As time passed, Ke Ruobing’s excitement gradually faded, until eventually she began to feel nauseated.
“Dear, would you like something sour? You don’t look well.” The kind older woman offered her a packet of preserved plums with concern.
“N-no, thank you, ma’am. Ugh…”
Ke Ruobing tried to wave her off, but before she could finish speaking, a sudden wave of nausea made her throw up.
Worse still, she had turned toward the window to answer the woman, and her vomit splashed onto the man beside her, who had been resting with his eyes closed.
There was no time to apologize. Ke Ruobing hurried to her feet and ran for the restroom at the end of the carriage.
Then came a violent bout of vomiting. Only after she had emptied her stomach completely did she begin to feel a little better.
Wiping her mouth, she borrowed a mop from a train attendant and set about cleaning the vomit off the floor.
The young man who had been sleeping ever since he boarded had woken up by now, and was frowning as he wiped down his clothes.
Ke Ruobing hurried to apologize. “I’m sorry. I accidentally got your clothes dirty. I can pay for them.” As she spoke, she took out her phone.
“No need,” the man said, shaking his head, his frown deepening.
“Then let’s add each other on WeChat,” Ke Ruobing suggested after a brief hesitation. “What a ‘fateful’ encounter.”
The man looked up at her. “Sure.”
Only after sitting in a hard seat for thirty-four hours did Ke Ruobing finally emerge from Yecheng Railway Station, pale-faced. A wave of heat hit her as soon as she stepped outside.
Yecheng, at the southernmost tip of Huaguo, was home to the vast ocean she had always longed to see. It was also far enough from Hangcheng that she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew. Here, she could start a new life.
The only university in Yecheng was Jianghai University. It wasn’t a top school, but it wasn’t bad either. In her father’s eyes, though, every university outside Hangcheng was nothing but a lousy school.
Looking up at the blue sky, Ke Ruobing felt as though she had come back to life.
“Miss, where are you going? Need a ride?”
Several dark-skinned middle-aged men eagerly crowded around her.
Ke Ruobing shook her head and declined, heading straight for the bus stop. She had looked up the information on the train and knew there was a bus that went directly from the railway station to Jianghai University.
Although her mother had left her a considerable sum of money, Ke Ruobing was used to being frugal, so she decided to take the bus.
As soon as she got on, Ke Ruobing opened the chat with the black-cat avatar.
【Hello. I’m really sorry I accidentally got your clothes dirty earlier.】
After typing the message, she thought for a moment, then sent him a red envelope. Two hundred yuan should be enough, right?
Once she’d sent it, Ke Ruobing leaned against the bus seat and closed her eyes to rest, completely unaware that the owner of the black-cat avatar was sitting not far behind her.
It was her first time taking such a long train journey, and she’d been stuck in a hard seat. She hadn’t slept or eaten well, and felt groggy all over.
All she wanted was to get to the university as soon as possible and find somewhere to rest.
But when she arrived, she was told that registration wasn’t open yet. She couldn’t enter the campus or stay in the dorms.
Ke Ruobing bit her lip and muttered under her breath, “What an idiot!”
Remembering the older guy’s teasing look, she wished she could find a crack in the ground and disappear. It had been so embarrassing.
In a daze, Ke Ruobing wandered aimlessly into an internet cafe called Fish Scale.
“Two hours of internet, please,” she said politely. Her voice carried a faint weariness and weakness.
“ID card.” A long-haired young man looked up, a headband on his head.
Ke Ruobing handed him her ID. “Hey, do you know if there are any places nearby I could rent for a month? I’m a student at Jianghai University. I’ll move out when classes start.”
The young man took her ID and looked her up and down.
Ke Ruobing wore a beige-and-coffee-colored T-shirt with black-gray jeans and carried an ordinary student backpack. Her face had a scholarly air, and she looked pure and somewhat fragile.
He called into the back, “Qingqing, don’t you have an empty room? There’s a young woman here looking to rent.”
“Coming.”
A clear female voice answered.
A moment later, a sweet-looking, cool girl with a blue-black wolf cut came over.
She wore a light blue spaghetti-strap dress with a blue-and-white vertically striped shirt over it. Her figure was slender and shapely, giving her a distinctive beauty.
She was more beautiful than anyone Ke Ruobing had ever seen. At school, she would definitely be considered a campus beauty.
Ke Ruobing studied her, finding her oddly familiar. “Hello. Have we met before?”
“Oh, come on. That’s such an old-fashioned pickup line,” the long-haired young man teased, handing back her ID.
“Stop making fun of her.” The sweet-looking girl punched him, then turned to Ke Ruobing. “Don’t listen to him. He’s always like that—his mouth’s terrible. A tenant just moved out. Want me to show you the room?”
Ke Ruobing nodded in agreement.
“I’m Bai Qingqing.” The girl naturally linked her arm through Ke Ruobing’s. “And you? What’s your name?” For some reason, this girl seemed so sweet and well-behaved that Bai Qingqing couldn’t help wanting to cuddle up to her.
“Ke Ruobing. I’m a freshman at Jianghai University,” Ke Ruobing answered honestly. She wasn’t used to someone being so physically affectionate, but she didn’t pull away.
Bai Qingqing’s eyes lit up. “Wow, I’m a freshman too! Which school are you in?”
“The School of Pharmacy. Pharmaceutical Sciences.”
“Seriously? I’m studying Pharmaceutical Sciences too! What a coincidence!”
“It really is,” Ke Ruobing said, also finding it hard to believe.
Bai Qingqing led Ke Ruobing through the smoke-filled internet cafe and out the back door into a quiet residential neighborhood. After turning twice, they entered an apartment building.
While they waited for the elevator, a trace of unease suddenly stirred in Ke Ruobing. Was it really wise to follow a stranger like this? What if she was up to no good, or part of a pyramid scheme?
“Bingbing, can I call you that?”
Bai Qingqing’s voice interrupted Ke Ruobing’s thoughts and brought her back from her worries.
At the nickname, Ke Ruobing lowered her eyes.
Ever since her mother had passed away, it had been a long time since anyone had called her by her name that way.
When Ke Ruobing didn’t respond, Bai Qingqing assumed she didn’t like it and quickly explained, “Then should I call you Ruobing? My name is Qingqing, and my family is used to calling me by my nickname. It feels more familiar.”
“No, no. You can call me whatever you like.” Ke Ruobing finally spoke, her voice touched with the shy awkwardness of someone unused to this. She raised her head and met Bai Qingqing’s sincere gaze, and the unease in her heart gradually faded. “It’s just that hardly anyone calls me that, so I’m not used to it.”
Bai Qingqing smiled sweetly at her answer. “That’s good. I don’t know why, but I feel so close to you. Maybe it’s because you look so sweet and well-behaved—like a little kid.”