Lin Xuechun was just thinking about finding some time to check out ksmk123’s profile page when the number buzzer in her hand suddenly vibrated.
Buzz—
She had no choice but to set aside her thoughts and go pick up the order.
After buying the coffee.
The four-person squad temporarily gathered around a small table and began to set the framework for their group paper.
This course was a general education elective called Intercultural Communication.
The assignment required selecting a specific case of cultural differences between China and the West—such as advertising, film and television, consumption—and completing a paper of around 6,000 words.
The paper needed to include case analysis, comparative research, and exploration of causes, citing at least six foreign-language references.
Zhou Xinran glanced left and right. “Who’s going to take the discussion notes?”
“I’ll do it.”
Lin Xuechun’s bag happened to be right at hand, so she reached behind her, pulled it over, and took out a notebook and a pencil case.
Her obsession with aesthetics wasn’t just reflected in her standards for boyfriends—it also showed in her stationery.
She only favored pretty stationery.
The loose-leaf notebook placed on the table was one she had decorated herself.
The cover was a hard PVC shell, and she had used heat-transfer film to decorate it with many cartoon characters, several of which were from Pop Mart’s recent popular IPs.
When she flipped the notebook open, the film characters inside the cover would bump into each other, making a clattering sound.
The notebook was quite thick, with pages she had chosen herself—every few pages had a different theme.
She flipped to her favorite star-themed page, then picked up the transparent pencil case beside it and unzipped it.
The pencil case was larger than average, filled with pens of various colors and styles.
Her fingers sifted through the pens, her cheeks puffing slightly, until she finally picked out a Butter Bear gel pen.
The pen tip was a fuzzy little bear head that wobbled back and forth as she wrote.
Pretty adorable.
“Babe, how many notebooks do you actually have? Every subject has a different notebook, and they’re all so pretty!”
Zhou Xinran couldn’t help but take her notebook and pencil case to examine them.
The two of them studied and lived together every day, yet Lin Xuechun always managed to pull out styles she’d never seen before.
Xu Yang didn’t quite understand girls’ preferences like this, watching Zhou Xinran study them.
Xi Chenzhou held the straw between his lips, slowly taking a sip of his iced Americano, his dark eyes lazily sweeping over the stationery.
She seemed to really like these cute little things.
Her phone case was the same style too.
All sparkly.
He recognized the phone charm—it was the SKULLPANDA series from Pop Mart.
His gaze withdrew from the stationery, then casually drifted to her.
Nonchalant.
Lin Xuechun happened to turn his way at the same time.
Their eyes met briefly in mid-air.
Her gaze was clear and pure, like a fawn’s—she glanced at him once, then quickly lowered her eyes.
Her lashes fluttered, and her fingertips unconsciously tightened around the pen in her hand.
Xi Chenzhou’s mind flashed to the bold remarks she’d made online under her alias, the contrast with her current innocent, shy demeanor far too stark.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he slowly looked away.
“Let’s start our discussion soon. Which case should we pick?”
Lin Xuechun spoke first, her voice soft, steering the topic back.
Zhou Xinran pushed the notebook over, looking at her. “Cultural shock usually shows up most in social etiquette, right? How about we go with social etiquette?”
Xu Yang disagreed. “But I feel like a lot of people would pick that case. Would we get marked down for it?”
Zhou Xinran: “Possibly. The top students in our college all took this elective, and they’re not even in the same group. Given how competitive they are, our group should play it safe and pick something more unique.”
Lin Xuechun thought both of them made valid points.
She turned to look at Xi Chenzhou, wanting to hear his opinion.
Zhou Xinran and Xu Yang looked at him too.
Xi Chenzhou spoke calmly: “A film and television case would be easier to write. It basically covers all the points from the other cases, for example—”
He casually listed several examples of cultural differences reflected in foreign films, and when some terms couldn’t be expressed accurately in Chinese, he simply reverted to English.
He also took the opportunity to explain the roots of these cultural differences to the group.
They all listened, utterly impressed.
Xu Yang said admiringly, “Xi, you really live up to being from the School of Information. You even know such niche knowledge.”
The School of Information was the program with the highest admission cutoff at Jing University, and its students were all top performers from every province across the country.
Xi Chenzhou: “I just happen to know a bit.”
“More than a bit, I think. You seem really familiar with American culture, like you’ve lived there for years.”
“Something like that.”
“Wow! No wonder you know American culture so well.”
“Yeah.” Xi Chenzhou tilted his head slightly, his eyelids drooping lazily, his lashes casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes.
As Lin Xuechun listened to everyone’s discussion, she wrote down the main headings for each section of the paper in her notebook.
The table was small, so the four of them were sitting quite close together.
Zhou Xinran and Xu Yang were a couple, squeezed together on one small sofa.
Lin Xuechun hadn’t moved from her spot—she was still on the single sofa she’d started on, while Xi Chenzhou had pulled over a high stool and sat down next to her.
He braced one foot against the chair leg and planted the other on the floor, sitting a full half-torso taller than her when he settled down.
With a downward glance, he could see her head bowed, diligently taking notes.
Her petal-like fingers held the pen, and the handwriting flowing from its tip was elegant and beautiful.
A stretch of snow-white slender neck connected to lustrous, smooth shoulders, where red marks left by the bag strap had yet to fade.
Her skin looked impossibly delicate—the kind that would bruise at the slightest touch.
His gaze lingered on that red mark for half a second, his Adam’s apple rolling almost imperceptibly before he looked away.
His fingertips slowly traced the condensation beading on the cup of his iced Americano.
His gaze drifted lazily elsewhere.
Zhou Xinran sat across from the two of them, ostensibly chatting with Xu Yang, but her gossipy side-glances kept darting between Lin Xuechun and Xi Chenzhou.
Watching one bent over writing, the other gazing down at her.
Both blessed with faces that looked like a goddess’s masterpiece.
An invisible thread seemed to connect them—an inexplicably perfect match.
“I’ve noticed…” Zhou Xinran’s gaze swept between the two, unable to hold back. “Little Xue-bao, you and Classmate Xi both have such fair skin, but yours is pinkish-white while his is cool-toned white.”
Hearing this, Lin Xuechun’s pen paused, then she looked up at Zhou Xinran, her eyes saying: Girl, what on earth are you talking about?
Zhou Xinran let out a silly giggle and winked at her.
Lin Xuechun had no choice but to lower her head and keep writing.
Xi Chenzhou’s gaze naturally drifted down to Lin Xuechun.
Looking at the wrist holding her pen.
It was indeed fair.
And very slender.
So slender that one hand of his could easily encircle both her wrists.
His gaze carried a hint of warmth as it rested on the skin of her wrist.
Lin Xuechun curled her fingers slightly, feeling a bit uneasy, a faint pink blush creeping up her earlobes.
She quickly finished writing the framework and division of tasks they’d just discussed, set down her pen, picked up her phone to snap a photo, and sent it to the four-person group chat.
“I’ve sent the framework and task division to the group. Let’s start on the assignment.”
“Okay, okay, thanks for your hard work, babe. We’ll go sit over there.” Zhou Xinran dragged Xu Yang over to another two-seater table.
Xi Chenzhou moved the high stool aside and sat back down on the sofa seat across from Lin Xuechun.