Chapter 299: Chapter 299: Quietly Approaching

“Do I, do I really?” Wang Jia Bao hesitated at Zhao Yunxiu’s words. Did he really smile ambiguously? How come he didn’t know…

Zhao Yunxiu thought his little buddy probably hadn’t realized it yet and needed a push, so he opened up on purpose, “Who laughs like a fool when they receive a friend’s letter and reads it more than once?”

“Jia Bao, Yunxiu’s analysis is spot on. Is your definition of friends and girlfriends a bit off…” Feng Shicong chimed in with a bright smile, everyone in the dorm had seen Wang Jia Bao in this state.

“We’ve known each other for five or six years. I’ve always thought of her as a good buddy…” Thinking of her, Wang Jia Bao still found it unbelievable, only wanting to shake his head in denial.

The other three in the dorm found it unbelievable themselves, and Zhao Yunxiu laughed even more, “The words you’re using, girl buddy? Haha…”

“Oh, Bao? You’re too naive. There’s no such thing as pure friendship between men and women, especially when you have such a deep spiritual connection. What are you thinking? Think about how you feel every time you receive a letter from her. You got two letters today, right? The first one’s from your family, and after reading it, you just tossed it aside disdainfully. Tsk tsk, that double standard… Think about it.”

Too much of anything is bad, so he had to understand on his own. Zhao Yunxiu made his point and left Jia Bao to ponder over it.

Wang Jia Bao’s face turned red and green at his words. He clumsily put the letters into a dedicated metal box in the drawer, which now had quite the stack.

He took out a blank piece of paper intending to reply. The tip of his fountain pen glided over the white paper, leaving behind bold and strong script, “Xiao Xue, wishing you joy upon opening this letter…”

He barely wrote the opening line before the pen stopped moving. Memories of their times together flashed in his mind, her every smile and frown. His heartbeat quickened abruptly. He hastily capped the pen, put away the letter, flipped onto his bed, and hid under the covers…

In the dark, he could hear a few muffled laughs from outside. He couldn’t help but grind his teeth, knowing full well those three were making fun of him.

Let them laugh, sigh… right now, he didn’t have the time to worry about those three enjoying the show.

Wang Jia Bao didn’t know if he was purely overheating under the covers or thinking about something else, but he couldn’t stop the feeling of warmth spreading in his heart. Under the sheets, he was restless and uneasy.

He kept replaying Zhao Yunxiu’s words, Cheng Xue’s smile, and what his mom mentioned in her letter.

Finding a girlfriend at school, maybe even get married and have kids eventually. Ugh… the girls at school, he hadn’t really paid attention to any of them, nor did he want to. Were there any girls? Anyway, his class was all guys…

Girlfriend, dating… these three words kept appearing in his mind, followed by a smiling face.

So, was Zhao Yunxiu right after all, did he have feelings for Cheng Xue? But Xiao Xue was his brother-in-law’s niece, if anything happened, how would they even explain it?

Oh dear, how did his thoughts even go there?

Wang Jia Bao’s heart pounded like a drum. In the small, tiny space under the covers, he could hear it clearly himself. As he thought about it, he couldn’t help but start to laugh foolishly.

Then, his handsome face twisted into a frown, troubled by the thought: if he had feelings for her, what about her? Did she have feelings for him?

He wasn’t sure anymore…his mood slowly calmed down.

Suddenly, Wang Jia Bao threw off the covers, got out of bed, held his breath, and opened the drawer, taking out the metal box. The letters inside were neatly arranged in chronological order. He took a deep breath and opened the first one again, reading it seriously…

The other three in the dorm exchanged glances and smiled, not disturbing him in a show of mutual understanding.

With a different mood, reading these letters again gave him a whole other feeling. Sometimes he smiled, sometimes he frowned, sometimes he got excited, sometimes he felt moved…

The emotions in the letters were the emotions of the person who wrote them, always capable of moving his heart. He knew he was indeed falling, but…

What about the other person…

He couldn’t really tell anything significant from the letters, except that she was quite straightforward with him, which probably meant she trusted him, telling him anything and everything… but what exactly did that mean?

Sigh… after reading the letters, he felt even more complex inside. Perhaps, he should find time to visit her.

After many years, Wang Jia Bao finally recognized his own feelings.

Meanwhile, miles away in Beijing, Cheng Xue remained carefree, her mind fully focused on her studies and the shop.

Quite a few at school had shown interest in her, and a few had even sent her love letters, but she had turned them all down.

There’s no way she would date, she was far too busy for that.

She was watching her friends Jiang Huilan and Huang Tianyu put in so much effort to be together, yet they still hadn’t succeeded.

The little girl was as clueless as ever.

It took Wang Jia Bao two days to finish the reply, sending it off with anxiety, subtly hinting at his feelings. He was unsure if she would understand, feeling conflicted…

He hoped she would understand and give him a satisfactory answer, but also feared she’d understand and reject or laugh at him…

The letter was sent, but he remained preoccupied, distracted for two days and unable to concentrate on his studies. Eventually, his teacher caught him daydreaming and after a round of criticism, he finally reined in his restless thoughts and refocused on studying.

Another ten days or so passed until he finally received her reply. He took a deep breath, opened it, and read it, then silently put it away.

“What did it say? How did she respond?” The three roommates, constantly tuned to the developments, couldn’t help but crowd around and ask.

Wang Jia Bao shook his head, looking a bit odd, unsure whether to be disappointed or relieved, and awkwardly said, “She didn’t say anything, maybe she didn’t understand…”

Curious, Zhao Yunxiu asked, “How did you phrase it in the letter?”

Embarrassed, Wang Jia Bao found it hard to articulate such a private matter.

Then, after being cajoled and coerced by his dormmates, he confessed.

He had simplified their situation, dressed it in a friend’s guise, and turned it into a little story, asking her if the two had any possibility of being together.

To that, Cheng Xue only treated it as gossip, finding it amusing. Her reply left him speechless, “I’ve never been in a relationship, so I don’t know. Those two have known each other for years and still don’t realize their feelings, how foolish. Looking forward to the sequel…”

“Hahaha…”

The dorm was filled with clattering as they banged tables and stools, bursting into laughter.

“Haha… you two are quite a pair of clowns. Just get together already and spare the others,” joked Zhao Yunxiu without reservation.

“Yeah, get together, get together…” Feng Shicong gleefully chimed in.

“You two are a match made in heaven. Bao, you’re on the path to finding true love… why hesitate? Go for it…” Even the usually serious Shen Zhan chimed in nonchalantly.

Wang Jia Bao rolled his eyes, speechless.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep