“You think so, Su Tang?”
“Huh?”
Su Tang snapped back to reality. Having always been a wallflower, she never expected someone to mention her name.
Zhou Yu, unfazed, repeated to her:
“As for agreeing to let Xiao Nuo join the club, do you agree, Su Tang?”
Along the way, she pointed at Ning Chuxue, who was sneaking a small cake.
Su Tang looked toward where Zhou Yu was pointing and spotted the little loli sneaking around like a hamster.
Seeing her cute appearance, Su Tang couldn’t help but observe her for a while.
Ning Chuxue really seemed to be stealing cake. Noticing someone watching, she quickly put down the fork in her hand and wiped her mouth nervously.
“Su Tang?”
Zhou Yu reminded her again,
“You can’t just stare at her because Xiao Nuo is cute, right?”
“No! I was just thinking about whether to agree to let her join the club.”
Su Tang panicked and tried to explain.
“And what’s the result of your consideration?”
Zhou Yu showed no sign of tension. During the time of this inquiry, she even found a moment to give Ning Chuxue another small cake.
That made the latter feel too embarrassed to touch the fork again.
“Xiao Nuo, eat freely. If there’s not enough, there’s more.”
Before leaving, Zhou Yu smiled at her.
This small gesture only made Ning Chuxue even more reserved.
‘I’d better eat slowly.’
Ning Chuxue didn’t pick up the fork again.
‘I haven’t officially joined the club yet, and I’m already taking advantage of their generosity. It feels weird…’
No one paid attention to what was happening with Ning Chuxue.
Faced with Zhou Yu’s inquiry, Su Tang gave her answer:
“I definitely don’t have a problem. If there’s a new member joining, as the club president, I’d be more than happy.”
“So that means you agree?”
Zhou Yu came over to her side and pressed.
“No…”
Su Tang, with Zhou Yu circling around her, was just as nervous as Ning Chuxue.
“Sp, specifically, we still need to ask President Lin for the final decision…”
“I knew it.”
Zhou Yu rubbed her forehead and reluctantly accepted the reality.
“Then why don’t you go ask Lin Wan’s opinion now?”
Although Su Tang was the titular president of the Eclectic Studies Society, the real decision-maker was Lin Wan.
After all, the club was created by Lin Wan to slack off and rest. She had simply used Su Tang’s name to establish it.
“Hold on, let me ask.”
“Why do those two seem so strange? That Su Tang looks really scared of Zhou Yu.”
While the two were talking over there, Ning Chuxue curiously found Ying.
With a familiar person standing next to her, Ning Chuxue’s nervousness finally eased a bit.
“Oh, that.”
Ying didn’t avoid it.
“It’s because Xiao Yu loves to drag Su Tang into conversations. Over time, Su Tang couldn’t stand it, but she couldn’t shake her off either.”
“So it’s because Zhou Yu keeps pestering her and she can’t get rid of her?”
Ning Chuxue summarized with sudden realization.
So it was a social terrorist ambushing a socially anxious person.
Just as the “battlefield” between Su Tang and Zhou Yu was reaching its climax, another figure appeared.
“Good afternoon.”
That figure seemed very familiar with the place. The moment she stepped into the classroom with her left foot, she raised her hand to greet.
But her greeting attracted the attention of everyone, including Ning Chuxue.
“Saved…”
The most relieved one should be Su Tang. Seeing Zhou Yu’s attention diverted, she quickly distanced herself from her and walked toward the person at the door.
“So many people today? Is there a gathering?”
After scanning the room, the figure looked surprised.
“President Lin,” Su Tang trotted over and greeted her respectfully.
“No gathering. There’s a new member joining.”
“Su Tang, I’ve told you not to be so formal with me.”
Lin Wan lightly flicked her forehead.
“We’re not so estranged that you need to use an honorific.”
Su Tang was at a loss for a moment, then nodded.
“I understand, President Lin… Lin Wan?”
“That’s more like it.”
Lin Wan looked satisfied, and Su Tang let out a sigh of relief.
Lin Wan swept her gaze around and finally stopped on Ning Chuxue, who was next to Ying.
She walked over curiously.
“The one Su Tang mentioned who wants to join the club—could it be you?”
Lin Wan stared at her intently, as if she wanted to examine her whole body.
Ning Chuxue felt a chill from her gaze, and cold sweat immediately trickled down her back.
Lin Wan couldn’t figure out why the little loli with long white hair in front of her gave her such a familiar feeling.
It was as if she had seen her somewhere before.
But she had been busy with a lot of work recently, buried in tasks, and had forgotten the memory.
Just as she gave up thinking, she turned her head and saw Ying behind Ning Chuxue.
The sealed memories surged back like a tide:
“You’re the one from Director Zhang’s office earlier, right?”
She had only met Ning Chuxue once, so she hadn’t bothered to remember her.
But Ying, she knew very well.
Ning Chuxue was stunned and nodded mechanically in embarrassment.
With Ning Chuxue’s confirmation, Lin Wan stopped scrutinizing her.
“I agree. More people make it more lively.”
“For real!?”
Before Ning Chuxue could react, Zhou Yu jumped in first.
Zhou Yu wanted to recruit new members more than anyone else.
“Really.”
Lin Wan confirmed again.
“It seems we really have a connection, meeting here.”
Ning Chuxue felt that Lin Wan was very different today.
When she had seen her last time, her expression was serious and focused, like a dedicated and capable aide.
But today she seemed like a child fond of having fun, overshadowing that dedicated side of her.
“Maybe so…”
Ning Chuxue didn’t know how to answer that question, so she tried to stammer her way through.
Lin Wan had no intention of letting it go.
“Shen Ruqing was very concerned about you back then. What’s your relationship?”
Ning Chuxue didn’t know the purpose of this question, but she answered truthfully,
“She should be considered my elder sister. She came because she saw me being bullied.”
Lin Wan of course knew the relationship between Ning Chuxue and Shen Ruqing. She asked to probe further.
“Can you tell me your sister’s information? Including her usual academic performance.”
Lin Wan pressed on.
Ning Chuxue felt a bit strange.
She didn’t answer directly.
“Why are you asking that?”
“I’m just curious and wanted to ask.”
Seeing Ning Chuxue become wary, Lin Wan didn’t dare continue pressing.
She worried that if she kept asking, Ning Chuxue’s guard would rise even higher, making it harder to pry into Shen Ruqing’s affairs.
Lin Wan currently had very little information on Shen Ruqing; her personal details seemed deliberately hidden.
Added to that, she had heard that Shen Ruqing wasn’t at school today, so she suspected it had to do with the competition.
But after obtaining the competition list, she didn’t find Shen Ruqing’s name, and she hadn’t seen Shen Ruqing’s shadow before the bus departed.
“Maybe only the president knows.”
Lin Wan thought helplessly and stopped her pursuit.
“For now, enjoying this brief moment of leisure is the main task!”