Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
The post sparked a lot of discussion and quickly became a trending topic.
Soon, students from other faculties took notice, including those from Ruan Nianxi's faculty.
They scrutinized the photo over and over, unable to believe that the slightly shy girl in the picture was the same aloof goddess they knew.
***
【Century Egg Solo Porridge: Am I seeing things? Doesn't this girl look a lot like our faculty's Ruan Nianxi?】
【Hidden Blue: Fellow faculty mate above, I second that】
【Half-Tour Junkie: Isn't she supposed to be super aloof? She's turned down so many suitors over these three years, how come now… is she in a relationship?】
The subject of the post, Ruan Nianxi, became the talk of the town among netizens, prompting a flurry of comments and inquiries.
Those who knew Ruan Nianxi started to describe her as incredibly indifferent and cold to outsiders, the proverbial unattainable flower who wouldn't spare a second glance for anyone.
They said she hardly made friends over the past three years, treating both men and women with a detached air, interacting only out of social obligation, and that her usual demeanor was far too cold to ever display the "abnormal" expression seen in the photo!
So, they suspected Ruan Nianxi was in love!
And her love interest had to be the guy in the photo with her!
Otherwise, she wouldn't have shown such an expression!
The exaggerated contrast drawn by these people between Ruan Nianxi's past and present behavior convinced many netizens that the two were indeed dating.
As time went on, more and more people saw the post.
This included Xie Shu's classmates.
And An Tian, who was surfing the internet.
***
After hesitating for a long time in the comments section, An Tian handed her phone to Su Qianyi, who was intently drawing.
Su Qianyi, puzzled by the sudden handover, asked, "What's up?"
An Tian replied, "Just look for yourself, I'm not saying anything this time."
Curious and not understanding her meaning, Su Qianyi took the phone and her heart tightened at the sight of the post's title.
The Art Faculty's Most Faithful Man Has a New Pursuit????
The Art Faculty, her own faculty.
The most faithful guy in her mind was none other than Xie Shu.
So, her first thought was to associate this title with Xie Shu.
But what did they mean by… a new pursuit??
Trying to compose herself, Su Qianyi scrolled down with trembling fingers, only to see a photo of Xie Shu with another girl.
In an instant, her mind went blank.
A piercing ringing in her ears blocked all rational thought.
Where was Xie Shu?
Why was he with another woman?
He used to only stay by her side!
Why was he so close to someone else!?
What about her?
What about her!!!
"Qianyi, Qianyi? Su Qianyi!! "
"Huh? What's wrong?"
An Tian's urgent voice snapped Su Qianyi back to reality, her gaze lifeless as she turned to look at her.
But An Tian was too preoccupied to notice, leaning in to glance at the phone, she said, "Hey, isn't this the girl from yesterday? You seem to know her."
"Ah?"
She knows her?
Su Qianyi refocused her gaze and took another look at the phone, finally recognizing the girl's face.
Initially, all her attention had been on Xie Shu, automatically categorizing the girl beside him as "some girl," and then her mind went blank, not really noticing the girl's appearance.
Now, seeing clearly, her mind exploded again.
It was Ruan Nianxi!
Not only was she upset, but anger surged within her.
That girl from high school who hit her for no reason, never apologized, and somehow managed to suppress the incident!
She and Ruan Nianxi had always been at odds in high school, so she absolutely couldn't accept that Xie Shu was with her now.
He knew how much she disliked Ruan Nianxi!
Yet he was so close to her!!
He…
Remembering the title of the post, Su Qianyi's anger was once again trapped in her chest.
No, no!
That's wrong!
Xie Shu doesn't like Ruan Nianxi!
He couldn't possibly be chasing her!
They just knew each other from childhood and were familiar, Xie Shu couldn't possibly like her.
Right! Of course!
Xie Shu didn't like Ruan Nianxi in high school, so why would he like her now!
It must be Ruan Nianxi pestering Xie Shu!
Back in the first year of high school, when Xie Shu first liked her, Ruan Nianxi pestered him because of it, following him around until Xie Shu, fearing a misunderstanding, asked Ruan Nianxi to keep her distance.
As a woman, she understood Ruan Nianxi's intentions all too well.
But Xie Shu's stance had always been firm, always on her side, so she never considered Ruan Nianxi a rival.
After starting university, she thought Ruan Nianxi had gone to another school and had almost forgotten about her.
But now…
Unpleasant thoughts rose in Su Qianyi's mind only to be suppressed.
She firmly believed Xie Shu would never like Ruan Nianxi, so it could only be Ruan Nianxi pestering Xie Shu!
As for why they seemed so harmonious in the photo, Su Qianyi had no energy left to ponder.
She handed the phone back to An Tian and quickly stood up, heading out of the classroom.
From the photo, it seemed Xie Shu was at the teaching building.
She needed to go down and see for herself!!
***
Meanwhile, at the teaching building.
Seeing the crowd at the entrance thinning, Xie Shu prepared to go inside.
He returned the umbrella to Ruan Nianxi, thanked her softly, took back his drawings, and entered the building.
Ruan Nianxi stood outside, watching him go in, then followed upstairs.
As Xie Shu's figure disappeared at the stairwell, she instinctively started to follow.
She wanted to see which classroom he was in, who sat next to him, whether they were male or female, whether the teacher was male or female, if he was still as popular as before, and if there really was a problem between him and Su Qianyi…
She wanted to know everything about him, inside and out.
But after taking a step, she abruptly stopped.
It seemed like the doctor had said not to do such things… to give the person you like absolute freedom, to make them feel comfortable, that's how you keep them from running away.
After a moment's thought, she took out the medicine bottle she always carried with her.
(Again, a reminder that the male lead in the novel has special characteristics, and remember to distinguish between fiction and reality, as the novel contains elements of fantasy.)