Chapter 048

By the time the college entrance exam results were released, it was already late August. Not long after receiving her score report, it was time to start the new semester.

Meng Li packed her things and went to the school to register, officially beginning her university life.

The university experience in this era was quite different from what Meng Li had understood before she traveled back in time.

Before her journey to this world, university life felt like a release from the prison of high school after the college entrance exams, a time to relax and enjoy newfound freedom.

However, things were different now. Many of the students had spent the past ten years not studying at all. Having finally made it to university, they were back in the classroom, and their main focus was on studying. Every day, they buried themselves in the sea of knowledge.

In addition to this, the students were generally older, with many being married and having children, which was quite common.

Meng Li had just turned twenty and was the youngest in her class.

Despite the significant age gap, everyone’s experiences were similar, so they didn’t have trouble getting along with one another.

It was either those who had been sent to the countryside or those who had served in the military—whenever this topic came up, everyone had something to say about it.

Whether it was military service or school, the lifestyle was generally repetitive and somewhat dull.

Meng Li’s days consisted of attending classes, eating, sleeping, going to the library to study, or returning home to spend time with Meng Xucheng.

A week into university life, she had pretty much adjusted to everything.

After lunch in the cafeteria, she returned to the dorm for a nap. Sitting at her desk, Meng Li flipped through the two books she had just borrowed from the library.

She hadn’t read much when someone knocked on the door of their dorm and called out to her, “Meng Li, someone’s looking for you. They’re waiting outside the school gate.”

Meng Li looked at the girl who was delivering the message. “Who’s looking for me?”

The girl paused for a moment. “I forgot to ask their name. They should be your friend, about your age, a guy.”

Meng Li thought for a moment to herself and concluded that it was probably Ji Chen.

The only guy around her age who would come to the school to find her was Ji Chen.

She thanked the girl, closed the books in her hands, and left the dorm.

Afterward, she walked briskly to the school gate. Before she could step outside, she saw a young man standing there.

From his sideways stance and back, he didn’t seem to resemble Ji Chen, and he wasn’t wearing military attire, but there was something unusually familiar about him.

A trace of confusion appeared on Meng Li’s face. She walked out the gate and approached the young man’s back, politely asking, “Are you the one looking for me?”

As soon as she asked, the young man turned around, and in that instant, Meng Li was stunned.

She stood there for a while, unable to blink.

It was Zhou Nan who smiled first, looking at her and saying, “What’s wrong? Two years apart, and you don’t recognize your brother anymore?”

Meng Li quickly regained her composure, though she didn’t quite know how to react.

Inside, she was both excited and delighted, her face lighting up with a bright smile. She looked at Zhou Nan and said, “When did you get back? I went to your house to find you before, but your mom said you hadn’t returned.”

Zhou Nan was also excited, but he appeared much more composed than Meng Li.

He smiled and said, “I came back after getting my acceptance letter. I was planning to come find you right when the semester started, but there was so much going on at the beginning of school, so I delayed it until now. As soon as I had free time, I came to find you.”

Meng Li understood—Zhou Nan had come back after being accepted to university.

Her eyes lit up as she stared at him. “Which university did you get into?”

Zhou Nan replied, “Beihang University.”

Meng Li’s eyes brightened even more. She quickly walked up and gave Zhou Nan’s arm a playful slap. “That’s impressive!”

Zhou Nan looked up at the name of the school in front of them and smiled. “Still not as impressive as you Third Master.”

Meng Li smiled briefly and didn’t mention the topic again. She then asked Zhou Nan, “Have you eaten?”

Zhou Nan had already had lunch before coming, so he nodded.

There was no need to eat together, so Meng Li led Zhou Nan into the school and casually walked around Weiming Lake and the Boya Tower, chatting along the way.

As they walked by Weiming Lake, Meng Li asked Zhou Nan, “What about Jin Bei?”

Zhou Nan walked slowly beside Meng Li, towering over her by more than half a head. “He didn’t pass the exam, and he’s still there. He doesn’t plan to try for university again; he says he can’t make it. I told him to be patient and wait a bit longer. With the way things are going, he’ll be able to come back eventually.”

Meng Li let out a soft sigh. “It must be tough in that kind of place, right?”

Zhou Nan seemed indifferent. “It’s definitely tough, but it’s not that bad. We just treat it as a way to enrich our life experience.”

The two of them strolled slowly, chatting about many things—Zhou Nan and Jin Bei’s time in the countryside. They talked about their daily routines in the mountains, the good and bad experiences with other educated youths, and the conflicts with local village officials.

Meng Li knew that Zhou Nan and Jin Bei had grown up in the city, accustomed to a more comfortable life. They had quick tempers and couldn’t tolerate mistreatment or injustice.

It was no surprise that when they were sent to the countryside, they struggled to get along with the local officials.

Because they frequently caused trouble and had strained relationships with the locals, while other educated youths were finding ways to return to the city, they remained stuck in the countryside.

After chatting about Zhou Nan and Jin Bei, the conversation naturally shifted to Meng Li.

After just a few sentences, Zhou Nan gave her a once-over, looking her up and down before remarking, “You’ve changed a lot. There’s no trace of that tomboyishness anymore. Not a single bit of Third Master Meng’s style is left.”

Meng Li tugged at the floral dress she was wearing and glanced at Zhou Nan. “What’s wrong? Doesn’t it look good?”

Zhou Nan smiled. “Of course it looks good. If anyone thinks our Third Master doesn’t look good, I’ll twist their head off.”

Meng Li couldn’t help but laugh at the compliment, feeling sweet and content inside.

She let go of the dress and said, “Looks like brothers are the best after all.”

Even though two years had passed since they last met, and even though she no longer had that rebellious edge, their relationship hadn’t grown distant.

They could speak freely, without the need for politeness or hesitation.

As they continued chatting, they became more relaxed and eventually began talking about Zhuo Xi and Wei Dong.

There wasn’t much to discuss, though, since one was in Guangzhou and the other in Nanjing. They hadn’t written to each other much over the past year, so they didn’t know how the two were doing or if they had been promoted.

Their conversation lasted until it was almost time for Meng Li’s class, and they still hadn’t fully finished their discussion.

But Zhou Nan didn’t stay long at Meng Li’s school. He left to return to his own school for class.

Before leaving, he and Meng Li made plans to hang out together that weekend.

Meng Li readily agreed and gave him her current address.

After hearing it, Zhou Nan curiously asked, “You’re not living in Zhima Hutong anymore?”

Meng Li nodded. “Ever since I was discharged from the military, I stopped living there. My dad was rehabilitated, and his workplace assigned us a new apartment. We live there now.”

Zhou Nan nodded in response. “Alright, I’ll head off then.”

Meng Li waved at him. “See you this weekend.”

…

To save more time for studying, Meng Li usually stayed at school during the week.

However, every weekend, she would go home to spend time with Meng Xucheng.

Meng Li had subtly suggested that he should find another wife, since living alone seemed a bit lonely.

But it seemed that Meng Xucheng had no plans in that direction, focusing all his attention on work and his daughter.

After hinting a couple of times without any result, Meng Li stopped bringing up the matter.

She didn’t want to push the matter, so she simply made more time to go home and keep Meng Xucheng company.

On Friday after school, she went home and cooked dinner with him.

The next day, Meng Li slept in until she woke up naturally. After agreeing with Meng Xucheng to spend the day out, she stayed at home, waiting for Zhou Nan to come pick her up.

Around ten o’clock, someone knocked on the door.

Meng Li had already prepared, so she grabbed her small bag and went out with Zhou Nan.

Before leaving, she introduced Zhou Nan to Meng Xucheng, saying he was one of her close friends from before.

The other three were still in other places—two were in the military, and one was sent to the countryside for re-education.

When Meng Xucheng heard that Zhou Nan had been accepted into Beihang University, he praised him and didn’t say much more. He took some money from his pocket and gave it to Meng Li.

Meng Li didn’t refuse, simply pocketing the money before heading out with Zhou Nan.

The two of them went downstairs, preparing to ride on the bicycle and explore Beijing.

But just as Meng Li was about to hop onto the backseat of Zhou Nan’s bike, she suddenly heard two honks from a car.

Instinctively, she turned her head to look and saw a green jeep parked not far away.

She recognized the car, and the person sitting behind the windshield was also someone she knew.

After clearly seeing Ji Chen’s face, Meng Li was surprised and slightly parted her lips, wondering why he had suddenly appeared.

Zhou Nan noticed she was staring blankly and hadn’t gotten on the bike. He turned back and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Meng Li swallowed, then looked at Zhou Nan. “Ji… Ji Chen is here…”

Zhou Nan raised an eyebrow, slightly doubting his ears. “Who? Ji Chen?”

Meng Li pointed toward the jeep not far away, feeling a bit uneasy. “Look, isn’t that him?”

Zhou Nan turned his head to look and indeed saw Ji Chen getting out of the car.

Ji Chen closed the car door and walked over to Meng Li and Zhou Nan, looking relatively polite. “Long time no see.”

Zhou Nan glanced at Ji Chen, then at Meng Li, feeling his mind start to spin. “What’s going on here?”

Meng Li was about to explain, but before she could speak, Ji Chen interrupted.

He looked at Zhou Nan and said, “We served in the military together for two years, so we’ve been good friends for a long time. I came to find her to hang out, didn’t expect you’d be back. Since we’ve run into each other, why don’t we all go together?”

Zhou Nan thought to himself, Who do you think you are, speaking with such a bossy tone? Who are you to act like that?

But when he saw Meng Li nodding in agreement, he didn’t say anything more.

Meng Li looked at Zhou Nan, knowing that he harbored some deep animosity toward Ji Chen. Considering his feelings, she spoke up. “If you don’t want to hang out with him, we can just go together, the two of us…”

“It’s fine, let’s go together…”

Before Meng Li could finish speaking, Zhou Nan responded with a defiant tone, clearly showing he wasn’t intimidated.

So, the three of them stood there for a few seconds before getting into Ji Chen’s car.

Zhou Nan pulled Meng Li into the backseat, intentionally placing his hand on her shoulder, then looked at Ji Chen through the rearview mirror as he spoke.

Ji Chen, seeing his gesture in the mirror, didn’t say anything, but it was clear he noticed.

Meng Li didn’t sense any direct hostility between the two, but in her mind, it was odd that there wasn’t any tension between them. Given their personalities, there had to be some kind of rivalry.

The atmosphere in the car was both tense and strange. After they got out, Meng Li found herself walking with one on her left and the other on her right. The entire journey felt like a standoff, with both of them constantly trying to outdo each other. It wasn’t about enjoying the scenery or having fun—it was just about them exchanging barbs and competing.

Even after lunch, when they changed locations, the atmosphere hadn’t eased at all.

Meng Li really wanted to intervene and ask the two of them to be a bit more polite to each other, but neither of them was listening.

After spending half the day together, Meng Li couldn’t take it anymore. She made up an excuse to take a break and stepped away to catch her breath.

She felt like she was sandwiched between the two of them, and it was getting too awkward to bear.

Once Meng Li left, the tension between the two only grew.

Ji Chen turned to Zhou Nan with a menacing look. “Take your hands off. Don’t put them where they don’t belong.”

Zhou Nan wasn’t backing down. “She’s my friend. Who are you to tell me what to do?”

Ji Chen’s expression grew colder. “She’s a girl. It was one thing when she was pretending to be a boy, but now, please be more respectful.”

Zhou Nan, however, was deliberately showing Ji Chen where he stood. He wanted him to know that Meng Li was his friend and that Ji Chen didn’t hold any power over him.

Zhou Nan sneered. “Actually, that’s something I should be saying to you. She’s my friend, and you don’t have the right to lay a finger on her.”

Ji Chen looked at him with a mocking expression. “You still think it’s like before? You should take a look around; this is a different time. She likes me, and I like her. Who she chooses to be with is her business, not yours to control.”

Hearing those words made Zhou Nan’s blood boil.

He couldn’t hold back and, gritting his teeth, stepped forward and punched Ji Chen in the face.

Ji Chen staggered from the blow, but after a moment, he didn’t hold back either. He clenched his fist and swung it back at Zhou Nan.

The two of them started fighting, just like they were sixteen or seventeen years old.

In the fight, Zhou Nan wasn’t having an easy time, because Ji Chen had been in the military and had always been good at fighting. A few moves were enough to leave Zhou Nan at a disadvantage. However, Zhou Nan had a stubborn streak and wasn’t one to back down easily, so the fight became more intense.

Meng Li, who had just stepped away for a moment to catch her breath, returned to find the two men fighting.

She quickly ran over, trying to stop them. It took her quite a while to pull them apart.

Seeing the bruises on both of their faces, Meng Li was really at her wit’s end. She furrowed her brows and asked, “What are you two doing?”

Zhou Nan spat on the ground. “This kid deserves a beating.”

Ji Chen, hearing this, was about to make another move, but Meng Li grabbed him and threatened, “Try it again, and see what happens.”

Ji Chen also spat on the ground but didn’t escalate the situation further.

Zhou Nan, watching the way Meng Li and Ji Chen interacted, could easily tell how important she was to Ji Chen.

He looked between Ji Chen and Meng Li, then asked her, “Do you like him?”

Meng Li froze for a moment, feeling a bit guilty. “What are you talking about?”

Zhou Nan pressed on, “I’m asking you, do you like him? Do you like this bastard?”

Hearing Zhou Nan’s tone, Meng Li’s heart chilled slightly.

She had a feeling that if she admitted she liked Ji Chen, the brotherhood between her and Zhou Nan might be over. They had always disliked Ji Chen, and it seemed unlikely that they would ever accept her being with him.

It was a choice between her brothers and the person she liked.

This was what Meng Li thought.

While Meng Li remained silent, both Ji Chen and Zhou Nan were watching her, seemingly waiting for her to make a choice, offering no words.

Meng Li hesitated until the very end before releasing Ji Chen’s arm.

Ji Chen instinctively lowered his gaze, a trace of unease and nervousness flashing in his eyes.

Meng Li took a deep breath, stood up straight, and looked at Zhou Nan. “Yes, I like him.”

At first, Ji Chen was incredibly anxious, but upon hearing those words, he looked up at Meng Li in surprise, his lips curving into a smile that almost spread across his face.

Zhou Nan felt like he wanted to go up and kick Ji Chen a few more times. What a jerk!

He took a deep breath, looked at Meng Li, and spoke in a calm tone, showing no sign of displeasure. “Since that’s the case, I’ll get out of your way. We can hang out again some other time; after all, we have plenty of time…”

He then turned to Ji Chen. “I hope you’re serious. If you dare to hurt Third Master in any way, even if we have to spend our entire lives in prison, we’ll make sure to kill you. Do you understand?”

Ji Chen, ungrateful as ever, responded, “No need for you to worry. I’ll take care of my woman.”

Meng Li felt embarrassed upon hearing this and thought, Who the hell is your woman?

However, she was feeling much better now because Zhou Nan hadn’t made her choose.

She took a step toward Zhou Nan. “How about I just hang out with you today?”

Upon hearing Meng Li say this, Ji Chen’s face twisted with jealousy, and he was about to speak.

Zhou Nan glanced at him, then turned to Meng Li and spoke first. “Forget it. I’m afraid some people might act like a shadow, following us around and ruining the mood. We’ll hang out another time; we’ve got plenty of time.”

Seeing that Zhou Nan had made up his mind, Meng Li didn’t insist on him staying.

As she watched him leave, she turned back to Ji Chen and muttered, “So childish!”

Ji Chen defended himself, “He started it first.”

Meng Li looked at the injuries on his face and couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. “Do you want to go buy some medicine to clean those up?”

In the army, these small injuries weren’t a big deal.

Ji Chen didn’t take it seriously but still listened to Meng Li and went to buy some anti-swelling and disinfectant ointment.

He drove to a quiet, less crowded spot and parked the car. By then, the night had already deepened, casting a shadow over everything.

Meng Li applied the ointment to Ji Chen’s wounds, leaning in close to him.

As she gently treated the cut on his cheek and near his eye, she spoke, “Luckily, you only ran into Zhou Nan today. If you had come across all four of them, you’d probably be lying on the ground right now. You’ve always been fighting with us, so you had it coming.”

Ji Chen’s attention was entirely on Meng Li’s face, which was now so close to his. He studied her eyes, her eyelashes, her brows, and the tip of her nose with great detail.

He heard her words but lowered his voice, replying, “Well, in the past, I’ve been beaten up by you too.”

Meng Li lifted her lashes and looked into his eyes. “Then why did you tease me, knowing we were enemies?”

A mist of emotion clouded Ji Chen’s gaze as he stared deeply into Meng Li’s eyes. “I didn’t expect it either… but I ended up liking you…”

The two of them were so close, their gazes locked. In Ji Chen’s eyes, Meng Li saw something that made her feel nervous. Hearing him whisper those words, her heartbeat suddenly went off rhythm, and her body froze, as if under some kind of enchantment.

Ji Chen’s gaze dropped slightly, his impulse deepened by the night, and he slowly leaned in, pressing his lips against Meng Li’s.

It was just a brief kiss, but it seemed to ignite the air between them.

Meng Li’s face flushed with heat, and she instinctively tried to pull away.

Ji Chen raised his hand to hold her, not letting her escape, and pressed his lips against hers again, this time more forcefully.

Meng Li, nervous, gripped the bottle of medicine and cotton swab tightly in her hands, wanting to retreat, but he held her closer, making it impossible to pull away.

She shut her eyes, and with a slight parting of her lips, she lost her resolve…