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The restaurant was bustling with people as Hu Ruoyun stood in line with Mao Na to get their meals. General Qi followed behind, saying, "Let me swipe my card..." but Mao Na ignored him.
General Qi, undeterred, got his food and joined Mao Na and Hu Ruoyun at their table. "Is there enough food? I can get some braised pork and a fish too," he offered.
Hu Ruoyun quickly intervened, saying casually, "Brother Qi, don’t worry about it. This is plenty. My mom told me to keep an eye on her and not let her eat too much; she doesn’t want her to gain weight."
Mao Na seemed to catch on as she helped Hu Ruoyun serve herself. "Why didn’t your brother come with you? How are your parents doing?" she asked.
Hu Ruoyun replied while eating, "They’re good. They want me to discuss when we can meet your parents. Anyway, I’ve finished my exams, so we should get our certificates first... Mao Jie wanted to come with me, but I found him annoying and didn’t let him tag along as a third wheel." As she spoke, she glanced at General Qi across the table.
The other girls at the table, also from Mao Na's class, had already figured out what was happening and exchanged amused glances at General Qi's clueless expression.
Lu Meixin, a dorm mate who had heard Mao Na mention her boyfriend visiting today, teased her while looking at General Qi, "So, how many years younger is this little boyfriend of yours?"
At that moment, General Qi finally seemed to wake up from his daze. His face flushed with embarrassment and anger as he realized the situation; he felt a surge of resentment towards the young man sitting across from him. How could he be so good at pretending? He felt utterly humiliated.
He lowered his head and mechanically shoveled food into his mouth, wishing he could just disappear under the table.
General Qi was used to being self-important and had never considered that Mao Na had repeatedly rejected him and made it clear that she had a boyfriend. Yet here he was, shamelessly trying to win her over.
After finishing their meal at school, the two of them walked back to the Guesthouse together. Lu Meixin spotted them and teased Mao Na in front of several other girls, "Mao Na, I won’t leave the door open for you tonight!"
Mao Na made a fierce face in response. "Just wait until I get back; I might just tear your mouth apart! You’re acting all flirty again now that your brother has left..."
Mao Na explained to Hu Ruoyun that most of their group were older trainees sent by the system; out of eight girls in their dormitory, six were already married. They often lay in bed at night chatting about how they met their husbands and their relationships—everything from sweet moments to mundane details.
Noticing Hu Ruoyun’s silence, she tugged at his hand. "Why aren’t you talking? Are you upset?"
Hu Ruoyun came back to reality. "I just feel like that guy named Qi isn’t a good person. I’m thinking about how to deal with him."
Men can be quite petty, but it depends on the situation. Today, Hu Ruoyun was genuinely annoyed by General Qi's handsome but infuriating demeanor.
"Is there really someone like him? The girl has told you everything; why can’t you take a hint? This isn’t pursuit; it’s harassment."
Mao Na lightly pinched him. "It’s not worth getting worked up over someone like that."
The two lingered in Hu Ruoyun's room until nearly nine-thirty. Mao Na seemed to want to stay longer but remembered her mother’s words and finally said hesitantly, "Could you... take me back to school? It’s getting late!"
Hu Ruoyun teased her deliberately, "Didn’t your classmates say they wouldn’t leave the door open for you? Why would you go back?"
Mao Na lunged at him playfully to hit him...
Mao Na was led by Hu Ruoyun to the dormitory building. It wasn't lights-out time yet, and as she returned to her room, everyone turned to look at her. Lu Meixin was the first to tease, "Sisters, don't you think Mao Na looks radiant right now?"
Before the group could join in the teasing, Mao Na raised the food bag in her hand and declared, "Your mouth is bad; there's none of this delicious food for you!" She then went around distributing snacks from her bag. The others quickly silenced themselves, their mouths full of treats, no longer following Lu Meixin's lead.
Having spent so much time with these "women," Mao Na had learned to fight back. She was the last to hand over food to Lu Meixin's bedside and said, "Sister Lu, no wonder my brother-in-law comes by every couple of weeks. Now I understand—if he didn't come, you'd either go crazy or find someone else outside..."
The whole room turned their attention to Lu Meixin, who had been married for only six months.
There really wasn't much fun in Jiang City.
Twenty miles south of the city lay a low earthen hill. When Hu Ruoyun suggested climbing it, Mao Na immediately vetoed the idea: "No way! It's all turned into a graveyard now. I went there once with some close classmates; it was so eerie and filled with negative energy."
Hu Ruoyun then proposed visiting People's Park, but that too was dismissed by Mao Na: "Too crowded; it's not interesting."
In the end, Mao Na made the decision: "Let's go to Forest Park. It's so hot outside; it'll be cooler there."
They agreed to meet at 7:30 AM the next morning at Mao Na's dormitory, have breakfast at the cafeteria, and then take a bus to the outskirts.
After dropping Mao Na off at school and returning to the guesthouse, Hu Ruoyun felt as if something was weighing on her mind. She tried to calm herself and think it through but couldn't figure out what it was.
After washing up, she lay down on her bed and dozed off. In her dream, she was playing basketball with Mao Jie. As Mao Jie took a long shot, she heard a loud "bang" as the ball swished through the hoop... Suddenly, Hu Ruoyun was jolted awake.
The banging continued; it was someone knocking on her door with force. A rough male voice called out from outside, "Open up! Room inspection!"
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