Xu Xiuwen found a stone bench by the roadside and sat down, then began to wait.
During the wait, Xu Xiuwen felt a mix of anticipation, nervousness, and worry, his emotions complex.
But as time passed, Cheng Lu still hadn't appeared.
He started to feel anxious.
If he had cigarettes now, he would surely smoke a few to ease his restlessness.
After waiting for a while longer, Cheng Lu still hadn't arrived.
Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but wonder if Cheng Lu had been caught by the dormitory auntie and couldn't come.
He took out his phone and sent Cheng Lu another text message.
But he didn't receive a reply.
He kept waiting until after 5 o'clock, with school almost over.
By now, the sun was setting, painting the sky with fiery red hues.
The autumn evenings in Jinling were exceptionally beautiful.
Xu Xiuwen looked at the fiery clouds in the sky, and suddenly felt much calmer.
At this moment, there was a clatter of footsteps behind him.
Xu Xiuwen turned around and saw Cheng Lu running towards him, panting.
He hurriedly asked, "Why did you come so late?"
Cheng Lu gave Xu Xiuwen a look and said, "The dormitory auntie wouldn't let me go, insisting that I tell her what major you are."
Curious, Xu Xiuwen asked, "How did you manage to leave in the end?"
Cheng Lu smirked, "I told her you were a hooligan who kept harassing me, and I didn't even know your name, then she let me go."
Xu Xiuwen puzzled, "When did I become a hooligan and harass you?"
Cheng Lu chuckled, "If you're not a hooligan, then why were you going to the girls' dormitory?"
Xu Xiuwen was speechless, "If I didn't go up, would you have come down to see me?"
"How do you know I wouldn't want to come down to see you?"
After saying that, Cheng Lu blushed and immediately changed her tone, "I wouldn't have come down!"
Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "Then why did you come running here out of breath? Wasn't it to see me?"
Cheng Lu blushed even more, redder than the fiery clouds in the sky, completely abandoning her usual icy demeanor.
She tried to keep a straight face to appear calm, but found it difficult, then asked, "Didn't you say you had something to tell me? Hurry up and say it."
With Cheng Lu's question, the situation changed.
Now it was Xu Xiuwen who felt nervous.
He considered himself an experienced driver, but he hadn't expected to feel nervous in this situation.
Xu Xiuwen looked at Cheng Lu's pretty face and her clear eyes.
This girl was his unrequited love in his previous life, he had liked her for over a decade.
Xu Xiuwen remembered a class reunion many years after graduation in his past life, where he heard classmates talking about Cheng Lu.
After graduating, Cheng Lu returned to Hangzhou to work as a civil servant.
She was good-looking, from a good family, with a good job and a bright future. From any perspective, Cheng Lu was the most outstanding girl.
But even with all these qualities, she was still single at that class reunion, when everyone was over thirty.
And even in college, she had always been single.
The Cheng Lu in his previous life seemed to have no interest in any man.
But in this life, Cheng Lu did have a liking for him.
Of this, Xu Xiuwen was certain.
He just wasn't sure if her liking had progressed to the point of love.
The most prudent course of action would be to continue nurturing their relationship with Cheng Lu until the feelings were mutual, and everything would naturally fall into place.
But he didn't want to wait any longer.
This party had given him and Cheng Lu so many chances to interact, but now that it was over, they would rarely meet again.
So he was eager to define their relationship.
Cheng Lu had been staring at Xu Xiuwen, seemingly guessing what he wanted to say.
With a slight smile, Cheng Lu murmured to herself, as if speaking to herself but also for him to hear, "Who would have thought that the Jiangling campus heartthrob would also get nervous and shy? Let's sit for a while first, and wait until someone is ready."
Cheng Lu sat down on the stone bench by the roadside, and Xu Xiuwen followed suit.
But even after sitting down, he remained silent.
He had prepared what he wanted to say, but had many concerns, so it was difficult to speak up.
Cheng Lu continued smiling as she looked ahead, at the sky.
And so, half an hour passed like this.
Surprisingly, Xu Xiuwen still didn't speak.
Cheng Lu said softly, "Someone who remains calm under pressure while enjoying the cheers of so many girls on stage during the party, shouldn't suddenly become timid when it matters most."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiuwen felt embarrassed.
Although Cheng Lu didn't name anyone, who else could she be talking about?
Xu Xiuwen suddenly changed his mind and decided to make a statement through action.
He planned to hold Cheng Lu's hand.
Even if Cheng Lu refused, he could say it was an accidental grab and play it off.
He looked at Cheng Lu's delicate hand resting on the bench, ready to reach out.
But Cheng Lu suddenly raised her hand to adjust her hair.
Xu Xiuwen's first attempt at holding hands ended in failure.
It was almost 6 o'clock by now.
Cheng Lu, with a blank expression, said, "If you're not going to say it, I'm going back."
Taking a risk, Xu Xiuwen sneaked into the girls' dormitory building to call Cheng Lu down.
Though he was eventually caught.
But if he let her go back now, wouldn't all the risks he took be in vain?
He hastily exclaimed, "Don't go!"
Cheng Lu gave Xu Xiuwen a glance and calmly said, "You dare to speak now, what were you doing just now?"
At that moment, Xu Xiuwen's phone suddenly rang.
Checking his phone, he saw it was a message from Jin Haonan, informing him of the restaurant's location and telling him to hurry over.
Xu Xiuwen found an excuse and said to Cheng Lu, "Dong Jun is treating everyone to dinner tonight, come with me."
Cheng Lu asked, "How do I go with what identity?"
After a pause, she continued, "I'm not from your department, it's not appropriate for me to go."
In fact, she had received a message from Dong Jun before coming to see Xu Xiuwen.
Even without the invitation message, her help in organizing the event for the Management and Engineering Department would be appreciated with a meal.
She deliberately said so to see how Xu Xiuwen would respond.
But Xu Xiuwen didn't catch the hidden meaning in her words.
He said, "What's inappropriate about it? If it wasn't for you helping out, the event wouldn't have been so successful. I bet no one would dare to object."
Cheng Lu didn't hear what she wanted to hear and felt somewhat disappointed.
She stood up without saying a word, turned and started walking towards the south gate of the university.
Xu Xiuwen followed behind her, also silent.
When they arrived at the restaurant Dong Jun had mentioned, after entering the private room, everyone except Xu Xiuwen and Cheng Lu had already arrived.
All the male students from the Software Information major, the class monitors from the other three classes of the Management and Engineering Department, the class Youth League secretary, the art committee members, the head of the literary and art department, and her assistants—over thirty people—sat at two tables.
After Xu Xiuwen and Cheng Lu arrived, Dong Jun pulled Xu Xiuwen to the main seat.
Xu Xiuwen sat in the main seat, with Cheng Lu and Ning Rong beside him.
As soon as they sat down, Dong Jun asked Cheng Lu, "Cheng Lu, why did you come with Xu Xiuwen? You two won't be together this afternoon, right?"
He kept glancing at Xu Xiuwen with a mischievous smile, and everyone else joined in the laughter.
Xu Xiuwen instinctively glanced at Cheng Lu, curious how she would respond.
Cheng Lu, with a blank expression, replied, "We happened to meet on the way."