“It’s fine.”
Su Niansheng shook her head.
This was originally a matter between her and Lin Yixuan; there was no need to put them in an awkward position.
“Sheng Sheng, you forgive us?”
“Sheng Sheng, you’re so generous!”
The two happily gathered around, chattering nonstop.
“Sheng Sheng, I feel like you’ve changed a bit recently.”
“Yeah, you’ve changed so much!”
“Have I?” Su Niansheng moved the ice cream away. “How have I changed?”
She was afraid that remnants of her depressive emotions from her past life still lingered within her. Though she couldn’t feel it herself, others might notice. But Xu Yue and Zhao Menghan gave completely different answers.
“You’ve become even more dazzling!”
Although she had always been dazzling before, she was like an expensive vase—beautiful, yes, but soulless and lifeless. Her only pursuit was chasing after Shi Yubai every day, like a little tail that couldn’t be shaken off no matter what, to the point where even outsiders found it somewhat annoying.
But now, she was becoming more and more like a star, continuously radiating brilliance, dazzling and captivating, making people yearn for her.
Like today, when she cheered for Shen Shao on the soccer field, wearing a JK skirt, holding a banner, her smile bold and radiant.
Like last time, when she stood on the stage of the Best Singer competition, beautiful, elegant, and shining brightly, exuding vibrant vitality from within.
“By the way, Sheng Sheng, Yixuan said that during the Best Singer finals last time, the microphone wasn’t actually malfunctioning—you did it on purpose. We didn’t believe it; you definitely wouldn’t…”
“I did do it on purpose.”
Su Niansheng suddenly admitted.
Xu Yue and Zhao Menghan’s expressions froze instantly.
Several seconds later, they forced a laugh and said, “Even if it was on purpose, it’s fine. You were the original singer anyway.”
The atmosphere in the dormitory grew awkward for a moment. The two of them felt too embarrassed to ask further, especially about what they were most curious about—how she and Shen Shao had met—and they returned to their seats.
Su Niansheng didn’t continue the topic either. Biting into her ice cream, she went back to thinking about how to go home.
Duxing Building.
Elective course: “Craftsmanship Spirit and Specialized Practice.”
When Su Niansheng walked into the classroom with her backpack, she saw her unlucky desk mate Fang Yan. The two couldn’t help but exchange a smile.
“What a coincidence, we ended up in the same class?”
“I missed course selection last year because I was sick, so the system automatically assigned me to such an obscure elective. What about you?”
What else could it be?
It was all because she had been completely focused on Shi Yubai before, paying no attention to her studies, which caused her to fall far behind in credits. If things continued like this, she might even have trouble graduating.
So she started frantically taking elective courses to make up for the credits. But because she started too late, all the high-scoring, popular courses had already been taken, leaving only this kind of bizarrely unpopular course, where a large lecture hall held only thirty or forty students.
“Alright.”
Fang Yan could tell what had happened just by looking at her expression.
“Because of the great School Hunk again… School Hunk?”
As she spoke, her tone suddenly changed.
A figure in white appeared at the classroom door. A tall boy walked in carrying books, his expression aloof, causing a stir of whispers.
“Shi Yubai? Why is he here?”
“Yeah, isn’t everyone taking this class just to make up for credits? He’s the top student in the Finance Department and the Student Council President. His credits must have been maxed out long ago, right?”
“Maybe he’s interested in the course content?”
“That’s even less believable than him suddenly taking an interest in Su Niansheng. Look, the school belle is sitting right there.”
“Oh, right! Could it be that Su Niansheng’s persistent longing has finally paid off?”
“Hey, hey, hey!”
Fang Yan gasped in surprise, repeatedly patting Su Niansheng.
“Look who’s here!”
Su Niansheng looked up and saw Shi Yubai, her expression freezing in disbelief.
Why would he come here?
With his grades, professors from so many high-scoring, popular courses at the university were competing to have him. Why would he need to take such an obscure subject?
Just as she was puzzling over it, Shi Yubai stopped walking and glanced toward the seats below the podium. His gaze happened to meet hers—one second, two seconds, three seconds… When he still hadn’t looked away after a long while, Su Niansheng frowned.
In her memory, during the first few years she pursued him, he never even spared her a proper glance. Now, he was staring for so long. Could it be that he thought she was trying to cling to him by deliberately choosing the same course?
Hah.
She guessed he would turn and leave without hesitation.
Unexpectedly, the next second, the boy walked down the steps and sat directly in front of her.
“?”
“Oho, what’s going on here? With so many empty seats, he just had to sit right in front of you?”
Seeing the situation, Fang Yan’s gossipy heart ignited, and she frantically shot her meaningful looks.
Su Niansheng’s frown deepened.
She didn’t know either.
Perhaps he had already reached the point of treating her like air.
Coincidentally, so had she.
“Such an honor today?”
The elective course teacher walked into the classroom and, seeing that two of the university’s most notable figures—the prettiest girl and one of the most outstanding boys at Jing University—were both present, immediately felt in high spirits.
“Hand out these materials. Today, we’ll learn how to build models. Each of you will receive a set of blind box model parts. The shapes you assemble will vary. Without any instructions, you’ll have an hour and a half to complete and submit your work, which will count as part of your assignment and contribute to your credits.
Of course, if you’re unsure about anything, you can help each other, exchange ideas, or ask questions. It’s good to develop a habit of collaboration.”
“What is all this? There’s so much, and I can’t even tell what it’s supposed to be. How am I supposed to put it together?”
Fang Yan opened her blind box and felt completely overwhelmed.
Su Niansheng couldn’t figure out what model she had received either, but fortunately, she had better luck—her number of parts was only half of Fang Yan’s.
“Luckily, we have the top student here today. We can ask him if we don’t know how to do something!”
As she spoke, Fang Yan blinked at her, hinting that this was an opportunity to openly approach Shi Yubai. But the girl just lowered her head expressionlessly, focusing intently on building her model.
“You can ask him. I’ll manage.”
Huh?
Fang Yan was puzzled.
Had the sun risen from the west today?
Normally sticking to the School Hunk like glue, impossible to shake off no matter how hard he tried—and now that he had come to her of his own accord, she was completely unmoved?
“Have you lost your mind?”
She waved a hand in front of Su Niansheng’s eyes.
Su Niansheng said, “If you waste any more time, you won’t finish.”
“Right, right, right!”
As soon as the class bell rang, many students rushed to sit around Shi Yubai, eagerly asking him for advice on building their models. He patiently answered each one, but…
The lively, clear voice of the girl that usually lingered around him, the one he had been waiting for, never came.
Forty minutes in, he was the first to complete the model—a cruise ship, grand and luxurious in appearance, yet revealing intricate details in every corner, earning the teacher’s effusive praise. The teacher picked it up and displayed it in front of the blackboard.
“Everyone, pause for a moment and take a look at Shi Yubai’s work.”