Dong Xiaomin was momentarily at a loss for words.
Linlin tugged at her sleeve. “I’m fine now. You can go back.”
“You’re really okay?” Dong Xiaomin asked, still worried.
“Mm.” Linlin nodded, blinking back her tears.
Dong Xiaomin wasn’t particularly close to her, so seeing that Linlin insisted she was fine, she could only return to her own bed.
When Sun Lina came back from the bathhouse, Linlin had just finished drying her hair.
The moment she saw Sun Lina, she immediately turned her back on her.
Sun Lina had been watching her too. Seeing this, she let out a cold snort.
Linlin ignored her. The lights hadn’t even been turned off yet, but she lay down and closed her eyes.
Sniffle…
She missed her mother.
The next morning, Linlin’s biological clock woke her up very early.
When she got out of bed, Dong Xiaomin across from her was already putting on her shoes.
After what had happened the day before, Dong Xiaomin was naturally introverted. Still, when she saw Linlin, she hesitated for a moment before saying, “There’s nothing going on today. You can sleep a little longer. No one else is up yet.”
Transportation was inconvenient at the time, and the students had come from all over the country, so they had been given two days to register.
Today was the second day. There were no classes, and they didn’t have to assemble.
Linlin asked softly, “Then why are you getting up?”
“To read. I’m used to it.”
Dong Xiaomin was talented, but her achievements were also inseparable from her hard work and study habits.
Even after entering university, she had no intention of letting herself relax.
Linlin’s eyes lit up. “I’ll join you.”
So when the other students got up, they saw Linlin and Dong Xiaomin studying at the desks.
Good grief!
The school year hadn’t even officially started, and they were already competing with one another?!
The others hurried to wash up and pulled out their books to study.
When Sun Lina woke up, she felt as if the sky had fallen.
What kind of people were these?!
They had finally managed to get into university, yet none of them knew how to relax!
Sun Lina pounded on the bed board, but the people below didn’t even look up.
Everyone who had been admitted to this university was intelligent and hardworking. No one wanted to play Sun Lina’s childish exclusion games with her anymore.
Besides, Sun Lina was always bossing people around. No normal person could stand it.
After a while, someone knocked on the dormitory door. “Which one of you is Linlin? Someone’s here to see you.”
“I am.”
“Your parents are waiting for you downstairs. Hurry and go.”
Linlin happily stood up. “Okay, thank you.”
Sun Lina let out another snort. Before she could say anything, Linlin couldn’t help herself and snapped, “Are you a cow or something? All you ever do is moo, moo, moo!”
It was the first time Linlin had ever cursed at someone. Afterward, she felt a little guilty, took two steps back, and ran out.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Sun Lina stamped her feet and screamed, practically furious enough to explode.
The other students lowered their heads and pretended to read, while secretly laughing themselves sick over the spectacle between the two girls.
Dong Xiaomin frowned, feeling a little worried for Linlin.
Lin Zhilan and Su Lang wouldn’t be returning to the island for another couple of days. Yesterday had been Linlin’s first night in the dormitory, and the moment they saw her, they began asking whether she had slept well.
“Was the dormitory hot? Was it convenient to take a shower? Did you sleep well last night?”
“Everything was fine. I slept really well.”
Linlin affectionately linked her arm through Lin Zhilan’s, without mentioning Sun Lina.
She was an adult now. A trivial matter like this didn’t need to worry her parents.
Su Lang handed his daughter the breakfast he was carrying. “Eat something first. Your mother and I went all the way to Longfu Temple to buy these two-colored steamed buns and cream fried cakes for you. After you finish, we’ll take you out to have some fun.”
They would have to return to the island tomorrow afternoon, so they planned to spend the day properly accompanying their daughter.
Linlin accepted the steamed buns, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she smiled.
People came and went all around them, and many kept casting glances in her direction.
Without even realizing it, Su Lang shifted his body to block the view of the mother and daughter. Lin Zhilan glanced at him and said with a laugh, “What are you doing? Even if you can block them for this morning, are you going to stand here and block them for the next four years?”
Su Lang rubbed his nose. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Lin Zhilan gave him an affectionate glare before asking her daughter, “Have you made any friends in the dormitory?”
Linlin swallowed what was in her mouth and thought for a moment. “I have. Xiaomin is my friend.”
They had even studied together that morning.
The corners of Lin Zhilan’s lips lifted. “That’s wonderful. You should help each other and get along well. If a boy takes an interest in you and you want to experience being in love, your mother supports you too. But remember to protect yourself.”
“Zhilan,” Su Lang said helplessly, “she’s still young. Why are you talking about dating?”
Linlin’s eyes darted around. She looked at her father, then at her mother.
Lin Zhilan said righteously, “Baby is already an adult. She isn’t young anymore. It’s perfectly normal for someone to pursue her, and dating is perfectly normal too.”
Lin Zhilan had never intended to shelter her daughter beneath her wings for the rest of her life. Even if she had wanted to, it wouldn’t have been realistic.
She didn’t want to place too many restrictions on her daughter, nor did she want to make romance seem overly important or extraordinary.
“Baby,” Lin Zhilan said with a smile, “love is simply an experience. If it makes you happy, keep going. If it doesn’t, end it. Besides, your father said that home is your safe harbor, so you can try whatever you want. It’s okay to make mistakes.”
That was the advantage of having parents who would always catch you.
Girls who grew up in loveless environments were more likely to treat romance as a life-saving straw to fill the hole inside them, while their tolerance for mistakes tended to fall at one extreme or the other.
Linlin, however, had grown up nourished by love. To her, romance was merely a companion that added beauty to an already fulfilling life.
In recent years, the only boys Linlin had come into contact with had been fellow students.
Capital Aviation University had extremely strict political background checks, and its admission score was also high. At the very least, the applicants’ family backgrounds and intelligence were both guaranteed to be acceptable. In a sense, the university had already screened them once.
If she happened to meet someone suitable, that would of course be wonderful. But if she didn’t, it wasn’t important.
Linlin hadn’t experienced enough to understand all this yet, but she knew that listening to her mother could never be wrong.
When Su Lang heard the words “safe harbor,” the tips of his ears turned red. “Why do you tell your mother everything?”
The last time he had spoken with his daughter alone, he had felt that what he wanted to say was too sentimental and had been embarrassed to let his wife hear it. He never expected Linlin to be such a leaky sieve, spilling every word to her mother.
Lin Zhilan shot him a sidelong glance. “It wasn’t anything bad. Why shouldn’t I tell her?”
Seeing her parents begin to “argue,” Linlin pretended not to notice and silently continued eating her breakfast.
Su Lang had bought her far too much food, and Linlin couldn’t possibly finish it all.
After eating one steamed bun, she discussed it with her parents. “I’m full. Can I share the rest with my good friend?”
“Of course. You can decide for yourself.”
Linlin took the remaining breakfast back to the dormitory. It was already nearly eight o’clock, and everyone was getting ready to go to the cafeteria for breakfast.
The dry biscuits Dong Xiaomin had brought for the journey were not finished yet, so she didn’t plan to go out with the others.
Although the school provided subsidies, she had borrowed the money for her journey to school. She needed to live frugally and save money to repay her family’s debts.
Linlin came in from outside and walked over to Dong Xiaomin.
“Xiaomin…”
