Forum
Su Yuning had browsed the school’s gossip forum a few times before, but it was usually filled with shares or rants about high-end clothes, jewelry, or cars that she didn’t understand. After a few visits, she inevitably felt a sense of imbalance and forced herself to stop looking.
Leaning over to look at Chu Shuangshuang’s phone, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Custom-made phones are really something else!”
Then she saw the forum title: “Why Has the Freshman Managed to Captivate Two Male Gods in a Row?! Is It Mysterious Metaphysical Power, or Does She Have a Hidden Identity?!”
Su Yuning: …
Is this about her?
So she even has her own dedicated topic now? Thanks for the “love,” fellow students!
The post clearly displayed several photos. The photographer’s skills were obviously excellent, and the equipment was top-notch. Even from such a distance, you could see Su Yuning frowning and squinting to avoid the sunlight, her face scrunched up unattractively, with two flushed patches from the sun.
There were several photos: one of her and Lu Ji talking at the school gate, then her getting into the car, and the car turning around and driving away from the school.
Another set showed Lu Ji’s car returning late at night, her getting out, and meeting Zuo Xingyan waiting at the dorm entrance.
Su Yuning’s forum ID was “Twisted Crawling Dark Little Snack.” She had always lived up to the “twisted and dark” persona. At her previous school, no one had ever paid her any attention.
The ones who usually had high-rise threads on the forum were the school’s popular figures. This was Su Yuning’s first time.
Are the students at the Aristocratic Academy really this idle? Even she’s getting attention?!
Chu Shuangshuang nudged her again, lowering her voice to ask, “How did you do it? Share your secret with your sister! I’m not greedy—just give me one male god. I promise I won’t compete with you.”
After being questioned repeatedly, Su Yuning herself began to feel uncertain. That evening after school, Quan Ling drove her to the restaurant for her part-time job. Sitting in the car, she called her family.
“Hey, Dad, did our ancestors have any strange people or events? Something a bit mysterious… Oh, nothing? Me? I’m fine, not sick. Just asking casually.”
“Hey, Mom, are we actually descendants of Su Daji… Okay, okay, I know we’re not. I still have enough pocket money, no need to send more for now.”
Quan Ling, who had been in low spirits, suddenly chuckled, her brows relaxing as she glanced at Su Yuning in the passenger seat. “What are you doing? You’re just you. You’re cute, that’s why we like you. Don’t overthink it.”
Su Yuning gave up trying to explain to them. She thought maybe it wasn’t her problem. Perhaps these people were so used to seeing beautiful girls and handsome guys that they were aesthetically fatigued, causing their eyes to malfunction. Seeing someone different suddenly appear at school, they were just momentarily curious.
She thought to herself, whatever, it doesn’t matter anyway.
For the past few days at the restaurant, Quan Ling had been responsible for picking her up and dropping her off. Neither Zuo Xingyan nor Lu Ji had been able to compete with her, mainly because Su Yuning was wary of them but not of Quan Ling.
Now that her job had stabilized, Su Yuning planned to buy a small electric scooter.
She spent over a thousand yuan on a pink scooter at the second-hand market and happily rode it to work that evening.
Several people watched her from behind.
Zuo Xingyan gritted his teeth, while Lu Ji hung his head in disappointment.
He hadn’t been sleeping well these past few days, attending classes on time every day just to catch a glimpse of the person he adored. It would be even better if he could talk to her.
Unfortunately, after several days, they still maintained the distance of ordinary classmates, neither too close nor too distant.
The phone rang again, and Lu Ji answered slowly, “Brother—”
“Coming back to stay tonight?”
Although he often urged his younger brother to go out and get some fresh air, when his brother really didn’t return, the older brother couldn’t help but worry.
He called several times a day, only to be met with refusal. Today, as usual, he asked, and upon hearing Lu Ji say no, he added, “Come back for a while. Tell me about the girl you like.”
As he spoke, he glanced at the photo on the document on his desk. It really didn’t stand out at all.
Having seen many beauties, he even felt that this dull and rustic ID photo was a bit ugly.
In the evening, when Lu Ji returned, the caring older brother took out a vision test chart. Standing a few meters away, he pointed at the small patterns on it and asked Lu Ji, “Can you see clearly?”
Lu Ji replied blankly, “I can see clearly. What are you doing, big brother?”
“Nothing.” Lu Xu cleared his throat, put away the test chart, and sat on the nearby sofa, trying to ask in a gentle tone,
“I heard you’ve been getting close to a girl recently? Why do you like her? What attracts you about her?” and similar questions.
When Lu Ji heard him mention Su Yuning, his ears began to turn red. Shyly, he said, “I just like her. She must be my soulmate, which is why I liked her from the first glance.”
Lu Xu: “Soulmate? Are you sure? She doesn’t understand piano music or appreciate music. You don’t even have common topics to talk about.”
Lu Ji pursed his lips. “You investigated her.”
Lu Xu didn’t deny it. “Yes, I had to see what kind of girl my brother likes. Xiao Ji, perhaps you should look around at other girls more.”
“What do you mean, big brother?” Lu Ji asked unhappily.
“Exactly what I said.”
“You’re belittling the person I like!”
Lu Xu felt a headache coming on. “I’m just stating the facts. Xiao Ji, it’s not that I’m biased against her, but if two people don’t even have common topics to talk about, what can they rely on to last long-term, let alone become soulmates?”
“But I just like her. Just like how you like Sister Luofei!”
“Why bring her up? I like Luofei because we’re on the same wavelength… Besides, she’s already married. Don’t bring this up again; it will cause trouble for her. Moreover, Luofei is outstanding in both looks and abilities, with remarkable insight and skills. Our family shares common hobbies and topics, which is what makes us soulmates…”
“You’re just belittling the person I like! You’re biased against her!” Lu Ji stood up directly. “Brother, we have nothing more to say. I like Su Yuning, and I’m grown up now. I have the right to choose who I like. Don’t investigate her anymore, and don’t try to persuade me. I won’t give up!”
The two brothers parted on bad terms, and Lu Ji returned directly to his dormitory.
Lu Xu called after him, “Xiao Ji, you won’t rest well outside—” but couldn’t bring him back.
His younger brother had grown up and was starting to disobey. As an older brother, he couldn’t help but feel both heartbroken and helpless.
Lu Xu thought that perhaps it was simply because Lu Ji had been exposed to too few members of the opposite sex since childhood, so upon meeting one, he mistook her for a romantic interest. Once he lived outside for a while or got to know Su Yuning better, realizing the gap between them, he would give up on his own.
However, it was clear that Lu Xu had underestimated Lu Ji’s determination and hadn’t anticipated that the girl’s charm would be so great, truly managing to win his brother over.
Walking back to the house alone, Lu Xu was filled with confusion. He just couldn’t understand—what exactly did his brother like about that girl?
Xiao Ji’s eyes were perfectly fine, after all!