Chapter 455: Zhu Xiao Bei

"Just practicing blindly."

Facing Zhang Kai's enthusiastic, overly familiar questioning, Wang Yan's answer was very ordinary, the humble response of a Chinese person.

Zhang Kai laughed, then took a clear look at Wang Yan's appearance, frowned, and thought for a moment: "I seem to have seen you this afternoon. Are you a newcomer? Living next door to us, are you in the Architecture Department?"

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "We have met. You two walked past me earlier, heading straight for that girl in the denim overalls."

"Ah, haha, everyone has a heart for beauty." The two laughed together. Xu Kaiyang reached out and patted Wang Mouren's arm in a slouchy manner, saying: "Let me tell you, here we have more wolves than meat; you have to take the initiative when you see a pretty girl. Otherwise, you'll regret it later. Youth, after all, is meant to be lived to the fullest."

Xu Kaiyang's family was wealthy, so he didn't need to worry about the future; of course he wanted to live it up—he had the capital. After all, given his background and experience, it was normal for him to have such thoughts. Truth be told, he wasn't a bad person. Even later, when he made things difficult for Chen Xiao because of Zheng Wei, he didn't go too far. Hitting someone because he didn't like the look of them wasn't too heavy; it was just showing off his muscles. Not introducing a part-time job to Chen Xiao was also fine, because it wasn't a necessity; he could introduce it, or he could not. Besides that, he didn't harm Chen Xiao again, nor did he hinder him.

To put it bluntly, if Xu Kaiyang really wanted to make things difficult for Chen Xiao, he could have resorted to campus bullying. Chen Xiao was already a somewhat paranoid and isolated person; if he were scolded for no reason and beaten every few days, constantly being negated, he might have been ruined. Of course, there was also the possibility that Chen Xiao, unable to take it, would have let anger rise in his heart, held a knife in his hand, and created another campus romance suspense story...

As for Zhang Kai, he was simply heartless. They had all gotten in through their own efforts, so his learning ability wasn't bad; failing a course and being held back a year was just a bit lacking. But fortunately, this wasn't high school; he was already in university, otherwise, who knows where he'd be laying bricks.

Wang Yan nodded, didn't pick up on Xu Kaiyang's words, and carried his basin to the washroom with them. There were many people washing up along the way, and they were all attracted by his good physique. Zhang Kai and Xu Kaiyang were familiar faces and were well-liked on this floor, introducing him intimately along the way as if they were already good friends...

Just as they entered the washroom, they saw Chen Xiao, wearing a sleeveless vest, walking out with a basin. He nodded at Xu Kaiyang and Zhang Kai, then stepped aside to bypass them and walked straight away.

The three found empty spots, each at a faucet, standing in a row. Wang Yan turned on the faucet to catch the cold water: "What's the situation? When I arrived today, I saw he was in your dorm, right?"

"Hi, he's just like that, don't worry about him." Xu Kaiyang said: "Let me introduce myself, I'm Xu Kaiyang, also in the Architecture Department, one year ahead of you. He is..."

"Zhang Kai, also in the Architecture Department. We'll be taking classes together and graduating together. You'll study for four years, I'll study for five." Zhang Kai still had that cheeky look; there was no help for it, this wasn't something glorious. He could only express his indifference through the nonchalance with which he mentioned it.

"Held back?"

"What kind of talk is that?" Zhang Kai rolled his eyes and then said triumphantly: "It's that the teachers discovered I'm a good seedling, they all like me, and specifically kept me for another year."

Xu Kaiyang teased: "Then do you want to stay another year?"

"Go... what's your name, buddy?"

"Wang Yan."

Zhang Kai changed the subject very naturally: "How exactly did you train these muscles of yours? Tsk tsk, look at this build, it's no worse than those European and American stars."

Idle chatter is a circle; this was back to the beginning. Wang Yan chatted with the two of them while taking a cold shower over his head. He wasn't the only one doing this; Zhang Kai and Xu Kaiyang were also dousing themselves fiercely. They were all young, hot-blooded guys, and being stimulated by the cold water made them howl—it felt great.

After a while, Sun Mingbo and the other two also came. They were surprised that Wang Yan was already chatting with the sophomores, and then they followed suit. Except for Wang Kang who couldn't take it, Sun Mingbo and Zhou Jianguo also doused themselves fiercely.

Back in the dorm, after tidying up, the newly enrolled guys lay on their beds and started chatting.

"Hey, what do you all want to do in the future?" Sun Mingbo asked.

Zhou Jianguo said plainly: "I want to find a good job, earn more money, settle down in a big city, and then bring my parents to the city."

"Me too." Wang Kang agreed with this statement: "My sister dropped out of school early so I could study. This time when I came, to scrape together the tuition, my parents borrowed money everywhere. I have to let them live a good life. How about you guys?"

After a day of contact, he felt that the people in the dorm were all good, which is why he spoke such honest truths. After all, his family was poor, and many people were still too embarrassed to say it; it was an inferiority complex.

Wang Yan quite approved of their statements. Nowadays, having a city household registration was a big deal; many people were desperate to get into the city. As for giving back to their hometowns, bringing wealth to their hometowns, and letting the fellow villagers escape poverty—generally, at this age and in this era, those who could make such grand vows were tough people, because everyone wanted to get out.

He smiled and expressed a very spirited, albeit silly-sounding, graduation vision: "Aren't we studying architecture? I, in the future, want to build skyscrapers and have the buildings I design stand in the centers of major cities."

The curtains weren't drawn, and the light from outside shone in. In the haze, one could see his hands stretching out to both sides in the air, as if there were a great empire between his hands.

Although it was silly, Wang Kang and Zhou Jianguo were still very envious. City kids were just better; their goals were so grand, unlike them, who only wanted to earn money and let their parents and relatives enjoy life.

"Then you have to work hard. Building it yourself like you said is truly difficult." Sun Mingbo didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm, just mentioned it briefly, and then said: "I want to study abroad, go out to see the world, learn more knowledge, and come back to serve the motherland."

Going abroad, Wang Yan didn't have much of a reaction, but the other two were moved. Now they had found a topic: going abroad. Mainly Sun Mingbo was talking; he knew a lot, and it was clear he had already inquired about it. Wang Kang and Zhou Jianguo were supportive, so Sun Mingbo was very happy, giving the two of them a lecture on the spot, and also introducing the situation abroad.

In this era, wanting to go abroad was very normal, especially in such universities, where there were piles of people everywhere. The three talked happily, and they talked until the second half of the night, until they couldn't withstand the sleepiness and fell asleep unknowingly...

Young people, even if trapped by reality, are very daring to think. Wang Yan remembered that the entire college only had two public-funded spots, and this included their Architecture Department, as well as Civil Engineering and other majors; the competition was quite large. Regarding this, of course, he only had blessings.

He was happy to finally have some peace and couldn't help but let out a big yawn. Before coming, he had fought fiercely with the excited Wei Lan for half the night, and here it was another day without rest. Previously, it wasn't just their dorm talking; other dorms were also talking. Because it was still hot at night, they all kept their dorm doors open, and the buzzing was truly annoying.

With his hands behind his head, feeling the night breeze blowing through the window, he gradually fell asleep...

The next day, Wang Yan got up early as usual. The sleep time he needed wasn't long; three to five hours a day was enough. For one, he had plenty of energy, and for another, he knew how to sleep; after all, he had been sleeping for over five hundred years, and he was a dual practitioner of medicine and martial arts.

He took out the watch stuffed under his pillow and glanced at it; it was only 5:30. He didn't disturb the few boys who were sleeping soundly and dreaming big dreams, rummaged out his big shorts and a half-sleeve shirt to put on, and changed into a pair of white Warrior sneakers. Although Warrior was already on the decline, they were still very tough and were shoes with national recognition; they were not bad.

He took his wallet and threw it into his space. Everything was packed, and he left the dormitory to wash his face in the washroom, then went downstairs to greet the gatekeeper uncle. Amidst the uncle's reluctant grumbling, Wang Yan walked out of the dormitory building with a smile.

He did some simple exercises outside the dormitory building and jogged away from the school. He was studying at the Architecture College, which was on the Sipailou campus, not far from Xuanwu Lake. Obviously, running by the lake was more refreshing than running on the school playground.

Running for the first time, the speed was inevitably slower, mainly because he was looking at the scenery along the shore. A 15-kilometer lap took an hour to finish. He found a quiet place to practice two sets of boxing, and it was already past seven when he walked back.

He didn't go straight back to school but went to a steamed bun shop called "Good Luck" not far outside the school.

At this moment, the day's plans had begun, especially since this place was quite good, and there were many people eating breakfast. A plump woman with her hair tied up, looking ordinary but very simple and honest, was busy. Beside her was a tomboy who looked a bit thin, with short hair, but looked quite delicate, helping out.

Wang Yan entered the small shop on his own and shared a table with an old man: "Big sister, give me a bowl of white porridge, two tea eggs, three baskets of pork buns, and a dish of pickles."

"Alright." The big sister didn't look back, her hands didn't stop moving, and she directed the tomboy beside her: "Xiao Bei, you go get it."

The tomboy called Xiao Bei responded and nimbly started serving porridge and adding pickles...

This tomboy, who else could it be but Zhu Xiao Bei. Originally, Wang Yan intended to go to the canteen for breakfast to experience how the canteen was. It was just when he was coming back that he saw Zhu Xiao Bei busy with her sister from afar, which was why he came over.

The old man sharing the table smiled and gave a thumbs up: "Young man, you can eat; I was about the same as you when I was young."

"Grandpa, you're impressive." Wang Yan returned the gesture with a thumbs up.

He took a look; the buns were southern-style small steamed buns, not northern-style big meat buns; they were one bite each. In fact, with his appetite, eating these wouldn't fill him up. Basically, most of the time, he was never truly full; it was for health, after all.

Eating these now was already enough to surprise people. After all, he was a young man, not someone working at a construction site, which always made people click their tongues in wonder. If he were to eat freely, and not just once or twice, but every meal, that would be even more shocking. His daily food intake was controlled within a commonly defined range of being able to eat, so that ordinary people could accept it and wouldn't be too surprised, and wouldn't stare at him like a monkey.

"Young man, looking at your face, and this height and build, you're not from around here, right?"

Wang Yan shouted, and again gave a thumbs up: "Grandpa, good eye. My hometown is in the Northeast, and I got into the university here."

Everyone likes to be praised. The old man showed off in front of the young man and laughed heartily: "I guessed it. Southeast University is a good university. You were able to get in, that's impressive. Your future is limitless, you must study hard."

"Thank you, Grandpa."

Hearing the conversation between the two, the busy plump big sister paused, looked at Zhu Xiao Bei who was getting things on the side, and then continued to be busy as if nothing had happened.

Just as she turned her head back, Zhu Xiao Bei turned her head to look at her, then carried the porridge in one hand and the bowl with two eggs in the other, and walked to Wang Yan's table in a few steps: "Buddy, I heard you say you're also from Southeast University? What major?"

After saying thank you, Wang Yan was appropriately puzzled: "Also? I'm in the Architecture Department. Are you also from Southeast University?"

"Ah, yeah." Zhu Xiao Bei nodded brightly, revealing her small white teeth: "I'm in Civil Engineering, my name is Zhu Xiao Bei, we're all in the same college."

"Hello, hello, my name is Wang Yan." He looked at her puzzled again: "This early in the morning, are you working and studying?"

"No, this is my sister's shop. There are many people in the morning, so I came over to help." Zhu Xiao Bei went back and carried three baskets to the table: "We're all classmates, come and support the business more in the future, I'll give you a discount."

"Easy, easy."

The old man sharing the table said to Zhu Xiao Bei again: "Girl, you're sensible. You should also study hard, you'll have a future. It's just your hair, you should grow it out, looking like a tomboy isn't good."

Zhu Xiao Bei touched her head and laughed: "I'm shaving my head to show my ambition, to study hard."

"Look, I told you long ago, let you grow your hair and you won't." At this time, Zhu Xiao Bei's sister turned her head, looked at Wang Yan and the old man sharing the table, and the customers who were listening to them, and smiled: "This child is just stubborn, I've told her several times and she won't listen."

"Old man is just saying it casually. It doesn't matter if you don't grow long hair, kids nowadays all talk about personality, my grandson is the same." The old man also knew he was worrying too much, waved his hand to change the subject: "Where are you from? Is it just you two sisters running this bun shop?"

"We are from Hebei Province, and we are the only two left in the family..." Big Sister Zhu didn't continue, and this already revealed a lot.

This old man was also idle, asking questions for no reason. After all, it was a newly opened bun shop, and the old man was likely living nearby, just chatting casually. How could he have imagined that by asking a casual question, he would bring out such tragic sisters.

With only the sisters left to rely on each other, that meant their relatives were all gone. Looking at the situation now, it should be that their parents died early. After all, if their parents hadn't died late, Big Sister Zhu should have been married at her age. Now that the two sisters were running the bun shop together, it meant that the sister was not easy to find a partner because she was carrying a burden. So the situation was that Big Sister Zhu had worked hard for so many years and finally sent Zhu Xiao Bei to university. And then the two sisters came to Jin Ling together...

Big Sister Zhu was a good one, and Zhu Xiao Bei was a promising one; this was the answer the old man got. He was silent for a long time, laughed heartily and said: "Little girl, it wasn't easy for your sister to send you to this point, you must study hard."

Zhu Xiao Bei still scratched her head and laughed: "Thank you, Grandpa." She turned her head and continued to be busy.

Now it was quiet, no one spoke, and everyone was immersed in the tragic past of the sisters in their imagination, unable to extricate themselves.

Of course, he couldn't let the atmosphere be so silent, because for the Zhu sisters, it would be even more heartbreaking. Wang Yan acted like a fool, looked at the old man sharing the table who was a bit embarrassed with a smile: "Grandpa, I just arrived in our Jin Ling yesterday, and I haven't even been out of my hometown before. I read in a book that our Jin Ling is the ancient capital of six dynasties. Is there any place I can see without spending money?"

Once he said this, the old man's spirit came up, and he started to introduce Jin Ling City enthusiastically, and didn't forget to tell Zhu Xiao Bei, saying what stories were in which places, very enthusiastically. Some people eating on the side also added a few words, and the atmosphere became active.

While laughing and talking, Wang Yan didn't forget to eat big mouthfuls. After finishing quickly, he greeted: "Pack me three more bowls of white porridge, six baskets of buns... take them back for my roommates. They slept until the second half of the night, and they probably haven't woken up yet. I'll buy some breakfast and take it back to build a relationship with my roommates. How much is it?"

Zhu Xiao Bei looked at Wang Yan suspiciously, wanting to find out in his eyes if he was pitying her, but all she saw was depth.

"Eh?" Wang Yan waved his hands back and forth: "Calculating the bill? What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, sorry. Maybe I got up too early, a bit distracted." She smiled, turned to start packing things in plastic bags, and didn't forget to calculate the bill: "It's 10.5 in total, just give me 10, I'll give you a discount, come often in the future."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile, took out his wallet from his pocket, pulled out a 10-yuan note and handed it over: "Thanks."

"You're welcome, we're all classmates. Even if you don't come often, I'll give you a discount." Zhu Xiao Bei handed over the packed things, her hands supporting the handle of the plastic bag: "It's hot, be careful."

"Leaving."

"Bye-bye."

Seeing Wang Yan's tall back swaying away, while no one was patronizing, Big Sister Zhu whispered: "Xiao Bei, sister made you lose face in front of your classmates..."

"No, sister, you're just overthinking. We're earning money honestly, what's there to be ashamed of?" Zhu Xiao Bei smiled: "If you have that time, you should think about yourself. I'm already in university, you should find me a brother-in-law, right? That one from when we were in our hometown before..."

"Oh my, when was that? Don't worry about me. Sister is now hoping that you study hard, and when you have a future, you can let sister enjoy life."

"That's for sure, sister. You don't know me yet, I guarantee we'll live in a big house..." ===== CHAPTER 456 =====