The game on the court had already begun, and the two teams were playing with intense ferocity.
Lin Xinyuan was completely focused on the young man darting across the court. One moment she was tense and nervous, and the next she was so happy she nearly stood up to cheer. Little did she know, her every move was being watched by someone behind her.
A girl tilted her head, a playful smile gracing the corners of her mouth. After a short while, she stood up and quietly paced toward the young girl in front.
At this moment, Lin Xinyuan’s eyes were filled with starlight. Seeing that cheetah-like figure on the court sink a perfect three-pointer, her small hands couldn’t stop trembling with excitement.
Brother Feng… is so amazing!
However, just as she was reveling in her excitement, she caught sight of someone sitting down beside her out of the corner of her eye. She looked over in confusion, only to meet a pair of beautiful, shimmering eyes.
“Oh, Student Lin is here too? What a coincidence!” Yu Xiaowei smiled, covering her mouth as if she were genuinely surprised.
“Pre—President!”
Lin Xinyuan now felt a pang of dread whenever she saw Yu Xiaowei. After the initial shock, she instinctively shrunk her neck. This girl might smile gently, but who knew what kind of twisted, mischievous thoughts she was harboring?
With that in mind, Lin Xinyuan’s gaze toward Yu Xiaowei grew even more guarded.
Seeing the girl so full of vigilance, Yu Xiaowei didn’t mind at all. She even leaned back comfortably, though she didn’t lose her sense of elegance. “There shouldn’t be a problem if I sit here, right?”
“Uh, please, suit yourself…”
Lin Xinyuan’s words were half-hearted. In reality, she just wanted Yu Xiaowei to leave as soon as possible—or she’d just find somewhere else to sit herself. She felt that sitting with Yu Xiaowei was not only dangerous but also quite awkward.
After all, back when she was still a boy, she had nearly been tricked into cross-dressing by this woman, just like what happened to that guy Chen Ze. Fortunately, she hadn’t obeyed back then, and President Yu hadn’t forced the issue; otherwise, it would be even more embarrassing now!
“A-Yuan? Who is this older sister?”
The other two girls sitting next to her also noticed the commotion. Li Tang looked over in surprise and then asked Lin Xinyuan out of curiosity.
Beside her, Liu Qingyan was also looking at Yu Xiaowei with a face full of curiosity. In fact, she had been the first to notice her and had been the one to alert Li Tang.
“Um…” Lin Xinyuan hesitated but introduced them anyway. “Uh, her name is Yu Xiaowei. She’s the president of my club…”
“Eh?” Hearing this, Li Tang’s gaze became even more astonished. “A-Yuan actually joined a club?”
She was truly surprised. In her heart, A-Yuan was the type of person who was so shy and introverted that getting her to participate in an organized activity was usually harder than reaching the heavens. And yet, this beautiful girl had managed it?
She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of club could have such immense charm!
“Yes…” Lin Xinyuan nodded helplessly.
If Yu Xiaowei hadn’t personally dragged her into it and promised plenty of benefits with very little work, she really wouldn’t have had any interest in the club. Not only was it free to participate in club activities—with travel and meals fully covered—but there were even strange bonuses to be won!
For example, the “Best Friendship Award”… which in reality meant pairing up two people to see who could get their teammate into a shameful cosplay outfit first, then making them shout strange things like “Dame!” (No!) in a crowded public square…
Lin Xinyuan still remembered how, for the sake of a 1,000-yuan prize, she had used both threats and bribes on Chen Ze—
“If you don’t go to hell, who will? Number Five! Trust me, as long as you perform well, the President will definitely like you!” Lin Xinyuan (as Lin Xinyuan/Lin Xinyuan) had stared at Chen Ze with a look of conviction, though her heart was full of guilt.
Chen Ze had looked terrified: “Really? Number Six? Don’t lie to me!”
“It’s for real. You get half the prize money.” Lin Xinyuan had nodded with difficulty, clearly still unaccustomed to deceiving people.
Upon hearing that, Chen Ze had pondered for a long time, hesitating and overthinking, before eventually imagining some wonderful scenario. He began to giggle foolishly for a while, almost drooling. He gritted his teeth, his eyes full of determination.
“Fine… for Weiwei! I’ll give it my all!”
[…]
It seemed that since that day, Chen Ze had fallen completely into the swamp. Yu Xiaowei played with him like a plush toy, often dressing him up in all sorts of weird outfits, yet he never complained, finding pleasure in the suffering.
One had to admit, that level of perseverance and mental fortitude was something Lin Xinyuan had to admire. But what she never expected was that Chen Ze actually succeeded…
Because of that, she sometimes envied Chen Ze’s luck. She felt the guy had struck gold by successfully landing a “rich woman.”
But thinking about that was useless now. Hmph… anyway, she already had the best Brother Feng in the world! She didn’t need a girlfriend!
Brother Feng…
Thinking of this, Lin Xinyuan fell into a daze, staring almost blankly at her boyfriend in the distance, who had just elicited a massive round of applause. In this moment, the young man was as dazzling as the sun, radiating an intense confidence on the court that made her feel like she could barely keep her eyes open.
Even though they were separated by a large distance, she felt as if she could still sense Qin Nanfeng’s joyful mood. Her thoughts drifted back to a year ago, remembering that tall silhouette winning cheers on the field.
Reality and memory seemed to overlap.
A shallow smile played on the girl’s lips, but it didn’t last long before her delicate eyebrows knit together. She saw more and more girls gathering at the edge of the court where Qin Nanfeng was—like bees drawn to a flower.
They were looking at him with those kinds of eyes…
As this scene unfolded before her, Lin Xinyuan unconsciously bit her lower lip, and a sour feeling began to well up in her chest.
On the other side, Li Tang looked at Yu Xiaowei warmly and greeted her politely: “Hello, Sister Weiwei! My name is Li Tang. I’m A-Yuan’s roommate and her best friend!”
Yu Xiaowei didn’t mind the “Sister” title; after all, she was indeed a year senior to them. She smiled and waved. “Hello, A-Tang? Can I call you that?”
“Of course!”
Yu Xiaowei nodded, her eyes full of smiles. Then she looked at Liu Qingyan, who hadn’t spoken yet. Her eyes lit up as she marveled inwardly. This entire dormitory is full of beauties…
“Hello, Junior?”
As she spoke, Yu Xiaowei greeted Liu Qingyan as well, but she didn’t see the girl respond. Instead, Liu Qingyan picked up her phone and began typing. Seeing this, Li Tang silently pointed to her own throat and waved her hand at Yu Xiaowei.
Yu Xiaowei understood immediately. A flash of pity flickered in her eyes, but it vanished quickly.
[Hello, Sister Weiwei! My name is Liu Qingyan. My vocal cords have an issue and I can’t speak, so if you don’t know sign language… I can only chat with you like this. Sorry.]
Taking the phone from the girl and reading the message, Yu Xiaowei selectively ignored the latter half. Her smile softened significantly. “A-Yan, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope we’ll be great friends in the future.”
Liu Qingyan blinked, her eyes shifting slightly, but she soon broke into a wide smile and nodded vigorously: [Mmm!]
Once the three girls had introduced themselves, they shared a smile. Although they were meeting for the first time, there was a strange sense of déjà vu. They wondered if it was because of the girl… that they felt such a natural affinity for each other upon meeting.
But speaking of the girl, why was there no sound from her?
The three of them thought this simultaneously and looked with confusion at Lin Xinyuan, who was still in a dazed state. They instantly realized that her mood seemed a bit off.
Following her line of sight, the three of them saw—
On the court in the distance, where a quarter of the game had seemingly just ended, a man and a woman were standing prominently among the crowd.
That tall, upright silhouette was very familiar…