A crack finally appeared on Lu Zhiheng’s usually expressionless, beginner-overlord-president face.
There was surprise, confusion, and even a hint of doubt about whether he had heard correctly.
Jiang Nian almost burst out laughing. It was rare for her to see such vivid emotion on the Male Lead’s face.
For a moment, he no longer felt like a flat paper character from a novel.
Not giving Lu Zhiheng a chance to speak, Jiang Nian immediately declared, “Alright! I’m going to study now! Maintain silence!”
She took her laptop out of her bag and buried herself in her work.
Lu Zhiheng stared at the little bun of hair on top of Jiang Nian’s head.
For some reason, he suddenly had the urge to walk over and squeeze it.
What did this mean? Was she training him?
He dragged Cheng Ze’s chair over and sat down beside her. But after seeing Jiang Nian seriously working on her design, he felt like he was overthinking things.
He had once heard a friend say that some people simply enjoyed giving emotional affirmation. Even for tiny matters, they would praise others.
He had merely pulled out a chair for Jiang Nian. It was normal for her to compliment him in return.
Lu Zhiheng stopped dwelling on the issue.
Seeing how focused Jiang Nian was, and with his own chair now occupied, he walked toward the sofa area instead.
For a while, the only sounds in the room were mouse clicks and the hum of cooling fans.
The previous night, Jiang Nian had already finished the rough sketch for her competition poster. What she needed now was refinement and color selection.
Since there was no restriction on themes, she ultimately decided to create a poster about rescuing stray animals. The overall tone would be warm and adorable—something Jiang Nian genuinely cared about.
As she adjusted the composition, she also checked the time.
There were still five hours left before the preliminary submission deadline. More than enough.
Maybe there really was some kind of magical effect from being inside Qing University, because Jiang Nian finished and submitted her work in less than an hour.
If she had been in the dormitory instead, she definitely would have ended up chatting or playing on her phone halfway through.
Excited, Jiang Nian stretched lazily, only to realize Lu Zhiheng was no longer beside her.
Confused, she asked System 999 in her mind, 【Where’s the Male Lead?】
System 999 answered instantly: 【On the sofa.】
The Male Lead obeyed the rules too seriously. He had not made a single sound, so Jiang Nian never noticed he had moved.
Like a curious kitten, she peeked out from behind the chair.
The “Lu Zhiheng” she had been about to call out came to a sudden stop.
Because… Lu Zhiheng seemed to be asleep?
His long legs were slightly bent. One hand supported his head, his elbow resting against the sofa armrest. From this angle, she could only see the top of his head.
Jiang Nian quietly closed her laptop and tiptoed over.
She did not even know why she was doing this.
Maybe the instinct to scare people had awakened inside her.
After reaching the sofa, she bent down slightly so she could properly see Lu Zhiheng’s face.
His features were sharply sculpted, his nose tall and straight, his eyes long and narrow. His appearance normally carried an aggressive edge, but now that his eyes were closed, and with the sunlight falling through the window onto the loose strands of hair on his forehead, he unexpectedly looked softer.
Jiang Nian immediately reached a conclusion.
Lu Zhiheng was definitely asleep!
Because his eyes were closed.
Seeing that he still had not reacted, Jiang Nian grew bolder.
She leaned in a little closer and observed him carefully.
After several seconds, she spoke to System 999 in her mind.
【Little Three-Nine, how did the Male Lead even grow a face like this? He’s more handsome than the male celebrities I accidentally ran into before. And his eyelashes are so long!】
System 999 sounded quite proud.
【Otherwise, how could he be the Male Lead of this world?】
The system then encouraged her.
【Niannian, do you want to take advantage of this perfect opportunity while the Male Lead is sleeping and try out the secret technique?】
Jiang Nian was immediately reminded of something.
In the original story, the Supporting Female Character had secretly photographed the Male Lead sleeping in the car and showed the photo off. Later, after Lu Zhiheng found out, he demanded she delete it.
For the sake of hatred points, Jiang Nian steeled herself.
Carefully, she pulled out her phone, planning to take a dreamy-looking sleeping photo from an angle that would not fully show his face.
The moment she pressed the shutter—
Lu Zhiheng opened his eyes.
At the exact same time, the door behind them was pushed open.
Jiang Nian nearly dropped her phone.
“…?!”
Did Lu Zhiheng have hidden guards or something?
Lu Zhiheng did not say anything, but someone at the doorway suddenly cried out in shock.
“Holy crap! What are you trying to do?!”
Cheng Ze had never expected that when he came back to the Activity Room to retrieve the Bluetooth speaker he had forgotten, he would walk into this kind of scene!
His Brother Lu! Alone in a room with a girl!
And that girl looked like she had been about to bend down and kiss Brother Lu!!!
Cheng Ze unconsciously tightened his grip on his girlfriend’s hand.
What kind of first crime scene was this?!
He immediately stepped forward, prepared to defend Brother Lu’s innocence. But in the next second, he noticed the small white backpack sitting on Lu Zhiheng’s workstation, with the matching doll hanging from it.
His train of thought abruptly halted.
“Sorry for interrupting, sorry for interrupting, sorry for interrupting…”
Only then did he remember.
Brother Lu had a legitimate girlfriend now.
He had honestly thought some strange stalker had broken in.
Amidst the repeated apologies, the door closed again.
Jiang Nian did not dare look back because Lu Zhiheng was staring directly at her with dark eyes.
She hurriedly explained, “I just thought you looked really handsome sleeping, so I wanted to take a picture!”
Lu Zhiheng straightened up. Jiang Nian instinctively stepped back.
“If you want me to delete it—”
Before Jiang Nian could finish planning out her “threat,” Lu Zhiheng spoke first.
“I wasn’t asleep. I was listening to a podcast.”
Only then did Jiang Nian notice the earbuds in his ears. She had been too distracted by his face to see them earlier.
Biting her lip, she asked, “Then why didn’t you move or make any sound?”
If she had known Lu Zhiheng was awake, she never would have dared take the picture.
Lu Zhiheng answered calmly, “You said to keep quiet.”
These were noise-canceling earphones. Originally, he truly had not heard Jiang Nian come over. He only opened his eyes because he suddenly sensed someone breathing close to him.
Jiang Nian: “……”
Wuwuwu, he had been pretending to sleep!
It was a trap!
Lu Zhiheng watched as the person in front of him lightly bit her lower lip while her eyes wandered everywhere except toward him. She looked exactly like a kitten that had been caught doing something wrong but still refused to puff up in protest.
Slowly removing his earphones, he said to Jiang Nian, “I’m not blaming you. If you wanted to take a picture, then take one.”
“Really? I don’t have to delete it?” Jiang Nian’s eyes instantly lit up.
After seeing Lu Zhiheng nod, she declared, “Great! I’m going to treasure it carefully. I bet lots of people would want this photo. Don’t worry, I’ll secretly admire it all by myself.”
Lu Zhiheng fell silent for a moment.
“…That won’t be necessary.”
“Then I’ll admire it openly!” Jiang Nian grinned smugly.
Faint conversation sounds drifted in from outside the door. Curious, Jiang Nian asked, “Someone came in just now? Was that someone you know?”
Lu Zhiheng nodded.
“Mm. Cheng Ze. He’s my friend and classmate. We’re also on the same project team.”
Jiang Nian immediately seized the opportunity.
“Then shouldn’t you introduce us? I’m your girlfriend right now, after all.”
She did not want her roommates to know Lu Zhiheng was her boyfriend, but on Qing University’s side, interacting with Lu Zhiheng’s social circle as his girlfriend was exactly the sort of thing the Supporting Female Character should do.
Before bringing Jiang Nian to the Activity Room, Lu Zhiheng had not planned for this.
But now that they had already run into someone, he naturally would not deny it.
“Okay,” Lu Zhiheng agreed.
Then he added a warning in advance, “Cheng Ze talks a lot. If he says anything that makes you uncomfortable, don’t force yourself to deal with it. Leave it to me.”
Jiang Nian had not expected him to agree so decisively.
But after thinking about it, their agreement had always been to pretend to be a couple when necessary. Lu Zhiheng obviously could not suddenly admit that their relationship was fake, so of course he had to cooperate with her.
“Got it~” Jiang Nian smiled sweetly. “Then do you know what the very first step for a little couple should be?”
Lu Zhiheng shook his head.
“What should we do?”
System 999 screamed inside Jiang Nian’s head:
【Hold hands! Hold hands!】
That had been Jiang Nian’s plan all along. Before reaching out, she secretly wiped her palms against the back of her clothes and gathered her courage.
“Give me your hand.”
She was so nervous.
Last time in the car, she had only touched the back of Lu Zhiheng’s hand once…
But this time, she was about to accomplish something huge!
Lu Zhiheng did not know what Jiang Nian intended to do, but he obediently extended his hand anyway.
The next thing he felt was the warmth of another person’s palm.
Jiang Nian had taken hold of his hand.
And almost instinctively, he tightened his grip around hers.