1987 My Era

Chapter 584, I never expected to meet her.
“So what if I’m alone? I’m a top student from Fudan University, my future is bright, and I’ll be fawned over wherever I go!” Sun Manning puffed out her ample chest, her face full of pride.

Glancing at her large chest, Li Heng said speechlessly, "Can't you be a little more low-key?"
"I'm not Ye Ning, don't be so arrogant. Who are you trying to impress?"

Ye Ning, a double A, is a synonym for barrenness.

"Hahaha...!" Sun Manning put her left hand on her hip and laughed triumphantly.

After laughing heartily for a while, she asked, "When are you going back to Shanghai?"

Li Heng said, "Today."

Sun Manning asked, "What time?"

Li Heng replied, "I'm leaving soon, I have to catch a flight in Changsha. What's up? Did you need something?"

Sun Manning hesitated for a moment and said, "Chen Lijun will come to see me around 2 pm. It's a pity you don't have time, otherwise we could have dinner together."

Li Heng's mind raced, and he tentatively asked, "You didn't betray me, did you? Saying I would come to Shaoyang today?"

Having her secret thoughts exposed, Sun Manning smiled to cover her embarrassment: "Wasn't I just doing her a favor? I felt she really wanted to see you."

Li Heng was speechless, rolled his eyes and asked, "Don't you know I'm a man of wheat ears?"

Sun Manning said angrily, "I know, you're still Song Yu's lover."

Li Heng said irritably, "Then why are you doing all this? Making things difficult for me?"

Sun Manning suddenly clapped her hands, turned around and said to the door of the guard room, "Did you hear that? He doesn't want to see you. Are you going to come out or not? Think about it carefully."

Upon hearing this, Li Heng was startled!

Has this silly girl changed her ways? Become smarter? Was her claim of going to visit relatives for the New Year a lie?
Was everything you just said just nonsense? Was it a smokescreen to lull yourself into a false sense of security?

Did they guess I was coming to No. 1 High School and deliberately wait for me at the school gate?

He stared intently at the door of the gatehouse, trying to confirm his suspicions.

At this moment, time suddenly slowed down, and every second felt like torture.

Two short minutes felt like two centuries.

After waiting a while, just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief and thought Sun Manning was playing a trick on him, he heard a "click" and the bolt on the gatehouse door responded.

Then, under his tense gaze, the door to the gatehouse opened, leaving a crack.

Through the tiny gap, Li Heng could see the person inside. This…!
This is indeed Chen Lijun.

There was no room for luck.

But the other person seemed even more nervous than Li Heng. His fingers nervously twisted the hem of his clothes, and when his eyes met Li Heng's gaze through the crack in the door, he immediately withdrew, his face turning red!
Her complexion was fair with a rosy glow, like a flower bud just beginning to emerge in spring, which was quite charming.

Seeing her hesitate, Sun Manning added fuel to the fire, saying, "Hey, hey, hey! If you don't come out, he'll leave. I did this against my conscience today. How can you do this to me?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Lijun hesitated for a long time before finally opening the door completely and stepping out.

Chen Lijun was a little hesitant to look at Li Heng, but still greeted him with flushed cheeks:

"Li Heng, it's been a long time."

Her voice was soft, but it still reached Li Heng's ears precisely.

As his gaze swept over her, a line of words suddenly popped into Li Heng's mind: "Even the lotus cannot compare to the beauty's makeup; the breeze from the water palace carries the fragrance of pearls and jade."

It's obvious that Chen Lijun dressed up specially today, exuding youthful energy while also being very feminine.

Li Heng remained silent for a moment, until his gaze lingered on her for the second time before he finally spoke, "Long time no see."

"Oh my god! It's only been a year and a half since we last met, and you two, who were such good friends in high school, have become strangers. Li Heng, give me your backpack, you take Li Jun for a walk." Seeing that her friend was hesitant, Sun Manning, adhering to the principle of doing a good deed to the end, gave her another push.

Li Heng gave the silly girl a subtle glare! But since things had come to this point, he couldn't be too heartless, so he handed the backpack to her.

As soon as she got the bag, Sun Manning ran away carelessly, as if this place was hell on earth and she didn't want to stay for a moment longer, so she just ran away.

Once everyone had left, Li Heng glanced at his watch and said, "Want to take a walk together?"

"it is good."

Facing him alone, Chen Lijun felt a little awkward, her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes a little tighter as she responded.

After exchanging questions and answers, the two crossed the road and walked along the Zijiang River embankment towards a less crowded area upstream.

The wind is quite strong today, making people feel cold and causing clothes to flutter.

Chen Lijun's hair was completely messed up by the wind, but she didn't care. She lowered her head and followed closely behind him, moving forward.

After walking for a long time, they turned a bend in the river and came to a stone arch bridge. The two looked at each other and then walked under the bridge to take shelter from the wind.

Finding a completely sheltered corner by the wind, Li Heng rubbed his hands together and said, "Sigh, it's already past the New Year, but I didn't expect it to still be so cold."

Chen Lijun pointed to a small hill not far away, "There are some dry tree branches, do you want to pick some up and burn them?"

Li Heng's mind raced, and he asked, "Do you carry a source of fire?"

Chen Lijun unzipped her bag and took out a brand new lighter.

Li Heng asked curiously, "Why do you, a woman, carry this thing with you all the time?"

Chen Lijun said, "My younger brother always likes to set off firecrackers with a lighter during the Lunar New Year. It's so noisy, so I confiscated it."

Li Heng asked, "Did you put it in your bag after confiscating it?"

"Putting it anywhere else doesn't work; he always finds it afterward. But if I put it in my bag, he won't dare to rummage through it," Chen Lijun explained.

Li Heng said, "Since the older sister dislikes him so much, he must be her own brother."

Chen Lijun smiled, and her tense emotions gradually eased.

She quietly said, "Thank you!"

She knew that the man was talking about so many unrelated things to ease the tension between them and to reassure her.

Li Heng said, "Go find some thatch to start a fire, and I'll go get a bundle of dry branches."

After saying that, he headed towards the low hills.

After lingering on his back for a moment, Chen Lijun bent down to collect the dried reeds.

Before long, the fire was burning brightly.

Looking at the crackling fire, Li Heng sat down and asked, "When did you get back?"

Chen Lijun replied, "The 26th of the twelfth lunar month."

Li Heng said, "Oh, you're back quite late. When are you leaving?"

Chen Lijun said, "The fifth day of the lunar new year."

Li Heng said, "Then can we stay at home for another day?"

Chen Lijun said yes.

At this point, the two suddenly fell silent, their conversation abruptly ending as they stared at the fire in silence.

After a long while, she reached out her right hand and moved the branch with a burnt section towards the fire, asking with concern, "Am I making you late for your journey?"

Li Heng said, "It's alright."

Upon hearing this, Chen Lijun looked at the bright red flames and said, "Don't blame Manning, it was I who pestered her to see you."

Li Heng turned his head to look at her. He just looked, without saying a word.

Chen Lijun paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Do you feel something has changed?"

Li Heng said, "You've become much bolder. You wouldn't have said this to me before, let alone been so direct."

Blushing, Chen Lijun explained softly, "You're surrounded by beautiful women; if I didn't do this, I wouldn't even see you." Li Heng was stunned and didn't respond.

After waiting a while and receiving no response, she picked up a dry twig and poked at the embers to hide her inner insecurity, and couldn't help but ask softly, "Have you still opened the letters I wrote to you?"

Li Heng wanted to lie, but he was afraid the girl would press him further, so he decided to be honest and say, "Sorry, I only opened one."

"I knew this would happen." Chen Lijun's face remained calm, without much emotion.

She seemed to have anticipated this scene.

Li Heng sighed and asked, "Sigh, since you understand, why are you still so persistent in writing it..."

Chen Lijun paused, lowered her head even further, and after a long while, her red lips moved slightly:

"Do you know? Every letter I write to you is as if it were the last letter I would ever write in this life."

At this point, she added, "I know this will put you in a difficult position and damage your image, but I..."

She tried several times to say what followed "but I," but ultimately remained silent due to shyness.

Li Heng stared at her fair forehead for a while, then looked away and gazed at the horizon, sighing, "Not opening your letter is not because I'm heartless."

It's just that I'm too soft-hearted. I'm afraid of hurting you... Sigh, I don't know if you understand how I feel...

Chen Lijun said, "I understand."

Before he could speak, she apologized profusely, "I'm sorry! It was my fault."

Li Heng slowly waved his hand: "No need to apologize, I'm not a good person either. I offended Song Yu, yet I still have an ambiguous relationship with Mai Sui."

Um, do you know how I feel about wheat right now?

After thinking for a while, Chen Lijun guessed, "You don't want to let go, but you can't give her a proper wedding?"

Li Heng nodded heavily.

Chen Lijun said, "Actually, this is not your fault. Mai Sui should have already considered these consequences when she followed in your footsteps to Fudan University."

Li Heng chuckled and shook his head: "How old was she when she took the college entrance exam? How could she have thought about all that?"

Chen Lijun shook her head: "No, she must have thought about it and figured it out."

Li Heng was surprised.

Chen Lijun explained to him: "For us girls, Song Yu is like an insurmountable chasm, even if we are as beautiful as wheat ears, it is very difficult for us to cross it."

She knew you were hopelessly in love with Song Yu during high school, yet she still chose to go to Fudan University with you, which shows she had considered the worst-case scenario.

Li Heng thought there was some truth to it and asked, "And what about you?"

Chen Lijun was speechless, but today's meeting was a rare opportunity, and she cherished it, saying, "Although I keep saying that the school I most want to go to is Renmin University, that's not actually the case."

I only said that because I thought you would follow Song Yu to Peking University.

I just want to be closer to you, in the same city as you, so it won't seem abrupt.

But no matter how much I planned, I never expected you to miss Peking University by just one point. During that time, I was very upset. I even considered asking my uncle to use his connections to get me into Fudan University, but after learning that Mai Sui was going to Shanghai, I... I gave up.

Li Heng was completely bewildered, never expecting that there were so many hidden details involved.

He asked casually, "Then why did you give up? Don't you want to ruin your relationship with Mai Sui?"

Chen Lijun said, "That's only one aspect. There are two other reasons."

Li Heng: "Two more? Which two?"

Chen Lijun said, "The second reason is that I don't have much of a chance of winning against wheat ears."

The third reason is that Mai Sui is braver than me. We're in the same boat; we both only dared to secretly admire you. She finally took that step, and I couldn't bear to ruin her pursuit of love.

Li Heng remained silent for a long time, then asked, puzzled, "Go to the capital, and you'll have Song Yu to talk to?"

Chen Lijun said shyly, "It's different."

Li Heng asked, "How is it different?"

Chen Lijun said, "Because of Chen Zijin's existence, it's impossible for the proud Song Yu to get together with you in a short period of time."

Moreover, the capital is Chen Zijing's stronghold, and it's impossible for him to allow you two to get together so easily.

Since we're both in Beijing, at least I can spend my four years of university with you without any worries.

Li Heng fell silent again upon hearing this.

He had to admit that throughout high school, this girl had left a very good impression on him: quiet, not talkative, and always smiling. He had even teased her about it several times. He never imagined that the college entrance exam would cause her so much inner turmoil.

This reminded him of himself: when he finished high school in his previous life, he also had many complicated feelings for Song Yu, which were as unbearable as a cat scratching his heart, but he didn't dare to express them.

As the dry branches and wood continued to burn, the red flames grew higher and higher. Li Heng felt his body warm up completely, then looked at his watch and asked, "Is there anything else you need me for today?"

Chen Lijun stared at the flame. "No."

Upon hearing this, Li Heng slowly stood up, stamped his foot, and said, "I'll open and read those letters you sent me later. Let's go, I have to catch my train."

With that, he turned to leave.

She hadn't gone very far, only taken two steps, when Chen Lijun grabbed her with her outstretched left hand.

Well, you can't really say "pulled," it's just that her left hand involuntarily tugged at the hem of his clothes.

Li Heng was stunned and turned halfway to look at her.

Chen Lijun's eyes darted away, avoiding his gaze, her face flushed crimson. For a moment, he looked at her, she looked at the fire, her hand gripping her clothes, veins bulging, yet she didn't let go, creating an awkward atmosphere.

No one spoke.

After a long pause, she bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth and said, "Sit with me for another 5 minutes."

Li Heng remained silent, sat back down on the rock, and continued to warm himself by the fire.

This time, he didn't look at her.

She didn't even look at him.

They sat apart, each lost in their own thoughts as they gazed at the fire.

And just like that, five minutes passed without us even realizing it…

Chen Lijun raised her wrist to look at it, and said softly, "Thank you for today, you can go now."

Li Heng didn't move, but glanced at her several times before finally asking, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," Chen Lijun said, her adorable red cheeks puffed out.

Li Heng asked, "Why did you choose to join the army instead of attending such a good university as Renmin University?"

Chen Lijun hesitated and said, "I've had a dream of joining the army since I was a child. Don't ask me anything else. I'll tell you later if I have the chance."

"Alright." Li Heng wisely shut up and said no more.

He stood up and asked, "The way back to school is quite long, shall we walk together?"

Chen Lijun didn't even look up: "No need."

Li Heng glanced at her jet-black hair, opened his lips, hesitated several times as if he wanted to say something, and finally instructed, "Then remember to put out the firewood. It's dry this season and it's easy for it to catch fire."

"Hmm." Chen Lijun gave a muffled "hmm," but still didn't look at him.

Seeing this, Li Heng started walking back the way he came.

(End of this chapter)