqing, at least, should be a fragrant one.
Humming a somewhat cheerful tune, she pressed down the handle of her suitcase, ready to carry it upstairs. Her dorm was in 520—a romantic number—but the stairs leading to it were anything but romantic.
The fifth floor—definitely a form of torture. Which was why, in the end, she had to rely on herself.
But then, she noticed the crowd beside her suddenly freeze. They turned their heads to look behind her. A few seconds later, the frozen crowd erupted in gasps and exclamations.
Su Qingqing hadn’t intended to look, but this fine habit of getting in on the excitement had long since been etched into her DNA. Hugging her heavy suitcase, she turned around.
A black sedan had just pulled up on the road in front of the dorm. The suited driver stepped out respectfully, wearing white gloves as he opened the back door, waiting for some young master or princess to step out.
Su Qingqing couldn’t help but curl her lip. She didn’t recognize the car, but thought the emblem looked like a coffin—it gave her the creeps.
She turned back and started up the stairs, going against the tide of people.
———
“Mengmeng, let me help you carry your luggage upstairs.”
In the backseat of an old-school Lincoln Town Car, a young man in a suit spoke gently, following a certain etiquette.
The girl beside him wore minimalist clothes, all custom-made by hand. Though the understated look didn’t suit Lu Yuan’s taste, he kept his face warm with a polite smile.
The girl glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then looked away. “Drive. Leave campus.”
“But we’re already here—why are you leaving again? Mengmeng, believe me, I’m serious!” Lu Yuan suppressed the slight anger in his eyes, trying to keep his voice calm. He flung the car door open. Under the driver’s stunned gaze, he circled around to the other side and opened the door for the girl himself.
(End of Chapter)