The next morning dawned.
Xie Shu was roused by the insistent blaring of his alarm clock.
Groggy and half-asleep, he reached out to silence the alarm, lingering in bed for a few more minutes before finally getting up.
Daylight had arrived again, with no regard for his weariness, as if the sun had simply decided it was time to shine.
His routine had been perfectly healthy until he broke it last night, playing a game, and before he knew it, he had stayed up way too late.
Last night, after being taunted by those two opponents, he led his team in a relentless chase across the map, even their randomly matched teammate joined in the pursuit.
They didn't just push to destroy the enemy's crystal and win; they hid in the bushes, ambushing their foes, making them too scared to wander carelessly, and when they were nearly defeated, they let them run a bit, striking a fatal blow just as they thought they might escape.
Ah, it was just a game.
The famous writer Lu Xun once said: "Let fate bring fortune or disaster; I shall not play the saint but enjoy my blessings."
So, he had a blast last night, and the game lasted quite a while. By the time it ended, it was already the wee hours of the morning, which meant he went to bed late.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Xie Shu got out of bed, washed up, and left his apartment.
Ah, he had a part-time job to get to today.
Exiting the dormitory, he headed straight for the cafeteria, bought breakfast, and then made his way towards the school gate near the residential area.
Not long after he left the school, a girl appeared on the path leading to the female dormitories.
She entered the cafeteria, hesitated at each service window, unsure of what to buy, and eventually settled on a few breakfast items and a cup of soy milk from memory.
After the cafeteria auntie packed her breakfast, she left without heading back to the female dormitory, instead walking towards the male dorms.
Finally, she stopped at the foot of a male dormitory building.
There were benches set up by the school along the roadside, and she silently took a seat before pulling out her phone, opening WeChat, and sending a message to a friend.
[Xie Shu, are you up? I bought you breakfast. Can you come downstairs?]
As expected, there was no reply.
But she wasn't in a hurry; after all, it was the weekend, and few students would be up early. At this hour, Xie Shu was probably still sleeping.
No matter, she could wait.
Just as he had waited for her in the past.
***
Meanwhile, outside the campus.
Xie Shu was about to enter Ruan Nianxi's chat when a new message popped up, pushing her conversation down. His finger paused abruptly, stopping just in time.
Seeing the familiar name, he felt nothing inside.
He glanced at the message without opening the chat, his expression resembling that of an elderly man squinting at his phone on the subway.
Is she alright?
What's gotten into her so early in the morning?
Buying him breakfast?
For things he couldn't figure out, Xie Shu chose to set them aside, knowing he'd forget about them eventually.
This time, he accurately tapped into Ruan Nianxi's chat and was about to send her a message when a car suddenly pulled up beside him.
He thought it was someone else's car stopping by him, so he stepped back onto the stairs, leisurely typing his message.
Before he could send it, a familiar voice called out in front of him:
"Xie Shu."
Looking up, Xie Shu saw the driver's window of the car that had stopped in front of him roll down, and through it, he saw Ruan Nianxi.
Xie Shu: "???"
"Are you on your way to your part-time job?"
Ruan Nianxi leaned half out of the window, resting on the frame, looking up at Xie Shu on the steps with her bright eyes.
Xie Shu's hand holding the phone lowered slightly, his gaze lingering on Ruan Nianxi for a few seconds before scanning the surroundings.
Strange, isn't this right at the school gate?
If she had left before him, she should have driven off by now.
And if she left after him, how did he not see her just now?
Moreover, the school gate near the residential area doesn't allow vehicles to enter, so where did her car come from?
Even if her car was parked inside the school, there's only one main gate and a side gate on the other side of the school that allow vehicle entry, which are completely different from this gate.
"Xie Shu?"
Ruan Nianxi's voice pulled him back from his thoughts.
"Mhm." Xie Shu quickly nodded in response after coming back to his senses.
"Do you want a ride?" she continued.
Xie Shu: "!?"
"You must be busy today too, so it's not necessary."
Thinking she probably had to go to the company, Xie Shu didn't want to hold her up and declined.
He thought she would leave after his refusal, but instead, she just gazed at him expectantly, her lips moving silently, and even the hand resting on the window frame tightened a bit unnaturally.
After a moment's thought, Xie Shu asked, "Won't it delay you?"
"Not at all!"
She answered quickly this time.
As if to prove her sincerity, Ruan Nianxi added, "I'm not a formal employee at the company, not even an intern. I only go there to learn when I have time, so it doesn't matter if I don't go. There's no difference to me whether I arrive early or late."
She sure had a way with words.
Why couldn't she say that just now?
Considering her shyness, Xie Shu didn't tease her and agreed to go along with her offer.
"Then I'll trouble you."
"It's no trouble."
Ruan Nianxi's face lit up with a smile, radiant and blooming like a flower, her beauty captivating and her gaze tender.
Xie Shu's heart skipped a beat, and he tapped his forehead to refocus before stepping forward and walking around the car to the passenger seat.
After getting in and giving the specific address, Ruan Nianxi set up the navigation and drove off.
Not long after they started driving, Xie Shu, still holding his breakfast, suddenly remembered something:
"Have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet."
"You didn't get up late, why didn't you eat?"
"I… wasn't very hungry."
Ruan Nianxi's voice faltered.
She didn't want to disturb Xie Shu and wasn't sure when he would leave, so she had to get up early and wait for him at the gate.
As for going to the cafeteria, their school had several, and she couldn't guess which one he would choose for breakfast. She was afraid of missing him, so she didn't waste time eating and went straight out of the dormitory to the school gate.
Regarding the car…
Originally, the driver came to pick her up, but she wanted some alone time with Xie Shu, so she sent the driver away just now.
But these premeditated plans, she dared not reveal.
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan