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When these words were spoken, they immediately made Sang Li laugh, her eyes squinting into little crescent moons, looking very charming.
“What does Lu Tinghe like about me? I’m just ordinary-looking and still must earn my own tuition money,” she said.
Sang Li’s self-deprecating demeanor annoyed Tan Weiwei.
If Sang Li thought she was plain, then there would be no such thing as beautiful women in the world.
Tan Weiwei raised her charming fox-like eyes, scanning Sang Li from top to bottom, finally stopping at her chest.
“Mmm, perhaps Lu Tinghe… has very specific goals?” she teased.
“That ‘mmm’ of yours is way too seductive,” Sang Li immediately blushed, feeling the weight of her best friend’s shameless gaze. “Stop making things up…”
“I’m serious. I’ve showered with you before, and I know your figure. As a woman, even I drool when I see you—let alone men,” Tan Weiwei said earnestly. “Li Li, you really can’t wear some clothes that show off your figure. You’re just wasting it!”
“I can’t,” Sang Li replied nonchalantly, squatting down to find a bag to pack Lu Tinghe’s blue shirt. “I don’t spend my money on clothes. I need to save up for my tuition.”
This reminded Tan Weiwei, and she asked with concern, “By the way, how’s the situation with your parents’ convenience store? Didn’t you say before that business was bad and they couldn’t pay the rent? If you need help, I can—”
Before she could finish, Sang Li interrupted, “It’s fine, it’s all been resolved. I took on a few more illustration jobs before, and with school starting back up, I’ve got more work to do. The store’s business is better now, so don’t worry.”
What she didn’t say was that during the most difficult times, her father had even been forced to take on extra work, leaving her mother alone to manage the store.
She didn’t bring it up not because she felt embarrassed, but because she didn’t want to worry her best friend.
Sang Li felt that with her current life, there was no point in thinking about love, or dreaming about Lu Tinghe—it was simply laughable.
The gap between them was something she would never be able to cross.
……
The next day at noon, at Jingdu University.
After class, Sang Li grabbed the paper bag she had picked up from the laundry and prepared to return the light blue shirt to Lu Tinghe.
She really didn’t want to have any more contact with him, wanting to sever the last trace of attachment. So, she quietly pulled Tan Weiwei aside and asked, “Weiwei, could you do me a favor and give this bag to Senior Chu? Ask him to pass it on to Lu Tinghe?”
“Chu Yan is interning off-campus these days,” Tan Weiwei said with a teasing smile on her lips. “It’s just clothes. Why don’t you return them yourself?”
“I…” Sang Li hesitated, unable to find a reason now.
Tan Weiwei didn’t give her a chance to refuse. She immediately hooked her arm around Sang Li’s. “Let’s go, we’ll find Lu Tinghe. I just heard a few junior sisters say that Lu, the handsome guy, is playing basketball at the court.”
Sang Li: “…”
Not long later, Sang Li and Tan Weiwei arrived at the Jingdu University sports field.
The basketball court was already surrounded by layers of girls.
Lu Tinghe was wearing a loose black jersey with a red-and-white armband on his wrist, his well-toned muscles glistening with sweat.
His handsome, noble features shone under the sunlight, radiating a dazzling glow.
Lu Tinghe lazily dribbled the ball. Perhaps some sweat had dripped from his bangs into his eyes, so he ran a hand through his hair, revealing his sharp brows and eyes, causing another round of excited screams from the girls around the court.
“Ahhh! Lu Tinghe is just too handsome!”
“What a stunning face!”
“I’m going to faint!!”
Amid the rising waves of cheers, Lu Tinghe dribbled the ball lazily but then, suddenly, quickly shook off the person behind him, his figure swift like the wind.
Leaping into the air with ease, his superior hands seemed to reach for the very edge of the blue sky.
From about four or five meters away from the hoop, he made a clean, precise shot. The basketball swished smoothly into the net.
The spectacular basket set off another explosion of excitement among the crowd.
“Oh my god! He’s so handsome, ahhh!!”
“How can there be such a man in this world?!”
“Perfect!!”
In the corner of the basketball court, Sang Li was staring blankly.
It was as if she had been spellbound, completely frozen in place.
She never expected that Lu Tinghe could play basketball so well.
When he was in his third year in high school, he didn’t participate in any extracurricular activities, sitting at the back of the classroom every day, head lowered, playing on his phone. Was it because he didn’t want to stand out?
Sang Li had always thought that, like herself, he didn’t fit in with the crowd and didn’t have any talents.
Beside her, Tan Weiwei crossed her arms and tilted her head, smiling. “Oh, Lu Tinghe’s not bad. He’s so handsome.”
Sang Li snapped out of her trance and tugged at her best friend’s sleeve. “Let’s go.”
“Huh? Didn’t you want to return the shirt?”
“No, not with so many people watching. Maybe next time.”
Tan Weiwei raised an eyebrow, questioning, “What’s wrong? Are you embarrassed?”
“There are so many girls who like Lu Tinghe. I don’t want to become the target of everyone’s attention.”
As soon as her words fell, there was a rustle of voices from the crowd.
A girl, holding a bottle of mineral water and a towel, walked toward Lu Tinghe with a smile on her face.
The girl had an enviable figure and flawless skin, and at first glance, she looked even more stunning than many stars and models.
Her voice was soft and sweet, almost as if it could drip with sweetness. “Senior, here’s some water.”
Lu Tinghe glanced at her calmly and then took the bottle, saying, “Thanks.”
Sang Li’s heart sank, and a wave of bitterness surged within her. Unconsciously, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
She recognized the girl. Or rather, at Jingdu University, there was no one who didn’t know Ning Mo, the school’s top student in Biomedical Science.
Seeing her standing next to Lu Tinghe, they really did make a perfect pair.
Tan Weiwei curled her lips in disdain, clearly irritated. “Tch, this woman is back again, trying to sell tea and watches.”
Sang Li, curious, asked, “Why don’t you like her?”
“You know Gu Wanying, right? From our cheerleading team,” Tan Weiwei huffed. “She’s best friends with Ning Mo. I’ve never liked those two green tea bitches. Every time they speak, it’s like they’re squeezing their throats. And Gu Wanying—right in front of me—was acting like a spoiledchild with Chu Yan. I wanted to strangle her!”
Sang Li said, “So Ning Mo didn’t do anything to you, you just hate her because of Gu Wanying.”
“Birds of a feather flock together. Gu Wanying’s not a good person, so it’s clear that Ning Mo isn’t much better either.”
Sang Li sighed as she glanced over toward the basketball court. “But she and Lu Tinghe really are a perfect match.”
“Tch, it’s just that she’s lucky with her reincarnation. If I had that kind of luck, not just Lu Tinghe, I’d be marrying into the British royal family.”
Speaking of reincarnation, while Tan Weiwei’s family wasn’t incredibly wealthy, her father was a heart surgeon at Jingbei Hospital, and her mother was an English teacher at Jingdu University’s affiliated high school. It was, after all, an educated family.
Unlike Sang Li, who, as a child, had followed her parents from the southern city of Jinshi to work. They worked hard for most of their lives, and all they managed to do was open a small grocery store, which they still rented. To this day, they didn’t even own a house.
Fortunately, Sang Li’s parents loved her dearly, and the family was warm and harmonious, never fighting. This made Sang Li feel that her childhood had been very happy, at least within the scope of what she knew as happiness.
But that was only compared to what she knew. As for the kind of happiness that Tan Weiwei, or even Lu Tinghe, had, she doubted she would ever experience it in this lifetime.
A sudden, suffocating feeling settled in her heart, like a wet, soft cotton ball, making her feel trapped.
Sang Li bit her lip, trying hard to force a small smile. “Let’s go. I’m a little hungry. How about we eat at the cafeteria?”
“Sure.”
Just as the two girls were about to leave, suddenly, a male voice interrupted their conversation.
“Little Sang Li.”