Don’t be So Proud

Chapter 2.2 — “Guan guan!” Cry the Ospreys, On an Islet in the River

Shen Xi would stand for a little bit, then sit down again for a little bit. Finally, Monkey, who was sitting beside her, asked, “Leader, what’s wrong?”

Shen Xi looked over at Monkey: she wanted to pee, that’s what, ah!

Monkey was bewildered. Not far away, He Zhi Zhou also lifted his head and glanced at Shen Xi who was frantically holding her bladder. He felt that his good-natured temperament stored up since his previous life had basically been used up in the last twenty-four hours.

He really did not want to bother with her, but … if she wasn’t careful and peed her pants … The consequences were simply too horrible to think about.

He Zhi Zhou rose to his feet. “I’m heading to the washroom.”

Shen Xi seemed to have found a glimmer of hope and hurriedly stood. “I’m going to the washroom, too.”

As the two of them left together, there was another round of complex and diverse emotions on everyone’s faces. They all looked at Lin Yu Tang, whose face was expressionless, and did not know how to comfort this man who had been dumped to the side.

He Zhi Zhou had gone too far! What kind of guy would blatantly and in the open steal his bro’s girl like that? Plus, before, he had expressed in all sorts of ways that he was not at all interested in Miss Shen, but in the end, when someone was heading off to the washroom, he fawningly scuttled after her …

Hypocrite! Shameless!

Shen Xi was truly in agony from holding herself in, and when she arrived in front of the public restroom, she bent over at the waist, begging for help with her eyes. Her long, narrow eyes were particularly glistening with moisture as she said, “Oooh, oooh … My pee’s going to come out … What should I do?”

He Zhi Zhou took a deep breath. “Shen Xi, I really want to help you with this, too, but there’s nothing I can do. The men’s restroom is on the left. You go in.”

Shen Xi turned her lips up in a pout and her stubbornness rose up. “Not going!”

With a sneer, He Zhi Zhou stated, “Up to you. If you can hold it, then go ahead!”

Shen Xi was not deliberately putting up a show. She truly had a psychological barrier. Since she was a child, she had always had a bit of a female ruffian in her, but she had seen several men walking out from the men’s restroom and one of them, an older uncle figure, had even given a tug up on his pants. Anyway, the image was simply too “beautiful,” and she had not really dared to look …

Shen Xi dared not go in, and then she put herself in He Zhi Zhou’s shoes and thought for a moment before asking him, “What about you?”

He Zhi Zhou knew what Shen Xi was asking him. Even though there were some things he had already thought about, his face still flushed slightly. Turning his face to one side, he answered in a voice like still waters, “I’m fine at the moment.”

Fine at the moment … Shen Xi was about to burst into tears. In the end, she grit her teeth and charged into the men’s restroom.

This was the first time in Shen Xi’s life she had ever so openly looked around a men’s restroom. Unlike the women’s restrooms there was also a row of urinals inside. She chose one most pleasing to the eye, inhaled a deep breath, and stepped forward.

After a while, a young man walked over and very quickly and neatly took care of his matters. As he left, with curious eyes, he cast a look over at Shen Xi, who was still standing there motionless.

From her pocket, Shen Xi pulled out her mobile phone and pretended to be making a call.

After another little while, two other people walked in, stood in place, and aimed. When they had unhurriedly finished taking care of their business and were about to leave, they both also glanced at Shen Xi. The pressure Shen Xi was feeling was increasing more and more.

Her palms were sweating and her legs were shaking. Turning her head, she peeked outside and then, while there was no one around, she quickly undid her belt. However, while she was still loosening it, she snapped her mind back. Why was she undoing her belt? There was no need.

Shen Xi fastened the belt back up.

When people are anxious, their minds tend to get stuck and can’t really think. Standing there in front of the urinal, Shen Xi mulled, why did men have to stand up to pee? Why didn’t any of them sit down to do it? It must be because there was no one to lead the way. But she could be the first to take on the challenge, ah. As she thought of this point, Shen Xi, her heart filled “with confidence that she could do it,” pushed open the door to a stall …

When Shen Xi walked back outside, she saw He Zhi Zhou there, suavely leaning against a wall, and she knew in her heart that he was waiting for her. Like a little child who had completed a task, she rather excitedly flashed a gesture of “OK” to him.

Seeing that she had managed to come back out with no problems, he could set his mind at ease. His mood, however, was terrible, so he did not give a response to Shen Xi’s good news of victory and instead, turned directly and walked in front of her. Guessing what He Zhi Zhou was probably feeling awkward about, Shen Xi walked up beside him and explained, “I didn’t see anything …”

Serious, that was like declaring, “Really, there isn’t 300 taels of silver here” [idiom: a guilty person who pretends to be innocent but ends up revealing what he was trying to hide in the first place] … He Zhi Zhou did not even want to hear her voice.

On the plane, Shen Xi was sitting with Monkey. Monkey was playing a handheld video game, and out of boredom, Shen Xi leaned in to for a look until she became engrossed in watching. This particular game was high in difficulty. She had tried to play it before, but because she could not even pass the first level, she had given up …

When Shen Xi saw how formidable Monkey was inside the game, she sincerely praised him with a sigh, “Monkey, you’re so amazing!”

But this monkey who been praised did not become happy about it, and in fact, he actually lost his mood to play. Numbed by this! He, He Zhi Zhou, had completed all the levels in this game already, and here he was now saying that he was “amazing.” He was just trying to find a way get some attention, wasn’t he?

Even though Monkey was a good roomie of China, he could have a temper, too, and in a flat tone, he shot back, “No, not at all. Not as amazing as you!”

What the?! Shen Xi rubbed her nose, then turned her back to Monkey and closed her eyes to take a little doze.

An hour later, they finally arrived back in S City from Qingdao, and their group took a taxicab from the S City airport back to the southern gate of S University, which was also at the northern gate of the normal college. S University was directly across from the normal college that Shen Xi was studying in with only a main street of commerce and shops separating them.

From Qingdao to the airport and then back to entrances of the schools, Shen Xi had done a lot of thinking, good stuff as well as bad stuff. In the end, she tried as best as she could to make herself dwell less upon the bad things and think more about the good ones. For example, she could share a dormitory room with Lin Yu Tang. Or for example, she could use He Zhi Zhou’s body to pig out and eat and drink anything. Or for example, she could find out whether Lin Yu Tang really had done something that was disloyal to her …

Shen Xi came up with many things, and as a result, when she realized that there were just too many advantages to this, the corner of her lips turned up. Brawny observed, “Leader, you’re in a pretty good mood.”

“So-so.” Shen Xi had already adjusted to Monkey and Brawny addressing her as “Leader.” Cheerfully, she jumped out of the car and jogged to the back trunk to grab her luggage. But as she was pulling her own luggage out from the trunk, a pair of slender hands lifted the pink suitcase from out of her hands. The owner of that pair of hands was Lin Yu Tang.

In a still indifferent voice, he said one thing to her: “Thank you.”

Oh cr*p! Shen Xi looked down at her now empty hands, then turned her eyes to the suitcase. She had grabbed the wrong suitcase again.

Lin Yu Tang said to Monkey and the others, “I’ll take Xi Xi back to her dorm. You guys go in first.” After saying this, he walked over to stand beside He Zhi Zhou.

Shen Xi: “……”

He Zhi Zhou: “……”

He Zhi Zhou looked over at the university’s south gate, then flicked his eyes over to the college’s north entrance on the left that looked one size smaller and tried his best to calm himself. However, as he looked at all the girls that were going in and out of the college entrance, his mind really could not remain cool and composed.

His nightmare was official starting!

As opposed to the girls who were going in and out of the north gate of the normal college, when Shen Xi followed Monkey along the way back to the dormitory, eighty percent of the students she saw belonged to the male gender. He Zhi Zhou’s travel bag was rather heavy, and eyeing Brawny’s tall, strapping build, she flashed a smile at him and said, “Hey, Zhou Chen, help me out, will ya?”

Zhou Chen silently took Leader’s backpack from him. Though he may not have said anything out loud, in his heart, he thought that this whole trip, Leader had gone a little too far. The entire trip, he had first picked on Lin Yu Tang, then picked on Monkey, and here he was now picking on him.

Shen Xi’s mood was rather complicated and muddled as she walked along the campus’s locust tree-lined pathway. Overhead, there was the sound of flapping wings of birds. She actually had a particular fondness for S University. When she took the National College Entrance Examinations [unified national exams for students in their final year of high school; a pre-requisite for post-secondary education at the undergraduate level], her dream had been to be accepted into S University and then she and Lin Yu Tang could always be together, like two birds that nested and flew together. Sadly, however, she was unable to fulfill that wish, and in the end, with her fine arts grades, she was able to get into the normal college next door to S University.

Never before had she thought that today, she could fulfill her wish. She really was going to be able to “nest and fly” together with Lin Yu Tang in S University, and they were going to be so close and cozy, to the point where they were sharing a dorm room. So, sometimes you can say, oh, life, you are truly remarkable!

All along the way, Shen Xi was in a happy and lively mood, and her steps were sprightly and lithe. She had been taking dance for years, so her pace was proper, her steps were even almost on a perfect straight line, and on top of that, they even had hints of a model’s walk on a catwalk.

Monkey and Brawny were following behind Shen Xi, staring at their “Leader,” who was walking in front of them, with a niggling feeling that something was not quite right. While they were still in the midst of their puzzling, Shen Xi turned and urged them, “You guys, hurry up!”

Monkey and Brawny each quickened their pace to keep up with Leader’s “lithe and graceful” steps, and even their moods seemed to grow sultrier.

On the other side, He Zhi Zhou was being accompanied by Lin Yu Tang back to downstairs of the dormitory building, and the entire way, neither of them spoke. In comparison to the Shen Xi from before who would chirp and chatter incessantly, Lin Yu Tang was very unaccustomed to this “Shen Xi.”

Lin Yu Tang initiated the conversation. “Let’s have dinner together tonight.”

He Zhi Zhou sighed inwardly. In his heart, he understood the frustration that Lin Yu Tang was feeling, but he was not the real Shen Xi and though he sympathized, he could not do anything. Stretching out a hand, he gave Lin Yu Tang a pat on the shoulder. “No, it’s okay. I still have some things to do later, and you can go do your things. Also, I’ll have quite a few things I’ll be busy with over the next little while. You don’t need to come find me. Alright, we’ll leave it at that. You can head back now.”

A little at a time, Lin Yu Tang’s heart sank. His lips twitched but he did not speak. All along the way, he had deliberately been amenable and had tried to bring her around, but it had not had any effect at all. Besides frustration, his temper was starting to rise a bit, and in the end, he threw out, “Fine,” then turned and left without so much as looking back.

Staring after Lin Yu Tang’s retreating back, He Zhi Zhou could only feel a helpless resignation. When he tilted his head down to look at the pink suitcase by his feet, a question suddenly rose up in his mind: what was his dorm room number?

Shen Xi began a self-guided tour through Lin Yu Tang’s dormitory room. In the past, every time she had requested to Lin Yu Tang to look at his dorm room, he had always said that it was a man’s place and would not let her go up. He never would have thought that, now, she could so openly sashay around in it.

All of a sudden, the mobile phone in her pocket rang, and she pulled out the phone belonging to He Zhi Zhou for a look. When they were still in Qingdao, they had already exchanged phones, and they had made an agreement: do not answer calls, do not make calls, and don’t read the text messages that come in, unless necessary.

Shen Xi looked at the unknown phone number on the screen and did not answer it.

After some time, the phone started ringing again. Still the same phone number. Shen Xi thought the number looked rather familiar. Nevertheless, with great moral integrity, she did not answer it.

After another bit of time, a text message came in: Answer the phone!

Whoa! Shen Xi blinked her eyes. Wasn’t that her mobile phone’s number? When it finally clicked in her mind, she hastily picked up the call. Echoing out from the phone was He Zhi Zhou’s fuming voice. “What’s your dorm room number?”

Stepping into the bathroom, Shen Xi hurriedly told He Zhi Zhou exactly which floor and what room number it was. He Zhi Zhou did not hang up immediately, and on the phone, he also informed her a number of things she should be aware of, for example, some of his roommates’ habits.

Shen Xi carefully listened to him, and when He Zhi Zhou finished speaking, he also asked her, “Are there any things you need to tell me about?”

Shen Xi contemplated for a moment. “My roommates are pretty easy to get along with.”

He Zhi Zhou: “……”

Shen Xi thought of one thing. “Also … Xia Wei Ye likes you …”

He Zhi Zhou replied, “You’ve reminded me about that many times already.”

That evening, Shen Xi took He Zhi Zhou’s meal card and went together with Monkey and Brawny to have dinner together. When she swiped the card, however, she discovered that there was more than one thousand yuan loaded on it. She secretly felt that He Zhi Zhou was just silly. How could someone be so silly to load their meal card with so much money?

That evening, He Zhi Zhou went alone to the normal college’s dining hall. He arbitrarily ordered a few dishes, and then, when he swiped the meal card, he discovered that there was only a 0.30 yuan balance left on it …