Chapter 13: Do You Need to Consider It?

Tan Zhizhi was wearing an elegant, knee-length nightgown, her damp hair draped over her shoulders; she must have just showered. She was very pretty, though a bit dim-witted, and it was quite a while after walking out of the school gate that she noticed Yang Tianxing.

She said fiercely, "What is it? Calling me out so late, I was already getting ready for bed!"

In truth, after not seeing Yang Tianxing for so long, Tan Zhizhi felt both aggrieved and happy, though she herself couldn't explain why she felt this way.

"Just brought you some fruit. Military training is pretty tiring, right?" Yang Tianxing said with a grin.

Tan Zhizhi still said coldly, "I don't need you to care! When we were picking up our admission letters, you even pretended not to know me!"

"Didn't I explain that? I got beaten to a pulp by Empress Gao that morning."

"And then at the class reunion later, you didn't talk to me either!"

"Didn't you reject me? If I said too much, it would cause misunderstandings for others."

"You haven't contacted me once since arriving in Chang'an." Tan Zhizhi didn't actually know why she wanted to say this; she just felt very aggrieved. She was alone in an unfamiliar environment, and her roommates weren't very friendly, so when she saw Yang Tianxing, the grievance in her heart slowly erupted.

However, before Yang Tianxing could speak, a voice came from the side to greet them: "Is Zhizhi on a date with her boyfriend?"

Yang Tianxing turned his head to see a girl who looked chubby and cute, with a pair of dark, glistening eyes and very fair skin, like a freshly peeled water caltrop, asking the question.

Dating outside at this hour, it was highly likely they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Tan Zhizhi saw her too; the person asking was her roommate, Jiang Yuxin, and there were several other roommates beside her. Tan Zhizhi was just about to deny it.

Who knew Yang Tianxing would react even more intensely, waving his hands repeatedly: "Don't misunderstand! Tan Zhizhi and I are high school classmates; I just came to see her."

Watching Yang Tianxing's earnest expression as he defended himself, Tan Zhizhi felt inexplicably heartbroken.

Jiang Yuxin was the girl who had looked at Tan Zhizhi with ill intent on the first day of registration. Seeing the change in expression on Tan Zhizhi's face, she asked deliberately, "Then which school is this handsome guy from? Can you introduce him to me, Zhizhi?"

As soon as Yang Tianxing heard this "manipulative talk," he knew Tan Zhizhi probably wasn't having an easy time with her dormitory relationships.

"I'm from Chang'an Finance Institute," Yang Tianxing said with a grin, taking over the conversation.

The other roommates lost their desire to talk as soon as they heard "Chang'an Finance Institute." The Finance Institute was far inferior to Jiaotong University, and their minds hadn't shifted yet; they were still stuck in the phase of judging people by their test scores.

Jiang Yuxin, however, didn't mind at all and said with a smile, "I'm Jiang Yuxin, a local from Chang'an. What's your name, handsome?"

Yang Tianxing glanced at the sidelined Tan Zhizhi and said, "My name is Yang Tianxing. Beauty Jiang, let's chat another time. Tan Zhizhi's dad has something he wants me to pass on to her."

Jiang Yuxin nodded, took out paper and a pen, and wrote down her phone number: "This is our dorm's landline number. Student Yang, feel free to call anytime."

"No need."

Tan Zhizhi finally couldn't hold back anymore and directly helped Yang Tianxing refuse: "If Yang Tianxing calls, he can only reach me; he knows my mobile number."

Jiang Yuxin rolled her glistening eyes, walked up, stuffed the note with the phone number directly into Yang Tianxing's hand, and then skipped away.

Tan Zhizhi looked at Yang Tianxing, her eyes slightly reddened.

Yang Tianxing smiled to himself; Tan Zhizhi's roommate seemed to be a handful.

How Tan Zhizhi wished Yang Tianxing would throw the note away, but unfortunately, Yang Tianxing tucked it into his pocket.

In that instant, Tan Zhizhi felt she was about to lose Yang Tianxing, even though she had never possessed him, and had even rejected him.

She held back her tears, preparing to leave, but Yang Tianxing grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing!"

Yang Tianxing said with a cheeky grin, "Still throwing a little tantrum?"

Tan Zhizhi didn't want to pay him any mind and struggled to pull away.

"University dorms—the relationships are actually very hard to handle. They're much more complex than in high school; you have to be cautious in your words and actions."

Hearing this, Tan Zhizhi stopped struggling and slowly relaxed her tension.

"In short, if you have any problems in the future, just come to me."

Hearing the concern in Yang Tianxing's words, Tan Zhizhi's heart stirred slightly, but remembering his act of taking the note just now, she still felt incredibly sad.

"Got it. You should go back now."

Tan Zhizhi urged him, against her own heart.

In such an unfamiliar environment, having stayed for a few days, so far from home, and having been wronged, Tan Zhizhi actually wanted to stay a while longer with the cocky Yang Tianxing.

Yang Tianxing gazed at Tan Zhizhi's beautiful profile, thinking that between his past and present lives, he had been in love with Tan Zhizhi for six whole years.

From a certain perspective, Tan Zhizhi almost represented the entirety of Yang Tianxing's youth.

Even though he had changed his mindset and thoughts after being reborn, he couldn't truly just ignore Tan Zhizhi, which was why he had gotten off the bus at the gate of Chang'an Jiaotong University.

"After all, I've liked you for a long time. Besides, if my confession had succeeded, you would be my girlfriend, and I should take care of you more."

Yang Tianxing's tone was sincere; Tan Zhizhi was touched and couldn't hold back her tears.

"Then why do you keep making me sad?"

Tan Zhizhi cried very aggrievedly this time, as if she wanted to vent all the grievances of the past few days, the homesickness, and the sadness of Yang Tianxing taking so long to come see her. Moreover, to avoid being heard by others, she could only suppress her voice.

A pretty girl looks good even when she cries.

Tan Zhizhi sobbed, her long eyelashes covered in teardrops, looking as clear and beautiful as a lotus emerging from the water; the teardrops seemed to linger on her fair skin, reluctant to fall.

"You, you even hid another woman's phone number."

On an impulse, Tan Zhizhi added this sentence.

Tan Zhizhi was confused too; Yang Tianxing actually had nothing to do with her, and he could hide anyone's number, but Yang Tianxing turned his pocket inside out to prove it: "I actually threw it away."

Tan Zhizhi took a peek; there was indeed nothing in his pocket, and she felt slightly better.

Seeing Tan Zhizhi's attitude soften, Yang Tianxing said, "Let's go for a walk then."

Tan Zhizhi nodded in agreement.

"Where did you buy your grapes and cherries? They don't have them inside the school."

Tan Zhizhi looked at the fruit in Yang Tianxing's hand and felt very happy.

"Ran to the Fresh Fruit Supermarket to buy them."

Yang Tianxing was smoking, and he exhaled a puff of smoke as he spoke.

"Little Yang."

Tan Zhizhi was very touched inside: "These fruits are quite expensive, don't buy them in the future."

Yang Tianxing thought to himself that there probably wouldn't be a future; the main thing was that school had just started and he hadn't had a chance to get close to Liu Jiaoyue, and once he had the chance later, they probably wouldn't even be seeing each other.

"As long as you like them, that's all that matters."

Yang Tianxing said, saying one thing while meaning another.

Tan Zhizhi looked at Yang Tianxing with a complex expression, and the two strolled through the campus of Jiaotong University; the study atmosphere at Jiaotong University was much better than at the Finance Institute, the study rooms in the teaching buildings were brightly lit, and under the campus streetlights, there were students reading English aloud.

Yang Tianxing sighed in his heart: "This is the gap between schools, whether it's teaching quality or student caliber; if we were at the Finance Institute right now, there might be couples in the small woods nearby exploring the secrets of each other's body structures."

"What are you talking about?"

Tan Zhizhi, who was walking in front, turned her head to gaze at Yang Tianxing.

Under the moonlight, Tan Zhizhi's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and the silvery moonlight seemed to drape a light veil over her.

Yang Tianxing was a bit dazed from watching, and Tan Zhizhi hurriedly turned her head away, leaving only her slender back.

"Ahem."

Yang Tianxing coughed once and said: "You must remember what I said just now about dormitory relationships."

"I know."

Tan Zhizhi responded somewhat dejectedly; it seemed the complex relationships in university dormitories had exceeded her expectations.

"What about you? Do you have any plans or intentions lately?" Tan Zhizhi asked.

"Me?"

Yang Tianxing thought for a moment and said it wouldn't be bad: "I want to seriously pursue a girl."

Tan Zhizhi's back paused noticeably: "Is that girl very pretty?"

"In all these years, I haven't met anyone prettier than her," Yang Tianxing said.

Considering Liu Jiaoyue's figure, appearance, and temperament, even Tan Zhizhi could only be considered a tie.

"In all these years?"

Tan Zhizhi repeated it silently; how old was Yang Tianxing? Didn't that mean since before he was in university?

She continued to ask: "What if that girl only wants to study and still doesn't accept you?"

"At worst, I'll just wait for her; anyway, I won't give up."

Yang Tianxing said resolutely.

"What if her parents don't agree?"

Tan Zhizhi's voice suddenly trembled a little as she spoke.

Yang Tianxing thought to himself, he remembered that Liu Jiaoyue's parents had died early, so how could they disagree?

"It doesn't matter if they don't agree, as long as she agrees, that's enough."

There was another long silence, and just as they were about to walk back to the bottom of Tan Zhizhi's dormitory building, she suddenly said as if she had made up her mind: "Tianxing, thank you for your kindness, but I need to consider it seriously."

After Tan Zhizhi finished speaking, she didn't give Yang Tianxing a chance to refute and went straight upstairs.

Yang Tianxing stood frozen in place: "I'm trying to pursue Liu Jiaoyue, what the hell are you considering?"

"Forget it, let it be a misunderstanding."

Yang Tianxing took the slip of paper with the phone number written on it out of his other pocket: "Just consider it compensation for deceiving her."