Chapter 16: Unexpected Encounter While Feeding a Cat

That afternoon, on the day of the elective class, Lin Hexi finally remembered that he had added You Chong on WeChat. He sent You Chong a message, asking him to save a seat before class.

You Chong replied after a moment, with the expected answer: [Save it yourself.]

Lin Hexi reminded him that group members were supposed to sit together. Clearly forgetting this, You Chong fell silent on the other end of the phone.

Taking his silence as assent, Lin Hexi sent a voice message jokingly: [I want the seat closest to you.]

You Chong didn’t respond.

Lin Hexi didn’t care, and brought up the clothes he had borrowed from You Chong last time: [I washed them; I’ll return them to you in class tonight.]

You Chong replied, telling him to throw it away.

Upon hearing this, Lin Hexi didn’t insist. He took the clean, folded T-shirt out of the paper bag but didn’t throw it in the trash as instructed. Instead, he stuffed it into a corner of his wardrobe.

He recognized the print on the T-shirt—it was a new model that was released by a popular luxury brand this summer. After closing the wardrobe door, Lin Hexi thought that since You Chong didn’t want it, he might as well use it as a rag when tidying up his place someday.

In the evening, when he went to class with the paper bag, You Chong had indeed saved a seat for him. However, it wasn’t the closest seat but the farthest one from him.

Lin Hexi saw this and just smiled. He handed the paper bag to Yang Juan and sat down beside him. Although he had said that on WeChat, actually he didn’t really want to sit next to You Chong.

These two classes were still about wilderness survival theory, mainly covering how to use the density of leaves and the texture of tree bark to navigate while camping in the forest. The content also included how to forage for wild vegetables, start a fire by friction, and pitch a tent.

In addition to explaining the methods with the aid of slides, the teacher even brought a tent and samples of wild vegetables to the classroom, providing a hands-on demonstration.

A student jokingly raised their hand and asked, “Teacher, are you going to take us to the forest for a cookout and camping next time?”

The elective teacher laughed, “Yes, indeed.”

The atmosphere in the classroom instantly became lively.

“But we’re not going to any forest; we’ll be in the arboretum on our campus, so there won’t be any intense jungle adventures.” The teacher clapped to signal for quiet. “The practical activity is scheduled for next weekend, so our indoor theory class at this time next week is canceled.”

The elective teacher flipped through the slides, introducing the necessary items for a cookout and camping.

Everyone was required to prepare a tent and basic medical supplies in advance. Items they lacked could be rented from the outdoor equipment store next to the bus station off-campus. Individual performance and teamwork during the practical activity would be factored into the final grade, and no one was allowed to miss it.

The teacher added, “Students who know how to fish can bring their fishing rods. Those who don’t will have to hope someone in their group does or pray that the wild vegetables you gather won’t be too unpalatable.”

“Of course,” the teacher finally reminded with a smile, “make sure to pay close attention during the theory class. Otherwise, you might mistakenly dig up rare forest plants thinking they are edible wild vegetables, and even if you pledge yourselves to the school, it won’t be enough to pay for the damages.”

The students burst into laughter.

At the end of the class, the six-member group agreed to go off-campus to rent equipment on Sunday afternoon and set up a group chat in advance.

In the following days, Lin Hexi occasionally attended classes diligently and sometimes skipped an entire day to lounge in his rented apartment and enjoy the air conditioner.

Although A University was a nationally renowned key university, the secondary colleges within it were not as impressive. The so-called International College was essentially a haven for wealthy kids. As a result, the third-year courses were scheduled far less frequently than those of the main campus.

On Saturday, the class advisor sent a notification in the class group chat, reminding everyone that the registration system for the CET-6 exam was about to close and urging those who hadn’t registered yet to do so quickly.

Lin Hexi, lying on the sofa playing with his phone, saw the message. He changed his clothes, grabbed an empty takeout box, and headed to the school.

The registration system required access through the campus network, and Lin Hexi didn’t keep a computer in his dorm room, so he had to use the computers in the school library’s computer room.

Unfortunately, his luck was terrible, and he found the library temporarily closed for maintenance for the day. With the registration deadline being tomorrow, he had no choice but to come back on Sunday.

As he left through the south gate of the school, he passed by the school bus terminal and, on a whim, decided to stop by the bakery next to the bus stop to buy some bread for breakfast.

The bakery was quite crowded on the weekend. While Lin Hexi was lining up to pay after picking out his bread, he saw Fang Qingning hurriedly entering the store from outside.

Fang Qingning didn’t see him and went straight to the shelves after entering.

Lin Hexi called out to her just in time, “What are you looking for?”

Fang Qingning turned her face from the shelf, looked at him silently for a moment, then turned her gaze towards the door.

By the door stood three young men in tank tops with tattoos. Each had a cigarette either between their fingers or tucked behind their ears. They lean casually against the doorframe, and their demeanor exuding a streetwise air, not typical of students from the nearby university town.

Without showing any sign of noticing them, Lin Hexi paid for his items, took the shopping bag from the cashier, and walked towards Fang Qingning, asking, “Are those guys waiting for you?”

Fang Qingning nodded.

Lin Hexi frowned, “Did you get involved with these people at the bar?”

Fang Qingning looked frustrated. “I don’t know how they got my contact information, but they want me to go sing with them tonight.”

Lin Hexi said, “I can help you shake them off, but from now on, you should cut ties with any dubious contacts on your phone.”

Fang Qingning looked up at him in surprise.

Lin Hexi asked, “Can’t you do that?”

Fang Qingning shook her head, “I’m just not used to it. It’s been a long time since anyone cared this much.”

In front of him, she took out her phone and deleted all the contacts she had made at the bar. She looked up and asked, “Is this okay?”

Lin Hexi nodded, “That’s fine.”

He put his arm around Fang Qingning’s shoulders and guided her through the bustling crowd inside the bakery towards the back door.

Seeing her now with someone else, the three men outside angrily stormed into the bakery and followed closely.

The back door led to an alley. Fang Qingning looked back and reminded him, “The alley is a dead end.”

Lin Hexi didn’t respond. He turned and led her up a narrow, dim stairway next to the bakery. Fang Qingning didn’t know where the stairs led but followed him silently.

From the stairway window, they saw the three men chasing down the alley. Fang Qingning turned to him and asked, “Should we go down now?”

Lin Hexi replied, “No, we’ll go out through the front door.”

The two walked through the second-floor corridor, and Fang Qingning soon realized that it was lined with discreetly signed love hotels.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, she avoided looking around and continued to follow Lin Hexi for about five more minutes. They finally emerged from another equally hidden staircase.

After descending the stairs, they parted ways.

Lin Hexi watched Fang Qingning cross the street and leave. He then remembered the picture of the kitten he saw on Fang Qingning’s phone when he covered for Ning Nan in class.

He changed his mind, and headed toward the bar street in the university town.

At 5 p.m., the bar street was still quiet. Most bars had their doors closed. Although Week Eight was open, a “Closed” sign still hung on the door, indicating they were still preparing for the evening.

Lin Hexi was unsure if the cat would be there at this time, so decided to buy some supplies from the convenience store across the street and head back.

As he walked past the temporary parking spaces at the entrance of the alley, he noticed a black car parked there. The make and color resembled the one You Chong often drove, but Lin Hexi couldn’t clearly remember the license plate number and didn’t want to check it out.

He carried his bag into the shaded alley, leaning against the wall to wait for a moment.

He lowered his head and scrolled through his WeChat friends list, looking for someone who could register him for the CET-6 exam. After going through the entire list without finding a suitable person, Lin Hexi got distracted, only to feel a slight tug on his left pant leg.

Snapping out of his reverie, he looked down to see the orange cat pawing at his pant leg, quietly climbing onto his shoe and sitting down.

Lin Hexi looked at the cat, and the cat also looked up at him.

He chuckled, bent down, gently pinched the back of the orange cat’s neck, and lifted it off his shoe, placing it on the ground beside his foot.

Lin Hexi then took some bread out of the shopping bag, tore off a small piece, and placed it on his palm, offering it to the orange cat.

The cat didn’t immediately start eating. Instead, it extended its soft tongue to lick his palm before grabbing the piece of bread, and tilting its head back slightly to chew and swallow it.

Finding this amusing, Lin Hexi couldn’t help but reach out and stroke the cat’s chin.

As the sun gradually set at the entrance of the alley, You Chong, standing in the shaded area, looked over with a mix of seventy percent surprise and thirty percent astonishment.