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墨書 Inktalez
The girl near the door, who was setting up a mosquito net, looked up and greeted her in a soft voice, "Hello, you must be Yao Nian." She pointed to the spot by the window. "Your bed is over there; it has a name tag on it. I just cleaned it."
"Ah, thank you," Yao Nian replied.
Her name was Fang Yiran, a girl from Qiantang. She was cute, with a round face that had two little dimples that appeared when she smiled, making one want to poke them playfully.
The other girl, Lin Mo, was taller and had a name that meant jasmine, but her appearance was quite different from what one might expect. She sported a neat short haircut and had an air of defiance that was rare among girls her age.
As Yao Nian pushed her suitcase, she accidentally tripped over a chair in the aisle. Lin Mo reacted quickly, leaping over two benches to steady her suitcase before it fell. Yao Nian stared in awe, almost wanting to applaud this heroic act.
At that moment, everyone was busy organizing their beds. Yao Nian climbed up the railing with her sheets and blankets. Meanwhile, Yao Zhandong stood nearby, complaining about the dormitory environment—one moment he lamented how small the bed was for sleeping, and the next he criticized the old facilities as unsafe. Everything seemed to irritate him.
In between tidying up, Yao Zhandong stepped out to take a phone call. Yao Nian took out her phone and opened Shen Du's WeChat interface, lost in thought. She wasn't sure if she should tell Shen Du about her arrival in Hu City. He had indeed mentioned welcoming her when school started, but Yao Nian couldn't tell if that was just polite talk.
Whenever Yao Zhandong went out for socializing, he often said something like "I'll treat you to dinner another day" or "I'll take you out when I have time," but she had never seen him actually follow through.
"Yao Nian," Lin Mo asked as she leaned over from her chair while fiddling with her phone, "Are you from the south?"
She climbed down from the railing with a storage bag in hand. "My accent isn't that strong."
"Your dad's accent is pretty thick," Lin Mo nodded toward the door. "I just heard him say he wants to buy a washing machine for our dormitory; it made me laugh."
Yao Nian smiled shyly.
"I really envy you," Lin Mo suddenly sighed. "You're definitely a pampered only child from Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai."
This was the first time someone had ever envied her family situation.
"Did you come here alone? No one from your family came with you?" Yao Nian asked.
Lin Mo crossed her legs casually. "I'm from Northeast China; it's too far away. Besides, my parents practice a free-range policy with me. They haven't accompanied me to school since I was in third grade."
Thinking of Northeast China reminded Yao Nian of Aunt Xue, who took care of her during her hospital stay. Wasn't the straightforwardness of Northeasterners something innate?
Sticking to the principle of filial piety, Yao Nian chose not to join Lin Mo and Fang Yiran in experiencing the university cafeteria but instead went with Yao Zhandong to eat hot pot at a mall near the school.
Steam billowed from the pot as Yao Zhandong passed her a bank card through the rising smoke.
Living expenses.
Yao Nian didn’t respond; there was still money in my account.
“Here, take it. You know the password,” Yao Zhandong said in a commanding tone. “I don’t want to transfer money to you every month. Spend it on whatever you need; don’t hold back.”
Yao Nian had never really grasped the concept of money. Whenever she needed it, there was always enough in her account.
She put down her chopsticks and took the card, saying, “Thanks, Dad.”
Yao Zhandong smiled for a moment before suddenly staring at her and saying something inexplicable, “Ah, you’re already a college student. My daughter has really grown up.”
Yao Nian felt the beef she had just put in her mouth burn slightly as she looked up at him, “When did you become so cheesy?”
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