Love has become the wind

Author: Li Zhiqiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Series of "Classmates" · Volume 7. After failing the college entrance exam, Li Ruohai entered a ordinary university in Guangzhou, filled with various aspirations for university life. There, he met the "bookworm" Chen Zilian and the wealthy guys Huang Xin, Lu Da, and others. Ruohai was very dissatisfied with their lifestyle and lived an unhappy life. Later, Ruohai and Huang Xin became good friends until one day, Ruohai met the person he loved—Huang Su'e. Su'e was a woman who craved material wealth and was quickly taken by the wealthy Huang Xin. As a result, Li Ruohai and Huang Xin nearly fought, and they became enemies ever since. Later, Su'e abandoned Huang Xin for a lover who was even wealthier, which caused Huang Xin great pain for a while.
By chance, Ruohai met Li Yingxin, a fellow student who was both intelligent and beautiful, online. Yingxin was a very special and unique girl with strong individuality. She shared the same values as Ruohai, and they clicked instantly. They spent time online together, eating ice cream, dumplings, and shopping. Their lives were filled with happiness. Although their friendship developed smoothly, Yingxin always regarded Ruohai only as a good friend, nothing more, which troubled Ruohai deeply.
At the end of freshman year, Huang Xin cheated on his exam, and he was about to have to retake the course. However, he spent money to buy a degree for studying abroad in Australia and left in style, leaving Ruohai and others struggling for their dreams. Ruohai was indifferent to this, believing that money could buy anything. Ruohai gradually became friends with Chen Zilian and had a good relationship with Li Yingxin, which brought him some comfort. However, to buy the strawberries that Yingxin loved, Ruohai's father was involved in a traffic accident. This was a huge blow to both Ruohai and Yingxin.
One day, Chen Zilian was very heartbroken. The girl he had loved, the one he had pursued for years with letters, was pregnant with someone else's child! Despite this, she still refused to accept him. In his pain, Chen Zilian chose to give up. Everyone began to realize the cruelty of life and the pressure it brought. That year, none of their grades were particularly good.
Ruohai recalled the story of Tantalus's suffering from the Bible: Tantalus, the son of the god Zeus, was punished for revealing divine secrets by being forced to stand forever in a pool of water with fruit trees above him. The water would recede whenever he tried to drink, and the branches would rise whenever he tried to eat the fruit, leaving him in eternal agony, always close yet unreachable. Wasn't Ruohai suffering the same kind of pain? Whether it was studies, love, or career—everything.