Chapter 270: Chapter 270

Ye Ling never imagined that such an incident would change her university life, and it was only after they finished sweeping that someone else came. It was then that Ye Ling realized this newcomer, Sui Gang, was the one punished with her, and Fu Lei was just helping Sui Gang. Sui Gang and Fu Lei were relatives; Fu Lei was a rural kid. Later, when Sui Gang mentioned Ye Ling, she was quite surprised. She hadn’t guessed that this sunny boy came from such a humble background. After all, this university campus mostly housed the children of wealthy families or employees sent by large companies for further study. Ordinary kids couldn’t enter unless their grades were exceptionally good.

After this incident, Ye Ling met Shen Bin during military training, but they never got a chance to talk again. Once the military training ended, formal classes began. Ye Ling chose geological exploration, and to her surprise, both Fu Lei and Sui Gang selected the same. Needless to say, Zhao Guodong and his group also made the same choice.

The days at school together flew by quickly. Ye Ling still maintained the same relationship with Zhao Guodong and the others, and gradually interacted more harmoniously with Liu Zhiyuan and his crowd. She also got familiar with Fu Lei and Sui Gang. Sui Gang’s personality was very similar to Zhao Guodong’s; within two days, they were as close as brothers. Sui Gang had the attitude that your family is my family, and since he got along well with Zhao Guodong, he treated everyone who came with them as friends and treated no one as an outsider. Liu Zhiyuan and the others were lukewarm towards him, but he didn’t care. Watching from the side, Ye Ling found Sui Gang to be quite thick-skinned, yet he was a rich kid.

As for the people in the dorm, Ye Ling got along well with Liu Nan and Yang Hui. Ma Yue and Dong Minghui formed their own clique, and the two sides coexisted peacefully without interfering with each other.

The half-term went by quickly; autumn passed into winter, reaching the time for the winter holiday. Ye Ling reported to the school that she wouldn’t be going home, so she could stay in the dorm. Once the news spread, Zhao Guodong also insisted on not going home, but a phone call from his family quickly persuaded him. Mr. Zhao simply stated he could come and drag him back home, so Zhao Guodong, fearing familial coercion, unwillingly packed up to leave.

Ye Ling went to the train station to see off seven people. Liu Zhiyuan, always steady, didn’t say more than necessary when alone, let alone now with so many people. He just nodded at Ye Ling before boarding. Sun Mingjie, although his attitude towards Ye Ling had improved, was not particularly close with her. He followed Liu Zhiyuan onto the train. Dong Haoyu, however, greeted Ye Ling before boarding.

Xiang Weilai stayed behind. Zhao Guodong glared over, seeing that Xiang Weilai still didn’t intend to leave. Rushing for time, he left it be and earnestly advised Ye Ling, "Stay safe at school on your own, don’t wander around. Honestly, you could just come home with us for the New Year, who doesn’t go home for the New Year?"

"You’ve been nagging these same few things the whole way; my ears are growing calluses." Ye Ling joked, then earnestly told the group, "Don’t worry about me, I’ve already found a temporary job, working during lunchtime, so I’ll be coming and going to school in broad daylight. There’s nowhere unsafe, and besides, we’ve practiced basic self-defense. I’m generally not an easy target."

It was practiced during military training. As Ye Ling mentioned this, even Zhang Linong furrowed his brows.

Zhao Guodong bluntly pointed out, "What you did isn’t self-defense, as Shen Bin put it, it’s just dancing."

Wang Ping burst into laughter on the side.

Xiang Weilai’s face also broke into a smile.

Ye Ling retorted, "Can you trust his words?"

All because of that one remark from Shen Bin, the new students recognized her. Now, even half a year later, she sometimes got teased. Ye Ling felt she shouldn’t be nice to Shen Bin. If she kept her distance like before, he wouldn’t dare to speak like that in front of the new students.

With Ye Ling’s glare, Wang Ping’s loud laugh turned into a chuckle.

Yet Zhao Guodong and the others weren’t fazed. Seeing Ye Ling’s reddened face, Zhang Linong stopped Zhao Guodong, "Dongzi, that’s enough, time for us to board."

Zhao Guodong then unwillingly turned around without moving.

Like a child who had been wronged.

Zhang Linong helplessly smiled at Ye Ling, "We’re just worried about you. We can’t stay with you in Beijing for New Year’s this year. If you don’t go home next summer, we’ll stay here with you."

Ye Ling understood they were concerned for her. Without needing to be with such cold-hearted family, a lot of her anger had dissipated, "Okay, I remember. I originally thought of asking you guys to stay with me, but it is New Year’s. Last year, you all celebrated with me. After we graduate and start working, there will be fewer chances to celebrate at home, so while there’s still time these two years, spend more of it with family."

Advising others to be with family, while staying behind, the few in front were well aware of Ye Ling’s situation with her family. Zhao Guodong had been angry with Ye Ling for leaving them behind, but hearing her mention it, he realized he was a bit too much, never having considered Ye Ling’s feelings.

"Staying with or without family is the same anyway, just take care of yourself. We’ll come back after the New Year," Zhao Guodong said softly, not as assertively as before. Updates are released by novel⚑fire.net

Zhang Linong and the others smiled with pursed lips.

Ye Ling warmly nodded, "Alright, see you when you return. Hurry up and get on the train."

Only then did the others board the train, leaving Xiang Weilai who walked up to Ye Ling, grabbed her hand, stuffed something into it, and turned to leave. His actions were quick, and as Zhao Guodong turned around to look, Xiang Weilai released Ye Ling’s hand and started walking back.

This move infuriated Zhao Guodong, his eyes seemingly on fire glaring at Xiang Weilai. Xiang Weilai raised an eyebrow and passed Zhao Guodong with big strides, boarding the train in a few steps, then turned around inside the carriage to wave at Ye Ling before disappearing.

Zhao Guodong followed angrily, Zhang Linong hurriedly waved at Ye Ling and followed, fearing the two would start fighting if he delayed. Wang Ping, meanwhile, chuckled with a mischievous grin, while Ye Ling shook her head, admittedly surprised by Xiang Weilai’s actions. Once the train moved, she could see Wang Ping waving energetically, and Liu Zhiyuan was standing silently by the window, but no other familiar faces were in sight. She assumed Zhang Linong was de-escalating the situation. Ye Ling finally looked down at the item in her hand: an unsealed envelope. When she opened it, she found inside a stack of five one-unit bills amounting to fifty in total. She never expected Xiang Weilai to have so much money, and noticing the bills were brand new, it was easy for her to guess this was Xiang Weilai’s saved-up new year’s money. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)