In fact, Brother Hao didn't have a good opinion about Li Qiang and Lu Lin, mainly because Li Qiang's actions were indeed laughable. Lu Lin's lack of money was her own business, and whatever was said, he shouldn't have lent his scholarship to Lu Lin first.
There's a saying that fits, "Don't take on jobs suited only for a diamond if all you have is a porcelain tile." Li Qiang had somewhat lost sight of his own place.
Of course, these were Brother Hao's internal thoughts, which he would never say out loud, though occasionally finding amusement in a joke was delightful.
Therefore, he could make jokes about Zhou Yuwen and Lu Lin in front of Li Qiang without any regard for Li Qiang's feelings.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Zhou Yuwen was speechless; Brother Hao could joke about anyone. A few days ago, it was about him and Su Qing, then it was with Shen Yu, and now Lu Lin, even though he was still single.
"Hehe." Brother Hao grinned, smiling broadly.
Zhou Yuwen asked what the two of them were doing there?
"Oh, Chen Xiang's parents came to visit him and brought some canned yellow peaches. I brought them over for Yanyan to eat." Brother Hao said, shaking the canned peaches in his hand and then seemed to remember something, nudging Li Qiang with his elbow.
Yet, Li Qiang put away the canned peaches he was holding.
"Hey, Bro, didn't you say you were going to bring one for Lu Lin too?" Brother Hao noticed Li Qiang didn't catch his hint and couldn't help but point it out.
"Stop talking nonsense! I never said that!" Li Qiang said, slightly disgusted, suddenly feeling a bit fed up with Brother Hao making decisions for him.
He had indeed never mentioned bringing canned peaches for Lu Lin; it was Brother Hao who felt too embarrassed to come alone and insisted on dragging Li Qiang along.
Li Qiang had just had a conflict with Lu Lin last night; how could he shamelessly bring her canned peaches.
It was Brother Hao who kept saying, "When chasing a girl, you need to have thick skin."
Are you giving up just because of a little setback?
There's an old saying, "If the business does not go well, righteousness remains."
Even if things between you two don't work out, if you bring these canned peaches over, won't she remember your kindness?
Li Qiang felt like he had been out of his mind earlier to actually come here with Brother Hao.
Now, Li Qiang was filled with regret. If he hadn't come, how could he have witnessed Zhou Yuwen and Lu Lin chatting and laughing together? He was angry, yet the anger was directed at his own incompetence.
The most painful thing in the world is to see the girl you like walking with another guy, especially when you know deep down that you don't match up to that guy in any way.
This was an inherent inferiority complex, which is why last night he had buried himself in his blankets and cried for a long time. Lu Lin likes Zhou Yuwen; what fault does she hold? If he were Lu Lin, choosing between himself and Zhou Yuwen, he would pick Zhou Yuwen as well, which was infuriating.
That's why, watching Zhou Yuwen and Lu Lin approaching him, Li Qiang couldn't utter a single word.
"Hey, still won't admit it!" Brother Hao was making light remarks over there.
Li Qiang's head was bowed, his neck and face turning red.
Lu Lin glanced at Li Qiang then turned to Zhou Yuwen saying, "Should I go up first?"
With that, Lu Lin left. Seeing her about to leave, Brother Hao quickly said, "Hey, Bro, aren't you really going to send her off? If you don't hurry, Lu Lin is going to leave."
Li Qiang couldn't hold back any longer and fiercely threw the canned peaches to the ground.
The force was so great that the metal can of peaches was smashed, spilling the juice all over the floor.
Brother Hao was shocked by this scene, his eyes wide open in astonishment, not daring to blink.
Li Qiang's gaze was ferocious as he glared at Brother Hao then turned and walked away without saying a word.
Brother Hao still hadn't grasped the situation, wondering, "What's gotten into him, Zhou?"
"Well, you." Zhou Yuwen said helplessly, rolling his eyes at Brother Hao before he too turned and walked away.
It was later that Brother Hao found out about Lu Lin rejecting Li Qiang and confessing to Zhou Yuwen. After knowing this, Brother Hao cried injustice and apologized to Li Qiang with a remorseful expression, saying, "I really didn't know Lu Lin had confessed to Zhou. If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have said those things. Bro, don't be mad, have a cigarette."
"Bro, I really am sorry. Lu Lin must be deceiving you; how could she possibly like Zhou? Isn't Su Qing's interest obvious? If she liked Zhou, would Su Qing let her off? Bro, don't be mad."
Brother Hao tried to console Li Qiang for a good while; it had been three days since then. Facing Brother Hao's ingratiating smile and the cigarette he offered, Li Qiang finally accepted the cigarette, saying, "Brother Hao, I actually don't blame Linlin."
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You still blame Lu Lin?
Brother Hao didn't quite understand that statement but didn't ask, simply lighting a cigarette for Li Qiang in earnest.
Li Qiang told Brother Hao that he had also done much thinking in the past few days.
"I was angry that day, but perhaps not at you, maybe at myself. I hate my own incompetence."
Li Qiang said that he truly didn't blame Lu Lin for choosing Zhou. Carefully thinking about it, if he were Lu Lin, he would also choose Zhou Yuwen.
Zhou is simply too outstanding.
The two rarely had the chance to smoke together in the dormitory corridor.
Looking out at the full-colored moon outside the window, Li Qiang took a deep drag on his cigarette and shared that his family came from a small village in the north. Every time he went to the county town for school, he had to walk more than ten miles of mountain roads. His father had broken his leg working in the fields early on, and his mother supported him and his sister with her handicraft.
Li Qiang said, his whole family was counting on him to make something of himself by attending university.