BSS - Chapter 84
Chapter 84
In the bedroom just before sleep, the light from the phone screen was brighter than the bedside lamp. The stark white light illuminated Xu Wei’s face, making her appear particularly frail. Hearing Deng Chuan’s words, her gaze softened, like a light, gentle sigh.
Xu Wei was quiet for a moment before revealing a smile that perfectly matched the quality of her gaze. “I know.”
As if reluctant to let the moment end, Xu Wei paused for a good while before speaking again. “Alright, it’s time to say goodnight, Little Friend.”
The heat was on in the room. She had bundled both herself and Zhou Liu under the covers, peeking her head out to say goodbye to Deng Chuan.
Not long ago, Deng Chuan had also stayed in this cozy room on the screen. She knew intimately the softness of the bed and the feel of the cat’s fluffy head. She had once experienced those scents, that body heat, and that touch so clearly. Now, all those profound memories filled the small screen before her.
It was an intense, almost overwhelming sensation, like the satisfying heat of eating hot pot in the summer. Tucked in her quilt, Xu Wei’s fingers gently scratched Zhou Liu’s chin, making him say goodbye to Deng Chuan. The bedside lamp cast a dim yellow glow. Xu Wei’s other hand rested on the duvet, creating a soft indent. These images and details brought a palpable warmth to Deng Chuan, making her want to run a few laps in the cold air outside.
On the screen, the tuxedo cat’s white paw was held and waved slightly. Xu Wei pressed her face against its whiskers, nuzzling it gently. “Goodnight… We’re going to sleep now…”
The cold air was held firmly at bay outside, yet it felt as if a warm hand had reached out and pressed against Deng Chuan’s heart, making her warm all over.
Deng Chuan no longer wanted to run. She sat quietly in her chair, one hand cupping her cheek, and watched them peacefully.
“Goodnight,” she said softly.
The dorm lights stayed on very late that night. With finals approaching, there were always students pulling all-nighters, though the main reason for this was usually failing to complete the first half of the night’s study plan, forcing it to be pushed back. But at least the atmosphere was appropriately tense.
Xie Yao and Li Mingtang both had their lights on. Before going to bed, Deng Chuan reminded them to sleep early or they’d have no energy the next day. In response, she received their perfectly synchronized, confident replies: “Don’t worry. We’ve got it under control.”
Their synchronous rapport made Deng Chuan smile involuntarily in the dimness by her bed.
She habitually checked the time, then her alarm. Only then did she relax and lie down, rolling the quilt into her arms and closing her eyes for a deep breath.
The dorm was exceptionally quiet, so quiet that Deng Chuan could hear Zhou Zhi’s steady breathing in her sleep and the faint, indistinct sound of pens scratching on paper from the two below. The quilt quickly warmed up, and Deng Chuan started to feel drowsy. With her eyes closed, she heard Li Mingtang turn another page.
While waiting for sleep to come, Deng Chuan’s mind drifted through many things—fragmented, brief, and disconnected thoughts. In the dorm, punctuated by the occasional sound of a turning page, midnight passed without notice. It was now officially the early morning. Deng Chuan’s nineteenth birthday was over.
Tomorrow is a new day. This was the last thought that flashed through Deng Chuan’s mind before she sank into a heavy sleep.
The busiest time of the university semester had arrived. With the start of review week, the finals schedule was freshly released. Library reservations skyrocketed, seats in the study halls had to be fought for, and students in more demanding majors even pulled all-nighters in the classrooms. On a rare occasion when Deng Chuan went to the cafeteria for breakfast, she saw that even the corner tables were piled high with books.
There was a three-day New Year’s holiday right before finals week. Everyone holed up in their dorms, going nowhere and relying entirely on takeout for meals.
Deng Chuan wasn’t the type of P University student you read about online—the kind who makes everyone despair by seemingly never studying but acing every exam. In truth, there weren’t many students like that at P University. Undergraduate studies were, in many ways, similar to high school; it was still a stage of building a knowledge base and scratching the surface, not yet a competition of raw talent. At most, it was a contest of learning ability and efficiency, skills that were often developed over time.
The P University students talked about online were probably more like Li Mingtang, an unpredictable genius who was still playing games the night before an exam. But she had a good grasp of her own situation and wasn't being reckless. After gaming, she would study until the middle of the night and still have enough energy for the exam the next morning.
But her studying was by no means easy; Deng Chuan could see her struggle and effort. The more accomplished she became and the more exceptional people she met, the more Deng Chuan realized that it was immoral to dismiss a person’s hard work by attributing their success to natural talent.
Zhou Zhi stood by Li Mingtang’s desk with a cup of hot water, listening to her mutter in frustration as she flipped through her book. “How is the entire book part of the key topics? Short answer questions from chapters two, three, four, and five? And all the key terms are highlighted?”
She whipped her head around and noticed Zhou Zhi watching her. “Do you still have the professor’s PPT and review questions? Send them to me, my files expired.”
Zhou Zhi calmly lowered her eyes and took a sip of water. “I sent them to the group chat a while ago. Go look for yourself.”
Li Mingtang took out her phone to look, only to despair again at the seemingly endless list of review questions. She turned to the other three. “This is way too much. Have you all finished studying?”
She was hoping for some company in her misery. “Seriously, have you all finished reviewing?”
Zhou Zhi said nonchalantly, “No.”
Xie Yao shook her head.
All three of them turned their gazes to Deng Chuan, who nodded innocently.
The atmosphere froze for half a second. Seemingly noticing their expressions, Deng Chuan hesitated, then shook her head.
Li Mingtang let out a long sigh and slumped back over her book.
Zhou Zhi chuckled, put down her water cup, and walked over to pat Deng Chuan’s shoulder, asking her if she wanted a late-night snack since it was getting late.
Studying during review week tended to make them hungry, and their dorm had been ordering fried chicken together frequently these past few days.
In a break from flipping through her book, Li Mingtang’s sharp ears caught their discussion. She eagerly raised her hand. “I want the sweet and spicy flavor! With a double portion of rice cakes.”
While placing the order on her phone, Deng Chuan asked Xie Yao, “What about you?”
“I want the cumin flavor. Don’t add rice cakes for her; she can have the ones from my portion,” Xie Yao said.
Li Mingtang asked her, “Why aren’t you eating rice cakes?”
“It’s exam time. I don’t eat rice cakes; they get stuck in your teeth.”
Li Mingtang retorted, “You should eat rice cakes during exams. It’s for good luck. ‘Nian gao’ sounds like ‘getting higher every year,’ get it?”
Xie Yao had her own logic. “That’s how it is where I’m from. You can’t eat food that’s troublesome to eat, and you can’t cut your nails or your hair.”
Zhou Zhi asked curiously, “What about washing your hair?”
Xie Yao said, “That’s still allowed.”
When you were supposed to be studying, anything else seemed more interesting. Once the conversation started, the topics began to wander all over the place, until the fried chicken was swiftly delivered. After they had all eaten and cleaned up the takeout containers, Xie Yao and Li Mingtang finally returned to their books amidst the lingering smell of fried chicken.
Deng Chuan took the trash outside. As she closed the door, a gust of cold wind snuck in, making Li Mingtang, who was sitting by the door, shiver violently.
Her hair stood on end. Just as she was about to make a joke to Deng Chuan, she heard her speaking gently to someone on the phone. “You should go to sleep… I’ll be back right after my exams. They finish on January seventh. That’s right, that’s right. Okay… I wanted to come back that day too, but it’s the holiday and a Saturday, so I can’t get a ticket… Hmm… So, can you book it for me?” She giggled foolishly. “Thanks, wifey.”
After hearing whatever was said on the other end, the laughter in her voice became even more pronounced. “Okay… I know. Don’t worry. By the way, I saw the announcement from our high school. How did Teacher Xu’s class do so well on the unified math exam… Why didn’t Teacher Xu tell me?”
Li Mingtang no longer felt like talking to her. Her mood became exceptionally calm, calm enough to finally start studying properly.
Deng Chuan walked back to her desk, leaning against it as she spoke a few more quiet words to Xu Wei before hanging up.
After the call, she calmly gathered her toiletries and went to wash up.
Throughout her academic career, Deng Chuan had cultivated excellent planning and execution skills, which allowed her to remain composed even in the face of P University’s rigorous final exams. It was now the night before an exam. While her social media feed was filled with cries of anguish, she had finished her review, called Xu Wei according to her daily plan, and gone to bed on time.
From another perspective, she was another type of P University student who made others despair.
The dorm’s desk lamps stayed on until the middle of the night. The next day, the suffocating final exams arrived as scheduled.
Throughout the entire exam week, Deng Chuan felt that the tests weren’t designed to be overly difficult, but the schedule was packed tightly, making it tough for students who hadn’t been consistent with their studies or had poor review plans.
Her last exam was calculus. As if to match the occasion, the sky darkened exceptionally early that afternoon. It was only five o’clock when Deng Chuan finished and handed in her paper, but the sky was already completely dark, and the lights in the classroom and hallway were on. Deng Chuan had finished early. Inside the classroom, many students were still taking the test, their faces under the lights a mixture of joy and sorrow.
Deng Chuan paid no mind to the others’ expressions. To her, the exam was merely a procedure to complete before going home. She was the first one back to the dorm, the first to finish packing her luggage, and the first to catch the subway to the airport.
Xu Wei had booked her ticket. When Deng Chuan had looked, there were no tickets left for today. If she absolutely had to go back today, she would have had to stare at the booking page, waiting to snag a last-minute ticket.
They had originally prepared to see each other the next day, but last night, Xu Wei had suddenly seen that a ticket for today’s flight was available on the official website.
And so, Deng Chuan was now excitedly riding the subway to the airport. The train was full of students like her, heading home with their suitcases, quietly observing the people around them from behind their masks.
Deng Chuan, however, wasn’t looking around. Her eyes were lowered as she texted Xu Wei: “I’m done with my exam, heading to the airport now. I should arrive around 9:30 PM.”
Xu Wei replied quickly: “Okay. You’ve worked hard.”
Deng Chuan sent a sticker of a puppy acting cute. “Since I worked so hard, can I get a kiss tonight?”
Xu Wei replied without hesitation: “I’ll give you two.”
Deng Chuan’s eyes curved into a smile. Unconsciously, the subway arrived at a station. People surged on as others tried to get off. She moved to the side to make way and happened to bump a girl’s arm.
She apologized hurriedly, “Oh, I’m sorry.”
The girl quickly nodded. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Noticing her unease, Deng Chuan deliberately moved further away, trying to maximize the distance between their arms in the crowded space. She texted Xu Wei: “Almost at the airport. Talk to you later.”
Xu Wei replied with an “Okay.”
The Little Friend acted cute again: “Kisses, wifey.”
To Deng Chuan’s surprise, Xu Wei also replied: “Kisses.”
—Followed by a sticker of two cats snuggling.
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