Axolotl Translations

That day, what Wei Jiajia and her roommates had feared happened.

Li Wenxiu arrived at their dormitory with two classmates, demanding that they hand over all their iron items—even the small metal strips on their trunks had to be pried off.

As Yang Yang stepped forward to argue, Wei Jiajia grabbed her arm and shook her head. Yang Yang, with her fiery temper, looked at the ransacked dorm, barely holding back her anger. She yanked her arm free, threw herself on her bed, and pulled the blanket over her head.

Li Wenxiu was unfazed. She had encountered this kind of defiance plenty of times before. In the end, they always caved, watching in silence, too afraid to utter a single complaint.

When they were almost finished, she turned to them apologetically. “I hope you understand,” she said. “What we’re doing is to help our school produce more steel. It’s not just for the school—it’s for the country.”

“It’s only right,” He Shengnan responded quickly, cutting in before anyone else could speak. Having worked in a factory for a few years before attending university, she knew the importance of avoiding rash comments that could get them into trouble. “We fully support the school’s decision. It’s our duty to do whatever we can to help China surpass Britain and the U.S.”

“That’s the spirit! If everyone in our class were as cooperative as you, our jobs as student council representatives would be much easier.”

Li Wenxiu then turned to Wei Jiajia, who had been listening quietly. “Classmate Wei, I know you weren’t chosen for the National Day parade. You don’t hold that against me, do you?”

Wei Jiajia was taken aback by the sudden shift in conversation. Still, she replied calmly, “Of course not! We’re classmates. It doesn’t matter who was chosen.” She was puzzled as to why Li Wenxiu was bringing this up now, days after the event.

“That’s good to hear,” Li Wenxiu said with a smile. “You know, Zhu Kaiwen actually reprimanded me quite harshly over this matter.” As she spoke, she studied Wei Jiajia’s expression closely, searching for any reaction.

Wei Jiajia frowned, confused. “Who’s Zhu Kaiwen? And why would he scold you?”

Li Wenxiu was surprised. She had assumed that Wei Jia Jia was pretending not to know, but her reaction seemed entirely genuine. Reassured, she said nothing more and left the dorm, carrying the iron items they had confiscated.

The others watched her go, their eyes drawn to the cabinet doors, now bare.

At least they’d left the latches. Without them, they wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, constantly worrying about someone stealing their things while they were in class.

Yang Yang suddenly threw back her blanket and sat up. “Unbelievable. Putting on such an act over nothing…”

Zhao Zhaodi, sitting next to her, quickly hushed her. “Don’t be so loud! If they hear you, they’ll make trouble for you later.”

“Let them come!” Yang Yang scoffed, a defiant glint in her eyes. “You think I’m afraid?”

“It’s not about fear,” He Shengnan said disapprovingly. “The school didn’t even try to stop this. That means it’s coming from the top. Why give them an excuse to target you?”

Yang Yang knew her friends had her best interests at heart. She pouted slightly but chose to remain silent.

Their school had been the first to successfully produce molten iron, a feat that had earned them city-wide recognition. Representatives from various organizations and institutions were constantly visiting to learn their methods.

This success, however, had gone to some people’s heads. They began imposing increasingly unreasonable demands on everyone. Many of their classmates, caught up in the hype, spent all their time hovering around the blast furnace, and now, they were even stealing the metal fittings from their lockers.

“By the way,” Wei Jiajia said, still puzzling over Li Wenxiu’s strange behavior, “why was she saying such odd things to me? I can’t make heads or tails of it.” She looked around at the others, her beautiful face creased in confusion. “And… who is Zhu Kaiwen, anyway?”

Wei Jiajia’s bewilderment only made them laugh.

Wei Jia Jia was even more bewildered by their reaction. Finally, Su Pan took pity on her and explained.

“Zhu Kaiwen is a year ahead of us, in the philosophy department. He’s kind of a big deal on campus. Handsome, rich family—you know the type. Tons of girls are crazy about him.”

“And?”

“Well, Li Wenxiu is one of them. Everyone in our class knows she’s always hanging around him.”

Wei Jiajia still looked utterly bewildered.

Yang Sisi sighed and spelled it out for her. “She sees you as competition. She’s worried you’ll steal Zhu Kaiwen, so she was testing you.”

Wei Jiajia: “……”

Her expression was one of sheer exasperation. What was all this nonsense?

“How did you all even come up with that? Why am I the last to know?” She looked around at the others, searching for an explanation.

They exchanged amused glances. She was truly beautiful, yet completely oblivious. Did she honestly not realize how popular she was at school? How many guys had crushes on her?

Su Pan rolled her eyes dramatically. Even she—who was constantly being called clueless by her own mother—was more perceptive than Wei Jiajia.

“Remember those times when we were all together, and some guy would come over to talk to you? Li Wenxiu was always there.”

Now that Su Pan mentioned it, Wei Jiajia vaguely recalled a few such instances. But because Li Wenxiu had been present, she hadn’t given it much thought at the time. She’d simply assumed it was a coincidence. Who would have thought that Li Wenxiu had taken it so seriously?

She felt completely wronged. Just like that, she’d somehow acquired a completely unfounded rival.

Later, she wrote about the whole ridiculous situation in a letter to Qiao Haoyu, thinking it was a funny story. But instead of laughing, Qiao Haoyu became insanely jealous. He even made a long-distance call just to have her reassure him over and over before he finally calmed down.

By the end of it, Wei Jiajia was ready to strangle her past self for ever writing that letter.

Of course, that was a story for another time…

For now, everyone was simply curious. It was clear that Wei Jiajia genuinely didn’t know who Zhu Kaiwen was and had never given him a second thought.

“Jiajia, if you’re not interested in someone like Zhu Kaiwen, what kind of guy do you like?” Yang Sisi asked, her tone full of interest.

The question immediately brought Qiao Haoyu to Wei Jiajia’s mind. A smile played on her lips as she described, “He has to be mature and dependable, intelligent and handsome, principled and righteous, patriotic, family-oriented… and, most importantly, he has to love me.”

As she spoke, the others tried to imagine a man who could possibly embody all those qualities.

Being the most experienced among them, He Shengnan observed the dreamy look on Wei Jiajia’s face as she listed her ideal partner’s traits. This wasn’t just a fantasy; she was clearly describing someone specific.

“Jiajia,” He Shengnan teased, her eyes twinkling, “who are you thinking about right now? Is he really that perfect?”

Startled by the question, Wei Jiajia blushed.

The others, initially surprised by He Shengnan’s question, quickly caught on. Seeing Wei Jiajia’s crimson face, everything clicked.

Without hesitation, they piled onto her bed, surrounding her and launching a full-scale interrogation.

“…Okay, okay! I confess! I confess!” Wei Jiajia, completely overwhelmed, surrendered amidst laughter, tears welling up in her eyes.

In truth, she hadn’t deliberately kept it a secret—no one had ever asked, so it simply hadn’t occurred to her to mention it.

Now that everyone had settled down, the five of them sat in a row, their faces brimming with curiosity and anticipation.

Wei Jiajia, meanwhile, sat facing them, bracing herself for the inevitable interrogation.

“Ahem,” Su Pan began, launching the first volley of questions. “First things first—what’s his name? Where’s he from? How old is he? And how did you two meet?”

Yang Sisi chimed in, “No withholding information! You have to tell the truth!”

Looking at their earnest expressions, Wei Jiajia suddenly felt a giggle bubbling up.

“Be serious! No smiling!” Even Zhao Zhaodi joined in the teasing.

Wei Jiajia quickly composed herself and, playing along, began recounting her story about Qiao Haoyu.

“Him, huh… well…”

By the time she finished, her throat was parched. She grabbed her cup and took several long swallows of water.

Yang Sisi leaned forward. “So, you two are childhood sweethearts?”

“Not exactly—we were apart for many years in between.”

“A childhood engagement, then?” Su Pan’s eyes widened, trying to process the revelation. She’d never imagined someone like Wei Jiajia—a well-educated, modern woman—would agree to an arranged marriage. She must really like him.

Wei Jiajia nodded.

Yang Yang inquired, “So, he’s a formally trained military officer, graduated from an official academy?”

Another nod.

“He’s really as good as you described?” He Shengnan pressed, referring to the long list of qualities Wei Jiajia had mentioned for her ideal partner.

A firm nod.

“Do your families know you two are together now that you’re adults?” Zhao Zhaodi asked the crucial question.

Wei Jiajia hesitated slightly, rubbing her nose. “They do. We actually got engaged this past summer…” Seeing their shocked expressions, she felt a pang of guilt.

The group was speechless, simply staring at Wei Jiajia. They were still processing the fact that the school’s most sought-after beauty was already taken—and had even gotten engaged without their knowledge.

Her fiancé sounded practically tailor-made. His education, personality, career, and family background were all perfectly aligned—head and shoulders above that so-called school hunk, Zhu Kaiwen.

“Damn, girl!” Su Pan exclaimed, rushing over to give Wei Jiajia a hearty pat on the shoulder and a big thumbs-up. “You’ve really got it all figured out. What a winner in life!”

The others were genuinely happy for Wei Jiajia and didn’t hold it against her for keeping it a secret.

Seeing their heartfelt blessings, Wei Jiajia’s eyes welled up slightly. She truly cherished these kindred spirits and hoped they, too, would one day find someone to share their lives with.

The conversation naturally drifted to their future aspirations and the qualities they sought in a lifelong partner.

It was the first time the girls in their dorm had spoken so openly about their families and dreams.

Their voices mingled as they talked late into the night, reluctant to let the moment end.

Their bond deepened with every shared word.

They promised to visit each other’s hometowns whenever possible, eager to experience different customs and traditions together.

Whether this dream would ever become reality was uncertain, but in that moment, their hearts were sincere—and that was enough.

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