Chapter Forty-Four: Doggerel for the College Entrance Exam

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Liu Ruoyi consciously took her seat beside Long Fei. This act alone was enough to ignite a burning fury in the hearts of several young men who had only moments ago looked down on Long Fei. In their eyes, Long Fei was neither particularly handsome nor did he possess any discernible charm—how could he possibly attract a beauty like Liu Ruoyi? Of course, their definition of “charm” consisted mainly of bleaching their hair in garish shades of yellow, white, or green, tattooing themselves with inexplicable patterns, piercing their ears, and ideally hanging a ring from their noses—all in the name of individual style.

“Ahem, well, everyone can come up and introduce themselves. Who wants to go first?” Wang Gengsheng had barely finished speaking when nearly ten people shot to their feet.

Their enthusiasm caught Long Fei off guard.

“By the way, I didn't expect us to be in the same class,” Liu Ruoyi whispered, her heart pounding as she caught Long Fei’s mischievous gaze lingering on her. She quickly lowered her voice, feeling flustered.

Long Fei’s eyes seemed as though they wanted to pierce through Liu Ruoyi’s pink dress. He was dying to ask if she had chosen the wrong major—just look at the other girls in the class, each dressed more provocatively and alluringly than the last. But Liu Ruoyi was the outlier—wrapped up tightly, her figure enticing enough to drive Long Fei mad, yet not revealing the slightest hint of skin to fuel his fantasies.

Smacking his lips, Long Fei felt a wave of desire threaten to rise within him. He drew a deep breath and grinned shamelessly. “Yes, and we even ended up as desk mates. Yesterday, we said we’d see each other again, and today, here we are. It must be fate. Don’t you think there are immortals in this world? I do. I think it’s as if some celestial beings arranged for us to meet, don’t you agree?”

Long Fei was truly thick-skinned. Even as Liu Ruoyi’s face flushed crimson, he persisted in his playful, ingratiating chatter, determined to bind himself to her with words. In fact, he was only a step away from declaring, “We’re a match made in heaven.”

“The teacher’s watching us,” Liu Ruoyi warned, glancing up nervously. Their homeroom teacher, Wang Ziguo, was eyeing them with a half-smile, which made her anxious, so she hurriedly signaled Long Fei.

But Long Fei was unfazed. He had no intention of earning a diploma here, so Wang Ziguo meant nothing to him. He glanced indifferently at the teacher and replied nonchalantly, “Don’t worry about him. By the way, how about having lunch together?”

Liu Ruoyi hesitated. She knew very well what Long Fei was thinking, and she didn’t actually dislike him. In fact, when she heard his invitation, her heart fluttered with a hint of delight. But if she agreed so easily, wouldn’t it make her seem too forward?

When Liu Ruoyi didn’t answer, Long Fei grinned, shameless as ever. “Oh, I get it. Silence means consent. I know girls these days are shy. What’s that word? Oh right, reserved!”

“I—” Liu Ruoyi’s cheeks were still bright red as she shot Long Fei a reproachful glance.

Long Fei quickly cut her off. “No need to thank me. I think we’re really fated, aren’t we? I know you want to thank me for yesterday, and lunch is a great opportunity. Alright, I’ll give you this chance. And don’t worry, I’d never let a girl pay—it just wouldn’t be gentlemanly, would it?”

Knowing she couldn’t outtalk him, Liu Ruoyi simply stayed silent. But Long Fei overheard a pair of students whispering nearby: “That guy is shameless!”

“And that girl isn’t much better!” a female voice added.

“Well, she’s not so bad,” the boy muttered defensively on Liu Ruoyi’s behalf.

Having secured their lunch date, Long Fei stopped teasing Liu Ruoyi. There would be plenty of time for that in the days to come.

The self-introductions at the front of the room were a spectacle in themselves. If Wang Ziguo hadn’t imposed a strict time limit, a few eloquent students might have talked through the entire class. University students, it seemed, were in a league of their own, with all kinds of clever ideas. Still, compared to Long Fei’s introduction, everyone else’s made them break out in a cold sweat.

Long Fei’s introduction was as follows: “Long Fei. Male.”

Just two words, with the third (“male”) almost unnecessary. Yet, for all its brevity, that introduction ensured no one would forget him. When Long Fei strode up to the podium and gave a wicked smile, many female students found themselves momentarily spellbound. Who would have thought that the seemingly ordinary Long Fei could look so captivating when he smiled? How could one person possess such a stark contrast in temperament?

After Long Fei, it was Liu Ruoyi’s turn. Her introduction was a bit longer, but because she spoke so softly, with her head bowed and her face flushed, perhaps only Long Fei, with his extraordinary hearing, caught every word.

Though most people couldn’t make out what Liu Ruoyi said, when eight male students and Wang Ziguo all applauded, the other girls had no choice but to join in. Whether their applause was in celebration of the introduction’s end or simple admiration for Liu Ruoyi, no one could say.

Wang Ziguo managed the time well, and the first class ended amid a round of applause.

During the following periods, Wang Ziguo read out the university’s rules and unwritten codes, elected class representatives—with Long Fei receiving zero votes and Liu Ruoyi only eight—and announced the upcoming month-long military training. By the end of four classes, the students had begun to get acquainted. The three boys who’d paired up were busy bonding with their seatmates, while four others, still without partners, started lowering their standards and searching for prospects among the class.

Just moments before, it was “better none than the wrong one,” but once they found themselves truly lacking, their requirements dropped to nothing. As one student put it: “Before the college entrance exam, we were pent up with all that competition. Now, after finally getting into university, even a sow starts to look cute.”

Over the course of the morning, Long Fei’s relationship with Liu Ruoyi developed rapidly. Not only did he learn that Liu Ruoyi was from Hubei, but that she had a younger sister, and that their entire family’s livelihood depended on her father working as a laborer at a construction site in Shanghai—a hard life, indeed. Knowing all this, Long Fei felt even more tenderness for her.

Sometimes, falling in love with someone happens in a single instant.

True love, after all, has no reason.