Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Xiao Rongyu knew that Chen Hansheng had had a slight change of attitude towards her recently.

Though he never simped for Xiao Rongyu as Gao Jialang did, Chen Hansheng had always been a gentleman to her. But now, he did not seem to take her seriously anymore.

‘Was it because I rejected him that night? Does a rejection mean two people cannot be friends anymore?’

The more Xiao Rongyu thought about it, the angrier she got. She had rejected dozens of boys before and they never changed as Chen Hansheng did.

Xiao Rongyu turned to look at Chen Hansheng again, but the latter was still in dreamland. It seemed that it didn’t matter to him whether it was Wang Zibo or Xiao Rongyu sitting next to him.

As the bus swayed, Xiao Rongyu started to feel a wave of sleepiness. After resting her chin on her hands at the window a few times, she finally fell asleep.

Chen Hansheng was woken from his nap by the conductor’s shouts.

“The bus has arrived at Hongze gas station. We will be here for ten minutes, so feel free to get off to use the restroom or stretch your legs.”

The distance between Port City and Jianye was quite big and 2002 buses rarely had a toilet onboard. Thus, drivers would often stop at gas stations throughout the journey to give passengers chances to take a break.

“I’m going to pee.”

Chen Hansheng was about to get off the bus when he suddenly felt a weight on one of his shoulders. It turned out that Xiao Rongyu was sleeping comfortably on it.

Xiao Rongyu was really beautiful, even when she was asleep. Her face glowed with health and her lips were moist and bright.

“Hey, do you want to go to the toilet?”

When Chen Hansheng was done admiring her, he directly nudged Xiao Rongyu awake. He did not see the need to be a gentleman.

Xiao Rongyu rubbed her eyes and realized that she had been rudely awakened. She was annoyed.

“I’m not going.”

“Then make way for me. I’m want to go out for a smoke,” said Chen Hansheng bluntly.

“Chen Hansheng, you’re not allowed to smoke!”

Xiao Rongyu hurriedly shouted from behind, but Chen Hansheng pretended not to hear her.

Wang Zibo had been waiting outside the bus. As soon as he saw Chen Hansheng, he irritatedly asked, “So, how does it feel to sit next to Xiao Rongyu, huh?”

“Amazing, of course. I leaned against her, and she leaned against me. Even when she’s asleep she still looks beautiful,” said Chen Hansheng shamelessly.

Wang Zibo became envious. Chen Hansheng bragged for a while as they stood next to the bus. As they were about to get back on, Wang Zibo was a little puzzled. “I thought you wanted to smoke.”

“I won’t smoke today. It might make Xiao Rongyu upset when we kiss later.”

“Ugh, what a showoff.”

Wang Zibo did not believe this nonsense at all.

Chen Hansheng noticed that Xiao Rongyu was drinking yogurt while talking on the phone. Based on the tone of her voice, she seemed to be talking to her father.

When she saw him approaching in the middle of her conversation, she frowned. Mr. Xiao was probably worried that Chen Hansheng would take advantage of his daughter.

When Xiao Rongyu had hung up, Chen Hansheng gestured for her to come closer so that he could take a look at her phone. This was 2002 and having a cell phone was a privilege.

Chen Hansheng obviously did not have one. His parents would rather save the money to buy other more useful things like funding his education or buying him a laptop. He missed being in 2019 when everyone had cell phones.

Xiao Rongyu turned away and ignored him. She was still upset that he wanted to get out for a smoke earlier.

“I did not smoke. If you don’t believe me, come closer and take a sniff.”

Chen Hansheng moved his mouth closer to her, provocatively flirting with her. Xiao Rongyu lowered her head and dodged. But Chen Hansheng was relentless and the two of them started to ‘fight’ in their seats.

Wang Zibo heard the commotion and turned around to take a look. Here he was, suffering under the heat of the sun and UV exposure while the two lovebirds were flirting. How could he not feel bitter about it?

“Stop it! If you keep coming near me, I will seriously get angry.”

Xiao Rongyu was at her wit’s end. He had almost kissed her a few times. The distance between the two of them was too intimate. She finally gave in and handed him her cell phone. “I thought you had a phone too.”

Xiao Rongyu’s phone was a Nokia 7650 that had just been released in April. It sold for more than 6,000 RMB. The Chen family could have afforded it but would rather save the money.

Chen Hansheng fiddled with the phone as he answered her. “I want to earn money in university and support myself.”

“Earn your own money?”

Xiao Rongyu was astonished as she tied her hair back, revealing the fair nape of her neck. “What are you going to do?”

“Of course I’m going to find a beautiful and rich girlfriend. I’ve always had a weak constitution. The doctor suggested that I live off a woman,” said Chen Hansheng seriously.

Xiao Rongyu expressed her disdain.

Now that he had something to entertain him, Chen Hansheng remained engrossed with the Nokia 7650. He even shamelessly used the excuse of ‘helping her take some weight off her luggage’ as he ate Xiao Rongyu’s snacks.

Though Xiao Rongyu rolled her eyes, she was not stingy.

The Nokia 7650 was not only the brand’s first color-screen phone but also the first flip phone and the first phone that used the Symbian operating system. For the 2002 era, there were almost no other rivals in the mobile phone market. This phone was basically the first generation of Nokia’s ‘King of Machines’ series.

Of course, for Chen Hansheng who came seventeen years from the future, the Nokia 7650’s features were nothing. Once he was done exploring its system and functions, Chen Hansheng examined the phone’s appearance one last time before returning it to Xiao Rongyu.

Xiao Rongyu had been curious ever since Hansheng insisted on having her phone. “You looked like you were trying to dismantle it.”

“If I had a screwdriver, I would have,” said Chen Hansheng with a nod.

“You’re crazy.”

Xiao Rongyu quickly snatched her phone away. The bus started to pass through the Yangtze River Bridge and many passengers had stood up to watch.

This magnificent bridge was built in 1960 and had become one of the city’s scenic spots for decades. The sight of armed police standing guard on it caused the people on the bus to cheer. Under the bridge was a large white ferry docked at the pier.

“Why aren’t you excited?”

Xiao Rongyu noticed how calm Chen Hansheng was compared to the others.

She had leaned over to look at the scenery too and was probably so engrossed that she did not notice how close she had gotten to Hansheng. Rongyu was so close to him that her breath tickled his ears when she spoke.

But Hansheng did not mind it.

‘The opportunity has arrived!’

Chen Hansheng suddenly turned around to face her and said, “You’re not surprised either.”

Unfortunately, he had not expected her to be equally as quick. The moment he had whipped around, she pulled away and looked at him with her guard up.

Chen Hansheng felt a little regretful that he didn’t get to kiss her. Xiao Rongyu looked at him vigilantly as she said, “I’ve been to Jianye City before. Not only the Yangtze River Bridge, but also the Presidential Palace, Dr. Su Yat-Sen’s Mausoleum, and Nanjing’s Fuzimiao.”

Xiao Rongyu couldn’t tell if Chen Hansheng had done that on purpose but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Once they had crossed the Yangtze River Bridge, the next stop was the Jianye bus station. The three of them got off the bus there. Xiao Rongyu realized that Chen Hansheng had the least amount of luggage.

He only had a backpack and a pair of sunglasses he whipped out of nowhere just because the sun was too bright. Chen Hansheng was looking more like a tourist than a university student.

“Why didn’t you bring a quilt?” asked Xiao Rongyu.

“The university dorm will provide one. It was already written in the manual.” Hansheng casually responded.

“What about clothes? It will be fall in Jianye by October.”

“I’ll just ask my mom to send them over when it’s time.”

Xiao Rongyu nodded.

Once they had gathered their luggage, Xiao Rongyu thought that they would head over to their universities together. After all, hers was just across the street from Hansheng and Zibo’s. However, Chen Hansheng unexpectedly shook his head and said, “I will take a taxi there later. You should head over to the train station and take Bus No. 137 from there. Your university stop is the fifth one from the last stop.”

Xiao Rongyu was dumbfounded. “What about you?”

“Zibo and I are going for a walk at the nearby Longevity Lake Park.”

Chen Hansheng did not seem to be joking. After all, he only had a backpack which made it easier for him to move around.

But Xiao Rongyu was a little anxious. She was a girl with a lot of luggage. Wasn’t it too much for her to move all those by herself on such a hot day through such a complicated route?

“Chen Hansheng!”

Xiao Rongyu suddenly shouted, almost crying. “You bastard! You promised my dad that you would take care of me!”