At this moment, Song Qiuyu’s mind was filled with the loud shouts of the Drama Club members beside her as they vented their emotions.
These voices, brimming with negativity and all kinds of grievances, intertwined so chaotically that it was impossible to tell who was saying what.
Some people shouted and shouted, and then their faces became wet.
She didn’t know whether it was the rain drifting onto their faces, or tears slipping down.
She didn’t shout with them, only lowered her eyes, staring quietly at her phone, fingertips lingering on Jiang Xiao’s profile picture for a long time.
She didn’t switch accounts; just like that, she opened the chat page with Jiang Xiao.
She took a deep breath, editing a message as calmly as she could: “I kept our New Year’s Eve promise this year.”
She didn’t send it immediately, but tried to time it, aiming to send it to Jiang Xiao at the exact second the clock struck twelve.
“The last ten seconds!”
The President shouted just then, beginning the countdown.
At the same time, down the slope, countless people waiting in the rain also joined in, loudly counting down.
“10! “
“9! “
“8! “
With just seven seconds left, the tension pressed on her nerves.
Song Qiuyu held her breath, thinking of how, for the past three years, Jiang Xiao had always timed his messages exactly like this.
Her feelings became complicated.
Clearly, there were many games that required precise timing—this level of urgency shouldn’t mean much.
But her heart couldn’t handle it at all.
All the club members joined the countdown.
At the very last second, it felt as if someone had pressed a time-stop button on the entire world.
Everyone froze in place, stopped breathing—the wind paused, and so did the rain.
The moment passed. The cheers for the arrival of the New Year instantly soared to the sky.
Song Qiuyu’s message was also sent out.
At the same time, she received a new QQ message.
The two notification beeps were completely drowned out by the excited shouts, so, luckily, no one noticed the new messages they received at the same time.
[Jiang Xiao]: Xi’er, this New Year’s Eve with you is truly wonderful.
This message was, of course, sent straight to Song Qiuyu’s chat window.
Song Qiuyu tightened her grip on her phone.
In a daze, she recalled her earlier suspicion that Jiang Xiao saw her as Shen Xi’s substitute, and her expression became a bit odd.
Didn’t this Haki Xiao guy finish reading The Art of War or something?
He’s really using Returning One’s Tactics on me… so ruthlessly, he’s got me running in circles.
She had a bad feeling about this.
This kid was getting a little too good at this.
Jiang Xiao, seeing the message from the person beside him, felt his heart brimming with sweetness like it was filled with honey.
He looked up at the night sky,
then sent a second message: “Look up.”
Song Qiuyu was taken aback.
She gripped the handle of her umbrella and lifted her small face, bright eyes gazing skyward, her pupils slowly widening.
She didn’t know when, but the sky had already cleared.
“Before the new year it was pouring, but now the rain has stopped and the sky is clear. It’s a good sign!” Jiang Xiao put away his umbrella and looked up at the clear night sky too.
“Maybe it means all bad things will pass, and from now on, only good things are coming our way.”
Song Qiuyu was moved; even if he was only saying this to win her over, she couldn’t help but find the words addictive.
“Whoa, Lao Jiang, when did you get so good at talking? If you can talk like this, say more!” Xie Zhuran glanced at Jiang Xiao excitedly.
Song Qiuyu shot him a disdainful look. She admitted Jiang Xiao’s words sounded nice, but Xie Zhuran’s words just sounded like flattery.
“Hahaha, it really is a good sign!”
The President laughed heartily.
As soon as he finished speaking, a few bursts of sparkling light shot up from the foot of the slope, exploding into brilliant fireworks in the sky.
Under the fireworks, South Wind City looked especially beautiful.
The already excited cheers grew even louder, making Song Qiuyu’s head buzz.
After venting their emotions, everyone was clearly much more relaxed than before they climbed the hill—a change obvious to the naked eye.
Suddenly, she felt envious and wanted to try shouting her heart out, to see what it felt like to let her emotions loose.
She really needed to let it out.
The problem was, she’d missed the best moment…
After the excitement faded, everyone chatted and laughed as they walked down the slope along the way they’d come.
Halfway down, Song Qiuyu suddenly clenched her hands and stopped walking.
“President, you all go ahead. I…”
“I know, I know, go on ahead! We’ll head down quickly, don’t worry about us hearing anything!” The President cut her off before she could finish, winking at her.
Song Qiuyu was left a little awkward.
Her intention had been instantly seen through!
She coughed twice and nodded like a little chick pecking at rice, then turned and ran back up the slope.
Jiang Xiao saw this and wanted to follow.
“Jiang Xiao, hold on.”
The President frowned, his face growing a bit serious as he called out.
“I need to talk to you about something.”
Jiang Xiao paused.
He turned back to look at the President, obediently stopping where he was.
Even without being told, he already had a feeling of what was coming.
Meanwhile, Song Qiuyu had returned to the slope.
She took a deep breath, lowered her eyes, glanced at the city below, and tried to calm herself.
Would anyone hear her?
The more she waited, the more nervous she felt. This slope was high, and it was already past midnight—even if she shouted loudly, probably not—
After a moment, she felt it was about right. She pressed her lips together, then opened her mouth, ready to shout.
But in the next instant, she suddenly felt a burning gaze on her.
Her heartbeat quickened, her body reacting faster than her mind—Jiang Xiao!
“Jiang Xiao, why did you come up too?”
Song Qiuyu turned her head.
Sure enough, Jiang Xiao was standing right behind her, staring without blinking.
Jiang Xiao’s calm made her even more flustered inside.
Once again, she clearly realized something.
She was already… completely on the passive side now.
“For the same reason as you.”
Jiang Xiao walked up unhurriedly.
“Oh…”
Song Qiuyu looked away, swallowing back the shout she was about to let out. It seemed she had missed her chance to vent again.
“I should have come up sooner.”
Jiang Xiao stopped at the railing, looking out at the city below. He shrugged, sounding helpless and a bit self-mocking.
He grew awkward for once, clenching his fist and coughing. “What I’m about to say might make you pretty happy.”
“What is it?”
Song Qiuyu was stunned.
The only thing that could make her happy now would be if Jiang Xiao forgot she was Shen Xi, and didn’t like her anymore.
“I got lectured by the President.” Jiang Xiao lowered his voice.
“?”
Song Qiuyu tried to imagine the scene, but felt no joy—just plain curiosity about how the President lectured him.
“The President said if I act on my own again, next semester and the one after, he won’t lend our dorm any props.”
Jiang Xiao sighed.
After speaking, he turned to the person beside him.
Her expression changed rapidly, until her eyes were filled with growing contempt.
“Are you looking down on me?”
“Not this time, really.”
“So what did the President actually say?”
Song Qiuyu gritted her teeth.
“He said, ‘Jiang Xiao, you need to treat Xi’er even better.’” Jiang Xiao reached out and poked her slightly puffed cheek.
Hearing this, Song Qiuyu’s eyes showed even more contempt—so much that she didn’t even want to bother with his finger.
Then she saw Jiang Xiao turn his face back, smiling at the city beneath the night sky, cupping his hands like a megaphone and shouting something that made her heart skip a beat.