The Fading Away of Our Youth (So Young) Volume 1 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Zheng Wei held the phone, thinking. This had been her third phone call to Lin Jing’s dormitory. The first time, no one answered.

The next two times, a different dorm mate answered, saying the same thing, “Who are you looking for&h.e.l.lip; oh, I’m sorry, Lin Jing is not here right now, he went out&h.e.l.lip; I don’t know where to&h.e.l.lip;”

“What time will he come back?”

“I can’t say for certain&h.e.l.lip; Who is calling&h.e.l.lip; Okay, I have written down your phone number, when he comes back I will call you back.”

Her dorm mate, Zhu Xiao Bei walked over, tapping Zheng Wei’s back, “Fellow cla.s.smate, are you using your phone or not? Could I borrow it just for a second, I need to call home.”

Annoyed, Zheng Wei put the phone into Xiao Bei’s hand, “Call then, call for as long as you want.” She purposely pretended that she couldn’t see her other roommate, He Lu Ya, sleeping on the opposite bed, and exchanged helpless expressions with Zhuo Mei, on the opposite bed, who was eating sunflower seeds. Zheng Wei looked back at her mosquito net, daydreaming.

School had already started for a week or so now, and she still hadn’t seen Lin Jing yet. When she called his dorm he was always out, and when she left her phone number with his dorm mates, they never called her back, what had happened? She had clearly called him before, and he had always laughed and told her that he would wait for her in G-City.

When she came, he promised he would definitely bring her around the city and bring her to some great restaurants. Even now, she hadn’t forgotten the promises between the two of them and Lin Jing seemed to have disappeared. Could it be that she had called the wrong number? No, this was impossible, she had memorized it so thoroughly she could even say it backwards.

Plus, the dorm mate she kept calling seemed to know Lin Jing, and only said that he was not present. Always not around, and he claimed he was a good student? She didn’t know what kind of bad places he was hanging around but when she saw him she would definitely scold him to no end, Zheng Wei thought angrily.

“What are you doing? Zheng Wei, have you still not reached your Lin Ge Ge yet?” Another one of her roommates, Li Wei Juan, who had been reading in bed for a while, smiling teased her.

“Ais.h.!.+” Zheng Wei said as she turned and faced the other way.

Because their first week of learning had gone by, 402’s six girls were basically already accustomed to the environment. They were all new students of the same year, but they weren’t in the same department or cla.s.ses.

The person who was on the phone currently was named Xiao Bei, and she was from Northeast China, and was majoring in mechanical engineering. Her hair was shorter than most boys and she spoke common Mandarin. She never wore dresses. She was a very careless person and her att.i.tude fitted closely with Zheng Wei’s own att.i.tude.

The person in the bed across from Zheng Wei was named Zhuo Mei. She was a city girl who was majoring in computer science. Her only hobby was eating and sleeping. Her only aims were to live like a pig; in Zheng Wei’s perspective, she was already very close to her goal.

Above Zhuo Mei was Li Wei Juan, and she was the person who had just talked. She was from Kaifeng, Henan, and was in the school of management. G-University had just begun to offer economic discipline, history, and literature cla.s.ses, after all it wasn’t mainstream. There weren’t a lot of recruiters anyways, so Li Wei Juan was the only one among them that was going into management. She was more of an orderly person and usually said things in sets. Zheng Wei didn’t really like her because she seemed like a prudish person and their personalities were so different. But Li Wei Juan really liked Zheng Wei and always tried to strike up conversations with her and laugh with her, even if she had nothing important to say.

Above Xiao Bei was He Lu Ya, a nearby suburban girl who was in the same cla.s.ses with Xiao Bei and also majoring in mechanical engineering. She was a very simple-minded person, if others approved of something, she would approve also. If others were happy, she would also be happy. The bed above Zheng Wei was practically empty. Just when she thought about that girl, she walked into the room.

After Xiao Bei just finished talking on the phone, she turned towards the returning people and laughed, “Beauties, let’s go out to walk the streets for a night.”

“Let’s go out on a walk.”

Zheng Wei faced the wall, thinking, Isn’t going on a walk on a dark and windy night just waiting for something bad to happen? But it wasn’t Zheng Wei’s fault that she had these prejudices. Especially for good-looking people, even though she wasn’t the most beautiful girl, she knew from a young age that she was at least decent if not a bit better.

There was also the fact that on the first day of enrolling, someone had called out to her and yelled, “Wow, beautiful girl!”

Her heart couldn’t help but feel pleased, these young boys seemed so naive, when she turned her head to look at them, she discovered that they were looking directly at the beautiful girl behind her. The girl was tall and very beautiful, Zheng Wei had to admit.

The boys kept staring and said, “She’s a beauty, without a doubt!”

The girl had delicate facial features, was tall, and had an outstanding temperament. She had nice b.r.e.a.s.t.s, a nice waist, even her walking had a nice lightweight rhythm to it. Even the leader who had been laughing suddenly stopped and stared, wide-eyed, at the beautiful girl.

In contrast, Zheng Wei looked down at herself and compared herself to the girl the leader was so enamored by. She became grumpy. If it were said that there wasn’t a big difference between them, this was contradicted because, in the afternoon, the beauty walked into Room 402. After waving to everyone, the girl climbed onto the bed above Zheng Wei’s. Zheng Wei felt as though the situation was like a nightmare.

That night, when Zheng Wei was getting ready for bed, Zheng Wei faced the bathroom mirror doing a mental judgement. Imagining herself as Snow White whose hairstyle was as black as charcoal, skin was as white as snow, eyes as bright as stars- didn’t this also fit her description?

When faced with Snow White’s stepmother’s beauty, the prince still liked the cute, young princess. It wasn’t as if Anderson hadn’t said that Snow White had scoliosis. Mirror, mirror, who is the cutest person in the world&h.e.l.lip; it’s me, it’s me, it’s me!

Imagining her roommate, Ruan Guan (What a difficult name to p.r.o.nounce!) as Snow White’s stepmother, Zheng Wei recalled all their differences. Ruan Guan had a big chest and small brains, unlike Zheng Wei; Zheng Wei was also a high scorer on the college entrance exams and was thus one of the only people from her county to get into G-University, although it was a little unfortunate that she shared a cla.s.s with Ruan Guan.

Ruan Guan’s temper was also not as vicious as Zheng Wei imagined, but exaggeration was necessary as after a few days of interaction, anyone could see that she was an easy-going person. However, Zheng Wei still couldn’t bring herself to like her.

Of course, Zheng Wei’s thoughts didn’t influence the boys in the 2nd period civil engineering cla.s.s, who were rejoicing. The boys from the cla.s.s had spread a rumor around G-University about how their cla.s.ses were filled with “Dinosaurs” and that the civil engineering cla.s.s especially, was full of “Tyrannosaurus Rexes”.

Zheng Wei didn’t believe the rumor at first, but after having seen two girls during registration- one who was a beautiful, temperamental girl, and the other who was a pet.i.te, young, beautiful girl she realized it was probably true. Out of the seven civil engineering girls, two of them were in the 2nd period cla.s.s. What a miracle, this is a miracle! Zheng Wei thought. Their representation made her proud to be a female civil engineering student.

Saying this, a flock of birds migrating, beautiful girls also liked getting together, thus using Xiao Bei’s words, this was called: beautiful girls also have temper tantrums. The dorm mates’ of 402’s temper tantrums are treasures.

Excluding Ruan Guan and Zheng Wei, even though the four remaining people weren’t very eye catching, one or two of them were still not bad. He Lu Ya’s small nose small eyes were pretty graceful, but had a handsome atmosphere, just like the most common Li Wei Juan also was not bad looking.

At G-University, this was great if not unprecedented. It was probably about a little unprecedented though.

The opposite floor of the boys’ dormitories also frequently had people shouting, “402, look over here!”

Those young ladies did not like the boys’ techniques in chasing them.

It was Zhuo Mei who first asked, “Why don’t we call us six dorm mates ‘The Six Golden Flower Maidens.’”

Zhu Xiao Bei was the first to refute the idea, “What flower girls? Why don’t we just call ourselves the ‘The Six Strong Golden Girls’? It gives off an imposing manner!”

“Stop arguing, stop arguing! We’ll call ourselves ‘The Six Young Beauties’!” Zheng Wei said, which caused booing from around the room.

He Lu Ya didn’t have any interjections. Li Wei Juan also wouldn’t join in their boring conversation.

So finally, it was the slow-to-speak Ruan Guan who said, “Let’s call ourselves ‘The Six Great Rulers’!”

Zheng Wei and Xiao Bei laughed, “To rely on ‘the six great rulers’ is better than relying on the four great kings- plus two. It sounds pretty cool, so let’s just settle it this way.”

After the light went out that night, “The Six Great Rulers” also seemed like other typical dorm girls in that they liked to lie down and talk. Most of the time, Zheng Wei and Zhu Xiao Bei were the main conductors of the conversation, and often started conversations and then ate steamed meat buns in the dining hall until the conversation ended.

Ruan Guan sometimes added two sentences, but she didn’t talk much; the few sentences that she did add were often brilliant. He Lu Ya would then laugh along with the rest of them while Zhuo Mei slept so heavily that even if one were to hit her, she would never wake.

It was only until Li Wei Juan said “It’s too late, let’s sleep, don’t talk anymore,” that the dorm mates would all fall asleep together.

Zheng Wei’s third attempt at calling him still didn’t go through that night. The discussion continued to Li Wei Juan’s topic of discussion.

She asked, “Everyone, let’s all speak frankly for a second, who has a boyfriend, and who doesn’t? It’s not as if I have one.”

He Lu Ya said, “My mom isn’t allowing me to have a relations.h.i.+p in college. I’m not even planning to talk while studying.”

Zhuo Mei said that her high school days had had a first love, but the boy didn’t test into a college, and was still under tutoring. They had left each other after the break.

Xiao Bei said, “I want to find a boyfriend who is tall, strong, has appeal, and has the four virtues of the mind.”

“Ah? It’s all bachelors? Ruan Guan, What about you?” Li Wei Juan asked.

“I have a boyfriend,” Ruan Guan said. Everyone twittered and bickered, asking after her mysterious boyfriend, to no end. Ruan Guan only said that he was her high school cla.s.smate. They had been together since two years ago, and right now, he was at  Zhe Jiang College. Their relations.h.i.+p was pretty great.

“Then our school has so many young guys whose hearts are going to be broken.”

Li Wei Juan said, realizing that Zheng Wei hadn’t talked at all for the whole night, thus saying, “Zheng Wei, what about you? Are you considered a part of our singles club? We even have a leader.”

Laying on the bed, Zheng Wei said, bored, “I am not considered to be in any kind of relations.h.i.+p.”

“That’s weird, so what if you are single, so what if you don’t have a boyfriend. Why does it matter?” Xiao Bei was impatient, and thus quickly got to her point.

“Stupid Bei!” Zheng Wei’s voice was disconsolate and shrill, “I am single right now, but I will have a boyfriend really soon!”

Li Wei Juan laughed, “You’re talking about that graduate from Zheng Fa University, Lin Ge Ge again. I always hear you talk about him, but I have never seen him with you. Does he exist or not?”

Zheng Wei heard this and became anxious. She turned and sat up on the bed.

“Why would he not exist anymore? Just wait until I find him, and confess to him. Then I’ll have a boyfriend, and when it comes time, just see if you guys believe it or not!”

“What? If you confess, isn’t that equivalent to the girl chasing the guy?” He Lu Ya was surprised to no end.

“So? I dislike playing games, if I like someone I will just tell him!” Zheng Wei exclaimed.

“You’ve already grown up, why are you only confessing your love to him now?” Li Wei Juan was still skeptical.

“Before, he said I was too young and didn’t understand anything, but now I am in college, and I am an adult. He can no longer find excuses to stall.”

Ruan Guan’s first conversation starter went, “How do you confess your love such that he will reciprocate?

Zheng Wei hmphed, “Who am I? I am the silver small invincible dragon under the heavens, what can I not get?”

Everyone laughed at Zheng Wei’s childish air. Zheng Wei was the only person who didn’t laugh. She slowly laid back on her bed, and suddenly thought about winter vacation of junior year.

Lin Jing had also come back to pa.s.s the year, early in the afternoon. He led her to visit a temple, and on the way back, she fell asleep on the bus from going crazy after the day’s trip. She did not know when her head had begun to rest on his shoulder.

He didn’t move, but only called, “Small dragon, small dragon, did you fall asleep?”

She purposely did not make sound, and thought about suddenly scaring him, but felt indescribably strange. Her eyes started watering. Her eyelashes shook, as her eyes shut more tightly. Her ears started to heat up slowly, until the heat reached her heart.

Before they had to get off the bus, Lin Jing woke her. The two people were on the same way home, and yet neither of them talked. Even the once talkative Zheng Wei didn’t say a word. He didn’t bring it up, she didn’t either.

After reaching her house’s downstairs unit, she asked, “Lin Jing, what if I went to college in the same place you are right now?”

Lin Jing observed, “G City has two famous colleges. Since you’re learning engineering, and you’re extremely impatient, you must not go to Zheng Fa College. The remaining college in G-City is G University, and its ratings are not low.”

Zheng Wei did not work very hard in her cla.s.ses, but it was good that she was a little smart, so her grades weren’t bad―they were only unstable.

“Just wait! When I say I will test in, I will definitely test in. After I come to G-City to report for University, I will come find you. When the time comes, there is no escaping!” She looked at him, both of her eyes sparkling.

“All right, I will wait for you,” Lin Jing smiled, nodding his head.

This was his response to her commitment. They didn’t have to say it out loud, but she knew.

After a few days, Lin Jing went to school. Afterwards, even though they talked on the phone a few times, she never saw him with her own eyes.

Right now, she had finally tested into G-University, but she still hadn’t found him.

He said he would wait for her. Lin Jing would definitely keep his word. He would definitely wait for her. Maybe it was that he had been more busy these few days and his silly dorm mates forgot to call her back. Soon―maybe even tomorrow, Lin Jing would call her, and when it happened&h.e.l.lip;

After Zheng Wei thought up to here, she laughed before she fell asleep.