Chapter 25 (1/2)

Chapter 25

Edited by: Planetes

At night, Fang Zhaomu slept very badly, and kept jerking awake.

In the first half of the night, he still had not got rid of the habit of picking up his phone and wanting to talk to Andrew. However, when he touched his new phone, he immediately sobered up and put his phone back.

It did not happen again for the rest of the night.

Waking up in the morning, Fang Zhaomu had recovered a little more of his spirits from yesterday. He turned on his laptop and started to plan his journey back.

He refused to think about anything to do with this Seattle trip. He really wanted to gouge out all his memories that had to do with the dating app, as every memory that looked very sweet then, all looked wretched now.

The weather report stated that this storm would last for another three to five days. Fang Zhaomu looked out of the window, then at his laptop’s screen. He was thinking about booking a room at another Seattle hotel.

The rain had lessened now. Fang Zhaomu felt that it was possible for him to move to another hotel, the main reason being that if he had to stay in this one for another three to five days, it would be too expensive.

He looked through the selections, and felt that a hotel apartment near the airport was not too bad and so booked a room there. He packed up his luggage, and called the reception to confirm if he needed to check out. The reception told him there was no need to do so, and Fang Zhaomu asked them to call him a taxi.

When Fang Zhaomu reached the entrance, his taxi had too arrived. The driver got off the vehicle and helped Fang Zhaomu placed his luggage in the trunk before moving off.

The streets were not flooded too badly. The rain poured down, pattering down on the roof of the car. It sounded a little scary, and the speed of the taxi was also not too fast, making Fang Zhaomu feel worried. Fortunately, the driver had a steady control over his car, and they smoothly arrived at their destination.

The hotel he booked only had a simple front desk. A receptionist standing there helped Fang Zhaomu arranged his check-in. Passing him a keycard, he told him that his room had been upgraded to a suite.

Fang Zhaomu headed upstairs. Upon opening the door, he discovered that the room was really quite big, seemingly suitable for a family of three to live. There was also an open-plan kitchen and a living room, as well as two bedrooms, one big and one small.

Fang Zhaomu sat down after settling in. He received an email from the professor who offered him a PhD position, asking him if he had considered it. Fang Zhaomu gave the professor a call.

When he had asked his family for school fees, he had mentioned about a PhD before, and both his parents were very supportive of that. Fang Zhaomu himself had also seriously considered it, even though he was not happy in the lab, but he liked doing experiments and writing the thesis. He really enjoyed being able to focus on research, and now that the professor was willing to provide him with this opportunity, he wanted to grab hold of it. At the end of the call, Fang Zhaomu and the professor had a verbal agreement with each other. When he was done with his exchange at the end of May, he would return to school and send in his application.

Having decided his path, Fang Zhaomu now had the energy to continue living his life. His mind was also clearer than before. He sat in the living room, looking at his thesis on his laptop. Feeling a little hungry, he went to check the fridge out. Finding some frozen food, he boiled some water and prepared a plate of pasta.

After a few bites, his phone suddenly rang. Looking at the screen, it was a call from Song Yuanxun. Fang Zhaomu put his fork down, but did not answer. When the phone stopped ringing, he blacklisted Song Yuanxun’s number.

Fang Zhaomu did not download the dating app in his new phone. He probably would never use anything like that again.

Not longer after, the phone in the room started ringing. Fang Zhaomu was completely irritated. He wanted to hang up, but afraid that it was a call from the reception, he picked up.

“Mumu.” Song Yuanxun called him.

Fang Zhaomu swiftly hung up.

Maybe because he had no other options, Song Yuanxun did not come to harass Fang Zhaomu anymore.

Fang Zhaomu spent a few days at the hotel, sneaking downstairs to buy some food. When the flights resumed, he returned to C City on his original flight.

Song Yuanxun’s name was like a trauma leftover from an accident. The recovery period was long, the condition triggered often, and he would probably need a lot of time before he got better.

As long as he was alone in the room, Fang Zhaomu could not help but descend into a low mood. He tried his best to not think about everything to do with Andrew and Song Yuanxun, and did his utmost best in filling up all his time with trivial matters, and was even unwilling to touch his phone.

However, life still had to go on. After defending his thesis, Fang Zhaomu no longer went to the lab. He still had to stay in T University for four more months, and so started three new classes. At the start, he sneaked around like a thief, afraid of bumping into Song Yuanxun. After two weeks of classes, he never saw him, and so Fang Zhaomu put down his guard.

One Wednesday, Fang Zhaomu went to class like usual. He was early, and entered the lift alone. Just before the door closed completely, a person ran towards the lift and re-opened the door.

Fang Zhaomu looked up. Song Yuanxun was standing there with the two other people he saw previously in the restaurant. Song Yuanxun’s eyes met Fang Zhaomu’s, and he was also slightly stunned. Sensibly, he shifted to a side, and did not stand too close to Fang Zhaomu.

However, if Song Yuanxun was there, Fang Zhaomu would feel reserved and awkward.

One of the girls walked in and stood next to Fang Zhaomu and gave him a friendly nod. Fang Zhaomu did not know how to react, and smiled at her without thinking.

She casually asked Fang Zhaomu, “Which faculty are you from? I don’t seem to have seen you around before.”