Tang Zhiwu scratched the back of her head, squinting at the message as she muttered to herself, “Yan Kaiji? Why does that sound so familiar…”
Her mind whirring, Tang Zhiwu suddenly recalled the precious materials she had bought a few days earlier from an old bookstore in the eastern part of the city.
As the perennial top-ranking academic in the history department, Tang Zhiwu genuinely loved history. In her spare time, aside from eating and drinking, her favorite pastime was reading various historical documents.
The recently acquired First Year of Jiayi Strategy Collection had become her latest obsession, and Yan Kaiji was a figure mentioned within its pages.
Though only briefly referenced, Tang Zhiwu remembered him vividly.
Yan Kaiji’s death marked the true beginning of Commander Xu Ge’s dominance in the imperial court through the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
With a flick of her finger, Tang Zhiwu quickly typed out a message and sent it.
Tie Jun Sister: 【Who are you?】
After waiting a moment with no reply, Tang Zhiwu clicked her tongue lightly and sent another message.
Tie Jun Sister: 【Are you a professor from the history department?】
Another moment passed, and the chat screen still displayed only three lonely messages.
“Who does this person think they are?” Tang Zhiwu sat down on the sofa, her crescent-shaped eyebrows raised, a hint of mockery on her fair, delicate face as she scoffed lightly.
Recalling that she hadn’t added any advisors recently, Tang Zhiwu felt no reservations as she tapped on the other person’s profile. Three dots appeared, and her thumb finally pressed on the two bold red characters:
Delete!
After deleting it, the chat box she expected to vanish from her list remained exactly where it was—not only that, it was now pinned to the top!
Tang Zhiwu stared wide-eyed as if she’d seen a ghost, her deep brown pupils filled with astonishment.
Her fingers flew across the screen as she meticulously examined the account several times over, stubbornly refusing to believe it and tapping delete again.
The result was the same as before—this person, whoever they were, couldn’t be deleted!
After several unsuccessful attempts, Miss Tang finally gave up and decided to ignore the person altogether.
Standing up, she took a photo of the jade pendant on the table and casually posted a lost-and-found notice in the property owners’ group, tagging everyone.
With that done, Tang Zhiwu hurried upstairs in the villa, freshened up, and rushed out the door, spending almost the entire day in a whirlwind of activity.
It was Saturday, and as early as Tuesday during a professional class, she had heard her best friend Ke Jiuyyao share some news she’d gotten from who-knows-where.
A group of handsome guys from the neighboring sports university had invited the female “monks” of the history department at University A to a dinner gathering.
Put politely, it was an academic exchange dinner; put plainly, it was a social gathering between men and women.
As the top “nun” of University A’s history department, Tang Zhiwu naturally succumbed to the allure of the sports university’s handsome guys and was the first to sign up for the dinner.
She immediately praised Ke Jiuyyao, patting her shoulder with a serious and righteous expression.
“Abbess Jiuyyao, you’ve done well gathering this intelligence. As a reward, you shall accompany me to select handsome men.”
Sitting beside her, Ke Jiuyyao dodged the patting hand, tilting her chin up at Tang Zhiwu with a smile in her eyes.
“This time you really need to tone down that ‘repel men’ aura of yours. If any more mishaps happen, I’ll be completely helpless in fulfilling your wish to find a partner.”
Tang Zhiwu’s eyes instantly lost their sparkle as she let out a resentful sigh, “I’ll try my best.”
Ke Jiuyyao patted Tang Zhiwu’s head in comfort.
Almost everyone knew that the male students from the sports college had come specifically for this single history department belle, yet the person in question was the one loudly rallying all the single girls from the history department to join the mixer.
All the girls in the history department got along well, and Tang Zhiwu, with her straightforward and easygoing personality, naturally blended right in with them.
Seeing her enthusiasm, they all smiled and agreed.
In no time, the history department had gathered over twenty girls.
Everyone agreed to meet at the entrance of University A. Right on time, seeing Tang Zhiwu arrive late, stepping out of a car, Ke Jiuyyao couldn’t help but feel annoyed. She quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm,
“Why are you so late? Delaying the happiness of the other sisters is a serious crime!!”
Tang Zhiwu knew she was at fault and grinned sheepishly, waving to the group of girls behind her who were watching with amusement. “Sorry to keep you all waiting, sisters! Today’s expenses are on me!”
As soon as she finished speaking, the honking of several cars sounded from behind.
It wasn’t until everyone was seated in the cars, slowly heading toward their destination, that Ke Jiuyyao finally said her first kind words of the day to Tang Zhiwu,
“You actually dressed up nicely today.”
Expecting some modesty from the person beside her, Ke Jiuyyao was taken aback when, in the next second, Tang Zhiwu leaned against her shoulder with a mischievous grin, lowering her voice, “Captivated by me, huh?”
Ke Jiuyyao instantly froze, silently praying that today, a handsome guy from the sports college would come and take this troublemaker off her hands.
The gathering was set at a distinctive hotpot restaurant in Shucheng.
The owner, who had received the reservation earlier, cheerfully guided the large group through the entrance.
However, as they reached the doorway, Tang Zhiwu suddenly lost her nerve. Originally planning to charge in first, she now tried to retreat, squeezing her way back into the crowd behind her.
Having anticipated this move, Ke Jiuyyao reached out, opened the door, and pushed her inside.
The group of handsome sports college guys waiting in the private room immediately noticed the sudden commotion, all turning their attention toward the entrance.
As the closed door swung open, a lovely young woman stood there awkwardly. Her black hair was carefully curled, falling softly over her shoulders.
Her lips were red, her teeth white, her face fair and smooth, her eyebrows arched like crescent moons, and her eyes as lively as a deer’s, with long, curled lashes.
Standing at 167 cm tall, she wore a pink short skirt, her long legs straight and well-proportioned, her figure beautiful.
Yet, at this moment, the fair cheeks of this beauty suddenly flushed bright red. Her brown eyes darted around, visibly flustered.
She stammered for a moment before timidly raising her hand to wave at the dozens of sports college guys in the room,
“Ha… haha, fate brings us together from afar!”
The hopeful crowd behind her couldn’t help but burst into laughter upon hearing this, helplessly covering their eyes with their hands.
Now it was clear why Tang Zhiwu, the famously beautiful history department belle, had remained single all these years.
It seemed she was single by her own doing!
Amidst the laughter, at the same moment, a vibration came from the bag Tang Zhiwu was carrying, accompanied by the notification sound of WeChat.