Chapter 13: Let's Go Swimming at Noon

“Don’t deny it—I saw you two walking over last night. You and Yutong have been my childhood friends. I truly wish you both the best. I hope we’ll always be good friends!”

Liang Jiyong seemed to understand. Last night, Su Wanqing had seen Di Yutong linking arms with him, and to Su Wanqing, that was a clear sign.

Realizing this, Liang Jiyong chuckled softly.

“What are you laughing at? Don’t you admit it?” Su Wanqing looked at him.

Liang Jiyong said nothing but picked up an orange from the table and peeled it.

“Here, calm down!”

“Oranges cause heatiness. Who said I’m hot-tempered? I’m not. I just...” Su Wanqing hastily explained.

“Alright, Wanqing, listen to me,” Liang Jiyong said, looking into her eyes. Su Wanqing’s gaze flickered slightly.

“Wanqing, like you said just now, we grew up together. Setting aside likes and dislikes, we’re best friends. For now, at least for the next year, our focus should be on our exams!”

“You—don’t change the subject. I clearly saw it last night...” Su Wanqing seemed upset that Liang Jiyong was dodging the issue.

“You didn’t see wrong. Yutong linked her arm with mine yesterday because she felt cold when leaving her house. I couldn’t just push her away, could I?”

“You...” Su Wanqing felt he was twisting words.

Yet, Liang Jiyong sat beside her and casually draped his arm over her shoulder.

Su Wanqing froze, staring blankly at him, forgetting to push him away.

Before she could react, Liang Jiyong had returned to his seat.

“See, you didn’t have the heart to push me away just now either. So, do you admit it now? Am I your boyfriend?”

“You, you scoundrel!” Su Wanqing was unsure of her feelings—angry, somewhat, but not entirely. There was even a flicker of relief, as if something lost had been regained.

Could it be that she really cared for him? Did she like Liang Jiyong?

For a moment, Su Wanqing was confused.

“Whether scoundrel or not, let’s not talk about this for the year, okay?”

Meeting Liang Jiyong’s gaze, Su Wanqing gradually calmed and nodded.

“Of course, if anyone bothers you, I’ll still beat them up!” Liang Jiyong added with a smile.

“No fighting!” Su Wanqing immediately said.

“I usually don’t, unless I can’t help it!”

“Stop babbling!” Su Wanqing popped an orange slice into her mouth.

“Is it sweet?”

“Sour!” Su Wanqing answered, contradicting herself.

Liang Jiyong broke off a segment from his half-orange. “It’s pretty sweet. Are you jealous, so it tastes sour?”

Su Wanqing instantly understood he meant she was jealous.

“Arrogant!”—he was just teasing.

Just then, the door opened, and Di Yutong entered, now dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt—a simple outfit that, twenty years later, would still be stylish.

With her figure, this attire drew attention.

Neither Su Wanqing nor Liang Jiyong brought up the previous topic again.

“This is the list. Thirteen people have confirmed they’ll repeat the year, but my dad said two or three more might be unhappy with their results and might repeat too, so there’ll probably be fifteen or sixteen in total.”

Liang Jiyong began discussing dorm arrangements.

“Is that courtyard you saw yesterday enough to house everyone?” Su Wanqing asked.

“One single room, three doubles, three triples—it can theoretically hold sixteen people. If more come, no problem; there are empty rooms next door.”

Gathering together was mainly for safety.

There were significant conflicts between the Red Flag Factory students and others from the area, including various state-owned factories.

This created factions within the school.

In high school, besides fighting to protect Su Wanqing, Liang Jiyong had often stood up for Red Flag Factory kids in clashes.

“Will you take the single or double room?” Liang Jiyong asked Su Wanqing.

“A double. I’ll room with Miao Xiaotong.”

Miao Xiaotong and Su Wanqing got along well; she was quiet and shy.

“Alright, then I’ll take the single!” If Su Wanqing wanted to live alone, he’d have to share with others or get a double for himself.

“You didn’t ask the others’ opinions!” Su Wanqing scolded.

“I’m not enlightened enough. I’m still a person of low tastes!” Liang Jiyong said, pretending to be ashamed.

Di Yutong tapped Liang Jiyong’s arm. “Stop joking. Let’s notify everyone separately. If we’re late, we’ll die of heat!”

After the notifications, she suggested, “Let’s go swimming at noon.”

“But we just went yesterday!” Su Wanqing hesitated.

“It’s too hot. Can you really sit still at home reading in this weather?” Di Yutong asked.

Su Wanqing hesitated, glancing at Liang Jiyong as if seeking his opinion.

“Alright, then. See you at the pool. By the way, I’m calling Lin Chao and the others; I have something to discuss with them at noon.”

“What’s up?” Di Yutong was curious.

Lin Chao, Peng Yuan, and Huang Zicheng were Liang Jiyong’s close friends.

Each had distinct personalities.

Lin Chao was even bigger and tougher than Liang Jiyong, fiery-tempered, and they had fought many fights since childhood.

Peng Yuan was shrewd with small eyes, and Huang Zicheng was a model student—skinny but excellent academically. It was odd how these diverse characters became close friends.

Lin Chao and Liang Jiyong grew up fighting and became friends through shared conflicts, especially against other factions at the Red Flag Factory.

Peng Yuan lived nearby; his father was a strict finance department head. Peng Yuan was frugal and had been admitted to Yunzhou Finance University, a decent school in the province, though slightly less prestigious than Yunzhou University.

Huang Zicheng, thin and weak but excellent in character and grades, came from a modest family. His father was a worker; his mother was ill. He had an older brother who worked in maintenance at Red Flag Factory and was still single at twenty-six.

Huang Zicheng was admitted to Fudan University—the best admission from Red Flag Factory this year.

Lin Chao’s grades were worse than Liang Jiyong’s, scoring only 177 on the college entrance exam, with several subjects in single digits. He wasn’t cut out for academics. If not for his father’s pressure, he might not have even attended high school.

Lin Chao’s father was the captain of the transport team at Red Flag Factory, a well-off position with easy side income, so their family was relatively comfortable.

“We need to discuss something,” Liang Jiyong said.

“What? It’s a secret? Surely not good news.”

“No secret. If you want to hear, I’ll tell you. You’re free now, so you can help out!”

Di Yutong and Su Wanqing were curious, but Liang Jiyong kept silent.

The three left separately.

Red Flag Factory’s campus wasn’t large. Liang Jiyong spent less than an hour notifying six people—some in person, others through family or neighbors.

Those willing to live off-campus would meet at nine the next morning to see the housing.

At eleven, Liang Jiyong arrived at the swimming pool.

Before entering, he noticed two groups confronting each other at the entrance.

On one side were over a dozen young men and women, all Red Flag Factory kids—Su Wanqing and Di Yutong among them. Su Wanqing wore a cold expression, while Di Yutong argued heatedly with a plaid-shirted young man, about twenty-one or twenty-two years old.

Next to Di Yutong stood a tall, burly, cold-looking youth about 1.9 meters tall.

Nearby were a round-faced chubby boy of medium height and a slightly thin young man wearing glasses.

The chubby boy was Peng Yuan; the thin one with glasses was Huang Zicheng. The tall, cold youth was Lin Chao.

They were accompanied by other Red Flag Factory youths who had come to swim.

The plaid-shirted youth was also from Red Flag Factory, but the seven or eight rough-looking men behind him were not. Three seemed to be young workers from the Red Star Factory, and the rest were from elsewhere—riffraff.

“Yutong, little sister, long time no see. You’ve grown into quite a figure, and your temper’s gotten bigger too!” The plaid-shirted youth’s gaze was mischievous.

“Lin Zhihao!” Su Wanqing rarely showed anger but did so now.

“Wanqing, I’m your cousin. You can’t talk to your cousin like that!”

“If you keep this up, I’ll tell my dad!” Su Wanqing had no fondness for this cousin.

Lin Zhihao seemed afraid of her father, so his tone softened. “Just joking. I was complimenting you, Yutong!”

“Hmph!” Su Wanqing glared at Lin Zhihao and said no more.

“Keep your dirty eyes to yourself, or I’ll cripple you!” Di Yutong was not someone to be trifled with.

“Oh, Yutong’s temper’s really grown. Big brother’s giving you a chance!”

Di Yutong was furious, ready to deliver a crippling kick to Lin Zhihao.

Su Wanqing held her back, while Lin Zhihao was brazen, ignoring the dozen or so Red Flag Factory youths opposite.

Among them, only eight were boys, some looked inexperienced, probably never fought before. His group, however, were seasoned fighters.

“Lin Ergou, are you itching for a fight?” a voice called out, making Lin Zhihao’s face darken instantly.

Lin Chao, seeing Liang Jiyong approach, relaxed. Only two or three boys could fight; against these riffraff, they were barely sufficient.

Though on Red Flag Factory territory, fights weren’t a loss, these guys would run after, and they had nowhere to chase.

Lin Zhihao’s expression soured when he saw Liang Jiyong. He knew Liang was a formidable fighter who didn’t hold back.

Though two years older than Liang Jiyong, Lin Zhihao had been beaten badly by Liang since sixth grade, leaving a bloody history.

“You punk, you’re looking for death, talking to Lin like that!” a blond riffraff accompanying Lin Zhihao pointed at Liang.

Liang Jiyong grabbed the blond’s hand and twisted it, causing the man to cry out in pain.

“Let go! Let go...” the riffraff shouted but dared not attack.

“Liang Jiyong, let go! What do you want?” Lin Zhihao’s voice was weak.

Liang Jiyong flicked his hand disdainfully; the blond staggered and sat on the ground.

Just as the blond opened his mouth to curse, Liang Jiyong glared, “Watch your mouth, or I’ll slap you!”

The blond, frightened, stayed silent.

“Where’s Bald Zhang? How many ribs did you break?” Liang Jiyong asked.

Bald Zhang was the Red Star Factory young worker who fought Liang two nights ago. Although called Bald Zhang, his real name was Zhang Guang. Respectful people called him Brother Guang; those who despised him called him Bald Zhang.

“Brother Guang will get back at you soon!” a Red Star Factory youth retorted defiantly.

“Heh, I’m waiting! Lin Ergou, why the long face here?”

“I’m going swimming. Why won’t you let us in?” Lin Zhihao complained.

Red Flag Factory’s swimming pool was well-built.

Initially for employees only, it later opened to outsiders for profit.

Until a few years ago, it was fine, but after Red Star Factory and National Cotton Factory shut down, security deteriorated. Many young workers became riffraff, swearing and groping in the pool.

To avoid trouble, the pool was closed to outsiders.

But once opened, it was hard to shut down again—such pools were rare in Yunzhou.

So, as long as Red Flag Factory people accompanied visitors who behaved, management turned a blind eye.

But Lin Zhihao’s group was clearly troublemakers.

Moreover, Lin Zhihao wasn’t truly from Red Flag Factory.

His father, Lin Jianghai, was Su Kui’s brother-in-law but five years younger than him.

Su Wanqing’s mother, Lin Xiaoyu, was nearly ten years younger than Su Kui.

Lin Jianghai used to be a department head in the Red Flag Factory security office but was fired for colluding with thieves and stealing materials.

Rumor had it he later went into business and became arrogant after making some money.

Lin Zhihao, his son, was uneducated and a spendthrift.

“If you want to go in, I won’t stop you, but they can’t!” Liang Jiyong said firmly.

“Why not?” Lin Zhihao argued, backed by his men.

“This is Red Flag Factory, not your playground. My fists are tough. Try one step inside and see who dares!” Lin Chao sneered, stepping aside to open the gate.

“Go back to Yunzhou. Stop causing trouble here!” Su Wanqing said disdainfully.