Pop!

Xu Lin finished his Golden Tangerine Lemon drink and tossed the cup into the trash can nearby.

Xu Lin belched.

At this moment, Xu Lin glanced ahead and saw Rong Xiyi standing out among the crowd.

Time: 6:53 PM.

Preparing for military training.

"Xu Lin, let's go out for some barbecue tonight!"

Rong Xiyi stood there, arms crossed. With a height of 1.74 meters, she stood taller than many girls here.

"What do you mean?"

Xu Lin immediately asked.

"I'll treat you to a late-night snack, what else?"

Rong Xiyi rolled her eyes at him.

Rong Xiyi hadn't made any friends at school yet, so she and Xu Lin were considered companions.

Is there pure friendship between men and women?

It's really hard to say.

Maybe there is, maybe there isn't.

Seeing there was a snack invitation, Xu Lin laughed and said, "Then I humbly accept!"

"You're always eager when it comes to food!" Rong Xiyi said with a hint of annoyance.

The fourth night's military training soon ended.

After the dismissal at 8:30, Xu Lin and Rong Xiyi left the school gate together, heading to a nearby barbecue place.

"Xu Lin, have you seen the stars?"

Rong Xiyi, walking behind, suddenly asked.

Xu Lin instinctively looked at the sky. It's hard to see stars in the city center; there are a few scattered, but their light is weak, almost invisible.

Today just happens to be the first day of the lunar August, and while there is a moon, it's just a crescent.

Xu Lin didn't think much of it, just pointed to the sky, "Aren't those stars?"

"I mean lots and lots of stars!"

Rong Xiyi said, "A sky full of stars!"

"I guess I saw it as a kid back in the town!"

Xu Lin remembered seeing many stars in the town where his grandfather lived, along with lightning bugs, which are rare in the city, and the croaking frogs in the countryside.

His memories were blurry, but mentioning it now brought them back.

Rong Xiyi said, "My mom took me to see the stars when I was a kid, lots and lots!"

Xu Lin: "What a coincidence, my mom took me too."

"That's wonderful!" Rong Xiyi nodded, quite envious.

Xu Lin didn't think much more of it.

The two soon arrived at the barbecue place.

They then ordered various barbecued foods and six bottles of beer.

Rong Xiyi could handle her alcohol, and this girl wasn't easy to get drunk.

However, she drank quite a bit tonight, about three bottles, her cheeks flushed, slightly tipsy, looking like she might topple over.

Xu Lin reminded her, "Alright, stop drinking. If you were in a bar, who knows if someone might take you home."

"I've never been to a bar, and my mom wouldn't let me go to a place like that!"

Rong Xiyi took another sip of beer, looked at him, and, slightly intoxicated, asked, "Xu Lin, if I get drunk, would you take me home?"

Xu Lin immediately replied, "Did you bring your ID?"

"Pervert!"

Rong Xiyi glared back at Xu Lin.

Actually, they were sitting on the same side.

Rong Xiyi finished her third bottle, and with a bang, she placed the bottle quite forcefully on the table.

Rong Xiyi then sat there in a daze, lost in thought.

Xu Lin was eating a whole chicken wing on the side.

He's not really reliable, but sometimes he was quite sensitive, not because Xu Lin was born that way, but because he saw his parents argue often. Ms. Ren would feel aggrieved, and Xu Lin learned from seeing this.

In his observations, despite not blaming anyone specifically, women sometimes don't need rational explanations. When they say one plus one equals ten, your job isn't to correct them but to agree with them.

Seeing Rong Xiyi in a daze, Xu Lin asked, "Something on your mind?"

"No."

"Come on, share it!"

Xu Lin continued.

"No."

Rong Xiyi still shook her head.

Xu Lin continued, "Ever heard of the law of conservation of energy? Energy doesn't disappear; it just transfers. So, if you have something on your mind, talking about it might help. Some things are better spoken than suppressed inside."

"Today is my mom's birthday; I miss her."

After a long pause, Rong Xiyi finally spoke, feeling distressed.

"Then send her a happy birthday message!"

Xu Lin continued eating his big chicken wing.

"I did, no reply."

"Maybe Auntie will reply later." Xu Lin glanced at her.

"Xu Lin, my mom's gone; she can't reply…"

Rong Xiyi looked like she wanted to cry, her eyes welling up with tears, making her look heartbroken.

Xu Lin paused for a moment but didn't say anything.

He's not good at comforting girls.

Because comforting someone doesn't really do much; sadness doesn't lessen with comfort—it just stays suppressed.

This is where you need to help them talk it out.

He just took out his phone and opened Ms. Ren's chat screen.

Then Xu Lin handed the phone to Rong Xiyi: "Send her a message, like 'Mom, I miss you.'"

"Can I?"

Rong Xiyi looked at Xu Lin, then at the phone. The note there read "Mom," and her beautiful eyes shimmered with light, not sure if it was tears or some other glimmer.

The word "Mom" held an unspeakable power for Rong Xiyi.

"Of course you can."

"Mm-hmm!"

So, Rong Xiyi took Xu Lin's phone, filled with nervousness and anticipation, and sent "Mom, I miss you!" to Ms. Ren, who Xu Lin had noted as "Mom."

On the other side.

Ms. Ren had just finished her shower and was looking at her phone.

Suddenly, Xu Lin's message popped up.

"Mom, I miss you?"

Ren Yan was momentarily stunned. Xu Lin hadn't used the word "Mom" since middle school; later on, he called her: Mom, Ms. Ren, Ms. Ren Yan, and even "Mom" was rarely used.

This long-lost term left Ren Yan in a daze.

At once, Ren Yan started typing: "Xu Lin, did you get into trouble?"

But when she was about to send it, Ren Yan deleted it and typed another line.

She thought it might be because her son was away from home for the first time, staying outside for the first time, and was feeling homesick.

After all, Xu Lin was only eighteen years old, having just turned eighteen in early June this year.

A mother worries as her son travels far; a mother's love is often fervent yet gentle, like spring rain, nourishing everything silently.

"Baby, Mom misses you too."

On the other side.

Rong Xiyi received the reply instantly, her smile blossomed like a flower, as the most dazzling star among the countless stars in the sky, shining in the heavens.

"Xu Lin, thank you!"

Rong Xiyi returned the phone to Xu Lin.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes."

Rong Xiyi nodded and wiped her eyes.

"Xu Lin, your mom must be a really nice person, right?"

"Yeah, she's quite nice."

Xu Lin put away the phone.

"People have to look forward, don't they? The past can't be retained, the future can't be touched, only the present is right before us."

"Mm-hmm!"

Rong Xiyi nodded, emotions stirred like ripples.

At this moment, Xu Lin touched a very sensitive nerve of hers.

They spent just over an hour eating barbecue.

Not until almost ten o'clock did they leave the barbecue restaurant, and when they each returned to their dormitory, it was already ten thirty.

"Xu Lin, go to bed earlier tonight!"

This is when Rong Xiyi sent the message.

Xu Lin replied: "Not logging in tonight?"

"Not tonight."

"Ok."

Xu Lin exited and tapped into the chat interface with Ms. Ren.

Ren Yan, after replying with that line "Baby, Mom misses you too," asked shortly after: "Are you homesick?"

"No," replied Xu Lin.

Ren Yan: "If not, why did you suddenly think of mom?"

Xu Lin: "Perhaps it was on a whim!"

Xu Lin walked past the end of the corridor, passing dormitory 404. Zhao Liangchen was rapping, but it was unclear what he was singing.

Seeing Xu Lin, Zhao Liangchen waved and greeted: "Bro!"

"Bro" is a way to greet, meaning the same as a brother.

Xu Lin nodded slightly.

Zhao Liangchen admired Xu Lin somewhat, having visited Xu Lin's dormitory this afternoon, impressed by Xu Lin's wild, powerful physique.

Xu Lin then reached outside room 405.

He pushed the door and entered.

The guitar sound was constant.

Liu Longsheng was playing guitar while humming. He was preparing for tomorrow night's talent show, intending to show off his style and make all the girls scream.

"Xu Lin, do you have any thoughts on tomorrow night's talent show?"

Xie Zhengrong asked when he saw Xu Lin return.

"I feel I could sing a song," Xu Lin said.

"Xu Lin, you can sing?"

Hu Donghai was surprised, as was Xie Zhengrong.

"I think I can give it a try."

Xu Lin casually asked, "What about you and Hu Donghai?"

Xie Zhengrong shook his head, "I don't have any talents."

Hu Donghai was the same, both feeling quite regretful.

For events like the talent show, the upperclassmen say it's a great opportunity to showcase talents, and students with skills can perform. Maybe, accidentally, one could escape being single.

Since the start of school, everyone, boys and girls, have been thinking about finding a partner and starting a sweet campus romance.

Xie Zhengrong clapped his hands: "Then it's just you and Liu Longsheng from our dorm with talents!"

Ha!

Liu Longsheng, who was playing the guitar, was secretly disdainful.

So what if you have talent?

I've been playing guitar for five years.

I was sixth in the high school singer competition. What do you, Xu Lin, have to compare to me?

Liu Longsheng was determined to be the most dazzling guy in the room tomorrow night!

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