Chapter 78: You Keep Quiet First!

Chapter Seventy-Eight: You Keep Quiet Too!

Now that they had become sister dorms, it was only fitting to have some joint activities. How could there be connection without movement?

Stripping away all lies, discarding all restraint and pride, at the root of things, when men approached women, it was always about connection.

“I suggest we go boating in the park.”

“What’s so fun about boating? We should go see the Pearl Tower. I’ve been here so long and still haven’t seen it. How embarrassing.”

“We can see the tower any time! Why don’t we team up and visit another city? How about the Provincial Capital—it's a historic city over a hundred years old—”

He Na glanced at Liang Tao and said, “Next week, our university has a five-day holiday. Why don’t we go hiking? There’s a mountain not far from Mingzhu City called Jade Maiden Mountain. The scenery is said to be beautiful, and it’s not developed for tourism yet. We can take the train there, eat wild greens, and stay in farmhouses. It’ll be an adventure.”

Everyone agreed enthusiastically.

Qiu Yihan was clearly tempted. She looked at Tang Zhong, who sat across from her, and asked, “Tang Zhong, are you coming?”

Tang Zhong hesitated. He wasn’t sure if Bai Su would need him those days. If something urgent came up, it would be difficult to leave the mountain in a hurry.

Seeing Tang Zhong’s silence, Qiu Yihan’s expression dimmed a little. “You’re not going? If you’re not going, then I’m not going either.”

Because of her upbringing, Qiu Yihan had a strong sense of self-protection. She had only just mended fences with her roommates, and it was unrealistic to think they were now close. Besides Tang Zhong, she wasn’t familiar with the other three in his dorm at all.

If Tang Zhong didn’t go, how could she feel safe?

Subconsciously, she already saw him as someone she could trust.

Tang Zhong distinctly felt several hostile glares directed at him.

Seeing Hua Ming and Liang Tao making pleading faces at him, Tang Zhong had no choice but to say, “It’s not that I don’t want to join you. I’m just worried something might come up and I won’t be able to make it back in time.”

“It’s fine,” He Na said with a smile. “There’s a train between Jade Maiden Mountain and Mingzhu City. We can go and return by train.”

“Alright then,” Tang Zhong nodded. “Let’s go hiking together.”

Cheers broke out, and the drinking games started up again with renewed vigor.

After eating and drinking their fill, the little heiress Qiu Yihan went to pay the bill.

The group staggered back toward campus, and as they reached the gate, they saw Qiao Lei coming out with a canvas bag in hand.

He wore a baseball cap pulled low over his face, but his striking physique made him instantly recognizable.

Qiao Lei looked up by chance, clearly not expecting to encounter Tang Zhong there.

A look of pain crossed his face, a flicker of malice in his eyes. Then, clenching his fists, he strode purposefully toward Tang Zhong.

“That guy just won’t quit,” Hua Ming said angrily, thinking Qiao Lei was looking for trouble again. He pulled off his belt and rushed at Qiao Lei—knowing he wasn’t a match with bare hands. “If you want to die, I’ll do the burying!”

Liang Tao, worried for Hua Ming, whipped off his LV cloth belt and hurried after him.

The girls sensed the tension rising and instinctively put some distance between themselves and the boys to avoid getting caught up in anything.

“Hua Ming, Liang Tao, come back,” Tang Zhong called.

Hua Ming glanced back at Tang Zhong, cursed under his breath, and reluctantly retreated.

With no one in his way, Qiao Lei easily walked up to Tang Zhong.

“Didn’t expect to run into you,” Qiao Lei said.

“Mingzhu University isn’t that big. We’re bound to cross paths,” Tang Zhong replied with a smile. He could tell Qiao Lei didn’t intend to fight; if he did, his body wouldn’t be so relaxed.

“You won’t anymore,” Qiao Lei said. “No matter how big Mingzhu University is, you won’t see me. I’m not coming back.”

Tang Zhong didn’t respond.

Dragging him to the restroom and dumping him in the urinal was meant to make it impossible for him to stay at Mingzhu University. This outcome was, in a sense, of his own making.

Qiao Lei’s lips curled in a smile that looked more like he was about to cry. “Your methods are crude, but effective. Yes, I care a lot about my pride. Now, I really can’t stay here. No matter where I go, it feels like everyone’s watching me. No matter how many times I shower, I still smell that stench of urine. I’ve dropped out. I’m leaving now.”

“If that’s how you feel, I won’t feel guilty,” Tang Zhong said, narrowing his eyes. “How things got so bad between us, I truly don’t understand. We didn’t have any real conflict—just an argument over a chair. That’s just how I am. I can’t tolerate being wronged. If someone curses me, I want to hit back. If someone hits me, I’ll hit them back twice as hard. I won’t let myself be driven into a corner, nor let anyone force me there. So, before the danger grows, I like to kill it in the cradle.”

He fixed his gaze on Qiao Lei’s shadowed face beneath the cap. “If I wasn’t good at fighting, that night I’d have been the one injured and humiliated. So, I feel no guilt toward anyone who tries to hurt me. What I did to you was exactly what you wanted to do to me. The only difference is, I succeeded and you failed.”

“I’m not telling you this to make you feel guilty,” Qiao Lei replied. “If you truly felt guilty, I’d feel even more humiliated. I’m just stating a fact.”

“I understand,” Tang Zhong said. “Forgive me for not offering any words of blessing.”

“I came to make sure you remember me,” Qiao Lei said. “I spent all last night thinking about why I lost so badly. Eventually, I figured it out.”

“What’s the answer?” Tang Zhong asked.

“I thought it was a young man’s game—fighting over girls, getting into brawls. That’s common at school. Why did I end up like this? Later, I realized your counterattack was too… adult. I was playing a kid’s game, and you used grown-up tactics. That’s why I lost. I couldn’t compete with you.”

Tang Zhong nodded. “I don’t deny it. That’s the world I’ve had to deal with. Sometimes, I wish I could be more innocent.”

“I won’t leave Mingzhu,” Qiao Lei said. “From the moment I step out of these gates, I’m not a student anymore. Next time, let’s play an adult game.”

“Alright. I’ll be waiting,” Tang Zhong said.

Qiao Lei took off his cap and said, “Remember this face. Don’t forget.”

Tang Zhong laughed. “Doesn’t this feel like a couple saying farewell?”

Qiao Lei didn’t smile.

He put the cap back on, picked up his canvas bag, and headed for a white BMW parked at the gate.

Tang Zhong watched his retreating figure, the smile on his face slowly fading.

He had finally matured.

And it was Tang Zhong who had forced that change.

If things had followed their natural course, it would have taken at least two more years, after being hardened by society, to learn these lessons.

“What did he mean by ‘an adult game’?” Hua Ming asked.

“You’ll find out when you become an adult,” Tang Zhong replied.

Hua Ming’s expression turned lewd. “You’re not talking about chasing women, are you?”

------

Qiao Lei dropped out. There was no movement from Nomad, and Tang Zhong hadn’t seen Su Shan. Life had been peaceful these past few days.

Attending classes, reading books, writing the notes Dean Jiao Yuheng had assigned—his days were quiet and fulfilling.

He liked living this way.

When he went to the big track field at six in the morning as usual, he saw a figure in white already jogging slowly.

“Someone’s earlier than us,” Li Yu remarked in surprise.

Li Yu couldn’t run many laps, but still got up to train with Tang Zhong every morning. Maybe he’d realized just how unhealthy he’d become.

“Let’s go,” Tang Zhong said, taking the lead down the steps and jogging along the edge of the field.

He quickly caught up with the white figure.

He didn’t need to see her face; her hairstyle and the way her legs moved as she ran made her identity clear.

Tang Zhong had planned to run right past her, but since they were classmates—and she was also Dean Jiao Yuheng’s granddaughter—he felt it only polite to show some concern.

“Is your leg better? Why not rest a bit longer?” Tang Zhong asked.

Mentioning her injury only reminded Jiao Nanxin of the humiliation when Tang Zhong punched her in the eye.

“Mind your own business.”

Jiao Nanxin clearly had no intention of talking to Tang Zhong. With a curt reply, she tried to pick up speed and run ahead of him.

From a psychological standpoint, when a woman tells a man, “Mind your own business,” she really means, “Come take care of me, right now, no matter what!”

If she really wanted you to leave her alone, she’d just say, “Get lost.”

As obvious as her hint was, Tang Zhong had no intention of looking after her.

If Jiao Nanxin knew what he was thinking, she’d probably burst into tears and swear she hadn’t meant that at all.

Truth be told, after spending so long in confinement, people tend to develop all sorts of fanciful illusions.

One sped up on purpose, the other deliberately lagged behind—the distance between them grew.

Crack—

No one knew what she tripped over, but Jiao Nanxin, running at full speed, fell forward heavily.

Fortunately, she was clever and quick. Just before she hit the ground, she twisted her body to the side and landed on the grass.

Tang Zhong smiled wryly. Now he had no choice but to step in.

He ran over and asked with concern, “Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?”

Jiao Nanxin buried her face in the grass and didn’t reply.

Seeing no answer, Tang Zhong went to check her foot.

There was a bruise around her ankle—the same spot as her previous injury.

Tang Zhong frowned. “You need to put something cold on it right away.”

With that, he knelt down and lifted Jiao Nanxin into his arms.

“Let go of me! I’m fine, don’t touch me—” Jiao Nanxin struggled. If he carried her back to the dormitory, everyone would think something was going on between them.

“You keep quiet too,” Tang Zhong said in a low growl.