44 Chapter 44
◎Why does Lao Ti Shi Ziqian do this?◎
After filming the scene, Gao Qiang seemed to still have more to say. He touched his bald head, and just as a new idea was about to pop into his head, the school bell rang from the other side of the teaching building.
get out of class is over, lunch break is here.
Gao Qiang looked quite regretful, but since everyone had been tired all morning, he didn't want to take up any more of their time. He clapped his hands and led everyone in applause: "Let's call it a day for today's filming. Everyone who participated has worked hard. Thank you for your efforts. Go back and get some rest at noon."
Zhan Xinyue retrieved her backpack against the dispersing crowd, changed her clothes in the restroom, and then headed towards the cafeteria. In the short time that followed, many people had already finished eating and were walking out. When Zhan Xinyue entered the cafeteria, the queue wasn't long anymore, so she randomly found a window to stand at.
When it was her turn, she got her food and pressed her meal card onto the card reader, only to be embarrassingly shown the words: Insufficient balance.
She dislikes the hassle and usually tops up her meal card twice a semester. However, after her rebirth, she hadn't thought about it and hadn't paid much attention to the balance. Unexpectedly, there wasn't much money left in the card.
She placed the tray on the side of the counter, signaling the students behind her to go first, and then glanced around the cafeteria.
In the crowd, Zhan Xinyue spotted Xie Wanzhi without much effort. She was sitting not far away, and had probably noticed Zhan Xinyue as soon as she entered the cafeteria. Seeing Zhan Xinyue looking over, she waved in her direction.
Zhan Xinyue was about to walk over to borrow her meal card when she suddenly saw Shi Ziqian push open the door to the cafeteria. He must have gone back to his dormitory first, and he had already changed into his school uniform.
Zhan Xinyue paused, her gaze sweeping back and forth between him and Xie Wan. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly turned and walked towards Shi Ziqian: "Shi Ziqian, can I borrow your card to swipe? I forgot to top up my meal card. I'll swipe it for you next time we eat."
Shi Ziqian shook his head to indicate that he didn't need it and handed her his meal card.
Zhan Xinyue took the card and returned to the group. When she pressed the card onto the card reader, she paused for a moment, looking at the balance of 18,000 yuan.
She reasonably suspected that this person was even more carefree than her, and probably only planned to top up the card once during her three years of high school.
After swiping the card, she returned it to Shi Ziqian, then carried the tray to Xie Wanzhi and sat down opposite her.
Xie Wanzhi looked at her with a strange expression, but didn't say anything. She then lowered her head and began to eat slowly and deliberately.
After waiting a while, Xie Wanzhi spoke first, scraping the plate with her spoon as she asked, "What's going on? Did you run out of money on your card? I saw you borrowing meal cards from Shi Ziqian."
“Yes.” Zhan Xinyue didn’t look up. “You saw it, didn’t you? The money in the card is all gone.”
"What do you mean, right? If you don't have any money in your card, why don't you come to me for it? I'm sitting here like a grown man, and you're going to borrow a stranger's meal card."
Zhan Xinyue said calmly, "I just saw that you were far away, and he happened to be passing by. I was just borrowing someone's meal card, why are you making such a big reaction?"
Xie Wanzhi said angrily, "I was just asking casually, I don't want to talk to you anymore."
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything," Zhan Xinyue said. "Let's eat."
She lowered her head to eat, while Xie Wanzhi poked at the rice on her plate for a long time before saying, "I didn't realize you and Shi Ziqian had such a good relationship lately."
“We’ve been sitting at the same desk for so long, it wouldn’t be normal for us to still act like strangers.”
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Zhan Xinyue said soothingly, "Okay, okay, you can use your meal card next time, okay?"
Xie Wanzhi snorted: "Do you know that you often talk like one of those scumbags who try to fool their girlfriends, so perfunctory!"
Zhan Xinyue smiled but didn't say anything.
Xie Wanzhi put down the spoon in her hand: "By the way, what happened with the photos this morning? You weren't here all morning, and I don't think Shi Ziqian showed up in the classroom either. When I came in just now, I heard some girls from other classes saying that they saw Shi Ziqian taking photos on the playground."
Zhan Xinyue slowly swallowed a mouthful of rice, looked up at her, and said, "What's wrong with you today? Why do you have to ask me about things you already know?"
Xie Wanzhi choked for a moment and said, "I was just confirming the truth with you, since you were there. So he really did go?"
"yes."
Xie Wanzhi clicked her tongue: "You know what, Gao Qiang is quite capable. I don't know what method he used to persuade them, but he actually succeeded. You know Shi Ziqian..."
Zhan Xinyue looked a little helpless: "We're eating right now, why do you keep bringing him up?"
"What does 'old' mean?" Xie Wanzhi said. "I just asked you a couple of questions out of curiosity today, okay?"
Zhan Xinyue lowered her head and continued eating: "Mmm."
As usual, Zhan Xinyue went to the art building to practice dancing during her daily activity period. On this day, as she passed by several empty dance studios, she unsurprisingly saw Xu Shen.
He was sitting in the corner, casually playing the drums, surrounded by a group of people, both boys and girls, chatting and laughing with him.
Zhan Xinyue glanced at it, then looked away and walked past.
The school is quite willing to spend money on certain things; they must have paid the advertising company well. They just finished taking photos a few days ago, and the promotional posters are already up. When Zhan Xinyue came out after dance practice, she saw that the entire bulletin board under the art building had been replaced with a new one. Several students were standing in front of her, looking at it.
Zhan Xinyue also walked over and stood behind them, looking up.
The entire bulletin board had a unified style, with the first photo showing everyone walking side-by-side towards the camera in a row. The photographer handled the light and shadow beautifully; in the morning light, a group of young men and women walked towards the light, sunlight dancing on their eyebrows and hair, exuding a vibrant youthful energy.
Below this image is a lengthy text introduction of the school, including its motto, teaching philosophy, and ethos. The left side is covered with numerous honors the school has received since its founding, while the right side features a large photo wall. In addition to the footage taken that day, there are also many panoramic aerial photos of the campus interspersed throughout, creating a truly magnificent effect.
Zhan Xinyue looked through the photos one by one, her gaze finally settling on the very center of the display. As she had expected, Gao Qiang had indeed placed the photo of her and Shi Ziqian in the very center.
In this photo, one person is leaning on a table with their eyes downcast, while the other is holding a textbook and looking up, seemingly engaged in a lively discussion. Both are turning their faces slightly to the side. Shi Ziqian, needless to say, has excellent bone structure and is very photogenic; this angle perfectly showcases his clear and beautiful jawline. Zhan Xinyue, on the other hand, looks surprisingly good in this photo as well, with a radiant smile and lively eyes.
She looked at it for a while, and before she knew it, someone had appeared beside her, standing shoulder to shoulder with her looking at the photo.
Zhan Xinyue ignored him. After looking at him for a while, the man spoke up, his voice tinged with a smile: "So beautiful."
Zhan Xinyue remained silent, and the other person continued, "If I had known that Class 10 was going, I would have had a good talk with Gao Qiang when he told me I didn't need to go."
Zhan Xinyue could no longer pretend she couldn't see him, and turned her head slightly: "What are you arguing about?"
“Gao Qiang asked me to go take photos earlier. I had already changed my clothes that morning when my teacher came to tell me that I didn’t need to go.” Xu Shen raised his eyebrows. “Then I had to ask him. Even if he’s going to use me like a monkey, he can’t do this. I’ve already gone halfway. He has to take responsibility for me.”
Zhan Xinyue: "..."
"But I didn't know you were going. When I heard it, I was relieved, thinking that I had escaped another disaster, so I agreed immediately."
Xu Shen turned to look at her: "This photo of you two is really good. I suddenly regret it a little. If I had insisted on going back then and asked Gao Qiang to add me, wouldn't it have been a photo of the two of us?"
Zhan Xinyue frowned slightly and said seriously, "Even if you go to Gaoqiang, you'll still ask Shi Ziqian to shoot."
Xu Shen chuckled helplessly, "Why are you so blunt? It's really hurtful."
Zhan Xinyue glanced at him. This guy was always like this. He sounded hurt, but he didn't seem to care much at all. His words were laced with barbs: "At this hour, instead of being your security guard and keeping watch at the dance studio to lock the door, what are you doing here?"
Xu Shen looked surprised: "How did you know I lock the dance studio every day?" He raised his voice slightly and drew out his words, "I didn't realize you were secretly keeping an eye on me."
Zhan Xinyue continued to stare at the poster without glancing to the side, and did not respond.
Seeing her like this, Xu Shen laughed again, "I was just joking, don't take it to heart. By the way, I saw you standing here, so I came over mainly to tell you that there's going to be an event at the Art Building these days, so rehearsals will be suspended for a few days. I'll let you know when training resumes."
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