Farewell to Youth

Chapter 25: Farewell to Youth Again

"You said you weren't interested in her?"

Yang Fan scoffed, quite displeased with Zhao Rui's hypocrisy.

"What nonsense is this."

Zhao Rui didn't ask further, but he knew it was practically certain that Luo Min had applied to Dong Qi University.

Having a classmate to accompany her wouldn't be bad.

"How about I apply to your school?"

Zhao Rui poked Sun Tiantian's back with his finger, hitting the clasp of her bra's back band. It was hard and quite tactile.

"Stop it! Who wants you to apply randomly."

Sun Tiantian's face still held an annoyed expression, but inwardly, she was already happy.

She was just caught off guard by the impending separation and felt a moment of reluctance.

After all, she had harbored a crush for so long, and now they were about to go their separate ways.

"What a sour smell of a secret crush!"

Yang Fan wrinkled his nose and made a disgusted face. Angered, Sun Tiantian turned and threw a punch at him. They dodged and parried each other's moves, instantly turning the classroom into chaos.

Zhao Rui slammed his hand down on the table, narrowly preventing it from being flipped.

The classroom was already noisy and messy, so a few scuffles were hardly surprising, and no one paid them any mind.

"Can you be quiet!"

An impatient voice snapped out from a seat near the front window.

It was the voice of their "good teacher" classmate, Wang Han.

However, this time his voice had no effect; the classroom remained boisterous.

Before, they listened to him because they didn't want trouble and feared affecting their Gaokao. Now, they didn't listen because they had graduated, and everyone was going their separate ways—who cared about him!

Wang Han's chest heaved with anger, his face extremely grim.

"Why isn't Bai Xuening here?"

After the commotion died down a bit, Yang Fan glanced curiously at an empty seat not far ahead and asked Zhao Rui.

As they were talking, a girl in a pink and white puff-sleeved dress fluttered in.

The girl wore a sailor collar scarf around her neck, and her skirt puffed out in just the right arc, creating ripples of lace with her steps.

The ends of the satin ribbon hanging from her waist were adorned with lily-of-the-valley-shaped silk threads, like willow branches swaying in the spring breeze.

Her slender calves were covered in white stockings that hugged them straight down to the pair of beautiful round-toed Mary Jane shoes on her feet.

This outfit?

Instantly, the previously noisy classroom fell silent.

Was this Bai Xuening?

Where was the cold, stern girl who never smiled?

After a moment of silence, a clamor erupted.

"Xue Ning, you're so beautiful!"

"You changed your style, I almost didn't recognize you. Xue Ning, you like the 'loli' style too! You look great!"

With the girl's arrival, the classroom buzzed with excitement again.

The girl responded to the girls' chatter while her gaze inadvertently flickered towards Zhao Rui's position.

Seeing the surprise in Zhao Rui's eyes, a hint of a smug smile flickered in her eyes.

Zhao Rui naturally caught this smile and couldn't help but chuckle.

He figured if he went over to her now, Bai Xuening would probably pretend to ignore him.

She was still such a little brat!

In the classroom, the students chatted freely. It seemed they all knew that after today, once they submitted their college applications, they would truly go their separate ways.

Some might never see each other again in their lives.

After another half hour of bustling chatter, the homeroom teacher finally arrived late.

As soon as he got on stage, he had the class monitor hand out a report card and several college application forms to everyone.

Looking at the report cards in their hands, the students had varied expressions. Those who did well smiled, their eyes filled with anticipation for a bright university life.

Those who didn't do well were dejected and speechless.

Some were indifferent, throwing caution to the wind and continuing to do as they pleased.

"Wow, Zhao Rui, you got fourth in the class this time, that's amazing!"

A classmate in the aisle to Zhao Rui's right leaned over slightly and said to him.

"Yeah, with your grades, getting into a top university is a sure thing!"

Another classmate heard this and turned around to look.

Although everyone knew more or less about their classmates' grades, they were still quite surprised that Zhao Rui had jumped from being in the teens to fourth in the class.

"Everyone knows the grades, so when it comes to filling out your college applications, think carefully and discuss it with your families..."

The homeroom teacher gave some instructions, then stepped down from the podium and started chatting with the students.

After all, they had been together for three years, and now they were about to part ways. The teacher felt a sense of reluctance.

Zhao Rui had already discussed filling out his college application with his family, and Zhao Jincheng and his wife had given him a great deal of freedom and respect.

Zhao Rui had looked at the admission scores for Dong Qi University in previous years. As long as he was willing to accept any major assigned to him, his grades were sufficient for admission.

He didn't care about the major; it was just a process to get a diploma. What he cared about more was the Martial Way platform.

Only by attending Dong Qi University would he have the qualifications and opportunity to access a higher Martial Way world and step into a different future.

Filling out the college application wasn't complicated; it only took one class period, and most students had finished.

After the homeroom teacher collected the forms, he told the students who had finished that they could go home.

Years will pass, and who knows when we'll meet again!

Zhao Rui had finished his application early. Yang Fan had already decided on three schools and didn't need to think much about it. However, Sun Tiantian insisted that they wait for her and Xiao Xue to finish before leaving together.

So, the two of them lingered in the classroom a bit longer.

Throughout their three years of high school, Zhao Rui didn't have many friends, and even fewer close female friends.

It was rare for Sun Tiantian to look upon him favorably. He wasn't an unfeeling person; even if they couldn't be lovers, he still considered her a friend.

To be loved by someone when you are unremarkable is truly one of the rarest gifts in this world.

Around ten o'clock, Sun Tiantian and Xiao Xue finally finished their applications after much deliberation.

The four of them tidied up their desks – though there wasn't much to tidy – and left the classroom together.

As they reached the classroom door, Sun Tiantian called out to the three of them and took a photo with her phone in front of the classroom's nameplate.

After they exited the teaching building, the young girl's eyes were already red, her lips pressed together, her delicate demeanor evoking pity.

"It's okay, it's not like we won't see each other again. We can still meet during winter and summer breaks!"

Seeing her so emotional, Zhao Rui felt a pang of emotion in his heart. He reached out and gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"I know you don't like me, but I just..."

"I know, I know. If you keep crying, you won't be pretty anymore!"

Zhao Rui gently ruffled the girl's hair and said, "Let's go, so many people are watching!"

Sun Tiantian nodded her head and obediently followed Zhao Rui out.

Yang Fan, who had been watching the scene, was filled with envy and couldn't help but look at Xiao Xue beside him.

"What are you looking at!"

Xiao Xue frowned slightly and shot him a glare.

"I won't let a girl who likes me cry!"

"..."

Xiao Xue rolled her eyes and, leaving him with a slender view of her retreating figure, quickly walked away.

Do you know, in the days of youth, flowers bloomed in vibrant hues, shyly meeting for the first time.

Now unchanged, maidens vie in beauty, as if it were a first love.

Temples grayed, regretting the past, regretting not understanding, whom to seek solace with.