17、
For several days after that, Anning remained somewhat absent-minded.
The symptoms weren’t obvious, but she was definitely distracted…
For example, while chatting with her cousin:
“Someone called me Fairy Sister today!”
A-Miao replied: “Xu Xian’s sister?”
And then her cousin stopped talking to her…
Anning felt as though something had suddenly entangled itself into her once-simple life. So she decided to spend a period cultivating her mind and temperament, waiting for bad luck to reverse itself…
As she walked peacefully through campus, Qiangwei beside her humming the song she planned to sing in the second round of the competition, Anning watched autumn leaves slowly fall and couldn’t help thinking…
Mm… Xu…
Uh, no no no…
Thinking about why leaves fell in autumn…
Anning lowered her head weakly. “That connection was way too forced.”
Chaoyang said, “I heard the Image Ambassador competition champion gets ten thousand yuan in prize money. Qiangwei, you’d better work hard! If you win, treat us to a meal at a five-star hotel.”
Qiangwei: “Definitely, definitely.”
Mao Mao: “I wonder if that handsome judge from last time will show up again.”
Chaoyang looked at her like she couldn’t bear the sight. “Seriously, is there anything in your head besides men?”
Mao Mao: “Stop pretending. Like you wouldn’t think about it?”
Qiangwei laughed. “If it were me, I genuinely wouldn’t dare.”
“Excuse me, classmates, wait a moment!”
A voice called out to them. A rather… healthy-looking boy slowly jogged over.
Mao Mao: “Is he moonwalking in space?”
The boy stopped in front of Anning, looking somewhat shy.
“Hello.”
Anning: “…”
Qiangwei and Chaoyang automatically stepped one step away.
The boy looked at Li Anning. The breeze stirred her long hair. A gentle girl like this truly deserved to be called beautiful…
Mao Mao smiled gently. “Classmate, do you need something?”
“Nothing much…” The boy hesitated, rubbing his cheek before looking at A-Miao again. “Why did you stop going to Music Appreciation class afterward?”
Uh… there was no need for her to deliberately walk into the wrong classroom a second time, right…?
The boy gritted his teeth and finally blurted it out.
“My name is Liu Chuyu. I’m a sophomore. Senior sister, if you ever run into difficulties, you can come find me anytime.”
Anning: “Mm… I’m already a second-year graduate student. Currently I don’t have any difficulties.”
Right then, her phone rang.
Normally Anning would check the number before answering—or simply not answer at all. But at the moment she only wanted to end this inexplicable conversation as quickly as possible, so she pressed the answer button without hesitation.
“Hello?”
“If you’re skipping class, you can come watch me play basketball.”
The low voice made Anning stiffen all over. Some instinctive sense prompted her to turn toward the basketball court behind her to the left—
About ten meters away, Xu Moting was sitting beneath the basketball hoop support. One hand rested on his knee while the other held his phone. His posture was leisurely and elegant, his presence strikingly distinct.
“It’s him!” Mao Mao, who had been closely monitoring their surroundings, cried out excitedly while tugging at Anning’s sleeve. “Look, handsome guy!”
“…”
What happened after that…
The handsome guy walked toward them.
Chaoyang slipped back beside Anning and whispered, “Why does he seem to… know you?”
It was obvious at a glance.
Xu Moting’s gaze was fixed on only one person—
Their poor classmate A-Miao.
Before Anning could recover enough to answer, he had already casually placed a hand on her shoulder and politely asked the three girls—and one boy—
“Could I speak with her alone for a moment?”
Anning used her eyes to signal her friends to stay united.
The result?
Chaoyang and Mao Mao suddenly pretended to be busy, while Qiangwei loudly called out to a teacher who happened to be passing by the road.
“Old Liu, busy?”
(Or perhaps: old pervert?)
Old Liu calmly turned around…
Anning reflexively grabbed Xu Moting and quickly escaped the humiliating zone.
He looked at the hand clutching his sleeve, a trace of a smile rising to his lips.
He didn’t want to admit it.
But ten minutes earlier, Xu Moting himself had actually stood on the basketball court feeling jealous of some random unknown boy!
He had always been proud and arrogant…
That letter he wrote her back then was the most… unexpected thing he had ever done.
There had been no reply.
What had he felt then? Anger?
A little.
More than that, probably frustration…
Meanwhile, Anning coughed lightly.
“Sorry.”
She had already let go of his sleeve, genuine embarrassment written all over her face.
Moting frowned slightly, but still politely replied, “It’s alright.”
Elsewhere, the trio all turned their heads back simultaneously every five steps.
Qiangwei: “This won’t do. It’s too obvious. Let’s take turns. Mao, you go first.”
Mao Mao: “Oh my, that slightly furrowed brow, those beautiful lips… how did I never notice we had a man like this at our university before?!”
Chaoyang turned back again. “If he’s from the Foreign Affairs Department, then his undergrad years would’ve been at the main campus… speaking of which, why did that younger boy run away just now?!”
Qiangwei turned back too. “Hug her hug her hug her hug her…”
Chaoyang endured it for a moment. “A-Wei, your expression looks like a brothel madam.”
Mao Mao: “A-Miao’s coming over!”
So the three of them immediately posed as though wistfully admiring fallen autumn leaves…
Anning: “Waiting for me?”
Everyone: “……”
Qiangwei chuckled wickedly. “This time you have to explain things properly, right?”
Chaoyang was also becoming relentless. “Come on, who exactly is he?”
Mao Mao: “Even his back view is charming…”
Anning suddenly thought of something and smiled.
“There was also someone named Liu Chuyu during the Liu Song dynasty. The greatest beauty—if I remember correctly, she was called Princess Shanyin.”
Everyone drifted completely off-topic…
Anning continued smiling. “This young and beautiful princess was famous for keeping male lovers and committing incest with her younger brother. Mm… want to hear more?”
Qiangwei: “Are male lovers basically male prostitutes?”
Mao Mao: “Incest?!”
Anning smiled.
“The princess’s husband was named He Ji. Historical records suggest he was quite tolerant and long-suffering. Apparently Princess Shanyin once fancied a court official named Chu Yuan, so she asked the emperor—who was also her younger brother—to lock him up in her residence for ten days.”
Mao Mao: “House arrest?!”
Chaoyang and Qiangwei together: “And then?!”
Anning: “Then classmate Chu Yuan would rather die than submit. He remained straight and unyielding, refusing to surrender to Princess Shanyin’s overwhelming seductive power and instead developed a certain revolutionary bond that transcended… ordinary friendship… with the long-suffering husband.”
Everyone instantly descended into wild imagination mode…
At that moment, Anning glanced behind her and lightly bit her lip.
Mm… he had definitely done it on purpose…
Putting on such a righteous and proper appearance just to say “It’s alright,” and then letting her leave like that?