The library was huge.
Mu Nanqiu circled around several times and still didn’t find the person she was looking for.
It wasn’t impossible that she’d been tricked.
Just as she was about to leave, she spotted Wang Jing walking in from afar.
Nanqiu had originally planned to go say hi—
But then noticed that Wang Jing was moving quickly, her steps purposeful, like she had a destination in mind.
A flash of suspicion crossed her mind.
Is Jing’er meeting someone?
With that thought, she instinctively followed.
Just a peek—just to see what her bestie was up to behind her back.
She had planned to come check out Su Yao today anyway.
It wasn’t a big deal if she didn’t meet her in person. There’d be plenty of chances later.
But she also had no intention of revealing her identity just yet.
It was enough to observe from afar.
Right now, she was the hunter in the shadows, and Su Yao the prey in plain sight.
The best possible arrangement.
She followed Wang Jing all the way to the third floor of the library, deep into a quiet section.
Not a single person in sight.
Well, it’s Friday—everyone’s off having fun.
Nanqiu thought as she watched Wang Jing’s hasty figure.
What’s Jing’er doing here? A date? Don’t tell me she’s finally awakened?!
She knew Wang Jing extremely well.
After all, they’d been besties for years. If she didn’t know her, no one would.
To put it simply, Wang Jing was pretty good with people—thanks to her parents’ training.
But when it came to romantic relationships, she was… hopeless.
Nanqiu, Wang Jing, and Hua Mingye all came from the same elite girls’ school.
Nanqiu could never understand overly subtle emotional hints.
Back in high school, Wang Jing had been confessed to multiple times by girls—
But never understood what they meant. She’d just say, “Let me think about it, I’ll tell you tomorrow!” and leave happily.
After a while, everyone assumed she was emotionally tone-deaf and gave up.
By the time she realized what was going on, all the peach blossoms were gone.
Even after three years of university, she’d never taken the initiative with anyone.
But now? Has she really awakened? Learned to take the first step?!
Still thinking about it, Nanqiu saw Wang Jing sit at a long table and start chatting with a girl across from her.
Nanqiu had sharp eyesight, but from this distance, she couldn’t see or hear clearly.
What struck her most was—
Wait, didn’t Jing’er say “kouhai” in the group chat?
Why does it look like a girl now?!
Holy crap—Jing’er didn’t awaken… she came out?!
Don’t tell me she learned this from that troublemaker Hua Mingye…
That girl’s the only one out of all of us who publicly came out back then.
If someone’s gonna corrupt Jing’er, it’s definitely her fault!
Also… isn’t Jing’er an only child?!
Nanqiu stared hard at the two interacting girls.
They didn’t seem especially intimate—just chatting normally.
But even from afar, Nanqiu could sense that the vibe was good.
Curious about what they were talking about, she slipped between the shelves, inching closer.
She was wearing hard-soled boots today, which made sharp sounds on the tile floor.
So she carefully stepped with extreme caution, moving slowly toward them.
When she was finally close enough to hear bits of conversation—
A phone started ringing.
She flinched—
Then realized it wasn’t her phone.
She quickly grabbed a random book off the shelf and peeked out between the books.
Wang Jing—check.
Nothing strange there.
But the girl sitting across from her…
Nanqiu froze.
Only for a moment though—
Her brain, operating on high specs, instantly processed what she saw.
She ducked back behind the shelf, leaning against it, a hand covering her mouth.
She couldn’t believe it.
“No way…”
Su Yao… is actually a girl?!
A question that should’ve been obvious suddenly filled her RAM to the brim.
She lightly bit her index finger, her expression shifting from shock, to confusion, to… excitement.
Girls… open up more “routes” to play with—
Wait WHAT am I thinking?!
Her face flushed bright red.
But she quickly composed herself, pushing down the rush of blood.
Just then, she heard someone approaching.
She quickly raised her book to cover her face.
After the person passed, she slowly lowered the book again.
She looked up and saw Wang Jing’s retreating figure.
Nanqiu narrowed her eyes and clicked her tongue.
Good one, Jing’er.
As expected of someone with the surname Wang!
She began thinking about how she should interact with Su Yao next.
Right—Su Yao still doesn’t know who I am in real life.
That means I can totally walk up like a stranger!
With that, she instantly shifted her posture and expression.
In a single breath, she transformed into the cool, aloof campus goddess that others saw her as.
Book in hand, she calmly walked to a nearby table and sat down.
Just as Su Yao was finishing her stretch, her head tilted back, eyes fixed lazily on the little lamp above—
She sat upright, ready to leave…
And then noticed—
Across the table directly in front of her—sat someone she recognized.
—The Literature Department’s Goddess: Senior Mu Nanqiu!
The moment Su Yao realized her lazy stretch had been fully witnessed by the other party, a rush of boiling blood surged to her face.
Her legs trembled as she nearly jumped to her feet—
Her butt lifted a good six or seven centimeters off the chair before crashing back down with a loud thud.
The chair scraped slightly against the floor—
Thankfully, the rubber covers at the bottom muted most of the noise.
AAAAHHHH!!!
She screamed internally.
Su Yao immediately ducked her head—
Only to hit it hard on the edge of the wooden table.
She bounced back up, ignoring the pain entirely, and with shaky hands grabbed the unopened book in front of her—
Propping it up to hide her face.
Her mind whirled in panic.
Why is she here?! When did she arrive?! I swear I didn’t see her just now!
Senior Mu is friends with Senior Wang Jing, right? I ran into them last time too…
Thankfully my hair’s down today—maybe she didn’t recognize me.
If she finds out I write fanfics about her, I’m so dead. I heard her family’s crazy rich and powerful.
I can’t afford to mess with her—I gotta bail!
Besides… a friend’s friend isn’t a friend.
Even if she saw me chatting with Wang Jing just now, she wouldn’t call me out for questioning… right?
Su Yao shifted her leg—just a bit.
And then, in the dead silence of the library—
A soft ahem.
With that sound… came the booming echo of Su Yao’s own heartbeat.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Loud enough that she could hear it herself.
She froze, foot retracting instinctively.
Beads of cold sweat dotted her forehead.
Is the library’s AC always this hot…?
Meanwhile, Mu Nanqiu, across from her, looked down at her phone—
Staring at the photo she’d secretly snapped moments ago of “Man Tou Sensei” mid-stretch.
The burgundy sweater, the subtle yet unmistakable curves—
Previously, she’d only seen Su Yao’s face and hair.
But now? Seeing the “buns” of Man Tou Sensei in full—
She was 100% sure.
Su Yao… is a girl. No doubt about it.
Noticing Su Yao trying to sneak away, she feigned a casual throat-clearing.
Sure enough—Su Yao froze mid-move, legs tucked in close and trembling slightly.
So easily flustered. What an adorable reaction.
Nanqiu’s mischievous side kicked in.
She opened up QQ and, using her alt account “Oyster Sauce,” sent Su Yao a message.
“So? Did Man Tou Sensei clear things up with that senpai?”
She gave her a virtual poke.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Su Yao jolt a little.
Then came the reply:
“I did. We’re just regular friends now.”
Nanqiu smirked smugly.
As expected.
She quickly typed another message—
All the while, keeping an eye on her prey just five meters away.
In her mind, that slow-motion image of Su Yao stretching replayed once more.
She couldn’t help the slight tug of her lips.
Man Tou Sensei’s buns… I really wanna squish them.
“By the way, Oyster Sauce has something to tell you. But don’t freak out, okay?”
“Mm, I won’t freak out.”
Su Yao didn’t dare look across the table.
She propped the book higher, forehead on the desk, fingers fumbling below with her phone.
“So… I’m at the library. And I just saw the real-life version of my novel’s heroine!”
“…”
“She’s sitting right across from me!”
“Oh? And? Is she pretty?”
“Of course she’s pretty! She’s literally known as the Literature Department Goddess at my school!”
Nanqiu’s smile deepened.
“Really? I don’t believe it. Probably just people hyping her up.”
“No way! It’s true!”
“Then prove it. Send me a pic—I wanna see how pretty this ‘goddess’ really is.”
“Eh? But… isn’t that, like, kind of creepy?”
“It’s fine~
Not like you’re taking anything private.
C’mon, I just wanna see.”
Su Yao pouted at her screen.
She’s right there! Literally across from me!
Senior Mu is gorgeous—I swear! But secretly snapping a photo… what if I get caught?!
That’s like… death penalty level stuff online!
But after a bit more coaxing—
And a 100 yuan red envelope blinking on her screen—
Su Yao gave in.
It’s never about the risk.
It’s always about whether the reward’s worth it.
“Okay… wait a sec.”
She slowly angled her phone, carefully hiding the camera.
Through the screen, she saw Senior Mu—
Book in hand, focused expression, long lashes casting delicate shadows.
Su Yao steadied her breathing, zoomed slightly—
And hit the shutter.
Click.
No flash.
But—
She forgot.
Her phone, ever since it had been dropped a while back, had developed this horrible, sharp shutter sound.
That sound rang out clearly through the quiet library.
And worse—
She heard a chair scrape.
Someone across from her was standing up.
In that moment, Su Yao’s soul left her body.
I’m done for.
I’m really, completely, utterly DONE FOR.