The next day, she returned to the project base. The heavy atmosphere had been swept away and replaced with an enveloping sense of confusion. That strange scent emanating from a certain someone’s body, and those intoxicating eyes… They turned Zhu Yun’s body numb.

“Tsk, tsk,” Li Xun clicked his tongue, sitting in a cloud of smoke.

Zhu Yun, “……”

Did he know about Zhang Xiaobei? From his expression… He most surely did.

Zhu Yun sat down in her chair and turned on the computer. She didn’t have the strength to concern herself about Li Xun. After a few days without working, she really needed to speed up her pace on the project.

Li Xun rested his head on his hand and said, “Princess.”

Zhu Yun glanced at him. He looked like he was smiling, but also not. Thoughtful, he said, “You really are a princess.”

Zhu Yun didn’t respond. Li Xun lamented, “It’s really quite eye-opening.”

Zhu Yun decided to ignore his presence.

Li Xun turned to Gao Jianhong and said, “That’s why I said I don’t get along with any girls whose IQs are higher than 60.” Gao Jianhong was laughing so much that his body was shaking.

If I could only choose one between an IQ of 60 and not getting along with you, I’d certainly choose to have a detached relationship with you until the end of time.

Zhu Yun put her books on the table and calmly looked at him. “Are we still working?”

Li Xun glanced over and laughed. “Yeah, let’s work.”

Ready to get back to work, Zhu Yun opened up the project progress report. Then she said to Li Xun, “Doesn’t look like we’ll be able to finish before the break.”

Li Xun replied without much concern, “Just make sure you finish your part. Don’t worry about the rest.”

Zhu Yun felt that she was going to have to work like her life was on the line this week. Not only for their project, but also for her final exams. Her mother’s words rang in her ear once more. “Make sure you study. I want to see your grade report afterward.”

This riddle-like pressure… Zhu Yun sighed inwardly. Just then, her eyes happened to meet Li Xun’s. He shot her a contemplative smile and then lowered his head to continue writing.

Zhu Yun was suddenly in a good mood.

During their afternoon break, Zhu Yun buried her head in her studies, unwilling to waste time heading to the cafeteria to eat. Li Xun sat beside her, typing away. The practice base was very quiet, only the tapping sounds of the keyboard ringing in the air. After awhile, the sound came to a stop. Li Xun closed his laptop. “Not eating?”

Zhu Yun shook her head. “You go ahead.”

Li Xun bent over and asked, “You’re putting this much energy into it?” He glanced at her. “‘The Basic Principles of Marxism’…” After a few seconds, he taunted, “The bounds of a princess’ thoughts are truly different.”

“……” Zhu Yun looked over at him. “Don’t you need to study?”

Li Xun replied simply, “Nope.”

Zhu Yun gave a sarcastic laugh. “That’s right. On all the exams for Marx and Mao, you score five points above the passing grade. It’s super stable. You definitely don’t need to study.”

Li Xun’s brows jumped up.

What?

Li Xun’s face showed that he didn’t care to quibble with her, so he turned and left. Zhu Yun was left in the practice base by herself. She made use of the time to get memorizing.

Once people become engrossed in a task, time passes by very quickly. Zhu Yun was analyzing the fundamental conflicts in present day Chinese society, when a flying object hit her head and cut off her thoughts. “Ah!” she cried out as she grabbed her head.

The missile took two rolls on the table and then finally stopped. A cream bun.

Li Xun sat down next to her. Having eaten his fill, he yawned, seemingly without a care in the world. And Zhu Yun returned to her books. The fundamental conflicts of present day society… First… What was it now? Fuck. She’d already forgotten???

Zhu Yun quickly lifted up her spirits and tried to start again.

Productive forces and relations of production, economic base and superstructure. The basic driving forces of societal development. Rooted in the fundamental contradictions of class struggle, societal—

“Get me a cup of water.”

……

Societal revolution—

“Make sure it’s cold.”

After being cut off again, she couldn’t concentrate. Being interrupted in the middle of memorizing something was like the feeling of having to stop mid-pee. Zhu Yun wanted to explode.

Li Xun rushed her. “Hurry up.” Zhu Yun grabbed Li Xun’s cup and went to get him some water. Li Xun sat relaxed. When Zhu Yun returned with his water, he took a sip without a second thought. And then he promptly spit it out.

Seeing Li Xun’s face to his neck turn red from the hot water, Zhu Yun let out a content sigh. It was so satisfying seeing him beaten.

 

Unfortunately, her joy barely lasted ten seconds. Li Xun tossed aside the cup and kicked at the table, sliding off on his chair.

Zhu Yun turned to run, but she seemed to have overestimated her athletic ability and underestimated the length of Li Xun’s legs. When he grabbed her neck, Zhu Yun closed her eyes, the image of a warrior with a broken arm slipping into her head.

Fine, I’ll die! It was worth it!

He pulled her over to the table. The fingers he used for typing were slender and strong. He pressed her against the table and looked down over her.

……

No matter how ruthless the scene here was, the afternoon lighting was still absolutely stunning. His face met the sunlight. Shoulders, collarbone, the angle of his jaw…

Zhu Yun would not admit defeat. Aside from his fried yellow hair and the personality that deserved a beating, Li Xun was rather delicate. This kind of delicacy reminded Zhu Yun of when she was younger, of the first time that she saved money to buy imported pencils. Overwhelmed with emotions, she started writing in her workbook. The feeling that, no matter how rough the paper she wrote on, the pencil would still write smoothly and fluently, was the same feeling Li Xun had.

“Choose your method of death.”

……

It’d be great if his lips were forever sewn shut.

Zhu Yun struggled. “You messed with me first.”

“Mmh?”

When Li Xun exerted force with his hand, Zhu Yun’s legs started to tremble. It wasn’t that he used all his strength, but rather, he sort of kneaded at her skin, the same way he often rolled a cigarette between his fingers to pass the time.

She tried to reason with him. “I was memorizing things… And you kept interrupting me.”

Li Xun scoffed.

Zhu Yun continued. “I only have this time in the afternoon to study. I haven’t payed attention to my politics class for the entire second half of the semester. If I don’t memorize it all now, I’ll fail the exam next week.”

You have to be a bit reasonable, dude!

Li Xun looked at her without much of an expression, as if he were taking this in. Then he laughed.

“Your neck’s pretty thin.”

Her heart thumped. The sunlight shining into the room suddenly broke into pieces of gold.

Just then, a woman’s voice came. “Zhu Yun, what are you two doing?”

Zhu Yun’s back went numb, as if someone had just poured a bucket of ice water over her head. Her life was being shortened here.

Li Xun turned and saw their class advisor standing in the doorway. With him, was a middle-aged woman. She was the one who had just spoken. There was a smile on her face, and she looked quite amiable.

Zhu Yun straightened up. Her heart was beating rapidly as she walked over steadily. First, she greeted her professor. “Hello, Teacher Zhang.” Then she turned to the woman and quietly said, “Mom, what are you doing here?”

Her mother replied, “You saw your dad, right?”

“Mmh.”

“He’s too busy, so he couldn’t spend any time with you. Fortunately, my school is on vacation for a few days, so I came over to see how you were doing.”

“I’m fine.”

Her mother laughed. Beside them, Teacher Zhang said, “I knew you’d be here. It wasn’t easy for your mom to visit, so you should have a meal with her.”

“Okay.” Zhu Yun went back to get her bags. She said to Li Xun, “I’ll be heading out first.”

Li Xun raised his brow. Zhu Yun returned to her mother’s side and said, “Let’s go. I haven’t had lunch yet.”

Zhu Yun left with her mother. On her way out, she glanced around the room and saw that Li Xun had nestled back into his chair. He opened up his laptop and then he unwrapped the cream bun on the table and started eating it.

 

After ordering their meal, Zhu Yun and her mother sat down in the cafeteria. “Aren’t you eating too little?” her mother asked. “Are you getting enough nutrients?”

“I’m fine…” She was barely able to get her words out.

“I was speaking with your teacher and he didn’t seem to know about that graduate advisor and her project. If you were having problems, why didn’t you go talk to your advisor? You have to trust your teachers.”

The point is that speaking to him wouldn’t have helped.

“Or did your grades fall for a different reason?”

Zhu Yun nearly choked on her mother’s casual question. She looked over at her mother, whose expression was very even. Zhu Yun didn’t know if she was asking seriously or playfully.

“I heard about that seminar from your advisor. It counts towards your practical training credits, right?”

“Mmh.” Zhu Yun nodded.

“It’s just your first year, so you don’t need to rush anything.”

Zhu Yun nodded again.

“Don’t go anymore.”

Other than nodding, Zhu Yun didn’t know what else to do.

After seeing Zhu Yun agree, her mother had a spoonful of soup. The seaweed soup wasn’t cooked very well. Her mother frowned and said, “Goodness, why is it so salty?”

Zhu Yun replied, “The soup in the cafeteria is always a bit salty. Should we go out to eat?”

“No, no, that’s too much trouble. Let’s just stay here.” Her mother looked around and then lamented, “College sure is nice. It’s full of youth and vitality.”

Zhu Yun asked, “Isn’t it nice at your high school too?”

Her mother shook her head and said, “High school’s not like that. Everyone has so much pressure to graduate that there’s no youthful spirit at all.”

As they ate, Zhu Yun asked her mother, “Where are you staying? The university hotel?”

“No, I’m not staying. I just came to see you, and then I’m heading home.”

“That sounds rushed.”

Her mother pat her head. “I have to send some things over to your dad, and then I’ll be heading home. Be good.”

“Mmh.”

She walked her mother to the school gate and then hailed down a taxi. As they were about to part, her mother said, “That boy in the classroom, is he your classmate?”

Zhu Yun nodded.

“Don’t get too close to him. He doesn’t seem like a decent kid.”

She didn’t reply.

When her mother opened the car door, she still hadn’t heard a response. She turned to look at Zhu Yun. “Look at the way he dresses. What’s going on with his hair? It’s not at all proper.” Her mother spoke calmly. “Although you search for individuality when you’re young, there’s still a limit to everything. I walked all around your school, but I didn’t see anyone like him. What have I always told you?”

You’ve told me a lot of things… Which one in particular are you asking about…

“It’s good to get along with everyone and not act too unusally. Those who try to be too individualistic will have difficulty along the way.”

Ah, that one. Zhu Yun nodded. “I know.”

Her mother smiled, pleased. She gave Zhu Yun’s head a quick rub. “Study well, but don’t put too much pressure on yourself. I hope that your grades are good, but more than that, I hope that you’re healthy and happy. You know how much I love you. Alright, go on back to your dorm. Make sure to rest.”

Zhu Yun replied, “Okay.”
—

The practice base was quiet and still. As finals week approached, people were busy studying and reviewing, so many of them stopped dropping by. And since it was winter, the weather was chilling. The classroom felt particularly cold and cheerless.

Li Xun was typing away speedily. But shortly after, he stopped. He turned his head but didn’t say a word. Staring at the computer screen, his expression remained cold, as before.

Zhu Yun sat down and nudged his shoulder. “You ate my cream bun. Remember to buy another tomorrow.”