64 Lin Gaoyuan

After seeing Lin Gaoyuan off, Duan Nanzhou resumed her peaceful college life.

Naturally, she also crossed the ambiguous stage with that handsome foreign guy, Eric, and started a little romance, but regrettably, they broke up before long.

The main reason was that Duan Nanzhou hadn't expected this foreign hunk to be so clingy and high-maintenance when dating. Evidently, Duan Nanzhou's own study life and skiing training were already fulfilling enough, leaving her with practically no energy to deal with too much emotional drama.

She hadn't been that desperately in love when they first agreed to be together; it was just a mild attraction and a feeling that it might be worth a try.

After dumping Eric, Duan Nanzhou felt her life brighten up once more. Ah, living alone was simply the best—so free and happy!

Her communication with Lin Gaoyuan had never stopped either. Although not particularly frequent, they would still call at least once a month. With messaging apps having been around for quite a while now, the two would occasionally chat via text to share updates on their recent lives.

Seeing that Lin Gaoyuan no longer kept pressing about her romantic life, Duan Nanzhou let out a long sigh of relief, yet she still felt a strange, unexplainable twist somewhere in her heart.

Thanks to his persistent contact, Lin Gaoyuan had successfully become the person among Duan Nanzhou’s relatives and friends in China who communicated with her the most—even more than her father, mother, and eldest brother. After all, the elders in the Duan family subscribed to a hands-off approach to raising children and wouldn't easily reach out to their daughter unless something major happened.

As for Duan Nanzhou's friend, Li Er, she was gradually building her own life and circle of friends. Coupled with the time difference, they didn't keep in touch as frequently as before. Duan Nanzhou might occasionally sigh at how friends tend to drift apart over time, but she didn't dwell on it too much. At least, her current life was still wonderful!

As her chats with Lin Gaoyuan grew more frequent, Duan Nanzhou gradually got used to it. Instead of merely being Lin Gaoyuan's one-way output like in the beginning, she now shared her own life very naturally. Sometimes, due to the time difference, they couldn't chat in real-time, but they always replied the moment they saw the messages.

Unconsciously, Duan Nanzhou had quietly moved Lin Gaoyuan into the inner circle of her closest people, even if she hadn't quite realized what that meant yet.

Time flew by.

Duan Nanzhou had been in Switzerland for nearly eight years, and she was about to successfully complete her initial academic plan.

During the final year of her doctoral studies, Duan Nanzhou was so busy she felt like she was flying; getting a Ph.D. from ETH Zurich was, after all, no walk in the park.

Therefore, when her old coach Luca asked her if she wanted to try out for the Winter Olympics, Duan Nanzhou refused without a moment's hesitation.

Even though Duan Nanzhou had already participated in quite a few skiing competitions prior to this and was entirely qualified to compete in the Winter Olympics, she was currently too busy losing her mind over graduation.

Who had the mood for any Winter Olympics at a time like this? Besides, the host country for this Winter Olympics happened to be South Korea, a place Duan Nanzhou intensely disliked. She had zero desire to set foot on that soil notorious for bullying, especially since those early memories, however distant, were still fresh in her mind.

Following Duan Nanzhou's decisive refusal, Luca didn't say anything further, merely expressing a hint of regret that everyone wouldn't get to see such an exceptional skier in action.

Although Duan Nanzhou had competed in quite a few skiing events previously, the general audience paying attention to them wasn't very large. It was fair to say that people within the industry knew her much better, whereas global athletic events like the Winter Olympics were the best way for the general public to learn about athletes.

Some skiers within the industry had also come to ask Luca about the situation, and upon learning that Duan Nanzhou wouldn't be participating, quite a few of them breathed a sigh of relief. Wonderful, one formidable rival fewer.

Far away in China, Lin Gaoyuan sent a text message to check in on her, casually mentioning whether Duan Nanzhou would be participating in this skiing event. Upon receiving a negative answer, he even comforted her, telling her it was no big deal—which practically cracked Duan Nanzhou up.

Who knew what this guy was imagining in his head this time?

"By the way, Gaoyuan, I'm busy with graduation stuff right now—super busy. I probably won't be able to chat with you like before, so don't overthink it if I don't reply in time."

Duan Nanzhou knew what Lin Gaoyuan was like. He looked like a cool guy on the outside, but in reality, he was terribly petty. If she didn't reply to his messages, he would sulk by himself for ages.

Therefore, for the sake of world peace, Duan Nanzhou gave him a heads-up in advance and received a cute "Okay" sticker in reply.

However, Lin Gaoyuan found that instead of decreasing, their chat frequency actually increased in all sorts of ways afterward. Most of it, though, consisted of Duan Nanzhou's one-sided venting and shouting, followed by waves of comfort from Lin Gaoyuan:

"Gaoyuan, I'm going to lose my mind!"

This was a sentence Duan Nanzhou would send to Lin Gaoyuan basically every single day, as if it could alleviate her suffering.

Next came things like:

"Gaoyuan, I'm in so much pain! Want to die.jpg"

"Why on earth do people pursue a Ph.D.?"

And later on, it evolved into:

"Gaoyuan, pursuing a Ph.D. is truly wonderful."

"Hahahahahahahaha the joy of getting a Ph.D., only those who do it know! Happy.jpg"

"So happy, so happy, I'm going to be a graduate soon~"

Based on all the above, Lin Gaoyuan felt that Duan Nanzhou was probably losing her mind—driven mad by the ordeal of graduating with a doctorate. Although he knew Duan Nanzhou was just letting off steam, Lin Gaoyuan still replied earnestly to every single message. To this end, he even searched for various answers on "how to comfort a girl," taking notes with the utmost seriousness!

Under months of Duan Nanzhou's "harassment," Lin Gaoyuan had forged a complete set of coping methods. He had leveled up; he was no longer the tongue-tied Lin Gaoyuan of the past!

Finally, they both awaited the day of liberation!

"Gaoyuan, I've graduated!"

"Nanzhou, you are simply amazing! Applauding.jpg"

At this moment, Duan Nanzhou, now officially a Ph.D., felt herself ascending. True to form, pursuing this doctorate was a silent battle where you just kept your head down!

However, now that she had returned to normal, Duan Nanzhou looked back at her previous chat logs with Lin Gaoyuan and felt a tiny bit embarrassed. Still, she was thick-skinned, so she simply pretended nothing had ever happened.

Once she returned to China, she would treat Lin Gaoyuan to a proper meal and bring him a gift. She was so grateful to him for being willing to endlessly tolerate her madness!

To be fair, Duan Nanzhou had indeed been under immense pressure during that preceding period, desperately needing someone to vent to, and Lin Gaoyuan naturally became the most suitable primary candidate. But she hadn't expected Lin Gaoyuan's responses to completely exceed her expectations—he was an absolute sweetheart!

"Nanzhou, does that mean you're getting ready to return to China?"

Lin Gaoyuan finally asked the question he had most wanted to ask. He still remembered Duan Nanzhou telling him back then that she would return home upon graduation. Was the bitter wait of these past few years finally about to welcome its dawn?

However, he wasn't sure if Duan Nanzhou's mind had changed by now, so he needed to confirm it just to be safe.

"Yep, once I finish up everything here, I'll be packing my bags to head back. Happy.jpg"

At the thought of domestic cuisine, Duan Nanzhou could practically feel her mouth watering. She hadn't been exercising properly lately due to the busy graduation schedule, and coupled with eating quite a bit, she had gained some weight. She needed to shed the pounds before heading back so she could properly enjoy the food!

"Then where do you plan to settle down afterwards? Guangzhou?"

Deep down, Lin Gaoyuan actually desperately hoped that Duan Nanzhou would come to Beijing. Because apart from tournaments everywhere and closed training camps, they spent most of their time doing daily training at the General Administration of Sport in Beijing.

If Duan Nanzhou could come here, he could sneak out to see her every day!

Of course, these were all Lin Gaoyuan's fantasies. He figured the chances were practically zero; Duan Nanzhou would probably still go home, seeing as both her family and their family business were in Guangzhou.

"Not sure yet, I'll go home and stay for a while first, and we'll figure out the rest later."

Duan Nanzhou genuinely didn't know where she would be based afterwards, but she wouldn't necessarily stick around Guangzhou. She wasn't entirely fond of the climate there, especially during the summer and the humid spring season—that kind of air moisture was somewhat torturous for her.

Besides, Duan and her mother weren't working as frantically as they did in their younger days, and her eldest brother was gradually taking over the family teahouse business. Consequently, her parents had started enjoying life and spent much more time at home.

Duan Nanzhou also understood the old saying that familiarity breeds contempt; if she stayed home for too long, there was no guarantee her parents wouldn't start finding faults with her. Furthermore, she herself preferred living alone, so she probably wouldn't stay at home for too long.

"Alright then, I'll be waiting for you to come back in China."

"Mmm-hmm."