The scent of roses still lingered in the air—refreshing to others, but a deadly risk for Nan Zhi. She had no intention of staying here any longer.
Feng Sinian stared at her for several seconds, confirming he saw no trace of displeasure on her face, before he couldn’t help but ask, “Nan Zhi, aren’t you angry?”
She scoffed lightly, “Angry about what?”
She didn’t even like him.
Others on the sports field quickly captured the moment on camera.
The scene of the childhood sweetheart, the childhood friend, the childhood friend’s ex, and the suspected new love interest of the childhood sweetheart all in one frame was truly thrilling.
The campus forum was already flooded with posts about this confession, all discussing the relationships among the four of them.
Nan Zhi, at the center of the gossip, just wanted to return to her physical education class.
Only then did Feng Sinian notice the bandage peeking out from Nan Zhi’s sleeve. Frowning, he asked, “Are you injured?”
She replied casually, “Yeah, some inconsiderate person threw something from above and hit me. I still have to get back to class, so I won’t stay. Goodbye.”
Although Nan Zhi couldn’t play volleyball due to her injured hand, she still needed to be present. Every extra minute she delayed meant her PE teacher might deduct another point from her usual grade.
Knowing Nan Zhi still had class, Feng Sinian didn’t call out to her again to ask about her injury.
But the thought of the boy who had been by her side earlier left him distracted, and he didn’t even hear what Bai Wei was saying.
“Sinian, Sinian?”
Bai Wei called his name several times before he snapped back to attention. “Weiwei, what did you just say?”
Unbothered, she patiently repeated herself, “I asked what we should eat later?”
Bai Wei was always so understanding, patient with him no matter what.
Thinking this, Feng Sinian’s expression softened. He took her hand and said, “Didn’t you say you wanted oden? Let’s go.”
When Nan Zhi returned to the gymnasium, the others had already started practicing volleyball.
The PE teacher allowed her not to participate in the drills but only to sit on the bleachers.
She scanned the gym but didn’t see Jiang Zhe.
Wan Xiaoshan took the chance while retrieving a ball to ask, “Hey Zhizhi, who was that handsome guy who came to deliver equipment earlier? I’ve never seen him before.”
Nan Zhi looked away. “Jiang Zhe? He’s a junior in the Automation Department at Jing University. He was selected to study abroad as an exchange student in his sophomore year and only returned recently.”
“Wow, how do you know him?” Geng Tiantian chimed in. “He’s way more handsome than that Feng Sinian!”
Li Zimeng joined the conversation, “Exactly! That cool, restrained vibe of his totally hits different! Zhizhi, don’t waste your time hanging onto that childhood friend of yours. It’s time to find a taller, straighter tree!”
Nan Zhi felt helpless at their wild imaginations. “We’re just senior and junior in the same club, that’s all.”
“He seemed pretty considerate to me,” Wan Xiaoshan winked at her. “He told the PE teacher you went to the infirmary because your wound reopened, so you shouldn’t have points deducted for being late.”
Nan Zhi blinked. “As an experienced senior, he knows what freshmen worry about most—getting their usual grades docked.”
The PE teacher barked, “What are you all whispering about in a huddle? Are your volleyball skills so perfect already? Should we move up the final exam to right now?”
The three immediately scattered with their balls.
Nan Zhi found it amusing. After watching them practice for a while, she remembered she needed to thank Jiang Zhe.
Opening the chat window, she realized she hadn’t changed his contact name since adding him as a friend.
His WeChat nickname was: Morpho helena.
Nan Zhi searched and found it was the scientific name in English for the Morpho Helena butterfly.
The Morpho Helena butterfly is hailed as the most beautiful butterfly in the world.
Although she was very curious why Jiang Zhe would choose this name, it was his privacy, and she wouldn’t pry.
Nan Zhi changed the note to “Jiang Zhe,” and accidentally tapped his profile picture while returning to the chat interface.
[Chunzhi patted your head and said, “My treat today.”]
Her eyelids twitched, and she hurriedly wanted to say she had tapped by mistake, but the status bar at the top had already changed to: The other party is typing…
Jiang Zhe: [What’s up?]
Nan Zhi braced herself and replied: [I wanted to thank you, but I accidentally tapped the “pat” feature.]
Jiang Zhe: [Treating me is indeed a nice way to show gratitude.]
She glanced at the time in the top left corner—there were still ten minutes left until class ended.
[Sure, what would you like to eat, President?]
Jiang Zhe: [I’ve heard the oden at the back street near the West Gate is pretty good.]
Nan Zhi didn’t hesitate: [Alright, let’s meet at the West Gate at twelve.]
For freshmen, the most considerate aspect of having physical education classes during the third and fourth periods in the morning was that they would be dismissed five minutes early, giving them time to rush to the cafeteria for food.
When Wan Xiaoshan and the other two approached, Nan Zhi spoke up: “I’ve made plans to have lunch with Jiang Zhe today, so I won’t be eating with you.”
Ever since they found out that Feng Sinian had even forgotten Nan Zhi’s pollen allergy, the three of them unanimously lowered their impression of him to rock bottom. Hearing that Nan Zhi was going to have lunch with Jiang Zhe, they were all delighted.
Wan Xiaoshan was quite satisfied with Jiang Zhe: “I just searched for Jiang Zhe on the forum, and he’s really impressive. He was directly admitted to Peking University without even taking the college entrance exam. He also won countless gold medals in math and physics competitions during middle school, so he was selected as an exchange student to a prestigious foreign university in his sophomore year.”
Li Zimeng clicked her tongue in admiration: “His resume is even fuller than my college entrance exam Chinese paper.”
Geng Tiantian smiled and nudged Nan Zhi out the door. “Alright, alright, hurry up, Zhi Zhi. Don’t keep him waiting.”
Before Nan Zhi even reached the West Gate, she spotted Jiang Zhe’s tall figure standing under the begonia tree from afar.
A few girls nearby were whispering about something, but none dared to approach.
It wasn’t until Nan Zhi drew closer that Jiang Zhe lifted his gaze, and the chilly aura around him softened slightly.
Nan Zhi noticed the begonia petals scattered on his shoulders and realized he had been waiting for a while. She spoke apologetically: “President, sorry to keep you waiting.”
He straightened up and casually brushed the petals off his shoulder. “Not long. I just arrived myself.”
Watching the two of them walk out of the school gate together, the girls nearby fell into stunned silence for a moment.
“Did I see that right? Was that girl just now Nan Zhi?”
“Doesn’t Jiang Zhe usually keep his distance from girls? Why does he seem to get along quite well with Nan Zhi?”
“But Jiang Zhe just returned to school, and Nan Zhi is a freshman. How did they get to know each other so quickly?”
“From what I know, Nan Zhi is in the Music Association, and Jiang Zhe is the president. Isn’t it normal for them to know each other?”
“If I’d known earlier, I would’ve been brave enough to ask for his contact info.”
Another girl chimed in: “Exactly! The brave ones get to enjoy the handsome guys first!”
“Come on, didn’t you see how Jiang Zhe ignored the girls who tried to talk to him before? He only softened up when Nan Zhi arrived.”
“Now that Jiang Zhe is back, does that mean the title of Peking University’s School Grass is about to change hands?”