Ruan Nianxi washed her hands clean and then moved to the mirror on the wall to meticulously scrub the paint from her face.
Some of the paint had dried, making it difficult to wash off.
She dabbed water on her cheeks, rubbing back and forth in front of the mirror.
After several passes, droplets of water slid down her raised arms and slowly seeped into her sleeves.
With the weather being hot, everyone's clothing was thin, and her repeated movements made the fabric at her cuffs somewhat transparent…
Xie Shu was right beside her.
He had quickly cleaned the paint off his hands and, noticing Ruan Nianxi still struggling with her cheeks, turned to help her.
But as he turned, he caught sight of her somewhat transparent sleeves, and not just that, a small patch of her collar was dampened by water droplets trickling down from her neck.
"Let me help you."
Xie Shu leaned in, pressing down Ruan Nianxi's arm as he did so.
"I can…"
"Let me."
Xie Shu cut off her response.
Was she planning to change into spare clothes or something?
In any case, it was Xie Shu who ended up cleaning Ruan Nianxi's face once more, causing the blush that had just faded from her cheeks to return.
Afterward, they collected their "masterpiece" from the shop owner and left the store.
Once outside, Xie Shu glanced at the time and realized it was late. In a few more minutes, the university would close…
Strange, they hadn't done much, so why had time flown by so quickly?
To save time, they hailed a taxi on the main road and rushed towards Jiangling University. Although the commercial district wasn't far from the campus, it was still a few minutes' drive.
Xie Shu, watching the dwindling time, wasn't sure if they'd make it back before the gates closed.
"If we can't make it back before the school closes, we'll have to stay at a hotel tonight," Xie Shu casually mentioned.
"Mhm."
Ruan Nianxi responded softly, her cheeks reddening even more, but thankfully the dim light in the back of the taxi concealed it.
She kept her head down, her heart racing with nervousness.
Staying at a hotel… With Xie Shu…
?(ˊ?ˋ*)
Nothing had happened yet, but Ruan Nianxi's imagination was already running wild.
Xie Shu, in fact, had no other intentions. He was simply stating the outcome, and the late return to the university wasn't a deliberate plan—it was just a slip of his attention to time.
His mention of staying at a hotel meant separate rooms for the two of them; he really hadn't thought beyond that.
"Don't worry, you two!" At that moment, the driver chimed in, "I'm a skilled driver! I'll get you to the university before it closes!"
"Jiangling University, right? Three minutes! Just three minutes! I'll get you to the school gates!"
With that, the driver floored the accelerator, and the taxi sped off.
***
Three minutes later.
At the gates of Jiangling University.
The driver, with one hand resting on the window frame, grinned at the young couple as they got out of the back seat: "How about that? Told you my driving was good, right? Three minutes and here you are! Didn't delay your time, did I?"
Ruan Nianxi: "……"
Xie Shu, who got out after her, was expressionless: "Thanks, brother. I've transferred the money."
"Alright!"
After the driver left, Xie Shu turned and headed towards the university entrance.
He had only walked a few steps when he suddenly stopped and turned to look at Ruan Nianxi, who was still standing motionless.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Ruan Nianxi snapped out of it and quickly joined Xie Shu, and together they entered the university.
After escorting Ruan Nianxi to her dormitory, Xie Shu headed to his own.
Minutes later, upon returning to his dorm, Xie Shu's three roommates informed him that he had once again become a hot topic on the university forum.
Xie Shu: "???"
What had he done to be posted on the campus forum?
Puzzled, he looked at his roommates, waiting for them to elaborate. They exchanged glances, unsure of how to begin or what to say.
"Just check it out yourself, it's about you and Su Qianyi," Zhao Lin said, spreading his hands helplessly.
That post, they really didn't know what to say about it.
They trusted Xie Shu's character, but the accompanying photo of the post… Su Qianyi was indeed crying.
Without further explanation, Xie Shu took out his phone and logged into the university forum to see what was going on.
Upon entering, he saw a headline that immediately caught his eye.
〖Arts College's campus hunk Xie X suspected of heartlessly dumping campus belle, belle seen crying in public〗
Who came up with such a ridiculous headline?
Xie Shu clicked on the post and was greeted with a photo of him and Su Qianyi, capturing the moment where she clung to his arm, looking up at him with tears brimming in her eyes.
As for the text of the post, there was none.
Xie Shu: "……"
So it was clickbait?
No, how could people spread rumors like this?
What did they mean by him dumping Su Qianyi?
They had nothing between them at all, right?
And her crying wasn't his fault either.
Judging by the photo's angle, the original poster was quite close to them, so were they deaf? Couldn't they hear him say that he and Su Qianyi had nothing to do with each other?
Even if their initial conversation might have been too quiet for others to hear, he was sure the last few sentences he spoke were loud enough. It was quiet around them at the time, and the original poster was close enough to hear, right?
It was utterly nonsensical.
Without much thought, Xie Shu could guess that the original poster deliberately chose such a title to attract attention.
Marketing accounts could use someone like this.
Xie Shu was about to retort when the voices of his three loyal roommates rang out: "Don't worry, brother, we've already scolded the rumor-spreading poster hundreds of times before you got back."
"Exactly! What kind of nonsense is this? Deliberately using misleading titles for attention. If you're considered a scumbag for this, then there are no good men left in the world."
"You don't need to get too angry. After all, everyone in our college knows the situation between you and Su Qianyi. Plus, there were plenty of onlookers in the back street at the time, and not just us. Others in the thread are also helping to set the record straight."
Xie Shu paused his typing, thinking that if that was the case, he'd refrain from swearing for now.
He looked up at his roommates with a serious expression and said solemnly, "Thanks, brothers."
Hearing the unusually earnest tone from Xie Shu, so different from his usual playful demeanor, they were about to say "no need for thanks between brothers" when they heard him continue:
"From now on, as long as I have a bowl of soup to drink, you guys will have a bowl to wash."
"……"
"……"
"……"
Well, they thanked him for that.
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan