Chapter 97
◎An Unexpected Reunion◎
It was after dinner when Dai Yun and I parted ways. We had eaten at a restaurant outside the school and then naturally separated at the school gate.
Zhan Xinyue returned to the school and absentmindedly walked towards her dormitory with her head down, almost bumping into someone without noticing.
"Watch where you're going, classmate." The other person waved their hand in front of her face.
"Excuse me." Zhan Xinyue looked up to apologize, only to see Du Du and Yi Qing standing in front of her, watching her with a leisurely air.
"What are you thinking about so intently? We saw you from far away, and we called you for ages but you didn't even look up," Yiqing said.
"What are you two doing here?" Zhan Xinyue asked.
"Don't even mention it, we just got back from the library." Yi Qing looked annoyed. "I listened to Du Du's sweet talk and went to the library with her to look at handsome guys, but we didn't see a single one all afternoon."
"What do you mean, 'I'm slandering you'? You clearly want to go too, okay?!" Dudu protested.
"I was just saying it casually, but you've been stirring things up the whole time. Sigh, you said it would be fine if we went and saw them, but we wandered around for ages and didn't see anyone. Doesn't that make us look like idiots?"
“I seriously doubt that person is a fake photo,” Dudu suddenly had a flash of inspiration and looked enlightened. “Maybe we’ve already met him in the library, but we just didn’t recognize him because he looks so different from the photo.”
“I think it’s very possible. Is it really possible for someone who looks like that to also have top grades? I’m skeptical.” Yi Qing clearly thought it made a lot of sense.
Hearing this, Zhan Xinyue couldn't help but smile: "I have actually met people like that before."
"Who is it?" the two asked.
“An old classmate.” Zhan Xinyue didn’t elaborate. “Have you two eaten yet?”
"Ah, speaking of which, it's already this late and we still haven't eaten. We're starving. Let's go eat!"
"Go on, I'm going back to my dorm first," Zhan Xinyue said.
“No way, let’s go together, it’s a dorm activity.” Yi Qing hooked her arm around Zhan Xinyue’s.
Zhan Xinyue said helplessly, "I've already eaten."
"After you've eaten, you'll stay with us," Dudu shouted, brooking no refusal.
People's schedules aren't as regular on weekends, and there were still quite a few people in the cafeteria at this hour. Dudu and Yiqing ordered bibimbap and chatted aimlessly while vigorously stirring it with their spoons.
Zhan Xinyue sat beside her, listening occasionally, but her eyes were always on her phone.
The screen showed the class group chat page, where the dark black cartoon rabbit blended in with a bunch of colorful avatars, not standing out at all.
Dai Yun mentioned that he dropped out of high school during his senior year. Why? Dai Yun did not provide an answer.
She never expected that the person who told her about Xu Shen's infidelity would be Shi Ziqian. But in her previous life, he was often abroad, so how did he find out? She thought about it for a long time, but had no clue.
What surprised her even more was that Shi Ziqian did not go abroad to study, but instead came to A University to study.
School has been in session for so long, and she had no idea at all.
Although with his grades, getting into A University wouldn't have been difficult for him if he hadn't chosen to study abroad, Zhan Xinyue still inexplicably thought of that rainy night a long time ago when Shi Ziqian said to her, "Let's go to the same university."
Could it be because of this? She didn't have the nerve to blame herself, especially after what she had done to him so badly.
However, it seems impossible to say that one's heart was completely unmoved.
Doubts weighed heavily on her. She stared at the black rabbit for a long time, her own emotions unsure of what to feel.
When they came out of the cafeteria, it was already half dark. The three of them walked back to the dormitory side by side. The other two were feeling lazy after eating. Dudu suddenly suggested, "We've eaten so much, let's go for a walk on the playground."
"I'm not going." Yi Qing refused without even thinking. "There's a guild war tonight, and I have to go online."
"What? You want to play that online game again? This is a dorm activity, you can't refuse!" Dudu used what she had just said to pressure her.
"What kind of group activity is this? Ye Zi isn't even here."
Dudu grabbed Yiqing as if afraid she would run away, and turned to Zhan Xinyue and said, "Then call Yezi, Xinyue, quickly tell her to come for a walk! It's only been a short time since school started and she's already starting to distance herself from the group. I need to reprimand her!"
"It seems Yezi is busy with student council matters." Zhan Xinyue looked at the two of them with amusement, but still took out her phone as instructed and opened Yezi's contact page.
I tapped her name with my finger, pressed the button, and a long beeping sound came from the phone.
"Let go, or I'll bite you!"
"Don't let go. Tell me, is the game more important or me?"
"...The game is important."
Zhan Xinyue held her phone, listening to the bickering between the two people beside her, and casually looked up.
His gaze suddenly fixed on one person in the crowd.
Not far away, Shi Ziqian, whom Dai Yun had mentioned earlier, appeared clearly in sight, one hand in his pocket, walking towards them.
He seemed unchanged, yet also changed a great deal. He wore a black trench coat, and from a distance, his shoulders appeared broader, he looked more mature, and his features were clearer and more defined than when they parted.
Even though the road was crowded with students walking around in the evening, Zhan Xinyue still saw him the moment she looked up.
Long ago, Zhan Xinyue was able to spot him in a crowd at a glance. At first, she thought it was because of his appearance, but later she gradually realized that after the two of them had shared many memories, a certain bond naturally formed between them, and this bond was enough to make him stand out from the crowd in her eyes.
Just like now, even though it had been so long since they last saw each other, she still felt—so familiar—when she saw him again. It was as if they had only parted yesterday, and her gaze had only left him for a brief moment.
As darkness deepened, the streetlights on both sides of the road suddenly lit up, illuminating his handsome features and dark eyebrows beneath his black hair.
Isn't that how it is in novels? The male protagonist always appears with his own special lighting effects. At times like this, Zhan Xinyue actually had such a whimsical thought.
"Hello, Crescent Moon?" Xiao Ye's voice came from the phone. "Why aren't you saying anything? Did you press the wrong button?"
"What are you spacing out for? You're acting a bit strange today." Dudu and Yiqing, who were still entangled together, looked at her at the sound of her voice. Seeing that her gaze was fixed, they looked ahead.
Two seconds later.
"Isn't that the handsome guy on the confession wall?" Dudu exclaimed.
"I spent the whole afternoon at the library and didn't see him, but then I bumped into him on the street. Could this be the legendary 'suddenly turning around and finding him where the lights are dim'?"
"I retract my malicious speculation from today... How come this person is even more handsome than in the photos?"
"What? What are you guys whispering about? I can't hear you." Xiao Ye on the phone was confused and bewildered.
"If you can't hear me, just forget it. People who are detached from the group have no right to pry into our good deeds." Yi Qing snatched the phone and hung up immediately.
Zhan Xinyue finally snapped out of her daze. The handsome guy on the confession wall that they'd been talking about for days was actually Shi Ziqian? Zhan Xinyue was a little dazed again.
The world is so small. But if it's him, everything seems to make sense.
Do you think he'll notice if I secretly take a picture of him now?
"What are you going to do? Are you going to post on the white wall too?"
Dudu and Yiqing whispered excitedly to each other.
They walked towards him, getting closer and closer.
They are ten meters apart.
Five meters.
Zhan Xinyue's palms involuntarily sweated. She hadn't expected to meet Shi Ziqian so suddenly, and she certainly hadn't imagined that she would meet him again.
Should I say hello? Or...?
Shi Ziqian, who had been staring calmly at the road, finally raised his eyebrows slightly and casually glanced over in their direction.
Before their eyes met, a woman's voice sounded behind him.
"Why are you walking so fast? I almost couldn't find you."
Shi Ziqian's gaze, which hadn't yet turned towards him, paused in mid-air before quickly shifting to his side. There, a girl with long, curly hair hurried after him, panting as she caught up.
"It's because you're walking too slowly." Shi Ziqian's clear and calm voice was no different from before.
"A true gentleman will consider a lady's pace, especially since I'm wearing high heels today." The girl's coquettish voice rang in Zhan Xinyue's ears before quickly fading away.
The two groups of people passed each other.
"Why aren't you saying anything? If you don't talk to me, I'm going to keep bothering you!" The voice gradually faded away.
Zhan Xinyue heard Shi Ziqian respond, but she couldn't hear what he said.
"Tsk, he actually has a girlfriend." Dudu sighed regretfully, "Sure enough, there's never a shortage of handsome guys."
"Fortunately, his girlfriend is quite pretty too. I firmly believe that beautiful women should be paired with handsome men," Yiqing said.
"That's true, but it's none of our business anymore. Never mind, let's go for a walk."
"I can only be online for half an hour at most, I really have to be online tonight."
"Your gang has a couple hundred people, do you think you're missing one more or what?"
"Didn't I mention that? I'm the gang leader."
"Don't tell me you were running a gang while studying in your senior year of high school?"
"No, I only became a leader during the summer vacation. After all, I've been in the gang for five or six years. The gang leader has changed generation after generation, and it has finally been passed down to me."
...
The two had already strayed from the topic when Zhan Xinyue suddenly interjected, "Dudu, can I take a look at that confession wall you mentioned?"
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