Volume 1: The Starting Point Chapter 16: Heart Racing

  Today, Hu Binbin was dressed up, wearing a elegant and youthful emerald green dress. She had a tall and slender figure, which made her a natural clothes rack, and even the most poorly designed clothes would look good on her.

  In addition, her face has a light makeup, less of the student's greenness, more mature and charming, making people feel a sudden heart movement.

  Xia Wenjie was also a very normal boy, and when he saw such an unusual Hu Binbin, he couldn't help but take a few more glances at her.

  He said: "I heard you got into Peking University."

  Hu Binbin smiled wryly. The reason she applied to Peking University was that when filling out her college application, she saw that Xia Wenjie had also applied to Peking University, so without thinking twice, she filled in Peking University as well on her own application form.

  She likes competing with Xia Wenjie, and she enjoys the feeling of rivalry with him. She doesn't want their competition to end just because high school is over, and she still wants to compare herself with Xia Wenjie in college.

  To make this wish come true, in the period before the college entrance examination, she slept only four or five hours a day, and all her time was spent reviewing. As a result, she successfully passed the exam to enter Peking University, while Xia Wenjie went to the police academy in the provincial capital.

  She took a sip of the beer in her cup, the beer was bitter, especially today, it tasted even more bitter, that inexplicable sense of loss seemed to be hollowing out her heart.

  "Is it true what everyone says, that your family has already arranged for you to attend the police academy, so you dare to take the college entrance exam lightly?"

  Xia Wenjie didn't answer her question, but smiled and said: "You are the only one in our school who got into Peking University. You've always been competing with me on grades, this time you won."

  Hu Binbin said: "If it's really like that, I look down on you from the bottom of my heart."

  "All the top students in the country are gathered at Beida, so you won't have it easy in university either."

  "You could have done much better, but you deliberately did your worst. What's the point of that? Are you avoiding me?"

  "Beijing has many famous places, if you have the chance to go and play, remember to take a few more photos and put them on your space, so that we who haven't been to Beijing can also take a look."

  The two of them talked to each other like a chicken talking to a duck, he said his, she said hers.

  Bang! Hu Binbin finished the last mouthful of beer in his cup, put it down heavily on the table, and looked at Xia Wenjie, asking word by word: "Have you been resenting me all along?"

  Xia Wenjie's face was full of confusion, and he asked back: "What did I wrong you for?"

  "When I was just in first year of high school, I once hit you."

  Xia Wenjie smiled, then lowered his head again, looking embarrassed. This was indeed not a glorious thing to do, but he wasn't such a petty-minded person that he would hold it against her until now. He said, "It's been so long ago, I've already forgotten."

  "Why don't you want to go to Peking University with me?"

  Girl, you think I'm a god or something? How would I know that you're applying to Peking University? And how can we even talk about not going together when I didn't even know that?

  However, looking at Hu Binbin's eyes, he found that they were somewhat unfocused, and he knew she might be drunk. He was unwilling to explain more to a drunken person.

  He lightly brushed it off and said, "There are many things in life that people can't control."

  "Is someone forcing you?"

  "You can also understand it this way."

  "Who is it? Your family?"

  Xia Wenjie stopped talking and closed his mouth, with that same smile-but-not-speaking expression again.

  "I'm asking you a question." Normally, Hu Binbin wouldn't be so aggressive, but now the girl was drunk and had an air of "I'm the queen of the world".

  "Hey! Xia Wenjie exaggeratedly raised one arm and loudly said to the surrounding classmates: 'Report, our monitor Hu is drunk. I wonder, who will send her home?'"

  The classmates around him turned their heads one after another, looking at Hu Binbin's face which was flushed with shame and his eyes which were dim with intoxication, each of them shaking their heads like a rattle drum.

  "Wenjie, after we finish dinner, we still have to go sing karaoke."

  "It's like that, there are still activities after dinner, so why don't you just send Binbin home instead, since you don't love going to KTV anyway."

  It's rare for students to be able to relax wholeheartedly and have a great time without any pressure, who would want to quit halfway?

  Besides, if it were a beautiful girl seeing someone off, maybe there would be some boys who would stand up and volunteer to be her escort. But now that they're sending Hu Binbin off, who knows whether she'll get drunk halfway through and start causing trouble? If things really get out of hand, two or three boys might not even be able to handle her.

  "Wenjie, it's all up to you this time."

  "Yes, Wenjie, brothers will remember your great kindness, in case something unexpected happens halfway, remember, losing face is minor, preserving life is major."

  "No way, I'd rather be broken jade than intact pottery. My life can be lost, but my integrity cannot be shattered to pieces. At worst, we brothers will collectively mourn you every year around this time."

  Xia Wenjie nodded with a mix of anger and amusement, looked around at the boys and said, "You guys are really something, brothers."

  "Haha……" His words brought a burst of laughter from the people around him.

  No matter what he felt about Hu Binbin in his heart, after all, she was his classmate, and he couldn't let her go home alone with a bit of alcohol, although she wasn't very drunk, just slightly tipsy.

  He glanced at his watch, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening, and said to Hu Binbin: "I'll send you home." As he spoke, he pulled her arm and pulled her up from the chair.

  "I can still drink..."

  "Usually this means: I'm drunk." Xia Wenjie held Hu Binbin's arm with one hand and waved to the surrounding classmates with the other, saying: "I'll send our class monitor home."

  "Go."

  Another male student also recited with a sorrowful tone: "The wind is mournful and the Yi River is cold, a brave warrior leaves and will not return."

  "Haha......" The surrounding area was filled with laughter again.

  Xia Wenjie and Hu Binbin walked out of the cafeteria amidst their classmates' laughter. One advantage of eating at a hotel is that you never have to worry about not being able to hail a taxi, as there are always empty cars waiting outside.

  As they left the hotel, Xia Wenjie and Hu Binbin got into a taxi. He turned around and asked, "Where is your home?"

  "Starry Sea, Family Home."

  Oh? Xia Wenjie subconsciously glanced at Hu Binbin. The houses in Xinghai Community were not cheap, and when they first went on sale, the price was over 5,000 yuan per square meter. At that time, the average house price in City D was around 2,000-3,000 yuan per square meter, and there were even some houses priced at over 1,000 yuan per square meter. Now, the house prices in City D have soared to 10,000 yuan per square meter, and the price of Xinghai Community has also increased several times.

  "He said to the driver: 'Master, go to Xinghai Renjia.'"

  Xiangzhou Hotel is not far from Xinghai Renjia, just a ten-minute drive. When they arrived at the entrance of the community, Hu Binbin asked the driver to stop the car and she got out of the car. Xia Wenjie also got off the car and asked: "Just arriving at the entrance of the community, haven't we arrived home yet?"

  "I want to come down and take a walk."

  Xia Wenjie thought for a moment, nodded, and looked at the main gate of the community. This was a fully enclosed community with security guards at the entrance and patrolling inside, so it should be very safe. He waved his hand to Hu Binbin and said, "Then you go back, bye."

  "Aren't you going to send me home?"

  "Haven't you already arrived home?"

  "Not yet at the door."

  "So..."

  "Walk with me for a bit, can you die?"

  "You're already home..."

  "I'm just asking you to walk with me, can't you die?"

  "No." Xia Wenjie replied succinctly, then silently took out his wallet and paid the fare.

  He took two steps, and saw that Hu Bin was still standing in the same place staring at him with those clear black and white eyes. He made a helpless inviting gesture with his hand and said: "Director Hu, please go ahead, you don't need me to lead the way for you."

  Hu Binbin hummed twice and strode into the residential area with big steps.

  After Xia Wenjie followed in, she said breathlessly: "Don't call me Hu Dabanjang again from now on."

  "Yes, Monitor Hu."

  Hu Binbin walked while continuously taking deep breaths, Xia Wenjie secretly curled his lips and asked tentatively: "Don't tell me you have asthma."

  "Am I reeking of alcohol? Do you want me to bring a drunk back home?"

  "Oh, then you continue." Xia Wenjie didn't say much more. The current Hu Binbin seemed to have returned to her freshman year self, arrogant and domineering, making him feel like he could only be bullied in front of her.

  After walking for a while, she finally stopped her exaggerated gasping, but then started shaking off her clothes. She was wearing a sleeveless dress, and the neckline and armpit openings were already quite large; as she shook herself repeatedly, the white undershirt inside kept peeking out from time to time.

  Xia Wenjie took a glance and immediately turned his head away, intentionally slowing down his pace.

  Hu Binbin was very sharp, as soon as he fell, she immediately stopped in her tracks, her big eyes staring at him dead, asking: "What are you doing?"

  "I'm leaving you some space for cramps."

  Hu Binbin was taken aback at first, then understood his meaning, rolled his eyes and said: "What do you know? I'm just fanning away the wine smell on me. If my parents smelled it, you'd be the one to suffer."

  Xia Wenjie also rolled his eyes and said helplessly, "What does this have to do with me?"

  "It was you who sent me back home."

  "So I should die?"

  "Heh heh." Hu Binbin flashed him a toothy grin, revealing two rows of pearly whites.

  Normally, Xia Wenjie had never thought she was attractive, if anything, it was just that she was a bit more tomboyish. Now seeing her silly smile at him, he felt for an instant a sense of dizziness, his heart also seemed to have skipped a beat.

  "What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?" Xia Wenjie had never stared at himself so intently before, and Hu Binbin instinctively touched his cheek, wondering if he had rice grains or vegetable leaves stuck to his face.

  Xia Wenjie came back to his senses, his old face turned red, and he awkwardly cleared his throat, saying: "There's nothing on your face, hurry up and go." As he spoke, he gently pushed her from behind.

  As she was pushed by him, she turned back and asked: "What were you looking at me like that just now?"

  After a moment of silence, Xia Wenjie muttered in a low voice: "Actually, you look pretty good too."

  Hu Binbin's eyes widened in shock, staring at him as if he were a monster, and said: "You only noticed now?"