Chapter 399: Didn

mayiwsk

A group of classmates squatting on the ground, discussing ancient and modern affairs while ogling beauties, had ostracized Li Ye out of envy and resentment—even Chen Sihai, who had just applied two liang of hair oil, moved over ten meters away.

Things that forcibly feed dog food to singles have always been damn hateful since ancient times.

Sun Xianjin squatted with Li Ye at the gate for over ten minutes and felt increasingly uncomfortable.

"Bro, let's go! They've got a point—we both have partners, so staying here just invites jealousy."

"Pfft, even if we weren't here, they'd still have no chance—a bunch of cowards, wasting good hair oil."

Li Ye despised these cowards—why waste time if you've got the heart but not the guts?

Don't blame Li Ye for looking good and stealing your spotlight—look at Ma Ali, didn't he solve his love life back in college?

Most college students in the 1980s still had very thin skins.

Just now in the dorm, Sun Xianjin told Li Ye, "A pretty girl had five guys helping her move luggage," but that wasn't true.

The real situation was: "A pretty girl had five guys wanting to help her move luggage," but the vast majority stopped at just "wanting."

Even though Chen Sihai borrowed pants and applied hair oil like a peacock ready to spread its tail, when a beautiful girl actually walked past him, he lacked the post-era guy's guts to ask for WeChat.

Only when a girl came over to initiate conversation would Chen Sihai and the others suddenly burst with enthusiasm.

But if you're too shy to make the first move, how can you expect a girl to come flirt with a grown man?

Why did "unrequited love" become popular in later eras? It was all because youthful pride and reserve ruined the matchmaker's thread.

How many people only realize in middle age that if they'd just taken the initiative back then, they wouldn't have missed that girl—and wouldn't carry that lifelong regret?

"Bro, look—Wen Leyu."

After waiting half an hour, Sun Xianjin suddenly pointed in shock toward the gate.

Li Ye frowned: "Aren't you 1. vision? How'd you spot her from that far?"

Sun Xianjin stood on tiptoe, glancing as he replied casually: "She stands out like a crane among chickens! Wen Leyu and Pei Wenhui are that striking—I couldn't miss them. And look at the girl with them—she looks like a movie star."

Li Ye glanced at Sun Xianjin and said coolly: "Your girlfriend Bian Jingjing isn't bad-looking either. Should I call her over and compare?"

Sun Xianjin stared at Li Ye blankly, then shook his head violently like a bobblehead.

His girlfriend Bian Jingjing looked demure on the outside, but in reality—this fiery Heilongjiang guy who never backed down—was a quail in front of her.

But Wen Leyu and the other two girls truly drew everyone's gaze.

All three girls had beauty ratings above 9. , dressed uniformly in youthful, fashionable styles that stood out sharply among the new students,

and in an era where blue jeans were still trendy, the youth outfit Li Ye had designed for Fan Xiuling from memory was essentially a beauty multiplier for all age groups—both students and teachers couldn't help but stare multiple times.

So Sun Xianjin was right to call them a crane among chickens.

Li Ye stood up and walked toward them; his little follower Sun Xianjin followed right behind. When they reached the group, Fu Yiruo was surrounded by a cluster of international students.

Unlike Chen Sihai and the others' reserve, some international students were far more "gentlemanly"—elegant, articulate, reaching out immediately to take Fu Yiruo's suitcase.

Even when Fu Yiruo clutched her suitcase tightly, even when Pei Wenhui said she knew the enrollment procedure, they smiled and insisted, "Making a woman sweat is a gentleman's disgrace."

But then those students suddenly felt as if they'd been rammed by a wild ox.

Li Ye moved like a biological tank activating its "Charge" skill, barging rudely between them to take Fu Yiruo's suitcase.

Several students shoved aside were instantly annoyed.

"Hey, what are you doing, classmate?"

"Hey, how's that possible?"

Li Ye glanced at the tall, muscular international students and said coolly: "Did you shower? You reek—didn't you see you've already made the girl sick?"

"You're lying—"

One student had barely finished his rebuttal when he saw Fu Yiruo covering her nose with a pale hand, clearly holding her breath as if truly repulsed by their body odor.

That was too embarrassing.

It's summer—showers are easy, and washing twice a day isn't that bad, right?

Li Ye didn't care whether they were embarrassed or not.

Though he didn't want to condemn everyone, some scumbags exploited the knowledge gap between mainlanders and foreigners, messed with girls for a few years, then walked away, ruining their lives.

Li Ye remembered watching Wang Zhiwen in a drama called "Just Once," where a beautiful girl got tricked by a foreigner.

Literature comes from life—if TV dares to show this openly, it's not baseless.

Li Ye shoved the men blocking his way aside, then led Fu Yiruo, Pei Wenhui, and Wen Leyu away, leaving behind a sea of resentful stares.

"Who was that guy?"

"You don't know Li Ye? He competed in the International College Debate."

"What's his attitude like?"

"Hmm, he's always been like this."

After they'd walked far away, Wen Leyu and the others burst into laughter.

Wen Leyu chuckled: "Li Ye, you're too much. Don't insult people by exposing their flaws—you just publicly accused them of stinking!"

Pei Wenhui laughed in Li Ye's defense: "Bro isn't insulting them—he's just telling the truth. They really do stink."

Fu Yiruo smiled too, then said to Li Ye: "Bro, you don't need to be so aggressive next time—I can handle it myself. If it causes a fight, it'll be bad."

Li Ye waved his hand: "You're new to the mainland—you don't understand. Don't give those guys any hope. First, women fear being pursued relentlessly; second, gossip spreads fast.

Learn from Xiao Yu—she used to get dozens of love letters every month, but hasn't received one in over half a year."

Pei Wenhui: "."

Fu Yiruo: "."

Sun Xianjin, lagging ten meters behind: "."

Finally, Fu Yiruo smiled and said: "Xiao Yu doesn't get love letters anymore because of you, right? And weren't you the one who chased her in the first place?"

Fu Yiruo defended Li Ye, fearing he'd offend Wen Leyu with his bluntness—but Wen Leyu simply followed her husband's lead: "No, we clicked instantly—clean, straightforward, no back-and-forth chasing."

Fu Yiruo stared at Wen Leyu for a long moment, then sincerely told Li Ye: "Bro, your wife is your blessing—a fortune you earned in eight lifetimes."

Li Ye grinned, eyes half-lidded: "Of course. When fortune comes rushing at you, you can't dodge it—you don't even want to dodge it—hey!"

Wen Leyu was annoyed again and swiftly kicked Li Ye with her calf.

"Why didn't you dodge? Try dodging once!"

Li Ye and Sun Xianjin carried all three girls' luggage into the dorm, completing today's escort duty.

She trusted that under Wen Leyu's guidance and Pei Wenhui's care, Fu Yiruo could easily avoid those clueless lotharios.

But when the two returned to their own Room 209, several people immediately surrounded them.

Chen Sihai grinned and offered a cigarette: "Li Ye, smoke?"

Li Ye slowly shook his head: "Old Chen, you know I quit smoking."

Hu Zhiming, who'd just shaken hands with Li Ye, handed him an orange: "Freshly bought—try one."

I'll eat your damn orange.

Li Ye pushed the orange away and said coolly: "What do you want?"

Chen Sihai smiled: "Li Ye, the girl beside your wife at the gate today—you know her, right?"

Li Ye replied coolly: "That's Pei Wenhui—you know her."

Chen Sihai shook his head: "I know Pei Wenhui. I mean the girl in the pale yellow dress."

Li Ye gave Chen Sihai a cold glance: "She's an overseas student—she'll go back. So stop daydreaming. Isn't being practical better?"

"Li Ye, that's not right. Pei Wenhui's only dating a student from Gongda—you know that, right? So you don't need to worry for them—it's perfectly normal."

"If overseas students are dating mainland girls, why can't we date overseas girls?"

"Exactly! I heard from my Gongda classmate that Pei Wenhui often drives to pick up that guy named Dayong, even took him to Hong Kong! Why should our Jingda girls always go to foreigners?"

Li Ye laughed coldly.

When that classmate mentioned "travelling to Hong Kong," Li Ye clearly noticed the shift in their eyes.

Those not living in this era don't understand how intense the "overseas fever" was—Yu Minhong's entire class had only him left on the mainland; how desperate were they to leave?

A 1980s graduate from a top-tier university once lamented that at one reunion in North America, nearly his entire class had gathered in America.

Only a few slots were available each year for government-sponsored study abroad—how many per class? How did they get them?

So it's no surprise people coveted opportunities like Pei Wenhui's and Fu Yiruo's.

"I know who Pei Wenhui's dating—she was the one who confessed first, and only then did the guy agree.

So just wait patiently. If she's not interested, we mainland men should stand tall—we don't need to beg for attention, right?"

Li Ye's words were harsh.

College students in the early 1980s had strong pride—how could you say "beg for attention"?

"Knock knock knock."

As everyone fell awkwardly silent, someone knocked on the dorm door.

Class advisor Mu Yunning called softly from outside: "Li Ye, Sun Xianjin—are you in the dorm?"

It was summer, so Mu Yunning didn't push the door open, fearing something inappropriate inside.

Li Ye replied: "We're here, Professor Mu—wait a sec!"

Without being told, Chen Sihai, Wu Runfu, and the others hurriedly gathered up their drying underwear.

But Mu Yunning said: "I'll wait downstairs—hurry down."

"Coming, coming!"

Li Ye and Sun Xianjin followed Mu Yunning downstairs, finding a shady spot to talk.

Mu Yunning asked directly: "Did you two cause trouble at the gate just now?"

Sun Xianjin blinked, then blurted: "We didn't cause trouble—we went to meet a new classmate we know."

"Know him?"

Mu Yunning asked Sun Xianjin: "Do you know that new international student?"

Sun Xianjin could only look at Li Ye: "Li Ye knows him."

Li Ye, seeing Mu Yunning's skeptical gaze turn toward him, had to say: "Yes, I know that girl. She's close with Pei Wenhui, and Pei Wenhui's boyfriend is my childhood buddy, so we all know each other well."

"Also, Teacher Mu, can you tell me who came to complain? A whole group of people surrounded that little girl, making it impossible for her to leave, yet they still dare to complain about us?"

Mu Yunning waved her hand: "It's not exactly a complaint. Excessive enthusiasm is indeed off-putting. I'll make sure to convey your side clearly to them."

Li Ye felt a spark of anger and said at once: "You'd better say a few more words to them—don't use the name of love as an excuse for harassment."

Mu Yunning looked at Li Ye calmly for a long moment, then suddenly spoke.

"Li Ye, don't interfere with others' freedom under the guise of your own good intentions—especially when it comes to love."

Even after Mu Yunning left, Li Ye still didn't understand the meaning of her words.

But Sun Xianjin whispered to Li Ye: "Teacher Mu has a point. If no one had interfered back then, she'd probably have kids running around by now."

Li Ye looked at Sun Xianjin in surprise: "Who told you that? You can't spread rumors like this!"

"Tsk."

Sun Xianjin tsked and said: "Lots of girls in the dorm know. Back then, Teacher Mu lived in the dormitory too."

The upperclassmen told the underclassmen, the underclassmen told those who came later—so the story got passed down from one generation to the next."

"Teacher Mu's family background was probably good, and her grades were excellent. Her family valued her highly, so when she started dating a boyfriend, they opposed it."

"Later, to help her boyfriend feel proud, she gave up her own overseas study slot to him. She was the top candidate; he was second."

"But last year, when he was supposed to return home, he didn't come back. Don't you think if her family hadn't opposed it, none of this would've happened?"

"Hah, you've got it backwards."

Li Ye laughed bitterly: "If Teacher Mu hadn't given up her study slot back then, she'd probably have kids running around by now!"

(End of chapter)