Lin Jing's expression froze.
The matter of being an exchange student was something she had planned for herself in advance, and it was also what Jiang Wan wanted her to do.
She was stunned for only a moment before quickly recovering: "Okay, please send me a copy when the time comes."
He Lin smiled: "Okay."
Lin Jing didn't say anything and turned to leave.
If He Lin hadn't suddenly brought it up, she would have almost forgotten about being an exchange student.
If she decided to become an exchange student, it would mean leaving for at least a year.
A year...
Lin Jing stopped, and after a while, she started walking again.
...
There was little time between the second round of the regular season of the autumn competition and the first round. The new round of matches began the very next weekend.
The venue for this round of competition was not in Beijing, and Lin Jing had to go to school. She couldn't follow them everywhere and could only watch the live broadcast on time.
Sheng Kuang and the others had been maintaining their good form, and after playing so many games, they had also become more cohesive. Compared to the strong teams in Group A, they did not seem passive at all. Even if they were in a slightly unfavorable situation occasionally, they could still make a comeback. In Group B, they were far ahead in points, and now, after entering Group A, they were still in first place.
The second round of the regular season was also called the group stage.
Entering Group S meant entering the winners' bracket, where they would have one life-saving opportunity. After losing, they would drop to Group A. If they could maintain their winning streak in Group A, they could still enter the finals.
However, once they entered Group A, every subsequent match would be a battle to the death. Losing would result in direct elimination, hence it was also called the losers' bracket.
There was only one week left until the end of the second round of the regular season. Based on the current points, even if the yLs team lost their final match in the upcoming second round of the regular season, they could still confidently enter Group S.
Entering Group S meant that Sheng Kuang would finally have the chance to reunite with his old friends and teammates on the competitive stage after two years.
Whether it was Li Ran, who debuted at the same time as him and was still in his prime, or Gu Jiu, who rose as a rookie during his peak and had now become a veteran, whom everyone referred to as Jiu Di, or Xiao Mo, whom he had discovered and promoted from the GDT second team, or even Yang Sinian, with whom his fans constantly clashed online, he could truly compete against them on the battlefield.
The moment yLs confirmed their entry into Group S a week in advance, Sheng Kuang's fan forum exploded.
Even the official Weibo account of the yLs team gained nearly 100,000 followers in just one hour.
Sheng Kuang had been busy with competitions recently and didn't use Weibo much. His last update was about half a month ago, and on this day, it gained nearly 10,000 comments.
The top comments were originally related to Sheng Kuang's couple avatars, but they all changed soon after.
[Congratulations on entering Group S, Kuang Zai is still the same Kuang Zai, the strongest Kuang Zai.]
[He's back, that young man who was as flamboyant as a flower and a horse is truly coming back.]
[Wuwuwuwu, I'm in tears. From the qualifiers to Group B, then to Group A, and now to Group S, witnessing every step of the way.]
It wasn't just the fans who were excited; Lin Jing herself was also thrilled.
Especially as she read the comments from Sheng Kuang's fans, she felt more and more energized. Just as she was about to repost a Weibo, her phone suddenly rang.
She saw the caller ID and was clearly stunned.
It was Jiang Wan.
After the start of the school year, Jiang Wan hadn't replied to her WeChat messages much. The only time was when she sent a greeting for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Lin Jing had replied with a "hmm" two days later, and since then, they had basically had no contact.
Occasionally, she would come across Jiang Wan's WeChat moments and learn about her whereabouts.
The phone rang several times before Lin Jing, as if in a dream, answered: "Mom."
Jiang Wan's voice was as indifferent as ever, as if she were a stranger with no connection to her: "Hmm."
Lin Jing couldn't remember how long it had been since she last received a call from Jiang Wan or heard her voice. She was in a complete daze. After a few seconds of silence, she remembered to speak: "Mom, is there something you need me for?"
Jiang Wan said calmly: "Nothing, I just wanted to ask if you're free next Sunday evening."
"Ah?" Lin Jing was flattered and quickly said: "Yes, I am."
After a pause, Lin Jing asked: "Are you coming to Beijing on a business trip?"
Jiang Wan gave a perfunctory "hmm."
Lin Jing's heart skipped a beat. She hesitated for a moment, holding her phone, and asked cautiously: "Then do you want to see me?"
Jiang Wan was silent on the other end of the phone for a long time, and then she gave another "hmm."
Lin Jing was unsure if she had heard the answer she wanted to hear. For a moment, she even felt that Jiang Wan's voice was a little gentle.
She opened her mouth, and after a few seconds, said: "What do you want to eat? I'll book a restaurant in advance; it's easy to not get a table on weekends."
Jiang Wan: "Whatever."
Seeing that Jiang Wan didn't hang up as directly and decisively as before, Lin Jing tried asking again: "Then will you be arriving in Beijing that day?"
"Hmm."
Perhaps because Jiang Wan wasn't as cold as before, Lin Jing became bolder: "What time? Can I pick you up?"
Jiang Wan didn't speak.
Just as Lin Jing thought she didn't want her to pick her up and was about to find words to ease the tension, Jiang Wan spoke: "Three o'clock in the afternoon, Capital T3."
Lin Jing was incredulously stunned for a moment. "Okay, okay."
Jiang Wan didn't say anything more.
Lin Jing didn't know what to say either, and remained silent.
After a moment of silence between them, Jiang Wan said: "I'm hanging up."
Then she hung up the phone.
...
yLs's last match of the second round of the regular season was on Saturday evening of the following week.
Perhaps because yLs had already secured their spot in Group S and had no pressure, everyone performed very relaxed. They chatted and laughed while playing games, and played with great ease. When they played more openly, they tended to perform better, so they won easily.
Sheng Kuang won the match and entered Group S with extremely high points, which made Lin Jing feel extremely pleased. The thought of being able to pack her bags and pick up Jiang Wan at the airport the next day made her even happier. Although she was a little restless and had trouble sleeping that night due to her excitement, she slept very well once she finally fell asleep.
She woke up close to noon. After washing up and changing clothes, she went to the cafeteria for lunch and then headed to the airport in advance.
Lin Jing arrived before two o'clock.
She found a seat at a Starbucks in the arrivals area, ordered a Frappuccino, and waited patiently.
Time passed by unnoticed until three o'clock. She contacted Jiang Wan on WeChat, but received no reply. Assuming Jiang Wan hadn't landed and turned on her phone yet, she put her phone down and continued to watch the exit.
At half-past three, she called Jiang Wan. The call went through, but no one answered.