Chapter 8 Duan Yu

  Later, Duan Yu revealed the truth to Linghu Chong during dinner, stuttering and stumbling over his words. The mastermind behind the plan to overthrow Wang was shocked on the spot, with eyes wide open in astonishment.

  "It's not that the enemy is too cunning, but our army is too stupid!" Linghu Cong sighed and began to calculate that he and Qiao Feng could exchange a meal at McDonald's for over a dozen chicken legs. The pain in his heart was unbearable.

  But when the mountains were heavy and the water was repeated, the situation changed completely in one morning.

  The student union members knew that everyone liked Wang Yuyan, so they decided to replace her with a more robust and powerful person to guard the entrance. Wang Yuyan was reassigned to hand out morning exercise tickets. Although Duan Yu lost some confidence, he still felt invigorated. Even though there wasn't much opportunity to get close to her, at least this way he could see Wang Yuyan every morning. Watching Wang Yuyan standing on the bridge, seriously tearing off a ticket for each student who ran past, Duan Yu felt very comforted. When Wang Yuyan didn't pass by their building for a period of time, Duan Yu often felt anxious, worried that among the tens of thousands of people at Bin Da University, he really wouldn't be able to find her again. Later, knowing that Huang Rong and Wang Yuyan were familiar with each other made him feel much better, thinking that at least he knew some clues. Then, every week there were two more mornings when he could see her handing out tickets, those two mornings became the happiest times for Duan Yu.

  Perhaps love is just like this. In fact, Duan Yu didn't want anything to really happen between him and Wang Yuyan, as long as he could often see her, the emptiness in his heart that had been with him for thousands of miles would be alleviated...

  So on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Duan Yu ran five laps each time...

  It was impossible for Wang Yuyan to forget Duan Yu. Every time, Duan Yu didn't say anything to her either, he just stood quietly beside her until she finished tearing the ticket, then smiled at her and left. That smile was still the same as on the first day, Wang Yuyan felt that it could only be summed up in one word - "happiness". Not excitement, not warmth, nor lightness, Duan Yu's smile really only belonged to those who felt extremely happy with life.

  One day, when Wang Yuyan was about to tear off Duan Yu's ticket, her hand slowed down slightly. She looked up at him with a smile and asked, "Classmate, aren't you taking a shortcut?"

  "Alright, alright." Duan Yu was delighted and nodded repeatedly.

  "How come you run so much every week? Are you running for others?"

  Duan Yu thought that this couldn't be acknowledged, Guo Jing also ran eight times a week, four times for Huang Rong. He felt that if he admitted it, he would probably be misunderstood by Wang Yuyan as helping his girlfriend run. But of course, he couldn't admit that running one lap could see Wang Yuyan once and feel happy, so he quickly turned his head and made up a lie: "I was sick for the first two months and didn't run, now I'm making up for it."

  Wang Yuyan finally understood. Looking at Duan Yu's sweaty face, Wang Yuyan thought it was no wonder he wanted to take a shortcut and shouldn't blame him. Thinking about the last time she caught Duan Yu, Wang Yuyan started feeling guilty again. Her hand trembled as she tore off the ticket and gave it to Duan Yu, saying: "It's easy to make up for the ticket, you won't have to run so much in the future."

  Duan Yu was still in a daze, unaware of what had happened. It wasn't until he returned to his dormitory to sort out the morning exercise tickets that he discovered he had eight tickets in his hand, enough for two weeks' worth. Flower Crazy thought deeply for a long time before suddenly realizing that Wang Yuyan had given him two tickets each time for the last few rounds.

  The beauty's kindness was so great that there was no way to repay it, and Duan Yu happily smiled for two days.

  On the third day, he couldn't help but feel proud and told Linghu Cong with a silly grin: "Actually, what's the point of me taking so many early exercise tickets?"

  Linghu Cong hastily puffed out his chest: "Look here, look here, I'm over here, give me more!"

  "Let's go." Duan Yu became excited. Not to mention a few exercise tickets, even treating guests is worth considering.

  "But... " Linghu Cong was after all a clever and astute person, he thought for a moment and felt that something wasn't right. "Then you'll still go running in the future? You've been running for one day which is equivalent to two weeks, can't you see through it?"

  Duan Yu was taken aback and suddenly realized that something was amiss, and that one of life's greatest pleasures would be lost in no small measure.

  "Never mind," Linghu Chong gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, "Let's just get everything out in the open. You're familiar with her now, so let's have a straightforward conversation, face to face, and settle this once and for all - is it a donkey or a horse..."

  "Whoa!" Duan Yu hastily interrupted him, "Are you crazy? You can't scare people like that... What if she doesn't want to?"

  "If you're unwilling, then let's part ways!" Linghu Chong said resolutely.

  Duan Yu hadn't had time to refute him when he heard him mutter: "It won't work, next time think of another way."

  "Alright, alright, I'm afraid of you." Duan Yu sighed and felt at a loss again.

  "It won't work if you just ask her out for a meal, try to sound her out, didn't she give you the ticket after all?"

  "...I don't know if she's willing to come," Duan Yu scratched his head, "We're not familiar with each other."

  "It's also, nine out of ten people would be rejected, why not invite me instead? I'm a come-and-go person...". Linghu Cong said to this point, suddenly had an inspiration, "Right, why not invite her to the concert, how elegant, one look at you is a cultured person."

  "Hmm..."

  Linghu Cong took a big bite of his eggplant: "There's nothing to think about, chasing girls requires some courage, it's settled then!"

  Linghu Chong thus put an end to Duan Yu's love affair.

  The scene below is Linghu Cong standing in the Great Song Dynasty Citizens' Congress Hall, but behind him is not Duan Yu, but rather Qiao Feng.

  Qiao Feng's computer business is booming, and he has to come out every few days to stock up on parts. Linghu Chong happens to be hitching a ride in his taxi and comes along to help Duan Yu buy tickets.

  "Alas, you've gotten yourself killed," Qiao Feng sighed. "It's none of your business, what are you getting so worked up about? You're also interested in Wang Yuyan, aren't you?"

  "For a friend, I'd gladly take a knife in the ribs. Do you understand?" Linghu Cong stood there, looking at the performance introduction with a puzzled expression.

  "You let Duan Yu buy it himself, what are you running here for?"

  "Isn't he having an exam today? This show is very popular, if you don't buy it today, it might be sold out."

  "It's just too popular," Chiao Feng shook his head, "but it doesn't have to be this crowded."

  In front of them was a long dragon stretching for 500 meters, and behind the buttocks, there was still the second half of the long dragon. Poor Jiaofeng accompanied Linghu Chong for three hours, and they were still 500 meters away from the ticket office.

  "Wow, uncultured, don't spout nonsense. According to the introduction above, this is SDSO's (author's note: Song Dynasty Symphony Orchestra) first attempt at performing Mahler's Fourth Symphony with traditional Chinese instruments such as guzheng, guqin, bianzhong and suona. The grandeur of the music is infused with a strong Chinese flavor, perfectly combining the Western religious system with China's philosophical idea of harmony between heaven and man. The final soprano solo has been rewritten in Chinese, translating 'Heavenly Life' into 'The Life of Tian Gong is Truly Splendid'..." Linghu Chong read through the performance introduction.

  "Just let me die...” Qiao Feng covered his face.

  "So many people, I don't know if there are any good seats left. It would be great if there were front row seats." Linghu Cong looked at the long line in front of him and muttered to himself.

  "Is there a rush to sit in the first row for symphonies? Are you watching acrobatics or something?" Qiao Feng spat, "However, you're quite sinister, no good can come of this. The emperor isn't anxious, but the eunuch is. But even if you're being a eunuch, there's no need to drag me along to be castrated together, right?"

  "Alas," Linghu Chong saw that Qiao Feng was indeed somewhat impatient, so he explained, "You didn't see Duan Yu's expression, this matter won't come to fruition. Old Fifth is stubborn and doesn't know how many years of regret he'll have. We came out to line up for a day, just as a gesture of brotherhood. There's no real benefit, but if it really succeeds, it would be a big deal for Duan Yu."

  Qiao Feng lowered his head and glanced at Linghu Chong, but Linghu Chong didn't look back at him. Instead, he stretched his neck to count the people in front of them. The young man didn't smile, his face was serious and calm, with half of his body already getting wet outside the umbrella. It was a gloomy and rainy day that day.

  "What does it have to do with me?" Qiao Feng muttered.

  It's no wonder that Qiao Feng is not reliable. That day, Qiao Feng was also half-soaked. Under his feet were two color monitors, two computer cases, and in his hands he was carrying five hard drives and three optical drives. He took a step forward, and it was really unbearable.

  "Why don't you just take a taxi back yourself?" Later, when Qiao Feng complained to Guo Jing, even Guo Jing with his intelligence thought Qiao Feng was being foolish.

  "Ah!" Qiao Feng glared, "Are you pushing everything onto Linghu Chong? Am I not a good grandson?"

  In the morning, the dawn is faintly lit, and a cool breeze blows in through the open window.

  Everyone in the dormitory had gone out, Wang Yuyan closed the door behind her and stretched lazily. Getting up early to hand out morning run tickets was a hard task, but like all girls, Wang Yuyan loved sleeping in. However, when Student Union President Zhao Min asked her, she still nodded honestly and said yes, that's just her personality.

  She took down the tortoiseshell hairpin, and a soft long hair fell freely. Wang Yuyan took her horn comb from the simple green lacquer bookshelf, and sat quietly at the window to comb her hair.

  Wang Yuyan was also lazy and didn't like to take morning classes. She liked to sit by the window after her roommates had all gone out, combing her hair in the cool breeze, with a mind full of thoughts flying around, just as messy as her hair.

  A strong gust of wind blew, and the long cotton curtains floated up. The wind chimes hanging on the window frame rang out with a crisp sound. A string of ringing sounds continued endlessly, empty and disorderly. Wang Yuyan was immersed in the cold wind like ice water, and began to lose her mind. One reason why the girls in the dormitory didn't like Wang Yuyan was that she was taciturn and introverted, with a petty-bourgeois sentimentality. For example, at this moment, Wang Yuyan felt as if she were in a small wooden house before a storm, listening to the sound of wind chimes, the ringing sound and the wind passing through together, leaving the listener with no place to hide.