Chapter 90: A Small Request
After New Year's Day, Jiang Ruolin was insistent that Liu Shang accompany her to their evening study sessions.
One afternoon, just after the two of them had dinner and were on their way to the largest supermarket outside of campus, Jiang Ruolin finally found the right opportunity to say what had been on her mind for a long time.
"Liu Shang, I read an article a while ago about whether college students should work part-time."
"The author followed up and interviewed many students who had worked during college to get their thoughts after graduation."
"To my surprise, the vast majority of them said that if they could do it all over again, they wouldn't choose to work."
"Although they used their free time to earn and save a lot of money, which seemed impressive at the time..."
"...they lost the most precious period of their youth."
"The money they saved might have seemed like a lot when they were in school, but from the perspective of a working adult, it's only two or three months' wages."
"And the so-called social experience they gained was far less valuable than they had imagined."
"So, Liu Shang, if it's possible, I don't want you to spend the most precious years of your life working part-time."
"Even if it means you can't spend as much time with me."
"You might not know this, but... I can't imagine my life without you. I'm terrified that your part-time jobs will affect your grades, and that we might lose each other because of it."
By the end, Jiang Ruolin's tone had grown heavy, almost pleading.
These words had been brewing in her heart for a long time.
Before they knew it, their love had become like a wild horse set free, and it was long past the point of being reined in.
Just imagining that Liu Shang might be forced to leave her side because of his studies or some other reason made Jiang Ruolin feel a weight on her chest that made it hard to breathe.
She was truly afraid that one day, she would lose this boy who already held such an immense place in her life.
After listening to her, Liu Shang reached out and gently touched her forehead, his heart aching for her.
"Okay, I understand. Don't worry."
"No one can separate us."
After that, the two continued on, as sweet and natural with each other as if the conversation had never happened.
Jiang Ruolin believed that Liu Shang must have understood how she felt and had truly listened to her words.
In the supermarket, Jiang Ruolin picked out a few snacks. As they neared the checkout counters, she stopped him.
"Liu Shang, um... can you promise me one small request?"
"It's a very small thing. Just consider it me being willful for once. You have to agree, okay?"
Although Liu Shang frowned slightly, he still nodded, and Jiang Ruolin dragged him to a cashier.
"That will be 23.50 yuan. Cash or card?"
After the cashier scanned their items, Jiang Ruolin took out a stored-value shopping card from her pink wallet—the kind the oilfield supermarket distributed around New Year's.
The face value of the card Jiang Ruolin held was 1,000 yuan.
Upon seeing the card, the cashier's eyes widened in surprise. *This beautiful girl's family must have a high-ranking leader in the oil field,* she thought.
At the same time, Jiang Ruolin turned to Liu Shang with a smile.
"An elder in my family gave me this shopping card."
"And the small request you just promised me... is that I want to give this card to you."
"It'll be really convenient for you and your dorm mates when you come to the supermarket to buy things."
"Alright, you can't refuse!"
Just as Jiang Ruolin was bracing for an argument, Liu Shang—under the extremely envious gaze of the cashier and a few others in line—gave a wry smile and pulled several cards of the same type from his own wallet.
He had two with a very high face value, and several more with a slightly smaller, but still substantial, one.
"You mean this shopping card?"
"I don't even know how to spend all of mine!"
"It's a shame they don't sell cars in this supermarket!"
At that moment, staring at the handful of cards in Liu Shang's hands, Jiang Ruolin's beautiful eyes blinked. The sudden turn of events left her feeling a little dazed.
As for the cashier and the others who had been watching them, they felt like they could cough up blood.
Good grief, comparisons are infuriating!
Here they were, worrying about the daily cost of oil, salt, and vinegar, while this young man was worried about how to spend all the money on his gift cards!
Is there really anyone in this world who thinks they have too much money on a shopping card?
If you can't spend it, give it to me! I'll help you spend it!
Alas, you could tell at a glance that these two were the children of high-level oil field leaders, born with silver spoons in their mouths!
And what a perfect couple they made, like a golden boy and a jade maiden. It was enough to make you sick with envy!
After leaving the supermarket, Jiang Ruolin's heart was still fluttering with a sense of dumbfounded unreality.
"Liu Shang, where did you get so many of those cards?"
Her own card, with its considerable denomination, had been a gift from her father, a bureau-level director.
So what about Liu Shang's cards? There were so many more than her own!
Liu Shang smiled faintly and gave an answer that made Jiang Ruolin can't help but punch him lightly on the arm.
"Mine were also a gift from an elder in my family."
...
Seeing that Liu Shang didn't seem inclined to explain further, Jiang Ruolin, though intensely curious, didn't press the issue.
That was her way.
When the two of them arrived at the study room they had reserved, Jiang Ruolin's roommates—Dong Hong, Yang Dandan, and Song Sha—were all there.
With the end of the term fast approaching, even the fun-loving Song Sha had been forced to crack open her textbooks and review her notes.
After a round of greetings, Dong Hong and Yang Dandan cleared the books they'd used to save the seats across from them, making room for Jiang Ruolin and Liu Shang.
"Liu Shang, you guys from the Chemical Academy are just insane," Yang Dandan said.
"All the study seats in the library have been occupied by you freshmen, and it seems like it's for the foreseeable future."
"People at Youda have even given your class a nickname: the Locust Plague of the Study Halls."
Hearing Yang Dandan's words, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
Song Sha chimed in, suddenly interested. "I've been hearing that a lot of your first-year students have a new ritual before they start studying for your hell-level exams."
"Apparently, they all curse your name once before opening their books."
"As the instigator of all this, I have to ask: how does that make you feel?"
Liu Shang spread his hands with a wry smile. "I think they'll thank me for it after they graduate and start working."
Yang Dandan picked up the thread with a smile. "I used to absolutely hate final exams."
"But now, compared to you students in the Chemical Academy, I suddenly feel so much happier!"
Seeing that the conversation was getting more and more lively, Jiang Ruolin interrupted them with a slight frown.
"Alright, ladies, please. I barely managed to drag Liu Shang here to study today."
"If you keep distracting him, he really might fail a bunch of his classes."
"Do you really want him to become your junior next year, meaning we wouldn't be able to graduate together?"
"You know, just to get this guy here to study with peace of mind, I haven't even been able to get online today, and I'm already done reviewing."
"I have two important emails that I still haven't answered!"
Just as Jiang Ruolin was complaining and the others were laughing, Liu Shang pulled something out of his large backpack. As if performing a magic trick, he produced a super-thin, incredibly refined and beautiful laptop bearing the Apple logo.
---
⭐ $5 Tier – Early Access!
Stay 50 chapters ahead of public releases on RoyalRoad, Webnovel, and Scribble Hub.
Latest available chapter: 151.
⭐ $10 Tier – Super Early Access!
Stay 100 chapters ahead of public releases on RoyalRoad, Webnovel, and Scribble Hub.
Latest available chapter: 201.
📖 Chapters are uploaded as soon as they're completed, so you'll always stay ahead of the curve.
💖 By joining, you'll be directly supporting the story while enjoying exclusive early access.
🔗 Patreon link is in My Profile/About.
⚠️ Please select your membership carefully, as I have multiple novels ongoing.
🍎 If you're on Apple, consider subscribing through your browser instead — it's cheaper for you, and I'll receive payments faster.