Yu Yingying felt as if her body had been struck at a pressure point. The moment Jiang He leaned over, his warm breath brushed past her ear—light as a feather, yet carrying the heat of fire. Even though he quickly straightened up and raised an eyebrow with a teasing smile, the tingling, prickly sensation lingered—like being bitten by an ant, or zapped by a faulty electric switch. It only intensified.
Yu Yingying didn’t dare look at Jiang He again. Biting her lip and tugging at her backpack strap, she hurried into the library hall and, when no one was watching, rubbed her earlobe vigorously to shake off the strange feeling. She couldn’t help but silently ask herself again: Does this romance really have to happen? What was I thinking back then?!
…
But soon, Yu Yingying couldn’t resist. When she ran into difficult problems, Jiang He could genuinely provide solutions. She had come from a small town as a prodigious problem-solver to A University; her learning ability was already strong, but Jiang He’s help still made her studying far more efficient. The collision of their thoughts was as dazzling and brilliant as a cosmic explosion. When her problem-solving inspired Jiang He, and he looked at her with admiration, she also felt a pleasurable sense of accomplishment.
She immersed herself in studying, and Jiang He didn’t waste any time either. Sitting side by side at the wide wooden desk, she read while he worked on his laptop, typing quickly, eyes focused. During a sip of water, she glanced at Jiang He and was momentarily captivated by his serious gaze. A thought flashed through her mind: This person… maybe he’s not without merits.
Before she realized it, the noon bell rang. Jiang He stretched, poked Yu Yingying on the shoulder, and lazily said, “Let’s go.”
“Don’t rush, just a moment.”
“Okay.” Jiang He replied, taking out his phone. “If you don’t want to waste time, I can order takeout.”
Yu Yingying hesitated, then looked up: “Let’s just go to the cafeteria?”
“What, you think takeout isn’t clean?”
“No, the cafeteria is cheaper and more filling. More cost-effective.”
Jiang He chuckled and put away his phone. “Fine.”
They walked to the cafeteria together. Yu Yingying had just pulled out her campus card when Jiang He pressed her hand down and gently pushed her shoulder, guiding her to the nearest seat.
“I eat a lot, I’ll get the food. With your tiny appetite, like a little kitten, you won’t eat much anyway. Just nibble a bit. Don’t even bother with your card—save it for buying buns for yourself.”
Yu Yingying: “…”
“See? Makes sense, right, girlfriend?”
Yu Yingying: “…Stop calling me that!”
“Sit still, and I won’t.”
“…Fine.”
As Jiang He strode to the food counter, Yu Yingying took out her expense notebook and wrote down today’s lunch spending with him. She didn’t fill in the amounts yet—she’d estimate after the meal.
After lunch, they returned to the library. On the first floor, Jiang He bought two bottles of coffee from the vending machine—opened one for Yu Yingying and downed the other himself. But even the coffee couldn’t save him.
Yu Yingying buried herself in studying. Encountering a difficult problem, she instinctively glanced at Jiang He, only to find that at some point, he had dozed off on the desk. Sunlight streamed generously through the windows, casting a golden glow on his short, neat hair, softening his normally sharp and arrogant features.
Yu Yingying stared at him for a few seconds, then mischievously and carefully draped her jacket—always carried to guard against early morning chills—over him. Turning back, she held her pen and laughed quietly. Hah, this guy is going to roast in this heat.
…
The next three days felt like they had developed an unspoken understanding. They attended classes together, spent long hours in the library. Yu Yingying’s study progress surged; within a week, she completed half of her first-year professional textbooks. Considering her major, Information and Computational Science, was quite challenging, this was impressive.
It was also why, when Jiang He sent a message from his main account on WeChat, saying he needed a few days off, Yu Yingying felt a faint twinge of reluctance. When she realized it, she shook her head in disbelief, as if trying to shake out the water in her brain.
After class that day, Yu Yingying habitually headed toward the library but was stopped by Wang Wei.
“Hello, Yu Yingying.”
“….” Yu Yingying smiled politely. “Hello.”
She was about to step past him when Wang Wei quickly asked, “Are you going to the library again? This time, can I sit next to you and study together?”
Yu Yingying instinctively wanted to refuse.
Wang Wei, with a self-conscious smile, continued, “Before, you said you didn’t want to be disturbed, so I didn’t dare sit with you, afraid you’d find me annoying. But these past few days, seeing you and Jiang He study together so well, I admire the atmosphere you two have, so I gathered courage to ask.”
His words sounded fine at first, but upon reflection, there was a hint of moral pressure. Yu Yingying furrowed her delicate brows and refused directly: “Sorry, please find another study partner.”
She tried to walk past, but Wang Wei called out again: “Yu Yingying, are you dating Jiang He?”
Yu Yingying glanced at him in surprise, giving only a brief answer, unwilling to engage further. Since he blocked her path, she sidestepped him and continued toward the library.
Wang Wei wasn’t willing to give up. He shouted after her, “You hated him so much before, and now… is it because he’s rich?”
Yu Yingying felt utterly confused. She planned to ask Yu Qing back in the dorm later that evening to figure out what was going on with Wang Wei.
What she didn’t know was that the moment Wang Wei stopped her had been seen by Zhou Qiang and other students from the sports department who were playing basketball. They immediately gossiped to Jiang Chengyu, who then “contributed the news” to Jiang He. The speed at which this information spread could be summed up in one word: fast!
City B. Jiang He came to attend a company bidding meeting and, after navigating one obstacle after another, successfully secured the project. Just as he got into the car, he took off his suit jacket, loosened his tie, and saw a message from Jiang Chengyu:
[Jiang Ge, that brat Wang Wei is once again targeting Yu Yingying!]
[Zhou Qiang said he heard that brat shout something at Yu Yingying twice—too far away to make out, only vaguely caught your name. But I guess he was cursing you.]
[Even though you’re not exactly a good guy yourself, who does he think he is?]
[We can’t just let this slide!]
Jiang He: “…?”
Not exactly a good guy? Even though he was… hmph! Hahaha. Jiang He decided to deal with Jiang Chengyu first—this brat was poisonous.
City A. That evening at 8 p.m., Jiang He’s plane landed. The first thing Jiang Chengyu had to report to him was about Wang Wei.
Jiang He said, “Take a few people and give him a warning. Make sure he knows to behave in the future. Don’t lay a hand on him—we’re civilized people.”
Jiang Chengyu grinned: “Got it. Jiang Ge, where are we going now?”
“Back to school.”
“You love studying that much?” Jiang Chengyu said disappointedly. “I was going to drag you to play games. Zhou Qiang and the others are ready—it’s just you missing.”
Love studying? Jiang He leaned back lazily in the passenger seat, idly gazing out at the night view. A fair, delicate face suddenly flashed in his mind, and he smiled: “Hmm… yeah, love studying.”
He took out his phone and sent a message to Yu Yingying: [I’ll be downstairs at your dorm in thirty minutes. Wait for me.]
A few minutes later, he received a reply: […Okay.]