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墨書 Inktalez
The paths on the university campus were gradually becoming less crowded with electric scooters. In the cafeteria, the last cleaning of the day was completed, and the lights turned off sequentially from east to south.
Miao Dongye was startled awake by the disappearance of shadows and looked up at the dormitory building not far away. The male dormitories were mostly concentrated to the left of the cafeteria, while the female dormitories were on the other side. In a way, the cafeteria served as a dividing line.
Miao Dongye glanced around to confirm that no one was nearby before directing his gaze toward Miss Ming's dormitory building. "Forget it, don't think about it," Miao Dongye shook his head. "Just being able to meet such a young lady at school is already a blessing from my past life."
It was just a brief encounter; Miao Dongye felt that perhaps they would not meet again. Upon returning to the dormitory building, he noticed people in the hallway casting unusual glances at him. Miao Dongye could only lower his head and quickly walk back to Room 305.
Due to the large number of students in their year, Miao Dongye lived in a six-person dormitory. He pushed open the door to Room 305 with a creak; inside, four roommates were sitting neatly on chairs under their beds—some reading, others playing on their computers. Only Li Tao was sulking and asleep.
Among all the roommates, only Li Tao and Miao Dongye participated in the volunteer activity for welcoming new students. From Li Tao's resentful tone earlier, everyone had an idea of what had happened, and news of Young Master Wang's chance encounter with Miss Ming had already spread like wildfire across both campuses.
As one of the parties involved, Miao Dongye naturally became the focus of attention in the dormitory. Everyone gathered around, hoping he would share some details about the incident. "Basically, Young Master Wang had ulterior motives toward Miss Ming, and I stopped him," Miao Dongye said, not wanting to elaborate further; he just wanted to quietly return to normal college life.
"Is that so?" a chubby guy asked. "But what’s circulating around campus is that you were competing with Young Master Wang for Miss Ming."
"Uh..." Miao Dongye slapped his forehead; now he understood why people in the hallway had looked at him so strangely earlier. Everyone wanted him to continue speaking, but no amount of coercion or persuasion could pry more words from him. They eventually returned to their spots as time ticked closer to midnight; those who needed showers finished up, and soon after, the lights went out, plunging the entire dormitory into silence.
Miao Dongye tucked himself under his blanket and set an alarm on his phone before placing it beside his pillow.
Buzz.
"Who’s messaging this late?" Miao Dongye picked up his phone just as he was about to close his eyes. It was Li Tao.
"Why are you so lucky? I'm so mad!!!!"
Li Tao's message was followed by a crying baby emoji.
Miao Dongye chuckled and turned to look at Li Tao's upper bunk across from him. He thought Li Tao had already fallen asleep; he was quite good at acting.
"Hahaha, don’t be angry; it’s just one woman; is it really worth it?" Miao Dongye replied.
From Li Tao's bunk came a faint glow. However, Li Tao showed no signs of letting go of his frustration and continued sending dozens of crying baby emojis.
Miao Dongye sighed and recalled how Yu Feiyao had asked him to scan a QR code during their late-night snack earlier. "I might have a way to add her as a friend; do you want me to tell you?"
Just as Miao Dongye sent this message, Li Tao's bunk suddenly shook violently.
Li Tao climbed up in the darkness, his arms resting against the railing of the bed. Miao Dongye was sure that he was staring at him with bright eyes.
Miao Dongye did not add the friend from the QR code, but he took a screenshot. He sent that screenshot of personal information to Li Tao. "I see you, good night," Miao Dongye added before putting down his phone and turning to sleep.
In the following half month, Miao Dongye endured immense pressure from public opinion at school, while Wang Ruihu's ostentatious declarations of love on the university confession wall and his sarcastic remarks towards Miao Dongye pushed him into the spotlight. In everyone's eyes, Wang Ruihu and Ming Juan were a perfect match, and it was only a matter of time before they got together.
Miao Dongye knew that no matter how much he tried to explain or maintain his image, Wang Ruihu could easily undermine all his efforts with just a few casual words. So, he chose to remain silent, like an ordinary college student, continuing his university life.
A month later
After the seven-day National Day holiday, everyone returned to campus with renewed hopes. Amidst the noisy chatter, a pair of Parada casual shoes adorned with rose gold patterns lightly touched the pavement. In the curious gazes of others, Ming Juan, wearing sunglasses and a black mask, dragged her suitcase back into the dormitory building.
Her dormitory housed only two people—Ming Juan herself and Yu Feiyao, who was fortunate enough to be invited by Ming Juan to live together.
At that time, Ming Juan's father had wanted to rent a guest apartment but ended up allowing Ming Juan to have her own room. Feeling too lonely and afraid of the dark at night, Ming Juan casually invited her high school best friend Yu Feiyao to join her.
As she opened the dorm room door, the empty space heightened Ming Juan's already heavy heart. After dropping her suitcase and removing her sunglasses and mask, she took a deep breath and sat down at her desk.
"Latest update! XKR Mingma Group has been confirmed to be involved in embezzlement of 3.7 billion! The century-old Ming Family is about to fall?"
Currently, almost every media outlet in the country was tracking the progress of the Supreme Court's investigation into all companies under the Ming Family.
This time, it was personally supervised by national leaders as part of another round of cleaning up corruption among all financial groups nationwide. When Ming Juan saw this news pop up on her phone, she knew that after hiding for nearly two hundred years, the Ming Family could not escape the sharp eyes of the people and the sword of justice.
As the eldest daughter of the Ming Family, she had rarely appeared in front of the media, yet she was still seen as a perfect object of desire by boys across the country. With this major incident unfolding, Ming Juan's friend request box was nearly overflowing with messages from handsome guys and rich second-generation heirs from all over the country and even around the world.
Impatiently rejecting friend requests, she rubbed her hair in frustration while staring at the floor.
In fact, she wasn't worried about her family's investigation. Ming Juan understood that as long as the Ming Family did not change its ways, this day would eventually come.
What troubled her more was that she still had over three years of university life ahead; would she have to endure it under everyone's disdainful gaze?
Even more concerning was that Wang Ruihu would surely continue to pursue her under the guise of being a benefactor.
Rejecting Wang Ruihu would always be Ming Juan's unchanging choice; however, those cunning men in her family wouldn't care about that. Once they learned that Young Master Wang was pursuing her, they might arrange for her marriage without her knowing it just for profit and protection.
The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became.
It started drizzling today; outside felt as cold as winter. Ming Juan couldn't help but rub her jeans vigorously while gazing at the gray sky outside.
To Ming Juan's eyes, it seemed like the outside world was arranged specifically for her—so gray that it felt hopeless.
"Juan'er..."
Yu Feiyao appeared at the dormitory door at some point, carrying bags carefully while calling out to Ming Juan who was lost in thought by the balcony.
"Come in; I'm bored anyway," Ming Juan said as she patted her bed to invite Yu Feiyao inside.
Seeing that Ming Juan had no intention of sending her away, Yu Feiyao entered the dormitory and gently set down her bags before taking out a mink coat from her suitcase and sitting beside Ming Juan.
"Juan'er... are you okay?" Yu Feiyao asked with sympathetic eyes.
Ming Juan lowered her head, crossing her hands together on her thighs. Yu Feiyao knew she was feeling down and stuffed the mink coat that Ming Juan had given her into Ming Juan's arms.
"This coat is worth several tens of thousands; maybe... it doesn't mean much to you now but at least it can give you a bit more strength to face uncertainties," Yu Feiyao said while stroking Ming Juan's slightly hunched back. "It's okay; you haven't committed any embezzlement; the law won't convict you."
"I'm not worried about that..." Ming Juan's eyes began to shimmer slightly. "Money doesn't matter, but without a family, without the most basic respect from others, being labeled as a second-generation corrupt official... that's more despairing than death."
"Sigh..." Yu Feiyao pursed her lips and gently tucked Ming Juan's brown wavy hair behind her ear, cradling Ming Juan's head in her arms.
"Even if the whole world is against you, I will fight alongside you until the very last moment, okay? Trust me, as long as you are innocent, there will always be someone to speak up for you."
Ming Juan could no longer hold back her tears. She nestled against Yu Feiyao's slightly rising chest, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
They waited in the dormitory until six in the evening. After an hour of comforting Ming Juan, Yu Feiyao finally took her fully armed friend to the University Activity Center.
The University Activity Center had a hot pot restaurant. At Ming Juan's quiet request, Yu Feiyao and Ming Juan sat at the edge of the table, silently waiting for the hot pot ingredients to arrive.
Various search engines were filled with headlines about her family, and she dared not open any contact information. Frustrated, Ming Juan lifted her head and stared out the window.
With sunglasses and a mask on, Ming Juan felt somewhat safe.
At this time of day, there were many people out dining, crowded in the aisles. For personal safety reasons, Ming Juan could only turn her face away and watch the diners engrossed in their meals.
"Come on, cheers for 305!"
With a crisp sound of clinking glasses, Ming Juan's attention was drawn to six boys gathered together. Through the sea of heads, she thought she recognized a familiar face.
"Today is a special day! Right, Chengmin? Come on, stand up and say a few words!" After clinking glasses, the dormitory leader of 305 immediately pulled Miao Dongye to get him to stand up.
Miao Dongye wanted to decline, saying, "Come on, standing up here is too embarrassing..."
"Happy Birthday!" A loud cheer from five athletes echoed so loudly that even passersby outside turned their heads.
"Alright, I've lost all my dignity." Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, Miao Dongye could only stand up and said under everyone's gaze: "Today is indeed special; not only is it my birthday, but my application for financial aid has also been approved by the school! Thank you to my brothers for three years of support. At this crossroads between pursuing further studies or finding a job, I wish everyone here from 305 shines brightly no matter which path you choose! Okay?!"
"Yeah!" The brothers all stood up and laughed heartily with Miao Dongye.
This scene was painfully contrasting with the dead silence in Ming Juan's heart.
Ming Juan silently lowered her head; if she looked at them again, she would probably be recognized.
"That's that senior," Yu Feiyao sent a message across the table to Ming Juan.
"I know," Ming Juan replied. "By the way, didn't I ask you to give him my QR code card? Did he not add me?"
"Huh?! I saw him scan it," Yu Feiyao replied with a shocked expression in her message.
Ming Juan wanted to open the friend request interface but seeing "99+" notifications made her give up.
"Forget it." Ming Juan quietly shifted her gaze from behind her sunglasses to Miao Dongye's smiling face. "Happy Birthday, senior."
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