Chen Qianqing sat in the dormitory playing with his hamster.
Zhu Mao had been taking good care of his hamster named Tuotuo, a chubby and furry little creature that liked to curl up into a ball. Chen Qianqing held Tuotuo in his palm and watched as it eagerly nibbled on an apple.
Zhu Mao had just returned from outside and saw this scene.
Ever since Chen Qianqing dropped out of school and returned, Zhu Mao felt that there was something lacking in his presence. Perhaps he was easier to get along with now compared to before, but it was still difficult to feel close to him.
Seeing Chen Qianqing holding Tuotuo, Zhu Mao felt much better. He spoke up, "Qianqing, I bought some oranges, do you want to eat them?"
Chen Qianqing didn't even look up, "No."
Zhu Mao said, "You always eat so little and don't like to eat fruits. How can your body handle it?"
Chen Qianqing wasn't being picky about food, but simply had a poor appetite. Everything seemed unappetizing to him, which resulted in a reduced amount of food intake. But upon hearing Zhu Mao's words, he said, "Give me an apple to eat." - He himself didn't mind, but he absolutely couldn't let Chen Qianqing's health be compromised.
Chen Qianqing lowered his head and peeled an orange. He actually didn't like oranges much, but the school didn't have a wide variety of fruits like Lu Zhengfei's home, so he just made do with what was available.
Zhu Mao turned on his computer and said, "Qianqing, are you going to the last class the day after tomorrow?"
Chen Qianqing stuffed a piece of orange into his mouth and without lifting his head, he said, "Of course, are you planning to skip class?"
Zhu Mao coughed a few times and cautiously said, "But if the teacher calls our names, can you help me answer..."
Chen Qianqing paused, puzzled, "You're not going to class?" Zhu Mao was known as a top student in their class, and he almost always attended every class unless he was genuinely ill. Now he actually wanted Chen Qianqing to help him answer if called on. Did the sun rise from the west?!
Zhu Mao sighed, "I don't want to either, but it's the holiday, and I could only buy a train ticket for noon. I won't be able to attend the afternoon class..."
Chen Qianqing was momentarily stunned, "It's already a holiday?" - How did he feel like they had just started school recently?
Zhu Mao said, "You go to the library every day except for classes. You're all confused... It's already the 29th."
Chen Qianqing chewed the orange and suddenly remembered a problem... he hadn't bought a train ticket home yet.
After much hesitation, Chen Qianqing decided to call Lu Zhengfei.
Lu Zhengfei was surprised to receive Chen Qianqing's call. Usually, he was the one to contact Chen Qianqing and invite him out to eat, and every time he did, it felt like paying homage to an ancestor. Today, Chen Qianqing actually called him...
But Lu Zhengfei's excitement quickly dissipated because the first thing Chen Qianqing said was, "Lu Zhengfei, can you help me get a train ticket to the city of C?"
Lu Zhengfei wasn't happy for even two seconds before Chen Qianqing poured cold water on him. He said, "Are you joking with me, Chen Qianqing?"
Chen Qianqing asked, "What do you mean joking?"
Lu Zhengfei snorted, "Your mother asked me to go back with you, didn't she? I haven't bought a train ticket. How about an evening flight on the 30th?"
Chen Qianqing hesitated and asked, "Can I have one ticket?"
Lu Zhengfei said, "Just one, you take one and I'll take one." - How could he not know what Chen Qianqing was thinking? He was just pretending not to know.
Chen Qianqing also knew that Lu Zhengfei was pretending to be ignorant, so he decisively hung up the phone.
Lu Zhengfei became angry as he listened to the beeping sound of his phone. He realized that since Chen Qianqing had started compromising, he couldn't do anything about him. Every time he got angry, Chen Qianqing would innocently look at him as if saying, "I've already compromised, why are you still getting angry?" This completely drained Lu Zhengfei of his temper.
This was the biggest difference between the current Chen Qianqing and the previous Chen Qianqing. In the past, if the old Chen Qianqing had heard that Lu Zhengfei wanted to go home with him for the holidays, he would have likely gotten into a big fight over the phone or tried to find a way to go back himself. However, the current Chen Qianqing was different. He knew that he couldn't change the current situation, so it was better to accept it. By simply hanging up the phone, he left Lu Zhengfei fuming.
With Lu Zhengfei, he could only take a soft approach. The more he softened, the more Lu Zhengfei didn't know where to start. This was something the old Chen Qianqing didn't know, but the current Chen Qianqing fully embraced.
After hanging up Lu Zhengfei's call, Chen Qianqing's mood didn't improve much. In his previous life, he had been to Chen Qianqing's house, but it was first to threaten him and the second time was for the funeral of Chen Qianqing's parents. They were definitely not good memories.
Chen Qianqing washed his hands after peeling the apple, thinking that in this life, he had too many things to repay.
On October 31st, Zhu Mao took the train with his luggage at noon. Chen Qianqing took a nap and leisurely went to class.
After class, he returned to the dormitory to get his luggage and then sat in Lu Zhengfei's car at the school gate.
Lu Zhengfei wore a white shirt with a military green vest and jeans. With his harmless smile, he made himself look almost the same age as Chen Qianqing.
Chen Qianqing couldn't help but feel chills down his spine. What he couldn't stand the most was Lu Zhengfei's seemingly innocent smile. It made him want to slap him—-it had a taste of a father looking at his son, disappointed that he hadn't grown up.
After putting the luggage in the trunk, Chen Qianqing reluctantly sat next to Lu Zhengfei.
Lu Zhengfei said, "Let's go to the airport first. Otherwise, the traffic will be congested on the way, and it won't be good if the plane is delayed."
Chen Qianqing nodded.
The driver started driving towards the airport. Every major holiday made travel extremely painful. Almost every tourist attraction was overcrowded, giving Chen Qianqing no desire to go out—-well, except for special circumstances. If the person accompanying him was the original host Chen Qianqing, he would be quite willing. With that in mind, Chen Qianqing looked disdainfully at Lu Zhengfei, who was trying to contain his excitement.
After enduring for a while, Chen Qianqing decided not to pour cold water on Lu Zhengfei and instead took out his phone to call Liu Huamei.
Liu Huamei knew that Chen Qianqing was coming back. She answered the call to confirm the time. She asked, "Qianqing, when will you reach home?"
Chen Qianqing said, "No, I'm taking a flight with Lu Zhengfei tonight. We should arrive around eleven."
Liu Huamei said, "Do you have enough money for the flight? If not, call your mom. A couple of days ago, you said you were taking the train. Why are you suddenly taking a flight?"
Chen Qianqing said, "I just want to get back as soon as possible. Mom, don't you miss me?"
Liu Huamei laughed over the phone, "You little rascal, your words are getting sweeter. Alright, I'll make some late-night snacks for you tonight. What do you want to eat?"
Chen Qianqing said, "Anything will do. I like whatever you make."
The mother and son chatted for a while before Liu Huamei reluctantly hung up.
Originally, they thought they would go to the airport right after class without much traffic congestion. However, they got stuck on the elevated bridge. Lu Zhengfei glanced at the time and said, "Are you hungry?" It was already dinner time, but judging from the situation, there was little hope of having dinner.
Chen Qianqing said, "Not hungry..."
After hearing this, Lu Zhengfei took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket and handed it to Chen Qianqing, "You like eating this, right? I had someone specially bring it back for you."
Chen Qianqing is probably fond of chocolates, but the chocolate that Lu Zhengfei handed to him is very familiar to Chen Qianqing - because it was made by him, Chen Qianqing, in the past.
When clumsy Lu Zhengfei personally made chocolates, it must have been a comical scene. However, when he handed the chocolate to Chen Qianqing with complicated feelings, the original master didn't even look at it and directly threw it into the trash can.
At that time, Chen Qianqing used to not be picky about chocolates, but he accidentally threw away the chocolate that Lu Zhengfei made with his own hands.
Even Lu Zhengfei couldn't help but say that this is fate.
After Chen Qianqing threw Lu Zhengfei's chocolate into the trash can, Lu Zhengfei secretly took it out again while Chen Qianqing was away and quietly ate it himself.
Since then, he has never attempted to make gifts for Chen Qianqing with his own hands again because he knew that he could never give Chen Qianqing what he wanted.
And now, the him who returned to the past personally received the chocolate made by his younger self.
Chen Qianqing took the chocolate, opened the packaging, and took a bite. It was slightly bitter, but the rich chocolate aroma and smooth texture were very pleasing. He took another bite, pretending not to see Lu Zhengfei's expectant gaze, and casually said, "Thank you, it's not bad."
Lu Zhengfei's eyes instantly lit up, like the stars that were illuminated at night. Chen Qianqing turned his head to look out the window and for some reason felt that the thing in his hand was a bit hard to swallow.
Young Lu Zhengfei yearned for a gentle look from Chen Qianqing, but the methods he used, along with his stubborn character similar to Chen Qianqing's, doomed that their relationship would not start well, nor end well.
The real Chen Qianqing would not accept this piece of chocolate, and in the end, the one who swallowed it was himself.
The Chen Qianqing who accepted Lu Zhengfei is not Chen Qianqing at all.