When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 183: Hopeless One-sided Love

The base’s absurdly difficult projects managed to weed out ninety percent of the slackers.

Of course, as diligent students of the major, they would never use the term "slacker" to insult themselves.

"My head is about to explode!" He Shumiao wailed as she returned from outside and flopped onto the bed like a dead fish.

Following her was Fang Wei, who was relatively calm, but his eyes were dull, like a lost person who had lost his faith.

"I’m telling you, Yaoyao, was your guy electrocuted as a kid? Why is his brain’s processing speed so out of sync with gravitational pull?"

Jiang Shuyao entered the room and heard her roommate’s long, intoxicated sigh and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

If she told He Shumiao now that this guy was ranked last in his grade just last year, would she think she was telling ghost stories?

Jiang Shuyao hadn’t studied Pei Yan’s brain.

However, she had to admit that his current learning capacity and rate of improvement were indeed a bit terrifying.

Terrifying to the point that within no more than two months, most of the base members, including her and Jiang Xubai, would be left in the dust.

To use someone’s words, a boss should look the part—without real abilities, how could he uphold the prestige of the base?

Jiang Shuyao was overwhelmed by these reflections.

The fortunes really do turn, she thought, recalling the times last year when she was explaining problems to him, a fire blazing inside her.

Being a top scorer, she couldn’t possibly... be too inadequate?

After some mental soothing, Jiang Shuyao opened her computer to organize the homework everyone had handed in.

Seeing this, He Shumiao hurried over, "Yaoyao, can you copy today’s classwork for me first, hehe, I’ll buy you milk tea tonight."

The best part about programming classes was being able to copy homework without a pen—Ctrl+C/V done in two seconds.

Because of this, He Shumiao owed her five milk teas.

Though she had yet to fulfill this promise, that girl had a certain audacity that made it hard to refuse her, even without receiving the benefits.

After pasting the work, He Shumiao kissed the computer screen and suddenly noticed one of the folders, rubbing her eyes, "NO! Zhong Yuan is actually the second one to submit homework!"

He Shumiao felt like she had been severely hit.

Studying diligently for over two months, not missing a single class, and she couldn’t do better than a guitar-playing sister with abysmal attendance?

She suspiciously looked at the class representative, hoping for an expected answer to comfort her wounded heart.

Jiang Shuyao remained silent, and from the side came Fang Wei’s indifferent voice, "The base can hang its name without conditions; it’s just homework, how could it trip him up?"

The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.

He Shumiao thought she had misheard, "What do you mean by hanging on to the base? I don’t understand."

"I can’t explain clearly, if you want to understand, just go ask Yaoyao’s boyfriend directly."

Alright, the conversation inevitably turned to her.

Jiang Shuyao felt a dull headache and thought that the damn guy really left her with a mess.

The matter of Zhong Yuan hanging on to the base was told to her by Pei Yan that day, saying he did it for brotherhood’s sake, to lend a hand.

Chen Jing planned to invest in Zhong Yuan’s band formation, with the band earning dividends every year once they debuted.

It sounded like the typical rich second-generation, idly splurging money.

But Jiang Shuyao wasn’t foolish; Chen Jing did this because he wanted to pursue Wen Lin.

For a band to debut and become successful isn’t so easy.

Whether or not Zhong Yuan will be successful later, just the initial sporadic investments were no small amount.

She hadn’t expected the usually frivolous Chen Jing, once seriously in love with someone, to be so reckless and careless.

After hearing the whole story, Jiang Shuyao didn’t know how to feel.

The last time in Seaside City, she could easily discern Tang Xing’s feelings for Chen Jing.

A hopeless unrequited love.

She couldn’t bear to see her friend in pain.

But then again, Zhong Yuan wasn’t at fault. Everyone has the right to chase their dreams. If because of Tang Xing, she incited Pei Yan to be a passive observer, it seemed to contradict her principles of living.

Ha.

Damn principles.

Facing the silent scrutiny of her two roommates, Jiang Shuyao pursed her lips and searched for a lame yet plausible explanation.

"Zhong Yuan has a band, and he promised that he could help the base organize offsite performances and pull in sponsorships. Completing his credits in four years was his condition."

A band...

He Shumiao and Fang Wei exchanged glances.

They asked in unison, "You all believed that?"

Hmm.

Jiang Shuyao gave a forced smile.

Two months into the term, the number of songs Zhong Yuan could sing and play completely didn’t exceed five.

Saying he had a band was probably hard for anyone to believe.

But once a decision was made and the water thrown, she sincerely hoped that Zhong Yuan could have his own band, and achieve great success.

As the midterm exams approached, those who had returned from the base gradually quieted down, putting all their effort into revision, with no energy left to complain.

After all, with the finals accounting for thirty percent of the grades, everyone paid extra attention.

These days, the sound of incessant typing could be heard in the dormitory at any time, with both roommates facing their computers, fully prepared for the exams.

Jiang Shuyao felt stuffy and stretched her arms before stepping out onto the balcony.

The weekend after exams ended was Pei Yan’s birthday.

Last year he was nineteen, and in the blink of an eye, he was over twenty this year—Young Master Pei was also heading towards thirty.

As she marveled at how time flew, she couldn’t help but wonder: On his twentieth birthday, what kind of gift should she give him?

In her thoughts, a faint guitar melody drifted from above.

The melody was low, and wouldn’t have been heard if the dormitory wasn’t so quiet.

Jiang Shuyao looked up, then turned back to her two roommates, absorbed in their studies, and all was peaceful.

She couldn’t help but smile. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

For some reason, she suddenly felt a strong urge to go up and take a look.

The rooftop.

The night wind was still chilly.

Jiang Shuyao approached the railing, gazing at the artificial lake in the distance, a straw dipped into a cup of milk tea.

Just as she took a sip, she heard an irritated voice behind her—

"Fuck!"

Jiang Shuyao turned and looked towards the shadowy figure in the dim light.

The blurry night, "Chengdu"’s climax part that modulated twice, cut out awkwardly a dozen times.

Zhong Yuan lit a cigarette, exhaling a long plume.

Through the curling smoke, he saw the uninvited guest not far away.

The two silently faced each other for a while, then Jiang Shuyao carrying her milk tea walked over.

"Don’t worry, no one knows about this place but me."

A meter away from Zhong Yuan, Jiang Shuyao sat down, the night wind wafting her faint fragrance mixed with the smoky air towards the distance.

She put her guitar aside.

His voice was slightly hoarse when he spoke, "Thanks."

Jiang Shuyao paused.

Then puzzled, she asked, "Thanks for what?"

She did have an idea but wanted to confirm it once more, to prove she hadn’t misheard just now.

Expecting no response knowing full well what she was asking, she heard Zhong Yuan say faintly, "The base membership, the daily homework, the rooftop."

Three things, three concise phrases.

Such brevity couldn’t be more illustrative.