When Bai Tao arrived at the school cafeteria, she was stunned.
As far as the eye could see, it was a sea of people.
They were divided into five columns, each group wearing matching jackets of a different color.
Everyone was holding a flashy, brightly lit sign.
At the very front of each column, near the main aisle, stood a meter-high platform, though she had no idea what it was for.
“Don’t push, everyone!
Stay in line!”
“Keep the aisle clear by two meters!
We can’t make trouble for F5!”
“We’ve rehearsed this countless times.
When it’s time for the chants, no one is allowed to mess up!”
‘Don’t tell me… these are the fan clubs for each member of F5?’
Bai Tao swallowed.
She had been prepared for pretty boys like F5 to be popular, but she had never imagined it would be on this scale.
‘This is some real Mary Sue-level stuff.’
She stood on her tiptoes, trying to get a better look, when someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“Excuse me, which group are you with?
How come you’re not wearing a fan jacket?” a girl with a high ponytail asked, appearing suddenly behind Bai Tao.
Bai Tao quickly waved her hands.
“Oh, I’m not, I…”
Before she could explain, a girl wearing glasses next to her lost her balance and started to fall.
On pure reflex, Bai Tao grabbed her arm and steadied her.
The girl’s face was deathly pale, her lips completely drained of color.
But she was still clutching a metal banner pole with both hands.
The name “Senye” was written on it, and the pole looked to be nearly two meters long.
It looked incredibly heavy, as if the weight was about to make her pass out.
Bai Tao reached out and lifted the banner with one hand.
“Are you okay?”
The high-ponytail girl and the girl with glasses were visibly stunned, their eyes glued to the hand Bai Tao was using to hold the banner.
Bai Tao’s heart skipped a beat.
‘Oh no, this is one of their fan banners, isn’t it?’
‘Was I not supposed to just grab it like that?’
“Sorry, I just thought it was crushing you, so…”
The next second, both girls grabbed her hands.
“Please!
You have to do us this favor!”
Immediately after, a black fan jacket was draped over her shoulders.
Before Bai Tao could even react, a whistle blew.
“F5 will be at the cafeteria in five minutes!
Everyone, get ready!”
The column of people in front of her fell completely silent, then automatically parted to either side.
The high-ponytail girl pulled Bai Tao straight to the front.
She stopped in front of the platform and put her hands together pleadingly.
“Our group leader injured her wrist, and we couldn’t find anyone else who could lift the fan banner easily.”
“I can’t believe you can lift this banner with one hand!
It weighs 40 kilograms!”
“You must be a godsend!”
Her eyes sparkled.
“You just need to get on the platform and wave it a few times!
We’ll handle the rest!”
Bai Tao looked completely unwilling.
Her stomach was rumbling.
She was here to eat.
‘Anyone who gets in the way of her food deserves to die!’
“Sorry, but I…”
The ponytail girl tentatively added:
“We’ll pay you when it’s over!
How does 10,000 sound?”
‘Oh?’
Well, that was a different story.
Her eyes lit up at the mention of money.
She immediately took the banner and hopped onto the platform.
“What I meant to say was, I’d be more than happy to!”
She copied the people on the other four platforms, waving the banner from side to side.
She was a bit stiff at first, but she quickly got the hang of it and was soon waving it better than the other four.
As she waved, she chanted in her head:
‘Ten thousand!
Ten thousand!’
Jing Wang sat in the car, looking at the crowd in the cafeteria from afar.
He sounded annoyed.
“I’m serious, can we please not use the main entrance?”
Qi Heting smiled.
His long hair, usually worn loose, was now tied to the side with a simple band.
“Ah Wang, don’t say that.
You’ll break their hearts if they hear you.”
Jing Wang clicked his tongue in frustration and pulled out his phone.
“Where are the others?”
“Si Hansu told me not to be late, and then he doesn’t even show up.”
Qi Heting’s eyes narrowed, his golden irises disappearing behind his white lashes.
“Ah Wang, didn’t they say in the group chat that they had something to take care of and would be delayed by a couple of minutes?”
“You didn’t see the group chat?”
Jing Wang was speechless.
“I muted that group chat ages ago.”
“Every day it’s either those idiot twins yelling about something or Si Hansu making some announcement.”
“Hmm… muted, you say.” Qi Heting slowly looked up, a hint of teasing in his voice.
“That’s a little heartbreaking.”
Jing Wang frowned.
“Don’t try that act you use on everyone else with me, Qi Heting.
It’s nauseating.”
Qi Heting rested an arm against the car window, propping up his cheek.
“How could you say that?
I’m being sincere.”
“I thought the reason you kept checking your phone, Ah Wang, was because you were looking at our group chat.”
“It seems you were expecting a message from someone else?”
“Mind if I ask who?”
Jing Wang unnaturally flipped his phone face down.
“Who else would it be?”
“Can’t I just be bored of waiting and kill some time on my phone?”
A faint smile touched Qi Heting’s lips.
“It couldn’t be this morning’s special admission student, could it?
Did you two exchange contact info?”
Jing Wang was clearly taken aback, but he recovered quickly.
“You’re overthinking things.”
The mischievous glint in Qi Heting’s eyes didn’t fade.
“Mm, maybe I am overthinking things.”
Jing Wang turned his head and looked out the window.
‘That guy Qi Heting… his intuition is annoyingly sharp.’
‘That bean sprout… it’s been almost an hour since he had Uncle Cao give her his contact information.’
‘And she still hasn’t added him.’
‘Of course, it’s not that he actually *wanted* her contact info.’
‘It’s just that, besides replacing her glasses, he felt the extra gift he’d given her at least warranted an immediate friend request and a word of thanks.’
‘She’s probably… busy?’
‘Tsk.’
‘Either that or she’s just an ungrateful bean sprout.’
“Ah Wang.”
Qi Heting’s voice broke Jing Wang out of his thoughts.
“Ah Su and the others are here.”
Jing Wang grunted in acknowledgment, letting out a frustrated breath as his chest rose and fell.
“Got it.”
He got out of the car and saw the other three.
Si Hansu pushed up his gold-wire, rimless glasses.
“The school wants us to submit a proposal for the welcome dance within a week.”
He glanced to the side and seemed surprised to see that Jing Wang was actually there.
“How about a horror theme?” Two male voices, so similar it was almost impossible to tell them apart, spoke at once.
Jing Wang was already annoyed just listening to them, so he ignored Zuo Senye and Zuo Mubai.
“What kind of idiot would come up with that theme?”
Zuo Senye leaned in from his left.
“Jing Wang, don’t tell me you’re scared, are you?”
Zuo Mubai leaned in from his right.
“If you’re scared, we can help you save a little face.”
“Ah Wang is in a bad mood right now.
I’d advise you not to get on his bad side,” Qi Heting said, pushing the twins forward by their backs.
Si Hansu adjusted his suit jacket and fastened a button.
“Let’s discuss the details in the Sky Garden.”
Jing Wang followed behind them alone, putting in his Bluetooth earbuds and turning on the noise cancellation.
As soon as they entered the cafeteria, the piercing screams still managed to cut through.
As usual, Si Hansu ignored the crowd, Qi Heting offered a polite smile, and Zuo Senye and Zuo Mubai waved to everyone.
He scowled.
He turned up the volume, trying to drown out the screaming completely.
‘This was why he hated participating in F5 events.’
‘There were crowds everywhere they went.’
‘It was so damn loud.’
Qi Heting, who was walking in front of him, suddenly stopped, and a distracted Jing Wang bumped right into his back.
Before he could ask why Qi Heting had stopped, the other man turned his head, whispered something, and motioned with his eyes toward a spot up ahead and to the side.
From his lip movements, Jing Wang could vaguely make out the words: “Special…
Admission…
Student.”
‘The special admission student?’
Jing Wang followed Qi Heting’s line of sight.
The bean sprout was standing on the platform, happily waving a fan banner back and forth with all her might.
Wearing Zuo Senye’s fan jacket.
And waving Zuo Senye’s fan banner.
Jing Wang: ?