NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 17
At this point, Jiang Wei finally understood what had happened. Yi Ming had slipped a small note to Jiang Wei, but Zhou accidentally picked it up instead.
Jiang Wei had wanted to explain to Zhou, but was also worried about hurting her self-esteem. After some thought, she felt that the person who caused the mess should be the one to clean it up - if you poke a hole in the basket, you should be the one to patch it!
Therefore, Yi Ming, who was appointed the "basket patcher", was forced to recruit his cycling club teammates to take the fall.
When Zhou met up with Yi Ming's teammate, the underclassman followed a script Yi Ming had prepared earlier and politely apologized to senior sister Zhou: "I'm very sorry, I accidentally put the note in the wrong floor's mailbox, it should have gone to Floor 4 instead of Floor 3. I've wasted your time, please let me make it up by treating you to dinner..."
Zhou immediately said it was no problem and that she understood.
At dinner, she steadily finished three big bowls of food. It's said that sadness often transforms into appetite, but Zhou felt this saying was inaccurate. Thinking about how she would continue being single and that the scale would show 3 more pounds gained tomorrow made her feel extremely hopeless - she suddenly wanted to go play Chopin in the rain.
Returning from dinner, Zhou dejectedly unlocked the door with her head hung low. Jiang Wei immediately ran over, "Sister Zhou!"
Zhou didn't respond. She first lifted her trembling hands to hang her keys on the shoe cabinet, numbly gazing at herself in the entryway mirror. The next second, tears suddenly streamed down her face.
Jiang Wei was startled, anxiously asking: "What's wrong?"
Zhou sniffled, crying into Jiang Wei's shoulder: "Tell me, how am I any worse than Auntie Liu from Floor 4? Why does he prefer Auntie Liu over me?"
"...This question is a bit difficult!"
After this mix-up, Jiang Wei heavily criticized Yi Ming and forbid him from passing any more notes to her.
Yi Ming felt terrible inside. He had lost his chance with his young sweetheart, and it seemed his life had lost all its colors!
The next day, Yi Ming dragged his feet to class, looking drained.
In Physics of Medical Applications class, the teacher aggressively rapped the blackboard and suddenly glared, calling out loudly: "You there, yes you, furiously grooming a cat in the last row! Stop that this instant, you're about to scratch that cat bald!"
The other students turned around to look. They saw Yi Ming frozen with both hands held in midair, cat fur still drifting between his fingers.
Yi Ming blinked innocently with a faint smile: "Teacher, I think you misunderstood. 'Straight-A Student' is just shedding seasonally. I was only helping out."
'Straight-A Student' was actually a stray tortoiseshell cat.
No one knew when exactly it had settled on campus. By the time people noticed it, this rascal had already learned to flop over and mewl cutely at the female students' feet, begging for treats. Over the years, 'Straight-A Student' continued acting like it owned the place at D University. Rather than chasing it away, the campus security had it fixed and dewormed, making sure it stayed healthy with scheduled vaccines. Its mild temperament and habit of sitting in on classes made the guards feel it belonged.
When Yi Ming had arrived for class that morning, he discovered the cat.
Straight-A Student's fur color resembled Jiang Wei's dog Tenten. Remembering how Tenten would always strut up to him on walks with Jiang Wei, yapping shrilly, Yi Ming felt irritation swell up. In his distracted state, his hands had started changing their strokes...
Straight-A Student: An innocent cat just sitting, when calamity descends from the heavens!
How could one argue against such injustice?
The Physics teacher crossed his arms, gazing at Yi Ming: "Did you see how that cat was looking at you? It seemed about to lash out. Young man, if you won't pay attention in class or properly groom cats, shall I send you out to stand as punishment?"
"Teacher, you've misunderstood again. I was listening."
"Oh? Quite the attitude! Come now, recap what I just lectured about ideal fluid dynamics and the Bernoulli equation..."
The teacher actually recognized this student. After all, for every faculty member at D University, Yi Ming's existence was hard to ignore. But he wanted to challenge the boy, to gauge his true level.
Yi Ming knew he was cornered. Rubbing the back of his head bashfully, he obediently stood up, stretching out his long legs. "Alright teacher, let me explain...the Bernoulli equation states p+ρgh+(1/2)*ρv^2=constant, where the ρv^2/2 term represents velocity pressure, also called dynamic pressure, while p and ρgh are known as static pressures. The Bernoulli equation expresses conservation of energy for fluid motion under gravity. It shows that faster flow has lower pressure, while slower flow has higher pressure..."
Upon hearing this, the Physics teacher fell silent.
Why did he have to test this student who originally got an anomalously high exam score but still put D University first on his application? Seeking trouble for no reason...
The year of Yi Ming's college entrance exam, his marks could have gotten him into more prestigious universities. But because Jiang Wei had always loved the Dance Department at D University, Yi Ming resolutely chose D University's Medical School to stay close to her.
Yi Ming's father had always respected his son's decisions. Boys will eventually marry and start families anyway. He was also fond of Jiang Wei. Letting Yi Ming follow her didn't seem bad at all.
But Yi Ming's mother overseas vehemently disagreed. She made an angry transcontinental call, insisting her son had lost his mind.
"I told you to come abroad with me, yet you refused. And now look at where you've decided to enroll! There must be something wrong with your brain."
At the time, Yi Ming was playing basketball on the school yard with his buddies, while his sweet Jiang Wei obediently waited under a tree with an energy drink for him.
Yi Ming's mouth quirked up in a brilliant smile. Still dribbling the ball, he panted into the phone: "How'd you know, Mom? I just had a physical yesterday and turns out there really is a problem with my brain!"
His mother was so shocked she nearly dropped her phone: "What are you saying? Why didn't you tell me if you weren't feeling well? What's wrong..."
Before she finished, raucous laughter burst from her roguish son's end:
"The doctor said my brain is completely filled with a certain girl. I said what else could it be filled with? Milkshakes and pastries from the cake shop? Giant bowls of ramen noodles? Those can only temporarily seize my thoughts, but Jiang Wei has already laid claim to my next half century!"
"Madness! Sheer madness - just like your father. Hopeless!"
His mother slammed the phone down in utter exasperation.
Back then, Yi Ming's father had also only one love occupying his thoughts, spending everyday planning sumptuous dinners to impress her. But his proud mother felt such a man was beneath her, and left with determination.
Yet Yi Ming never saw it that way.
As that old saying goes, "inheritance" works in unfathomable ways!
He hadn't picked up an ounce of his mother's ruthless apathy. But that silly devotion from his father - now that had seeped straight into his bones!
To him, his Jiang Wei was just too adorable. He couldn't convince himself not to love her.
In his heart, his Jiang Wei was too precious. He only wanted to cradle her tenderly. One smile from her, and he would gladly hand his everything over to her...