Chapter 110: The Sour Spring

Deng Yidi hunched over as she sat in the passenger seat, smiling at Yang Tianxing as she closed the door.

She was actually quite happy, not expecting to run into Yang Tianxing while waiting for the bus; this way, she didn't have to squeeze onto the bus, and secondly, the two of them had the chance to chat alone in such a cramped space.

Yang Tianxing's eyelid twitched, however, thinking to himself that it was a good thing he hadn't promised Xiao Zhiliao that only she could sit in the passenger seat, otherwise, if another hair were found, they would have to argue again.

He leaned against the car to finish his cigarette, and upon sitting inside, his nose was filled with the scent of cosmetics.

This was Deng Yidi's personal trait: a preference for heavy makeup, a mind more mature than the average college student, and a way of speaking that carried a womanly sexiness.

"After twenty-five, you'll be another social butterfly."

Yang Tianxing glanced at Deng Yidi; in terms of appearance, Deng Yidi was even prettier than Le Mingrong.

Yang Tianxing had been thinking about things the whole way; Deng Yidi had originally been waiting for Yang Tianxing to take the initiative to speak, but later felt it wasn't very reliable, so she made small talk: "I want to apply for the campus radio station in a few days; I have to leave some memories behind in my four years of college."

"That's a good thing."

Yang Tianxing nodded and said; Deng Yidi's Mandarin was good, and her voice had a slightly low, husky quality—he didn't know how many boys' late-night dreams she would become.

"I know the student union cadres at the radio station; I'll put in a good word for you when the time comes."

The radio station was a subordinate body of the Youth League Committee, and Yang Tianxing was one of their own now.

Deng Yidi giggled: "Thanks, you can be considered a successful person in school—you have connections, you have businesses, you have a mobile phone, and you even have a car."

"And a pretty girl."

Deng Yidi leaned over and whispered.

Yang Tianxing leaned away slightly because Deng Yidi was so close that her breath was hitting his face when she spoke.

"Connections are useless once you leave school, the house isn't mine, the car is borrowed, and strictly speaking, the phone can only be considered something issued by my superiors; only the pretty girl is my own."

Noticing Yang Tianxing's act of avoiding suspicion, Deng Yidi sighed faintly: "I thought that after a year, you would be willing to look my way."

"When I have a day where I've lost the will to live, I'll date you," Yang Tianxing said with a grin.

Actually, being with Deng Yidi was quite relaxing; Yang Tianxing didn't have to be too cautious when he spoke.

Sure enough, Deng Yidi wasn't angry either, instead saying quite seriously: "Let me guess, when you don't want to live anymore, it might just be because you accidentally had a child with some woman, but you don't like that woman."

Yang Tianxing was stunned for a moment, not expecting Deng Yidi to bring up this perspective.

"If there really is such a day, you come find me."

"Find you for what?" Yang Tianxing asked curiously.

"I'll help you raise the child."

Deng Yidi looked at the night scene outside the window: "I don't want to date or get married in the future, and I don't want to work after graduation; I just want to open a coffee shop or a flower shop. I don't want men, because none of them are any good, and I don't want to have children, because I'm afraid of the pain."

Deng Yidi's thinking was quite avant-garde; this was the mindset of many girls more than a decade later, but while that was caused by the era, for Deng Yidi, it was caused by her complex experiences.

"Alright, if there really is such a day, I will come find you."

Yang Tianxing just took it as a joke.

"It would be best if it's a daughter; I like girls."

Deng Yidi actually looked expectant.

After returning to school, Deng Yidi thanked him and got out of the car, and Yang Tianxing also returned to the dormitory; he didn't take the conversation to heart.

……………

After March, the whole country indeed began to impose martial law, and all sorts of rumors were endless in the news.

Fortunately, in this respiratory illness, Guangdong and Yanjing were actually the most severely affected; many universities had already begun to seal off their campuses, but Qinhan Province, located in the center of the country, had no suspected cases, and the suburbs of Chang'an were even safer.

However, not a single preventive measure was skipped; banners for "wash hands often, ventilate often" appeared all over the Finance Institute, and if any student showed signs of headache or fever, they were immediately sent for a timely check-up.

The news said that disinfecting with white vinegar was very effective, so He Yulin specifically came over to suggest using class funds to purchase it and distribute it to every dormitory.

Although Yang Tianxing knew nothing would happen, he didn't want to be unconventional, and other classes were doing the same, so during this period, the entire Finance Institute was filled with the sour smell of boiled white vinegar evaporating.

"The spring of 2003, no birds singing, no flowers fragrant; everyone is a vinegar jar."

In the 101 Startup Base, Yang Tianxing helplessly looked at the small electric stove in the middle, on which sat a porcelain bowl filled with white vinegar, "gurgling" and bubbling with white foam, the whole room "fragrant" with white vinegar.

The part-time college students coming and going all wore masks, each of them leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.

Yang Tianxing suddenly discovered that some people were actually quite good-looking with only their eyes showing.

But pretty people are always pretty, for example, Liu Jiaoyue.

"Drink, drink the Banlan Gen."

Liu Jiaoyue brought over the prepared Banlan Gen granules.

Yang Tianxing looked up; Liu Jiaoyue also only had a pair of eyes exposed, pure and clear, but the slightly upturned corners of her peach-blossom eyes hooked out a special charm.

If nineteen-year-old Liu Jiaoyue held her head high, how many girls at the Finance Institute would have to lower theirs?

"The taste is too awful, I don't want to drink it."

Yang Tianxing waved his hand and continued looking at the financial report; although the courier business had also been affected, Yang Tianxing now had two lines of business, and the income from the electronic equipment manufacturing plant was earning more than the school courier service.

Liu Jiaoyue stood by with the bowl for a while, and seeing that Yang Tianxing was ignoring her, she silently sat back down in front of the computer.

After a while, once the Banlan Gen had cooled, Liu Jiaoyue heated it up on the electric stove for a bit, brought it over again, and said softly: "Drink, drink the Banlan Gen."

Yang Tianxing had no choice: "If I don't drink it, are you going to ask me every so often?"

Liu Jiaoyue didn't speak, but her attitude was roughly that meaning.

"Fine, fine, fine, you win, I'll drink it."

Yang Tianxing picked up the bowl and drank it in one go; fortunately, Banlan Gen was a traditional Chinese medicine ingredient, so drinking a little wouldn't have any side effects.

After watching Yang Tianxing finish it, Liu Jiaoyue washed the bowl clean and put it back into her small cloth bag.

This kind of scene played out every day recently; Liu Jiaoyue probably knew that Yang Tianxing was too lazy to drink Banlan Gen, so she brought her own bowl and granules, reminding him on time with a packet every day.

"Liu Jiaoyue still has her own persistence when it comes to these matters of right and wrong."

Yang Tianxing thought to himself: "She used to be so obedient in small matters, it seemed like she didn't mind, so she listened to me in everything."

Thinking about it this way made him seem a bit petty, and Yang Tianxing couldn't help but blush.

He glanced at Liu Jiaoyue, who still appeared delicate and weak, speaking in a soft, low voice, sometimes still blushing and stuttering, and even lightly stamping her feet when unhappy.