Chapter 10 Chapter 10: The Matter of Surnames
At the cafeteria, the crowd was noticeably larger than yesterday, a noisy bustling sea of students. Su Yuan subtly frowned. “So many people. Yehan, my meal card is empty. You get the food, I will grab us a table”
Without waiting for a reply, she headed straight for an empty table. Ji Yehan blinked in surprise. I could have lent you money. Why make someone else buy your meal. But he understood, without reserving seats early, they would be left standing. Though he knew Su Yuan was just being lazy, he sighed and trudged toward the long queue.
After ordering, he returned with two bowls of rice and several dishes. Gao Jun had gotten himself a nourishing stew. “Been working hard these days” he said. “Need to replenish”
After eating, they dumped their trays into the food waste bin. Back in the dorm, Gao Jun dove back into coding, while Ji Yehan opened his textbook, likely prepping for class.
Outside, rain fell steadily. Another wet night. Just like the previous evening, Su Yuan dragged her chair to the aluminum framed glass door between the dorm and balcony, straddling it backward, chin resting on her arms, lost in thought.
After a while, bored, she poked Ji Yehan’s back. “Yehan, I am depressed again”
“Tell me about it” he said, setting aside his book with a resigned sigh.
“Uh, actually, nothing much to say”
“You are just messing with me” Ji Yehan shook his head helplessly.
“Pretty much” Su Yuan admitted shamelessly. Ji Yehan raised his textbook threateningly, but lowered it without striking.
Su Yuan burst out laughing. Then, suddenly curious, she asked, “Yehan, why do you have the surname Ji”
“Because my dad’s surname is Ji”
“What kind of answer is that” She grinned. “Honestly, Ye Hao sounds way better than Ji Yehan. So smooth”
“Your body and hair come from your parents” he shot back. “If you think Ye is so great, why do you not change your surname”
Su Yuan shook her head. “That is different. Su is slightly better than Ye. By the way, your dad’s surname is Ji, what is your mom’s”
“Su”
“What” Su Yuan gasped. “We are from the same clan. You know, surnames originally came from the maternal line, while shi came from the paternal. Honestly, taking your mom’s surname would not be bad at all”
Ji Yehan studied her closely, frowning. “Why are you so obsessed with changing other people’s surnames. What is wrong with you”
“Hehe” Su Yuan gave a dry chuckle.
Now amused, Ji Yehan teased, “Why do you not switch to my surname. Be Ji Yuan instead”
“No, no, no” Su Yuan waved her hands. “Su sounds way better than Ji. Besides, Ji is not even in the top thousand of the Hundred Family Surnames, it is probably hiding in some forgotten corner. Su though, top fifty. A major prestigious surname. Clearly superior”
“So you will pick whichever surname sounds nicer” Ji Yehan groaned in frustration.
“By the way” Su Yuan changed the subject, “did you buy Huaxin Tech stock yet”
Ji Yehan huffed. “No”
He paused, then narrowed his eyes. “How do you know I was going to buy it”
“Pfft” Su Yuan scoffed. “You have been watching it for months. If you were not planning to buy, why bother”
Ji Yehan gave her a thoughtful look. “After months of analysis, things are finally moving”
“Did the stock go up or down today”
“Down. It has been falling for days”
Su Yuan adopted a mock serious expression. “Good. That means the big players have finished gathering shares. Time for a rally”
“Huh. Did not know you understood this stuff”
“Easy. I pick things up fast”
My tomorrow
Is which day
When will I stop missing you
Forget time, forget yesterday
Let love and hate never repeat
To break the silence, Su Yuan played the female version of Autumn of Farewell on her cheap phone, the one she had just downloaded.
Sure enough, as Ji Yehan said, the female rendition carried a more haunting sorrowful tone.
Last night’s gentle rain had made the air perfectly cool. But at dawn, sunlight cut through the clouds, signaling the return of summer heat. Within minutes, the ground grew scorching.
Early morning, campus life surged into motion. Students rushed from dorms in a hurry. By eight o’clock, the pace of student life was in full swing.
Room 330 was empty except for Su Yuan. Ji Yehan and Gao Jun had already gone to class to save seats. Su Yuan lingered behind, not out of laziness, but because her transformation made everything more complicated.
Take bathroom routines, for example. Before, they would all go together, taking turns, efficient despite the chaos. Now, she had to either wake up first or wait until last. Privacy demanded locked doors.
“This should be fine” she murmured, studying her reflection. Still recognizably handsome, though softer. She patted her cheeks, satisfied. After this morning’s trial run, she decided rising earlier was the only solution.
She wore a white short sleeve shirt with blue and red stripes on each shoulder, paired with light jeans, cool, practical, and refreshingly crisp.
Her schedule showed Linear Algebra and College English II in the morning, no afternoon classes. Checking her timetable, she headed toward Classroom NC210.
At the teaching building, students clustered thickly at the stairwell, forcing her to slow down. Eight o’clock loomed, but the classroom was still far off. Anxiety prickled, being late on the first day felt embarrassing.
Just as she strained to see past the crowd, a hand tugged her sleeve. “Over here” Ji Yehan stood by the back door of a classroom.
Surprised, she checked the room number. “NA203”
Like NC210, it was a large lecture hall, seating seventy or eighty students.
Ji Yehan spotted her textbooks and frowned. “Wait, you have got Linear Algebra and English. Today is Thursday. We have Physical Chemistry and Human Physiology”
“What. It is not Friday” Su Yuan gaped.
“You are still foggy from summer break” Ji Yehan laughed. “Cannot even tell the days apart”
“Do not mention it, let us go” She pushed him inside, brushing off her mistake. Two months of lazing at home had left her mentally unprepared for the semester.
Ding ding ding. The bell rang, cutting off their talk.
“Over here” Gao Jun waved from a middle back seat.
Yang Xiaowei sat there too, a tall sunny looking guy. Though a roommate, he rarely stayed in the dorm. He shifted to make space as Su Yuan squeezed in. “Cutting it close, huh” he greeted.
“Pure accident” Su Yuan grinned, settling in.
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