The Guide to Faking Innocence to Win His Wife - Chapter 45

“Xunyang University has arrived.

“If you want to get off the bus, do it quickly. Do not overshoot your stop, students.”

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, and the road was dried, parched, and burning hot. Even through the soles of one’s shoes, the ground felt agonizingly hot. The air was also hot and stuffy, feeling as though a single strike of a match could set it ablaze.

However, this could not deter the bustling liveliness of the newly arriving students. Ahead, in front of the traditional Chinese-style gate with upturned eaves that bore the four characters for Xunyang University, traffic surged back and forth in a packed crush. Parents and students carrying large and small bags were everywhere, yet none could be heard complaining in such hot weather. Their faces were entirely written with anticipation and excitement for the future.

Jiang Zhongmu, standing entirely alone, appeared somewhat out of place in this setting.

She stood beneath the dense shade of a tree. Her black hair was half-tied into a small braided ponytail at the back of her head, highlighting her signature wheat-colored skin and clear, elegant facial features. She wore the dark blue denim short-sleeved shirt that Xie Zhiyi had purchased for her, layered over a white t-shirt, and paired with dark blue jeans on her lower body.

It was a combination that was highly selective of the wearer’s figure. However, she was tall and possessed excellent proportions, making the outfit look exceptionally clean and neat on her. A canvas bag rested on her shoulder, with one hand pulling a suitcase and the other holding the orientation brochure included with her admission letter.

She had clearly encountered a bit of trouble. Her brow was tightly furrowed, and she hesitated, unwilling to move forward.

Where was the School of Jewelry?

She lifted her eyes to look around. Among the cluster of tents labeled with different departments and majors, the words for jewelry were nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, someone immediately stepped forward to greet her. The person possessed a rather ordinary appearance but carried a brilliant smile on her face, opening her mouth to say, “Junior, are you encountering any difficulties?”

She pointed to the red volunteer armband on her sleeve to indicate her identity.

Jiang Zhongmu was not an affected or awkward person, so she immediately spoke up to ask about the reason.

The senior student instantly smiled and said, “The School of Jewelry is further inside. They managed to snag an excellent spot today, hiding right underneath the shade of the trees.”

Before Jiang Zhongmu had a chance to express her gratitude, the senior quickly preempted her by saying, “I will lead you over there.”

“Thank you,” Jiang Zhongmu could only abandon her initial plan of heading over by herself.

The senior was a warm-hearted person who talked a great deal, chattering incessantly along the way. First, she asked Jiang Zhongmu where her home was located, why she had chosen this major, and why she had brought so little luggage with her, adding that she would take her to purchase bedsheets, quilt covers, and other items later.

Jiang Zhongmu possessed a taciturn personality and was exceptionally cautious when away from home. For every ten sentences the other person spoke, she would respond with one at most. Yet, surprisingly, she managed to converse with her like this for the entire walk.

The enrollment procedures for the start of the semester were tedious. One moment she had to register over there, and the next moment she had to sign papers over here. Once these miscellaneous and fragmented tasks were taken care of, she had to hurry toward the administration building to pay her fees.

Her white canvas shoes stepped across the shadows of the trees. The further they walked toward the areas where people were sparse, the cooler it felt.

Jiang Zhongmu finally let out a sigh of relief. Her luggage had been temporarily left at the departmental welcoming station, and she held nothing but a bottle of mineral water given to her by someone.

After effortlessly twisting it open, she threw her head back to take a large gulp, only then beginning to feel more comfortable and finding the mood to look around at other places.

Xunyang University possessed a long history, having been established before the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It had now existed for a century. Consequently, all kinds of architectural styles could be seen. The first few buildings near the entrance adopted a modern architectural design with a sci-fi feel, whereas a small ancient pagoda and pavilion stood by the lake. The structure she was looking at now was a Western-style building.

The surrounding plane trees were tall and dense, completely sheltering the small, red-toned Western building with its Roman columns and vaulted ceilings. Ivy grew willfully here, even hanging down to the point of obscuring the long corridor.

“Most of the teachers’ offices are located over on this side. If you have any business, you will basically need to come here to find them. Junior, you must remember this route well, otherwise it will be very troublesome.”

This person was genuinely warm-hearted, introducing the surroundings throughout the journey.

However, Jiang Zhongmu, for the very first time, took the initiative to ask a question. She tilted her head to look over and said, “So all the teachers work on this side?”

Seeing that someone responded to her, the senior spoke with even greater enthusiasm, “Yes, it is basically like that. Although this side is a bit farther from the teaching buildings, it is close to the faculty apartments.”

Jiang Zhongmu caught the key point, asking further, “The faculty apartments, do all the teachers live there?”

“Just about,” the senior conversely began to hesitate. “In any case, the benefits at our school are quite good. As long as someone is a teaching faculty member, they can be allocated a dormitory. Whether they choose to live there or not is their own business.”

Jiang Zhongmu uttered a sound of acknowledgement and lifted her hand to touch the tip of her nose, not continuing to ask any further.

In the next second, a staircase with carved white pillars serving as railings appeared before their eyes. The two of them shifted their steps and began to walk upward.

“The financial department is on the third floor,” the senior said first, and then added with exasperation, “I truly cannot understand the financial department of our school. If they want money, they should set it up closer to the entrance. Every single time, we have to make a huge detour and climb the stairs. They act so pretentious yet they still want our money.”

Jiang Zhongmu merely kept her head down and did not speak, reverting to her previous silence.

The senior was also accustomed to it, not only refusing to stop talking but continuing to mutter to herself.

Just as the senior had described the trouble, Jiang Zhongmu reached the third floor only to find that her timing was unfortunate. The corridor of the entire floor was densely packed with a crowd of people. She finally discovered why the outside had been so quiet. It turned out that everyone had squeezed into this spot.

Jiang Zhongmu blinked her eyes, rarely revealing a trace of childish bewilderment. For the very first time, the thought popped into her mind that her grandmother had been right, and that attending college was not an absolute necessity after all.

Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret to be taken, so she could only honestly line up at the back of the queue.

Meanwhile, inside the parking lot on the other side, a black Mercedes-Benz finally found a space to park. Following the opening and closing of the car doors, Xie Zhiqian could not help but express his thoughts the moment he stepped outside.

“Are these kids nowadays really that delicate? They are unwilling to even walk a few steps, and every single one of them requires someone to drop them off, right?

“I searched for a space for ages without finding a parking spot. Fortunately, my eyes were sharp and my hands were quick, otherwise this parking space would have been taken by someone else.”

Xie Zhiyi, standing on the other side, did not join the conversation, completely ignoring him.

As biological siblings who knew each other inside out, she simply could not bring herself to echo his words.

He, Xie Zhiqian, was indeed not delicate. Their home was located not far away. Back when he was studying, he had merely carried an admission letter in a grand manner to register by himself. The teachers inside even knew the professor from his family and had already completed the procedures for him, so how could he possibly need a parent to drop them off?

Their mother had previously expressed her thoughts, wondering why both siblings had taken the exam for Xunyang University. It prevented her from experiencing the novelty of sending her children to college at all, completely forgetting that she was the one who had checked the boxes on their preference forms.

“Let us go. I just contacted Director Sun, and he said he is waiting for us in the office,” Xie Zhiqian grumbled a few more words before his temper dissipated on its own. He then turned his head to speak of business to Xie Zhiyi.

“Alright,” Xie Zhiyi finally responded.

Because those traces had long since faded away, she dressed in a cool and refreshing manner today. An ink-wash patterned dress in a subtle Chinese style outlined her graceful figure. Her hair had been dyed back to black, and a pair of rimless glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, adding a few hints of cold elegance and scholarly aura to her appearance.

Xie Zhiqian, walking beside her, inadvertently glanced over and clicked his tongue twice, saying, “Look at how excellent your sister-in-law’s taste is. Not a single one of the dresses she bought for you is unattractive.”

He could hardly wait to write the words for boasting about his wife across his face.

“It is indeed quite good. If you could learn even a fraction of it, that would be wonderful,” Xie Zhiyi raised her eyebrows slightly, making an underlying reference to a certain someone’s straight-male aesthetic taste.

This retort caused Xie Zhiqian to let out an awkward chuckle, not daring to continue speaking downward. The large, bright red butterfly dress he had previously purchased for Xie Zhiyi and his wife had been criticized repeatedly at home.

He shifted the conversation, his expression turning a bit more serious as he lowered his voice to say, “Have you truly made up your mind? If you still want to continue teaching classes, it is not an issue. In any case, that student has already been expelled.”

Stepping out of the dark underground parking lot, sunlight immediately cascaded down, and the hem of her white-bottomed, ink-flowered dress swayed slightly.

Xie Zhiyi clearly paused for a moment. Her watery eyes turned vacant for a split second, yet she still nodded her head firmly and said, “Let it be just like this.”

After saying these words, Xie Zhiyi inexplicably let out a sigh of relief, as if she had completely let go of some matter. In truth, regarding the matter of lecturing at Xunyang University, her parents and friends had long advised her to resign, given that she had also opened a studio outside.

Outsiders always claimed that teaching at a university was a leisurely job, but only when it actually fell upon oneself did one realize its difficulty. Xie Zhiyi did not possess a personality that was willing to be perfunctory, so she meticulously prepared for her lessons before every class. Before she took on other work, it was still manageable, as she still had Saturdays and Sundays to rest. However, after establishing her studio, she had been as busy as a spinning top for the better part of the year.

Even the Xie parents felt pained watching her and advised her several times. It was merely that Xie Zhiyi had always refused. In her childhood, she had been influenced by her mother, viewing the profession of a teacher as sacred and important, so she had grit her teeth and persisted for a long time.

However, she had ultimately let it go after all, feeling that there was no necessity to persist any longer.

She cast all miscellaneous thoughts to the back of her mind and walked straight ahead.

Xie Zhiqian shook his head, knowing clearly that she possessed a stubborn temperament, and once she made a decision, no amount of advice from others could alter it. Consequently, he accelerated his pace and hurriedly followed her.

Both of them were extremely familiar with this place, scaling the stairs to the fourth floor in a few steps.

The director, who had been waiting for a long time, stepped forward to greet them.

“Alright, student. After you finish paying the fees, you can go to the freshman reception desk to collect your items.”

“All right. Thank you, teacher.”

As the words fell, Jiang Zhongmu turned around and departed with her payment receipt.

The senior student was still standing by the entrance waiting for her, appearing a bit excessively enthusiastic. After all, other volunteers merely escorted students to this floor to line up before departing, yet she alone had accompanied Jiang Zhongmu the entire time.

Jiang Zhongmu knitted her brows slightly and quickly released them, calling out, “Senior, it is finished.”

The other party was currently leaning against the wall playing with her phone, her thumbs moving incredibly fast as if she were discussing something highly exciting. Upon suddenly hearing Jiang Zhongmu’s voice, she actually jumped up.

“You, you are finished,” she hurriedly hid her phone behind her back, letting out an awkward smile as she spoke.

“Yes,” Jiang Zhongmu did not mind.

Conversely, the senior began to look for a topic of conversation again, speaking straightforwardly, “I was just mentioning you to my roommates.”

“Oh,” Jiang Zhongmu led her forward. She possessed an excellent sense of direction, and she could clearly remember any path she had walked down once.

By this time, it was approaching the afternoon, and the crowd of people lining up at the entrance had largely thinned out. The two of them stepped out of the crowd in an instant.

“I said that I escorted an incredibly handsome junior, and they were all very envious.”

Jiang Zhongmu was startled for a moment, lifting her hand to touch the tip of her nose, not quite accustomed to such directness.

Previously, during junior high and high school, the people around her were all from Jiang Town. Everyone had grown up playing together, so naturally, no one would speak such words.

As for other classmates.

Although she could not be described as possessing a cold personality, she was indeed quiet and taciturn. The girls at that age were sensitive and shy, and after attempting to break the ice two or three times and meeting a wall, they would no longer take the initiative. Consequently, this was the very first time Jiang Zhongmu had heard this kind of remark.

Not knowing how to respond, she pressed her lips together.

The senior did not care either, continuing to speak with a smile instead, “My name is Zhang Qingdai. I am a sophomore this year, and I am a student at the School of Finance.”

“Jiang Zhongmu,” the other person finally squeezed out three words. Afterward, feeling that it was too brief, she supplemented, “Jade Carving Design major.”

“I know. I saw it just now when you signed your name.”

“How about we exchange contact information? If you have any questions, you can come and ask me. Although I am not familiar with your school, I am quite clear about what good food and drinks are available around the university,” she proposed another suggestion.

Jiang Zhongmu was even more stunned. She came to a complete halt right in the middle of the stairs, her front leg having already stepped down onto a lower stair while her other long leg maintained the posture of initiating a step, turning her body around awkwardly.

“Ah,” the young girl opened her mouth in bewilderment.

“Contact information. Do you have a Nanchu account?” Zhang Qingdai stood on the step above, already beginning to pull out her phone.

“All, all right,” Jiang Zhongmu was a half-step slow.

Although she lived in modern times, Jiang Zhongmu’s lifestyle was extremely close to that of an elderly person. For instance, regarding this phone, during junior high and high school, she had merely purchased a brick-like elderly phone to maintain contact with her grandmother, throwing it into a drawer the moment she returned home, treating it entirely as if it did not exist.

Matters like a Nanchu account were all set up by Jiang Nanxun when he had nothing better to do. After adding a few classmates, she had never logged online again.

If it had not been for Jiang Gaoxuan suddenly remembering the matter of a phone when the school semester was about to begin, and leading her to the shopping mall to select one, Jiang Zhongmu would likely still be carrying her brick phone to study at the university.

Zhang Qingdai was in no hurry either. It was merely that when Jiang Zhongmu pulled out her phone, her gaze rested upon it for a brief moment before moving away, her eyebrows arching slightly.

This junior’s family background seemed quite good. It was the latest model.

Jiang Zhongmu did not perceive it. She furrowed her brows as she turned on the phone, clicking on the software in an extremely unskillful manner. The bright light of the phone screen was exceptionally prominent within the dim stairway.

Simultaneously, the sound of footsteps came from above the stairs. The two of them did not pay it any mind either. After all, the school semester had just begun, and the number of people coming to the administration building was extremely large. With a mountain of people moving up and down, how could anyone possibly pay attention? The two of them merely shifted to the side, doing their best not to block anyone else.

The thick green ivy resembled a curtain, covering the surface of the wall. The bright sunlight squeezed inside with great difficulty, finally leaving behind only beams of light falling upon the ground. Following the rising and falling of high heels, the ink-wash patterned hem of the dress swayed.

The light fell upon her beautifully contoured neck and shoulders, making her already fair skin appear increasingly transparent. Her long curly hair was brushed over to one shoulder, and the sorrow between her gentle features was light, like a drop of ink falling into water, expanding slowly. A beautiful woman resembling a painting, she was nothing short of that.

Suddenly, the sound of birds chirping rang out. It was unknown who had disturbed their rest, causing them to flap their wings and take flight instantly.

Xie Zhiqian retracted his gaze and looked toward the other side, knowing that Xie Zhiyi did not feel good in her heart right now. He could only quietly follow behind her, thinking in his heart to have his wife and his mother take her to purchase a few outfits in the evening to help her relax.

Until the high heels came to a sudden halt, Xie Zhiyi abruptly turned her head to look down the stairs. The gentle light in her eyes rippled slightly, agitating the water within and stirring up bursts of ripples.

“What,” Xie Zhiqian asked subconsciously, but before he could finish speaking, he was stopped by Xie Zhiyi’s hurried gaze as she turned her body around.

Then, he watched his younger sister pull him upward by several steps, until the people downstairs were completely invisible.

He knit his brows, his face entirely filled with bewilderment.

However, Xie Zhiyi did not offer him an explanation. She turned around once more to look down the stairwell, her dark, moist, and bright gaze turning obscure.

Long time no see, Jiang Zhongmu.

It felt exactly like the countless times in the third-floor attic. The person upstairs would look outside the small courtyard, watching the young girl with hurried steps walk past the riverbank, sometimes carrying the spring breeze in the corners of her eyes and a smile on the corners of her mouth, and sometimes with her brows tightly knit, not knowing what she was lowering her head to ponder over.

Until Jiang Zhongmu walked to the entrance, she would close the window. Occasionally, there were times when she was too late, and her gaze would collide and lock with that of the young girl who habitually lifted her eyes to look over toward this side.

The older woman lowered her eyes, her hand resting on the railing tightening unconsciously.

The young girl was completely oblivious, still immersed in the trouble of being asked for her contact information. Relying on the senior’s guidance, she finally managed to locate the QR code.

The other person, while lifting her phone to scan the code, spoke with a smile, “Junior, did you rarely play with these things in the past? Was your family strict? A person I know was exactly like that, not permitted to use a phone before attending university.”

“It was all right,” Jiang Zhongmu remained taciturn, the words popping out one by one.

The light fell upon her sharp features, her pale amber eyes appearing transparent and steady. Her prominent wheat-colored skin grew increasingly dazzling, looking precisely like a piece of jade stone that had been ground and polished, revealing the radiance it was originally meant to possess.

Xie Zhiyi looked down in this manner. The icy coldness within the stairwell crawled up her slender ankles, carrying the shadows upward as well. The few patches of greenish bruises beneath that delicate skin grew increasingly prominent, even carrying a sense of sickly fragility.

She remembered vaguely that previously, she felt Jiang Zhongmu would certainly be highly popular within the university. Looking at it now, she had indeed not miscalculated in the slightest. On the very first day of the semester, someone had actively approached her.

Jiang Zhongmu had always been a child who was highly popular among her peers. Even though her personality was quiet and she did not love to talk, she made people feel steady and considerate.

For instance, Jiang Nanxun, Jiang Nanlei, and the others in Jiang Town, for instance, this current girl, and for instance, herself, who unconsciously allowed her gaze to linger upon the other party.

Some people seemed to be exactly like that. She did not need to walk toward the crowd. She merely needed to stand right there, and someone would actively walk toward her.

Like a dazzling flame, a glowing gemstone, or soft and bright moonlight.

Who could possibly refuse these things? This was almost an aspiration carved into human instinct, desiring the scorching temperature, loving the glittering stones, and gazing up at the moon countless times.

Furthermore, this moon had come for herself.

It made it difficult for one to suppress the desire to approach. Clearly, she had used her intellect to suppress it countless times, telling herself it was unacceptable, yet she would still be attracted by the green, reckless young girl.

The older woman’s lips were pressed into a straight line, and the stray hairs beside her ears fell loose.

“Oh.”

“Junior, this cannot be a secondary account, right? There is absolutely nothing here,” Zhang Qingdai voiced her astonishment after clicking accept and flipping to the homepage.

“No, I rarely play with it,” Jiang Zhongmu spoke in this manner, retracting her phone and walking downward, entirely unwilling to delay for a single moment.

“All right. I was about to say that if you used a secondary account to add me, then this senior would be heartbroken,” the person followed her with a chuckle.

“I do not possess a secondary account.”

“I almost forgot that you did not play with phones in the past.”

Xie Zhiyi dropped a step behind, her eyes still lowered as she looked downward.

The young girl remained exactly as she was before, walking with long arms and long legs like the wind, completely ignoring the person beside her.

High heels and canvas shoes fell simultaneously, one step after another, as beams of light flickered across the jeans and the hem of the dress.

Jiang Zhongmu suddenly halted her steps, throwing her head back to gaze toward the other side of the staircase, which was blocked completely and securely by the railing.

Her clearly defined jaw tightened, and the sunlight fell straight into her pale amber eyes, appearing as bright as a glowing gemstone.

The high heels came to a sudden stop, and a fair, clean hand tightly gripped the railing, the translucent rounded bone almost protruding from the thin skin.

“Junior?”

“What is the matter?” The person beside her came to a halt instantly.

Jiang Zhongmu, however, still stood in her original place, looking upward in silence.

Yet, no sound of footsteps traveled out from that side again.

“Junior,” Zhang Qingdai almost thought she had been possessed, her calling voice growing increasingly loud.

Jiang Zhongmu had no choice but to press her lips together, turning her head back around, merely saying, “I just misheard.”

“What?”

This completely nonsensical explanation caused Zhang Qingdai to grow increasingly bewildered.

“I just thought something was falling down, so I took a look,” Jiang Zhongmu fabricated a random excuse, her slender spine arching slightly as she began to walk downward once more.

“Is that so? Then it must certainly be that you misheard.”

The sounds of conversation vanished completely at the end of the stairs. Along with the shattering of the light spots, the two of them gradually walked far away.

Only then did Xie Zhiyi, who had stopped in the distance, turn around to look at Xie Zhiqian, opening her mouth to say, “Let us go.”

Her voice was as gentle and light as usual, without any alteration whatsoever.

Xie Zhiqian grew even more bewildered, descending the stairs in a few hurried steps, saying repeatedly, “What is the matter with this?”

Xie Zhiyi’s gaze shifted slightly, her tone faint as she said, “I just ran into a former student, and I did not quite wish to meet with her.”

“The relationship was very good?” Xie Zhiqian raised his eyebrows.

“It was all right,” the woman walked downward, her high heels stepping out a heavy sound on the stairs.

“Then it is quite a pity not to say goodbye face-to-face.”

“A goodbye was already said in the past.”

“Is that so? Then there is no necessity for it, sparing that kid from feeling sad another time. After all, she is a student, and it is still quite sorrowful for them when a teacher they like leaves the school,” Xie Zhiqian nodded his head, responding in this manner.

The wind blew up her long curly hair, and Xie Zhiyi casually tucked the stray hairs behind her ear. Her lowered gaze scattered for a split second, shaking the clear pool within her eyes, her voice exceptionally soft, “Indeed.

“Indeed, I should not make her sad again.”

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