When Ji Zhaoxi returned to school, she happened to run into some juniors who were in the middle of a club activity.
A few of them were wandering around campus with cameras. The moment they saw Ji Zhaoxi, their eyes lit up.
“Senior Ji Zhaoxi, could you be the female lead in our group project?”
“Senior, I used to be in the same club as you. Do you remember me?”
“Senior, senior, we just saw your video online. I’m from Haizhong too.”
Several of them crowded around her. For the sake of their group project, they were willing to throw all dignity out the window as they begged Ji Zhaoxi to help them.
Lu Huainan had originally been standing beside Ji Zhaoxi, but he was instantly shoved to the back. A few footprints even ended up on his shoes.
Lu Huainan: …
“Senior, what are you guys doing? Are you filming a promotional video?”
A few more people who knew Ji Zhaoxi came over, trying to squeeze their way inside.
A girl glanced at Lu Huainan apologetically. “Sorry, could you let me through for a moment?”
“Senior, I’ve sent you gifts before. Can you join our group?”
Ji Zhaoxi put on her trademark smile, looking incredibly awkward.
Why were they taking pictures with her too? When had she become this famous?
But couldn’t they wait until she was properly dressed before taking pictures? She was carrying a huge bag, had been sitting in a car for ages, and looked as though every last bit of energy had been drained from her.
“I’m sorry, everyone, but you’ll have to find someone else for your group project,” Ji Zhaoxi said, rejecting them with merciless efficiency.
As if she had the time! Her own assignments were already more than enough.
Hearing Ji Zhaoxi say that, the people surrounding her did not look disappointed. They had mostly just wanted an excuse to chat with her.
“Senior, why have we hardly ever run into you on campus since you started graduate school?”
Ji Zhaoxi immediately wilted. “You’ll understand once you start graduate school.”
The juniors chattered away around her. Ji Zhaoxi had been feeling rather tired, but the next second, they made her laugh.
Lu Huainan stood in a corner. Through the gaps between everyone’s heads and shoulders, he could only catch glimpses of her profile.
His gaze lowered, and his heart suddenly clenched. The awful feeling was terrifyingly familiar.
Back then, she had always been like this. Whether in the hallway after class or outside the school gate, she was always surrounded by a crowd, while he stood off to the side, coldly watching those faces.
Did these people even understand Ji Zhaoxi? If they really did, they definitely wouldn’t keep hovering around her.
A bunch of sycophants clustering around one person like a pack of dogs—didn’t they find it pathetic?
“Hmph.”
Lu Huainan let out a cold laugh and turned toward the laboratory.
Behind him, Ji Zhaoxi’s voice continued.
“Sure. When the time comes, I’ll send you the materials I prepared back then. But I might not have time to answer your questions…”
Lu Huainan had already walked several steps when he suddenly stopped.
Why was he always the one who walked away first? He had been there before any of them. The people crowding around her were the latecomers.
Would Ji Zhaoxi even care if he left? She had so many people around her—of course she wouldn’t care. She might even think he had a strange personality.
He just didn’t want to see her happy.
Surrounded by everyone, Ji Zhaoxi cleared her throat awkwardly. “Um, I haven’t watched that video yet. I’ll go back and take a look…”
Before she could finish, a cold voice suddenly rang out from nearby.
“Ji Zhaoxi.”
The crowd instantly fell silent. Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
Lu Huainan looked calmly at Ji Zhaoxi. His voice was slightly tense. “If you’re busy, I’ll leave first.”
Ji Zhaoxi froze for a moment, then hurriedly said, “Lu Huainan, you were waiting for me? I thought you’d already left.”
“Sorry, I forgot about you just now. You should go ahead. I still have some things to do.”
Had the sun risen in the west? Lu Huainan had actually been waiting for her the whole time?
Based on what she knew of him, Lu Huainan should have left the instant the others surrounded her.
Lu Huainan was seriously acting strange.
He gave a quiet acknowledgment, turned around, and left. Only after he could no longer hear the voices behind him did his tightly clenched hands slowly relax.
So when she was surrounded by everyone, walking away without looking back hadn’t been his only option after all…
After returning to her dorm, Ji Zhaoxi collapsed onto her bed.
She still had to go to the laboratory that evening. She needed to get a good nap in now.
The moment she opened her phone, the video of her speaking tearfully from the podium back in high school popped up.
“One exam score doesn’t represent everything. I also cried over my grades back then, but…”
Ji Zhaoxi shut off her phone and closed her eyes in despair.
She absolutely did not dare read the comments. Had she really been that emotional back then?
Had Lu Huainan secretly laughed at her from below…?
Meanwhile, her fan group was buzzing with activity.
[I was standing right next to our baby back then. I really wanted to kiss her, but I managed to hold myself back!]
[She was so startled when she heard that a few of us were her students, hahaha.]
[Am I the only one who feels disillusioned?［Crying］ I always imagined Xixi as the cool, aloof type—the kind who could step on me…]
[?]
[Why are you saying that? You won’t like Xixi anymore just because she isn’t cold and distant?]
[What kind of nonsense is that? Isn’t her image supposed to be that of a cool beauty? What’s wrong with me not liking her because she isn’t ice-cold?［Laughing through tears］]
[If you love cold, emotionless things that much, why don’t you just hug a block of ice for the rest of your life?]
The fan group quickly descended into an argument.
When Ji Zhaoxi went to the laboratory that evening, her supervisor praised her highly.
“Student Ji Zhaoxi put that very well.”
Then the supervisor changed tack.
“But!”
“Student Ji Zhaoxi, you really need to put more effort into your experiments. Don’t spend all day thinking about sleeping in your dorm. Only then can you set a good example for all those juniors of yours.”
Ji Zhaoxi gave a dry smile. “Yes, Professor.”
She had already been exhausted after a full day, and while conducting the experiment that night, she kept yawning.
When she glanced to the side, she saw her senior with two enormous dark circles under her eyes, looking completely worn out.
Her male senior was also conducting the experiment with a vacant expression.
Ji Zhaoxi began to suspect that there was something supernatural in the laboratory, constantly sucking away their energy.
The evening was prime time for livestreaming. Although platforms offered more traffic during those hours, many major streamers also crowded into the same time slot, making it difficult to compete with them for viewers.
That was why the big streamers connected with one another every day, creating entertaining segments to keep the traffic flowing.
“Good evening, everyone.” Ji Zhaoxi adjusted her screen and greeted her viewers.
People in the chat kept asking her to go head-to-head with other streamers.
[Why isn’t Baby doing a PK with Sanzi anymore?]
[Yeah, yeah, I really miss the four-person streams from before.]
[Can Xixi connect with Sanzi and the others today?［Please, please］]
[Could everyone stop mentioning unrelated people in the public chat? If you like watching other streamers so much, go to their livestreams!]
[Don’t fight, everyone, and don’t try to control Xixi. Xixi has her own pace. Please stop arguing.［Crying］]
