Chapter 42: The Concept of Acquaintance

On Sundays, the boys' dormitory 312 at the Finance Institute is generally quite quiet.

Qian Jiale and Song Fei are two internet-addicted youths, and with the addition of Yi Min, who is currently experiencing the pain of a breakup, the three of them practically live in the internet cafe.

Li Ainan possesses a natural "extra" aura; he is either borrowing a thick online-gaming novel to read or finding a quiet place to play the guitar.

It is rare today that Fu Yiming didn't go online with them, instead lying like a corpse in the dormitory.

At noon, Fu Yiming had just returned from the cafeteria with takeout, and before he could even pick up his chopsticks, he heard a "creak"—Yang Tianxing, who had gone out in the morning, had actually returned.

"Second Brother, why are you back so early? Is the work finished?"

Yang Tianxing, who usually likes to brag to Fu Yiming upon returning, kept his head down this time and replied perfunctorily, "Yeah, the work is finished."

Then he walked into the bathroom, and before long, the sound of the faucet could be heard.

Fu Yiming was a bit worried; he and Yang Tianxing were likely the closest among the guys in the dorm, and he greatly admired this younger brother of his who was both a class monitor and a vice minister. Although Yang Tianxing's studies weren't great, he was practically perfect in other aspects, even in his research on women.

"Second Brother, are you alright?"

Fu Yiming pushed open the bathroom door and saw Yang Tianxing rinsing his mouth; there was actually blood in the washbasin.

"Second Brother, what happened, did you cut your mouth?"

"Yeah, accidentally bit it myself."

Yang Tianxing replied, his speech somewhat slurred.

"Then be more careful."

Fu Yiming didn't think much of it; biting one's mouth is a very normal thing.

Suddenly, the dormitory phone rang "ring-a-ling," and just as Fu Yiming wanted to go answer it, Yang Tianxing ran out and picked up the receiver: "It should be for me."

"Hello, I am Yang Tianxing."

A crisp female voice said over the phone.

"That's me."

"How is your mouth? I think I might have bitten a bit too hard."

Fu Yiming was very close to the phone and heard this sentence too. He tried to listen to a bit more without moving, but unexpectedly, he received a knock on the head; Yang Tianxing was using lip-syncing to tell him something.

"Get lost."

Fu Yiming curled his lip and left his seat. He both despised Yang Tianxing for getting his mouth bitten by a girl and envied him for having a girl bite his mouth, while also desperately wanting to hear the inside scoop.

"Judging by the voice, she should be very pretty. I wonder how she compares to Deng Yidi."

Fu Yiming was guessing wildly in his heart; he hadn't met other beauties, so he could only use the Deng Yidi he liked as a comparison object.

Seeing that he couldn't hide it, and considering that this dog of a guy Fu Yiming was someone he could be friends with, Yang Tianxing simply stopped hiding it.

"Tan Zhizhi, you really have the nerve. After that bite of yours, I'll have to eat porridge for half a month."

Yang Tianxing muttered.

The girl on the other end of the phone laughed especially happily: "Who told you to kiss me without my permission? We aren't even a couple."

Yang Tianxing was impatient to keep this phone call going; Fu Yiming was still watching from the side, and it was just too embarrassing.

"Anything else? If not, I'm hanging up," Yang Tianxing said.

"Hmph, I want to go to the city center next week to look around; you accompany me," the pleasant female voice on the phone said.

"No time," Yang Tianxing replied without hesitation.

"Then I'll tell my dad about this tonight, and I'll also tell Aunt Gao and Uncle Yang."

Tan Zhizhi "threatened" coquettishly.

"Emmm, actually, time is like water in a sponge; if you squeeze, there's always some. Which day of the weekend?"

……………

After hanging up the phone, Yang Tianxing sat on the stool frowning; one misstep leads to eternal regret.

"I blame myself for being too reckless. Is Tan Zhizhi's mouth something you can just kiss? Our parents all know each other."

Yang Tianxing was worried; this situation was the most likely to lead to marriage right after graduation. Both families knew each other well, the children were in a "romantic" relationship, and both sides were university students—in a small city like Jinzhou, it was simply the perfect template for marriage.

But Yang Tianxing didn't want that. What about Liu Jiaoyue? What about other pretty girls in the future?

"Luckily, it's not a truly confirmed relationship yet; I'll just find an opportunity to break up with her later."

Thinking this, Yang Tianxing's mood improved a little. He turned his head and happened to lock eyes with Fu Yiming; this dog's eyes revealed an extreme thirst for gossip.

"Old Fu, you heard it?"

Yang Tianxing tossed a cigarette to Fu Yiming and asked.

"Hehe, heard a little bit."

Fu Yiming lit the cigarette and looked at Yang Tianxing with a lecherous smile.

Yang Tianxing sighed, silently lit a cigarette himself, and said: "Old Fu, women are all tigers. I suggest you become a monk in the future."

"Fart, it would be a pity for someone as handsome as me to become a monk."

Fu Yiming exhaled smoke and said indignantly.

"If you don't listen to the elders, you'll suffer. Have you read *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*? How did Yin Susu warn Zhang Wuji in it? The prettier the woman, the more of a liar she is. I'm passing that on to you too."

Yang Tianxing said, feeling that his friend was beyond help, and then he put on a stern face and said to Fu Yiming: "If today's matter leaks out to anyone in our class, I'll castrate you in the middle of the night."

Fu Yiming saw that Yang Tianxing's expression didn't look like he was joking, and his eyelids twitched involuntarily: "What if someone else leaks it?"

"I'll castrate you all the same."

……………

The next day was a new week, and Yang Tianxing had quite a few things to do this week.

First, he had to facilitate the "University Student Entrepreneurship Support Project." The big picture had already been painted by Zhang Liye; it just depended on when they could win over Sun Nan from the Youth League Committee.

Secondly, Yang Tianxing received notice that the Student Union had begun preparing for this year's freshman gala, and the Student Union leaders and cadres were all meeting up that evening.

The Student Union matters were fine; in any case, Yang Tianxing wasn't the head minister, so he just needed to complete whatever work Zhang Wei assigned.

It was just a bit difficult to communicate with Sun Nan, because Yang Tianxing's relationship with him was not yet close enough to directly ask for help in implementing a startup project.

If there could be some matter to suddenly push things along, that would be perfect.

Just as Yang Tianxing was thinking about how to create this opportunity, he received a call from his counselor, Xie Yu'an; Liu Jiaoyue's financial aid for impoverished students had been approved.

It seemed Sun Nan had indeed not lied; the money was right there in the school, and as long as the Youth League Committee's approval opinion was fine, it would be in place immediately.

For Yang Tianxing, the opportunity to foster the relationship had also arrived.

When they had class the next day, Yang Tianxing called He Yulin and Liu Jiaoyue out to tell them about the financial aid being credited to the account.

"That's great! Jiaoyue's living expenses for this year won't be a problem anymore!"

He Yulin was genuinely happy for this extremely beautiful, extremely insecure, and extremely kind roommate.

"Thank you."

Liu Jiaoyue also thanked Yang Tianxing in a low voice.

Yang Tianxing smiled and playfully made a "smack" sound at the air.

The sound was very familiar; Liu Jiaoyue immediately recalled the kiss under the moonlight by the school's artificial lake that night, and a brilliant rosy flush slowly rose on her face.

"What are you doing?"

He Yulin did not understand what Yang Tianxing meant by this.

"Oh, I'm practicing my spoken language, preparing to take a Mandarin proficiency test in the future."

Yang Tianxing spouted a random excuse, then said: "I had a little bit of credit for getting Liu Jiaoyue's financial aid done quickly and well, but Branch Secretary He's preliminary work was also very effective."

He Yulin felt a bit embarrassed; everything she had done was counterproductive, and in the end, Yang Tianxing had to clean up her mess.

"However, we must remain vigilant in times of peace and continue to maintain a good relationship with the school's Youth League Committee, so I plan to send Secretary Sun something in the name of the class to express our gratitude."

He Yulin did not understand: "Isn't this Secretary Sun's duty? Besides, we've already received the financial aid, so why should we go to all this trouble?"

"Gratitude shown afterward appears more sincere; do you know what a friendship is? It's about troubling someone first and then thanking them; only through this back-and-forth can feelings be deepened."