Chapter 2: Guo Jing I 3

  Guo Jing closed the window and shut out the patter of rain outside.

  "The rain in your southern region is really good," Guo Jing said. "In our place, as soon as it rains, the wind blows strongly and on the grasslands everything becomes invisible."

  "Your home is really in Mongolia?" Huang Rong asked for the first time about this silly boy's origin.

  "Yes," Guo Jing nodded, "our family in the banner is herding, starting from a young age we learned to ride horses."

  "Really?" Huang Rong had never ridden a horse before.

  Guo Jing smiled, because when he said that, Huang Rong widened her eyes, not the usual Huang big sister, but just a curious child. Guo Jing often smiled, but many times it was because others were laughing at him, and he had to follow along. But this time he was really very happy.

  Guo Jing's smile left Huang Rong stunned for a moment. A sudden sensitivity made Huang Rong understand what Guo Jing was smiling at, and the answer left her very puzzled...Huang Rong had long forgotten how many years it had been since she was truly interested in something. As Huang Yaoshi's daughter, she had seen and experienced everything, giving her enough capital to say no to anything without hesitation. So Huang Rong walked through the crowd with a small sense of pride, as if she had never liked anyone nor needed anyone to like her.

  Is riding a horse really that fun? Or is it that she herself doesn't care about the horse itself? Huang Rong felt a little puzzled for the first time.

  "Are you going home for summer vacation?" Huang Rong forced herself not to think.

  "I'm not going back," Guo Jing's eyes revealed a hint of melancholy for just an instant, "In the summer, my mom and the people from the banner took the livestock to graze in the pasture, and when they returned home, there was no one there."

  "What about your dad?"

  "He passed away."

  Huang Rong didn't ask again, and Guo Jing lowered his head to write and draw. What Guo Jing didn't know was that Huang Rong silently watched him from the side, watching this serious Mongolian big man in front of the pitch-black window.

  Is she really lonely? Huang Rong asked herself. Maybe not. Maybe this world has never lacked people who like her, but she pushed away everyone. Maybe her poor old father is not a tyrant at all, and he anxiously waits for her to come home at three o'clock in the middle of the night. Maybe her elder sisters don't dislike her, they just don't like her pride.

  Perhaps she just thought she was lonely. If she also had to cry alone, then would this Guo Jing only be able to express his indignation by banging his head against the wall and spraying fresh blood?

  Guo Jing was not lonely, he always smiled like this, his smile so simple and pure. This guy from the Mongolian grasslands had once stood under the sunset watching his mother and horse herds return together, and had also protected those smelly Mongolian tents in the stormy rain just like everyone else... At that time, he must have been smiling foolishly too?

  Outside the window, the cold rain was still drizzling, but Huang Rong felt a long-lost warmth.

  Mu Nianci hurried back from the classroom with a fiery face. Halfway through self-study, she was still worried that her second sister, Ma Dajia, would forget to take care of Huang Rong.

  But pushing open the door, Huang Rong was quietly sitting on the bed reading a book, Guo Jing's pencil slid across the paper with a soft scratching sound. Such quietness made Mu Nianci feel as if she had seen a still life painting.

  Mu Nianci quietly opened the door and went out without making a sound.

  Huang Rong decided to give Guo Jing an opportunity.

  Poor Guo Jing didn't know that the peach blossom luck of Big Brother Number One was about to descend upon him, so he only suddenly discovered that his hard work had become even more tiring. He was ordered by Huang Rong to buy more Haagen-Dazs, photocopy notes, and even help her tidy up her drawer full of trinkets while jumping around with her.

  Guo Jing has one good point, which is that he is particularly diligent and inquisitive. If it were Yang Kang, Mu Nianci would show him some small thing that girls like, and he would hum and nod off to sleep while still nodding his head. Ouyang Ke couldn't help but say something like "I've seen one of those before too", and then mention someone else who also had one... Guo Jing only asked: "What is it?"

  Huang Rong was delighted, and she was particularly happy to show Guo Jing the treasures she had collected since childhood, such as a koala doll or a small backpack with Snoopy on it, and then tell him stories about how she got them. In her excitement, she gave some things to Guo Jing, and later, Guo Jing tied the cherry blossom-shaped pillow that Huang Rong gave him to his 20-dollar "Mitsubishi" backpack, and carefully took out his eraser from a small pencil case with a Smurf head on it, even adding a complete set of nail clippers to his bedside. Linghu Chong was almost worshiping in admiration, saying that he had never dreamed that Guo Jing's extreme masculinity could match with petty bourgeoisie sentimentality. In Linghu Chong's view, what Ouyang Ke did was normal, but what Guo Jing did was like a Mongolian cavalryman riding a Mickey Mouse.

  One time, Linghu Chong lined up behind Guo Jing for dinner and pinched his cherry bun saying: "Old Big Brother, what is this thing?"

  Guo Jing repeated seriously the new term he learned from Huang Rong: "Gangzi."

  "Then may I ask why you're going behind her back?" Linghu Chong brought the spoon handle to Guo Jing's mouth.

  "Huang Rong said it's very popular..."

  Linghu Chong immediately reduced his fixed four liang of rice per meal to three liang. The next day, the phrase "very popular" became everyone's greeting to Guo Jing. But Guo Jing just blinked blankly, not remembering that he had said it before.

  From this we can see how a petty-bourgeois girl poisons a robust and promising young man...

  Although her relationship with Guo Jing is getting better, what makes Huang Rong depressed is that conquering Guo Jing as a laborer is much easier than conquering him as a boyfriend. Huang Rong feels that she has shown her feelings to this extent, and Guo Jing should at least have the courage to eat with her in the same rice box. However, Guo Jing just smiles foolishly, not even daring to sit on Huang Rong's bed.

  The only exception was when Huang Rong saw Guo Jing staring blankly at her skirt, and her face suddenly turned red. She had always thought that her figure was good, and the curve of her calf was also very nice to look at, so she immediately assumed that Guo Jing had discovered her beauty. Who knew that Guo Jing pointed at Huang Rong's white socks and laughed: "The black cat on top looks like the Black Cat Detective I saw when I was a kid."

  This sentence has not been passed down, otherwise it would have been circulating in Bian for thirty or fifty years.

  As they spent more time together, Huang Rong's leg injury was almost healed. Huang Rong started to worry for no reason, and with her personality, she wouldn't directly throw herself into Guo Jing's arms and say "Oh, Prince Charming, I love you." In fact, no college girl would do that, and those boys who had such dreams were probably thoroughly disillusioned after a long wait. Huang Rong decided to give Guo Jing one last chance. That evening, when Guo Jing helped them carry water back to their dorm, Huang Rong suddenly said, "Let's go check out some books at the library."

  Then Guo Jing used his old donkey again.

  It was already twelve o'clock at night, and the dormitory had closed an hour earlier, but Guo Jing still hadn't returned.

  Under the emergency light, Yang Kang had already read Jin Yong's martial arts series to "The Sword Stained with Royal Blood". At this time, Clock glanced at him and said: "Oh, boss is working hard again today?"

  The lights in all buildings at Binzhou University are turned off around 10:30 pm except for the first teaching building which is turned off around midnight.

  "Don't be ridiculous," Duan Yu said, sitting up straight in bed. "When did Brother ever have that kind of time? I saw him being held captive by that demonic woman just tonight, running around the library like a wild rabbit."

  "Ah!" Linghu Cong shouted, "The boss has been held captive by the female demon and hasn't returned all night... Today's weather is gloomy enough, the wind is not good, the boss... Could it be that he has already met with misfortune and fallen into the hands of that female demon?"

  A moment of silence, except for someone gritting their teeth in the darkness, four people's eight eyes all shone with a thieving glint.

  "I heard that recently there have been cases of boys being robbed at the Youming Lake... " Lin Pingzi said with a suppressed smile, "It turns out it wasn't for money."

  "Big Brother, heavens! Big Brother was young and vigorous, he's still a kind and honest comrade!" Duan Yu cried out in anguish, "Why did you let him have such a miserable experience?"

  Linghu Chong then clenched his fist and said, "A great injustice! Brothers, let's bear it together. You demoness! Release the Eldest Brother, come at me instead! I cannot watch him suffer alone!"

  Only Yang Kang remained calm: "Hey, don't be gloating. If the boss really was seduced and killed by that fox spirit, who's going to fetch water tomorrow? I just bought half a box of Master Kang instant noodles..."

  Just then, a melodious braying sound came from downstairs.

  Guo Jing hummed the Internationale, cat-stepped onto the trash can, and lightly jumped into the bathroom window. Inside was quiet, with only one brother naked, standing majestically in the middle of the bathroom, holding a bucket of cold water to pour over his head. Guo Jing was startled and jumped up, barely dodging the splashing water.

  "Sorry, buddy," said the brother who was taking a shower, slapping his own butt with a loud noise, and then continued to take water.

  Guo Jing had no choice but to say nothing was wrong, and quietly slipped past the window of the floor leader's room, rushing all the way to the fourth floor. Under the light of the bulletin board, Yin Zhiping was staring at Huang Yi's "Broken Void" with two red eyes. At this time, he only felt a whoosh of wind passing by, looked up blankly for half a day, and didn't see even half a person's shadow.

  "Damn it all," Yin Zhiping muttered, picking up his stool and heading back to the dorm.

  Just five minutes later, Zhao Zhi Jing excitedly ran out with a stool, occupying the lamp post under the bulletin board, and continued to read the "Broken Void" that Yin Zhi Ping had just read.

  "Brother Tiger," Guo Jing whispered as he knocked on the door.

  "Ah, Bao Taizhen He Yao, is he sent by Qiu Chuji of the Quanzhen Sect?" Yang Kang replied from inside.

  "Open the door, open the door! I am Guo Jing, and I'm not here to steal water."

  "Really the Old Master?" Linghu Cong said cautiously, "If you want us to believe you, first stretch your tail in from the door crack and let's take a look..."

  The door creaked open, and Linghu Chong stood at the entrance with a mischievous grin on his face, wearing only one pant leg. He handed the spoon handle to Guo Jing's mouth: "May I ask Mr. Guo to talk about your romantic journey this time?"

  Faced with ten pairs of gleaming eyes, Guo Jing couldn't help but shudder, then he carefully squeezed open the door and slipped inside, chuckling foolishly to himself.