I Will Bear the Burden

It took nearly another hour, and Liu Shang, after transferring to a bus, returned to his dorm.

Upon seeing him, Fu Liang reacted with great excitement.

"Second Brother! You're finally back."

"Have you eaten yet?"

Liu Shang put down his bag and smiled, "I came back a bit late today. I ate downstairs on my way back."

"Have you guys eaten?"

Fu Liang clapped his hands, "No, we were just waiting for you!"

"Let's go online, or pull an all-nighter? It's Saturday today."

Liu Shang glanced at him, this lanky tall guy, and chuckled, "An all-nighter? You're going to ruin your body like that, not caring about your life?!"

"You guys go ahead. I won't be joining."

"Hey, don't say that. Eldest Brother and his girlfriend went home to stay, so it's just you and me. Playing Warcraft RPG won't be fun."

Zheng Shiwei, standing nearby, chimed in, "It really is boring with just two people. Fu Liang isn't a match for me when it comes to pushing through The Frozen Throne either."

At this point, Liu Shang had already changed into a tracksuit and was getting his headphones ready.

"I'm going for a run now. Do you two want to come along?"

Seeing him like this, Fu Liang smacked his forehead, "Run?"

"On a weekend like this, why are you going for a run for no reason?"

Liu Shang smiled, "As the saying goes, what goes around comes around."

"We're ruining our bodies now, but it'll all catch up to us after 35. The Heavenly Dao cycles, and heaven spares no one."

Zheng Shiwei also burst into laughter, "Haha, your rhymes are quite good."

"Then tonight, it'll probably just be Fu Liang and me going."

"Sigh, people in love are just different! Mentally healthy, psychologically healthy, physically healthy!"

Afterward, Liu Shang walked out of the dorm building and began to jog along the paths within the vast campus.

He never realized before that this school was far more beautiful than he had imagined.

If a person's heart is dark, then the world they see lacks color.

It turned out that it was his past self who was unworthy of the peace and beauty of this school.

A moment later, with his headphones on, Liu Shang dialed Jiang Ruolin's number.

He had been busy all day and hadn't texted Jiang Ruolin much.

Jiang Ruolin, after returning home, also seemed very busy, with considerable gaps between their messages.

"Hello?"

The call was answered quickly, and Jiang Ruolin's crisp, sweet voice came through.

Hearing her voice, Liu Shang felt as if his empty day and his empty soul were instantly filled.

"Hehe, have you eaten? What were you busy with today?"

On the other end of the line, Jiang Ruolin, exhausted and agitated all day, held her phone and reclined on her comfortable bed.

She had rushed home over the weekend, ready to put out fires in case her parents found out she had a boyfriend from elsewhere.

So far, so good; no one had deliberately leaked the information to her parents.

However, quite a few people had come from all directions, indirectly inquiring and 'caring' about her.

Faced with the well-meaning advice and subtle hints from these negotiators, even Jiang Ruolin felt overwhelmed and incredibly annoyed.

"Hoo, I'm a bit tired. I haven't eaten, and I don't have any appetite to eat."

"Oh, our Princess Ruolin isn't in high spirits. What's wrong? Do you want me to come keep you company while you eat?"

Hearing Liu Shang's voice, Jiang Ruolin's mood on the other end of the phone clearly improved, "Hey, how can you be so bold?"

"I'm at home, and you dare to joke with me like this? Aren't you afraid my parents will hear?"

Liu Shang chuckled, "Judging from the tone, volume, and naturalness of your voice, I know you're alone at home right now."

"And even if uncle and aunt are home, aren't classmates allowed to show concern and ask questions?"

Jiang Ruolin on the other side smiled, her voice gentle and melodious, "But my dear classmate Liu Shang, you are not one of my ordinary classmates."

"Aren't you afraid my parents will find out and take you away from me?"

Liu Shang laughed, "Let me state upfront, no matter when, I will always be immensely respectful and reverent towards uncle and aunt."

"However, even the two of them cannot take you away from me."

"As I've said before, in this world, besides God, no one can take you away from me!"

At this moment, Jiang Ruolin couldn't help but sigh, "Goebbels said that a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth."

"But a lie is still a lie, and there will always be a moment when self-hypnosis breaks."

"Liu Shang, you have to understand, even if we exclude my parents, there are still many people who want to break us up."

"How detestable they must be."

Liu Shang, who was jogging, hesitated, then frowned and said gently and earnestly, "Ruolin, try to relax and don't pay attention to them."

"I don't want your originally orderly and happy life to be ruined by them and these trivial matters."

Perhaps because she was in a particularly bad mood and not feeling well today, Jiang Ruolin, on the other end of the phone, felt an inexplicable sense of grievance as she listened to Liu Shang's words.

She wasn't a warrior from Lu Xun's writings, able to sneer at the masses with defiance.

With her high emotional intelligence, she couldn't possibly ignore the pressure coming from all directions, nor could she directly confront them with anger.

Since they were advising her indirectly and gently, she could only express her resolve indirectly and gently as well.

In Jiang Ruolin's heart, she cherished and protected this relationship dearly.

She was afraid those people would disrupt Liu Shang's life, and at the same time, she tried to bear everything on her own, facing the doubts and opposition alone.

"Heh, are you saying we should try to relax and bury our heads in the sand like ostriches?"

"If we do that, we might be ostriches for two or three years, but what about after that?"

"The problems we need to face will have to be faced sooner or later! Unless!"

At this point, Jiang Ruolin suddenly realized that her words were too harsh.

She shouldn't be burdening Liu Shang with pressure that he shouldn't bear or that far exceeded his capacity.

But just then, Jiang Ruolin heard Liu Shang's magnetic, relaxed, yet incredibly earnest voice from the other end of the phone.

"Ruolin, you don't need to worry about any of that."

"You just need to live a peaceful life; I will carry all the burdens!"

At that moment, after hearing Liu Shang's heartfelt and powerful words, tears instantly streamed down Jiang Ruolin's face.

She had just wronged Liu Shang. It turned out he wasn't just thinking about their future together; he said that because he, like her, wanted to carry the immense pressure that he couldn't handle and that was far beyond what someone his age should face, all by himself with his own slender shoulders.

As long as you live a peaceful life, I am willing to carry the burden alone!