Extra 2: If-2

He Ye stood on the balcony, watching Lu Jin walk away until he disappeared from sight. 

After a moment, she returned to her desk and sat down. 

In this new campus and unfamiliar classroom, everything felt strange, especially since her only familiar person, her boyfriend, had left. 

He Ye lowered her head and took out her cell phone. 

At the end of August, Lu Jin went to Beijing for his new job and stayed with her for almost the entire summer. She felt a bit uneasy without him around suddenly. 

Now, being in an unfamiliar place made her discomfort even stronger than before. 

There was a new message on her phone. 

Team leader: [I’m on the bus, remember to eat.] 

Ye Ziyuanyuan: [I don’t feel hungry.] 

Team leader: [I’ve been busy all morning, how can I not be hungry? Let’s go to the cafeteria while there’s still food.] 

Ye Ziyuanyuan: [If you kiss me less, you can eat with me.] 

Team leader: [Want me to eat with you?] 

He Ye didn’t reply. 

It showed that Lu Jin was “typing” for a long time. She quickly typed: [No, you go to the airport quickly. I’m going to the cafeteria too. Let me know when you get to the airport.] 

Team leader: [OK.] 

He Ye packed her phone and campus card and went to the cafeteria. 

There were students and parents everywhere. He Ye didn’t run into her roommates who had left early. While in line, Lu Jin sent another message. 

Team leader: [When I was filling out my application, I thought long-distance relationships were fine, and seeing each other once every weekend was okay.] 

Team leader: [I just realized I can’t live without you more than I thought.] 

There were students around, so He Ye quickly turned her phone screen off. 

But her mind was full of Lu Jin’s messages. 

During the summer, he said many sweet things, and each time, He Ye felt shy. 

Now it felt real because she understood the feeling of “not being able to leave.” 

Maybe it wasn’t as strong as Lu Jin’s, but she also didn’t want to be apart. 

_

After eating alone, He Ye returned to the dormitory and found her three roommates there, but their parents had left. 

The girls reintroduced themselves. 

The girl with big eyes is Meng Qiao, the one with neat short hair is Wang Ran, and the delicate girl who knows how to do makeup is Guo Leyan. 

He Ye had two characteristics recognized by her roommates: she was the tallest and the most beautiful. 

“He Ye, we were just betting. I said the handsome guy who brought you here is your boyfriend, and Wang Ran said he’s your brother. Who won?” 

He Ye replied more naturally than she thought: “My boyfriend, his name is Lu Jin, the Jin in Fengyanwangwujin. 

Guo Leyan laughed: “Haha, I knew it! Boyfriend is great. It’s a shame he can only be my brother!” 

Meng Qiao asked, “Tell us quickly, how did you two get together?” 

Wang Ran sat close to He Ye, curious and eating snacks. 

He Ye had no choice but to briefly explain, leaving out Lu Jin’s secret crush and just saying he confessed after the college entrance exam. 

Guo Leyan asked, “Which university did he apply to?” 

He Ye smiled and raised her index finger: “He’s from our province.” 

Her roommates gasped: “…” 

He Ye enjoyed their exaggerated reactions and felt happy. 

It wasn’t about pride for having a boyfriend at Tsinghua University was just nice to let more people know about Lu Jin’s excellence. 

He is simply very nice. 

Maybe it was a bit greedy, but as the distance between them grew, He Ye’s longing for her boyfriend naturally outweighed her discomfort with their intense closeness. 

That evening, Lu Jin had a military training theory class, and He Ye attended a freshman class meeting. 

Her roommates helped He Ye settle into her new life smoothly. When she parted with Lu Jin at noon, she felt scared about the discomfort of separation. 

While drying her hair after a shower, Lu Jin called her via video. 

Except for Wang Ran, who was showering, Meng Qiao and Guo Leyan leaned in to cheer her on. 

He Ye felt shy to talk to Lu Jin in front of them, so she put down the hair dryer, grabbed her phone, and went to the balcony. 

When the video call connected, He Ye first saw Lu Jin, who was sitting in the living room of his rental house. 

To Lu Jin, He Ye looked beautiful even with half-dry, slightly messy hair, which added an unexpected allure to her familiar innocence. 

To him, He Ye was the source of his desire, a feeling he had since they met by chance in the supermarket.

The difference is that He Ye has never taken the initiative to increase her desire, and it’s just that Lu Jin himself has too many associations.

“Just finished taking a shower?” he asked simply.

He Ye hurriedly connected to the video call and forgot about her appearance. When her boyfriend reminded her, she subconsciously touched her hair and switched to the rear camera.

Lu Jin, uninterested in the dormitory walls, said, “I want to see you.”

He Ye replied softly, “My hair is still messy.”

Lu Jin responded, “Then go blow-dry your hair first, and call me when you’re done.”

He Ye accepted this suggestion.

She blow-dried her hair carefully and combed it in front of the mirror.

Guo Leyan lay back in her chair, silently admiring He Ye as she combed her hair, noting her straight nose and rosy cheeks after bathing. When He Ye stood up, Guo Leyan quietly said, “Before, I envied He Ye for having a super handsome boyfriend, but now I envy Lu Jin even more. He Ye is really beautiful; the more you look at her, the more you like her.”

No matter how handsome a guy is, he’s just average. A beautiful woman’s every move is full of charm. He Ye was just combing her hair, yet Guo Leyan found it mesmerizing.

He Ye wanted to video chat with Lu Jin, so she smiled and went to the balcony again.

Lu Jin was still on the sofa. When he saw He Ye again, he leaned closer to the camera and looked at her seriously.

He Ye couldn’t stand his gaze and turned away.

Lu Jin whispered, “If you do this in front of me, I will kiss your neck.”

He Ye: “…”

She quickly blocked the camera and complained softly, “If you say that again, I’ll hang up.”

Lu Jin asked, “How many boys are in your class?”

The topic shifted, and He Ye lowered her hand to start chatting.

Lu Jin continued, “I bet all the boys noticed you when you walked into the classroom.”

Although the students in their senior year had not changed much, they were ready to start their university lives. In high school, love was usually discouraged, but universities allowed it, making “love” an option. Some students eagerly sought relationships, while others waited quietly.

He Ye replied, “It’s not as exaggerated as you say.”

Lu Jin countered, “I just understand boys better than you.”

He Ye thought for a moment and asked, “According to you, if a beauty walks into your classroom, do the boys notice her too?”

Lu Jin said, “First, I don’t know if there are any beauties in our class. From kindergarten to college, except for you, the other girls are just classmates. I don’t distinguish between beautiful and ugly.”

He Ye, leaning against the wall, glared at him and then turned away.

Lu Jin added, “Second, I only pay attention to you, not the other girls.”

He Ye replied, “Of course you can say that.”

Lu Jin teased, “Is this jealousy?”

He Ye shot him a glare.

Lu Jin said, “Sorry, I judged others by my own standards.”

He Ye laughed again.

Military training is actually quite serious. The more a school values military training, the harder it is to take leave.

Lu Jin was in great health, and Lan Hai had already used a leave. He couldn’t make up a story about a family member being ill just to see He Ye, so he couldn’t come to Shanghai on the second weekend of military training.

He Ye didn’t mind at all and advised him to focus on military training during their Friday night video call.

Lu Jin said, “You don’t mind because you don’t miss me.”

He Ye responded, “…If you want to see me, then come over.”

Lu Jin said, “Wait.”

He Ye didn’t take his “waiting” seriously. She knew his military training started at six in the morning and without leave, he couldn’t fly back in time the next day. She was sure he couldn’t come, so she acted casually.

He Ye had no classes on Saturday, so she spent the day in the library reading books. There were so many books to share among students.

Around eight in the evening, He Ye returned to the dormitory.

Meng Qiao had gone to a gathering and wasn’t back yet. Wang Ran was reading, and Guo Leyan was watching an American TV series.

Since the bathroom was empty, He Ye took a shower first.

After showering, she changed into pajamas. When she passed Guo Leyan’s table, she got distracted by the TV series and moved her chair to watch it with her.

The episode ended around ten twenty.

Guo Leyan suddenly reminded her, “Isn’t it time to video chat with Lu Jin?”

He Ye realized this and checked her phone. Not only was there no video invitation, but there wasn’t even a message.

“Maybe he’s busy,” she said, continuing to watch with Guo Leyan.

Just ten minutes later, Lu Jin called.

He Ye moved to the balcony to answer.

Before she heard his voice, she spotted a tall boy standing downstairs, holding a phone to his ear, tilting his head back.

The streetlights illuminated his cold eyes. He Ye’s phone slipped and fell with a “pop” onto the balcony floor.

His voice brought her back, and she quickly picked up the phone.

Luckily, the screen wasn’t broken.

She stood up straight and looked downstairs again.

Lu Jin gestured for her to come down.

Even if he hadn’t, He Ye would definitely go down!

She returned to her dorm, grabbed a set of clothes, and ran to the bathroom to change.

Wang Ran asked, “What’s going on?”

Guo Leyan rushed to the balcony, recognized Lu Jin, who had left the streetlight, and was now walking toward the dormitory entrance.

She couldn’t believe it and shouted, “Lu Jin!”

Lu Jin looked up, stamping his feet. He had narrow, intense black eyes. Guo Leyan didn’t know if she was shocked or impressed by his handsomeness. She ran into the dormitory and yelled at Wang Ran: “Lu Jin is here! He actually came all the way from Beijing!”

Wang Ran responded: “…Today is Saturday; is that allowed?”

Guo Leyan reminded her: “You forgot, He Ye said he would have three weeks of military training. He must have taken leave again!”

Wang Ran was convinced too! Lu Jin took leave the first week to send He Ye off and took leave again the second week for a date. It’s not easy to take leave from military training at Tsinghua University.

He Ye ignored her roommates’ teasing, tossed her pajamas over a chair, grabbed her phone, and ran outside.

Wang Ran called after her: “Hey, can you bring your ID card?” 

He Ye replied, “…I will definitely come back.” 

With that, she left, blushing.

Wang Ran looked at Guo Leyan, who smiled: “Student Lu Jin is still working hard, huh?” 

Wang Ran added: “That’s normal. He Ye is too shy. She hides in the bathroom to change, unlike us.”

Meanwhile, He Ye was walking downstairs. As she neared the lobby, she spotted her boyfriend standing outside the door.