Chapter 76
When Su Bin received the text message, he was utterly speechless. It meant that Allen had been able to see his previous messages but deliberately chose not to respond to him! QAQ
Thankfully, there was a Starbucks in the waiting area at the airport, which usually provided free Wi-Fi. With only fifteen minutes left until boarding, Su Bin hurried over to follow Allen’s advice and downloaded the app he mentioned. Hm, it seemed to be something similar to QQ?
It took Su Bin five minutes to set up the app. He quickly created an account, but when he was thinking of a username, he racked his brain. He really didn’t want to be seen as an idiot or a trash can again, so he played around with the character “彬” (Bin) and chose the name “mushan” (木杉), but due to the reversed order of his surname and given name, the account name ended up displaying as “shanmu.”
By the time Su Bin figured out how to search for friends, the boarding gate had already announced that his flight was ready for boarding!
Thankfully, the signal was good, and Su Bin quickly found “all.89” and was surprised to see that the profile picture was a pair of black wings… A demonic implication, perhaps? It seemed that Allen had a bit of a ‘middle-schooler’ side too, how amusing.
After adding each other as friends, Su Bin soon received the first message… “sb?” and “s`m?”
Innocent Su Bin hadn’t grasped the meaning behind the two letters, and he might not have even known what they meant. But he had a gut feeling that they weren’t something good, so he replied, “Call me Michael.”
All.89: “m.”
Su Bin: “…”
All.89: “badboy.”
Su Bin: “…………” Was he really this angry? orz…
He sent a message saying “I’m boarding” and then tucked his phone into his pocket.
Having found his seat smoothly, and with the flight yet to take off, Su Bin took out his phone again to see if Allen had sent him anything. To his disappointment, there was nothing. In a rush, he dialed Allen’s number.
“Allen…” Su Bin awkwardly apologized over the phone.
Allen snorted coldly and asked, “When are you coming back?”
Su Bin replied, “I’m not sure yet…” He hadn’t bought a ticket back to Country B yet.
Upon hearing this, silence fell on the other end of the line once again. Su Bin quickly added, “I’ll come back as soon as I finish dealing with things here…” After all, he had half a year’s worth of classes left, and no matter how willful he was, he wouldn’t dare to make light of his studies.
Allen only said, “Message me when you’re back in China,” and then hung up.
Meanwhile, the voice of the flight attendant also came over the intercom: “Ladies and gentlemen, your BA*** flight is about to take off. Please fasten your seatbelts and turn off your electronic devices…”
Su Bin silently turned off his phone and sat there lost in thought for a long time.
When the plane took off, it seemed to be snowing outside. Many passengers inside the cabin exclaimed, some worried that the plane might not be able to take off. Thankfully, the plane smoothly pierced through the cloud layers and ascended into the sky. At an altitude of 8,000 meters, the sky was clear for miles.
Su Bin suddenly felt a twinge of heartache for leaving Allen alone at home… Although he knew Allen would soon return to city D, at least at this moment, he was by himself. Maybe he was still sitting by the window, watching the snowflakes fall outside, feeling lonely.
In fact, the anger and pain from being deceived had been worn away significantly during these four days of warm interactions with Allen. Even if he returned to his home country now, Su Bin probably wouldn’t do anything impulsive again.
However, he still had to go back, just as he mentioned in the last message to Allen. He needed closure, regardless of whether it was good or bad, true or false. He wanted to bid farewell to that absurd period of his life so he could face the upcoming days better.
Besides, he missed his dad a bit.
The journey of over a dozen hours was quite arduous. Su Bin still remembered that when he came, he spent the whole time thinking about Chen Xiaotian. However, at this moment, it seemed that someone else had taken up residence in his mind. Even though that person wasn’t his lover, just an ordinary (or not?) roommate.
Humans were truly strange creatures. Just a month ago, he was devastated by the breakup and felt that he couldn’t live without her, but now, it seemed like life could go on just fine without her… Ah, was the old him really that much of an idiot?
Su Bin gazed at the sky outside the window and the sea of clouds below, feeling like a part of his soul had died, while another part was being reborn somewhere. That place was constantly tugging at his heart.
When the plane landed, it was early morning in China. Su Bin, who usually slept in, was wide awake, but of course, he couldn’t sleep… Shanghai was cold; he shivered from the morning chill.
He took the subway directly to the train station and bought a high-speed train ticket back to Hangzhou. He had to wait for an hour before it departed. Su Bin went to a convenience store to buy a hot drink, and when he caught a whiff of the instant noodle aroma emanating from inside, it pained his heart.
He probably wouldn’t eat instant noodles again in the future… But that was for the best, instant noodles weren’t healthy to begin with!
He dozed off on the train ride, waking up when they arrived at the city station. After getting off the train, he hailed a taxi directly to the provincial university. The taxi fare was around forty yuan, which translated to just a couple of bucks in Country B’s currency. Could it get any cheaper? Su Bin realized that after going abroad once, he had become quite lavish with his spending when he returned.
After arriving at the provincial university, he didn’t head straight to his dormitory. Although he still had his bed in the dormitory as a student who had participated in the exchange program, he figured it was probably covered in dust and didn’t want to set foot there.
Su Bin booked a single room at a small hotel near the campus. The room was clean enough, but it had an odd smell… He knew that many university students came out to hook up over the weekends due to loneliness, so he specifically chose a slightly higher-priced hotel. There were even worse places nearby.
Still, Su Bin felt uncomfortable no matter where he went, especially when he walked into the hotel bathroom. The stains on the mirror and the watermarks on the countertop were unbearable to look at. He almost wished he could buy a bunch of disinfectant and powerful cleaning agents to give the place a thorough cleaning… He seemed to have caught a bit of Allen’s obsessive cleanliness.
The reason he didn’t return home was because his home was in the eastern part of the province, quite far from the university city.
Su Bin gave himself a pep talk and managed to settle down, albeit reluctantly. Due to jet lag not being adjusted yet, he couldn’t resist taking a nap first. He woke up in the afternoon and went out to the mobile service center to reactivate his domestic phone number that had been suspended due to unpaid bills. After that, he immediately used Skype to send Allen a message: “I’ve arrived.” However, he figured it was still early morning on the other side in Country B, so he didn’t wait for a reply.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard an exclamation, “Su Bin?” Su Bin turned his head and saw a familiar face – a senior student from the school’s student union, majoring in law. “Why are you here? Didn’t you go for an exchange in Country B?”
Su Bin, in his freshman year, had caused quite a stir due to his pursuit of Chen Xiaotian. Moreover, because of his handsome appearance, various student organizations had tried to recruit him, making him something of a campus celebrity. This senior, who was now in her fourth year, had known him and they had a friendly acquaintance back then. Let’s not delve into the details for now.
“Yeah, I had to come back unexpectedly,” Su Bin replied casually, smiling on the surface. However, he was feeling nervous because he didn’t want too many people to know about his return to the country. “But it’s a secret return. Can you keep it hush-hush, senior?” Su Bin said jokingly.
The senior laughed and agreed, “Sure,” before assessing Su Bin for a moment and her eyes lit up. “You’ve changed so much!”
“Really?” After being hurt so badly, how could he not have changed?
The senior nodded, “You seem more mature.”
“Hehe…” If what he had experienced was the price of maturity, he would rather remain a perpetually childish kid.
“Seeing you like this even makes big sister feel a little moved…” The senior moved closer, patted Su Bin’s shoulder, and consoled him, “Remember to look forward, okay?”
Su Bin nodded, a hint of bitterness in his heart. Indeed, the whole school seemed to already know about his breakup.
After parting ways with the senior, in order to avoid being recognized by more people, Su Bin wrapped half of his face with the scarf that Li Meihan had given him, and went to a roadside restaurant to get some takeout. He then returned to the hotel.
Although he hadn’t done anything wrong and there was no need to act furtively, he was afraid that others might use this as material to gossip about, spreading rumors that he couldn’t be apart from Chen Xiaotian and that he had specially come back to “cling on.” He really didn’t want to be in the spotlight as some sort of public figure anymore.
Back in the hotel room, while eating fast food, Su Bin took out his phone and was about to send a text message to Jin Fei when he realized that Allen had replied:
all.89: “Just a reminder, think about what you can do to please me over the next couple of days.”
Su Bin felt a pang of guilt, replying, “I will!” Ah, time and time again, he disappointed and angered Allen. He really felt like he was no good!
After sending that “promise,” Su Bin quickly messaged Jin Fei, “Fly, I’m back in the country.”
Jin Fei’s reply came instantly: “Holy crap! You’re really back! Haha, I told you Country B is boring! Want to come to Beijing and hang out with your big brother? Big brother will show you a good time~~!”
Su Bin: “I don’t have money, so I won’t come.”
Jin Fei: “Damn, it’s just money. I’ll buy you a plane ticket. Come on! Big brother will take you to see the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square!”
Su Bin: “Or you come to Hangzhou, and I’ll take you winter swimming in West Lake, haha!”
Jin Fei: “…Get lost, you want to freeze big brother’s ‘little brother’ into an ice egg?”
Su Bin paused for a moment and then confessed to Jin Fei, “Fly, I don’t have the mood to play. My ex-girlfriend is now with my best friend… I heard there were problems since high school, and my other friends kept it from me. I came back to China to figure this out… Ah, I don’t know if I’m stupid or just a failure as a person.”
Jin Fei: “You’re stupid.”
Su Bin: “…Can’t you be a bit less direct?” TAT
Jin Fei: “Actually, I think being a person like you is pretty awesome! [Candle]”
“…” Su Bin was frustrated to the point of madness. He didn’t want to talk to Jin Fei anymore!
However, the message tone soon sounded again. Annoyed, Su Bin grabbed his phone and read:
Jin Fei: “Wait until I’m done with things here and then I’ll come accompany you for winter swimming! Wait for me, idiot!”
“…” With such a friend, he really didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.
Clutching his pillow, Su Bin pondered for a long time and finally decided on the first person he would meet – Shen Junfeng.
Shen Junfeng was Su Bin’s classmate from high school. Back then, aside from Huang Zhengming and Guo Li, he was probably the person Su Bin was closest to. He had been involved in the prank incident back in high school, and he was also present when Chen Xiaotian first suggested breaking up. However, they had lost contact after entering college.
Although Su Bin knew that Li Meihan had no reason to lie to him, he felt that it wouldn’t be objective to solely rely on one side of the story. He thought it was better to clarify the situation at the time before deciding on his next steps.
