Young Brave Hearts – CH 025

Chapter 25

Lu Rangchen’s flight was at eight o’clock the next morning.

He hadn’t taken much with him, so he stayed at the KTV with those guys until late at night before heading to the airport.

Xu Linda’s family was strict, so she didn’t stay up all night with them and was picked up by her family before 10 PM.

She had planned to take Lu Rangchen to the airport the next day, but Deng Zhe told her on the phone that Lu Rangchen had left early that morning.

Xu Linda was stunned. “What should I do? I haven’t been able to contact Zhu Yunque yet.”

Deng Zhe chuckled. “Why would you contact her? She didn’t want to see Lu Rangchen.”

Xu Linda didn’t quite understand his meaning. “How do you know she didn’t want to see him? Maybe she was sick yesterday.”

“You don’t know that,” Deng Zhe said meaningfully. “She replied to Lu Rangchen’s message in the early morning, saying a few words of blessing, but in the end, she didn’t come to the KTV.”

His tone seemed to contain a hint of incomprehension and slight sarcasm.

Deng Zhe smiled wryly. “If she had said she was coming, Lu Rangchen would have personally picked her up.”

“But who knows?”

“…”

Xu Linda fell silent.

She thought of Lu Rangchen, silently smoking alone in the private room last night.

The neon lights in the private room were dazzling.

Friends and strangers alike were singing and laughing together.

Only he, the main character, didn’t even lift his eyelids, his eyes languidly staring at his phone, his arrogant posture now seemingly bowed in defeat, as if waiting for something.

Xu Linda suddenly felt confused.

She truly didn’t understand these two, but she couldn’t suppress her curiosity.

So, after hanging up the phone, she simply texted Zhu Yunque.

It was nearing noon.

Zhu Yunque and Feng Yanlai were unusually back at Yanliu Lane for lunch.

It was Zhu Ping’an who invited the two back, saying he hadn’t seen Zhu Yunque in a long time and asked Feng Yanlai to come over.

Feng Yanlai genuinely didn’t want to talk to Zhu Ping’an, but she also didn’t want Zhu Yunque to become estranged from her father, so she had to come to maintain appearances.

Fortunately, Zhu Ping’an handled things fairly well this time.

Deng Jiali not only prepared a good meal, but the old lady’s attitude wasn’t as bad as before.

Zhu Yunque had a small appetite and left the table after eating very little.

Just as she picked up her phone, Xu Linda sent a barrage of messages.

Xu Linda said: 【Letting my brother go; his flight was at eight this morning.】

She seemed quite helpless.

She didn’t even use her favorite exclamation mark.

Xu Linda: 【I don’t understand you.】

Xu Linda: 【Deng Zhe said if you had gone to Qian Gui last night, he would have personally picked you up.】

Xu Linda: 【Why didn’t you come? Wouldn’t it be nice to see him?】

Even knowing what she wanted to say, her heart still skipped a beat.

Staring blankly at the words on the screen, Zhu Yunque’s gaze lingered for a moment before she finally chose to answer calmly.

Zhu Yunque: 【There’s no need to see him.】

Xu Linda: 【……………………】

Xu Linda: 【Why?】

Her fingers tightened slightly around the phone.

Zhu Yunque, her eyes still sore, typed each word carefully.

She said that if she saw him, she would never forget him.

She didn’t want to never forget him.

Those rotting emotions, those hidden loves, were uprooted last night.

They shouldn’t affect the future anymore.

–

Human memory seemed to have priorities.

Whenever she recalled those youthful days, Zhu Yunque’s deepest impression was always the months she spent overlapping with Lu Rangchen.

Besides that, her memories were all of tedious and boring studying and exams.

Overall, it was a success.

For instance, in the second semester of her junior year, Zhu Yunque entered Class A with exceptionally good grades.

Unlike Class B, the atmosphere in Class A was particularly intense, and Xu Linda had much less time to spend with her; they could only get together during holidays.

Similarly, since then, Zhu Yunque had had almost no contact with Deng Zhe and Zhou Chuang.

Deng Zhe and Xu Linda were in Class C, while Zhou Chuang’s grades dropped to Class B.

Without Lu Rangchen as their “invisible bond,” Zhu Yunque’s relationship with them seemed to have become distant; in other words, it was her own subjective will that was influencing things.

—She didn’t want to hear anything about Lu Rangchen.

She even left their five-person group chat.

Xu Linda considered bringing her back, but then thought that she wouldn’t even have time to go out with them, so she simply gave up.

Although she had become somewhat estranged from her former friends, Zhu Yunque wasn’t particularly lonely.

After all, Zhao Qijia had also entered Class A with her, and the two were deskmates in Class A.

Coincidentally, their seats were the very ones Lu Rangchen had sat in—the last row by the window.

Zhao Qijia’s seat was Lu Rangchen’s seat.

Several times, when Zhu Yunque was tired from doing practice problems, she looked up and saw Zhao Qijia sleeping on his desk, and suddenly had the illusion that Lu Rangchen was sitting next to her.

At that time, she had been out of contact with Lu Rangchen for over half a year.

Yet, she could still clearly feel that bittersweet regret.

She endured it all, and the second semester of her junior year finally passed by in agonizingly long seconds.

Zhu Yunque entered her senior year.

Feng Yanlai immediately became anxious and began frantically buying supplements for Zhu Yunque. The most outrageous incident was when Zhu Yunque ate so many dried longans that she got a nosebleed, startling everyone in the cafeteria.

Xu Linda laughed so hard about it that she posted about it on her WeChat Moments.

That very night, Lu Rangchen, who had disappeared for a long time, suddenly reappeared and liked the post.

Zhu Yunque stared at his name.

She remained lost in thought for a long time.

From then on, the name Lu Rangchen seemed to reappear uncontrollably in her world.

She heard that Lu Rangchen’s grandmother had passed away.

She heard that Lu Rangchen had just finished participating in the new tennis league.

She heard he planned to study abroad after graduating from high school.

She heard he’d be back in Nancheng for New Year’s Day.

After Xu Linda told her this, she asked, “Do you want to come with us to see him?”

Zhu Yunque’s pen stopped, her brain seemingly rusted, suddenly unable to think.

Xu Linda looked at her, sighing repeatedly, unsure whether to advise her.

After all, she was a senior now, not a sophomore.

The college entrance exam was in half a year; Zhu Yunque couldn’t afford to waste a single minute.

If she met Lu Rangchen and it affected her mood and state of mind, that would be a terrible sin.

But even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t have the chance.

Lu Rangchen didn’t return that year.

It was said that Deng Zhe and Zhou Chuang were disappointed and quite resentful, but it wasn’t a wasted wait. To make up for it, Lu Rangchen bought gifts for everyone, including Zhu Yunque.

However, her gift arrived a few days later than the others.

She remembered clearly that the day was December 30th.

It was her eighteenth birthday.

Unlike the previous years, when Zhu Ping’an and Ye Tian celebrated her birthday together, Feng Yanlai also made time to book a restaurant well in advance to compensate for her absence last year.

Xu Linda couldn’t be with her, so she gave Zhu Yunque her birthday present before school ended that day.

It was a large, pink, square gift box filled with black raffia; the gift itself was a brand-new bottle of perfume and a small jewelry box.

The perfume was Issey Miyake’s L’Eau d’Issey, carefully selected by Xu Linda, who said only this bottle suited Zhu Yunque’s cool and aloof aura.

As for the jewelry box…

Zhu Yunque opened it and found a necklace.

A delicate silver chain, the pendant a finely crafted bird poised for flight, inlaid with subtly saturated colored gemstones.

An extremely beautiful and ethereal design, it felt substantial in the palm of her hand.

After returning home and unwrapping the gifts, Zhu Yunque immediately called Xu Linda, asking why she had given her such expensive gifts, two of them at that.

Xu Linda said, “The perfume wasn’t cheap, that’s true, but the necklace wasn’t a gift from me.”

Zhu Yunque’s heart churned silently before she could even utter the name.

Xu Linda spoke first, “My brother asked me to pass the necklace on.”

Zhu Yunque: “…”

Several seconds of silence followed.

Xu Linda, seemingly indifferent, said, “Anyway, I brought the things. How you two communicate is your business.”

She was about to hang up.

Zhu Yunque couldn’t help but ask, “What gifts did he give you?”

Xu Linda said, “Oh, mine is Lego, Deng Zhe’s is a mechanical keyboard, and Zhou Chuang’s is a pair of Air Jordans.”

Each item was something they liked, but they sent the links themselves, and Lu Rangchen paid for them.

Only Zhu Yunque’s was something Lu Rangchen personally selected.

Zhu Yunque suddenly fell silent.

Xu Linda said, “If I were you, I’d call him and ask him what he really meant.”

That night, Zhu Yunque stared at the necklace for a long time, unable to fall asleep.

Xu Linda’s words kept replaying in her mind.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally got up and called Lu Rangchen.

The moon was bright and full.

Gazing at the quiet night outside the window screen, she was so nervous she almost stopped breathing. But the instant the call connected, she heard a strange woman’s voice.

The woman’s voice had a languid sweetness.

A youthful quality and tone, yet with an air of nobility.

Zhu Yunque held her breath for a second.

When she spoke again, her pronunciation was slurred.

She didn’t say who she was, nor who she was looking for, but simply said she had dialed the wrong number and then hurriedly hung up.

At that moment, she wasn’t without hope.

Hopefully, it was just a subtle coincidence that Lu Rangchen would call back soon.

But in the end, he didn’t.

Lu Rangchen didn’t call back.

She seemed to see no need to ask further.

She simply remembered a wish she had made a year ago when Lu Rangchen celebrated her birthday with her at the clinic—that he would still be by her side for her next birthday.

Perhaps Lu Rangchen had only given her that necklace to fulfill her wish.

In short, Zhu Yunque didn’t have a good New Year.

She drifted through the year in a daze, cramming and studying in a daze, not even having time to relax during winter break.

In the blink of an eye, winter passed, and spring arrived.

The college entrance exam was also on the agenda after the new semester began.

Zhu Yunque finally felt the urgency of being on the verge of exams, daring not to slack off, let alone think about Lu Rangchen.

It seemed as if, in a daze, Lu Rangchen had become a punctuation mark in her life, related to the past, yet ultimately insignificant.

Only that necklace proved he had once appeared in her life.

Several more months passed, and finally, the college entrance examination arrived.

Hard work always deserves reward.

Zhu Yunque’s college entrance examination results did not disappoint her three years of effort. She surpassed her previous mock exam scores, achieving a high score of 658, ranking 22nd in Class A and 22nd in the entire grade.

Feng Yanlai was overjoyed, and Zhu Ping’an was equally delighted, boasting everywhere. Later, they even found a tutor to help her with her university application.

In the end, neither of them could persuade Zhu Yunque otherwise; she chose her comfort zone—applying to a well-known top-tier university in Beijing for an English major.

She was never one for challenges or adventures.

She only wanted a stable and peaceful life.

After submitting her university application, everything became much easier.

Zhu Yunque stayed home lazily for several days, doing nothing but eating and sleeping or running around to various classmates’ graduation banquets and teacher appreciation banquets.

While some were happy, others were sad.

Of all her acquaintances, only she and Zhao Qijia had done well on their exams.

Zhou Chuang had failed his exams and was arranged by his family to repeat a year. Deng Zhe and Xu Linda were even less likely to succeed; their scores were barely enough for a third-tier university.

On the night the results were announced, Zhu Yunque and Xu Linda met.

The two sat on the basketball court in the park, enjoying the evening breeze. Zhu Yunque rested her chin on her hand, watching the people playing basketball, while listening to Xu Linda pour out her heart.

She said Deng Zhe might go to university in Beijing.

But her family wanted her to go abroad.

Actually, none of that mattered.

What mattered was that Deng Zhe had never seriously reciprocated her feelings.

Sometimes Xu Linda felt Deng Zhe cared about her, sometimes she felt he didn’t; he just considered her a good friend.

Xu Linda sighed, “Now I understand you—why you didn’t dare confess your feelings to Lu Rangchen back then. Without absolute certainty, saying it would only make you embarrassed.”

Zhu Yunque smiled at the sunset.

As if suddenly seeing things clearly, she turned to her and said, “Maybe there are even better views in the future; why not go and see them?”

Xu Linda was also open-minded.

At least she didn’t want to act like a teen romance novel heroine in front of her friends. Hearing this, she laughed cheerfully. “Yeah, maybe I can find a super handsome foreigner and have a mixed-race baby. Isn’t that better than that jerk Deng Zhe?”

A few words made the two of them burst into laughter.

When they let loose, that was the most beautiful aspect of youth.

Ultimately, Xu Linda followed her family’s advice and decided to study in the UK.

As far as Zhu Yunque knew, her relationship with Deng Zhe had gradually faded since the summer vacation, and they hadn’t been in much contact since.

Zhu Yunque didn’t dare ask Xu Linda about their relationship.

She simply went along with her travels, going wherever she suggested.

The last stop was Dali, Yunnan, where Zhao Qijia also joined them.

The three of them had quite a good time, and Zhao Qijia took good care of the two of them, doing all the dirty and tiring work.

Because they were traveling on a budget, the three of them eventually took a sleeper train back.

Later that night, unable to sleep, Xu Linda climbed down from the upper bunk and insisted on sitting next to Zhu Yunque. She whispered in Zhu Yunque’s ear, “I think Zhao Qijia likes you.”

“…”

Zhu Yunque’s fingers, which were gripping her book, paused. She turned her head and looked at her, speechless and amused.

Zhao Qijia was sleeping on the upper bunk.

Xu Linda gave her a wink. “I think this guy’s alright, worth considering. He’s not bad looking either, not as handsome as my brother, but presentable enough.”

She nudged her again. “Most importantly, he’s going to study in the capital too. It would be a waste if you two didn’t date.”

Zhu Yunque was truly at a loss.

She reached out and patted Xu Linda’s head like she was petting a kitten. “You really want to eat the grass near your own nest?”

“…”

Xu Linda was silent for two seconds, then sighed, “Zhu Yunque, you’re much wilder than I thought.”

Zhu Yunque just smiled and didn’t say anything.

She had changed the subject in a rather peculiar way.

At eighteen or nineteen, she didn’t think that far ahead.

Back then, she just wanted to live each day peacefully and without regrets.

Little did she know that fate had already quietly begun its own plan.

Just as Zhu Yunque was about to forget that she had once loved someone so passionately and sincerely, like an inescapable destiny, she heard news of Lu Rangchen again.

Not from Xu Linda.

Not from the alumni group of Nancheng No. 3 High School.

But a month after the start of university.

That month, the freshmen had just endured the grueling military training.

On the last day, as the students and instructors were having their farewell dinner in the cafeteria, Zhu Yunque suddenly heard the name “Lu Rangchen” from a girl at the next table.

The girl was pretty, wearing heavy smoky makeup, and when she spoke of Lu Rangchen, a clear hint of smugness shone in her eyes.

It seemed they had just been discussing which boy in the graduating class was the most handsome and eye-catching, and before they could reach a conclusion, she had vetoed it.

“You’ll see when you meet him. He’s on a completely different level of handsomeness; he’d be a top-tier celebrity.”

“And his family background is incredibly powerful. They say someone in his family is…” The girl lowered her voice and mumbled something, then added, “You know what I mean.”

“He definitely didn’t initially want to come here to study. They said they wanted him to go abroad and come back to inherit the family business, but he didn’t want to. He seemed to have a falling out with his family and just randomly applied to a university.”

“But some say it’s for his girlfriend. They say she got into our school, so he came.”

“No, no, no, my dad’s just a regular department head in their group. I can’t possibly be that good.”

“Yeah, he’s in the Economics department, the one next door in International Trade.”

The name popped into her mind.

Zhu Yunque was stunned in disbelief, but the girl didn’t continue.

A few seconds later, the noise returned to normal.

It was as if those words had just been a fleeting illusion in her mind.

Zhu Yunque stood there, stunned, until her roommate Liang Tian, ​​with whom she had a good relationship, asked her what was wrong, and she finally came to her senses.

By now, the students had all eaten and drunk their fill, and the boys and a few instructors were drinking and bragging.

The girls chatted in groups.

Compared to them, the reserved Zhu Yunque seemed like an outsider.

She paused for a few seconds, then shook her head and said it was nothing; she just wanted to go out for some fresh air.

Liang Tian, ​​a typical soft-spoken girl, blinked and asked, “Do you need me to keep you company?”

Zhu Yunque smiled and said no, she wanted to be alone for a while.

Liang Tian sensed something was on her mind and, not wanting to bother her, shrugged and said okay, reminding her to call her, as she’d be going back to the dorm with her later.

Zhu Yunque nodded and got up to leave the cafeteria.

The late September breeze in Beijing was refreshing.

Zhu Yunque walked along the large sports field towards the supermarket, trying to video call Xu Linda, but the call wouldn’t go through for a long time.

She repeated this several times.

Zhu Yunque’s shoulders relaxed slightly; she decided to give up.

Maybe it was just a coincidence of names.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be such a coincidence that he came to this school.

Even if it really was him, it didn’t matter; he was here for his “girlfriend.”

A belated, bitter smile crept onto Zhu Yunque’s lips.

Suddenly, she mocked her own overestimation of her abilities.

She had been so close before, and yet she hadn’t succeeded; how could she possibly succeed again upon meeting again?

Taking a deep breath into the evening breeze, Zhu Yunque exhaled a sigh of relief, forcing herself to stop overthinking.

Then, she strolled leisurely around the playground, bought two chilled drinks at the supermarket, and planned to return the way she came.

Unexpectedly, as she passed the Yifu Building, three figures emerged from it.

One tall and two short figures.

The two shorter figures were women.

Both were quite old, chatting and laughing as they walked down the high platform; their relationship was clearly very close.

By the time Zhu Yunque noticed them, the three had already stopped at the foot of the steps.

Perhaps fate was just so eager to play tricks on people.

Zhu Yunque glanced casually, and her eyes met those of a tall, imposing figure.

He wore a loose, dark shirt and jeans, topped with a matching fisherman’s hat, his dark complexion seemingly blending into the night.

In the dim moonlight, his face was almost indistinct.

Yet, the arrogant posture of his hands in his pockets and the strikingly defined features of his exquisitely handsome lower face caused Zhu Yunque to freeze in place, as if struck by a bullet.

At the same time, Lu Rangchen also recognized her.

He slightly raised his chin, his deep gaze seeming to pierce through mountains and seas, fixing his gaze intently on her eyes.

For some reason, Zhu Yunque suddenly remembered a line of poetry that had been popular online long ago—”Those we love are separated by mountains and seas, but mountains and seas can be leveled.”

So, did it take “excessive love” for Lu Rangchen to be willing to conquer mountains and seas?

Subtle emotions swirled within those brief two seconds. Zhu Yunque’s eyes suddenly stung, and she turned her head away, her eyes red.

She thought it was unnecessary.

There was no need to say, “Hello, long time no see.”

There was no need to go up and invite trouble.

She and Lu Rangchen were already insignificant strangers in each other’s lives; there was no need to even speak.

Thinking this, Zhu Yunque resolutely walked past the three of them, heading straight ahead.

Unbeknownst to her, Lu Rangchen’s gaze remained fixed on her, unwavering.

Realizing that she didn’t recognize him at all, Lu Rangchen’s thick brows furrowed, and after a few seconds, he suddenly laughed in exasperation.

Cheng Qinfang, who was talking to the head of student affairs, looked in his direction and asked, “What are you laughing at?”

Lu Rangchen’s eyes were lazy and irritating, yet he didn’t look away. “An acquaintance.”

Cheng Qinfang frowned. “You have acquaintances at this school?”

“Yes,” Lu Rangchen drawled, “we’re incredibly close.”

It had only been a year and a half since they last met, and he was already at a loss for words.

His skills were truly impressive.

Growing increasingly annoyed, Lu Rangchen chuckled, glanced at his phone, and said to Cheng Qinfang, “You two talk first; I’m coming over.”

Cheng Qinfang’s expression changed. “Who’s so important that you have to go now?” As she spoke, she seemed to realize something, her eyes widening slightly. “You’re not talking about that…”

Lu Rangchen raised an eyebrow, his chin slightly lifted, and smiled shamelessly. “It’s her.”

“…”

“Your nephew’s future girlfriend.”