On a morning at the end of August, Jiang Qin arrived at the train station with his luggage.
In the sweltering weather, the station was packed with travelers, shoulder to shoulder, so crowded that if you managed to squeeze one foot inside, you might lose a shoe.
Actually, that was fairly normal. After all, it was the start of the school term.
Jiang Qin stood in front of the entrance passage, unscrewed the cap of his bottled water, and took a sip. He thought to himself that it was fortunate Ms. Yuan Youqin and Mr. Jiang Zhenghong hadn't come to see him off. Otherwise, they definitely would have gotten separated in the crowd, and he would have had to waste time looking for the old couple.
Ten minutes later, the short, dark, chubby Guo Zihang arrived too.
He had applied to Linchuan University of Science and Technology, a fairly mediocre second-tier university. It wasn't too far from Linchuan University, but it wasn't exactly close either, so the two decided to travel together.
After passing through security and having their tickets checked, the two boarded the train. Once they found their seats, they sat down.
It was Guo Zihang's first time traveling far from home. He had never even had the chance to ride a train before, so the moment he got on, he became excited, looking around nonstop.
Fortunately, the train soon departed. As the scenery outside the window kept changing, Guo Zihang finally settled down quite a bit.
"Jiang Ge, what do you think college life will be like?"
"College students? Life's pretty good."
"?????"
Jiang Qin took off his jacket, folded it behind his back, and leaned against the seat as he gazed out the window.
Jizhou's economy was fairly strong, but investment in urban construction was far too low. As a result, every neighborhood was run-down and shabby, worse even than the county-level cities under its administration.
So after the train left the station, the first thing that came into view was a vast stretch of rural towns. Right behind them came fields of golden wheat, as well as the Ji River, which wound around the entirety of Jizhou.
It was just strange. Jiang Qin found the scenery outside the window especially unfamiliar.
Had I never taken a train in my previous life? Impossible. Had I fucking walked here? But he soon remembered that back then, he had been too busy clutching his phone and waiting for Chu Siqi's messages to spare any attention for the scenery outside.
So romance really was something even dogs wouldn't get involved in. You never knew how many beautiful sights you would miss for the sake of one person.
Jiang Qin lifted his clothes to block the sunlight outside the window and planned to sleep through the entire journey.
At eleven in the morning, the train arrived at the station. A huge crowd of travelers poured onto the platform, then streamed toward the exit.
Jiang Qin and Guo Zihang walked side by side, dragging their suitcases into the exit hall. From there, they could see Xinmao Building across the street at a glance. A huge sign hung at the top, reading: Golden Money Box Business KTV.
"Jiang Ge, where are we going now?"
Jiang Qin rested a hand on the handle of his suitcase. "Obviously, we're going our separate ways and heading back to our respective schools."
After hesitating for quite a while, Guo Zihang spoke up. "How about coming with me to a social mixer?"
"Why is there a social mixer? What's going on?"
"I joined a freshman group for my school a few days ago. Everyone said we should hold a mixer so we could get to know each other in advance, so I signed up. But I'm a little afraid to go."
The corner of Jiang Qin's mouth twitched. "You're timid and submissive in real life, but throw punches online. You're exactly the kind of person that describes."
Guo Zihang coughed to hide his embarrassment. "You've got nothing to do after you go back anyway. Come give me some moral support!"
"That's true. We might as well go since we've got nothing else to do. Let's go, but you're paying for the taxi."
"I'll pay, then!"
The two hailed a taxi at the train station and headed for Linchuan University of Science and Technology.
The coward was so nervous the entire way that he kept taking deep breaths. It looked like his fingers were about to claw through his jeans.
Jiang Qin found it amusing. It's not like you're meeting an online girlfriend in real life and worried that you're ugly enough to die the moment you're exposed. It's just a mixer. Is there really any need to be this nervous?
But Guo Zihang was different from him. He was the type who wouldn't dare make a sound even if someone stepped on his foot. Back in school, he had to work up his courage through several rounds just to speak to the cafeteria auntie.
Soon, the taxi arrived at the entrance of Linchuan University of Science and Technology. Guo Zihang brought Jiang Qin to a milk tea shop diagonally across from the school.
Their event sounded nice when called a social mixer, but it was actually just a small group meetup. Four girls and two boys had come, probably the sort of socially fearless people who dominated the group chat.
Students in 2008 didn't know much about fashion and couldn't compare with college students more than a decade later, so they looked quite plain.
Most of the girls wore pink or yellow T-shirts covered in elaborate patterns, and most had small hair clips in their hair.
As for the two boys beside them, to be honest, they weren't even as easy on the eyes as Guo Zihang.
"My name is Liang Xiao."
"My name is Xu Qingqing."
"..."
"My name is... Guo Zihang."
"Jiang Qin."
After everyone finished introducing themselves, a girl sitting at the outermost seat suddenly caught Jiang Qin's attention.
The girl introduced herself as Hong Yan. She was from Hangcheng and best friends with Xu Qingqing beside her, but she didn't say which department or major she was in.
She was tall and slender, with fair skin. She wore a gray short-sleeved shirt and black denim shorts. Perhaps she usually had a well-balanced diet, because the gray shirt fit her extremely snugly, outlining her full curves.
Her appearance was clearly on an entirely different level from the other three girls. She was graceful and elegant, and even without makeup, she was strikingly beautiful.
Jiang Qin knew perfectly well that ranking and scoring girls with one's eyes was crude, but that was simply how first impressions worked. People naturally formed judgments, especially when the difference was exceptionally obvious.
Of course, while the boys were busy looking at Hong Yan, the girls were keeping a close eye on Jiang Qin.
"Jiang Qin, which department are you in?"
"I'm in... the Computer Science Department, majoring in Software Engineering. My buddy is too."
Jiang Qin slapped Guo Zihang on the back, signaling for him to speak. This is the mixer you signed up for. What's with making me do all the talking?
But the guy looked as if he had only just recovered his soul. With his mouth hanging open, all he could say was, "Yeah, yeah, exactly."
Xu Qingqing's eyes lit up immediately. "I'm majoring in Software Engineering too. Which class were you assigned to?"
"Class Two, I think."
"Class Two is Class Two. Why are you adding 'I think'? Do you have a girlfriend?"
Jiang Qin reached out and grabbed Guo Zihang. "The girl's asking you. Do you have a girlfriend?"
Guo Zihang's face instantly flushed red. "Not yet... not yet."
"Jiang Qin, what about you?"
"Me? I love studying. I feel awful if I go a day without studying, so I don't plan on dating in college."
Xu Qingqing frowned, clearly displeased. "If you love studying so much, why did you end up at Linchuan University of Science and Technology? Shouldn't you have gone to Linchuan University?"
Hong Yan suddenly nudged her from the side. "Qingqing, don't be so sarcastic. Maybe he just didn't perform well."
"It's fine. Everyone says that. I'm the type who only knows how to cram."
"See? I knew I wasn't wrong." Xu Qingqing proudly lifted her chin.
Hong Yan frowned slightly. "That only proves he worked hard. At least he won't have any regrets."
Hearing that, Jiang Qin was somewhat surprised. Girls who knew how to consider other people's feelings were rare in this day and age.
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