RGL – Chapter 146

Li Aiyun watched her son being so close to the old lady yet distant toward her, and her resentment deepened.

“Grandma, about my mom, please don’t be angry. That’s just her temper. Don’t let it affect your health,” Xue Mian softly comforted the old lady after they went upstairs.

The old lady leaned back in her wicker chair, rocking a few times with her eyes half-closed. “It’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it over the years. As long as she and your father live well together, I won’t ask for anything else. It’s just that your mother’s heart is far too small. After all these years, she still holds on to the fact that I didn’t like her when we first met. Luckily, you didn’t inherit her temper.”

“Grandma, do you blame my parents?”

“No. He’s my own son—what’s there to blame?” The old lady’s eyes narrowed as the wicker chair swayed, her voice gradually growing softer until she drifted off to sleep.

Even though it was a bit warm, Xue Mian still felt uneasy. He got up, found a thin blanket, and draped it over her.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang downstairs.

Thinking it was his mother returning, he recalled the old lady’s pitiful expression just now, and his face darkened.

When he opened the door, he said impatiently, “Grandma’s asleep. What more do you want?”

“Xue Mian?!”

Su Min stood there, shocked to see him with messy hair sticking up all over the place.

Xue Mian also hadn’t expected the person at his door to be Su Min—the very one he wanted to see, yet didn’t dare to face at the moment.

Noticing her staring at his hair, he suddenly remembered his current appearance. Instinctively, he slammed the door shut, ran upstairs in a few quick strides, and hurriedly combed his hair and changed clothes.

Three minutes later, he reappeared in front of Su Min.

Looking at the transformed Xue Mian, Su Min wondered if she had imagined what she saw earlier. How could the Xue Mian—who had always cared about his appearance—show up before her looking so unkempt?

Of course, she didn’t press him about it.

“When did you get back? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Nervously rubbing his hands, Xue Mian smiled. “Not long ago. I knew you were in military training, so I didn’t want to bother you.”

Su Min nodded, then added, “By the way, where’s Grandma? I came to bring her something. Last time my mom had me deliver some things, but they went bad, so I found some other gifts to give her instead.”

“Grandma’s upstairs sleeping. Want me to call her?”

“No need.” Su Min quickly waved her hands. “If she’s asleep, let her rest. I was just about to leave anyway.”

Xue Mian had so much to say but couldn’t find the right chance. Hearing that she was about to go, he panicked. “Stay for dinner. I can take you home tonight.”

“No thanks.” Su Min declined instinctively—she didn’t want to share a table with Xue Mian’s mother; that would be pure torture.

Seeing her refuse made Xue Mian’s heart sink.

He realized that something between them felt… different.

Two years wasn’t exactly long, but it wasn’t short either.

Before leaving, he had thought that when he returned, Su Min would have grown up, and he could openly pursue her.

But what he hadn’t expected was that feelings could change. Even if Su Min hadn’t fallen for someone else in these two years, her impression of him might have faded, even grown distant.

While he was lost in thought, Su Min glanced at the clock on the wall. After a moment’s consideration, she said, “How about we eat out instead? Is that convenient for you?”

She didn’t want to dine with his mother, but since he had just returned from abroad, she didn’t want their meeting to be so brief either.

Hearing this was like music to Xue Mian’s ears.

It felt like he had leapt from the depths of a valley back onto solid ground.

Grinning broadly, he nodded. “Very convenient.”

After the two finished eating, it was already getting late.

Xue Mian suggested sending Su Min back to her place.

“When can we meet again next time? Is next weekend okay?” As they walked down the street, Xue Mian was already thinking about their next meeting.

Before, he had always been holding back, lacking the courage to see Su Min. But once he did see her, he found himself looking forward to the next meeting even more.

He wanted to see Su Min more often, wanted to tell her about his life over the past two years, and also wanted to know how she had been living during that time.

Su Min thought about how she was currently in military training, and that when she had time off, she still had to check on the shop. It didn’t seem like she had much free time. “Once military training is over, I’ll give you a call. I know your home number.”

Hearing that he’d have to wait that long to see her, Xue Mian immediately felt a wave of disappointment.

“Su Min, I—”

“It’s really late. I’ll just take a car back,” Su Min interrupted, waving to hail a ride as she spoke. When she’d left earlier today, she had only planned on visiting the Xue family’s house. She hadn’t expected to end up eating with Xue Mian, chatting, and staying out until now.

Xue Mian froze at her words, nodding blankly. The rest of what he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.

City B was huge, and even by car, it took nearly half an hour for her to get home.

When they arrived at the gate of Su Min’s neighborhood, Xue Mian got out with her, about to say something when Su Min suddenly looked surprised and called out, “Zhaodi, why are you outside?”

It turned out Liao Zhaodi had been worried because Su Min hadn’t come home so late, so she had run to the neighborhood gate to wait for her.

Seeing Liao Zhaodi approaching, a flicker of frustration crossed Xue Mian’s face. He subconsciously rubbed his hair, a hint of sulky defiance in his expression. “I’ll head back first. We’ll meet again next time.” With that, he pressed his lips together and walked away.

Before Su Min could even say goodbye, he had already jogged across the street.

“Was that just now Xue Mian?”

Liao Zhaodi came over, glancing curiously in the direction he had run off.

“Mm.” Su Min turned and headed toward her building. “I went to his house today to see his grandmother, and I happened to run into him.”

“He’s changed a lot. I remember back then he was tall, skinny, and pale. Everyone said he was good-looking. Just now, he seemed… really different.”

“He is different,” Su Min admitted with some awkwardness. In the past, being with Xue Mian always felt natural—he was a very close friend, almost like a younger brother. But now, being with him felt oddly uncomfortable. Just now, she had cut him off mid-sentence because she really couldn’t take the atmosphere anymore and had insisted on going home.

As soon as they got inside, Liao Zhaodi’s curiosity flared up again. “By the way, you two haven’t seen each other in two years—didn’t he say anything? I think he really treats you differently. Su Min, honestly, if you think he’s a good guy, you shouldn’t just ignore it. Even though we say we’re not planning on dating in college, who doesn’t secretly have someone? Then, after graduation, you can get married. Otherwise, by the time we graduate, we’ll be in our late twenties, and it’ll be harder to find someone.”

Su Min felt a twinge of discomfort at her words. “Alright, school just started. I’m not thinking about that. But if you’re worried about not finding someone after graduation and want to start looking now, I’d be happy to keep an eye out for you.”

Hearing Su Min tease her, Liao Zhaodi’s face immediately flushed. “Oh, stop it. I’m trying to be sincere here, and you’re making fun of me. I’m going to my room to read—you should rest early too.”

“Alright, Sister Zhaodi, go get some rest.”

Liao Zhaodi gave her a helpless smile before turning into her room.

Once she was gone, the smile faded from Su Min’s face.

In this lifetime, even though she didn’t want to rely on a man, she also didn’t plan on being different just for the sake of it. She would marry eventually—but it probably wouldn’t be to Xue Mian.

They knew each other too well. Just the thought of marrying him made her feel awkward. In her mind, she still remembered him most vividly as a fifteen-year-old boy. It was simply impossible to imagine. Besides, with someone like Xue Mian’s mother in the family, she and that woman could never coexist peacefully. That alone made marrying him out of the question.

It seemed she would have to find a way to subtly hint this to him in the future.

After a month, military training finally came to an end. Su Min felt as though she’d shed an entire layer of skin.

After the intense training, regardless of whether they were boys or girls, everyone’s skin had darkened a shade.

Fortunately, Su Min had prepared ahead of time. Even though there weren’t any good sunscreens available at the time, she still made a point to apply pearl powder to her face every night. It worked somewhat—although her skin was a bit sunburned, compared to many other girls who had gotten much darker, hers was only lightly damaged.

Su Min majored in fashion design, and there were more girls than boys in her class.

She wasn’t the most stunning girl in the room, but her good skin, delicate features, and calm temperament stood out. After classes began, some boys—hearts already stirring—started paying more attention to this quiet girl.

But people were still rather shy back then, so there were no bold confessions. Instead, they would find excuses to borrow her books or pencils.

She was even nominated as a candidate for class beauty during an informal poll.

“Manli, have you noticed? That Su Min is always chatting with the boys in our class—she’s not reserved at all.”

In the second row of the classroom, a short, slightly plump girl with cropped hair whispered to the girl beside her.

Sun Manli lifted her head, revealing a pair of striking eyes.

Her single-lidded phoenix eyes had slightly upturned corners, set in an oval face—pure beauty tinged with a trace of allure.

A few boys in class snuck glances at her, only to quickly look away.

Sun Manli was the top pick in private votes for class beauty—some even considered her the most beautiful in the department. Unfortunately, she was aloof and rarely engaged with others, so few dared to speak to her. Beauty like hers was almost wasted if no one could enjoy it.

She paid no attention to the stares. Instead, she glanced casually at Su Min, who was quietly reading, and replied flatly, “Why bother worrying about other people’s business?”

“I just don’t like it. But if you don’t care, I’ll stop talking,” Li Fang quickly muttered, burying her head in her book.

She and Sun Manli only spent time together because of an old family connection. Many envied her friendship with Manli, and she didn’t want to risk upsetting her.

Once Li Fang was quiet again, Sun Manli lifted her eyes to glance at Su Min once more—this time seeing her smiling as she spoke to a male classmate. Sun Manli couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Universities had student councils too, so soon after classes began, campus life grew lively again.

Su Min wasn’t interested and paid little attention, though she did hear that her class had a vice president in the university’s student council—a female student, no less.

Hearing it was a girl, Su Min couldn’t help but think of Tang Man.

If Tang Man were here, she would be the happiest person right now—she loved joining school activities and running for student leadership positions.

Su Min figured that Tang Man had probably already secured some position in the student council at her own university.

Thinking about her old classmates, Su Min couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic.

She found herself hoping that Xue Mian’s research would succeed soon and that mobile phones would appear earlier. Then, whenever she wanted to talk to someone, all she would have to do was make a call.

University courses weren’t many—sometimes only one or two in the morning, and in the afternoon, either none or just two. There were no evening study sessions either.

For Su Min, this free time was extremely valuable.

Although the shop had stopped taking orders for now, William hoped she could still produce as many export garments as possible. He had connections in the fashion industry of many countries and wanted to introduce her improved designs into certain markets first, then observe the sales. This meant she would need to produce even more clothing.

So in this period, as soon as she finished classes, Su Min would hurry home to design clothes. She even went to the library to research, looking up distinctive elements from various countries so she could subtly adapt her traditional designs to suit local tastes abroad.

With all this, she was in and out of class so much she almost seemed to vanish.

After the rigors of three years of high school, university life felt almost too easy for Su Min.

She already had some achievements in clothing design, so learning was even easier for her. The very first assignment she handed in earned her praise from the teacher, making her stand out in class.

But there were still students better than her—Sun Manli’s work was the best in their first project.

Su Min was content with her own result.

The project focused on contemporary fashion, and since she had mostly worked on traditional clothing before, she wasn’t as well-versed in the subject. Still, she admired Sun Manli’s work—a short top paired with bell-bottom trousers. The short top was somewhat similar to the cropped wool coat Su Min had designed for Sanye Garment Factory, which had become hugely popular nationwide, but Manli had made hers even shorter—almost like a little cape.