Chapter 33: Voting

The school forum exploded.

Literally exploded.

When Dong Ziyang handed over his phone, the entire forum’s network had already crashed. 

The words “Under Full Maintenance” sat in huge letters at the top of the page.

But the posts that had gone up before the crash were still there—page after page of them, almost every single one discussing what had happened at the school gate that morning.

“Shock! School Flower Xia He Suspected to Be in a Relationship! Who Is the Mysterious Guy Who Plucked This Highland Flower?”

The replies stretched on forever. Jiang Yueming hadn’t expected that in just one hour his entire life would be dug up: class, grades, family background, even what games he liked to play—all laid out in plain text.

At the top of the post was a photo of him holding Xia He’s hand from behind.

“Bro, who the heck is this Jiang Yueming guy? Is there someone like that in our grade? Never seen him before.”

“Are they actually together? No way…”

“I’ll bet a pack of spicy strips these two won’t last a month.”

“Same, I’m in. No way it lasts longer than a month.”

“Xia He is probably just trying something new. Once the thrill wears off she’ll dump him.”

“Upstairs, sounds like you’re just jealous. Maybe this Jiang Yueming has some hidden talent we don’t know about?”

“Like? Super long battery life?”

“Upstairs, you’re not right in the head.”

Jiang Yueming kept scrolling with a blank face, his finger moving faster and faster.

Dong Ziyang sat beside him with his arms folded, clearly enjoying the show. 

A faint smile played on his chubby face.

Then Jiang Yueming’s finger suddenly stopped on one ID. 

The avatar was a side profile of Xia He, taken at what looked like a freshman orientation ceremony.

He frowned slowly as he read the ID.

“Xia He… Fan Club?”

Dong Ziyang leaned over for a look. “Oh, that. It’s run by Xia He’s fans.”

Jiang Yueming looked confused. 

“Isn’t that something from the entertainment industry? They have this stuff on a school forum?”

“Who knows,” Dong Ziyang shrugged. 

“It started back in freshman year with just a couple of people. Then it grew. Don’t let their quiet appearance fool you—these girls have serious fighting power.”

Jiang Yueming tapped into the “Xia He Fan Club” thread.

The signature under the avatar read “Xia He Global Fan Club – Branch Division.” 

It actually looked pretty official.

Inside the thread, the fan-club members were losing it.

“Sisters, look!!! The boy Xia Xia held hands with today!!! Does anyone know him???”

“Saw it, saw it! I just ran back from the gate! Couldn’t see his face clearly but Xia Xia was smiling! I saw it!!!”

“Wuwuwu, lifetime series. I thought Xia Xia would never date in this life.”

“Wait, wait, don’t get excited yet. What if they were just walking together?”

“Have you ever seen Xia Xia walk with any boy??? And look at the photo! They’re holding hands! HOLDING! HANDS!”

“Agreed. Xia Xia keeps a distance even when talking to boys. This is definitely suspicious.”

Jiang Yueming’s mouth twitched as he read the flood of messages.

“They… all talk like this?” he asked Dong Ziyang.

Dong Ziyang grinned, showing a row of white teeth. 

“Pretty much. It’s like a bunch of girls stanning their idol. Totally normal.”

“Really? What part of this is normal?”

“Super normal. Think about it—Xia He’s looks, her family background—she’s top-tier no matter which school you put her in. Having a fan club isn’t weird at all. It’s just that she never gave them much material before. She barely interacts with boys, so they just post photos, edit videos, write little essays, stuff like that.”

Jiang Yueming stayed quiet for two seconds, then kept scrolling.

The fan-club discussion had moved from shock to full information-gathering mode.

“Does anyone know this guy’s name? Which class? I need to go check him out.”

“I just asked around. Apparently his name is Jiang Yueming, Class Two of the third-year.”

“Class Two? What does he look like? Is he handsome?”

“Wait, I think I remember him… Last semester at the sports meet, wasn’t there a guy from Class Two who fell during the relay race, got up, and kept running? Is that him?”

“Your memory is terrifying???”

“Because I was right at the finish line. I got scared when he fell, but then he got up and ran even faster than before. Left a deep impression.”

“Sounds okay at least. At least he’s not the fragile type.”

Jiang Yueming hadn’t expected his embarrassing sports-meet moment from last semester to get dug up too. 

For a second he didn’t know how to feel.

He covered his face with one hand and let out a muffled groan.

“I’m done for.”

Dong Ziyang was already laughing so hard he could barely breathe. 

“Old Jiang, you’re famous now, you know that? Feels good, right?”

“Feels good my ass!”

He kept scrolling. 

The fan-club members were getting more and more excited. 

Then a new element suddenly appeared at the top of the thread.

The original poster must have seen how lively the discussion was and casually added a poll. 

Jiang Yueming’s eyes narrowed as he read the title:

[Do you support Xia He and Jiang Yueming being together?]

A. Support! Perfect match, I’m shipping so hard it hurts!

B. Let’s wait and see how the guy performs

C. I do NOT approve of this marriage!!!

Jiang Yueming tapped to see the results.

A – Support!: 231 votes  

B – Wait and see: 76 votes  

C – I do NOT approve of this marriage!!!: 5 votes

231 to 5.

Jiang Yueming felt a little speechless at their gossip level, but curiosity won out and he clicked on option C to see who had chosen it.

“Anonymous User”  

“Don’t support. Xia He deserves better.”

“Passerby A”  

“Just feel like they’re not a good match. No malice.”

“Xia He’s Invisible Guardian”  

“Xia Xia is still young, right? Isn’t this early romance?”

“Melon-Eating Spectator”  

“I just clicked for fun.”

Jiang Yueming read through them one by one, finger sliding slowly across the screen. 

Then his movement stopped.

One voting ID with no comment appeared in front of him.

[Zhīqīng Xiǎoyǔ]

Jiang Yueming stared at the ID for two seconds. It felt strangely familiar. 

The account had only cast this one vote and left no other replies, sitting there quietly.

He blinked. 

Just as something occurred to him, the classroom suddenly fell silent, then erupted into noise.

He saw Dong Ziyang wearing a meaningful grin. Following his gaze, Jiang Yueming turned his head.

Xia He was standing at the classroom door.

She had tied her hair up, revealing her slender neck. 

A small silver hairpin was clipped to her uniform collar, and she held two bottles of oolong tea.

“She’s here, she’s here!”

“Is she looking for Jiang Yueming again?”

“Obviously. Who else would she be here for?”

“Keep your voices down!”

Xia He didn’t walk in. 

She simply leaned against the doorframe, tilted her head to glance inside, and found Jiang Yueming instantly. 

Her eyes curved into a smile as if the whispering around her didn’t exist.

No way…

Jiang Yueming hesitated for half a second, then stood up and walked quickly out of the classroom.

In the hallway, Xia He handed him one of the bottles of oolong tea.

“Did you… see the forum?” she asked.

“I saw it.”

“It didn’t bother you too much, right?”

“It’s fine. Your fan-club people…” 

Jiang Yueming paused, then continued, “They’re actually pretty interesting.”

Xia He laughed. 

“They didn’t curse you out, did they?”

“No. They’re voting.”

“I saw that too,” Xia He said with a sweet smile. “What about you? Did you vote?”

“No.”

Xia He suddenly leaned in closer, hands behind her back, upper body tilting forward slightly as if she wanted a better look at his face.

Her long, pretty lashes fluttered like two butterflies beating their wings.

“Then, if you were voting, which option would you pick?”

“I…” 

Jiang Yueming turned his face away a little, embarrassed. 

“Definitely not C…”

“Aww—” 

Xia He drew out the sound, eyes curving into two crescents. 

“But I voted A.”

Jiang Yueming froze, then turned back to her.

Xia He had already raised her phone in front of him. 

The screen showed the exact poll he had just seen.

All the other options had been grayed out, leaving only option A—“Perfect match, I’m shipping so hard it hurts!” brightly highlighted and glowing with a soft light.