“Wow! Tangtang, did you make this? It’s so adorable!”
Zhou Nuo was the first to notice the little cloud Jiang Tang had made and immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulder, showering her with praise.
Song Xu and Wen Nian turned around upon hearing this, their eyes lighting up instantly. “Tangtang, you did an amazing job!”
“Tangtang, who are you planning to give this to?”
“Who could be so lucky to receive a gift handmade by our Tangtang?”
“Could it be me?”
“You wish! It must be a gift for Nian Shen!”
“Oh~ So it’s for Nian Shen!”
Jiang Tang’s cheeks flushed slightly from her roommates’ teasing. She cleared her throat softly. “This little cloud isn’t finished yet.”
A complete little cloud plushie would also have two tiny feet, but the yarn for the feet was finer and required more time. Jiang Tang decided to work on them during the day tomorrow.
“Oh my! It’s already this cute even unfinished. Tangtang, you’re incredible!”
Jiang Tang’s cheeks turned even redder from the praise.
Song Xu pressed further, “Tangtang, you still haven’t said if this is a gift for Nian Shen, right?”
Jiang Tang nodded, her face flushed.
“We guessed right.” All three roommates laughed.
Jiang Tang chatted and joked with them for a while, and by almost midnight, everyone had gone to bed.
When Jiang Tang woke up in the morning, she picked up her phone and saw that Shen Xiunian had, as usual, sent her a “good morning” message at 6:10.
Jiang Tang replied with a “good morning.”
After getting ready, she picked up the half-finished little cloud pendant, along with the coffee-colored yarn, crochet hook, and stuffing, grabbed an umbrella, and headed out for class.
It was raining today.
The System said, “Tangtang, there will be heavy rain tonight.”
Jiang Tang glanced at her phone. Light rain during the day, turning into heavy rain after 10 p.m.
“Then I should be back in the dorm by nine.”
She needed to allow enough time for Shen Xiunian to drive back to his place.
“At the very least, Shen Xiunian should be able to get back to where he lives by 9:30. Driving in heavy rain is too dangerous.”
Tongtong said, “Tangtang is so thoughtful.”
Jiang Tang thought it was just common sense.
The System reminded her, “Tangtang, remember to message Shen Xiunian.”
Jiang Tang took the opportunity to snap a photo of the rain and sent it to Shen Xiunian. He slept in the underground lab and might not know about the weather yet.
Typing while walking was inconvenient, so she sent a voice message instead: “Shen Xiunian, it’s raining. Did you bring an umbrella? Don’t get wet when you leave the lab tonight.”
This was how Jiang Tang was—whenever something interesting happened, she’d share it with Shen Xiunian, sometimes through voice messages, sometimes through text.
She didn’t deliberately send messages, nor did she deliberately avoid sending them. She didn’t even keep track of how many messages she ended up sending.
During her breaks, Jiang Tang worked on crocheting the little cloud’s feet.
The little cloud itself wasn’t very big, about the size of a palm, and the feet were only about two-thirds the length of a finger. They also needed to be stuffed with cotton, making them incredibly tricky to crochet.
Jiang Tang focused intently, her fingers turning red from the yarn.
Song Xu sat beside her, watching Jiang Tang’s concentrated crocheting. Unable to resist, she snapped a photo, capturing Jiang Tang’s reddened fingertips.
She planned to post this photo on the campus forum once Jiang Tang gave the gift to Shen Xiunian.
Since Tangtang was putting so much effort into preparing a gift for Shen Xiunian, he should know how hard she worked!
Otherwise, Shen Xiunian might think making such a little thing was easy.
She even recorded a ten-second video for good measure.
Hehe, perfect!
Jiang Tang didn’t notice Song Xu’s actions—her attention was entirely on the crochet hook.
She naturally didn’t notice that someone was leaning against a flashy sports car nearby, watching her.
That person stared at Jiang Tang for a long time. When he realized she hadn’t noticed him at all, he walked over with a displeased expression and spoke in a casual, carefree tone: “Jiang Tang, you know how to crochet this stuff?”
Jiang Tang looked up, slightly dazed. She stared at the person before her for a moment before softly saying, “Jiang Chiye, what are you doing here?”
Jiang Chiye was twenty years old, with golden hair cut into a wolf-tail style. A lazy, playful smile hung on his face. He wore a strikingly deep pink T-shirt and black trousers, with a black baseball cap turned backward on his head. Golden strands of hair peeked out from under the cap, giving him a very youthful, spirited appearance.
“Can’t I come find you?” Jiang Chiye said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He looked at Jiang Tang and asked, “Are you really dating Shen Xiunian? I thought you were joking.”
“Yes,” Jiang Tang nodded in confirmation. “Shen Xiunian and I are in a relationship.”
Jiang Chiye was a friend of the original host. Along with two other boys and one girl, they had formed a band.
Before Jiang Tang transmigrated into this body, the original host and Jiang Chiye had gotten into an argument.
Jiang Chiye was notoriously sharp-tongued. This time, the fault lay with him—not only did he refuse to apologize, but he also said some particularly harsh things.
The original host had declared that if he didn’t apologize, their friendship was over.
Jiang Chiye had simply replied, “Fine, let’s break up.”
After transmigrating, Jiang Tang had seriously considered how to handle this situation.
Jiang Chiye was at fault, and he was the one who had suggested breaking up. Moreover, he hadn’t taken the initiative to apologize to Jiang Tang for over ten days.
Jiang Tang had already assumed they were no longer friends.
In a way, this was for the best. Her personality differed from the original host’s, and she felt she wouldn’t get along well with Jiang Chiye. Ending the friendship was actually a good thing.
But she hadn’t expected Jiang Chiye to come looking for her on his own.
Jiang Chiye was in the computer science department, which was quite far from the art school.
She looked at Jiang Chiye and asked, “Did you come here specifically to find me? What do you need?”
Jiang Chiye sat on the desk and looked at Jiang Tang. “Can’t I come see you even if I don’t have anything to do? Aren’t we friends?”
“You haven’t come to hang out with us for days. Isn’t it a bit too obvious that you’re prioritizing romance over friendship?”
Jiang Tang almost laughed. “Jiang Chiye, I remember we already broke up.”
The original host had spent two years hanging out with Jiang Chiye and the others. Jiang Tang understood his personality and could guess what he meant.
Jiang Chiye was a young master from a wealthy family. He never apologized. The fact that he had lowered himself to come find her and ask, “Aren’t we friends?” meant he was offering a way out.
In the past, Jiang Tang would have taken the opportunity to reconcile.
That had always been their dynamic.
But Jiang Tang wasn’t willing to do that this time.
Jiang Chiye frowned, looking annoyed. “Jiang Tang, you’re really holding a grudge this time, aren’t you?”