Take Me Away

By the end of June, the campus of D University was filled with lush, green trees. Boys were sweating it out on the basketball court and the football field, couples were whispering intimately to each other on benches under the trees and other students were sitting around the small lake and the hillside, preparing for their exams. It was a flourishing and beautiful scene.

Getting off the bus, Fiona entered the main gate of D University. Clutching the straps of her mini backpack, she strolled around the campus taking in the scenery.

After leaving the hospital yesterday, she had returned to the Four Seasons Scenery. She had been looking at the university offer for a long time. Eventually, she decided to go and check out the university where she would live for the next four years.

With every step she took, she felt much better.

"This is the library, this is the canteen and this is the art school building," Fiona muttered to herself, trying to create a mental map of the university campus.

"Hello, Ryan. Look! I saw a pretty girl."

Two tall boys walked out of the dormitory building and ambled over o the lake besides the art school. The dark-skinned boy was holding a basketball in his hands. He nudged the other boy at the waist. The boy named Ryan was holding books in his arms. He didn't bother looking at who his friend was pointing at. He just patted his friend on the shoulder and smiled, "Everyone is beautiful in your eyes." "No, I'm serious about this one. She's like a fairy-tale princess!" he insisted. "The other girls in our college are not good enough for you. But just look at this one! She is a good match for you! Ryan, I promise that you will never regret it if you just take one look at her!"

The smile on Ryan Wen's face widened. He finally agreed and looked up. His bright eyes widened in surprise when he saw the girl standing on the lake shore. 'It's her!' he thought as his heart skipped a beat. It was the girl who was standing before the advertisement at the bus station the other day!

"See? Isn't she beautiful? Hey! Ryan! Where are you going?"

Fiona was enjoying her stroll along the lake. The gentle breeze was caressing her face. She walked up to an empty bench. Just as she was going to sit down, someone called her.

"Hi!"

Ryan's gentle voice rang in her ear. Startled, Fiona turned around. Her heart missed a beat as she saw a handsome young man before her. He had bright, smiling eyes and a straight-edged nose. He looked like a warm person. He was holding some books in his arms and panting.

He was wearing a spotless white shirt, and his overall persona was clean and sunny.

"Hello," she greeted back. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, I am." Ryan nodded as he got the chance to see her at close quarters. His heart was thudding against his chest as he introduced himself. "My name is Ryan Wen.

"Ryan Wen..." Fiona repeated his name softly. She was about to ask him why he had introduced himself so enthusiastically when suddenly another boy showed up.

"Hello, nice to meet you!" The boy who was with Ryan earlier also ran up to Fiona. With a friendly and honest smile, he said, "My name is Sam Zhao. What's your name?" The direct question caught her off guard.

Seeing her reaction, Ryan panicked and hurriedly assured her, "We are not bad people! We are junior students here at D University! If you don't believe me, I can show you our campus cards!"

He took out his campus card from his pocket.

Holding the campus card in his hand, Ryan stared at her earnestly. The corners of Fiona's mouth curled up into a smile. His heart melted at this moment.

"It's all right. I trust you. I don't need to look at your campus card. So what do you want from me?"

Sam Zhao swallowed and said, "We just want to get to know you. I've been here for three years and I've never seen anybody as beautiful as you. And I've never seen you on our campus before. My God, am I nearsighted?"

Fiona blushed. She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out.

"Hey, listen. Sam was just being straightforward. Don't take it to heart," Ryan Wen explained nervously.

Fiona shook her head and said, "It's fine. Doesn't matter."

Sam Zhao was embarrassed now. He scratched his head and said shyly, "I'd better keep my mouth shut. Ryan, you say something."

"Are you a student here?" Ryan Wen asked. "How come I haven't seen you before?"

"I have got admission to D University this year. I will start school in October. By the way, I'm Fiona Ji,"

she said with a smile.

He finally got her name! Ryan clenched his fists secretly,

trying to hide his ecstasy. He continued the conversation. "So you are a freshman here! We study in the economics and management school. What about you?"

"Oh that's nice. I'm in the art school."

"No wonder you are so beautiful and elegant like a masterpiece!" Sam Zhao commented. "Well, it's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, nice to meet you," Ryan Wen parroted.

"Nice to meet you too," Fiona replied, just as her phone buzzed. She pulled out her phone to check the caller ID.

Grabbing this opportunity, Sam snickered and whispered in Ryan's ear, "What do you think? She is a freshman. I will take the initiative if you don't like her."

Ryan immediately smacked Sam's stomach with a book and whispered back, "You have no chance, buddy."

Sam rubbed his belly and laughed. He knew Ryan was interested in her.

Meanwhile the caller ID on Fiona's phone showed it was Spencer. She disconnected the call without hesitation.

"Fiona, is it your first time here? How about we show you around the campus?" Sam enthusiastically offered, seeing that Fiona had hung up the phone. "We have nothing to do anyway, right? Ryan?" Looking at the books in his hands, Ryan smiled and said, "Yes, we're free."

"Well, I..."

The phone rang again,

but Fiona hung up again with a frown.

"I'm sorry." She looked up from her phone and apologized. "Well, I have something else to do at noon, but thank you for your invitation. I hope we can meet again next time."

A strong sense of loss arose from the bottom of Ryan's heart, but he still tried to play it cool. "That's okay. We will still have plenty of chances to meet each other in the future. If you need any help at school, fee free to come to me."

"Thank you so much. That's very kind of you," Fiona said, waving goodbye to them. Her phone rang again in her hand.

"Bye!"

Ryan smiled as he gazed at her gorgeous hair, slim shoulders and slender figure. He had the satisfaction of knowing that he would meet her again.

"Hey! Hello? Are you out of your mind?" Sam waved his hand in front of Ryan to make him snap out of his trance. "For three years, girls in our school have been chasing you, but I've never seen you have a crush on anyone. But this time, it looks like things are not going well for you."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Ryan asked, the silly smile still plastered on his face.

"Someone is falling in love!" Sam grinned and started running towards the basketball court. "Ryan, hurry up and go study. I'm going to play basketball. I'm counting on you for the final exam!"

"I'll play basketball with you tonight!" Ryan yelled back at him and shook his head beaming after his encounter with Fiona. He had just started towards the library when something occurred to him. He took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Yes, Mr. Wen. What can I do for you?"

"Andrew, do me a favor. Please check whether a girl named Fiona Ji is participating in our company's jewelry design competition."

"Yes, Mr. Wen."

"Okay, that's all. Tell Dad I'll be back next week."

"I know, Mr. Wen. I'll inform him."

Ryan was all smiles when he hung up the phone. He looked at the school gate, grabbed his books and briskly walked to the library. 'Really nice to meet you, Fiona!' The thought echoed in his mind.

On the other side, Fiona was walking in a hurry. She answered Spencer's call, hoping to make it a quick conversation. "What's the matter, Spencer?"

"Where the hell are you? How dare you cut my call?" he barked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Well, I was busy just now." Fiona was a little impatient and hence she was being short with him.

"What is it?" He snorted. "Didn't you say that you would bring lunch for Grandpa? Why haven't you come to the hospital yet?"

She checked the time on her phone, and said, "It's just ten o'clock in the morning!"

"So what?" Spencer said brashly. "When will you reach?"

"12 o'clock at the latest." Her lips were pressed into a thin line. She knew that Spencer was at the hospital so she decided to save his face.

"All right. Don't forget to bring me lunch too. I'm leaving this afternoon and I have no time to have lunch because I'm staying at the hospital to take care of Grandpa."

But it sounded as if he was taking it for granted, which annoyed Fiona. "And why should I do that?" she demanded.

"Because then I won't bother you the next month."

"Really?" Fiona's voice rose up several notches in excitement.

"Yes, of course!" His voice was dripping with sarcasm. "I'm going to be very busy the next month. I don't have time to play game with you."

"All right." Fiona nodded happily. "I'll bring the food as soon as it's ready."

"Hurry up and don't leave me starving!"

"Okay." Fiona hung up and walked towards the bus station, pleasantly surprised at this turn of events.[]