The close distance allowed Su Yao to catch a faint floral scent lingering in the air.
It was somewhat familiar.
Su Yao recalled once bumping into Mu Nanqiu, and the fragrance she smelled then was exactly the same.
Mu Nanqiu leaned closer and said, “Let me take a look—what’s it about?”
Su Yao shifted the laptop toward Mu Nanqiu.
Fortunately, the screen was always open to documents, with nothing strange appearing.
Besides, this wasn’t her own laptop; even if there were any hidden resources, they wouldn’t be hers.
If seen, Su Yao could easily come up with an excuse.
Sitting beside Mu Nanqiu, Su Yao couldn’t help but steal glances with her peripheral vision.
Mu Nanqiu had tied her long hair back with a clip, though somewhat loosely, giving off a relaxed, lazy vibe.
Paired with her innate aura, she looked every bit the noble young lady.
Compared to her usual cool demeanor, there was now a mature charm to her, making Su Yao’s heart beat a little faster.
Mu Nanqiu focused intently on the screen, making Su Yao uneasy.
After all, what was written came from her own thoughts and imagination.
Having someone read it directly and critique it felt embarrassing.
She just hoped Mu Nanqiu wouldn’t be too harsh after finishing.
Unconsciously, Su Yao’s eyes fixated entirely on Mu Nanqiu’s changing expressions, but Mu Nanqiu’s face remained unchanged… This only made Su Yao more worried that her work was so poor it didn’t even qualify to move Mu Nanqiu’s emotions.
“Yaoyao, look here.”
Just as she was lost in thought, Mu Nanqiu spoke.
Startled, Su Yao quickly turned her gaze back to the screen.
Mu Nanqiu briefly explained the basics of scriptwriting but admitted she wasn’t very knowledgeable herself.
Being in the Literature Department didn’t mean one automatically knew how to write books or scripts.
The department had many branches and specialties; mastering all that knowledge couldn’t happen overnight, especially for Mu Nanqiu, who was only twenty-one.
Therefore, she didn’t focus too much on technical skills but spoke mainly about the story itself.
Beyond the story, the market selection was equally important.
The first step for a commercial work was positioning and identifying the audience; only then could one start creating.
Of course, dreamers wrote freely, letting the story unfold naturally.
“Yaoyao, do you know how the cultural performance is organized?”
“…No.”
Su Yao was stunned by the question.
She didn’t pay attention even to collective activities in her own class, so naturally, she hadn’t bothered learning about things that made no difference to her.
She honestly admitted she had no idea.
Mu Nanqiu wasn’t surprised.
In fact, over ninety percent of people at the school would answer similarly if asked this question.
Only some upperclassmen knew, mostly those involved behind the scenes of organizing the event.
The main audience of X University’s cultural performance wasn’t just teachers and students but also outsiders.
The Student Union drafted the plan, submitted it for approval, and once passed, they sought sponsorship.
When mentioning sponsorship, Mu Nanqiu deliberately emphasized the point.
But Su Yao’s “Oh, I see” expression clearly showed she didn’t catch the deeper meaning behind Mu Nanqiu’s words.
Mu Nanqiu smiled but didn’t elaborate.
Then she moved on to explain the organizational structure—from all Student Union members to temporary workers.
After a few sentences, Mu Nanqiu focused on how performances were approved.
The cultural performance’s overall framework remained consistent year to year, even if personnel and programs changed.
That meant last year’s standards still applied.
Su Yao looked enlightened, though her mind was actually blank.
“All right, Yaoyao, you revise it now. I’ll review it again later. Remember to keep the tone light and joyful.”
“Okay!”
After the discussion, Su Yao was full of confidence, but as she wrote, fatigue crept in.
With Mu Nanqiu right beside her, she had to focus intensely on her work.
Both discouragement and encouragement tugged at her simultaneously.
She hated this feeling of being supervised so much!
After a while, Su Yao finished.
Once Mu Nanqiu reviewed it and helped revise some parts, the third version was finally done!
Taking advantage of Mu Nanqiu’s momentary distraction, Su Yao quickly sent out the third draft, adding one sentence: If you keep nitpicking, I’ll hit you!
Sure enough, the file was accepted but no reply came for a long time.
Su Yao finally exhaled, deciding to leave her earnings up to fate.
“At this hour, it’s too late to go out and eat,” Mu Nanqiu said when she saw Su Yao packing up.
“Let’s just find a quiet spot in the school cafeteria.”
“Uh, okay…”
Su Yao hadn’t planned to eat but thought Mu Nanqiu hadn’t had dinner either.
She felt bad refusing, and besides, she enjoyed being with Mu Nanqiu—that feeling of being cared for was comforting.
Right, she’d take a photo later to send to Oyster Sauce.
Who asked her to brag yesterday?
Time to brag back!
She wondered how Oyster Sauce would reply, but just imagining it made her happy.
Smiling at her own thoughts, Su Yao’s silly grin didn’t escape Mu Nanqiu’s notice, though Mu Nanqiu chose to ignore it, quietly enjoying Yaoyao’s adorable smile.
The two went to a small eatery on the third floor of the cafeteria.
With Mu Nanqiu’s striking beauty beside her, many eyes followed them.
Su Yao glanced around cautiously, relieved no one came too close.
They successfully found seats.
During dinner, Su Yao secretly took a photo of them together, but only Mu Nanqiu’s body showed—no face.
After they finished, a bit of time remained before seven o’clock, when Su Yao had to go to the event classroom.
But just as Su Yao was about to leave, Mu Nanqiu suddenly grabbed her hand and said,
“No need to rush back. I have rehearsal later, and this time I want you to sit in a chair and watch. Don’t hide in the corner like last time.”
“Hmm…”
So she was trying to help her skip evening self-study!
Although the class supervisor usually stayed in the activity room and wouldn’t come to watch the study hall, Su Yao didn’t want to risk being called to the office by Zhang Li.
Mu Nanqiu noticed Su Yao’s worried expression and naturally had thought of that.
“Don’t worry, I already spoke with your class advisor. She’s agreed to it.”
“Eh?!”
Su Yao never expected Mu Nanqiu had prepared this in advance.