I Don’t Want To Be Popular - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Chongqing Jiaotong University

It was 5:00 am.

The train was about to arrive at Chongqing Station.

Following the train attendants’ reminder, the passengers woke up one after another.

Chen Chuan felt that he had a comfortable sleep last night. As he was coming down from the upper berth to wear his shoes, he saw Jinglan pushing open the door to enter the car. She had probably gone to wash up.

“My neck…” Jinglan touched the back of her neck and stretched it.

A crick in the neck…

With that kind of sleeping position, it was no wonder she got a crick in her neck.

“Do you need me to help massage your neck?” asked Chen Chuan.

Jinglan appeared hesitant, and afterward, her face flushed. She said, “Um, no… Thank you. I’ll be fine soon.”

“The train will be arriving at Chongqing Station shortly… Passengers who are leaving the train…”

Following the announcement, the train slowed down, getting ready to stop at the station.

“Welcome to Chongqing City.” Jinglan added, “Are you going to visit your cousin first? I’ve sent you the address of the hotel, where the morning wedding will be held on the day after tomorrow. Remember to come if you have time, and I’ll do the honors.”

“Alright. I’ll come if I can.”

After getting off the train, they parted at the exit.

Chen Chuan caught sight of Jinglan getting into a red Land Rover and leaving after that.

Chen Chuan had booked a taxi to head for Chongqing Jiaotong University, which was his cousin’s university.

Jiaotong University was situated in the western part of Chongqing City. Knowing that Chen Chuan came from the north, the enthusiastic taxi driver used the Sichuan dialect to explain the customs here while driving.

As expected, Chongqing City was a large city comprising 26 districts. It was much larger than Haiqin City.

Unlike Haiqin City, it did not have a coastal landscape or natural scenery. Nevertheless, Chen Chuan passed by the grand Yangtze River, which was a feast for the eyes considering he came from the city.

After a 40-minute drive, he arrived at the main entrance of Jiaotong University.

He had discussed the plan with his cousin in advance. Therefore, a girl in white shorts and a black T-shirt was seen waiting while holding an umbrella as soon as he arrived.

The umbrella blocked her upper body so her face was not visible. He could only see a pair of long, slim legs exposed to the morning sun.

“Brother!”

Once Chen Chuan got down from the car, the girl came leaping with joy.

Chen Chuan took his suitcase from the trunk. Deep inside, he thought, ‘Look at this girl. How particular of her to be holding the umbrella early in the morning.’

“Ziyue, Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt asked me to visit you. I’ve brought you some food and clothes as well.” Chen Chuan gazed at the girl opposite of him, who was now folding the umbrella.

This fair-skinned, tall girl looked pretty and had an aura of elegance overall.

Chen Chuan had met Ziyue during the family worship early on. Based on his understanding of Ziyue, he knew that she was not as elegant as she appeared. Instead, she was quite materialistic.

Ziyue was apparently in high spirits. She jumped up and down, then she stretched out both arms as if she wanted to give Chen Chuan a big hug.

Nevertheless, she decided to hold his arm rather than hug him. It probably hit her that they had grown into adults after all and that they were no longer the kids they used to be.

“Hey, Brother. Absence does make the heart grow fonder! We met during the worship before starting university. It had been almost a month. How I missed you!” Ziyue smiled brightly.

Although Chen Chuan had memories of the person called Ziyue in the real world, it was not complete. He could not remember anything that had happened between himself and his cousin when they were younger. The fact that he was able to say her name when he saw her was good enough.

“Uh, calm down.” Chen Chuan sensed her agitation from the grip on his arm. Bending over to carry the suitcase, he said, “Let’s go. We’ll bring the stuff to your dorm first.”

“Okay. You’re going to be here the whole week, right? I’ll bring you around to have fun.” Ziyue walked beside him.

Chen Chuan did not give any thought to the one-week duration she mentioned. Since he was already with the girl, he agreed with her suggestion perfunctorily.

“This is the main entrance of my university. Cool, huh? How’s it compared to your university?”

“Here’s a restaurant. This is the central garden, and that’s the art building…”

“By the way, I realized you’ve become handsome. Your body has become muscular. You secretly worked out, didn’t you?”

“You don’t have a girlfriend, do you? There are a lot of beautiful girls at Jiaotong University. My dorm itself has two coquettish girls. Do you want me to introduce them to you? Having such a handsome cousin, I feel really honored.”

Ziyue was in a chatty mood. She talked non-stop beside him.

At that moment, Chen Chuan’s cell phone vibrated.

Chen Chuan took it out and saw a message from Jinglan. [I got home, and you? Remember our promise on the day after tomorrow. I’ll wait for you at Xinghui Hotel.]

Ziyue had no intention of reading his message. With her great eyesight, however, she caught a glimpse of the message in spite of herself.

“Promise…. At a hotel?” Ziyue blinked her eyes, then she gazed at Cousin Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan was at a loss for words. This girl had to be overthinking, so he explained, “I bumped into a female classmate on the train to Chongqing City. She lives in this city too. She invited me to her cousin’s wedding, and she’s really hoping that I can make it.”

“Oh… Is she pretty?” asked Ziyue.

“I suffer from face blindness. I can’t tell whether she’s pretty,” Chen Cuan replied cleverly.

Despite not having been in a relationship, he knew that he had better not compliment a girl on her appearance in front of another girl.

“You look worried, but I’m just concerned about the major turning point of your life. There are many pretentious girls in today’s society, you know. You’re so pure. Don’t get fooled. Sometimes, you need to think deeply about why she insists on having you to attend the wedding.” Zi Yue began to give him a lecture. “Think about it. Is she trying to cheat you out of your money?”

Chen Chuan did not expect to hear that.

They reached the bottom of Ziyue’s dormitory while chatting.

Since there were not many people around during the holiday, the lady security guard was less strict about Chen Chuan’s entrance. Ziyue went to register, then Chen Chuan entered the dormitory carrying his suitcase.

She was too thin to carry such a big suitcase to the fourth floor.

“You need to eat more. You’re a bit too thin,” said Chen Chuan.

“No, I’m not thin enough. I want to be as thin as a rake.” Ziyue walked at the front.

This was Chen Chuan’s first time entering a female dormitory. He realized that there were clothes of all kinds of colors and shapes along the corridor.

Bang!

Ziyue pushed open the door of her dormitory. “Girls, greet the guest!”

“Eh? They’re not here. It’s just the two of you. What about the others? Where’s Deng Yaoyao?” Ziyue walked into the dormitory. “Are all of you dressed? My cousin is coming in. Let me introduce him to all of you. He’s my cousin, Chen Chuan.”

Chen Chuan brought his suitcase inside the six-bedded dormitory, which was clean and comfortable.

In the dormitory, a girl was sitting in front of a computer playing with online games, whereas another girl was lying on the upper bunk playing with her cell phone.

As soon as the girls saw Chen Chuan, they looked into each other’s eyes. With their tight-lipped smiles, it seemed as though they were about to laugh. Even so, they still politely greeted him first, “Hi. Welcome to Jiaotong University.”

“Hello, I’m Chen Chuan.” Chen Chuan put down his suitcase.

The girls were wearing light clothes as they were just staying in the dormitory. Chen Chuan did not gaze at them intentionally, but he could tell that they had fair skin.

The girl on the upper bunk said, “Yesterday Ziyue said that her cousin was coming. She said he’s a very good-looking guy on whom we can feast our eyes. Sure enough, he’s very good-looking.”

Another girl said, “I’m Ziyue’s best friend. I should do the same and call you Brother, right?”

“I’m not going to call him Brother. It’s cringey. I’ll call him by his name,” the girl on the upper bunk replied.

“It’s up to both of you,” said Chen Chuan.

The girl on the upper bunk, who was wearing a camisole, said, “As a gesture of welcome for Chen Chuan, let’s have some stir-fried dishes at noon.”

Ziyue opened her suitcase, which contained some snacks made by her mother. She took the snacks out and distributed them to the two housemates and Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan said, “I’ve booked a hotel outside your campus. I’ll go there now to take a shower first. We’ll have lunch together after that. There’s a restaurant on the third floor of the hotel. Let’s eat there.”

“Which hotel?” asked Zi Yue.

“I think it’s called Westin Hotel,” replied Chen Chuan.