Wan Chu’er noticed that ever since they got off the train, Yang Fan, who usually held himself in high esteem, started to lower his stance and began to draw closer to her and Mai Qiqi. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

He would occasionally ask Mai Qiqi if she was tired, then ask Wan Chu’er if she was thirsty, and even offered to help carry their things, which made Li Guohui start to snore oddly, not to mention Wan Chu’er and Mai Qiqi themselves.

Privately, Mai Qiqi joked with Wan Chu’er: "I think this Yang Fan is mostly here for you."

Unwarranted attentiveness, if not a crook, then a thief — Mai Qiqi was no fool, and the drastic change in Yang Fan’s attitude could not help but raise suspicions.

Wan Chu’er glanced at her and calmly said: "Yeah, it was you who brought this upon me." She felt that Mai Qiqi, by promoting her so much on the train, had attracted Li Guohui.

"Tell me about it," Mai Qiqi asked puzzled.

Wan Chu’er shared her guesses with her, causing Mai Qiqi to open her mouth wide: "Really? Could it be that he admires your outstanding virtue of enduring hardships? Are there really people who value virtues these days?"

Wan Chu’er snorted and gave her a look, just as Li Guohui and Yang Fan returned after asking for directions.

Their group of several people stayed in a shabby little inn in the county town for one night, waking up early around six or seven o’clock to pack up and get ready to hitch a ride to the mountain village.

It wasn’t that they didn’t like to sleep in, it was just that the conditions of the small inn were so poor that no one wanted to stay there longer. Li Jia’s disdain for this small inn, which started last night, continued until this morning, making it irritating to hear.

After catching a bus from the county town that jostled them around for four hours, they were dropped off seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

The driver roughly pointed them in a direction saying it was an hour’s walk away, but after walking for twenty minutes, they were lost, unsure of which way to go.

So, they sent Li Guohui and Yang Fan to ask for directions.

Li Guohui was telling Mr. Zhang about their progress in asking for directions, speaking loudly as though wanting everyone to hear.

Yang Fan then came over to take his luggage, smiled at Wan Chu’er and Mai Qiqi, and said, "Thanks for watching my luggage."

Wan Chu’er ignored him, looking in Mr. Zhang’s direction, as if she were listening to Li Guohui’s words.

Mai Qiqi chuckled.

After hearing Li Guohui’s report, Mr. Zhang said "good work," pondered for a while, then led everyone to continue forward.

Twenty minutes later, a bullock cart appeared in the deserted mountain forest.

Li Guohui excitedly said, "Could it be here to pick us up?"

He was right, the bullock cart was indeed there to pick them up. After loading the luggage, there was room for five or six people to sit. They let the three girls sit first; Li Jia, after showing some reluctance, gingerly sat down.

Mai Qiqi plopped down on it and then called for Wan Chu’er.

Wan Chu’er said to her: "I actually like walking, you sit."

Although it was a mountainous area, they had been walking on paths along the mountainside. There were large trees providing shade, and with flowers and birdsong around, it had a unique charm. Wan Chu’er, having never been to such a place in both of her lives, was very fond of it.

Hearing Wan Chu’er’s words, Li Jia smiled, thinking to herself that Wan Chu’er must have come from the countryside. Only people from the countryside embark on tough paths without regard for their lives, choosing to walk on these dirt roads rather than ride in a vehicle.

Since Wan Chu’er didn’t sit, Huang Zhao sat next to his girlfriend and also called Mr. Zhang over: "Teacher, there’s plenty of space here, please take a seat here."

Li Guohui had just gone scouting and walked quite a bit, so he didn’t hesitate to sit down.

There was still one seat remaining. Yang Fan originally intended to take it, but looking at Wan Chu’er who had started walking ahead, he grudgingly said: "I’ll walk with student Wan Chu’er. You guys sit."

After saying this, he chased after Wan Chu’er.

"Wan Chu’er, wait up, let’s walk together," Yang Fan called out to Wan Chu’er ahead.

Wan Chu’er blatantly ignored him, even quickening her pace silently.

The people on the ox-cart watched Yang Fan chasing after Wan Chu’er and found it amusing.

Li Guohui even suggested to Mai Qiqi, "Shall we bet and see if Yang Fan can catch up with Wan Chu’er?" His words had a double meaning, and Mai Qiqi instantly got it.

Mai Qiqi laughed and said decisively, "No need to bet; he’s just wasting his efforts! If you get a chance, you should tell him that."

Li Guohui, interested, asked: "Does Wan Chu’er already have a boyfriend?"

"Almost," Mai Qiqi thought about the situation between Jiang Kechu and Wan Chu’er and said.

"What do you mean by ’almost’?" Li Guohui didn’t understand. He quickly grasped the meaning then laughed, "I see now, Wan Chu’er must have a suitor, and she probably feels good about him, but is still in the evaluating stage."

Mai Qiqi nodded in agreement: "Well done!"

Ahead, Wan Chu’er disregarded Yang Fan, who pretended not to notice and still caught up to her.

Panting, he said, "Wan Chu’er, did you grow up walking these rural roads? You’re really fast."

Wan Chu’er ignored him.

Yang Fan continued, "Being admitted to the first university is like a carp leaping over the dragon gate. You probably won’t have many chances to walk these rural roads in the future. Seeing your effort, you’ll probably stay in Beijing after graduation, right? I plan to stay in Beijing too, so we can look out for each other."

Hearing this, Wan Chu’er stopped walking, looked at Yang Fan coldly, and said seriously, "I’m not interested in you, nor do I want to be. So if you have any other ideas, I advise you not to waste your time and energy."

She said this without minding Yang Fan’s astonished and flushed face, and continued walking proudly forward.

Yang Fan took several deep breaths, then turned and followed Wan Chu’er again.

"Wan Chu’er, do you think I’m not good enough for you? But I don’t think so. Since you are so straightforward, I’ll cut to the chase. I think we can try getting along. I really admire your simplicity and diligence. If we get together, we’re bound to make a mark in Beijing in the future."

Unexpectedly persistent, Wan Chu’er’s expression soured. She snapped, "I have a boyfriend. Besides my boyfriend, I’m not interested in any other man."

Yang Fan was stunned. He didn’t expect Wan Chu’er to say such a thing and blurted out, "I don’t believe it. You’ve just been in university for a year, how could you have found someone so quickly? You don’t seem like that type of person."

Not what type of person? Irresponsible? Fond of romantic affairs?...

Wan Chu’er scoffed, "Whether I have a boyfriend or not isn’t for you to believe. Just one thing: stop bothering me."

The more she saw of Yang Fan, the less she thought of him. Just because he was admitted to the first university and was a provincial top scholar, did he really think he was above everyone else and anyone should be grateful to date him?