The corner of her mouth twitched for a long moment before Ji Nian finally crossed her arms and coldly glared at the two men, her tone dripping with irritation. "Both of you, get lost."
With that, she flicked her hair and walked away.
Her departure was decisive, leaving Lu Jinghuai and He Xiang staring at each other in silence.
Lu Jinghuai curved his eyes as he looked at He Xiang, who had interrupted his moment, though there was no warmth in his gaze.
"Done pretending?"
He Xiang met his gaze with equal frost. "Same to you."
Both understood exactly what the other meant.
As He Xiang walked away, Lu Jinghuai watched his retreating figure, his expression unreadable.
He wondered—what had happened to make someone who seemed content to bury their feelings forever suddenly change their mind?
...
While schemes brewed on one side, Ji Nian was busy grumbling to her system, arms still crossed.
[Lu Jinghuai is one thing, but what’s He Xiang doing here?]
She kicked a pebble into a nearby flowerbed, then frowned at the dust now smudged on her sneakers. Pulling out a wet wipe from her pocket, she bent down to clean the edge of her shoe.
Before she could straighten up, a shadow suddenly loomed over her.
Ji Nian: "……"
Who now?
She looked up and exhaled in relief when she saw it was He Xiang.
"You scared me. I thought someone else was here to confess."
Clutching the used wipe, she stood and met his gaze.
Something felt off.
His face was as expressionless as ever, but there was an unusual weight to his demeanor, a simmering intensity in the depths of his dark eyes.
"What’s wrong with you?"
She reached out to check if he had a fever, but He Xiang caught her wrist mid-motion.
His grip wasn’t tight, but his palm burned against her skin.
"I have something for you."
Ji Nian blinked. "What?"
With his free hand, He Xiang pulled a thin blue envelope from his pocket and pressed it into her captured hand.
"This week’s letter."
He dropped the bombshell casually.
Ji Nian snatched the letter and examined it closely.
It was the same kind he used to write to his sponsor.
"You knew?"
Her gaze turned odd, as if she couldn’t figure out where she’d slipped up.
"Yeah." He Xiang’s voice was low.
"I should’ve realized sooner."
"All my luck started when I met you…"
The second sentence was so quiet Ji Nian barely caught it.
After learning the truth, He Xiang had expected to feel dissonance—after all, for years, he’d imagined his mysterious sponsor as a kind yet stern elder, regardless of gender.
But now, overlaying that image onto Ji Nian, it didn’t feel strange at all.
Instead, it was like…
Ah, of course. It fit perfectly.
"Sorry for keeping it from you all these years."
[Why do my secrets keep getting exposed?]
He Xiang shook his head. "You’ve never owed me an apology."
It wasn’t hard to guess why Ji Nian had chosen secrecy—to spare his pride.
Just thinking about it made his chest burn, the emotion so overwhelming it left him parched, desperate for an outlet.
"Did you agree to Lu Jinghuai?"
Ji Nian’s first reaction: "How do you know?"
He Xiang lowered his gaze to her widened green eyes, stubbornly pressing, "Did you?"
Ji Nian said no, she was still considering it.
He Xiang nodded, then suddenly knelt before her, looking up.
"Then consider me too."
"I’m smart, healthy, decent-looking. I’ll listen to whatever you say."
"And I have nothing—easy to control. I’d never betray you."
He took her hand and pressed it to his cheek, leaning into her palm with a stoic expression. But the faint tremble in his lips betrayed his calm facade.
"So, will you think about me too?"
...
Shen Qingtang found Ji Nian in the bathroom.
She wasn’t using the stall—just squatting inside, door unlocked, lost in thought.
"Ji Nian… what are you doing?"
Shen Qingtang gave her a complicated look.
Ji Nian, still propping her chin on her hand, replied absently, "What’s it look like?"
"I’m sniffing toilet air."
Too bad S High’s bathrooms were cleaner than public restrooms, the scent of Hermès diffusers overpowering any less pleasant odors.
Shen Qingtang dragged her out. "Enough. Go change—you’re not wearing gym clothes to class, are you?"
Ji Nian slumped against her with a sigh.
Noticing her gloom, Shen Qingtang frowned. "Did the little crown prince stir up trouble again?"
No response.
Then it hit her—the way He Xiang had followed Ji Nian after Lu Jinghuai. Her eyes lit up.
"Wait, don’t tell me He Xiang—"
She clapped a hand over her mouth.
Her excitement was palpable.
"How about taking both? Lu Jinghuai on odd days, He Xiang on eves. Sundays for that red pepper guy—you said he’s hot, right?"
She nodded, as if this were perfectly reasonable. "Lucky bastards, all of them."
Ji Nian: "……"
A certain meme came to mind: You want this blessing? Take it.
...
Back in class, Ji Nian didn’t need to look to feel a pair of eyes on her the moment she entered.
She ignored it, sliding into her seat, only to find a note waiting.
Unfolding it, she saw a doodle of a fluffy golden retriever puppy, big watery eyes blinking up at her, ears drooping adorably.
Most cold-hearted women would’ve cracked a smile.
But Ji Nian wasn’t most women.
Her heart was as hard as month-old constipation.
She glanced at Lu Jinghuai, who was mirroring the puppy’s pleading expression, and muttered, "Don’t bother me these next few days."
"Or I won’t consider you at all."
She still needed to discuss that project with Wei Junze first.
"I like obedient ones. Got it?"
Pulling a pen from her holder, she scribbled on the note and tossed it back.
Lu Jinghuai caught it and looked down.
The pitiful golden pup now had a bossy little chick standing on its head, one foot raised threateningly.
His lips curled. He snapped a photo of the doodle, tucked the note away carefully, then smiled at Ji Nian, sweetness oozing. "Okay."
The way he looked at her—like he could pull her into his gaze—made her teeth ache.
Had she really been this blind before?
She turned away.
As she glanced over, she spotted another origami animal on her desk—this time a little cat lying on its back, belly exposed in a playful, affectionate pose. It was unmistakably from him.
Thinking back to what He Xiang had said earlier, Ji Nian felt a dull ache forming in her head.
Well, she really had been blind before.
