One autumn rain brings the chill.
Now it is already December by the solar calendar, and Jiangnan Province has entered the true sense of winter.
The cold in the South is different from the North; due to the humid weather, the cold is piercing to the bone, as if the wintry wind can penetrate through clothing and into the marrow.
Therefore, so people who have never been to the South, upon seeing the weather forecasts with temperatures above zero, think the South is warr, and they co underdressed, only to find, upon disembarking from the train or plane, that they are sorely mistaken.
It turns out that temperatures above zero in the South have a completely different concept from those in the North.
By evening, this would usually be the liveliest ti around Mingyue Lake, with the sounds of reading aloud and young couples by the lakeside, engrossed in their love unbothered by others.
But today, because of a recent light rain, the wind blowing over Mingyue Lake brought bursts of bone-chilling cold, and Mingyue Lake was unusually peaceful, with scarcely anyone strolling by the lake, and those few who were there quickly left with their necks hunched over.
Only a tall figure walked leisurely around Mingyue Lake at an unhurried pace.
The lakeside willows were bare, not a single green leaf to be seen, while yellow ginkgo leaves littered the ground, all things seeming especially bleak as if the usual vitality had vanished in an instant.
Spring cos, sumr grows, autumn harvests, winter stores!
Plants and animals, all things in the world are part of nature. If plants do so, should animals also follow suit? Humans? Nature's spiritual energy?
Observing everything before him and sensing the vitality that seed to have disappeared yet was actually being deeply retracted, and thinking of the transition from the warmth of spring to the scorching heat of sumr, then to the coolness of autumn, and now to the harsh winter, Ge Dongxu felt a faint sense of enlightennt rising in his heart.
The changes in nature, appearing as the sa cycle year after year, commonplace yet within this banality lies the mystery of the laws between heaven and earth.
As understanding slowly dawned on him, Ge Dongxu, who had once attained the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, let his entire being imrse into nature.
He felt the Yin and Yang energies between heaven and earth were being stored and concealed, no longer growing like in spring, nor flourishing like in sumr, nor transitioning from abundant to reserved like in autumn.
Similarly walking slowly around Mingyue Lake, at this mont, if anyone saw Ge Dongxu, they would find him as if rged with Mingyue Lake, as if he were inherently part of it, just like one of the lakeside willows or ginkgo trees, carrying the desolation and decline of winter.
Ge Dongxu just walked slowly by Mingyue Lake, the True Qi within his ridians, even the vitality of his body, were all gradually being restrained.
At this mont, Ge Dongxu appeared particularly world-weary, as if he had experienced many ups and downs in life, his usual brightness nowhere to be seen.
"Boss? What's wrong with you? Why do you look so listless? You haven't suffered a heartbreak, have you?" As Ge Dongxu was still imrsed in his recent realization and walked into the dormitory carrying the desolation of winter, Li Chenyu and the other two imdiately asked with concern.
Ge Dongxu was montarily taken aback, roused from his enlightennt, and upon seeing their concerned expressions, felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Still, he glared at them irritably and said, "Heartbreak? Do I look like soone who would get heartbroken?"
"Well, that's true. Who are you, Boss? A cool guy who's irresistible, even to foreign beauties and teachers, how could you get heartbroken?" Li Chenyu and the others hastily corrected themselves.
"That's more like it," Ge Dongxu nodded in satisfaction, then picked up his toiletries to wash up.
"There's sothing off about the boss today! He usually exudes sunshine and vitality, and just seeing him could uplift anyone's spirit. But today, why does he seem so lancholic?" As soon as Ge Dongxu left, Li Chenyu and the two others huddled together, voicing their worries.
"Yeah, did he really have a heartbreak? Otherwise, I really can't think of any other reason!" He Guizhong said.
"But you need to have a girlfriend to have a heartbreak, right? Does anyone know who the boss's girlfriend is?" Lu Lei asked.
"Who said one must have a girlfriend to be heartbroken? One can have a crush on soone and then that soone ends up running off with soone else," Li Chenyu said.
"Well, that's hard to tell. The boss spends all day in the library, who knows who he's got a crush on," He Guizhong said.
"It's not important who he has a crush on. What's important is we need to give the boss so guidance. With his exceptional qualities and confidence, a blow to him would be much more damaging than to any of us," Li Chenyu said.
"That's true. I've been rejected several tis myself, and I didn't feel much of anything," He Guizhong said.
"Isn't that obvious? With your uncle-like appearance, and targeting those English-major beauties from the Martial Arts Association, your chances of success are as good as winning the lottery. There's nothing to be sad or disappointed about if you don't win," Li Chenyu bluntly teased him.
"Screw you!" He Guizhong raised his foot, pretending to kick him.
Li Chenyu quickly dodged behind Lu Lei, shouting, "I was just kindly reminding you to consider matching social statuses next ti you look for soone!"
"Matching social statuses my foot! Although I can't compare to Lu Lei and the boss in looks, I still have a rugged charm, you know?" He Guizhong glared and said.
"I haven't seen any rugged charm, but I have seen the beauty of a wild beast!" Li Chenyu replied.
"Haha!" Lu Lei burst into laughter at those words.
"Haven't you heard of Beauty and the Beast? So beauties like a wild beast!" He Guizhong declared unabashedly.
Upon hearing this, Li Chenyu and Lu Lei were stunned for a mont before bursting into laughter.
Amidst their laughter, Ge Dongxu walked in, and He Guizhong and Lu Lei gave Li Chenyu a aningful look.
Of the three, Li Chenyu had the sharpest tongue.
"Boss, you're done freshening up, huh? Hand the towel and the tooth mug, and I'll put them away for you, I'll put them away," Li Chenyu was already on his way over, eagerly taking the tooth mug and towel from Ge Dongxu's hands as He Guizhong and Lu Lei made faces.
"I'm fine, I don't have any issues." Ge Dongxu, now with much higher emotional intelligence than before, could see right through Li Chenyu's eagerness and couldn't help but laugh bitterly and say.
"I know, I know. Back when I was in high school I also had a crush on a girl. What happened then? That girl liked a guy in our class who had good grades. My heart felt as if it had been stabbed with a knife. So I worked hard and studied, determined to let her see that if I got serious, I'd be much more impressive than the guy she liked, and as a result, I ended up at Jiangnan University. So heartbreak is nothing to fear. We must learn to turn sadness into strength," said Li Chenyu as he casually placed the tooth mug and towel properly.
"Yeah, yeah, I also had a crush on the class belle in high school, but alas..." He Guizhong eagerly chid in.
"I've been there too!" Lu Lei said.
"Are you guys ever going to stop? How about I bring a few school beauties over soday to et you?" Ge Dongxu, seeing the three recounting their sad past, slapped his forehead and glared at them, annoyed.
"Looks like the boss is really fine, really fine, then that's good!" Seeing Ge Dongxu starting to get a bit annoyed, Li Chenyu actually felt relieved and said with a cheerfully grinning deanor.
"Nonsense! What could be wrong with ?" Ge Dongxu retorted irritably.
"Hehe, since there's nothing wrong, boss, you can forget about the school beauties. It seems like our faculty doesn't even have one. Actually, we're not that cruel-hearted. If the boss is really interested, why not help us set up a date with a few beauties from the Foreign Languages faculty soday? You know, they all admire your martial arts skills. If you, our honorary president of the Martial Arts Association, were to invite them, they'd surely agree," He Guizhong and the others said with a sycophantic smile now that they knew Ge Dongxu was fine.
"In your dreams!" Ge Dongxu left them with that response and climbed onto his bed.
"Damn! Boss, you're too rciless!" All three of them complained, then helplessly went to turn off the light.
Reviews
All reviews (0)