Chapter 40

Unable to think of a better opening, Bian Xuedao approached in the most direct way. He knew that his approach would be hard to break through Xu Shangxiu's guard, but he really couldn't wait any longer. He had been longing to hear Xu Shangxiu's voice, almost to the point of madness.

Bian Xuedao stepped forward: "Xu Shangxiu, hello, my name is Bian Xuedao, I'm from the 2001 International Trade class. Let's get to know each other."

Xu Shangxiu stared at Bian Xuedao. She recognized this boy as the one who was chased away by the instructor in the afternoon. She wondered why he was approaching her and saying these things.

Bian Xuedao put on his most gentle and harmless expression and repeated: "Hello, my name is Bian Xuedao, let's get to know each other."

Xu Shangxiu didn't say anything and tried to walk around Bian Xuedao to return to her dorm.

Bian Xuedao was getting a bit anxious.

He quickly turned around and caught up to Xu Shangxiu: "I have no ill intentions, really, I just want to get to know you, really."

Xu Shangxiu kept walking.

Bian Xuedao chased after her again.

At the entrance of 11A, Bian Xuedao stopped Xu Shangxiu once more. This time, Xu Shangxiu looked a bit angry. Bian Xuedao quickly took a step back: "Okay, I'll come back tomorrow. I have no ill intentions, really."

"Xiu Xiu, what's going on? Who is he?"

A boy in military training uniform, carrying a bag of apples, came out of 11A and stood next to Xu Shangxiu and Bian Xuedao. He handed the bag of apples to Xu Shangxiu and frowned at Bian Xuedao.

The boy didn't seem to have a good temper. If Bian Xuedao wasn't a bit taller and stronger, he might have pushed him.

Xu Shangxiu tugged at the boy's sleeve and said, "It's nothing, just a senior, asking about the seventh member of our dorm. Why did your formation disband so early?"

The boy gave Bian Xuedao a threatening look and said to Xu Shangxiu, "You take the apples up first, share them with the dorm mates, and then we'll go to the cafeteria."

Xu Shangxiu nodded: "Okay, wait for me."

Bian Xuedao's mind went blank.

Didn't Shangxiu say she only had her first boyfriend in her sophomore year? Who is this? Her brother? It doesn't seem like it!

Even if Shangxiu's timeline was a bit off, it couldn't be this far off. It's only been five days since the start of the semester, just five days! Where did this boy in the military training uniform come from? With Shangxiu's personality, no one could open her heart in just five days.

Bian Xuedao stared at the boy.

The boy met his gaze for a while and then looked away. This was a wise decision because if he had continued to look at Bian Xuedao with a smug expression, Bian Xuedao would have hit him.

Xu Shangxiu came down and saw that Bian Xuedao was still there. She was a bit surprised. The boy walked up, pulled Xu Shangxiu around Bian Xuedao, and headed towards the cafeteria.

Their actions were not those of relatives or ordinary friends. Bian Xuedao felt like his heart was on fire. His whole body trembled slightly, and a surge of anger spread through him.

He walked back to the steps of 10A, sat down, and reminded himself to stay calm. The situation wasn't clear yet, and he couldn't jump to conclusions.

Even though everyone has secrets, even the closest people, Bian Xuedao believed that Xu Shangxiu was unlikely to lie to him about this. After years of marriage, Bian Xuedao knew Xu Shangxiu's character.

First, he needed to find out who this boy was and where he came from.

Xu Shangxiu and the boy returned from the cafeteria. The boy saw Xu Shangxiu to the building and talked for a while. Before leaving, he hugged Xu Shangxiu's waist. Then Xu Shangxiu disappeared around the corner.

Bian Xuedao watched coldly, his anger only growing. This was his woman, his future wife, and now she was being hugged by someone else. How could he live with this?

His phone rang. It was Shan Rao.

Shan Rao told Bian Xuedao over the phone: "Two floors of 11A were originally occupied by senior girls, who all left before the school anniversary. They have been empty since then. When the freshmen arrived, girls from the Foreign Languages, Media, and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering departments moved in."

Bian Xuedao, holding the phone, gritted his teeth and said to Shan Rao, "Do me a favor, find out which department and dorm room a freshman named Xu Shangxiu is in. I need it right away."

Bian Xuedao's tone was not very polite, more like a boss giving orders to a secretary. He didn't notice these details at the moment.

There was a pause on the phone, and then Shan Rao said, "Okay."

Half an hour later, Shan Rao called back: "Media College, Broadcasting Department, Room 312."

Bian Xuedao said, "Thanks," and hung up.

What Bian Xuedao didn't know was that Shan Rao, now a junior, was the top candidate for the women's minister of the Media College Student Union and had some influence in her college and even in other colleges.

Bian Xuedao straightened his clothes, walked into 11A, and knocked on the window of the dorm manager: "Auntie, can you connect me to Room 312? I'm looking for Xu Shangxiu."

The auntie looked at Bian Xuedao and slowly pressed the intercom: "312, Xu Shangxiu, someone is looking for you downstairs."

A girl's voice came from the intercom: "Who is looking for Xu Shangxiu?"

The auntie frowned at Bian Xuedao, who smiled and said, "My name is Bian Xuedao."

The auntie said into the intercom: "Bian Xuedao."

The intercom responded: "Xu Shangxiu is not in the dorm."

The auntie let go of the intercom and looked at Bian Xuedao, implying that he had heard it. This was a common situation for the dorm manager, clearly indicating that the boy was not well-liked by the girl.

Bian Xuedao spent the night in the dorm. The next day, he skipped class again and stood by the window of the Red Building, watching the nearby military training field. One of the formations included Xu Shangxiu, but Bian Xuedao's feelings were completely different from the day before. He couldn't describe it, but he felt very uncomfortable.

Senior Wen called and told him that the development of the offline bot was progressing quickly and would be sent to him once it was successful. He also mentioned that Senior Wen had inquired about the source code of "Legend" through a senior and was in contact with the other party to ask about the price. Bian Xuedao listened to the call and only said "okay" twice.

Bian Xuedao didn't know that the source code of "Legend" had leaked from South Korea in October 2002, but he and Wen Congqian had good luck and had unknowingly hit the jackpot.

Before the end of the morning military training, Bian Xuedao went to the back door of 10A and waited for Xu Shangxiu to pass by, then returned to the dorm and lay down. Before the end of the afternoon military training, he went again, waiting for Xu Shangxiu to return to the dorm a few times. Before the lights went out, Bian Xuedao returned to the dorm.

By the fourth day, the guys in 717 were convinced that Bian Xuedao was serious this time.

On the fifth day at noon, Yang Hao came to keep Bian Xuedao company for a while and then saw the boy and Xu Shangxiu part ways. Yang Hao followed the boy and returned after about ten minutes, telling Bian Xuedao that the boy lived in 7A, Room 525, and was a freshman in the Law Department of the College of Humanities, named Tao Qing.

After saying this, Yang Hao stayed with Bian Xuedao for a while, gave him a firm hug on the shoulder, and left without saying anything.

Bian Xuedao called Chen Jian: "Second Brother, help me find out about a freshman named Tao Qing in the Law Department of the College of Humanities."

Chen Jian, who had already established himself in the student union, was very efficient. He knew that Bian Xuedao had been in a bad mood recently, so he gathered all the information he could about Tao Qing, including some personal information he filled out during registration, his photo from when he applied, his ID number, student number, dorm room number, and even the list of all the dorm mates.

When Bian Xuedao saw that Tao Qing was from Tianhe City like Xu Shangxiu, he began to understand.

Chen Jian, sitting next to Bian Xuedao, looked at Tao Qing's ID number: "This guy is from 1980, and he's a year younger than us. How many years did he study?"

Bian Xuedao looked at the list of dorm mates and stared at the name Wang Deliang for a long time. He turned to Chen Jian and said, "Second Brother, can you get a photo of Wang Deliang?"

"No problem."

Looking at the photo Chen Jian brought, Bian Xuedao confirmed that this Wang Deliang was his junior high school classmate. They didn't go to the same high school, but he didn't expect Wang Deliang to retake the year and get into Dongsen University.

Bian Xuedao vaguely remembered that Wang Deliang and Wang Wenkai had been desk mates in junior high school, and they seemed to have a good relationship back then.

Bian Xuedao made a call and asked Wang Wenkai to meet him at Dongsen University the next morning.

Wang Wenkai arrived early, and the two stayed in 717 until noon. Bian Xuedao didn't want others to see that he knew Wang Deliang, so he asked Wang Wenkai to invite Wang Deliang, and he found a restaurant to wait for them.

Wang Wenkai was very happy to see that Wang Deliang, who had retaken the year, was remembered by Wang Wenkai, who had been admitted to Gongda, and by Bian Xuedao, who was now a senior.

Bian Xuedao chose a nice restaurant. At the beginning, the three of them talked about many of their junior high school classmates and memories. Midway through the meal, Bian Xuedao started asking about Wang Deliang's dorm situation.

Wang Deliang said, "I didn't expect that after retaking the year, I would only be the fourth in the dorm. The one who is the first actually retook the year three times."

Bian Xuedao asked Wang Deliang, "What's the name of the first in your dorm?"

Wang Deliang said, "His name is Tao Qing."