"Fang Jueyu, after our fight that day, I got drunk alone in the school park, and a friend carried me back and took care of me for the night. Nothing sordid happened, but his careful attention made me develop feelings for him. Later, he pursued me relentlessly, and yesterday we got together, so I'm someone with a boyfriend again. From now on, you should stop coming to find me."
Fang Jueyu finished reading the text message and a profound sense of desolation suddenly rose in his heart. Just because of a trivial matter, his girlfriend of two years had happily acquired a new boyfriend, almost seamlessly?
"Heh, heh, heh, is that your explanation?" Fang Jueyu scoffed. For the first time, he felt like a woman was grinding his intelligence into the dirt. Would any man with a functioning brain believe such words?
Fang Jueyu and his girlfriend, Jiang Yuan, were both juniors at Jiangnan University. They met at a school event and quickly developed feelings for each other, becoming an enviable couple.
Not long ago, in a fit of anger over failing to secure tickets to a concert, Jiang Yuan had a massive tantrum. It was for a concert by top-tier singer Su Lun, whose concert tickets were known to sell out within ten seconds, sometimes crashing the ticketing system.
Jiang Yuan always had a fiery temper, but Fang Jueyu constantly indulged her. This time, however, she went too far, and in frustration, Fang Jueyu hid away to sulk.
The next day, Jiang Yuan sent a text saying she wanted to break up. Fang Jueyu thought she was just being dramatic. He spent a long time trying to coax her, but he didn't even get to see her face.
But unexpectedly, in less than a week, he received such a message.
"Hey, bros, come out and drink with me!" Alcohol isn't a great thing, but it's the best way to soothe a troubled heart when you're feeling upset. Luckily, over these two years, he had made quite a few good friends. Although vacation was nearing, fortunately, everyone was still around and hadn't gone home yet.
They found a nearby bar, ordered a huge selection of drinks, and with the help of alcohol, he blurted out everything on his mind.
"Fang Jueyu, you, my man, are born with the physique of a 'scum girl magnet!'" A slightly pudgy guy pointed at him and said. This was Fu Jun, Fang Jueyu's high school classmate and now college companion, who had almost witnessed Fang Jueyu's entire romantic history.
Fang Jueyu was of average height, with above-average looks, and his family was comfortably middle-class. But, the guy had learned to play the violin and piano since childhood; theoretically, he shouldn't be short of girlfriends.
But whether it was his bad luck or unique taste, he almost never liked a normal girl.
The first time he took a fancy to a girl was in his first year of high school. They were together for only two days before the girl changed her mind, claiming she was afraid it would affect her studies. Ironically, Fang Jueyu was admitted to a top provincial university while the girl only got into a third-tier one.
Being dumped in two days became the biggest joke concerning Fang Jueyu. His deskmate, Jiang Yi, laughed at him for three whole years, even uttering a harsh line: "Fang Jueyu, don't be too sad. In the future, you'll encounter girls who will change their minds after one day and some after three days!"
It was like a magic spell. Jiang Yi's words came true one by one, and the reasons the girls gave for their change of heart were almost laughable.
One of the girls agreed to be with him, but then her ex-boyfriend came back to reconcile the next day. Another one said Fang Jueyu was too nice, making their relationship boring.
Fang Jueyu was utterly confounded at that time, even starting to doubt his existence. Could it be that in his past life he was a notorious philanderer who violated countless honorable women? And so, in this life, he had to deal with all these odd women as a sort of retribution?
Until he met Jiang Yuan, he really thought he had found true love. Over these two years, he had given his all to Jiang Yuan, pampering her to the extreme, even becoming the envy of Jiang Yuan's roommates, the boyfriend from someone else's family.
But confronted with this situation, he felt as if his whole world had collapsed. He even imagined a green, glowing hat on his head—not particularly fancy, but it fit just right.
"Old Fang, I feel like there's something I still need to tell you," Ding Minghui hesitated for a long time before deciding to break the news to him.
"Just say it," Fang Jueyu replied. "At this point, what is there that can't be said?" He then took a few gulps of beer.
"That guy who's with Jiang Yuan, I've heard of him. His name is Wang Xuan, a pretty famous second-generation rich kid from our school. His dad seems to be a high-level executive at Grain Ticketing Network," Ding Minghui explained. "Two weeks ago, I saw him dining with Jiang Yuan, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't dare to tell you."
"Grain Ticketing?" Fang Jueyu seemed to have realized something. "Hahaha, I get it now."
Grain Ticketing was the country's largest ticketing center, with over 80% of concert tickets sold through this platform. For the son of a top executive like Wang Xuan, getting a few tickets to Su Lun's concert was a piece of cake.
As for whether it was just for the concert tickets or to climb the social ladder with this rich and handsome guy, Fang Jueyu had no desire to find out anymore.
"Jueyu, there's no need to be too sad about such a woman. With your qualities, finding a good girl would be a piece of cake," Another friend, Cheng Kai, tried to lighten the mood with his common touch of humor. "I heard there are plenty of beauties from our school's ranking of campus beauties who are single. Do you want to check them out? I've got the scoop."
...
After drinking until past midnight, Fang Jueyu stumbled back into his dorm room and fell asleep as if waking up would wash away all his troubles.
The next day, a ringing cellphone woke him from his sleep. Eyes closed, he answered the call, "Hello? Who is this?"
"I'm your mother!" Fang Jueyu's mother's voice came from the other end of the line. "You little rascal, when the hell are you coming home? The kid from the neighbor's house who's studying at Yanjing University has already returned. You're not far from home; do you not want to come back or what?"
"I... I'll come back, I will return this afternoon!" In Fang Jueyu's mind emerged the beautiful face of his mother, Cao Lan, a woman who didn't look her age of forty or fifty, and not just because she was his mother. Because Cao Lan truly possessed an indescribable beauty.
It was just her temper that didn't quite match her stunning appearance.
Not just Cao Lan, his father, Fang Huai, also had the visage of a twenty-year-old. It seemed as though time had never left any mark upon his parents' faces since he could remember. What was more strange was that his parents never used any skincare products; even Cao Lan's vanity was only adorned with a few lipsticks.
"Hmm, come back as soon as possible. Your father and I have something to discuss with you tonight!" Having said that, Cao Lan hung up the phone.