Song Qiuyu had heard about the photographer Aider from a few of her roommates.
There had been a brief moment of awkwardness and embarrassment, but those feelings were quickly overshadowed by their excitement over connecting with a big blogger who had millions of fans.
She immediately started chatting excitedly with him, exchanged contact information, and agreed that they would film videos together whenever the chance arose.
The backend data for their business-order short video soared all the way up. Overall, their first attempt at a business-order was a huge success.
The Jin Zhu Baba was beaming with joy.
Of course, there was also some bad news.
That was—people in the comment section had recognized her as Keqing from the National Day Scenic Area.
The explosion in the business-order’s data was partly because of this. The comments were filled with her beautiful photos.
“Chang Wei! Are you still not admitting you’re a girl?”
“Tsk tsk, those black stockings, those legs, how could this possibly be a guy?” Some even posted the video of her running anxiously, adding an exaggerated Japanese-style title.
Why Japanese-style…?
Because the title read: “A once-in-a-millennium beautiful girl, her sorrowful expression breaks my heart.”
Such a ridiculous video actually nearly matched the business-order’s data.
Both videos ran side by side in the top ten on the hot search list.
Because a portal was included, her fan base was skyrocketing wildly.
As a self-media blogger herself, even though someone had posted her video online without permission, how could she not take advantage of this massive traffic?
Since her photos were already everywhere, she didn’t bother to cause trouble for that person.
“I wonder what our second business order will be?”
Sitting in class, Song Qiuyu listened as her mind started to wander to the future, eager to start shooting the next short video.
“Ahem, Lao Song, I understand your excitement and anticipation, but we’ve only just finished two short videos in a row. We really need to take a break.”
“Hm?”
Song Qiuyu turned her head at the sound.
Then, she saw three pairs of panda eyes staring back at her.
Uh…
Well, of course. After finishing their third video, they hadn’t even rested two days before the next business order came, and they dove right into filming the business-order short video.
In other words, since returning from the National Day holiday, they’d been busy nonstop for over a month.
Last night, they let her go to bed early while they stayed up late to handle the follow-up.
She thought seriously for a moment. Although their videos were trending upward and they had connected with a millionaire-fan big blogger, logically they should strike while the iron was hot.
But continuous work might reduce their efficiency. It was better to balance work and rest.
So she nodded in agreement.
“That’s true. How about we take a break for a bit? Meanwhile, we can organize the comments from the comment section and do a comment reading video?”
They’d collected enough comments by now to make a whole video.
It would also be a chance to respond to questions about her cosplay.
In short: you have to catch the windfall when it blows!
Her three roommates all agreed.
“So… since our business order went perfectly, shouldn’t we celebrate?” Xie Zhuran rubbed his chin.
He recalled the last celebration—though it had been over a month ago, it felt like yesterday.
There was rain, a power outage, and the Goddess of Fortune didn’t spare them a glance.
It was as if Old Man Heaven was jealous of their success.
Xie Zhuran suspected, no—he was sure—that he only got stronger after every setback.
He refused to believe that the same misfortune would strike again.
“How about going to the KTV?”
At those words, two people shuddered and froze.
They remembered the miserable past—whether it was singing love songs or the games they played in the hotel.
Naturally, those two people were Jiang Xiao and Song Qiuyu.
Times had changed. Looking back at how composed they were then, Jiang Xiao found it unbelievable.
If they ended up having to share a bed again, things would get very complicated…
He believed that he absolutely wouldn’t be able to control the urge to… violate Song Qiuyu.
He clenched the pen in his hand, unwilling to recall any further.
Song Qiuyu was even more flustered, but only for a moment.
Could a person be unlucky twice with the same thing?
Impossible.
“Okay, but this time we’ll check the weather forecast before going.”
Song Qiuyu pretended to be calm.
The weather forecast might be wrong, but checking was better than not.
They set the date, and as the Director Art Introduction class was nearing its end, the Mediterranean Professor suddenly assigned them a group project.
This project was directly related to their final grade and credits for the semester.
“The topic is free, the content is free. You four will form a group and film a complete short film. Submit it to your class committee member before New Year’s Day, and the committee will compile all submissions to me.”
“My only requirements are to be serious about it and keep the length between five and ten minutes.”
The Mediterranean Professor said.
As everyone knows, the hardest topics in the world are those with no limits or guidelines, completely open-ended.
When this group project was announced, the entire classroom groaned.
Whether diligent students or slackers who had coasted through the semester, all were lamenting.
Except for the entire 602 Dormitory.
For them, who had already filmed four short videos, this project was a breeze.
What mattered most was their group members—they didn’t need to find anyone new—and after filming, they could upload it directly.
More importantly, they were now pondering a far more crucial question: what to eat for the upcoming group dinner.
Seeing the four of them sitting in the front row, unfazed, the Mediterranean Professor smiled approvingly.
As the dismissal bell rang, he opened his thermos, took a sip of water, and walked over.
“Looking at you all, I guess you already have ideas?”
The four empty-headed students looked up at him.
“Since you already have experience, I’ll be more strict with your project. Don’t think you can just slack off.”
……
Watching the Mediterranean Professor walk away with a casual swagger, they slowly realized the gravity of the situation, their expressions frozen in disbelief.
New Year’s Day was still over a month away, but even so, they didn’t intend to drag it out.
Once this celebration ended, they would immediately start.
Finishing the group project early would leave them free time to catch the next windfall.
They left the classroom and headed to their next class.
A sudden breeze blew, lifting Song Qiuyu’s shoulder-length black hair.
Some strands blew into her eyes, causing her to squint slightly as she hurriedly fixed the messy hair.
She casually tucked the strands behind her ear with her fingertips and breathed a sigh of relief.
Although her little savings had grown, she still hadn’t had time to visit the hair salon.
She’d decided to just snip a few strands herself once back at the dorm.
But as this thought formed, a chill traveled down her neck with the cold air carried by the breeze.
It was already past the Beginning of Winter, and the weather was turning colder.
She gathered her loose mid-length hair around her neck and zipped her collar up.
The warmth from that small action relaxed her tense shoulders.
Her sweet, well-behaved face showed a faint smile.
No one paid attention to her small cute gestures, but they were clearly noticed by Jiang Xiao.
His heart beat a little faster as he stole a few more glances before awkwardly averting his eyes.
“New Year’s Day… that means there’s just over two months left, and then it’ll be winter break.”
Xie Zhuran walked ahead, imagining the fun he’d have during the holiday.
A soft, smiling voice came from beside him: “Winter break is a great time to film atmosphere videos, especially in snowy places.”
Lin An’s words made all three of them’s hearts skip a beat.
Xie Zhuran eyed their capitalist roommate warily, not daring to breathe.
Lao Lin really had a knack for hitting the sore spot.
Though it made sense, what if this mention meant their entire winter break was planned out?
Finally having a long break, of course they wanted to have fun!
“That makes sense!”
Song Qiuyu agreed wholeheartedly.
Jiang Xiao remained silent, thoughtful as he turned his gaze to the distant sky.
High above, a flock of birds circled before flying in formation toward a direction…
Snow in winter, huh. He remembered Xi’er had said she liked watching snow.
“But winter break is still far off. Let’s focus on what to eat for the group dinner the day after tomorrow.”
Xie Zhuran quickly cut off the topic.
The forecast for the next seven days was stable, but the next two days would be cloudy with high humidity.
They chose the day after tomorrow.
Song Qiuyu was satisfied with the timing.
“That’s right. How about… barbecue?” Song Qiuyu said as she walked, licking her lips with a craving.
She hadn’t had barbecue for a long time.
“But your stomach isn’t good. Barbecue might not be good for you.”
Jiang Xiao suddenly interrupted.
“Uh…”
Song Qiuyu froze.
She had lied about having stomach issues just to cover up her period pain. Actually, her stomach was fine.
But the lie was out; she had to keep it going.
“It should be fine. We can ask the vendor to put less chili. After all, the soul of barbecue is cumin.”
Xie Zhuran shrugged.
“Yeah, I won’t eat chili!”
Song Qiuyu’s eyes sparkled.
Jiang Xiao said nothing, just looked at her helplessly before exhaling through his nose.
“If your stomach really is bad, how about we eat some warming lamb soup pot?”
Lin An glanced at Jiang Xiao and said, “There’s a store over by Gourmet Street with good ratings on Dianping.”
“That works?”
Song Qiuyu tilted her head. She hadn’t tried lamb soup pot before but had heard of it. Trying it wouldn’t be bad.
While chatting, she accidentally bumped into a girl hurrying with her head down.
The books and notebooks in the girl’s arms scattered on the ground.
“Sorry, sorry!” The girl crouched to pick them up hurriedly, then stood and ran off in the direction behind Song Qiuyu.
“That girl’s voice sounds familiar…”
Song Qiuyu glanced back, then crouched to pick up the books.
Jiang Xiao instinctively crouched beside her and handed her a fallen notebook.
“Thanks, Jiang Xiao!”
Taking the notebook, Song Qiuyu didn’t just hold it for convenience—she put it into her backpack.
Arriving at the next classroom, she sat down and took out everything needed for class from her backpack.
“Although the group project isn’t urgent, if you have any good ideas, you can share…” she said, opening her notebook.
She lowered her head, but then with a snap, closed it.
Hmm?
Did she just see something strange?
Not sure, she looked again.
On the first page of the notebook, written in unfamiliar, somewhat messy handwriting, was a scene of horseback riding…
Both the horse being ridden and the rider’s names were very familiar.
?
Her heart jolted like a lightning strike.
Song Qiuyu’s breath grew rapid, and her neck flushed red.