On this side, Xie Qingwang was fiddling with the keychain. When it had gone missing before, Ji Nian had looked pretty upset.
Now that it was found, he figured letting her know should make her feel better.
So what if she blocked him on WeChat? He could still send SMS.
Five minutes passed.
Why hadn’t Ji Nian replied yet?
Xie Qingwang checked his phone over and over—nothing wrong with it. So why no message?
At this time, she should be in class. Ji Nian had always been serious in class and didn’t use her phone, so not replying was normal.
Fine—he’d wait until class ended.
But even after the bell rang, there was still no reply.
Losing patience, Xie Qingwang sent another message, asking what she was doing.
Another five minutes passed—still nothing.
What was going on?
He walked out of the classroom and called her directly.
“Sorry, the number you dialed is currently busy…”
He tried several times—same busy tone.
Thinking about how she had blocked him on WeChat… could it be she’d blocked his phone number too?
Realizing that, Xie Qingwang took a deep breath and squeezed the pink bunny hard. “Very nice. Just great.”
“Who are you calling? Ji Nian? She didn’t pick up, huh?”
He Weichen’s ghost-like voice came from behind him. “Looks like you’ve been blocked. What’s going on?”
“How would I know what’s going on?”
He was inexplicably being disliked, inexplicably blocked on WeChat, inexplicably blocked on his number—everything was inexplicable.
“Are you mad?” He Weichen asked.
Xie Qingwang looked at him like he was an idiot. “Why wouldn’t I be mad?”
“But why are you mad?” He Weichen genuinely didn’t understand. “You don’t even like her. You used to complain that she kept clinging to you. Now she’s stopped—shouldn’t that be a good thing?”
“I…”
He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
“So there’s no need to care,” He Weichen slung an arm over his shoulder. “Unless… you’ve fallen for her?”
“Impossible!” Xie Qingwang immediately denied it.
“Then why care about someone you don’t like?”
Xie Qingwang choked on his words. “I just don’t accept it. Why does she get to cling to me and bother me whenever she wants, then block me everywhere when she’s done?”
Yeah—that was it. He just couldn’t accept it.
He was the young master of the Xie family—why should he be treated like this by a girl? He had to get an explanation.
He Weichen gave him a complicated look. “So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to make her add me back. And if anyone’s blocking, it should be me blocking her,” Xie Qingwang said matter-of-factly.
“Alright… you do you.”
……
“I heard the professor giving today’s lecture is insanely handsome.”
On the way to the auditorium, Ruan Yu kept talking to Ji Nian. “And he’s not even thirty yet—already working at the Institute of Translation.”
“I think I’ve heard of him.” Ji Nian’s future goal was to work there too, so she knew of this young professor—but didn’t know what he looked like.
Ruan Yu was extremely appearance-focused. If the professor was handsome, she’d definitely pay attention the whole time.
When they arrived, from the second row onward, the auditorium was almost full. They could only sit in the first row.
Sometimes, the more you don’t want to see someone, the more likely you are to run into them.
Like now.
The moment Ji Nian sat down, she saw a tall figure walk in through the door—black jacket, black cap—heading straight toward her.
Not only that—he plopped down right beside her.
“That’s Xie Qingwang, right? Why is he at a Foreign Languages lecture?”
“No idea—he sat next to Ji Nian. Probably here for her.”
“But doesn’t he dislike her?”
“Could they already be together?”
Whispers spread around.
Ji Nian covered her face. “Why are you here again?”
“I like studying. Can’t I come to a lecture?” Xie Qingwang crossed his legs, openly staring at her.
“Can you not look at me?”
“My eyes are mine—I’ll look if I want.”
Even Ruan Yu didn’t expect the roles to reverse like this. Before, her best friend chased him—now he was the one chasing her friend.
“Nian Nian, should I switch seats with you?”
Ji Nian was about to agree, but before she could move, someone pressed her down.
“You can switch, I can switch too.” Xie Qingwang said, pulling out a bottle of milk from his jacket pocket and placing it in front of her. “He Weichen didn’t want it. It’s for you.”
“……”
Ji Nian was so speechless she laughed. “Am I a trash can?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why are you giving me something someone else didn’t want?”
Xie Qingwang fell silent for a moment. “He said it tastes good.”
So he had snatched it directly from He Weichen.
“I’m not drinking it. Drink it yourself.” Ji Nian turned away.
At 2:30, the lecture officially began.
“Let’s welcome Professor Fu Jinqiao.”
As the announcement ended, a refined man walked onto the stage—around 185 cm tall, gold-rim glasses, black suit. Definitely very handsome.
“We definitely came to the right lecture—even if we learn nothing, at least we get to admire a handsome guy,” Ruan Yu whispered happily.
Ji Nian agreed. “He gives off such a gentle, refreshing vibe.”
Hearing their excitement, Xie Qingwang snorted. “Don’t you know appearances can be deceiving?”
Ji Nian ignored him.
“Hello everyone,” Fu Jinqiao began, his voice pleasant. “Before we officially start, let’s do a small activity.”
“You can pair up with someone next to you and use your best foreign language to act out a reunion after a long separation. No more than three sentences each.”
“You have five minutes to prepare. After that, you can volunteer—or I’ll call on someone.”
The room filled with discussion. Naturally, Ji Nian paired with Ruan Yu.
As for Xie Qingwang—he had no intention of participating in such a “silly” activity, and no one dared to ask him either.
Time was up. A few volunteers went first, all same-gender pairs acting out reunions between friends.
After they finished, Fu Jinqiao smiled. “No couples here today? I’d love to see how young people reunite with a long-lost lover.”
There were over a hundred people present—surely some couples—but no one raised their hand, probably out of embarrassment.
“Since no one volunteers, I’ll pick one male and one female student.”
His smile widened as he scanned the room—then landed on Xie Qingwang in the front row.
“Let’s have the student in black, and the female student next to him.”
Ji Nian thought, given Xie Qingwang’s personality, he would refuse outright.
But unexpectedly, he stood up.
And not only that—he dragged her up with him.
“You first or me?” he asked, turning to her.
Ji Nian took a deep breath. To make sure he could respond, she deliberately spoke in English instead of French:
“Long time no see—did you shrink?”
“Can you take me off your blacklist?” Xie Qingwang replied instantly.
“WOW! Are we just part of their roleplay?!”