Xia Miao lifted her face in his embrace, meeting his moist eyes. "The fog was so thick—I almost thought I couldn't find you."
He whispered, "I'm sorry."
Xia Miao reached out to touch his still-cool cheek. "You don’t need to apologize. I know—if I couldn’t find you, you’d definitely come looking for me, right?"
The black-haired, black-eyed boy nodded under the dim yellow light, his gaze unwavering, as if every ordinary conversation with her was a promise he made to her.
Xia Miao asked, "What were you doing standing here just now?"
The corpse that had been lying on the ground had long since vanished along with the fog, the bloodstains evaporating as if they’d never existed. Everything related to the gore had disappeared without a trace.
Shen Chi once again wore a dazed expression. "I don’t remember."
His blank look was pitiful yet endearing.
Xia Miao laughed. "If you don’t remember, then forget it. Come on, let’s go home!"
Shen Chi nodded, then, as if out of habit, gave her a faint smile. He picked up the bag of desserts she had just bought, took her hand, and together they walked toward the moonlight, heading back to their little home.
That night, Shen Chi and his beloved were more energetic than usual.
When Xia Miao felt her ankle being grabbed and pulled closer, her legs draped over his shoulders, she couldn’t help but falter. "Shen Chi, don’t overexert yourself. Maybe… we should stop?"
He simply shook his head. "Miaomiao, I’m not tired yet."
With one hand gripping her waist, he used the other to pull out a new "raincoat" from the nearly empty box, tearing open the wrapper with his teeth before expertly putting it on.
Xia Miao was tugged even closer, and as he leaned down, a satisfied groan escaped his lips.
She grabbed a pillow to cover her face, forced to endure his boundless energy while thinking:
Is this the insatiable lust of a college guy!?
If anyone asked who the campus’s model couple was, most would answer Shen Chi and Xia Miao. One was an academic prodigy, the other the school’s belle. Regardless of their family backgrounds, they were a perfect match—at least, every time they appeared together, they were a sight to behold.
Even the teachers couldn’t resist teasing Xia Miao occasionally.
Teacher Wu asked, "Xia Miao, how are things with Shen Chi lately?"
Xia Miao nodded. "We’re doing great."
Teacher Wu looked pleased. These two were his prized students, and seeing them together brought him joy.
Though graduation season often meant breakup season, no matter where life took them afterward, as long as they fully embraced their youth and left a vivid mark on their lives, that was enough.
Today was the welcoming ceremony for the new dean. Teachers and student representatives lined up to greet him, and Xia Miao, as one of the school’s most outstanding female students, was assigned the task of presenting flowers to the new dean. For the occasion, she dressed up—pinning her long hair up and wearing a blue embroidered qipao she rarely donned.
After the tedious formalities, Xia Miao caught Teacher Wu’s signal and stepped forward to hand the bouquet to the new dean. "Dean Zhao, welcome to our school."
Dean Zhao, a bespectacled intellectual in his late forties with a gentle demeanor, accepted the flowers and studied Xia Miao for a moment. "You must be Xia Miao. I’ve heard so much about you—the highest-scoring female student in our school’s history. That’s no small feat."
Xia Miao smiled. "I didn’t expect to be so lucky."
"Luck is part of talent, and those with talent and skill tend to have even better luck." Dean Zhao admired her. "We should talk more in the future. Engaging with young people keeps me feeling young at heart."
Xia Miao maintained a polite smile, responding with "Mm-hmm" and "Of course" to everything the dean said.
What was supposed to be a half-hour duty stretched into an hour. The moment she retrieved her bag, Xia Miao checked her phone—unsurprisingly, Shen Chi had sent multiple messages.
[Sorry, Shen Chi, it took longer than expected. I’m finally done!]
He replied instantly: [I’ll come get you.]
As Xia Miao stepped out of the lecture hall, intending to meet Shen Chi, a commotion nearby caught her attention.
"Tian Meimei, you heartless woman—are you really this clueless, or are you just pretending?"
Si Mugu had cornered the girl against the wall, arms caging her in a textbook "kabe-don." His domineering aura and sharp, handsome features made Tian Meimei’s heart race uncontrollably.
Her face flushed crimson. "I don’t know what you’re talking about! Y-you have a girlfriend—stay away from me!"
"Can’t you tell why I started dating that woman—what’s her name, Bei?" Si Mugu couldn’t even recall Fang Bei’s full name. She was just a placeholder, a mere accessory he couldn’t care less about.
Tian Meimei panicked. "W-what do you mean?"
"If you hadn’t kept looking at other men, why would I have bothered with someone else?" Si Mugu gritted his teeth. "Tian Meimei, when you saw me with another girl, didn’t you feel even a little upset?"
Tian Meimei pressed her lips together, unable to deny it—because he was right. She had been heartbroken.
Reading her expression, Si Mugu’s heart soared. He grabbed her hand. "You like me too, don’t you?"
Her soft, rosy cheeks glowed like ripe apples, and the sweet scent radiating from her only deepened Si Mugu’s infatuation.
Tian Meimei knew she couldn’t lie to herself anymore. Summoning her courage, she whispered, "Even if I like you… so what? You already have a girlfriend."
Si Mugu was ecstatic. "She’s nothing. Forget about her. Tian Meimei, listen well—starting today, you’re Si Mugu’s girlfriend!"
With that, he leaned in and kissed her.
Xia Miao had no interest in intruding on others’ intimate moments and turned to leave. But then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a girl crouched in the shadows.
Her shoulders trembled as if she were crying, arms wrapped tightly around herself, fingers digging into her skin so hard it must have hurt—yet she didn’t seem to notice.
Xia Miao hesitated, wondering if she should check on her, but the girl suddenly stood and ran off, unable to bear another second.
Meanwhile, Si Mugu dragged Tian Meimei toward a more secluded spot, likely to indulge in their newfound affection.
Xia Miao clicked her tongue in disapproval, annoyed that Si Mugu and Tian Meimei had dragged an innocent bystander into their messy push-and-pull drama.
Suddenly, Xia Miao murmured to herself, "Why hasn’t my boyfriend arrived yet? I miss him so much."
The shadow approaching from behind paused for a moment.
The next second, Xia Miao turned around and threw herself forward, landing right in the familiar embrace.
The boy’s clear voice brimmed with laughter as he held her close. The qipao she wore today accentuated her figure, especially her slender waist—something he couldn’t resist touching.
Shen Chi asked softly, "How did you know it was me, Miao Miao?"
"I smelled your scent!" Xia Miao lifted her face proudly, standing on her tiptoes and pulling him down so she could bury her face in the crook of his neck. She took a deep, blissful breath of his fragrance, as if she were sniffing a cat.
"Shen Chi smells so good. I love it."
His ears burned, and his heart raced helplessly at her words. Flustered, he pressed his face against the top of her head, his voice tinged with barely contained joy.
"I love Miao Miao’s scent too… so much."
