Young Brave Hearts – CH 030

Chapter 30

That night, Zhu Yunque was the last to return to the dormitory.

Although they had attended classes all day, the girls in room 0921 still had plenty of energy to do things. Han Xiao and Li Yueqing sat sweetly in front of the computer, playing a game of duo chat, while Liang Tian video-called her high school sweetheart.

Zhu Yunque wasn’t as excited as they were. She quietly took a shower and then quietly climbed into bed.

Perhaps because she had spent too much time out with Lu Rangchen that evening, sleepiness came quickly, and Zhu Yunque fell asleep before lights out.

A rare, dreamless night.

The quality of her sleep was better than on any night before.

When she woke up the next day, it was almost ten o’clock.

Her phone was buzzing incessantly beside her pillow. Zhu Yunque turned over in her sleep, and as soon as she picked it up, she saw a message from Xu Linda.

Xu Linda: 【Where did you go yesterday? Why didn’t you reply to my messages?】

Xu Linda: 【Damn, you’re not so heartbroken you’ve become withdrawn, are you?】

Xu Linda: 【No, are you dead or alive? Say something!】

Zhu Yunque: “…”

So that was how she was in Xu Linda’s eyes.

Zhu Yunque typed with a hint of helplessness: 【I think your imagination is so rich you could write a sequel to Dream of the Red Chamber.】

Xu Linda: 【!】

Xu Linda: 【Finally, you’ve come back to life!】

Xu Linda: 【What’s your situation now? Want to tell me?】

Suddenly, the words she had spoken to her yesterday morning, and Lu Rangchen’s face, flashed through Zhu Yunque’s mind. For a moment, she didn’t know how to explain.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she could only say: 【No situation.】

She paused, then added: 【I’m not withdrawn either.】

Xu Linda: 【As long as you’re not withdrawn.】

Xu Linda: 【That jerk isn’t worth being withdrawn about.】

Zhu Yunque couldn’t help but laugh, then got out of bed to wash up.

When she returned, Xu Linda was chatting enthusiastically with “herself.” Zhu Yunque put her phone on the table, lowered her eyes to tie her hair, and immediately noticed the name “Lu Rangchen.”

Xu Linda: 【Damn, Lu Rangchen is just like that jerk Deng Zhe, so shameless since starting university.”

Xu Linda: 【He even shows off! His love! His relationship!】

Zhu Yunque’s eyes widened slightly before she opened the screenshot she had sent.

It was Lu Rangchen’s WeChat Moments.

The photo showed her pink doll in his car, with the caption:

“Love is a superstition that depends on timing and circumstance.”

Just then, the rubber band snapped, leaving a tingling sensation in her fingertip.

Zhu Yunque froze, speechless.

Xu Linda’s messages flooded in: 【Do you think he’s started talking to that target?】

“…”

Zhu Yunque’s ears felt subtly hot.

She thought to herself, “How could we possibly talk? It’s not even close to happening.”

She typed a few words in the input box, waited a few seconds, and then deleted them.

Finally, she said: 【I don’t know】

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to open up to Xu Linda, but she genuinely wasn’t sure what Lu Rangchen wanted.

She exited the chat.

She clicked on her Moments, scrolled down, and sure enough, saw Lu Rangchen’s post.

They only knew a handful of people in total.

Excluding Xu Linda, she could only see two comments.

One was from Zhou Chuang, who left a comment about the situation.

The other was from Deng Zhe, who didn’t say anything and just liked the post.

Zhu Yunque suppressed her slightly fluttering heart, looked at the comments for a few seconds, and finally decided to pretend she hadn’t seen anything.

Near noon, Liang Tian returned and asked Zhu Yunque to go to the cafeteria for lunch. They arrived early, and the cafeteria wasn’t crowded.

The two ordered two bowls of rice noodles and sat facing each other.

Liang Tian had originally planned to eat with her boyfriend, but they had a fight, and Liang Tian, ​​angry, went back to find Zhu Yunque.

She said her boyfriend was furious because he found out Liang Tian had spent 20,000 yuan on a DSLR camera without his permission.

Zhu Yunque was taken aback. “You’re spending his money?”

Liang Tian’s eyes widened. “How could that be? That’s my private stash.”

Zhu Yunque didn’t understand. “Then why should he control you?”

Liang Tian pouted slightly. “He said I’m not frugal, and I don’t take him seriously. I don’t even consult him on important decisions.”

Zhu Yunque remained silent, hesitating whether to try and “wake her up,” but Liang Tian rolled her eyes, her expression one of utter disdain. “A cunning, poor man.”

“…”

“I have to report to him even when I spend my own money. We’re not even married yet, and he’s already controlling my money! Shameless!”

The girl ground her teeth, growing angrier with each passing thought. She simply took out her phone and sent him a breakup message.

Zhu Yunque had seen people act decisively before, but this was the first time she’d seen someone act so decisively. She was both amused and exasperated.

Of course, Liang Tian didn’t need her comforting. She simply waved goodbye without a trace, ate a couple of bites of rice noodles, and then changed the subject to Zhu Yunque: “I haven’t asked you yet, how was your date with that super handsome guy last night? You didn’t tell me anything when you got back.”

Zhu Yunque: “…”

Seeing her silence, Liang Tian interrupted, “Do you like him?”

The girl’s eyes were clear and insightful.

Zhu Yunque inexplicably felt that confiding in someone wasn’t a bad idea.

Stirring the rice noodles in her bowl, she said softly, “I had a secret crush on someone in high school.”

“And now?”

Liang Tian wasn’t surprised. “He likes you, too.”

The words “I don’t know” had become somewhat numb to Zhu Yunque, but she didn’t know what other words to use. After thinking for a moment, she could only say, “I’m not sure.”

“…”

“Besides, the gap between us is too big.”

“His family is too rich? But being rich isn’t a problem. Who dates someone with poor conditions?”

Zhu Yunque shook her head. “Any gap that exceeds a certain limit is never a good thing.”

Liang Tian opened her mouth incredulously, “Your attitude really makes me curious about what his family is like.”

“Probably,” Zhu Yunque didn’t know how to describe it, “…the kind where their future marriage isn’t up to them, and they’ve already arranged a marriage partner early on.”

“…”

Liang Tian gave a dry, forced smile. “Are you guys filming a rich family idol drama? And how do you know? Did he tell you himself?”

“I heard it from another girl who liked him in high school.”

Zhu Yunque’s tone was indifferent.

A year after Lu Rangchen left Nancheng.

Zhu Yunque received a birthday gift from him, and this news, somehow, reached Lin Zhinian’s ears.

The two were originally completely unrelated.

But because of the final exams, Zhu Yunque was asked to help put up the exam room student numbers, and she unexpectedly bumped into Lin Zhinian in the art class.

Lin Zhinian noticed her immediately.

Even though Zhu Yunque didn’t even lift her eyelids when facing her, Lin Zhinian still called out to her.

There were only a few people left in the art class at that time.

Given Lin Zhinian’s fearless nature, she said whatever came to mind in class.

At that moment, she pulled a silver necklace from her collar, and at a glance, it was obvious that it was the same style as Zhu Yunque’s.

Zhu Yunque was indeed stunned for a moment.

The next second, she heard Lin Zhinian say, “Lu Rangchen gave it to me.”

Her tone wasn’t as arrogant as usual; it sounded more like a pessimistic warning.

Lin Zhinian forced a smile. “Aren’t you surprised? I’m surprised too.”

She sighed, “I guess that’s how perfunctory those boys are; they don’t even bother to give anything different as a gift.”

By then, Zhu Yunque understood what she was trying to say; her eyes narrowed, and she turned and left.

Lin Zhinian persisted, grabbing her arm. “Zhu Yunque, I advise you to give up on Lu Rangchen. He can’t be with me, and he can’t be with you. Do you know his family arranged a marriage for him a long time ago? Do you know he’s going to marry his childhood sweetheart—”

Before she could finish the last three words, Zhu Yunque interrupted her with a single look.

Perhaps her gaze was too cold, for Lin Zhinian was startled, but she still insisted, “You know that obsidian bracelet he wears? That’s their token of love; they each have one.”

These words were like a hammer blow, instantly shattering her seemingly petrified heart.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

Zhu Yunque spoke numbly, “There was never any possibility between us.”

The suffocating feeling she experienced then was like the heavy smog of winter, making it hard to breathe.

Zhu Yunque never mentioned it to anyone.

She didn’t want to.

And the necklace Lu Rangchen had given her—she hadn’t worn it even once since—yet she still gave Lu Rangchen a return gift.

A few months before the college entrance exam, Feng Yanlai took her to a temple to pray for blessings, and they got many things to give to friends.

One of them was for Cheng Liru and Lu Rangchen.

Feng Yanlai was busy at the time, so she asked Zhu Yunque to mail them, which was how Zhu Yunque learned Lu Rangchen’s mailing address in the capital.

Later, she went to the temple again herself, just to get that piece of black jade for him.

She didn’t expect Lu Rangchen to actually wear the thing she gave him, and she never imagined that he would wear it now and wear it in front of her.

It seemed that the best way to relieve the stagnation was to confide in someone. When Zhu Yunque finished telling Liang Tian everything, she felt a strange sense of relief.

Liang Tian, ​​however, was stunned, even a little amused. She said to Zhu Yunque, “So you’re that easy to fool?”

Zhu Yunque paused slightly.

Liang Tian pouted, “You didn’t even talk to that handsome guy from beginning to end. You just believe whatever other girls say? What if she bought it herself to annoy you? You even said she likes Lu Rangchen.”

“And that childhood sweetheart of his, the engagement—you didn’t even ask him directly. How can you be so sure?”

These words were like a wake-up call for Zhu Yunque, leaving her speechless and bewildered.

Liang Tian sighed, resting her chin on her hand. “You, you can let something that’s practically in your mouth fly away. If I were you, I’d just confront him and get to the bottom of it.”

“…”

Zhu Yunque’s feelings were somewhat complicated. “Actually, it’s not entirely because of those two things.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah, I can’t understand why he suddenly developed feelings for me.”

Back in high school, their relationship wasn’t even remotely ambiguous. He left Nancheng for the capital without even telling her, and aside from that necklace, they had no other contact.

But it was so sudden.

He went to the same university as her and even took the initiative to get closer to her.

At this point, Liang Tian finally understood Zhu Yunque’s concerns.

She nodded. “That’s true. Who knows if he’s just having a crush on you, lonely, and wanting to play around? If you hadn’t liked him before, that would be fine, but you used to have a crush on him. Knowing your personality, you definitely don’t want to be sad because of him again.”

Every word seemed to strike a chord.

Zhu Yunque lowered her eyes, looking at the oil droplets and scallions floating in her bowl. “Even if I like him a lot, I don’t want it to be a fleeting moment.”

“…”

“And even more so, I don’t want to be dumped.”

–

Lunch turned into a heart-to-heart talk between the sisters.

Perhaps because of the comparison, Liang Tian found her boyfriend increasingly unpleasant.

As a result, the breakup turned into a real one.

That very night, the boy came to the dormitory with flowers, begging for reconciliation. Liang Tian was stubborn; if she said she wouldn’t go back, she really wouldn’t. Therefore, Han Xiaoxiao called her the least love-struck woman in the English Department, urging everyone to learn from her.

However, only Liang Tian knew…

She wasn’t the most rational one when it came to relationships; Zhu Yunque was.

Liang Tian had initially thought Zhu Yunque would become lovesick because of Lu Rangchen, but for the next two days, she didn’t hear Zhu Yunque mention him at all. Everything proceeded as if their conversation that day had never happened.

Later, she couldn’t help but ask what was going on between them.

Zhu Yunque simply said, “Nothing’s wrong; no contact.”

Liang Tian thought about it and agreed. After all, given their level of intimacy, they didn’t seem to talk every day.

Based on this pattern, she felt there was probably no chance for them.

But things took an unexpected turn.

She had barely made up her mind when Wednesday’s elective class completely slapped her in the face.

What incredible luck!

Lu Rangchen was actually in the same elective class as Zhu Yunque and her classmates.

Loose black trousers and a shirt, broad shoulders, long legs, but fair skin.

A tall, imposing figure entered the classroom, his innate air of nobility instantly captivating the entire room. The lecture hall fell silent, and almost everyone’s gaze fixed on him.

This included Zhu Yunque, of course.

She sat in the fourth row, in the best-lit spot, her gaze slightly surprised.

Liang Tian, beside her, was even more astonished.

She pinched Zhu Yunque’s slender arm, her tone surprised, “What’s going on? Why is he on the podium?”

As she spoke, Lu Rangchen did indeed go to the podium, holding a thin booklet in his hand, flipping through it with a relaxed, almost languid air that was particularly captivating.

Zhu Yunque involuntarily froze.

The next second, Lu Rangchen suddenly looked up, his gaze sweeping over her with a casual, yet undeniable, intensity.

His expression was indifferent, yet his gaze seemed tangible, carrying a heavy weight that inexplicably made those who looked at him feel restless.

Fortunately, the eye contact was brief.

Lu Rangchen then looked away from the class and at the attendance sheet on the podium, beginning to read the first name.

His deep, resonant voice, somewhere between a boy and a man, echoed in the classroom, “Zhang Shuo.”

Only then did everyone realize that he must have come to take attendance for the teacher.

The boy named Zhang Shuo quickly called out, “Here!”

Lu Rangchen glanced up and, quite responsibly, marked a checkmark on the attendance sheet.

From Zhu Yunque’s perspective, his long, slender, and powerful fingers, even when he simply wrote a few words with a casual, downcast gaze, still easily captivated hearts.

Even Liang Tian, ​​a seasoned player in the dating game, exclaimed, “Your crush is so handsome! He looks even more handsome than the other day!”

She clenched her little fists and looked at Zhu Yunque. “Now I understand why you’re so insecure. Who would dare to easily approach such a handsome guy?”

“…”

Zhu Yunque’s thin lips pursed slightly.

Her heart rate quickened unconsciously.

Until Lu Rangchen called her name.

Whether intentionally or not, when Lu Rangchen pronounced her name, his eyes flickered with a hint of mockery, his enunciation was upward, and even his gaze was blatantly playful.

Meeting his gaze, Zhu Yunque’s lips parted slightly, and she softly uttered a single word.

She had expected Lu Rangchen to make a check mark on her notebook.

Unexpectedly, for some inexplicable reason, he subtly frowned and called out again, “Zhu Yunque.”

His tone carried a certain nonchalant air.

The classroom fell silent again.

Several rows of students stared at her, their gazes sharp as scythes.

“…”

Zhu Yunque thought this man was truly boring.

But she could only call out “Here!” again.

This time, the voice was quite loud and seemed to carry a hint of dissatisfaction.

Lu Rangchen heard it clearly this time, and not only that, he even smiled with satisfaction, drawing a check mark on his notebook.

Liang Tian, ​​sitting next to him, looked like a lovesick fool. “Look, look, he’s deliberately trying to get your attention.”

Zhu Yunque: “…”

She glanced at Liang Tian speechlessly but said nothing.

And it turned out just as Liang Tian said.

Lu Rangchen called out names in a very cursory manner, eventually not even bothering to lift his head, and finished just like that.

After he finished calling the roll, the teacher came in.

It was the woman who had come out of the building with Lu Rangchen and the others that night; it turned out to be Chu Lan, the teacher of the Human Geography elective course.

Zhu Yunque was slightly surprised.

When she came to her senses again, Lu Rangchen had already stepped down from the podium.

The lecture hall was large, and there were empty seats in the first row, but he ignored them, striding confidently to the fourth row and stopping beside Zhu Yunque.

A faint scent of ebony wafted down.

He put one hand in his pocket, and with the other, his slender fingers suddenly tapped on Zhu Yunque’s desk.

Two soft taps.

Liang Tian, ​​at her side, blinked and looked at him first, but Lu Rangchen’s gaze remained fixed on Zhu Yunque.

His gaze… well, it was a mixture of amusement and something else entirely.

A hint of restrained displeasure, yet also a desire to devour Zhu Yunque, but a forced repression.

Liang Tian had a strange feeling that Lu Rangchen must be very good in bed.

Just as Liang Tian was mentally preparing to create a little CP story about him and Zhu Yunque, Lu Rangchen raised an eyebrow and spoke, “Move over a bit?”

It was a perfectly innocent statement.

But for some reason, it had a hint of ambiguity.

Liang Tian looked at Zhu Yunque expectantly, noticing that her ears had turned red.

However, this girl was truly stubborn.

Even with him practically right in front of her, she simply raised her eyes calmly, looking at him without revealing any emotion, and then stood up.

If she had stood up by herself, it wouldn’t have been so bad.

The problem was that she pulled Liang Tian up with her.

Liang Tian exclaimed in bewilderment.

In the blink of an eye, she heard Zhu Yunque turn to her and say, “Excuse me, he wants to go in and sit down.”

The moment the words left her lips, the air fell eerily silent.

Lu Rangchen stared at her, then chuckled.