novelraw Chapter 93 When the Red Spider Lily Blooms
Chapter 93 When the Red Spider Lily Blooms
The same night market.
The same barbecue stall.
The same two people.
“So… you two really broke up.”
Wang Hao pointed a lamb skewer at Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran nodded.
“More or less.”
Anyway, after that night’s parting outside the campus gates, they had not contacted each other again.
“Huh…”
Wang Hao rested his chin on his hand, studying Jiang Ran thoughtfully.“That’s actually kind of surprising. Based on what I know about Nan Xiuxiu, she wouldn’t have agreed so easily. She should’ve clung on for ages.”
“You read people well.” Jiang Ran took a sip of beer.
“So did you actually break up or not?!”
Wang Hao slapped the table.
“Don’t tell me this was one-sided?”
Jiang Ran sighed.
“Is there even such a thing as a one-sided breakup? Then let me ask you— is there such a thing as a one-sided relationship?”
“That’s called a crush!” Wang Hao answered instantly.
But then he understood Jiang Ran’s meaning.
Right.
A crush didn’t count as dating. There was no such thing as one-sided love, and naturally, no such thing as one-sided breakup.
Which meant—
His good brother had truly broken up with that magical-girl-level perfect beauty.
“Ah…”
He let out a long sigh.
“What a pity. Jiang Ran, you’re definitely going to regret this someday. Honestly, I don’t even know who you actually like.”
“In high school I thought you and Xiaoxue were a pair. You’ve known each other since childhood— childhood sweethearts, growing up together. And yet somehow nothing happened for over ten years.”
“Oh, speaking of that.”
Wang Hao leaned closer.
“You’re not still hung up on Xiaoxue, are you? Is that why you broke up with Nan Xiuxiu?”
“Something like that.”
Jiang Ran drank without explaining further.
What Wang Hao said wasn’t entirely wrong.
The two matters weren’t indirectly related— but at this moment, they were directly connected.
Wang Hao had wanted him to date Nan Xiuxiu because he had accepted Cheng Mengxue’s death.
But Jiang Ran could not.
In his eyes, Cheng Mengxue was still alive.
It was just that, for now, she lay in the grave of the worldline— waiting for him to bring her back.
“Let’s drop that.”
Jiang Ran set his glass down.
“I’ve handled everything on the school’s side. I turned down the commendation ceremony the principal wanted to hold. I wasn’t in the mood.”
“In the end, I just had a small meeting with the leadership, took some photos for promotional materials, and finished the withdrawal procedures completely.”
“Your exam week is coming up, but I won’t be participating. I’m packing tomorrow and heading to Donghai University.”
“They haven’t assigned me a dorm yet, but Professor Zhang Yang gave me a key. He said I could temporarily put my bedding and belongings in his faculty apartment to avoid moving back and forth later.”
“So… after tomorrow, I won’t be coming back here. Summer break’s coming anyway. Let’s meet up in Hangzhou then.”
Farewells always carried a trace of sorrow.
Even for brothers like Jiang Ran and Wang Hao.
They had once seen each other every day. Though they weren’t worlds apart now, the distance between Donghai University and Donghai Foreign Economic and Trade Vocational College meant they wouldn’t casually meet like this anymore.
“Doesn’t matter.”
Wang Hao shrugged.
“Next year’s internship year anyway. We won’t be at school much. I don’t even know where I’m going yet.”
“Internship… where should I go? I don’t want to work in a factory. If I job hunt outside, thirty-six trades— and every one of them’s sales.”
“Sigh. Sales it is then. No big deal. I’ve heard of people selling cars at 4S dealerships and working their way up to store manager. Maybe I’ll try selling cars too.”
Jiang Ran smiled.
“Sure. I’ll come buy one from you.”
“Don’t you draw me a cake!”
Wang Hao laughed, pointing at him.
“Don’t be like some novel I read where the protagonist promises at the beginning to buy a car from his childhood friend, then drags it out until the epilogue!”
“Then I’ll buy it in the epilogue.”
Clink.
Youthful classmates, facing separation, facing the future, drinking and talking after alcohol loosened their tongues.
They talked and talked.
They talked about high school days, about the upcoming summer [Class Reunion].
“Once I finish my exams and go back, let’s organize the high school reunion together.”
Wang Hao burped, tossing a few peanuts into his mouth.
“Book the restaurant, contact classmates— it’s a lot of hassle. You’ll be free anyway.”
Jiang Ran nodded.
Of course he would help.
“Hehe.”
Wang Hao’s face was flushed red.
“Just watch. At the reunion, everyone’s going to be stunned when they hear you upgraded from junior college straight to graduate school.”
“Hey, don’t tell them yet, okay? I’ll announce it myself for maximum effect!”
“Can we not say it?” Jiang Ran had no interest in showing off.
“Absolutely not!”
Wang Hao thumped his chest.
“How can we not brag about something like that! It’s Donghai University! And you skipped straight from junior college to graduate school. I checked— you’re a national first case! Rarer than a panda!”
“You just wait. At the reunion, bask in everyone’s admiration! Seriously insane. Everyone else hasn’t even graduated undergrad yet and you’re already in grad school. Just thinking about it is thrilling!”
That night, Wang Hao drank a lot.
Completely drunk.
Mumbling nonsense, slurring words no one could understand.
Through the haze—
Jiang Ran seemed to hear Cheng Mengxue’s name more than once.
So…
He wasn’t the only one who couldn’t let go.
Wang Hao always acted carefree and heartless. Perhaps that was only to help Jiang Ran forget Cheng Mengxue sooner, to recover from grief faster. Back when Jiang Ran had first arrived on Worldline 1, Wang Hao had told him that after Cheng Mengxue’s car accident, Jiang Ran had suffered a breakdown so severe that everyone feared he might take his own life.
Because of that, his parents hadn’t dared let him repeat a year of study, afraid he couldn’t handle the pressure and might do something irrational.
When his parents filled out college applications for him, they had deliberately chosen the same junior college Wang Hao applied to, instructing Wang Hao to keep an eye on him at all times.
And just like that, the logic fit.
“Of course we’re an iron triangle… brothers to the core.”
Jiang Ran helped Wang Hao into a taxi, listening to the thunderous snoring from the back seat, unable to stop himself from sighing.
On this worldline—
Because Qin Feng was absent—
The iron triangle had become Jiang Ran, Wang Hao, and Cheng Mengxue.
The three of them had been inseparable.
So how could Wang Hao truly have let go so easily?
He had just buried his grief deep, deliberately dulling it to help Jiang Ran survive.
The next day.
After packing his dorm belongings into bags and suitcases, several roommates walked him to the school gate.
Because he was now the campus’s most famous figure, with posters and promotional displays about him plastered everywhere, many people stopped to watch.
“Jiang Ran!”
Roommate No.1’s eyes were a little red.
“I really don’t want you to leave.”
“It’s fine.”
Jiang Ran patted his shoulder.
“Donghai University’s still in Donghai. We can meet up for meals. But you— be smarter from now on. Download an anti-fraud app.”
Roommate No.2 sighed.
“If I hadn’t bought so many lottery tickets and doubled down and lost everything— even borrowed their money— I would’ve treated you to something good for a proper send-off.”
“It’s fine.”
Jiang Ran patted him too.
“That result was expected. I’ll treat you next time.”
He turned to Roommate No.3.
“Stop managing finances in internet cafés.”
“Mm-hmm, internet cafés really aren’t cost-effective.”
Roommate No.3 nodded seriously.
“Recently I realized KTV top-up bonuses are way better!”
Beyond saving.
Jiang Ran turned to Roommate No.4.
“You really are good at math. Honestly, consistently passing math in high school is already an impressive concept-level achievement.”
“But I’ve thought about this for a long time and still don’t understand. If the probability of guessing a multiple-choice question correctly is 25%, why does it become 75% when five people guess together?”
“I really can’t understand it. If you told me the final answer was 125%, I’d still believe you.”
Roommate No.4 patted his back solemnly.
“You still have much to learn. Work hard at Donghai University.”
Finally—
Roommate No.5.
The mysterious one.
The only roommate whose questionable operations Jiang Ran had yet to uncover.
But through daily interaction, he had proven to be a decent person.
Roommate No.5 helped load Jiang Ran’s luggage into the taxi trunk, then returned and grasped Jiang Ran’s hand.
“Jiang Ran, once you’re at Donghai University, your future’s limitless. When you make it big someday, don’t forget our names…”
“Of course not!”
He went from left to right, bidding each of them farewell.
Roommate No.1, No.2, No.3, No.4, No.5…
“Don’t worry.”
Jiang Ran promised.
“I will never forget your names.”
Beep-beep.
The taxi driver honked impatiently.
He’d been waiting a while and wanted to leave.
“I’m heading off.”
Jiang Ran waved.
“Wish you all good exam results this year and great jobs next year!”
With that, he turned, lifted his suitcase, and prepared to place it into the back seat.
Swish—!!
The sound tore through the air.
Before anyone could react—
A carbon-fiber arrow had embedded itself straight into the suitcase Jiang Ran held aloft!
The force was immense. It screamed past Jiang Ran’s ear and pierced clean through the luggage. Only the arrowhead remained outside, vibrating violently.
“Assassin!!” Wang Hao shrieked.
Dozens of people at the school gate turned collectively toward the direction of the shot—
On the rooftop of a three-story building by the entrance stood a girl.
Brilliant pink long hair blazed under the sunlight, whipping wildly in the wind, like a red spider lily in full bloom— arrogant and beautiful.
She wore archery attire.
A chest guard slanted across her torso. A recurve bow rested in her left hand. A glove covered her right.
The white hem of her clothing fluttered fiercely in the gale. The longbow lowered in slow motion.
The crowd at the gate erupted.
She too was infamous across the campus— that strange girl no one could ignore.
Her eyes were clear, yet burned like flame. She stared directly at him, as if overlooking the world.
Jiang Ran lifted his head.
Looking up at the red spider lily blooming high above…
.
He closed the taxi door behind him with one hand and turned.
“Goodbye.”