Chapter 19
It was hard to refuse Liang Jinyi’s enthusiastic hospitality, so Jiang Mi could only stay.
Jiang Mi left the next morning and went to his grandmother’s house to tutor Liu Peipei. Because of the tutoring during this period, along with Liu Peipei’s mother strictly disciplining her lately, Liu Peipei achieved a pretty good score in this monthly exam.
At nine that night, Jiang Mi returned to the school dorm.
Zhang Dameng told him something. “Jiang Mi, did you know today is Lin Wan’s birthday?”
Jiang Mi had just washed his face at the sink. His hair, brows, and eyes were all damp with water droplets. He took the towel hanging on the wardrobe and wiped himself off. “Lin Wan’s birthday?”
“I saw the post she just made on Qzone. She went out to eat with her roommates.” Zhang Dameng and Lin Wan had joined the same club, so he had her QQ.
“Send her a birthday message,” Zhang Dameng reminded him.
Jiang Mi paused slightly. Two seconds later, he pulled out his chair and sat down. “Forget it.”
“Forget it? What do you mean, forget it?” Zhang Dameng was sitting in front of his computer, already preparing to play a game.
Jiang Mi said, “I won’t say anything.”
Zhang Dameng didn’t understand. “Don’t you like her?”
“When did I say I like her?” Jiang Mi rubbed the towel over his hair a few times, then turned back and said, “I only have a bit of a good impression of her.”
“Isn’t that liking her?” Zhang Dameng asked.
“Of course not.” Jiang Mi thought about how to explain. “Liking someone means wanting to be with them. Having a good impression just means wanting to develop things with them and see whether it can progress to wanting to be together.”
“So now, that good impression is gone?” Among the other two in the dorm, both had gone on dates. Only Zhang Dameng, the single dog, raised his doubts.
Jiang Mi said, “I’m very busy and can’t make time to date. Forget it. There’s no need to delay a girl’s time.”
“Time is like a sponge. If you squeeze it, there’ll be some,” Zhang Dameng persuaded him. “Lin Wan is a good girl. Besides being pretty, she also joined the Social Work Association. Every month, she goes to nursing homes, orphanages, or the countryside to visit elderly people who live alone.”
“Then I have even less reason to delay her time,” Jiang Mi said.
Zhang Dameng stared at Jiang Mi without blinking for a while and said, “Jiang Mi, just admit it.”
“Admit what?”
“You don’t like Campus Belle Lin.”
Jiang Mi smiled. “I never said I liked her. What I’ve always said is that I have a good impression of her.”
Zhang Dameng stared at his face for a few seconds, then said through gritted teeth, “Jiang Mi, I really don’t know what kind of girl would be able to catch your eye.”
Jiang Mi was also very curious. What kind of girl would he end up liking in the future? What kind of girl would he want to build a family with?
**
The next day, Jiang Mi went to the Student Union in the morning to handle a few matters. After lunch, he spent the whole afternoon in the library.
Final exams were approaching, and there were more people in the library.
Jiang Mi didn’t know how long he had been studying when someone sat down across from his desk.
Jiang Mi lifted his head. Lin Wan smiled shyly at him.
Jiang Mi’s hand tightened slightly around his pen, but there were people all around the library. He didn’t say anything and only nodded politely to Lin Wan.
At six in the afternoon, Jiang Mi packed up his things and prepared to go to the cafeteria for dinner. Seeing this, Lin Wan also followed Jiang Mi in packing her things to go eat. Jiang Mi didn’t refuse her.
The two walked out of the library together and headed toward the cafeteria closer to the girls’ dormitory.
Only when they reached the banks of Weiming Lake, where there were noticeably fewer passersby around, did Jiang Mi turn to Lin Wan and say, “Yesterday was your birthday?”
Lin Wan reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair by her cheek behind her ear. “How did you know?”
Jiang Mi said, “I saw your Qzone post last night.”
Hearing this, Lin Wan’s heart suddenly sank. She wasn’t someone who liked posting on Qzone. She only posted once every half a year. The post she had deliberately made yesterday afternoon was because she wanted…
After she posted it yesterday, she had received many blessings from classmates wishing her a happy birthday.
But there had been none from Jiang Mi. She had thought he hadn’t seen it, but now what he meant was that he had?
Seeing Lin Wan’s face turn pale, Jiang Mi said sorry in his heart. Then he pretended nothing was wrong and said, “I thought about it, and I’m not hungry right now. You go to the cafeteria and eat. I’ll head back to the dorm.”
After Jiang Mi finished speaking, he turned around and walked toward Jing University Law School’s boys’ dormitory.
Lin Wan stared blankly at Jiang Mi’s back. She wanted somewhat to call Jiang Mi’s name and stop him, but she had an introverted, shy personality. Going to find Jiang Mi for meals and asking whether he would still come to the library tomorrow had already used up a great deal of her courage. Now that Jiang Mi’s rejection was so obvious, she didn’t have the courage to ask what he meant.
Jiang Mi said another silent apology to Lin Wan in his heart. There were many girls who liked Jiang Mi, and there were no small number of girls who pursued him either. However, Jiang Mi had never felt guilty toward any of them.
Only Lin Wan.
After all, she was the only girl he had given hope to.
But now that he had decided not to try interacting with her anymore, Jiang Mi had always been decisive when it came to relationships. Then he shouldn’t let her continue misunderstanding.
Estimating that Lin Wan was still staring in his direction, Jiang Mi didn’t turn back.
A few days later, when Jiang Mi went to class, he saw Lin Wan laughing and playing with her friends, seemingly not too badly hurt. Only then did Jiang Mi completely set Lin Wan aside.
On Saturday, Jiang Mi accompanied Liang Jinyi to the hospital to change his dressing and examine the bone.
By the time Liang Jinyi had his cast removed and could walk normally again, Jiang Mi’s freshman year had reached its final stage.
During Jiang Mi’s sophomore year, he was promoted to deputy head of the External Relations Department and also participated in an Asian Chinese-language debate competition. He appeared gentle and polite, but in reality, he was full of aggression, leaving a deep impression on many students from both China and abroad.
In the second semester of sophomore year, overachiever Jiang Mi was promoted to head of the External Relations Department. His academic year GPA was still the highest in the Law School.
By his junior year, Jiang Mi had completed the credits required for his finance major. During winter break, he interned at a court. During summer break, he interned at a law firm. At the same time, he prepared his materials and applied to the law schools of several Ivy League universities.
In the blink of an eye, it was the winter of 2013. Jiang Mi was a senior.
Bei City, South Gate Station.
Bei City had entered its snowy season in mid-November. Two days earlier, a particularly heavy snow had fallen, but today, the weather was kind and a warm sun had come out.
Jiang Mi drove Grandma Lu to the station and handed her the bag of bread he had prepared in advance, reminding her where to board the bus.
Grandma Lu said she had already received so much help from Jiang Mi and couldn’t accept his things anymore. Jiang Mi smiled warmly. “Grandma, this isn’t worth much. Didn’t you say that when the sweet potatoes in your field ripen next year, you’ll send me some?”
Grandma Lu stopped refusing. Her eyes were cloudy, but they were full of kindness. “Grandma will definitely send you the biggest and sweetest sweet potatoes.”
Jiang Mi agreed, then reminded her, “If anything happens in the future, you must call me.”
“All right, all right. Grandma knows. You’re all good children. Good children.” Grandma Lu used her withered, tree-branch-like hand to pat the back of Jiang Mi’s delicate, fair hand and sighed emotionally.
Only after Jiang Mi watched Grandma Lu check her ticket and enter the platform did he leave the station and drive back to school.
Ever since junior year, he had joined a public-interest lawyers’ organization, providing free legal assistance to vulnerable groups in society. Over the past year, although Jiang Mi’s coursework had been heavy, he had still provided legal aid to six or seven people who needed help.
Grandma Lu was an elderly woman he had been responsible for during this period. Six years ago, her son had suffered an accident while working. At the time, the employer had paid a sum of compensation, but that work injury had left her son with severe aftereffects and made him lose his ability to work. That compensation seemed generous, but in reality, it was only enough to cover three or four years of medical treatment and medicine. These past few years, they had been spending their family’s own savings, and now their savings were nearly gone.
Grandma Lu went to the employer from back then and requested further compensation, but the other party refused her request on the grounds that compensation had already been paid. They also said her son’s current illnesses had nothing to do with the accident from that year.
Collecting evidence for this lawsuit was very troublesome. After all, six years had passed, and many records had not been properly preserved. Jiang Mi had run to many places, found many people, and exhausted himself for quite some time. Fortunately, there was now a good result. Grandma Lu no longer had to worry about her son’s medical expenses for the coming year.
At three in the afternoon, Jiang Mi returned to Jing University’s dorm.
The moment he entered the dorm, Lu Tianyun couldn’t wait to say, “Jiang Mi, do you know that the top student from the School of International Politics who applied to H University like you received an offer today? Hurry and check your email. Maybe you received an offer too.”
Jiang Mi’s heartbeat suddenly sped up.
He had applied for graduate offers from several top universities, but what he looked forward to most was still H University.
Surrounded by his three roommates, Jiang Mi sat at his desk, opened his computer, and entered the password for his email.
“Wait.” Just as Jiang Mi was about to press log in, Zhan Peng stopped him. He clasped his hands together and prayed to the heavens.
Seeing this, Zhang Dameng and Lu Tianyun also clasped their hands together, closed their eyes, and prayed to every bodhisattva they could think of.
Only after all three opened their eyes did Zhan Peng say, “Click it.”
Jiang Mi pressed the mouse hard with slightly sweaty fingers. Before he dared to look at the lower right corner, Lu Tianyun’s excited voice rang out first.
“Jiang Mi, there’s a new email! There’s a new email!”
Jiang Mi’s breathing quickened. With slightly trembling hands, he opened the email.
Two minutes later.
Zhan Peng tightly hugged Jiang Mi around the neck. “Brother Jiang, you are the pride of our 4-09! The world’s number one law school!”
Zhang Dameng tightly hugged Jiang Mi and Zhan Peng. “Brother Jiang, when you become rich and noble, don’t forget us.”
Lu Tianyun’s personality wasn’t as idiotic as Zhan Peng and Zhang Dameng’s, but he was also happy for Jiang Mi, so he reached out and hugged all three roommates.
Jiang Mi was very grateful for his roommates’ love, but—
“I’m about to… stop breathing.” His voice was strained.
Only then did the three of them hurriedly let go.
They were all boys, and their relationship was good. They also knew Jiang Mi’s financial situation quite well. Zhang Dameng was the first to shout, “Jiang Mi, you have to treat us.”
“Right, right, right. I want Sichuan hot pot,” Zhan Peng said.
The corners of Jiang Mi’s lips curved. “We’re not eating Sichuan hot pot today. I’ll treat you to…” He said the name of a high-end seafood hot pot buffet restaurant.
“Fuck, I’m hungry right now.” Zhang Dameng rubbed his stomach.
Zhan Peng said, “I remember I didn’t eat lunch today.”
Lu Tianyun said, “Then shall we go eat tonight?”
Hearing “tonight,” Jiang Mi said apologetically, “Can we do tomorrow? I have something today. Didn’t my little brother go to Singapore to participate in an Olympiad competition? His flight is this afternoon. I promised him I’d pick him up at the airport.”
The moment Jiang Mi finished speaking, his phone rang.
Author’s Note
Little Liang Jinyi has a bit less screen time today, but in every year that passed, he was working very hard to cling to Brother.
