Chapter 19: The Lakeside Longing

  "New book on the impact of dawn, one chapter updated, please support online fellow villagers! Thank you!" The second floor of the Ocean University's Third Canteen, Tang Lian'er looked at the guy in front of her with some annoyance, feeling that her good mood was completely ruined.

  "Lily, since I returned from the UK, we haven't had dinner together. Yang Feng's face lit up with a warm smile and said: "I heard that there is a new French restaurant on Binhai Avenue, the taste is good, let's go try it?"

  "Call me Tang Lianer!" Tang Lianer's face was cold, her words even colder, as she said: "You can go eat with whoever you like, I don't have time!"

  Growing up in the same circle, Tang Lier naturally knew what kind of moral character Yang Fen was. Even if he pretended to be elegant and refined in front of his elders, it wouldn't eliminate Tang Lier's bad impression of him.

  "Liu Er, those are just rumors spread by others!" Seeing Tang Liu Er's unsatisfactory expression, Yang Fen hastily made various explanations and said: "In the future, I will be wholeheartedly devoted to you!"

  Yang Feng was well aware that Tang Lian'er, a girl with such a family background and appearance, was the best target for a family alliance. It was only natural that she couldn't be let go easily. When Yang Feng was still in high school, she didn't dare to get too close to her. Now that Tang Lian'er had arrived at Hai Da, Yang Feng naturally regarded her as her own exclusive territory. As long as she could win over Tang Lian'er, the Yang family would gain all sorts of tangible and intangible support in the business world, political circles, and even the military. It was only logical that she would become the next leader of the Yang family.

  During the summer vacation, Yang Feng represented the International Business School to study at Cambridge University in the UK for three months and returned to Haida just before National Day. However, on the first day of his return to Haida, he saw Tang Lier sitting on the back seat of Duan Lei's bicycle, showing off in the city, almost bursting with anger. That's why he rushed to room 5508, demonstrating against Duan Lei in a bloody scene.

  In Yang Feng's view, Duan Lei, a poor rural boy, dared to compete with him for his girlfriend, which was simply arrogant. He must use all means to force him out of the competition and give him a good lesson on "what is power".

  Yang Feng found that since he warned Duan Lei, he could no longer see him and Tang Li'er appearing together in the same scene, which made him very pleased!

  During the period when Duan Lin was closed for experimentation, Yang Feng appeared around Tang Lui'er like a piece of cowhide candy, making Tang Lui'er overwhelmed. Now, except for necessary classes, Tang Lui'er almost never leaves the dormitory door, even eating is taken back to the dormitory to eat, just to avoid seeing Yang Feng.

  Today, Tang Lier received a text message from Duan Lei saying that he had finished his experiment and would come over to have lunch with her at noon. Overjoyed, Tang Lier rushed to the Third Canteen, only to be blocked by Yang Fen here.

  "I don't want to eat anymore, you handle it yourself!" Tang Lier didn't want to let Duan Lei and Yang Feng meet in this situation, so she stood up, turned around and left the cafeteria.

  Looking at Tang Lier's slender back, Yang Feng's eyes flashed with a hint of severity, and his right hand slammed heavily on the dinner table. He thought for a moment, deciding to follow behind Tang Lier, wondering what she was up to.

  Tang Lier walked out of the cafeteria and called Duan Lei, asking him to meet her directly at Liu Fu. She then hurriedly headed towards the Liu Fu restaurant. She had no idea that Yang Feng was following closely behind her, and she was filled with joyful anticipation of meeting Duan Lei.

  Standing under the shade of a tree outside Liu Fu Restaurant, Yang Feng saw Duan Lei and Tang Lian'er enter Liu Fu Restaurant one after another. His teeth were clenched so tightly they almost cracked, his fingernails dug deep into his flesh.

  Yang Feng felt that the dignity of 'Hai Da Si Shao' was being trampled by a poor boy from the countryside, which he could not accept no matter what. Yang Feng had always been accustomed to dividing people into classes, and in his view, Duan Lei still contacting Tang Li'er after his warning was a very offending behavior.

  However, Yang Feng did not rush into the Liu Fu restaurant like this. He was a very thoughtful person and cared about his image in other people's eyes. Even if he wanted to deal with Duan Yue, he would do it without Tang Lui'er knowing, just so that she wouldn't be disgusted.

  Staring at the figure swaying inside Liu Fu Restaurant, Yang Feng flashed countless thoughts in his mind, considering how to punish Duan Lei who didn't know the height of the sky or the thickness of the earth!

  Inside the small private room of Liu Fu Restaurant, it was a warm and loving scene, completely different from the vinegar-filled atmosphere outside.

  Tang Lian'er stared blankly at Duan Yue, who had lost some weight in the two weeks they hadn't seen each other, but his eyes were even sharper. His chin, which had just been shaved, was a bit blue, but it added to Duan Yue's masculine aura, making him more and more pleasing to look at.

  It has to be said that when a girl really misses someone in her heart, everything about him will be thought of as good. The phrase 'beauty is in the eyes of the lover' does not only apply to boys.

  "Liu Er, how have you been lately?" Duan Lei seemed to still be a bit unaccustomed to Tang Liu Er's passionate gaze and asked a silly question.

  Tang Lijiao's smile blossomed, and the entire small private room was like a hundred flowers blooming at once, instantly becoming full of spring charm.

  It was Tang Lier's smile that broke the slightly awkward atmosphere in the private room, eliminating the strangeness between the two people after being apart for over a dozen days, and bringing them back to the state they were in when riding bicycles together.

  With this good start, the communication between the two people returned to normal, and the atmosphere in the private room was getting better and better. If Yang Feng saw it, he would definitely vomit three liters of blood!

  Tang Lian'er told Duan Yue about the things that happened in school, and Duan Yue told her about the interesting situations in the experiment. The two of them couldn't wait to understand everything about each other in the shortest time possible. In fact, this is also a common phenomenon among young men and women in love - as long as they can talk together about their stories, the two people are already very satisfied.

  After a sweet lunch, the two young people still felt unsatisfied and walked along the shaded path to the Lake of Longing.

  The small lake inside Haicheng University is called "Xiang Si Lake", named after the lush Xiang Si trees that grow along its banks. The poem "Hong Dou" by Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei describes a type of plant that produces red Xiang Si beans, which is actually a species of evergreen tree in the genus Cassia.

  Before, Xiangsi Lake was located on a remote beach, far from the city, and its scenery was average. Even local people in Haicheng were not familiar with it. Since the construction of Haicheng University Town in the suburbs, the local government spent a huge amount of money to clear up the silt and garbage in Xiangsi Lake, and excavated several low-lying areas nearby to connect them, introducing the living water from Haihe River, which greatly changed the appearance of Xiangsi Lake.

  The present Xiangsi Lake, pavilions and buildings are hidden among the lush Xiangsi trees, and there are also egrets, wild ducks, mandarin ducks and other water birds living in it, which has become a landmark of Haicheng University.

  Every morning, you can see diligent students studying by the lake with their books in hand, and also see white-haired elderly people strolling or practicing Tai Chi among them.

  Of course, those disheveled-haired, bloodshot-eyed, stubbly-chinned, and floating-footed guys are also indispensable. They were all outside the school's internet cafe after an overnight battle, preparing to take a shortcut back to their dormitory to make up for lost sleep, they are also a scenic line of Haida in the early morning, although not so harmonious.

  The most common sight on the shores of Xiangsi Lake is pairs of student couples!

  Xiang Si Lake, Xiang Si Lake, just the name itself is enough to make young lovers yearn for it. Not to mention that the environment is quiet and serene, located within a campus with good security, making it the perfect choice for couples to express their love.

  When people do anything, they always unconsciously seek psychological comfort for their actions and hope that their wishes come true.

  When people are in love, they all wish that time could stand still and the romance would last forever. Therefore, places with auspicious names like "Lovers' Lake" naturally become the first choice for lovers.

  Xiang Si Lake is so famous among the students of Hai University that even Tang Lian'er, who has just enrolled, has long heard of it. Today, the two people, who are still basking in the sweetness, unconsciously walked towards the shore of Xiang Si Lake.

  Fortunately, Yang Feng had already left Liu Fu Restaurant to find his friends and figure out how to deal with Duan Yue, this guy who didn't know the height of the sky or the thickness of the earth. If not, if he saw this poor country boy and his sweetheart going to Xiang Si Lake, he would definitely be unable to bear it and rush out to have a real PK with Duan Yue.

  In the afternoon of October, the temperature in Haicheng was still a bit high. However, once they walked under the shade of the Longing Tree, the gentle breeze made Duan Lei and Tang Lian'er feel refreshed and delighted. The melodious birdsong in the forest after noon was endless, and occasionally there were still some leftover cicadas chirping, making the whole forest even more serene.

  The hands of the two young people somehow found their way into each other's, and they strolled through the dappled light and shadow under the trees, with specks of sunlight shining on them, like a beautiful oil painting.

  Duan Yue told Tang Lier about his childhood experiences in the countryside, such as climbing trees to dig out bird eggs, going down to the river to catch fish, making slingshots to shoot birds, and taking hunting dogs to catch wild rabbits. Tang Lier listened with sparkling eyes.

  For Tang Lier, who has lived in the city since childhood, these rural fun things are at most just read in books, how could she have had such a wonderful experience? Listening to Duan Lei's description, Tang Lier wished she could fly to Duan Lei's hometown immediately, to experience the enchanting rural scenery and simple rural life.

  As she spent more time with Duan Yu, Tang Lier discovered that he brought her a freshness that the boys in the city could not bring.

  When I was in high school, the boys around me were mostly competing with each other on material things like family background, brand names, and mobile phones. They never thought about what they really wanted to know about themselves. Some boys always tried to please me excessively, unlike Duan Lei who treated me as an equal with confidence, making Tang Lui feel better.

  On the banks of Xiangsi Lake, two young people held hands and told each other about their pasts. Although simple, it was very sweet!