Yun Qing’s peach-blossom eyes were already bright and lively, and at this moment they seemed to shine even brighter than the night outside.
Her gaze was ardent and radiant, yet so innocent that there wasn’t a trace of romantic feeling to be found in it. It was as if she had made this decision merely to find a proper, suitable excuse for hugging him the next time—and the time after that.
Seeing him staring at her without answering for so long, Yun Qing felt a little nervous inside.
However.
After a long stretch of silence, he let out a soft laugh, silently brushed the petals off his lap, and turned his head away.
Yun Qing’s expression stiffened.
Was this being mocked and rejected?
…Well, that made sense, really.
From his distinguished, extraordinary aura to the luxury car with its Shanghai-plate consecutive numbers she was sitting in right now, everything proved that his background was deep and powerful—far beyond merely being wealthy.
His standards for a girlfriend must be very high, and there was surely no shortage of girls who liked him.
As for background, she was just an ordinary third-year dance student—not some heiress, and without any powerful family connections. The only thing she could take pride in was having an older brother who was a gold-award-winning director.
It was only natural that Liang Xiheng didn’t think much of her.
“It’s okay…”
“You can try.”
Two voices spoke at the same time.
Yun Qing froze, disbelief in her eyes, even wondering for a moment if she had misheard.
But soon.
She came back to her senses, a light smile spreading across her lips. “Thank you for giving me a chance, Xiheng-ge.”
Then she took out her phone and asked him, “Can I get your contact information first?”
Her voice was as clear and lovely as striking jade.
Her face was delicate and vivacious, like a crabapple blossom blooming under the moonlight, glowing with a quiet, gorgeous luster.
It made one sink into it, unable to refuse her request.
Liang Xiheng’s gaze shifted away from her clear, bright eyes. He took her phone, typed in a string of numbers, and handed it back.
As if she had obtained some precious treasure, Yun Qing clutched the phone in her palm.
It was getting late, and she said her goodbye calmly: “Xiheng-ge, thank you for driving me home tonight. Curfew is almost here, so I have to get back to my dorm. You should head back and rest early too.”
“Go on.”
The next second, just as Yun Qing was about to push open the car door, she suddenly remembered something and turned back to him. “Oh right, Xiheng-ge, could you keep it a secret that I’m pursuing you? Don’t tell my brother.”
Liang Xiheng looked at her in silence for a moment, then said flatly, “If you’re worried, then don’t pursue me.”
“No can do,” Yun Qing explained. “My brother is strict. He doesn’t allow me to date while I’m in college.”
She shook his arm, pleading, “Xiheng-ge, promise me, okay? There’s less than two minutes left before curfew. If you don’t say yes soon, I won’t make it back.”
Liang Xiheng’s brow darkened, and somehow, he nodded.
Yun Qing smiled. “Then it’s a deal.”
She immediately asked, “This Saturday is our school’s anniversary celebration. I have a performance that evening. Will you have time to come watch me?”
Liang Xiheng said flatly, “We’ll see.”
“Okay.”
“See you, Xiheng-ge.” With that hurried farewell, Yun Qing got out of the car and ran, racing against the curfew deadline.
Her slender, light figure vanished in a flash.
Liang Xiheng slowly withdrew his gaze.
Though the girl was gone, his body still seemed to retain the shape of her embrace, and a lingering fragrance persisted in his car.
Suddenly.
He took a cigarette from the pack and lit it.
……
……
A four-person dorm room.
But the room Yun Qing lived in was shared only by her and Ye Feifei.
The moment she pushed the door open, she saw her roommate sitting at the computer desk, furiously hammering away at the keyboard, as if the force of her fingertips might smash it to pieces.
Seeing her come back, her movements suddenly stopped, and she stared at her in shock. “Qingqing? Why are you back?”
Yun Qing closed the door as she replied, “I just finished recording the show. I came back to prepare for the school anniversary celebration. It’s so late—why haven’t you gone to sleep yet?”
Ye Feifei was indignant. “Someone posted a thread deliberately smearing you. I’m fighting with them. These people are all brainless—they only know how to make wild speculation out of nothing. It’s infuriating.”
Yun Qing walked over to her, puzzled. “What thread?”
Ye Feifei scrolled with the mouse, about to show it to her.
The next second, the thread’s content suddenly went blank.
The poster had deleted the thread.
“The person deleted it,” Ye Feifei mused for a moment. “They probably got scared of being retaliated against by some powerful figure if things blew up, so they deleted it out of fear.”
“A powerful figure?” Yun Qing had a bad feeling.
Ye Feifei explained, “There’s a Shanghai-plated Rolls-Royce with consecutive license plate numbers parked downstairs in our dorm. Someone took photos and posted them, suspecting that you’d gotten involved with some powerful figure and were hooking up with him in his car at school.”
“Those photos only showed a car—not a single person in sight—and they still suspected you. It’s obviously malicious slander.”
“They even said the car’s owner is old and ugly.”
“But that owner is a powerful figure ordinary people can’t afford to offend. If he found out, that poster hiding behind their keyboard would probably be finished.”
Yun Qing’s brow furrowed, though her voice remained fairly calm. “Let’s see who the poster is.”
Ye Feifei said, “It’s a newly registered alt account.”
Just then, she clicked the mouse and entered the poster’s profile page.
Yun Qing studied the ID intently.
Unexpectedly, the next second, the account was deactivated, all its information wiped completely clean.