Yan Yuan stood behind her, naturally slipping an arm around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. “Do you like it?”
Winters in the capital were bitterly cold, and doing laundry was terribly inconvenient.
Coats and padded jackets could be worn for an entire winter before being taken to a state-run dry cleaner.
But sweaters and thermal underwear worn every day had to be washed by hand.
Yan Yuan had wanted to buy a washing machine last year, but he never managed to get one. It wasn’t until this year that the electrical goods department finally notified him to come pick it up.
Linlin turned around and looked up at him. “Washing machines are expensive.”
Yan Yuan chuckled. “I have money.”
Linlin didn’t believe him for a second.
She had asked about his salary before. He earned forty-eight yuan a month, plus various allowances, which came to only a little over fifty yuan in take-home pay.
This washing machine had to cost at least two hundred yuan—nearly half a year’s salary.
“Come with me.” Linlin took Yan Yuan’s hand and led him to her room.
She rummaged through a drawer in her desk and pulled out a paper envelope. Lifting her chin slightly, she said proudly, “Here. This is for you.”
Yan Yuan’s eyelid twitched. He opened the envelope and found a thick stack of ten-yuan notes inside.
“When I got into college last year, Mom gave me a thousand yuan. I used some of it to pay for my violin, but then I got so much lucky money this year that I can’t possibly spend it all.”
Yan Yuan shook his head with a laugh as he looked at his Little Moon.
Her boundless kindness toward him, her thoughtless generosity—as though she had descended from the heavens to save his life.
Smiling, Yan Yuan reached out and touched her cheek. “You don’t need to. I have money to spend.”
Besides his salary, he also translated foreign-language materials for the design institute, and had gradually saved up a little.
Linlin tilted her head and rubbed it against his hand, her large eyes blinking. “How much money do you have?”
“That’s a secret.”
“Hm?” Linlin frowned. “You’re not secretly eating steamed buns and pickles in the dorm, are you?”
“Want to come take a look?” Yan Yuan raised his brows, amusement shining in his eyes.
“Okay.”
Linlin left a note for her brother at home and went with Yan Yuan to Capital University.
She had visited Capital University before, but this was her first time seeing the faculty housing.
Yan Yuan tucked her hand into his coat pocket. Seeing her looking around curiously, he smiled. “My dorm is very small. Don’t get your hopes up.”
The wind outside was fierce. Linlin tucked her face deeper into her scarf. “It’s fine. I won’t look down on you.”
Yan Yuan laughed again.
He didn’t know why, but whenever he was beside Linlin, joy welled up inside him no matter what she said or did.
As they reached the stairs, an elderly professor happened to be coming down. His hair was white, he wore round glasses, and several books were tucked under his arm.
Yan Yuan moved aside with Linlin and inclined his head in greeting. “Professor Chen.”
The old professor stopped, his gaze passing over Yan Yuan and landing on Linlin.
He looked her up and down, then turned to Yan Yuan. “So this is that little girlfriend of yours?”
Yan Yuan answered with a smile.
Professor Chen made a thoughtful sound and looked Linlin over with interest a couple more times before saying, “She is quite pretty.”
Linlin felt that there was something unfriendly in his gaze and tone. Puzzled, she nevertheless maintained her polite smile and nodded at him. “Thank you for the compliment.”
The old professor was momentarily speechless. He clearly hadn’t expected the young girl to accept his words so frankly.
He gave a soft snort, muttered, “Blinded by beauty,” and went downstairs with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
Linlin stood where she was, looking rather innocent. “Did I offend him?”
Yan Yuan smiled and led her to the door. He unlocked it, then said, “It’s not your fault. I’m the one who offended him.”
“Will he bully you?” Linlin asked.
Yan Yuan stepped aside to let her in and placed the key on the cabinet beside the door. “No. Why don’t you ask how I offended him?”
“How did you offend him?”
“That’s a secret.”
Linlin wrinkled her nose. “You have so many secrets.”
Yan Yuan’s dorm was indeed very small, with a little sitting room and one bedroom. The furnishings were simple: a desk, two chairs, and an old upright bookcase beside them, its paint flaking in places.
There was no radiator in the room. Yan Yuan wouldn’t let her take off her coat. He poured her a cup of hot water from the thermos, then hurried outside again.
Linlin unwound her scarf and hung it on the coat rack, slowly letting her gaze sweep around the room.
A desk lamp sat on Yan Yuan’s desk, with lesson plans spread out beneath it. Several thick foreign-language books lay nearby, but Linlin didn’t casually flip through them.
Before long, Yan Yuan returned carrying a lit coal brazier. He placed it beside her and had her sit there to warm herself.
The fire burned brightly, and the whole room gradually grew warmer.
There was nowhere to hide in Yan Yuan’s tiny dorm. He sat beside her and asked, “Are you cold? Are you bored?”
Linlin leaned her head against his shoulder. “Then why don’t we do something?”
“What do you want to do?”
Yan Yuan glanced at her and raised his brows. Wisps of amusement escaped from his handsome, usually aloof features.
Linlin secretly hooked her finger around his. He caught it and enclosed her hand in his palm.
She looked up at him with a radiant smile and squeezed his hand firmly. “Work on some problems?”
Yan Yuan covered his forehead with one hand, and this time he could no longer suppress his laughter. His chest trembled faintly with the low, restrained chuckle.
Embarrassed, Linlin thumped him. “Are you laughing at me?”
“No.” Yan Yuan kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I like you.”
Linlin braced a hand against his chest and looked up at him. “Mr. Yan, I think I need to teach you something.”
“What do you need to teach me?”
Linlin cupped his face in both hands. “I like that you like me, so don’t keep your feelings hidden. I want you to let me know.”
Yan Yuan didn’t understand. “Am I not obvious enough?”
The corners of Linlin’s lips curved up as she hooked her arms around his neck. “You are, but you have to tell me about all the things you do for me. That way, I’ll be even happier.”
Although she had only glanced over the desk, Linlin had already spotted a book titled Fundamentals of Physics sitting in one corner.
Yan Yuan was a teaching assistant in the mathematics department. At present, he taught only general basic mathematics and foundational courses for mathematics majors. Occasionally, he also taught discrete mathematics and mathematical logic in the computer science department.
Fundamentals of Physics was one of the subjects Linlin was studying now.
He went to all that trouble without knowing how to win her over. Linlin thought Yan Yuan was a little slow.
The two people who had just fallen in love with each other were both privately convinced that the other was a little foolish.
Yan Yuan thought for a moment. “I’ll try.”
Even after they had started dating, Yan Yuan still felt somewhat insecure.
Linlin was far too wonderful a girl, with countless admirers—including more than a few whose circumstances were much better than his.
Yan Yuan didn’t think he treated Linlin especially well. Take today, for instance: she could have been living in a warm, spacious home, yet he had brought her into this cramped, freezing little dorm instead.
