Chapter 85: Reading Comprehension

Chapter 85: Reading Comprehension

Lin Qingshi's heart skipped a beat.

Sure, they were at the same school.

But the two colleges were several hundred meters apart, one on the far east side of campus, the other on the far west—even riding a bike took ten minutes.

Lin Qingshi went ahead and bought an electric scooter, and would drop Jiang Huaizhi off at his building before heading to his own classes.

Besides, they weren't even in the same dorm. It was already bad enough that they couldn't go to class together—if they couldn't even share a dorm, what was the point of going to the same college?

Lin Qingshi started quietly scheming, often bringing his roommates to eat with Jiang Huaizhi's roommates. After a while, everyone got familiar, and switching dorms became much less of a hassle.

After a lot of wheedling and throwing money around, he finally succeeded in switching dorms and moved in bold as you please, sleeping on the bunk above Jiang Huaizhi.

They couldn't lie in the same bed like at home anymore, but being able to look up and see each other was already pretty great.

But if they could move out and rent a place, wouldn't that be even better?

Jiang Huaizhi looked at him with an expectant expression, his bright eyes brimming with a smile.

"So, you just need to study hard, and we can sleep in the same room when we live together. I'll keep you on track."

"Once we get that scholarship, we'll rent a place near the school."

Lin Qingshi looked at the dimples forming on his face, and his heart stirred.

"Jiang Huaizhi, are you doing this on purpose? You've been setting this trap for me, haven't you?"

Lin Qingshi pulled him into his arms in one quick motion and tickled him without mercy. Jiang Huaizhi couldn't stop laughing. "I was wrong, stop tickling me."

"You could have refused."

Easy for him to say—how could he ever say no?

A future that sounded that good? There was no way he could turn it down.

The new house hadn't been renovated yet, and during what should have been a relaxing summer vacation, Lin Qingshi spent every day studying alongside Jiang Huaizhi.

Jiang Huaizhi used this as leverage to keep him in line. Last semester, Lin Qingshi's grades in his major courses were decent, but his general education classes in Chinese and English were a complete mess.

Lin Qingshi felt Chinese wasn't even worth studying—after all, it was an open-book exam. But since Jiang Huaizhi was reading, he sprawled there too, flipping through the Chinese textbook, looking totally bored.

Actually, rather than reading the textbook, it would be better to cozy up to the Chinese teacher, chat after class, pour the teacher a cup of water, and get on their good side.

How grades worked was different now—participation points counted for a lot. But watching Jiang Huaizhi studying seriously beside him, he wanted to study with him too.

Thinking about how the two of them could lie in the same bed once they moved out, he was instantly filled with motivation again.

Huang Qiuyan was busy with the renovation and was happy with how things were going for the two of them. It was fine.

With Jiang Huaizhi around, Lin Qingshi had someone to keep him in line, and besides, they were both twenty now—there was nothing to worry about.

Raising two kids together was a lot less stressful than raising one alone.

Under the dim yellow light in the house at the mining area, the old desk they'd swapped in was raised to its highest setting, and the two of them sat on either side, still studying.

Lin Qingshi looked at the classical poetry comprehension on the paper in front of him, and his eyes glazed over, drowsiness washing over him.

What emotions is the author trying to express in this poem?

Without a second thought, he picked up his pen and wrote in the book: it expresses the author's homesickness, patriotism, and desire to make a name for himself, along with the frustration of not getting anywhere, the sadness of saying goodbye to a friend, and finding comfort in nature.

This was his all-purpose exam formula he'd figured out ages ago.

Writing it this way covered homesickness poems, pastoral poems, farewell poems, and patriotic poems.

As long as you wrote enough, one of them was bound to be right.

Jiang Huaizhi looked up and saw Lin Qingshi's smug expression. Curious, he leaned over. The chicken-scratch handwriting was crammed together, and he could barely make it out.

"Lin Qingshi, can you write like a normal person?"

Lin Qingshi looked innocent. "Isn't this pretty comprehensive? This is the classic template that's been around forever."

Jiang Huaizhi looked at his earnest expression and let out a light sigh. "You need to analyze the emotions in the poem. You can't just wing it."

"Oh." Lin Qingshi nodded, looking all humble and eager to learn.

"Look at this line." Jiang Huaizhi pointed at the poem in the book.

Lin Qingshi leaned in, his gaze falling on the pale, slender fingers resting beneath the lines of poetry, fingertips tinged with pink.

His hands are really pretty too.

The poem was "The Ornate Zither" by Li Shangyin. "Analyze the emotion in the last line: 'This feeling could have been recalled in later years, but back then, I was already lost and confused.'"

"Babe, tell me first—what does this line mean?"

"I don't know!" Lin Qingshi shook his head.

He really didn't know. If he knew what it meant, wouldn't he know the emotion?

"Dummy. Isn't there an explanation right below? It means: why is it only now that I recall this scene? Because back then, I was lost and didn't know to cherish it."

"So it's about regret?" Lin Qingshi propped his chin on his hand, observing Jiang Huaizhi's eyes.

His eyes are pretty too.

"I suppose so." Jiang Huaizhi looked wistful, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

He dropped his head, his voice soft. "This poem was written after his wife passed away, so when he recalls those ordinary moments, he can't help but feel regret—why didn't he cherish them more back then?"

Jiang Huaizhi's face looked warm in the lamplight, his eyes slightly lowered, and there was a sadness about him.

This scene was achingly familiar. In his past life, he had always been like this.

Lin Qingshi's heart inexplicably ached. The Jiang Huaizhi in front of him seemed to travel back through time, returning to the distant past.

From that stubborn kid with a limp to the youth who walked with a cane but always kept his back straight.

He grew up bit by bit, always neatly dressed, gentle and composed, living so diligently—and yet in the end, he was gone, just like that. How could that not be a regret?

Such a wonderful Jiang Huaizhi, yet he had lived such a rough, unsettled life, only to end abruptly and unexpectedly.

If only the Jiang Huaizhi from his past life had never met Lin Fenfen.

That despicable, self-righteous Lin Fenfen. That Lin Fenfen who was saved by him yet never showed gratitude. That Lin Fenfen who acted all high and mighty just for handing over a steamed bun.

Lin Qingshi pulled his stool forward, could no longer hold back the ache in his chest. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Jiang Huaizhi, pressing against his shoulder, burying his face in the curve of his neck.

His Jiang Huaizhi—so wonderful, so endlessly kind.

I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry. Tears fell onto Jiang Huaizhi's neck. If only the Jiang Huaizhi from back then could have met the Lin Qingshi of today.

Jiang Huaizhi felt the dampness on his neck and tensed up slightly, but still gently ruffled Lin Qingshi's hair.

"Baby, did you get drool on my neck? It's kinda cold!"

"I'm gonna study hard." Lin Qingshi held onto his shoulder and wouldn't let go, his voice all muffled. "Once I get the scholarship, we'll go rent a place outside."

No regrets, no looking back—he just wanted every single day of the here and now.

"Alright, why are you getting clingier the older you get? You're twenty now."

"Mm, okay, let's move on to the next part." Jiang Huaizhi gently patted his back.

"What function does this sentence serve in the passage?"

Lin Qingshi didn't even look up, sniffled, and said in a muffled voice, "It connects the previous part and leads into what comes next."

"Lin Qingshi, you're just guessing again!"

"Oh."

With Teacher Jiang keeping him on track, combined with Lin Qingshi's efforts, his class participation and exam scores were both the highest.

The old professor, who'd been teaching for years, had never seen a non-major so passionate about Chinese lit—and a good-looking guy at that.

"Have you thought about transferring to our College of Liberal Arts?"

Lin Qingshi quickly shook his head. Once this semester was over, he'd never have to take Chinese again. He was so done with memorizing.

Home for the break, Lin Qingshi refreshed the page to see his Chinese grade that had just posted, looking smug.

"How about that? Pretty impressive, huh?"

"And English?" Jiang Huaizhi put his hand on the mouse and scrolled down. He passed, but just barely.

"English, English takes time." Lin Qingshi got a little defensive when it came to English. He just couldn't get the hang of it—it was too hard.

Getting up early every morning to memorize vocab was torture. Memorize, forget, memorize again.

Catching Teacher Jiang's sharp look, Lin Qingshi quickly promised, "Even during the break, I'll get up early every morning to memorize words. I'm definitely gonna pass CET-4."

Jiang Huaizhi glanced at his GPA. It was pretty solid, since Lin Qingshi's grades in his major courses were strong.

He did the math on his scholarship and figured it should be about enough. "Once next semester starts, if we get the scholarship, we'll go rent a place."

"You don't have to get up early to memorize words tomorrow."

"Then can we go to bed a little later tonight?" Lin Qingshi gave Jiang Huaizhi a meaningful look.

"For what?" Jiang Huaizhi tilted his head and glanced at him.

"I've got something good to show you."

Jiang Huaizhi's expression got a little weird, and he dropped his voice, "Lin Qingshi, don't watch that weird stuff. It's not healthy."