The Lighter and Princess Gown Chapter 8-9

Zhu Yun felt like she was going to explode. She’d been the recipient of lots of news recently, and she really needed some time to digest it all.

During her brief exchange with Li Xun that day, Zhu Yun gave her ordinary and courteous response—”I’ll think it over. Thank you for your invitation.” After Top Score Li heard her, he snorted and headed into the teacher’s office.

The stuffy feeling inside of Zhu Yun started to grow.

But, people’s minds were strange things. Over the next few days, Zhu Yun constantly went over the events in her head. Although Li Xun’s laughter was cause enough for a beating, all in all, this situation left her with more positive feelings than negative feelings. Especially his final, “If you come, I’ll welcome you.” In comparison to his previous “You’re too f.u.c.king fake,” she felt rather victorious.

This, here, is the joy of being a person.

After several days of feeling radiant, Zhu Yun finally calmed down. She started to genuinely consider her options.

Li Xun’s seminar… Did she want to partic.i.p.ate?

As she thought over the question, Fang Shumiao’s words slipped into her mind. “Although the number of students in the seminar is settling at a few more than ten, the core team only consists of a few people. Li Xun and Gao Jianhong are at the center. ”

Core team…

Zhu Yun’s chin hung over the library desk, swaying back and forth, as she tried to come to a decision.

During Old Mr Lin’s cla.s.s, Li Xun sat next to Zhu Yun as always. From the moment cla.s.s started, he’d be messing around on his own laptop. He only raised his head for a few minutes when there was a cla.s.s a.s.signment.

He didn’t mention the seminar to Zhu Yun again. She understood though. For Top Score Li to invite someone even once was already a humbling event. To expect him to ask again was like waiting for an iron tree to bloom.

While Old Mr Li was going over some basics, Zhu Yun whispered, “About that…”

“Mmh,” Li Xun replied, his eyes still glued to his laptop screen, his fingers typing nonstop.

Zhu Yun, “About that matter from before…”

Li Xun’s eyes were a bit crossed. Zhu Yun realized that every time Li Xun was deep in thought, his expression looked extraordinarily cold.

“Say what you have to say,” he told her.

Zhu Yun got straight to the point. “I’ve thought it over and I’d like to join your seminar group. Since your project won’t be easy, I’d like to practice and improve my abilities.” Before she’d even finished speaking, he’d already turned back to his laptop. When she was done, he gave an “Mmh” to express that he understood her.

With regards to this future boss, Zhu Yun had already decided to endure his treatment. She asked him, “When does the seminar meet?”

“There’s no set time. When you’re free, come by.” Li Xun continued tapping on his keyboard as he added, “I’ll always be there.”

Zhu Yun looked at him for a moment, and then she finally said, “Okay.”

When she returned to her dorm room, Zhu Yun saw Fang Shumiao, and then she remembered that she hadn’t told her roommate about this ordeal. After she finished her story, Fang Shumiao looked at her.

“Why do you suddenly want to join the seminar?”

Zhu Yun didn’t tell her about Li Xun’s invitation, just her conversation with Old Mr Li.

“Teacher Li said I should join for practice.”

Fang Shumiao said, “Oh…” before quickly adding, “So, did you tell Li Xun that you helped write that function for me?”

“No.”

Zhu Yun knew what her concerns were, so she a.s.sured her, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell him. When I go, I’ll choose something else to do.”

Fang Shumiao nodded.

She didn’t have cla.s.s that afternoon, so after eating lunch, Zhu Yun carried two library books on web development with her and headed to the seminar cla.s.sroom.

Li Xun’s practice base was located on the first floor of Laboratory A. Although Zhu Yun had pa.s.sed through the building several times before, it was the first time that this was her destination. The corridors were a bit dark, but she found it. The door to the base. Without knocking, she leaned in and pressed her ear against the door. She heard some m.u.f.fled sounds.

Zhu Yun’s heart pounded. She was a bit nervous.

As she took a deep breath in preparation, the door opened.

Wu Mengxing held a small broom in one hand and a trash bag in the other. His face was covered in sweat. Seeing Zhu Yun in front of him, he nearly jumped back.

“Aiya, what are you doing here?”

Zhu Yun, “….”

So you’re here too. You weren’t tortured enough by Li Xun yet?

After they greeted each other, Zhu Yun moved aside to let Wu Mengxing toss out the trash. And then she slipped inside the room. It was the size of an ordinary cla.s.sroom, with 20 something computers inside. They were grouped up into fours around a table.

When Zhu Yun entered, there were five people present, herself included. Oh, wait, that’s not right. Six people, since Wu Mengxing had just returned. Inside the room, one person was cleaning, one was eating, a pair of lovers were flirting, and one person was working in front of a computer—this was obviously not Li Xun, for he was part of the flirting pair.

Zhu Yun stood at the door and looked over at the plastic Barbie, Liu Sisi, draped over Li Xun. The two were feeding each other ice cream. Some for you, some for me, and everyone’s all happy.

How was she supposed to greet anyone.

As Zhu Yun stood there in thought, Gao Jianhong, sitting in front of the computer, spotted her. He waved to her. “Zhu Yun!”

Li Xun turned and saw her. “You’re here?”

Zhu Yun could only nod.

Li Xun pointed to the computers casually. “You can sit wherever.”

Backpack on her shoulder, Zhu Yun was about to head over to a spot by the wall when Gao Jianhong called out, “Come here. Zhu Yun, over here.” He pointed to the seat beside him.

No, no, no. Too close. Hard to manage.

“I’ll just sit over here.” She put down her bag on a table by Li Xun. After a moment, Wu Mengxing, having finished cleaning, walked over. He sat down beside her and said, “I sit here.”

Zhu Yun nodded to him.

It was quiet all around, but for the occasional sounds of lips smacking in the corner. Zhu Yun sat for a bit. Seeing that Li Xun and Liu Sisi had yet to finish their ice cream, she quietly asked Wu Mengxing, “When do we get started?”

“With what?”

“Activities.”

Wu Mengxing opened his mouth and said, “It’s already started. This is how it is around here. He doesn’t a.s.sign tasks, so you can work on whatever whenever. The computers are connected to the net, so you can go online and play games for a bit. There are a lot of games on the computers.”

……

Why would I come here to play computer games?

Zhu Yun opened her bag and pulled out her web development book. She started flipping through it and became entranced. When she finally lifted her head, more than an hour had pa.s.sed. The room had filled up with a few more people, but it was still very quiet.

She turned to see that Liu Sisi had already left. Li Xun was sitting in a chair, tapping on the keys of his laptop. Then she turned to Wu Mengxing, whose face was serious as he coded. Zhu Yun glanced over it, and he seemed to be refining a search function.

Zhu Yun licked her teeth. Suddenly, she felt quite lonely.

She lowered her head and continued to read. This time, she was going to finish reading in one go. While she was immersed in this sea of knowledge, a long and slender finger suddenly tapped on the page. When she looked up, she saw an impatient face.

Li Xun said, “Come on, work on something.”

Was he finally giving me a task?

Zhu Yun closed her book and waited for his orders.

Li Xun tossed a practice book in front of her. Zhu Yun looked down, and then she lifted her head, her face expressionless. “What’s this?”

Liu Sisi’s tiny head appeared from behind Li Xun and she giggled.

Zhu Yun, “….”

Li Xun looked to have lost his patience with Liu Sisi. He said to Zhu Yun, “Help out. Just complete it however.”

Liu Sisi nudged Li Xun. “What do you mean ‘however’? It can’t be ‘however’.”

Li Xun’s brows tightened as he pulled on Liu Sisi’s collar.

“Hey, hey, hey! Be gentle, my clothes will rip!”

Li Xun dragged her over to beside Zhu Yun. “Stay here.” Liu Sisi pouted and sat down unhappily.

After dropping her off, Li Xun left, leaving Liu Sisi behind. With her face resting in her hands, she watched Zhu Yun.

“What’s your name?”

“Zhu Yun.”

“School junior, I’ll leave it to you.”

So you’re a school senior…

“Okay.” Zhu Yun smiled and opened the English workbook. “What are you supposed to write?”

“We’re translating art dissertations. We can pick any we want.”

“So, did you pick one out?”

“I did! Let me show you!”

Liu Sisi squeezed over and excitedly searched on the computer.

She typed into the search, “Youth painter Tian Xiuzhu.”

Many pages quickly popped up. Liu Sisi clicked on a link and said, “This one!”

Zhu Yun looked at it and said, “This isn’t an art paper. It’s a profile.”

Liu Sisi, “Aiyo, whatever.”

Fine. It’s your homework, so whatever you say.

Zhu Yun took over the mouse and skimmed through the page. The article described the young painter’s academic experiences as well as his present achievements.

“Handsome and good…”

Zhu Yun’s eyes narrowed as she saw Liu Sisi’s eyes stuck to the screen. There was a photo beside the article. The young man had delicate features and was smiling bashfully.

Zhu Yun continued to scroll down, and then she saw one of his art pieces. Her heart jumped.

It was a charcoal sketch t.i.tled “Rugged Hills.” The sketch showed a withered mountain range. The strokes were mature but unrestrained. It was an image that could be described as “toppling mountains and overturning the seas.” It looked effortless but magical.

Somewhat surprisingly, Zhu Yun felt that, at a glance, the explosive aura in this image was reminiscent of some “hills” in her home.

Someone poked her arm. Liu Sisi looked to her with an unsatisfied look.

“Scroll up to his photo!”

Zhu Yun, “….”

She scrolled back up and started translating. The article was very short, so she only needed ten minutes. After cleaning it up, she’d completed the a.s.signment in 15 minutes.

“Thank you.” Liu Sisi had stood up and started walking around when Zhu Yun started translating. Seeing that she’d finished, she grabbed Zhu Yun for a hug from behind.

Senior, your chest… Liu Sisi’s chest was firm, more like two ** pressed against her.

A thought suddenly piqued Zhu Yun’s interest. She turned around and asked Liu Sisi, “Between Tian Xiuzhu and Li Xun, who do you like more?”

Liu Sisi giggled and nudged her. “Aiyo, why are you asking such a pointed question. It’s too unfriendly.” Pointed? Unfriendly?

Liu Sisi hugged Zhu Yun and whispered into her ear, “Whoever you like more is who I like more.” After she finished, she happily packed her bags and went to find Li Xun. Still sitting in her seat, Zhu Yun was speechless.

When evening came, Zhu Yun packed up her things and was about to leave. Before she left, she went to say goodbye to Li Xun. He glanced up at her from his busy activities and quietly praised, “No wonder you’re the cla.s.s rep. You finish homework really fast.”

“….”

Zhu Yun felt she ought to make it clear to him before she left.

“I didn’t come here to do other people’s homework.”

Liu Sisi turned to look at her.

Li Xun was still busy working as he said, “It was just helping out a friend.” His fingers flew around on the keyboard. Zhu Yun was very curious about what he was doing, what kind of program he was writing, what kind of thought process he was following. But she couldn’t see.

After her homework was complete, Liu Sisi was completely at ease. Draped over Li Xun, she sat steadily, like a mannequin.

Zhu Yun felt her lungs swell with air. She couldn’t just let things go. After standing a few seconds, she finally said to Li Xun, “Hey.” She hadn’t called his name, but Li Xun still looked up.

Zhu Yun bitingly reminded him, “Don’t forget that I came at your invitation.”

“I came at your invitation.”

After those words went out, the handful of people in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her. Gao Jianhong looked amused. Liu Sisi pouted. The room was still. Li Xun was chewing gum, his face expressionless.

Zhu Yun straightened her back. You can’t have forgotten your previous invitation, have you? Quit playing.

After a moment of exchanging glances, Li Xun closed his laptop and said, “Okay.”

Okay what?

Li Xun sighed lightly and stood up. One arm was hooked on his waist as he looked around at the seminar partic.i.p.ants. After seeing his expression, Zhu Yun suddenly felt an ominous feeling.

What. What are you planning on doing?

Li Xun knocked the desk and said, “Come on, everyone stop what you’re doing.”

Zhu Yun tensed up.

Li Xun raised his hand and without further ado, he made an introduction.

“This—” He motioned to Zhu Yun, “…is the princess I’ve invited.”

Zhu Yun, “…………”

Gao Jianhong laughed out loud. Liu Sisi also covered her mouth. The other students didn’t know what to do, so they could only applaud. Fortunately, Zhu Yun had many years of teaching behind her, and she was able to remain calm.

Li Xun checked the time. “We’ll have a welcome party for the princess. My treat. Come along if you’d like.”

Zhu Yun held back her impulse to burn off his hair and told him, “Thanks, but there’s no need.”

Li Xun looked at her. “Come on. Since I invited you, I can’t let our princess feel unwelcome.”

Did I kill your whole family in a previous life? Why must you attack me like this.

Liu Sisi grabbed onto Li Xun. “Where’s the party? I want to go too.”

Li Xun gave the name of the place, a nearby karaoke lounge. Liu Sisi obediently grabbed her phone and left the room to make a reservation.

There was no use saying any more. Zhu Yun could only take her seat and wait for her cla.s.smantes to finish their work and give her a big welcoming.

At 7 o’clock, the group of six headed out.

Zhu Yun didn’t know that the karaoke lounge was such a hot destination. All the rooms were booked that Friday evening, and their group had only gotten one because Liu Sisi was friends with one of the employees.

The place was decorated nicely, but the soundproofing wasn’t that great. Zhu Yun grew dizzy from the shrieking next door.

Liu Sisi got ready to hog the mic on the stage. Indeed, Liu Sisi was worthy of being called an art student. She sang well and danced a bit as well. She seemed like a professional.

Although this get-together was, in name, a welcome party for Zhu Yun, after the group finished a case of beer, Zhu Yun had yet to experience what it felt to be the “main character.” She enjoyed the evening on her own, trying to listen to Liu Sisi’s singing against all the background noise. Suddenly, a tall figure walked over with two bottles of beer.

There really wasn’t enough s.p.a.ce. Li Xun took a seat and sat down on part of Zhu Yun’s clothes. He handed her a bottle.

Zhu Yun shook her head. “I don’t drink.”

Li Xun didn’t press her further and placed one of the beers on the table. Then he drank from his own bottle.

Zhu Yun glanced over at Li Xun.

While very noisy, the atmosphere was really quite nice. Li Xun looked to have drunk a bit and he seemed very relaxed.

Zhu Yun took the chance to talk to Li Xun about the format for the seminar.

“Hey, uh, Li Xun.”

Their surroundings were so loud that Li Xun didn’t show any sign of having heard her.

Zhu Yun mulled over the thought briefly before shouting into his ear, “Li Xun!”

Li Xun choked on his drink and cursed, “Are you looking to die?!”

“……”

Zhu Yun decided to discuss things first, before apologizing. “You should do her homework for her next time!”

Li Xun looked at her.

Zhu Yun said, “It only makes sense to do your own girlfriend’s homework!”

Li Xun smiled and responded, but Zhu Yun couldn’t hear him clearly.

“What did you say?!”

Li Xun repeated himself, but Zhu Yun still couldn’t hear. “Speak louder—!”

The next second, Zhu Yun felt her collar tighten, and then her entire body was pulled over.

The light scent of Li Xun’s chest.

Don’t you think it’s strange? He smokes, drinks, dyes his hair, and engages in all sorts of debauchery, but he always smelled so clean.

Boss Li’s unruly voice sounded in her ear. “What makes sense is for you to listen to my words.”

Who do you think you are?

Zhu Yun wordlessly got up. As she pushed herself up, her palm accidentally slipped on his thigh.

Hic…

Zhu Yun’s eyes looked up. Li Xun sat on the sofa without a care, zero intent on moving. The colorful lights s.h.i.+ning around the room reflected beautifully off his golden hair. Zhu Yun stared at him, wondering if he’d be taken away without a word if the Anti-Vice Squad were to come right now.

Li Xun asked, “What are you looking at?” He spoke quietly, but Zhu Yun could make out his words by just looking at his lips.

Zhu Yun shook her head and said, “Nothing…”

Li Xun leaned over to her, his monolids giving his features a particularly sharp appearance. “Be more straightforward and people will like you more.”

“……”

Li Xun turned and half jokingly asked the room, “Hey, let me ask you guys. Are women better when they’re a bit dumb?”

Everyone was a bit drunk by then. After hearing Li Xun’s words, Gao Jianhong was the first to raise his hand. “Yes!” The others answered loyally.

In the end, even Liu Sisi at the stage shouted into her mic, “That’s right! Dumb women are the best! Long live the dumb women—!”

…These guys had all gone crazy.

Zhu Yun couldn’t stay here any longer. She got up and bid the group farewell. “I’m heading out first. Enjoy the rest of your night.” She had to reconsider whether she was going to remain enrolled in the seminar group.

After she put on her coat, she heard Li Xun call out, “You’re thinking up nonsensical things again.”

No, my thoughts are quite reasonable and fitting.

Li Xun motioned her over with his finger.

“……” After ten seconds of inner battle, Zhu Yun decided to tolerate him once more.

She leaned over and Li Xun lazily said, “Check your email when you get back.”

What?

After that, Li Xun payed no more care to Zhu Yun. He’d turned back to play dice with Gao Jianhong.

Zhu Yun returned to her dorm with a muddled head. She turned on her laptop and checked her inbox. There really was an email. The subject line read “To the Princess, Her Highness.” Zhu Yun’s nerves were skipping around. She clenched her teeth and opened the email. Then she stared at her screen.

The contents of the email were very familiar. It was the recommendations function that she’d helped Fang Shumiao write. But it was also different, like it had been edited.

Compared to his appearance, Li Xun’s code was very friendly, readable. After every edit he’d made, he added detailed comments and explanations. It was like reading a textbook. Zhu Yun only had to stop a few times to look up more information; otherwise, she read through the comments smoothly in half an hour.

Looking at his code was like listening to him speak. With just a glance, you could clearly see his intention and thought process, and even that high and mighty, needs a spanking att.i.tude came through. There were no complicated tricks to his code, just the same as with his temper. Direct, clear, un.o.bstructed, right there for you to see.

Zhu Yun made herself a cup of coffee, and then she checked the send time on the email. 7 o’clock that evening. 7 o’clock… Wasn’t that right before they left school? So, had he spent that afternoon going through her code? That can’t be right… How did he know that she’d written the function? When did he find out?

Full of suspicions, Zhu Yun recalled Li Xun’s carefree, smiling face. The image of him sitting in his chair, typing away on the keyboard. And finally, his head plopped down on the table.

In any case, she figured she should forget about quitting (the group) for now.

The next day was Sat.u.r.day. Zhu Yun got up early and had a simple meal before heading over to the (seminar) project base. It was early, so she’d thought that she’d be the first on the scene. But when she walked inside the room, she saw Li Xun sleeping across two chairs.

The room reeked of a hangover.

Zhu Yun went to open a window, to let the air circulate. When she turned back, she noticed that Li Xun’s s.h.i.+rt was revealing his waist because of his sleeping posture. He had one hand rested on top of his eyes, and the other rested over his abdomen.

Were those chairs stable? They didn’t look very stable…

And his stomach was exposed. With the breeze from the window, would he wake up to a stomachache?

Zhu Yun took a peak outside the room. The campus was still on this Sat.u.r.day morning. Like Li Xun, everyone was still sleeping.

Zhu Yun quietly walked over to him and grabbed hold of Li Xun’s s.h.i.+rt, planning to pull it down.

Nothing bad would happen, right? In more stories, something would happen at this point.

Zhu Yun tried to keep her arms steady as she pulled down his s.h.i.+rt. Halfway through the process, Li Xun moved. Perhaps the moving fabric on his skin made him feel an itch. His hand moved from his face to scratch his stomach. And then, he woke himself up.

Zhu Yun immediately pulled back her hand and looked at Li Xun as he opened his eyes. Her heart sighed.

See? In stories, this is when something happens.

Fortunately, there wasn’t a big incident. Li Xun clearly hadn’t slept enough. His face looked like he was constipated. He sat up, and his hair looked like a Super Saiyan’s again. His brows were so tightly knit that they could crush a fly. He wasn’t entirely awake yet, but the first thing he did was open his laptop and power it on.

Do you really need to push yourself that much? Aren’t you afraid of a sudden death?

Li Xun’s expression wasn’t great. Zhu Yun decided not to provoke an active volcano, so she returned to her seat.

Li Xun rubbed his face. Because he’d been drinking and he hadn’t slept enough, his eyes were a bit swollen. No matter how he rubbed, he couldn’t rid himself of the grogginess. He walked over to the washroom to wash his face with cold water.

When he returned to the room, his scary aura had already dissipated. He pulled up his s.h.i.+rt to wipe his face, but instead of a dry face, he ended up with a wet s.h.i.+rt and water drops on his face and hair.

After sitting down, Li Xun bent over and quietly said, “Lighter.”

Zhu Yun handed the lighter on the table to him.

Li Xun lit a cigarette.

“Tell me a joke.”

His voice was rarely this rough and low.

But… Tell a joke?

Zhu Yun turned to him. Li Xun was rubbing his temples as he spoke.

“To wake me up.”

The morning campus was quiet. The sun wasn’t high in the sky yet. The room was dim, gentle.

Zhu Yun thought for a moment. Then she said, “You’re not supposed to smoke in the laboratory building.”

Li Xun looked up from his hand. Zhu Yun was surprised to see his exhaustion had caused his eyes to become double-lidded. People with monolids were really a magical species.

His lips curved up.

“That is a joke.”