Chapter 28

X University officially began military training on the third day after registration, and it lasted a little over half a month.

The training schedule was even tighter than classes. It started at seven in the morning and ended at nine-thirty at night, with only a two-hour break at noon for meals and rest.

Commuter students had it much harder than those living on campus. They had to get up by six at the latest, wash up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and then have Lin Bai Xin drive them to school. With traffic, they usually didn’t arrive until a little after six forty. By the time they caught their breath, they were already lining up to drill.

Lin Bai Xin still came to pick her up at night. Usually, they couldn’t leave before ten. Yu Min was unlucky enough to land under an instructor who was every bit as strict as a drill sergeant; while most other squads were dismissed right on time at nine-thirty, their instructor insisted on running overtime. By the time the other groups had all dispersed, theirs still hadn’t been released.

“Tomorrow I’ll take a taxi,” Yu Min said. “It’s too late. A taxi would be more convenient than you coming all the way to pick me up; otherwise you’d have to wait forever.” Her consideration was thorough enough.

Unfortunately, Lin Bai Xin didn’t agree. “It’s only for this period. It’s not like I have to come every day after this. Once you start classes, I won’t come anymore.”

“Military training still has thirteen days left.”

“That’s soon. It’ll be over before long.”

Because there was now one more student to look after, and Lin Bai Xin herself didn’t have the energy to take care of Yu Min properly, a new auntie was hired two days later. She was specifically responsible for their breakfast, dinner, and daily housekeeping. They had originally arranged for periodic housekeeping, but that no longer worked. Lin Bai Xin could manage alone, but with Yu Min there, she couldn’t keep living like that.

At night, when they got home, a late-night snack was already prepared. The auntie didn’t stay overnight; neither of them liked being disturbed. The snack was made ahead of time around seven, and after Yu Min got home she would shower and change first. By the time she came out, Lin Bai Xin would have reheated the food, and then they would eat a little together.

This kind of routine was actually similar to Yu Min’s life before the second year of middle school, but too much time had passed. At first she was still a little unaccustomed to it and was always worried about causing trouble for others. It wasn’t until military training was nearly over and the extra snack stopped that she gradually got used to it.

Lin Qi came over every few days. Since she lived close enough, she could drop by whenever she wanted. During that time, with nothing much to do, she suggested that when Lin Bai Xin was busy, she could pick Yu Min up instead. Lin Bai Xin refused bluntly. “I have time. No need for you to worry about it.”

“What kind of thing is that to say? You make it sound like I’m trying to steal her from you. I’m helping you share the load. You’re my partner; we’re in this together. If you work yourself to death one day, what am I supposed to do?” Lin Qi teased. “Besides, I like our little sister too. We’re family; no need to make it sound so distant. I should take care of her more as well.”

Lin Bai Xin didn’t respond, but Lin Qi wouldn’t stop. She was really acting like she was trying to snatch a child away. Growing annoyed, Lin Bai Xin simply threw the decision to Yu Min, saying flatly, “Then ask her yourself. See if she agrees.”

Naturally, Yu Min didn’t agree. She wasn’t close enough to Lin Qi for that, and it was even less possible for her to give up Lin Bai Xin for her. The two of them weren’t even comparable; Yu Min would choose Lin Bai Xin without even thinking.

Lin Qi clutched her chest, wounded all over again.

“Kindness repaid with ingratitude. You two don’t appreciate anything. I’m heartbroken, really... Little sister, why are you even taking sides? That’s not fair. I keep coming all the way over here for you, and I even brought you food yesterday. You’re so ruthless—use me and then throw me away?”

Yu Min could tell the other woman was joking and didn’t really mean it, but she didn’t know how to respond. She couldn’t just let the joke die, but after holding it in for a long time, she still wasn’t smooth enough, so she ended up stuck there awkwardly.

“Don’t try to get close to her. She’s not your little sister.” As always, Lin Bai Xin stepped in to smooth things over and pushed Lin Qi away.

Lin Qi protested loudly. “Yu Min is your little sister, and I’m your little sister too. We’re both related to you. By seniority, she’s my little sister too. What did I say wrong? What, she’s your exclusive property now? Yours and yours only?” She never spoke with any restraint and loved to ramble. Soon, she stopped paying attention to Yu Min and let her off, turning instead to pester Lin Bai Xin and deliberately find something to talk about.

Both Lin Bai Xin and Yu Min were far too quiet; putting two such taciturn people together was enough to suffocate anyone. Lin Qi was doing it on purpose, just trying to liven things up a bit, not really looking for trouble.

Then one night Lin Bai Xin really was busy and couldn’t get away, so Lin Qi went to X University to pick Yu Min up.

After a whole round of military training, Yu Min had lost over three jin. She hadn’t had much meat on her to begin with, so now she looked even more frail, as if a strong wind could blow her over.

Lin Qi felt bad for the kid. Over the next several days she kept dragging Yu Min out to eat. Lin Qi couldn’t cook; she only knew how to boil instant noodles, which meant she had no real cooking skills at all. She could only take Yu Min out to eat, and if Lin Bai Xin wasn’t free, they would pack up another portion to bring back for her.

Yu Min had tanned after military training, but she didn’t really mind. So what if she was darker? By next year at this time, she’d be fair again. It was Lin Bai Xin who taught her how to apply face masks and do skincare, laying out a whole pile of bottles and jars and handling all sorts of things on her face every day.

Yu Min didn’t know how to do any of that. She simply wasn’t good at these things by nature, but Lin Bai Xin was patient and helped her with her own hands.

Lin Bai Xin’s fingertips were a little cool, and they felt smooth against her skin. She didn’t keep her nails long. Her hands were clean and beautiful, the joints distinct, her fingers longer than Yu Min’s.

Yu Min cooperated by lifting her chin, standing stiffly in front of her without moving.

Yu Min had rather large eyes. When the light from the ceiling lamp reflected in them, they looked especially dark and bright. Her brow bone was more pronounced than most people’s, and her nose bridge was high; compared to a few years ago, she had long since grown into her features. At first Lin Bai Xin hadn’t paid much attention, but after being stared at so directly for too long, she belatedly realized it and couldn’t help meeting Yu Min’s gaze.

The girl’s eyes were deep and earnest, without the slightest impurity; all that was reflected there was Lin Bai Xin’s figure.

Her movement along Yu Min’s cheek paused slightly. Perhaps she wasn’t used to being stared at like that; Lin Bai Xin’s fingertip accidentally brushed Yu Min’s ear and grazed the loose strands of hair hanging there.

Yu Min was dazed, her whole body a little lost. Holding her head up was starting to strain her, and she was beginning to have trouble keeping it there. In a soft voice, she asked, “Is it done?”

Lin Bai Xin withdrew her hand without showing it and picked up another bottle of cream. “Not yet. There’s still this.”

“Okay.” Yu Min lifted her chin a little higher and kept cooperating.

The skincare effect was negligible. Once Lin Qi happened to discover that Lin Bai Xin was actually using such an old-fashioned method, she suggested, “Why go to all that trouble? Taking so long like this isn’t as useful as one trip to a beauty salon. That’ll do more than patting on ten rounds of toner.”

Yu Min didn’t go; she didn’t listen to her suggestion.

Without needing Yu Min to make an excuse, Lin Qi thought about it for a moment and said on her own, “Still, young people really don’t need to go to beauty salons. You’re only eighteen. At the best age of your life, you’re beautiful no matter what. Even if we go dark, it’s a pretty kind of dark.”

The phrase pretty kind of dark made even Yu Min laugh. Lin Qi really never had anything good to say.

In fact, she wasn’t that dark. The classmates in Yu Min’s class were much darker than she was, especially those boys who never bothered with sunscreen; they were practically charcoal. Compared with most people, Yu Min was only a little darker. Right now, she actually looked like the fairest one in class.

After more than ten days of skincare, Yu Min had learned how to do it, and only then did Lin Bai Xin stop teaching her.

The first half of the semester after entering university was the most energetic period. Freshmen were full of drive and hadn’t yet been beaten down by the dull repetition of memorization and the deathly exam weeks. Everyone was full of anticipation for the years ahead.

Yu Min was no exception. Before going to university, she had heard plenty of comments about how hard medical school was, but once she got into the medical college, she felt it was fine. She could handle it.

After all, aside from studying, she was just a useless person with nothing else to do. Other students studied for their futures, for their ambitions; she was more passive. For her, studying was simply a way to pass the time, no different from leisure.

If it was just leisure, then of course it wouldn’t be tiring. No matter how you looked at it, she didn’t feel tired.

University was obviously different from high school. Classrooms weren’t fixed, and even if you were in the same class, not every classmate necessarily knew one another, much less was familiar with one another.

In university, the people you knew best were your roommates. For most people, after several years of school, the only ones they really ended up close with were their roommates. Yu Min didn’t have roommates, and because she was introverted and didn’t like actively making friends, she naturally became one of the rare solitary oddballs in the class; she didn’t even have anyone to save her a seat when she went to class.

Yu Min didn’t see anything bad in that at all. The other students all rushed to the back rows. No matter how late she arrived, there was always a seat in the first or second row. The first and second rows were fine; at least she could hear the teacher clearly.

Because she was so solitary, from military training until midterm, nearly three months passed and Yu Min still hadn’t made a single classmate. It was only when Lin Bai Xin casually asked about it that Yu Min realized something was odd. Lin Bai Xin had said offhandedly that if she had any good friends at school, she could invite them over to eat sometime. Yu Min had agreed, but she couldn’t find anyone like that at all.

Still, even though she didn’t know her classmates, many people in the class knew her. Yu Min was the kind of girl who stood out the moment she sat down in the classroom; she was too good-looking to stay low-key. Even if she blended into a crowd, it was hard for anyone to ignore her.

What’s more, Yu Min sat in the front row every day, and the teachers often called on her to answer questions. She was the kind of well-behaved student teachers especially liked, and that was still true even after she got to university.

Trouble came soon after.

One afternoon, Yu Min went out to the restroom in the middle of class. When she returned to her seat and opened her textbook, she found that sometime while she was gone, a letter had been slipped between the pages.

A confession letter.

It was the first time in her life she had ever received something like that, as if she’d been handed a bomb that might go off at any moment. Yu Min had no idea how to deal with it. She glanced at the classmates around her and found no one suspicious. She tried asking the likely witnesses nearby, but unfortunately no one had paid attention to her area. When class ended, people either played with their phones or did other things; who would bother keeping track of something like this?

Throwing the letter away felt wrong, but keeping it also felt wrong. Yu Min was in a terrible dilemma. If she threw it out, wouldn’t that be too harsh? Too disrespectful to the person? But if she kept it, she was even less willing. If she accepted it, would it be taken as meaning she agreed?

By the end of the next class, Yu Min finally took the confession letter away with her. No matter who had sent it, throwing it out would still have been inappropriate. If someone else found the letter, wouldn’t the classmate who sent it be socially dead?

That would be very bad.

Yu Min only glanced over the letter in a hurry. It was all long, rambling nonsense; the gist was that the person had fallen in love with Yu Min at first sight, had secretly admired her, and hoped she could give them a chance to start as friends. They wanted to pursue her and earnestly asked for her consent.

Later, Lin Qi found out about this and passed it along to Lin Bai Xin.

Lin Qi sighed. “I have to say, though, the attitude was pretty good. Just hearing it, it sounds sincere. Probably a decent person.”

Lin Bai Xin didn’t agree and answered in silence.

Lin Qi insisted on dragging her into the discussion and threw a paper ball at her, chasing after her with, “What do you think?”

Lin Bai Xin dodged it. Busy with her own work, she didn’t even lift her head, only saying in a low voice, “Boring.”