Chapter 128: Pure Love
"No... No!"
Fang Xiaohui’s face blushed slightly, clearly unwilling to admit.
"Oh, look at you two pretending to be innocent. Just see, your face is as red as a Fuji apple; it’s already given you away!"
Li Tianqing pouted and said teasingly, "Alright, if you like him, you like him. What’s the big deal? Want me to help you ask him out?"
"Uh... better not. He might not be interested in me..." Fang Xiaohui lowered her head, her face red, too shy to look at her friend beside her.
"How do you know if you don’t ask? Besides, with you like this, how can you concentrate on exams? You’re always daydreaming." Li Tianqing was a bit worried and hurriedly said, "Alright, you don’t need to say anything, just do as I say."
A few minutes later, Chen Tianlong’s phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw it was an unfamiliar number, so he hung up, as he was currently memorizing English words.
However, barely thirty seconds after hanging up, the phone rang again.
Chen Tianlong furrowed his brow, feeling a bit annoyed, and decided to answer, intending to give them an earful.
"Hello, is this Chen Tianlong? It’s Tang Bing!"
"Oh? Tang Bing, what’s up?"
Chen Tianlong was surprised but calmly replied.
"Well, is Yang Fan around? Could you let him take the call?" Tang Bing asked.
Chen Tianlong furrowed his brow, unsure what Tang Bing was up to, but he didn’t care and directly shouted to Yang Fan on the opposite bed, "Yang Fan, your call, here."
Finishing his words, he tossed the phone over casually. Chen Tianlong knew Yang Fan’s skills; catching a phone wouldn’t be a problem.
Sure enough, Yang Fan caught it effortlessly, the phone landing steadily in his hand. In the dorm, it was just them, so he wasn’t worried about anyone finding out.
"Hello, I’m Yang Fan. Who are you, and what do you want?" Yang Fan answered crisply and directly.
"Yang Fan, it’s Li Tianqing. You remember me, right? The one..."
At this point, the call had switched to another person; clearly, Tang Bing and Li Tianqing were together.
"Uh... oh? Hmm... Okay, I’ll come out right away..."
Whatever they talked about, Yang Fan simply responded a few times before climbing out of bed. Chen Tianlong glanced at him casually and noticed a blush spreading across Yang Fan’s face, a sign of a budding romance.
Shortly after, Yang Fan left the dorm, heading towards the place mentioned on the phone.
It turned out Li Tianqing said there was something to give him, asking him to meet at the campus playground. Yang Fan was a bit puzzled, but Li Tianqing was a beauty, and it was a privilege to be asked out for a meeting.
Five minutes later, Yang Fan appeared under a big banyan tree near the basketball court. He looked around and saw no one. Little did he know that Fang Xiaohui was already nearby, but due to nervousness, she went into the stadium, pretending to walk to calm her nerves.
Li Tianqing and Tang Bing atop the teaching building were covering their mouths, giggling. From the dim lights on the basketball court, their movements were vaguely visible, actually quite funny.
One was waiting foolishly, the other was purposely evading.
As Fang Xiaohui circled the soccer field, she passed by Yang Fan. This familiar figure immediately caught Yang Fan’s recognition.
Today, Fang Xiaohui wore a white dress, the snowy hem fluttering elegantly in the breeze.
Yang Fan’s nose was sensitive, instantly catching a faint fragrance. Looking closely, it was Fang Xiaohui.
"Xiaohui? What... what are you doing here?" Yang Fan was somewhat surprised.
"Ah? Yang... Yang Fan, I was just walking around the playground and passed by... How about you?"
Fang Xiaohui wasn’t one to lie, and though she said it like that, her face gave her away. Her face blushed, her hands and feet restless, for after all, Yang Fan was waiting for her, yet she dared not admit it.
"Me? Waiting for someone!" Yang Fan said up to this point, suddenly feeling his face grow hot, actually talking about waiting for someone in front of the girl he liked.
Late at night in a dim place, whom else could he be waiting for, surely a girl.
"She... she won’t come." After hesitating for a moment, Fang Xiaohui spoke in a very low voice, almost inaudible.
"Huh? How do you know? Li Tianqing said..."
"Yang Fan, you’re so silly! Li Tianqing has a boyfriend; why would she ask you..."
Fang Xiaohui was a bit anxious; if he said he was waiting for Li Tianqing, then wouldn’t she have to leave awkwardly?
"I know, but... huh?"
Yang Fan suddenly thought of something, the call came from Li Tianqing, yes, but it passed through Chen Tianlong, so if there was something, why not let Chen Tianlong handle it directly? Why did he have to come in person?
The remaining possibility then is that it wasn’t Li Tianqing herself but matchmaking for someone else...
"Xiaohui... could it be you..."
"Hmm."
Fang Xiaohui dared not lift her head, her snow-white face, under the dim streetlight’s glow, appearing even more enticing.
No matter how silly Yang Fan was, he had figured it out by now, quickly stepping forward to take hold of Fang Xiaohui’s hand, and the two started walking into the playground, stepping on the plastic track.
It was Yang Fan’s first time falling in love, his first time holding a girl’s hand, the sensation subtle, stirring him to take another step like hugging her.
But he didn’t dare, nor did Fang Xiaohui.
Even with the simple act of holding hands, they both knew well, hearts full of emotions but dared not spoil the beautiful moment.
They strolled a lap, neither speaking.
The night deepened, the campus very quiet, Fang Xiaohui hesitated but finally said, "Yang Fan, shall we go to the library together tomorrow to read?"
"Read... Read? Sure!"
Yang Fan nearly didn’t catch on, thinking Fang Xiaohui said something crucial, but once clear, he let out a deep breath. He lacked Chen Tianlong’s boldness.
Plus, Fang Xiaohui was a bashful girl too, so the relationship felt a bit constrained; it seemed it wouldn’t progress quickly.
"Okay, I’ll ask you out tomorrow afternoon! See you at the library!" Fang Xiaohui said the last few words, her face inexplicably reddening again, giving Yang Fan confidence.
So this girl really did like him, which was wonderful, they truly connected.
Thinking this, Yang Fan was overjoyed, muttering to himself.
Minutes later, Yang Fan accompanied Fang Xiaohui to her dormitory entrance, then exuberantly returned to his dorm. His radiant expression immediately drew surprised looks from Chen Tianlong and Zhao Lei.
Just stepping out briefly, Yang Fan seemed entirely transformed, even whistling, in high spirits.
"Ah, the charm of romance."
Zhao Lei muttered, from Yang Fan’s expression, he clearly encountered some luck in love; otherwise, a usually nice and quiet person wouldn’t change like this.