“Huh?” Huo Xiaoyang’s brain completely short-circuited.
The Jing University students on the plane froze for a moment, then let out a series of hushed exclamations.
“A true beauty really is different—which girl from our school would dare do something like that?”
Xu Yanxi was the first to react, shooting Xia Shuran a cold glare. “Are you sick?”
Xia Shuran gave a light laugh. “If he’s your boyfriend, then I apologize. But if he’s not…”
Xia Shuran raised an eyebrow. She had a very innocent, pure look, and with just a slight adjustment of her expression, she could appear utterly pitiable and delicate.
Her friends had teased her for years about being a “green tea bitch,” and it wasn’t for nothing.
She smiled sweetly. “I’m guessing he’s not, right? Who would ask someone else for their contact info right in front of their girlfriend?”
The fool bewitched by the green tea: “No, no, we all grew up together—we’re neighbors. Yu-ge doesn’t like girls like Xu Yanxi.”
Realizing he’d misspoken, Huo Xiaoyang quickly clamped his hand over his mouth.
Xu Yanxi’s expression froze.
She kept her face blank, but the dejection in her eyes betrayed her.
Right. Huo Xiaoyang was right.
She had confessed, and Chi Yu had rejected her.
Everyone knew that.
But soon enough, Xu Yanxi recovered her composure.
Chi Yu remained with his head down, staring at his phone, seemingly absorbed in something.
His face showed no emotion at all, as if these people weren’t talking about him at all.
Xia Shuran continued speaking to Huo Xiaoyang, her tone gentle. “Then what type does he like?”
Huo Xiaoyang thought to himself: Yu-ge’s never dated anyone, how would I know?
Xia Shuran was about to say something else when Chi Yu’s flat voice suddenly cut through. “Abs photos are hard to take right now. I’ll send them to you when we get back.”
“……”
“……?!”
Xia Shuran was stunned too. She’d only said it casually, to embarrass him a little—she hadn’t actually expected him to agree.
Oh, this guy. He’s got some game.
Xia Shuran said softly, “Alright, I’ll be waiting then.”
After Chi Yu spoke, Xu Yanxi’s eyes flickered with turmoil.
Her disbelief was completely silent, and she fought hard to control her expression. Only after several minutes did she resume talking to Chi Yu as if nothing had happened.
Xia Shuran added Huo Xiaoyang on WeChat, and that fool Huo Xiaoyang immediately forwarded Chi Yu’s contact to her.
Before she could even send the friend request, the plane was about to take off, and a flight attendant came by to remind everyone. Xia Shuran had no choice but to turn off her Wi-Fi.
From Haicheng, the city with the highest GDP in the country, to the city where Jing University was located, the flight took just over two hours.
Xia Shuran dozed off and arrived before she knew it.
She stood up first, rising onto her tiptoes to reach for her backpack.
A small suitcase was pressed against the front of her bag, and worried that it might crush the tablet inside, she hurriedly tried to move it aside.
Chi Yu packed up his things and stood.
He wore a black short-sleeved shirt and matching loose jeans. His lean, athletic frame was visible beneath, with sharp, pale collarbones exposed at the neckline.
The muscle lines of his arms were the clean, slim type—smooth and aesthetically pleasing, with faint blue veins visible beneath his fair skin.
His tall, imposing figure pressed down on Xia Shuran.
She was 168 in shoes, yet the top of her head only reached his shoulder. He had to be close to 190.
Xia Shuran kept her hand on the suitcase, but all her attention was on him.
She sensed that he was standing still, his lashes lowered, his gaze fixed on her.
Xia Shuran held her breath. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she grew a little flustered.
Is this what the books mean—that being stared at makes you stupid?
Just then, Xu Yanxi spoke up, sounding puzzled. “Chi Yu, why aren’t you leaving?”
He didn’t answer.
Nervous, Xia Shuran yanked the suitcase out.
But the black suitcase was heavier than she’d expected, and when she caught sight of the top-tier luxury logo on it, her hand trembled—and the suitcase came crashing straight down toward her head.
The pain she expected never came.
Xia Shuran opened her eyes and saw Chi Yu’s long, porcelain-white hand—knuckles sharp and defined, faint veins rising across the back, radiating a wild, powerful strength.
He caught the suitcase with one hand and set it down smoothly.
“Th-thank you.” Only then did Xia Shuran look at him openly, smiling as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Xu Yanxi watched the entire scene from the side, her face expressionless, but sneering inwardly.
Chi Yu had been through this countless times. How many women had tried to throw themselves at him? This trick had been used long before.
Xu Yanxi remembered what had happened to that one.
Chi Yu hadn’t given her a single glance. He’d kept walking, treating her like air.
Actually, Xu Yanxi thought that being ignored was the most humiliating thing of all—and that was something Chi Yu excelled at.
So when Chi Yu’s voice rang out, she thought she must be hearing things.
Chi Yu lowered his lashes, his dark eyes fixed on Xia Shuran. His expression remained calm and indifferent as he said slowly, “No need to thank me.”
Anyone who knew Chi Yu well would recognize this as already out of character—when had he ever responded to a woman trying to hit on him?
He reached out and took down Xia Shuran’s bag as well. “Sorry, I crushed your backpack.”
So the suitcase was his.
Chi Yu’s face was cool and detached as his dark eyes swept over her. He tilted his head slightly, leaning in close to the girl’s ear.
Xia Shuran forcibly suppressed the urge to step back, standing her ground without backing down.
She heard his clear, low, magnetic voice say unhurriedly,
“Chiara, remember to add me as a friend. Don’t forget me again.”
Xia Shuran’s mind went blank.
Chiara!
That was her name while studying abroad in Italy.
How could he possibly know…