The next evening, Jiāng Jǐngyǎn went to the school's flower shop to buy a bouquet of roses. He bought them for what purpose? Of course, to apologize to Lín Yúyú. Occasionally letting a girl experience the feeling of insecurity will make her care about you more and be more obedient, but too much will have the opposite effect. His roommate, Zhāng Wénruì, saw Jiāng Jǐngyǎn holding a bouquet of roses and asked him, "Jiāng Jǐngyǎn, what are you doing? Are you planning to pursue Senior Wen? Sending roses is too cliché!"
"It has nothing to do with Senior Wen. I'm going to see my other girlfriend!" Jiāng Jǐngyǎn replied with a smile. "Are you planning to tag along and be a third wheel?"
"Are you trying to juggle multiple girls? Be careful you don't capsize your boat and drown!"
"Don't worry, I can swim!"
"It's the swimmers who drown."
Another roommate chimed in, "Jiāng Jǐngyǎn, have you heard of the saying, 'If there are no women in your heart, your sword will naturally be free'?"
"Heard of it, so what?"
"What I mean is, stay away from women, and you'll be flawless!"
Jiāng Jǐngyǎn was dismissive. "The original saying is actually this: 'Let there be no women in your heart,' not 'Don't have women around you.'"
For a moment, Zhāng Wénruì and the other roommate were left speechless.
...
...
Jiāng Jǐngyǎn arrived at the edge of the sports field and saw Lín Yúyú standing under a lamppost from afar. A gentle breeze rustled her hair, and the light dappled her snow-white dress, making her resemble the "white moonlight" people spoke of—pure and beautiful. Jiāng Jǐngyǎn smiled playfully, walked quietly behind her, and then suddenly covered Lín Yúyú's eyes.
Lín Yúyú was startled, and just as she was about to cry out, she caught a familiar scent. The scent made her feel very safe. It was Jiāng Jǐngyǎn's. Even after not seeing him for several days, she could recognize it immediately.
"Jiāng Jǐngyǎn, you scared me!" Lín Yúyú pouted, her tone tinged with slight dissatisfaction.
Jiāng Jǐngyǎn was puzzled, not understanding how Lín Yúyú recognized him. "How could you be so sure it was me?"
"Because you have a faint scent of mint, but it's a little different, so I recognized you!" Lín Yúyú added, fearing Jiāng Jǐngyǎn might misunderstand, "I… I'm not a pervert, nor am I a little puppy."
Jiāng Jǐngyǎn nodded. "I understand. You're the legendary female knight-errant."
"Huh?" Lín Yúyú blinked, not understanding what Jiāng Jǐngyǎn meant. "I can't fly over walls!"
"A female knight-errant doesn't necessarily have to fly over walls. There's a skill called 'recognize a man by scent.' I didn't expect my Yúyú to be able to 'recognize a man by scent.'"
"I… I'm not yours! Don't talk nonsense!"
"If you're not mine, whose are you?"
"Lin's."
"Understood. In the future, you'll be Jiang's…" Jiāng Jǐngyǎn changed the subject. "Little stutterer, I'll do a magic trick for you."
"What magic trick?"
Jiāng Jǐngyǎn took out a tissue (magic paper) and a lighter. He then unfolded the tissue and waved it in front of Lín Yúyú, signaling her to watch carefully. Lín Yúyú blinked, her eyes fixed curiously on his hands, not knowing what magic trick he was planning.
"Watch closely, don't blink," Jiāng Jǐngyǎn said mysteriously. Then, he used the lighter to ignite a corner of the tissue. The flame quickly spread, and the tissue turned to ash in the fire. However, just as the flame was about to extinguish, Jiāng Jǐngyǎn's hand gave a gentle flick, and a vibrant rose grew from the ashes.
Lín Yúyú's eyes widened, and she stared at the scene in disbelief. "How… how did you do that?"
"I'll teach you when I have the chance," Jiāng Jǐngyǎn said, raising an eyebrow proudly, and handed the rose to her. "Yesterday, my roommate dragged me out to eat. This flower is for you, as an apology for what happened yesterday."
Lín Yúyú had felt a little uncomfortable yesterday when Jiāng Jǐngyǎn mentioned he had plans with friends, wondering if they were male or female. Now, hearing that Jiāng Jǐngyǎn had gone out for a meal with his roommates, the small knot of unease in her heart disappeared.
Lín Yúyú took the rose, her cheeks flushed slightly. She lowered her head and sniffed its fragrance, a smile naturally appearing on her lips. She looked up and said softly, "It's okay. After all, you need to maintain good relationships with your roommates."
At this moment, a couple not far away witnessed Jiāng Jǐngyǎn's magic trick. The woman tugged on her boyfriend's hand and pouted, "Honey, I want you to do a magic trick for me too."
The man shook his head helplessly. "Stop fooling around!"
The woman pouted. "When was I fooling around? Just tell me if you'll do it or not!"
The man sighed. "I can't do it."
The woman stomped her foot in anger. "You're not even half as romantic as him. Break up!"
The man got angry too. "If I were as handsome and romantic as him, I wouldn't be interested in you. Break up, fine!"
Jiāng Jǐngyǎn and Lín Yúyú watched this scene, their eyes wide, not knowing what to say for a moment.
"Better to tear down ten temples than ruin one marriage. I'm afraid I'll go to the eighteen levels of hell after I die," Jiāng Jǐngyǎn sighed.
"No, you… you just helped that boy see the true face of that girl. You didn't do anything wrong."
"Even if this didn't happen today, that girl would have found something else to complain about, like 'He has a sports car, why don't you?'"
Jiāng Jǐngyǎn smiled. "What about you? If someone better than me appeared, what would you choose?"
Lín Yúyú replied, "Once you have a boyfriend, you should keep your distance from other boys, don't say good morning and good night to them, reject their confessions directly, cherish him properly, and never compare him to others. That's the right way."
Jiāng Jǐngyǎn watched Lín Yúyú talking to herself, a sense of guilt rising within him. How could such a girl with such strong three views end up with someone like him, whose heart was in pieces?
"So, you admit I'm your boyfriend?"
"Hehe…" The girl giggled. "I'll tell you later!"
A moment later, Jiāng Jǐngyǎn said softly, "Little stutterer, how about we take a walk?"
Lín Yúyú softly replied, "Mm."
They walked under the plane tree avenue, their hands occasionally brushing against each other. Jiāng Jǐngyǎn observed Lín Yúyú from the corner of his eye. Seeing that she didn't resist, he took her small hand. The girl's hand was soft, as if boneless.
"Jiāng Jǐngyǎn!" Lín Yúyú suddenly stopped and looked at him, her gaze firm and sincere. "I want to ask you, do you… do you truly like me?"
"Of course, it's genuine!" Jiāng Jǐngyǎn nodded without hesitation. Any hesitation would dishonor the title of "scumbag man." As he spoke, he kept looking at Lín Yúyú, his eyes filled with tenderness and affection. Words could lie, but eyes could not. Seasoned players in love know that affection can be faked, and Lín Yúyú, not even a beginner, naturally couldn't tell if Jiāng Jǐngyǎn's affection was fake.
"I also want to ask, how long will you like me…"
"How long will I like you?" Jiāng Jǐngyǎn took the girl's hand and placed it on his chest. "I won't say I'll like you until my heart stops beating, because I don't know if I'll exist in another form after death. I only want to say to you, my liking for you is like 3…"
"I… I know," the girl said, hugging Jiāng Jǐngyǎn. Her heart felt as sweet as honey.
Jiāng Jǐngyǎn checked the time. It was 9:30. It was almost time for dorm inspection.
"I'll walk you back to your dorm."
"Mm."
On the way to Lín Yúyú's dorm, they passed a small grove. Suddenly, two people, a man and a woman, ran out from the grove.
Lín Yúyú looked puzzled. "Why did they come out from there?"
"It's better if you don't know. I'm afraid it will corrupt you!"
The more Jiāng Jǐngyǎn didn't want to say, the more Lín Yúyú wanted to know, as human curiosity is very strong. She hugged Jiāng Jǐngyǎn's arm and acted coy. "Ugh… Just tell me!"
"You really want to know?"
The girl nodded. Jiāng Jǐngyǎn smiled and then leaned close to her ear. "They were…"
After hearing him, Lín Yúyú's face turned so red it seemed like she was about to bleed. "Shameless."
Jiāng Jǐngyǎn smiled, thinking Lín Yúyú was truly innocent.
"I forgot to tell you, during the National Day holidays, my father wants me to bring you back to Songshan City."
"Na-National Day?" Lín Yúyú's voice suddenly became a stutter. Her cheeks flushed slightly. "Is… isn't it too soon? I… I'm not ready."
Not ready? Was she already considering herself a daughter-in-law of the Jiang family?
"What do you mean not ready? You've met my parents before!" Jiāng Jǐngyǎn said with a smile, ruffling her hair, his tone teasing.
"That's different…" Lín Yúyú lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum. Before, she called them Uncle and Auntie; next time they met, she'd have to call them Mom and Dad. How could that be the same? That was Lín Yúyú's thought, which she naturally wouldn't voice.
They talked as they walked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the foot of Lín Yúyú's dormitory building. Jiāng Jǐngyǎn stopped and said softly, "We're here. You go up first."
"Jiāng Jǐngyǎn, this is my answer to you!" Lín Yúyú stood on her tiptoes and quickly pecked Jiāng Jǐngyǎn's lips before turning to flee. However, before she could complete her movement, Jiāng Jǐngyǎn pulled her into his arms. He pried open the girl's lips and unscrupulously drank in her breath. Lín Yúyú felt her whole body go weak, as if all her strength had been drained away, and she almost collapsed into his arms. Every time she was close to suffocating, Jiāng Jǐngyǎn would guide her to breathe, and then he would cover her lips again. This was hardly the kissing technique of an eighteen-year-old boy.
"Cough… cough…" The deliberate cough from the dormitory supervisor not far away seemed to remind them to stop.
"I… I'm going back up," Lín Yúyú abruptly pushed Jiāng Jǐngyǎn away, her face as red as a ripe apple, and ran into the dormitory building in a fluster.