“A Mr. Sun asked me to give this to you.”
“Sun? Who is that?” Hua Jie raised an eyebrow.
“He’s already left,” the doorman said with a nod and a smile, then ran back to his post.
Hua Jie looked around but didn’t see anyone.
With a plane to catch, she had no choice but to grab her things and board the vehicle.
“Who is it this time?” Qian Chong asked sourly.
“I don’t know, they said his surname was Sun.” Hua Jie raised an eyebrow.
“Sun? Do you know anyone here by that name?” Qian Chong pressed further.
“No, I didn’t know anyone before coming here—oh, could it be Sun Qian?” Hua Jie suddenly realized.
As she spoke, she began to open the package.
“I hope it’s not a bomb or sulfuric acid or something. Be careful,” Qian Chong’s first reaction was surprisingly similar to the first time Hua Jie received a gift from Sun Qian.
He leaned back, trying to dodge.
But what Hua Jie unwrapped was a pair of silver earrings.
“…” Hua Jie frowned, “Can I really accept this kind of thing?”
She searched the box and indeed found a small note, neatly written:
【Thank you for what you told me at Tsinghua campus. I will continue to work hard and try again next year. —Sun Qian】
“Wow… This guy is thanking you?” Qian Chong peeked at the note.
“Can you keep it down for a second? Someone’s getting a gift and you’re making a fuss,” Fang Shaojun kicked Qian Chong’s heel from behind.
It was interrupting her rest.
“You’re just jealous because you didn’t get a gift, right? Look at Hua Jie, she comes to a competition, gets special local products from the third place, earrings from the ninth. And you’re the champion, wow, you really don’t make yourself likable,” Qian Chong retorted without backing down.
“Shut up!” Fang Shaojun straightened up and glared, her face flushing unnaturally.
Hua Jie looked at the earrings in the small bag, smiled slightly, and tucked them into her backpack.
Next year she would be stronger, and she wouldn’t give Sun Qian any chance to catch up!
…
When boarding the plane, Hua Jie struggled to lift her large bag overhead due to her height.
Suddenly, a pair of slender white hands appeared from behind, supporting the bag she was struggling with. The hands reached up on tiptoes and easily pushed the bag into the overhead compartment.
Turning around, Hua Jie realized it wasn’t Qian Chong who helped her with the bag, but Fang Shaojun.
The proud girl then bent down to pick up Hua Jie’s suitcase, grunted as she lifted it with effort, and shoved it into the overhead compartment.
After finishing the good deed, Fang Shaojun didn’t even glance at Hua Jie; she just bowed her head and walked past her to take her seat according to her ticket.
“Thanks a lot.” Hua Jie said cheerfully, straightening her clothes before sitting next to Fang Shaojun.
“Hmm,” the Miss responded, turning her head to look out the window as if she was impatient to talk to Hua Jie, but her feet tapped lightly on the floor twice, unable to hide a hint of lightness.
Qian Chong made his way from the back, noticing that Hua Jie’s luggage was already stowed.
“Huh? You could reach that yourself?” He asked curiously.
“Fang Shaojun helped me put it up,” Hua Jie said proudly.
“…” Qian Chong widened his eyes, deliberately showing a look of exaggerated surprise.
“You really bought too little, huh? You come all the way to Beijing and you don’t even buy some gifts for your parents? Even sold a painting, yet so stingy.” Qian Chong took a seat across the aisle, glancing at the luggage rack above Hua Jie’s head.
What she had brought, she was taking back.
“Hmph.” Hua Jie scoffed disdainfully.
“What? Not happy about it? Even I, as thoughtless as I am, bought something for my mom,” Qian Chong boasted.
“I spent over ten thousand yuan on things I couldn’t carry, so I hired a truck to send everything directly to my home in Jinsong,” Hua Jie glanced at him smugly.
“???!!!” Qian Chong was dumbfounded.
Fang Shaojun, sitting to the left, also turned her head back and raised an eyebrow at Hua Jie.
Was this shopping?
Hua Jie was practically stocking up.
…
Before the plane took off, Hua Jie quietly pulled out her phone and typed a few lines:
【I’m flying back now! Bought lots of gifts for Little Teacher Shen and my good deskmate, Mo. Wait for them, young man!】
…
After a long journey, she finally arrived in Jinsong.
As the train pulled into the station, Hua Jie was too excited to sit still in the carriage, bouncing and peering out the window.
Everyone began to organize their packages and check their belongings.
Before Qian Chong even stood up to grab his bag, Fang Shaojun had already helped Hua Jie take down her large backpack and suitcase.
“Thank you, Big Sister Fang!” Hua Jie called out with a smile.
Over these days, she had grown unafraid of Fang Shaojun. Although Fang was still somewhat indifferent to her, she would help her fetch hot water, buy extra snacks to share with her, and even call her to join her if she was scared to go to the bathroom at night.
Although her facial expressions seemed a bit cold and aloof.
But in her actions, she was like a considerate boyfriend.
“What are you yelling about?” Fang Shaojun turned and glared at her, her tone much gentler than when she scolded Qian Chong, though still stern.
“Haha, thanks, Little Sister Fang~” Hua Jie laughed, her eyes squinting happily.
“It was nothing.” Fang Shaojun muttered under her breath, then turned away to quietly organize her things, her cheeks flushing a bit, thankfully obscured by her loose hair as she looked down.
As everyone prepared to queue to get off the train,
Fang Shaojun suddenly turned back to ask Hua Jie:
“Do you accept being the runner-up?”
“It’s okay, after all, you’re pretty strong too. But…” Hua Jie looked at Fang Shaojun, feeling she should express her true thoughts: “However, in literature there is no first place, and in martial arts no second. Painting is like writing, right?”
“Hmph, nice words, but you just can’t accept it, can you?” Fang Shaojun said.
“Do you think I could fully accept it?” Hua Jie raised an eyebrow, her smile fading into a look of confidence in her own artwork.
In the arts, no one feels they are lesser than another.
“Then come chase me,” Fang Shaojun stood straight, defiantly.
Hua Jie paused, then smiled broadly:
“Alright, just you wait.”
The train doors opened, and a breeze blew in.
It fluttered through Fang Shaojun’s hair and lifted Hua Jie’s bangs.
The two spirited young women exchanged one last look, smiling together, then turned forward and stepped off the train.
…
Outside the train station, Hua Jie’s parents were there to pick her up, eagerly scanning the crowd for their daughter.
Shen Mo also stood there with his hands in his pockets. Well, he claimed he was there to pick up his dad, though whether Hua Jie’s parents believed him was another matter.
As Hua Jie emerged, she immediately set down her luggage and dashed into her mother’s arms.
Hua’s mother hugged her tightly, having missed her dearly after such a long separation, and couldn’t help but show her emotions, kissing her daughter on the cheek.
Then, she noticed that her daughter, whom she thought might have lost weight from homesickness, had actually… gained weight?
She pushed her daughter back a bit to get a better look, and indeed, she had put on a few pounds!
Is the food in Beijing really that good?
Shen Mo glanced at Hua Jie and then walked over to Shen Jiaru, casually taking the lightweight bag his father was carrying.
“Did you come to pick me up?” Shen Jiaru asked with raised eyebrows, his tone filled with disbelief.
“Yep.” Shen Mo replied, then turned his head back towards Hua Jie.
After enough warm greetings with her parents, Hua Jie stepped out of her mother’s embrace and turned to retrieve her backpack and suitcase, only to find that Shen Mo had brought them over.
“Thanks, deskmate!” Hua Jie stood still, smiling at him.
A few days apart, and he seemed to have grown taller?
“Didn’t you say you had a ton of gifts? Where are they?” Shen Mo glanced at her suitcase and backpack, which looked just as they did before she left.
Were they just filled with her clothes and other personal items?
Where would there be room for gifts?
This girl, what a trickster!
“Of course, there are gifts!”
Hua Jie reached into her backpack and pulled out a bestselling book meant for him.
“?” Shen Mo took a quick look, just one book?
Then, he watched as Hua Jie pinched a leaf from the book and handed it to him: “A leaf from the capital, Beijing. The most perfect one among thousands at the Forbidden City, please accept it.”
“…” Shen Mo, “I’m about to show you my angry face, believe it or not!”
“Hahaha! Why are you so unromantic? A leaf from Beijing, brought over mountains and rivers just for you, isn’t that precious?” she asked.
“It’s nothing about mountains and rivers; you just slept through two rides on the plane and train.” He continued to glare at her.
“Hahahaha!” Hua Jie burst into laughter. This guy was so lacking in sentimentality. In romance novels, the male lead would be moved to tears and carefully preserve the leaf.
He was clearly not cut out to be a romantic lead, perfectly suited instead for a tragic antagonist role.
“…” Shen Mo continued to glare at her, then started to wonder if she really just gave him a leaf.
His frown deepened, then he sighed and reluctantly accepted the leaf.
So stingy!
She was really stingy!
“No, just kidding.” Hua Jie quickly handed him the book as well, “This is a bestseller from the Beijing Xinhua Bookstore now, I’m giving it to you along with that leaf. There are more gifts in my suitcase, I’ll sort them out and give them to you later.”
“There are also a bunch of gifts that I’ve mailed over; they should arrive in a day or two.”
After saying this, she sneakily glanced at her parents and Teacher Shen, who were chatting with Qian Chong and his parents, and quickly slipped her phone into Shen Mo’s pocket:
“Thank you.”
“You keep it.” Shen Mo pinched the book, not intending to accept.
“I bought a new phone; I still need to return this one to you.” Hua Jie pushed the phone into Shen Mo’s pocket.
“…Wasteful.” He sneered at her, holding the book under his arm.
Fair enough, he loved reading, so at least she showed some filial piety.
“Hehe.” Hua Jie elbowed him playfully, “No milk tea, no one to hassle you with questions every day, not used to it, huh?”
“…It’s alright.” He dragged his suitcase, walking her back to her parents.
Hua’s father took the luggage, joining the other parents to say goodbye to Shen Jiaru.
“Bye, see you later.” After saying farewell to Teacher Shen and Zhao Xiaolei, Hua Jie patted Shen Mo’s arm.
Aaaah, when will the Zhongshan suit arrive? Can’t wait to see the handsome Shen Mo wear it!
“Mm.” Shen Mo replied, standing and watching her leave with her parents until she was out of sight.
“Are you coming home?” Shen Jiaru patted his son on the back, his hand unconsciously rubbing the back of his head.
He hadn’t realized how accustomed he had become to their daily companionship until they had spent these days apart. He actually missed the kid.
“Going back.” Shen Mo finally turned away, following his father and Zhao Xiaolei to their family car.
As he got into the car, he placed his father’s bag aside and suddenly noticed a magazine poking out.
Half a head was visible on the cover. Why did it look so much like Hua Jie?
He had a vivid memory of the little potato’s features; he was unlikely to be mistaken.
He pulled out the magazine and took a closer look; indeed, it was her.
The girl faced the camera with a radiant smile, like a little sun.
On the way back, he looked over the photos of the little potato several times. When they arrived, he didn’t put the magazine back in his father’s bag but instead tucked it inside his clothes, wedged at his waist, and sneakily took it back to his own study.
Ten minutes later, Shen Jiaru’s voice came from downstairs:
“Eh? Where did that ‘Visual 111’ magazine go?”
He had planned to keep it as a keepsake. Where had it disappeared to?