Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi found what she was saying funny. She was seated in front of the computer and said without even looking up, “What about now? What is his score?”
Ma Qiqi sat on the single seat sofa beside her and sighed as she dragged her little panda pillow into her arms. “He still fails even though he’s off the charts in many aspects since he’s Japanese!”
Gu Nianzhi glanced back at her and said with a smile, “That’s the way.” She switched off her laptop after saving and exiting the document she was working on. She turned around to Ma Qiqi and said, “I believe that there are good people among the Japanese too, but their existence is so statistically low that it is negligible. All in all, politically incorrect or not, I discriminate against them.”
Ma Qiqi extended her arms and gave her a pat on the shoulders. “Good job! I support you!”
Gu Nianzhi smiled and lifted her hands off her. She blinked at her. “That’s it? Should I tell Brother Xiong that you met a young lad whose IQ, looks, and demeanor are off the charts?”
“Don’t you dare!” Ma Qiqi got nervous and tossed her little panda pillow aside. She rushed up to her and tickled her all over, causing her to laugh so hard that she became breathless as she begged for mercy. “Qiqi! Nice Qiqi! I won’t do it again! Never again! Stop tickling me!”
Ma Qiqi knew how ticklish she was and how much she was afraid of getting tickled, so she “tortured” her a little before letting her go. She pretended to look savage and said, “Remember now, little girl! You can eat what whatever you want, but you can’t just say whatever you want! If you spout nonsense, I will not show you any mercy!” As she spoke, Ma Qiqi blew on her fingers and made it seem as though she’d continue to tickle Gu Nianzhi if she didn’t agree to her conditions.
Gu Nianzhi backed away and smiled as she said, “I won’t tell on you. I won’t tell on you, I really won’t.” She paused then said, “I’m not interested in young Japanese lads. They are no big deal to me!”
It was only then that Ma Qiqi felt relieved.
She went to the school cafeteria with Gu Nianzhi, and on their way there, she whispered to her, “Nianzhi, this Chinese New Year, Brother Xiong will be paying my family a visit, and then I’ll be visiting his family, too.”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless. Meeting each other’s parents already?! Progressing way too quickly! “Are you guys serious?” Gu Nianzhi felt anxious. “Qiqi, have you really made the decision to marry Brother Xiong?”
If both parties had already decided on meeting each other’s parents, then it must mean that they were thinking of getting married.
Ma Qiqi nodded seriously. “Yeah, Nianzhi, I’m already 24 years old now. I know what I’m doing. Brother Xiong is very good to me. He also loves me sincerely. I know what sort of person he is, and I know that it is not a mistake for me to get married to him.”
Gu Nianzhi was puzzled. “How do you know that? The two of you have only known each other for a short while…” She thought about Huo Shaoheng and herself. She still couldn’t exactly say that she completely understood Huo Shaoheng, even though, if she started counting from when she was 12 years old, they’d known each other for seven years. In any case, they’d also only dated for a year.
“You can’t say that.” Ma Qiqi hugged Gu Nianzhi as she laid her head on her shoulder. “Haven’t you heard the saying before? Some people know each other for their entire lives but live as strangers, while some people have only met once, but it’s like they’ve known each other for a lifetime. I feel the same with him. Even though we haven’t known each other for very long, it feels as though we are reuniting after being away from each other.”
Gu Nianzhi laughed. “Qiqi, are you done yet? I can’t believe that you’re saying something so mushy. Now I believe that you’ve really fallen in love. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be saying cheesy things like that. Ugh.” She shook her shoulders as if to get rid of all the goosebumps that came from what she heard before.
Realizing her exaggeration, Ma Qiqi looked up, embarrassed, embraced her shoulders and muttered, “It’s for real, I really do think so. Obviously, I can’t be sure what we’ll be like in the future, but I shouldn’t give up on us now just because I’m worried about what might happen later on.”
Well, that made sense, too. Gu Nianzhi nudged Ma Qiqi. “I surrender, you win. Just let me know when your wedding day is in advance. Let me know at least a year in advance so I can save up enough to buy you a gift.”
“Oh, a gift?! Alright then!” Ma Qiqi was not going to stand on ceremony and took the opportunity to tease Gu Nianzhi. “How about paying for our honeymoon to Tahiti? That isn’t too expensive, right? You’ll give that to me as my wedding gift!”
“Are you sure?” Gu Nianzhi held her hands. “I’m afraid that if I were to do that, Brother Xiong will cut all ties with me.” If Gu Nianzhi paid for the honeymoon, it’d be like a slap in the groom’s face!
“Teehee… I don’t care… I’m helping him save up…” Ma Qiqi covered her face and snickered.
“Hmph! A friend who puts love before friendship! You’re already using me so your husband gets to save up! Brother Xiong, hurry up and get married to your virtuous little demon! I shall soon have the entire dorm room to myself!” Gu Nianzhi laughed and ran off, lest Ma Qiqi attack her.
Another happy day passed by as they bickered playfully with one another.
In the days that followed, Gu Nianzhi continued to be busy with her routine at the library, dorm room, and the school cafeteria. Her life was busy but fulfilling.
As for the Japanese student who transferred into the first year of their Master of Law program, Gu Nianzhi hadn’t even seen him at all. This was because she woke up at 7am every morning when she had no classes to attend so that she could head to the library to do some studying. She only left the library at 6pm to go to the school cafeteria for dinner before heading back to her dormitory to continue working on her dissertation and homework until midnight. It was the same routine with no interruption.
Both He Zhichu and Huo Shaoheng had a bond of understanding between them in relation to Gu Nianzhi and didn’t bother her during this period of time. They let her spend the last month of her school life quietly.
…
Ishihara Taro personally approached Gu Nianzhi. He had observed her for half a month and came to the conclusion that her life was just too monotonous. The same routine and monotonous life day after day. A girl like her in her late teens was actually able to bear this loneliness.
In the evening, Gu Nianzhi came out from the library only to discover that it had been snowing outside for the entire day. The weather was still fine in the morning, so why was it snowing now? Gu Nianzhi shielded her face with her hand as she looked towards the front. More than an inch of snow had already accumulated on the ground. The snow on the ground was fluffy and loose, and it crunched when walked on.
The students came out from the library in twos and threes. Some were on their phones as they stood by the side of the doors, probably making calls to find someone who could come pick them up. Others carried their backpacks on top of their heads and ran out in the snow.
Public janitors were repeatedly sweeping up snow on the road near the library. There were also snowplows driving up and down the school grounds, shoveling snow and sprinkling salt on the ground to prevent it from frosting over.
Gu Nianzhi planned to call Ma Qiqi up at first but gave up on that thought. She didn’t want to trouble her when it was only snowing and not raining. She pulled up her coat’s hood and checked that the zippers of her backpack and laptop case were closed before walking in the snow, like the other students, with her backpack above her head.
She got down the steps to the library and rushed into the heavy snow. Tiny bits of snow sprinkled and fluttered about as they mixed together with larger snowflakes. The bits of snow floated onto her face and melted when they touched her warm skin. They then solidified into ice on her face, which hurt a little. In order to make herself more comfortable, she simply took the silk scarf around her neck and used it to cover one side of her face before putting on her sunglasses.
It was at this moment that a young man dressed in black who was standing nearby took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands. As he took out the handkerchief, a shiny gold coin that was caught in it fell out of his pocket and rolled unsteadily towards the freshly cleaned road.
A boy who was carrying his backpack on his head and running forward saw the coin that had rolled and got excited. Sparkling gold, could it be a gold coin?! He couldn’t help but bend forward in an attempt to pick the coin up.
The public janitor behind him who was sweeping the ground couldn’t avoid him and was knocked to the ground. The snowplow that was driving over hurriedly detoured to the side in order to avoid the public janitor who fell to the ground.
At that moment in time, Gu Nianzhi, who had her backpack on her, walked into the blind spot of the snowplow’s rear view mirror. The driver did not expect that a student would be in the blind spot at that moment in time. His only concern was to avoid those public janitors. He gave the steering wheel a hard turn, and the shovel on the snowplow moved horizontally towards the side.
“Ahhhhhh, be careful! There’s still someone there!” The public janitors and students who saw the scene yelled loudly in unison.
Although Gu Nianzhi’s head was not raised, she still realized that the snowplow had suddenly changed direction. Swiftly, she twisted her body and retreated away from the roadside.
Preoccupied with avoiding the snowplow, she failed to notice the rockery by the roadside. She stumbled away from the main road and slipped on the thin layer of frost formed on the roadside. The back of her head faced a protruding stone in the rockery as she fell.
Ishihara Taro, who was standing in the vicinity, became excited as he watched the scene play out according to his plans and calculations.
Knock quickly! Knock quickly!
As long as she hit the back of her head, even if she wasn’t dead, she’d still be paralyzed!
At that moment, a rock that came flying out of nowhere hit Gu Nianzhi right in her knee. Her legs gave way, and she ended up falling hard on her rear and sitting on the ground instead of falling backwards.
