Translated by Fairy

Proofread by Sleeping immortal and Starpie

Chapter 4: 反省 Reflection

【 @Did Chu Cao¹ and Chang Chuansi break up today: No. 】

No matter how many girls were willing to go vegetarian for the rest of their lives, for Yue Lao ² cut off the red strings between Chu Hao and Chang Chuansi, the two of them had been together for nearly half a year. The year was coming to an end again and with the arrival of the New Year, the semester would also end soon. 

In order to relieve the stress that the students had from exams and the end of classes, the Student Council organized a New Year’s Eve event and held a grand bonfire party on the field.

For this event, members of the Student Council were busy for more than half a month. 

All bulletin boards throughout the school had the large poster that the Public Relations Marketing Team made. The Organization Department brought the rock band and the school choir to perform. The girls in the Etiquette Department did a fashion show while wearing clothes designed by the students of the School of Design. On both sides of the field, the External Relations Department brought in their store owners to sponsor their event and a chance to advertise their food…

On the last day of the end of the year, the entire Z University campus was not any less lively than the Chinese New Year. 

Chen Huiran and her boyfriend Hong Yang had long disappeared off to who knows where. Xu Yi and Su Yu followed Chang Chuansi around to eat and drink. The bosses who set up stalls all knew Chang Chuansi and were very enthusiastic in giving her food when they saw her going over to them.

“Boss Chen’s business is going well tonight. Ah, I don’t want it. You don’t even have enough to sell and yet you still want to give me some…”

Unable to decline their kindness³, Chang Chuansi accepted a piece of sushi. No matter how generous the boss was, she still paid for the food. The sponsorship happened because of her and both of them were already benefiting from it, but those are two separate matters, she still needed to pay for eating others’ food.

That night, Chang Chuansi was like a wealthy man. She handed Xu Jiu the sushi. “Do you want to eat it? I really can’t eat anymore.”

Xu Jiu didn’t act polite towards her. She freed up a hand to take it and handed Su Yu a toothpick. “Eat.”

Chu Hao was also with his roommates at that time.

“What major are you in, junior? Your senior, Chu Hao already has a girlfriend. It’s not appropriate for you guys to exchange WeChat. Why don’t you add me?”

“If you have any questions, you can ask me. Chu Hao and I are both in the same major…”

Ji Haoyu and Chen Xu spared no effort to help block the allured people⁴. Teng Xian looked at the two joyfully exchanging contact information with the beautiful juniors. Then, he looked at Chu Hao who wasn’t paying attention and was only looking down at his phone. Because of his handsome appearance, the ordinary black puffer jacket on his body also became good-looking.

He sure attracts a lot of people. ⁵ Teng Xian sighed in his heart. People like him who rely on their brains to make a living shouldn’t have an excellent appearance or else it would become a burden. 

“Let’s go to the equipment room,” Chu Hao looked up and told Teng Xian. “Sisi and her roommates are over there.”

“En, okay.” Teng Xian grabbed Ji Haoyu and Chen Xu —who was still talking excitedly— one in each of his hands and dragged them forward.

After a while, the two groups joined together.

Because of Chang Chuansi and Chu Hao’s relationship, Ji Haoyu —and the guys— as well as Xu Jiu —and the girls— knew each other. When the rock band went on the stage to perform, they rushed into the crowd and squeezed forward to watch the performance.

Chu Hao wasn’t interested and Chang Chuansi didn’t want to be in a crowd of people so the two stayed by the bonfire where people were starting to thin out.

At the end of December, H City and even the Southern cities were also freezing cold.

The coldness penetrated the thick coat and Chang Chuansi couldn’t help but shiver.

Under the light of the fire, Chu Hao saw that her face was a little red from the cold. “Is it cold? Take my jacket.”

After saying that, he unzipped the down jacket on him and started to take it off.

“No, no need.” Chang Chuansi sniffed her nose and quickly stopped him. “It’ll be cold for you too if you take it off on such a cold day. Don’t learn from idol dramas. If you catch a cold later then it’ll affect your performance on the final exams.”

Chu Hao thought for a moment and didn’t take it off anymore. He put his hand in his puffer jacket pockets and opened it. “Then come here.”

Chang Chuansi took a step forward and threw herself into his arms, hugging his waist.

Chu Hao used his clothes to wrap her up. His loose black puffer jacket brought warmth to the two of them.

The rock band’s performance on the stage was loud and its music resonated throughout the field.

People were all immersed in the excitement and few people actually noticed the two people hugging by the fire far from the stage.

“Is it still cold now?” Chu Hao asked her.

Chang Chuansi shook her head. Not only did the puffer jacket insulate her from the cold air but the heat on his body that transmitted through his clothes also helped.

This kind of intimate hug made Chang Chuansi’s heartbeat couldn’t help but speed up.

Chu Hao smiled and hugged her tighter.

The two quietly listened to the music traveling from a distance which created a rare moment of tenderness.

Chu Hao held her, and his heart seemed to be full. He rubbed his chin against the soft black hair on the top of Chang Chuansi’s head and sighed. “I have this feeling of seeing our 80 years old selves.”

Chang Chuan paused for a moment. She had never tried to see into the future or a future with Chu Hao in it. 

Those girls who were jealous of her were already saying that she was just an ex-girlfriend who made Chu Hao a better person. The reason why Chang Chuansi didn’t feel angry after hearing that was because she actually felt the same way.

Chang Chuansi was used to thinking rationally about exchanging money without loss and the idea of taking and giving with interest. Chu Hao was much better than her in all aspects. She was well aware of the gap between the two. From the first day of their relationship, she began to calmly wait for their peaceful breakup. 

Chu Hao sensed her silence and couldn’t help asking. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Chang Chuansi looked up at him with a smile on her face. “Do you really like me? What do you like about me?”

She thought about this question countless times like it was some kind of difficult math problem and she had yet to find the answer.

Chu Hao looked at her face which was looking up at him. It was as pale as moonlight in the dim light. Her delicate eyebrows spread out as she smiled, and her eyes were as bright as when he first saw them. The dimples on both sides of her mouth were intoxicating.

He couldn’t help but kiss her on the lips and lean against her neck afterward. “I like everything about you.”

Chang Chuansi hugged his waist and silently sighed. “I also like you even more now.” If it goes on like this then she would be reluctant to part with him when they break up.

Chu Hao couldn’t see her complicated expression at that time.

———

In the second semester of their junior year, a group of senior upperclassmen⁶ in the Student Council stepped down. The position of President was undoubtedly passed onto Chu Hao and Chang Chuansi was also promoted from Deputy Head of the External Relations Department to Department Head.

As the weather continued to warm up, the whole Z campus seemed to be divided into two factions. The freshmen and sophomores were immersed in the relaxed and happy life of university whereas the juniors and seniors were already busy preparing for their futures.

Another year of spring sports festivals, community festivals, campus job fairs… after Chang Chuansi became the head of the External Relations Department she found out that things were more complicated than she originally thought. Her schoolwork became more difficult as she approached her senior year.

Chu Hao’s situation would only be busier than hers. The School of Computer Science had recently begun practical classes and everyone was getting internships off-campus.

The frequency of communication between the two had also been declining. It went from countless messages every day to one phone call every two days and a few text messages in five days…

Even if they were able to see each other during their regular Student Council meetings, they would have exchanged a few simple words before they had to separate for their busy schedules. They rarely encountered each other again in school.

For the first time, Chang Chuansi realized how far the School of Economics and the School of Computer Science and Technology  were from each other.

Even her roommates felt something was wrong.

That night, Chen Huiran, who had just broken up with Hong Yang, stayed in the dormitory to heal her wounds. She threw her textbook  at Chang Chuansi. “Yesterday in Teacher Xu’s class he highlighted some of the key points in the final exam.”

“Thank you.” Chang Chuansi took her textbook and buried her head in copying them down into her own.

Chen Huiran leaned against the chair and looked at Chang Chuansi’s back. She poked her twice. “Sisi, I think something is wrong.”

“What’s wrong?” Chang Chuansi asked nonchalantly and didn’t look back.

“Where did you go yesterday?”

“I took the freshmen in the External Relations Department to meet some sponsors for sponsorships.”

“What about the day before yesterday?”

“We got a physical examination the day before yesterday. Have you forgotten?”

“What about the day before that?”

“Where else can I go after spending a day in class?”

“What about the day before that day too?”

“You broke up and pulled us to the bar that night. You came back vomiting and crying. We took care of you all day. Huiran, are you testing my memory?”

Chen Huiran didn’t want to recall her foolish behavior and revert the topic back. “You haven’t noticed? Sisi, you haven’t mentioned Chu Hao for a long time.”

“Yeah,” Su Yu also joined in. “It feels like you’ve broken up.”

“What break up? Who broke up?” Xu Jiu was wearing earphones to watch an American drama. She only heard a few words they said and asked. “Sisi, did you and Chu Hao also break up?”

“…No.” But it was coming soon. Of course, Chang Chuansi noticed before he did that they were contacting less. She even allowed the situation to develop because her replies to Chu Hao’s messages became more and more perfunctory.

But it was also good like this. They would slowly become estranged and naturally separate before she fell even deeper.

Thinking of that, Chang Chuansi was a little distracted when she heard a beep from her phone, and a new message popped up on her screen.

【 ch: Are you in the dormitory? 】

【 ch: I’m downstairs right now. 】

Chang Chuansi looked at the time displayed on the phone screen with a mild look of surprise. It was 10:32pm with less than half an hour before the dormitory would close.

She stood up and walked to the balcony. As expected, she saw Chu Hao standing under the big banyan tree in front of the girls’ dormitory. When he looked up and saw her, he smiled and waved at her.

“I’m going out.”

Chang Chuansi ran down in her slippers.

“Why are you here at this time?” Chang Chuansi stood in front of Chu Hao and asked him.

“I just finished working overtime.” Chu Hao took her wrist and pulled her two steps closer to him. “Sisi, I haven’t seen you for days. Are you angry?”

Chang Chuan was caught in surprise and was about to say no but Chu Hao was aggrieved and continued to speak. “I feel like you’ve become a little cold recently.”

“…I’m not angry, I just have a lot of things to do and was a little bit busy.” Chang Chuansi responded with a guilty conscience.

Chu Hao felt there was more to that but he couldn’t think of any other reason so he could only believe in what she said for the time being. “I’ve also been a little busy lately and I’ve neglected you. I’ll be better after summer vacation begins.”

“En.” Chang Chuansi looked at her right hand which was caught in his hand. She thought about pulling it out, but in the end, she didn’t. 

“Recently, the company is rushing to finish a project. We often have to work late into the night and pass the school curfew. Ji Haoyu and Chen Xu moved out of the dormitory some time ago. In my senior year, I’ll be assigned new roommates so I might as well move out now too…”

Chang Chuansi listened to Chu Hao and nodded. She heard that Ji Haoyu had moved out to live with his girlfriend. What she didn’t expect was for Chen Xu to have also moved out.

With Ji Haoyu and Chen Xu both moving out, according to the rules in Z, Chu Hao and Teng Xian, who were still living in the dormitory, either had to welcome two new roommates or move to another two-person dorm. But once the new semester began, they would be seniors and they wouldn’t have the extra energy to establish a good relationship with their new roommates. It was just better to move out.

“I think that’s good,” Chang Chuansi thought from Chu Hao’s perspective. “Everyone in their senior year will be busy, and there’s a lot of things you’ll need some  personal space to deal with. I also know many students who have moved out of the dormitory to live outside. Have you found a place to stay?”

“En, it is in Qianjiang Xincheng just behind the school. Sisi…” Chu Hao’s tone became a little hesitant. “Would you like to live off-campus with me?”

Chang Chuansi was shocked and looked up at him. Chu Hao was also watching her reaction in nervousness.

There were a lot of couples like them who have been dating for two years and moved out of the dormitories to live together outside the school.

Chu Hao didn’t choose to rent with his other classmates. He rented a one-bedroom apartment and thought that if they lived together, they would be able to see each other every day even if they were busy.

After a short moment of silence, Chang Chuan smiled and shook her head. “I won’t go out to live. Xu Jiu and everyone else is still living in the dormitory building. It’s better to just continue to live with them.”

Chu Hao’s heart dropped and he concealed the loss he felt in his heart without letting it show on his face. “En, that’s also good.”

Chang Chuansi looked at the time and said. “The dormitory is about to close. I’ll go back first.”

“En, okay.”

Chu Hao watched her trot to the dormitory entrance and pushed open the door. He also raised his feet to walk in the direction of the boys’ dormitory building.

The author has something to say: It’s not a big deal to live together, but you must protect yourself.

______________________________________________________________________

Kame: +1 to what the author said. I was this close to moving out with my ex. But uh, I chose to live separately. That and it is a lot easier. Plus personal space and less stress ish when family’s over and such. Take care of yourselves!

Fairy: Sorry it took so long for this chapter to be released! (╥﹏╥) Me and Kame have lost track of time with our busier lives… the next release of this novel is still uncertain, but please bear with us! The story of Sisi and Chu Hao is only getting more interesting here! (๑ ˃̵ᴗ ˂̵)و

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1. Name – Cao(草) in this context means that Chu Hao is very sought after, basically a school hunk.
2. 月老 yue lao: the god who unites two people in a marriage through tying two red strings. Or a matchmaker/chinese cupid
3. 盛情难却 Shèngqíng nán què = Unable to decline the kindness/kind offer
4. 桃花 Táohuā means peach blossoms, but it is also used to describe a person’s luck with love. In this case, these are all Chu Hao’s fans who are in love with him, or attracted to him. I can’t think of a better way of describing it, so I wrote ‘allured people’
5. 招蜂引蝶Zhāo fēng yǐn dié: Literal translation is (of a flower) to attract bees and butterflies. But it is also used to describe a person who attracts people of the opposite sex.
6. Note: in the raws, they wrote 学长学姐 Xuézhǎng xué jiě which both meant upperclassmen, just 学长 is meant to refer to males, and 学姐 is referred to females.