Chapter 193

Mai Sui's eyes were bright as she looked at him, saying nothing.

Li Heng said: "Actually, nothing is absolute; it varies from person to person. You should know Song Yu's temperament. If I didn't push forward and stick to her, given my current relationship status, she might be scared away."

Mai Sui asked: "Then did you make any progress with her on this trip to Jingcheng?"

Li Heng nodded and then shook his head: "Sigh, there was some initially, but after going around in circles, we're back to square one. But overall, there were still gains."

Mai Sui guessed: "Was it Chen Zijin who stirred things up?"

Li Heng tilted his head and stared at her for a long time, finally saying dejectedly: "I say, Comrade Mai Sui, can you not be so smart?"

Mai Sui blinked, imitating his usual manner, and said with a gentle smile: "This has nothing to do with being smart; this is something I could have guessed before you even left."

Looking at the seductive figure so close at hand, Li Heng felt the alcohol rising sharply, his head becoming increasingly muddled: "It is indeed something one could guess; Zijin is sensitive in this regard."

Mai Sui asked with concern: "The two of them didn't have a falling out, did they?"

Li Heng shook his head: "Song Yu has always been soft-hearted."

Mai Sui sighed: "That is also her weakness."

What kind of weakness?

Both of them knew it well.

After chatting in bits and pieces for about ten minutes, Li Heng, with the alcohol taking effect, gradually fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing this, Mai Sui stood up, took a quilt from the bedroom to cover him, and feeling that the day was getting cold, closed the doors and windows.

After finishing all this, she went to the small attic outside.

She liked this attic very much, which was also the reason she was so attentive to Li Heng's renting of the place. Sitting here, she didn't have to think about anything or worry about anything; during the day she watched the scenery and the skyline, and at night she looked up at the starry sky, carefree and at ease.

She occasionally thought that if the sound of an ocarina could drift from Building 25 across the way, it would be even more perfect.

It is said that the autumn wind brings coolness early in the night; as the night deepened, the chill grew increasingly heavy, and she eventually had to return indoors.

I don't know how much time had passed, but when Li Heng woke up, he found that Mai Sui hadn't gone to the bedroom but was reading under a desk lamp. Perhaps fearing the light would disturb him, she had deliberately shifted slightly to the right.

Sensing movement, Mai Sui looked up, their gazes meeting for two seconds, "You're awake."

"Yeah."

"How do you feel? Are you better?"

"Much better, though my head is still slightly swollen."

Hearing this, Mai Sui put down her book, stood up, and said: "Shall I help you rub it?"

Li Heng waved his hand and sat up by himself, "No need. What time is it?"

Mai Sui lifted her right wrist to check: "1:34."

"God! It's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?" Li Heng yawned, only then noticing he was covered with a quilt.

"I'm quite energetic and didn't feel sleepy, so I went to your study to find a book." As she spoke, Mai Sui poured him a glass of warm water: "People who are drunk are always thirsty when they wake up; drink some water."

Li Heng said thank you, took the water, and said: "I am indeed thirsty. You know so much."

"My father has many friends outside and often comes home drunk. Every time he wakes up, my mother gives him a glass of warm water. I learned it from watching her so much," Mai Sui said, speaking from experience.

Li Heng praised: "Whoever marries you in the future will truly be blessed by the accumulation of eighteen generations of ancestors."

Mai Sui teased: "You were saying in the kitchen yesterday that whoever marries me would have to eat out every day."

Li Heng: "..."

A pretty good girl, beautiful and kind-hearted, sigh, it's just that she's a bit of a grudge-holder.

After finishing the warm water, Li Heng remembered something and asked: "It's your birthday next week, is there any gift you particularly want?"

Mai Sui looked at him, "Anything is fine."

Li Heng nodded upon hearing this, then headed toward the bathroom: "I'm going to take a shower. It's not early, you should get some rest too. Thank you for tonight."

Watching him enter the shower, Mai Sui returned the quilt from the sofa to the master bedroom, then went to the adjacent guest bedroom, closed the door, and lay down on the bed.

Showering, brushing teeth, washing hair, plus washing his underwear, Li Heng stayed in the shower for nearly 15 minutes before coming out.

At this time, everything outside was silent. Passing the guest bedroom, he deliberately peeked at the door crack; no light was shining through, so it seemed Comrade Mai Sui was asleep.

Hanging his underwear on the balcony, Li Heng stood by the railing for a while, suddenly thinking it would be nice to have an astronomical telescope; in his spare time, he could study the vast universe and starry river.

Once the thought arose, he felt a sudden impulse; he must buy one tomorrow or the day after.

After staying outside for ten minutes, he was finally blown in by the sea breeze. God knows what's going on; just a few days ago he could wear short sleeves, and suddenly it had become freezing cold.

Before closing the door, he glanced at the small building at No. 25 across the way. A week had passed; he wondered how the English teacher's recovery was going.

Having lain on the sofa for several hours, he was now completely devoid of sleepiness. Li Heng shook his head, entered the study, sat quietly for a while, and then began to read and write.

He first finished the book he hadn't completed yesterday, about 90 pages or so, which took nearly an hour.

Afterward, he spread out his manuscript, unscrewed his fountain pen cap, and hunched over the desk to write.

Perhaps because it was the dead of night, his inspiration was particularly good. And so, the tip of his fountain pen danced across the white paper with a "swish-swish-swish," and in one breath, he filled over ten pages.

If it weren't for the fact that his wrist was aching from the continuous, focused writing, he could have written even more.

Rubbing his sore wrist, Li Heng, with a clear mind, didn't walk away but instead carefully reviewed the manuscript, savoring it word by word to catch any errors or omissions in time.

Tonight he wrote a total of about 8,000 words. Because he revised it so meticulously, it took him a full two hours to finish.

When he put down his pen and let out a long sigh, his entire spirit suddenly collapsed; the alertness was gone, replaced by exhaustion.

It wasn't physical sleepiness, but mental depletion. Li Heng put down his pen, filed the manuscript into the drawer, tapped his temples with his right hand, and walked out of the study.

By this time, it was already broad daylight outside. The girl in the guest bedroom next door was probably still asleep, as there was no movement.

Thinking about it, it was understandable; she had accompanied him until so late last night, and at such an age where sleep is plentiful, once asleep, how could she wake up so easily?

Not wanting to disturb her, Li Heng simply brushed his teeth and washed his face, then left Lushan Village, jogging to the playground according to his daily habit, and even joining in when he encountered people playing basketball.

Not to mention, after all these days, those men who played basketball early in the morning had all gotten to know each other. Although they didn't deliberately ask about each other's personal situations, they would smile and greet each other when they met.

Among these men, most were students, with a few teachers mixed in.

In the middle of the game, Li Heng grabbed a rebound and wanted to make a long pass to a teammate, but unfortunately, he was pressed too hurriedly and used too much force; the basketball flew off the court as if it had eyes, precisely hitting a girl on the head.

He originally wanted to run over to apologize, but discovered it was Liu Yue from his own class, with another strange girl in green sitting next to her.

The girl in green was a bit annoyed; she first glared fiercely at Li Heng, then kicked the basketball in another direction with great force, and asked Liu Yue with concern: "Are you okay?"

Liu Yue rubbed her eyes and said half-squinting: "I'm fine, you scared him."

The girl in green asked: "Do you know each other?"

Liu Yue shook her head coolly.

The girl in green expressed her opinion: "With so many people on the court, I suspect this boy did it on purpose. Why hit anyone else? Why hit you? He must be trying to approach you with such low-class tactics. Don't even think about it; we've seen too much of this."

Liu Yue watched Li Heng dribble and shoot, her face expressionless, saying nothing.

After playing for about 20 minutes, Li Heng was a bit tired and switched out to rest. In this interval, two girls took the initiative to chat him up.

At this moment, the girl in green was even more certain of her thoughts: "Girls are leaning over one after another shamelessly, like lovesick fools. Could it be that he hired actors to show how popular he is, just to get your attention?"

Seeing Li Heng turn his head to look over, Liu Yue smiled and lowered her head to stare at a cluster of grass in front of her. A while later, after her friend finished nagging and she looked up again, Li Heng was already gone.

On the other side.

Before leaving, Li Heng had originally wanted to greet Liu Yue, but seeing her lowering her head and unwilling to speak to him, he extinguished the thought and walked straight toward the cafeteria.

It was still that same noodle window; he ordered a bowl of fish noodles.

The auntie had an impression of him and said excitedly: "Last time you gave 40 cents, and I gave that female student two bowls of beef noodles one after another. Originally, that girl didn't want them, but I stubbornly didn't take her money."

Li Heng said sincerely: "Auntie, thank you."

When he reached out to take the fish noodles, he asked casually: "Did that girl come today?"

"She came, she already finished eating and left," the auntie said.

It was the peak of breakfast time, and there were many people. After searching for a long time, he finally found a seat. Unexpectedly, just as he sat down, Sun Manning came rushing over from the other side.

She asked: "I went to find Mai Sui this morning, and her roommate said she didn't return to the dormitory last night. Was she at your place?"

"Yeah."

Li Heng talked about the hotpot last night, "I got drunk, so I didn't go back."

Sun Manning listened very unhappily, her eyes filled with malice: "With such a good thing, can you tell me in advance next time? You leave me out every time. I'm telling you, I'm starting to suspect if you two are doing bad things behind my back?"

Li Heng lifted his eyelids: "Bad things? What bad things could we do? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

"Tsk tsk! Am I that kind of person? How thick-skinned must one be to say such things! I don't know who it is that's stepping on three boats at once," Sun Manning teased.

Li Heng rolled his eyes: "Fine, fine, you can question my character, but you should believe in Comrade Mai Sui."

Sun Manning said: "I naturally believe in Mai Sui, but she is 'Little Wang' now, with such great fame and popularity, I'm just afraid you won't be able to control yourself."

Forget it, it seems this girl's image of him as a playboy is deeply ingrained. Seeing this, he was too lazy to waste his breath, "I don't know if she's up yet. Later, you buy some breakfast and go find her. I'm going to the vegetable market to buy mutton to make mutton hotpot at noon to reward you. Don't say I always leave you out, deal?"

"Hmph! That's more like it." Sun Manning was extremely satisfied with his performance.

After finishing the noodles and buying another breakfast, the two left the cafeteria together.

Sun Manning asked: "By the way, today is the weekend, why aren't you going to the Medical University to find Xiao Han?"

"I have something to do tonight, I'll go tomorrow," Li Heng said.

Passing Nanjing Road, Sun Manning pulled him to a bulletin board and pointed to the various notes inside: "Look, look! One 'Big Wang', three 'Little Wangs', Mai Sui's name is here."

Li Heng leaned in to look; there were no fewer than 20 anonymous notes. People were truly bored.

After observing carefully, he really discovered Hu Ping's handwriting, but that guy wasn't the source; he had just followed the trend and posted it later.

In the notes: Hu Ping praised Wei Xiaozhu the most and expressed affirmation and approval for Zhou Shihe and Mai Sui being selected as Big and Little Wangs. But he put six question marks after Liu Yue's status as the head of the Little Wangs, clearly very unconvinced.

After reading it once, Li Heng couldn't help but laugh: Who would have thought, Old Hu is also petty, holding a grudge over Liu Yue throwing away his love letter.

Sun Manning pointed at the note and asked: "Do you recognize this handwriting?"

"Yeah, a roommate of mine, the one who was punished with 150 laps during military training. Do you remember him?" Li Heng said.

"Oh, that handsome guy, I remember now. He was very prominent during military training. Is he pursuing Wei Xiaozhu?" Sun Manning's brain turned fast, and it didn't take long for her to guess the truth.

Li Heng gave a thumbs up, "As expected of a top student who could get into Fudan, impressive!"

Sun Manning raised her head, showing pride, and then asked: "This Zhou Shihe is from your Management School, have you seen her in person?"

Li Heng shook his head: "I've been busy reading and writing, no time to wander around."

Sun Manning put her hands behind her back: "That's true, you really don't have time. When I go to find Mai Sui one day, I'll take a look and see just how beautiful she is. A 'Big Wang'? Can she really be better than Song Yu?"

As they chatted, the two separated at the fork in the road ahead, with Sun Manning going to Lushan Village.

Li Heng headed to the vegetable market outside.

Somewhat unexpectedly, he met Sun Xiaozhang upon entering, "Principal, are you buying groceries too?"

Sun Xiaozhang nodded and asked with a kind smile: "How is the rental? Are you satisfied?"

"Very satisfied, thank you." Li Heng was sincere, not being hypocritical.

Sun Xiaozhang said kindly: "That's good. I've been following your books; they're getting better and better, they have flavor. Keep it up, don't feel pressured."

"Eh, alright." Li Heng responded.

They stood and chatted for a while, then someone called out to Sun Xiaozhang not far away, and the two separated.

Before parting, Sun Xiaozhang patted his shoulder lightly, "The rent is a bit high, don't hold any resentment. Come to my office before you graduate."

Li Heng didn't know what medicine the old principal was selling in his gourd, but he agreed anyway.

Hu Ping encountered a love rival.

After lunch, Li Heng read in the study for several hours. When he returned to Dorm 325 right on time, he heard this news.

I wonder if it's a coincidence?

It is said that the love rival is also Hu Ping's high school alumnus, with a trajectory basically the same as Hu Ping's. First, he took a fancy to Liu Yue, but not only was his love letter torn to shreds by Liu Yue in person, but he was also slapped. Later, I don't know what happened, but he simultaneously set his sights on Wei Xiaozhu with Hu Ping.

After listening, Li Heng couldn't help but ask: "Liu Yue is that fierce? Did she really hit him?"

"She hit him, in the Student Union meeting room. Many of us saw it with our own eyes," Zhou Zhangming said. He was in the Sports Department of the school's Student Union.

According to Zhou Zhangming's description: Before the meeting, Liu Yue tore up the love letter and slapped him in front of many people in the Student Union, and also threw out a sentence: "A dog travels a thousand miles to eat shit!"

Tang Dailing asked: "Just writing a love letter, it shouldn't lead to being hit, right? Is she that ruthless?"

Li Guang chimed in: "I know, I know about this. According to Zhou Min, this Liu An is indeed quite annoying. Not only does he send love letters frequently, but he also goes to the girls' dormitory building No. 12 every few days to have the dormitory auntie call her. Sometimes he calls two or three times a day. He must have angered Liu Yue."

"If that's the case, he really deserved the beating. What happened later?" Zhang Bing asked curiously.

Zhou Zhangming said: "There is no 'later'. I don't know for what reason, but Liu An didn't dare to fight back, didn't even say any harsh words, and left on the spot. Then today's incident happened."

(End of chapter)