Chapter 135: Li Yu, the Confidante!

"It's me." Li Yu's voice came through, soft and always carrying a hint of shyness.

"Li Yu?" Tang Zhong didn't immediately relax, asking, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

After a moment of adjustment, Tang Zhong's eyes finally began to make out the state of the room.

"I was playing a game," Li Yu replied. "The power went out."

Tang Zhong didn't see any connection between "the power went out" and "him sitting right next to me," so he asked, "Is there any water left in the dorm?"

"Yes." Li Yu handed over a cup he had been holding.

Tang Zhong took it and saw, to his surprise, that it was his own cup. Furthermore, the water inside was still slightly warm; clearly, it hadn't been left out for very long to cool.

Tang Zhong looked up at Li Yu, asking in astonishment, "You knew I would wake up?"

"I thought you should have woken up long ago," Li Yu said, looking down with a faint smile. "You are always so vigilant. I thought that if I sat by your side, you would wake up immediately."

Tang Zhong was secretly startled.

He was usually quite careful. However, because of the many secrets hidden in his heart, along with the survival instincts he had developed in prison, he unconsciously displayed defensive behaviors in his daily life. It was these small details that had aroused Li Yu's suspicions.

Ever since the first day of school, when Li Yu had stunned everyone by shouting at Wang Aiguo, "You are just like me," he hadn't shown such behavior again. Most of the time, he would silently follow behind Tang Zhong, Hua Ming, and Liang Tao. When Hua Ming and Liang Tao were joking around, he wouldn't join in, and he would only respond vaguely if he was directly addressed.

Now, what had he seen?

Tang Zhong drank a few sips of the warm water Li Yu had helped cool for him, got out of bed, and said, "Since you can't sleep, let's go sit in the hallway."

"Okay." Li Yu led the way. It was clear he had been waiting for this moment.

Tang Zhong put on his coat and slippers and walked to the balcony.

The autumn rain, which had ceased before he went to sleep, had started up again. Raindrops pitter-pattered against the window glass.

One pane had been left open, and a lot of rain had leaked into the hallway. The wind was strong, making one shiver.

Tang Zhong quickly went over to close the window and asked Li Yu, who was slumped in a corner, "Aren't you cold?"

"Feeling the wind can help clear your head," Li Yu said with a smile. His smile was very faint; if Tang Zhong hadn't happened to look over, he wouldn't have been able to make out the curve of the muscles on his face.

"It can also lead to a cold," Tang Zhong replied with a smile. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"You rejected Qiu Yihan?" Li Yu asked, cutting straight to the point.

"Did I seem particularly sorrowful after I came back?" Tang Zhong asked with a smile.

"At least, it didn't look like the behavior of a couple in their first love," Li Yu said. "If you had accepted her, you should have given her a call after returning, or you would have been texting each other, with endless things to say—instead of how you are now, with no follow-up at all."

Tang Zhong gave a bitter smile.

The devil is in the details. Li Yu was a detail-oriented person, the guy closest to being a devil.

"That's right. I rejected her," Tang Zhong said.

"You don't like her?" Li Yu asked. Then, he shook his head and said, "It doesn't seem like you don't like her at all, either. You have a fondness for her. I can see that."

"Do you know?" Tang Zhong said, smiling. "She was the first person I saw on my first day of reporting at Nanda—well, not exactly the first. The school gate was crowded with people and traffic, but I saw her in the crowd at a single glance."

"Research shows that over seventy percent of women are attracted to appearance, and men are one hundred percent attracted to appearance. A good-looking woman is more likely to be pursued by men. Qiu Yihan is very pretty, so it's normal to feel a fondness for her," Li Yu explained. "Moreover, she was the first girl you encountered in this unfamiliar environment. Your subconscious mind would naturally be more attached to her and pay more attention to her. She is like a coordinate. The first brand left on you at Nanda. This is human nature. When everyone arrives in an unfamiliar environment, they always have a deep memory of the first person they came into contact with or who helped them."

Tang Zhong nodded.

He did indeed pay special attention to Qiu Yihan: he would teach her how to tie her shoelaces, help her wipe her cheeks, teach her how to get along with her roommates, tolerate her little temper, and pick up every one of her calls, no matter how late she called.

"You rejected her because you have no faith in her?" Li Yu asked.

"Not exactly." Tang Zhong shook his head. He reached out and grabbed the window frame; it felt cool to the touch. "It's because she doesn't even understand the situation she's in. She doesn't understand others, and she doesn't understand herself."

"Women mature earlier than men, but men are more mature than women," Li Yu said. "I can see that you take great care of her—a man being inexplicably good to a woman proves that he doesn't dislike her. The Yunu Peak incident made you disappointed in her for the first time—she has an extraordinary family background, yet she just walked away like that. No matter what the reason was, from your perspective, you would feel hurt."

"I know I can't blame her," Tang Zhong said, defending Qiu Yihan. "She couldn't have imagined such complicated things."

"Yes," Li Yu said. "But you would still be very hurt. Because she couldn't imagine these things. You did your best to save her, and after she returned, she didn't even make a phone call—this made you doubt whether your efforts were worth it. So, you disappeared after returning from Yunu Peak, and you gave her the cold shoulder for a while."

Tang Zhong gave a bitter smile. "Am I too narrow-minded?"

"This has nothing to do with being narrow-minded. When a man looks for a woman, he is looking for a soulmate, not a cute pet—and you are different from other men. Your requirements for a partner are higher."

Tang Zhong turned to look at Li Yu and asked in a low voice, "What else have you noticed?"

"I notice that you contain immense energy. Of course, you also contain immense anger. I don't know where this energy and anger come from, but I know you live a very heavy life—perhaps even you yourself don't realize it. I sleep in the bunk above you, and many times when I get out of bed to go to the bathroom, you assume a defensive stance the moment you hear a sound—I truly don't know what kind of life you led before."

Tang Zhong smiled and didn't answer that question.

He knew he had been exposed under Li Yu's watchful eyes; those unconscious defensive postures in his sleep were enough to make anyone infer a great deal.

"Your second disappointment in her was at her birthday party," Li Yu continued analyzing. "If she likes him, you have enough reason to be disappointed. If she doesn't like him but doesn't know how to reject him, your reason for disappointment is even more sufficient."

"Because you know clearly that if you two were to be together, you would inevitably face a backlash from his family. No matter what methods they use to deal with you, you wouldn't surrender. However, you know she has no way to resist—and on this point, no one can help her. Not even you. Therefore, you did nothing wrong."

Tang Zhong tapped his fingers gently on the windowsill and said with a smile, "Since when did you start moonlighting as a 'Dear Abby'? Specializing in analyzing emotional problems?"

Li Yu shook his head and said, "Hua Ming and Liang Tao can help you with a lot, but I can't do anything—so, I can only keep you company and chat."

"In this day and age, the most pitiful thing is looking around and finding no one to talk to. Regardless, you've achieved your goal."

"Go to sleep," Li Yu said, turning toward the dorm room.

"Have you been observing me all along?" Tang Zhong asked.

"I don't like to talk," Li Yu replied, answering a different question. "I spend the time others use to talk on thinking. Therefore, I think more, and I see more clearly."

"With you acting like this, how can teachers teach you?" Tang Zhong said with a laugh.

"I can see, but there are many things I cannot do," Li Yu said. "Therefore, I am not as good as you."

"Then you can be my strategist," Tang Zhong said.

...

When Tang Zhong got up again, the sky was already bright.

The wind had stopped, the rain had ceased, and a red edge appeared on the horizon. Even if the sun wouldn't come out for a while, it at least made one feel that the heavens wouldn't change their face again.

As usual, after washing up, Tang Zhong put on his sportswear and sneakers and ran toward the track.

Seeing that Li Yu was sleeping soundly, Tang Zhong didn't have the heart to wake him.

Some things are easy to drop, but very difficult to find again. Exercising every morning was a habit he had kept for years, and he didn't want to abandon it now.

The ground of the track was still damp, and water had pooled in some of the uneven spots. Dewdrops hung on the blades of grass, a pleasing, vibrant green.

He ran along the track, and before he had even finished one lap, he heard the sound of pattering footsteps behind him.

Without looking back, just by listening to the hurried and rhythmic sound of the footsteps, he knew who it was.

Tang Zhong felt a little happy.

Having someone to run with at least made his silhouette feel less lonely.

*Pat, pat, pat...*

The girl increased her speed, rushing past him like a light breeze.

Tang Zhong had long been accustomed to her unyielding personality and maintained his own steady pace, following along behind her, neither fast nor slow.

Jiao Nanxin led the way for a while, then suddenly slowed her pace.

She waited until Tang Zhong was running alongside her and asked, "Congratulations."

"For what?" Tang Zhong asked.

Jiao Nanxin curled her lips and said, "You were the one who stole the show at the welcome gala, right? Such a pretty young girl voluntarily ran onto the stage to profess her love to you—are you so happy that you've lost your way? I thought you must have been so excited last night that you couldn't sleep, and wouldn't be able to come out for a run today."

Tang Zhong turned to look at Jiao Nanxin's beautifully curved profile and pointed chin, and asked, "Are you that concerned about whether I come for a run or not?"

"Just kidding. Who's concerned about you?" Jiao Nanxin sneered repeatedly. "It's just that my grandfather asked me to give you a message, telling you to come to his house for dinner tonight—"

"Even if I didn't come for a run, you could have told me in the classroom," Tang Zhong said with a smile.

"Because I'm asking for leave today and won't be going to class," Jiao Nanxin retorted angrily, then swung her long legs and ran off with a pattering sound.