When Ji Zhaoxi received a call from her former high school homeroom teacher, her first reaction was guilt.
“Classmate Ji Zhaoxi, actually, some of the teachers at our school follow your social media accounts. I heard that you’re in graduate school now and still study until three in the morning every day.” Her former homeroom teacher’s familiar voice came through the phone. “You worked so hard back in high school and got into A University. Now you’ve gone straight on to graduate school. The school really hopes you can come back and encourage the students in your class.”
Ji Zhaoxi hesitated.
The truth was, ever since starting graduate school, she had begun slacking off. But hearing the eager anticipation in her teacher’s voice, she really couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
Her teacher continued his efforts. “Classmate Ji Zhaoxi, even though you’ve graduated, you’re still something of a legend at the school. Your old grades are still posted on the bulletin board…”
The more Ji Zhaoxi listened, the more embarrassed she felt.
“But, Teacher, I graduated so long ago. I don’t think I have any experience I can really offer them.”
After much persuasion from her former teacher, Ji Zhaoxi finally agreed.
It wasn’t because she had become an online celebrity and was putting on airs.
It was because she had forgotten most of what she learned in high school. The only advice she could offer those third-year students was how to slack off under immense pressure…
When Ji Zhaoxi went to ask her advisor for leave, her advisor didn’t believe her at first, assuming she was just making an excuse to skip class.
By now, Ji Zhaoxi was genuinely starting to regret it. During her interview, her expression had been so earnest. Now… there was nothing more to say.
The moment she realized she wouldn’t have to stay in the lab for several days, Ji Zhaoxi suddenly regretted not agreeing to her homeroom teacher’s request sooner.
Early the next morning, Ji Zhaoxi went straight to the airport.
As she pushed her suitcase along, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure.
That person saw her too.
The two of them tacitly turned their heads away, neither making any attempt to greet the other.
Then, after boarding the plane, Ji Zhaoxi discovered that he was sitting right beside her.
Ji Zhaoxi frowned tightly. Why was this guy haunting her?
Lu Huainan frowned as well, looking just as unwilling to sit beside her.
They sat next to each other in silence. They had barely spoken at school, and outside of school, they were even more like strangers.
Ji Zhaoxi had prepared a draft of her speech in advance. She didn’t expect many people to listen to her when the time came, but she couldn’t exactly be too casual about it.
Lu Huainan had his eyes closed. Hearing the sound of the keyboard beside him, he opened his eyes. His gaze paused briefly on her computer screen before moving away.
The two of them didn’t speak at all during the flight. After landing, Ji Zhaoxi hailed a taxi and headed straight to the hotel.
Only to run into Lu Huainan again at the entrance.
Lu Huainan looked at the furious Ji Zhaoxi and was silent for a moment before saying, “I’m staying here too.”
Ji Zhaoxi forced a smile. “I didn’t say anything.”
After taking a shower that evening, Ji Zhaoxi went over her speech several times before going to bed.
Haizhong had sent someone to pick her up, and she felt too awkward making them wait, so she got up early the next morning.
When she found the car using the license plate number her homeroom teacher had given her, she fell completely silent at the sight of the person sitting inside.
Ji Zhaoxi closed the door, then looked at the license plate again. When she opened the door, the person inside was still the same.
Ji Zhaoxi and Lu Huainan stared at each other in silence.
Noticing the awkward atmosphere between them, the driver scratched the back of his head. “Are you Ji Zhaoxi? Teacher Qin specifically asked me to pick up both of you.”
Ji Zhaoxi gave a stiff smile. “Yes.”
She had thought she was the only one coming.
Wasn’t she supposed to be the school’s legendary figure? Why was Lu Huainan here too…?
She hadn’t even known that Lu Huainan had attended the same high school as her.
When they arrived at the entrance of Haizhong, their former homeroom teacher was waiting for them.
“You’re finally here. The two of you look much more mature than you did in high school.”
Only Ji Zhaoxi knew that she looked mature because she carried the distinctive lifeless aura of a graduate student.
The teacher was extremely pleased to see them. They were both students he liked very much. He had been Ji Zhaoxi’s homeroom teacher for all three years, and although he had never been Lu Huainan’s homeroom teacher, he had taught him as well.
Their former teacher introduced them to the changes at the school.
The school had changed a great deal since Ji Zhaoxi attended. Even the athletic field looked much more modern than before.
“I figured that since both of you got such good grades and both went to A University, I’d invite you together. Have you two ever spoken to each other at A University? You knew each other in high school, right?” Their former teacher’s smile never left his face.
Ji Zhaoxi looked puzzled. “Teacher, we didn’t know each other in high school.”
The teacher was stunned as well. He smiled and said, “I assumed you did. After all, both of you were famous back then.”
Ji Zhaoxi frowned. Lu Huainan had been famous? Then why had she never heard of him?
That meant he definitely hadn’t been as famous as she was.
Lu Huainan listened to them as he followed behind at an unhurried pace, stepping on Ji Zhaoxi’s shadow.
His gaze lingered on the side of her face. She gave a slight nod, and the sunlight outlined her profile with a golden glow.
For a moment, Lu Huainan was lost in a daze. Suddenly, he felt as if time had overlapped. He remembered an afternoon filled with the sound of cicadas. He had followed behind her in exactly the same way then.
But after getting to know her, Lu Huainan felt…
Ji Zhaoxi was unbelievably irritating!
“Oh, I see. But I really don’t remember ever hearing his name,” Ji Zhaoxi said to her former teacher while observing Lu Huainan behind them.
Had Lu Huainan not looked like this in high school? How could she have no impression of him at all?
Lu Huainan met Ji Zhaoxi’s gaze, and his expression grew even colder.
Ji Zhaoxi: …
It was perfectly normal that she hadn’t known him in high school. Lu Huainan was just a weirdo!
She had only glanced at him a few times, and he had already started glaring at her.
Their former teacher was also keenly aware of the relationship between them. To be honest, he was a rather insensitive person.
But one was walking in front while the other followed behind, and neither of them said a word. Even he couldn’t fail to notice that something was wrong. He cleared his throat and stopped mentioning Lu Huainan in front of Ji Zhaoxi.
The sound of students playing basketball echoed across the athletic field, while the cicadas buzzed without pause. Lu Huainan felt increasingly stifled and irritated.
Could he really still be hoping for something from his memories of Ji Zhaoxi? Her memory was unbelievably terrible.
“Chen Junhao! What are you doing here too?” Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes lit up.
She hadn’t expected to run into one of her former classmates.
Chen Junhao was wearing a school uniform, and there was still a hint of youthful innocence on his face.
Chen Junhao rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Ji Zhaoxi, long time no see.”
“What’s with the uniform?” Ji Zhaoxi asked, puzzled.
Had he deliberately returned to his old school in uniform to search for memories of his youth?
Chen Junhao’s face flushed. “I’m still repeating my final year.”
Ji Zhaoxi didn’t know what to say.
Chen Junhao coughed. “Actually, I got into A University the first time I repeated the year, but the major wasn’t very good. So I repeated it for another year. The district and the school offer pretty substantial bonuses, and these days, even college students have trouble finding jobs…”
That was why he had repeated his final year for five years. During those five years, he had collected quite a bit of money.
