Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
The bustling streets were alive with activity as Xie Shu searched for the right shop.
The Back Street was crowded at this hour, with shops near the school's back gate almost fully seated. Not wanting to squeeze in, he continued walking forward with Ruan Nianxi, all the while keeping the conversation going so she wouldn't get bored.
He paid no mind to whether there were any acquaintances around, so when he passed by some female classmates, he didn't even notice.
He didn't notice them, but that didn't mean they didn't notice him.
Among those girls were two who shared a dormitory with Su Qianyi. They got along fairly well, so when they saw Xie Shu strolling with another girl, they quickly snapped a photo of their backs and sent it to their dormitory group chat.
They texted: "Qianyi, we saw Xie Shu on Back Street, he seems to be shopping with another girl."
No sooner had they sent the message than they felt something was off.
Lately, the relationship between Xie Shu and Su Qianyi had changed dramatically, and Xie Shu had made it clear he was no longer involved with Su Qianyi.
So why take this photo? It was unnecessary.
Sigh, it was just that they had never seen Xie Shu with another girl before, so seeing it now triggered an instinctive reaction.
Realizing they shouldn't have sent the photo, they quickly retracted the message from the group chat.
Unfortunately, Su Qianyi, who had been waiting all day for a message from Xie Shu, was still glued to her phone and saw the message the moment it was posted.
She immediately replied: "Who's that girl next to him?"
After sending the message, she tagged the girl who had posted the photo.
Now, even if the girl wanted to ignore it, she couldn't. She had to reply honestly: "I don't know, I didn't see her face clearly."
Su Qianyi: "Take a picture for me."
Girl: "Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Su Qianyi: "What's inappropriate about it? They're not celebrities. It's just a photo. I just want to see, I won't do anything with it."
Eventually, under Su Qianyi's insistence, the girl followed behind Xie Shu and Ruan Nianxi.
To capture their faces, she had to get ahead of them, but she didn't want to be noticed by Xie Shu, so she had to circle around even further.
***
Meanwhile, in the girls' dormitory.
Su Qianyi, who had been buried in sadness all day and waiting for a message, quickly got out of bed.
She changed her clothes, put on her shoes, tidied up a bit, and hurried out of the dormitory.
The background of the photo she had seen was unmistakably Back Street, a place she had walked for three years and couldn't mistake.
Had Xie Shu been ignoring her all day to accompany another girl?
Who was that girl?
Why should she compete with Su Qianyi for Xie Shu?
Xie Shu had been by her side for so many years, how could she let him be taken away?
She had to get Xie Shu back!
She couldn't lose him again!
And she certainly couldn't hand Xie Shu over to someone else!
***
Back Street of Jiangling University.
Oblivious to everything, Xie Shu and Ruan Nianxi continued their walk and chat.
Xie Shu shared his part-time job experience of the day with Ruan Nianxi, talking about his own matters.
After listening, Ruan Nianxi asked with concern, "Are you tired?"
She hadn't known Xie Shu would be working part-time today, and it was quite a distance. If she had known, she could have asked the driver who came to pick her up for the company to give him a lift.
Actually… he didn't need to work part-time.
She could…
"What's there to be tired about? I'm just overseeing the students' work and giving them guidance. I don't even have to do it hands-on. It's very relaxing," Xie Shu said with a wave of his hand and a smile.
If anything, it was just the long journey that was tiring.
In his part-time teaching assistant job, he never really felt tired.
After all, he had studied fine arts himself, and with his solid foundation, guiding a few beginners was more than manageable.
Although he initially took up fine arts to be closer to Su Qianyi, blindly following her, it eventually gave him a clear direction in his studies.
Back in high school, they didn't understand much about university majors and the future, and most people, including him, didn't have a clear direction. But after completing his studies, he felt quite satisfied.
"What's that over there? Why are so many people gathered?"
While talking, Xie Shu turned his head and saw a crowd at the corner ahead. Out of curiosity, he took a glance and found it was just a small stall.
It must be a new stall; he hadn't seen it there before.
Xie Shu wasn't interested and turned to leave, but as his gaze swept over the crowd, he noticed that most of them were couples, and each waiting girl had an unmistakable look of anticipation in her eyes.
Although he wasn't keen on the snack, it was soft and fluffy, which Ruan Nianxi might like.
So, he joined the queue.
Ruan Nianxi stood obediently beside Xie Shu, waiting in line with him.
There weren't many people ahead of them, and as Xie Shu carefully selected flavors from the menu, Ruan Nianxi, who had been standing by his side, suddenly fixed her gaze sharply on a girl diagonally in front of them.
The girl, who was about to take a photo, was startled by Ruan Nianxi's icy stare.
Caught in the act of taking a stealthy photo, the girl instantly felt guilty.
Under Ruan Nianxi's frosty gaze, she silently put away her phone and pretended to casually leave the area.
Although the girl had left, Ruan Nianxi, who always had a sense of insecurity and was prone to suspicion, couldn't help but heighten her vigilance and scan the surroundings once more.
She wasn't sure why the girl was taking photos, but it made her uncomfortable.
Still uneasy, she looked around and indeed spotted a familiar face that shouldn't be there.
Her mother's secretary.
Even though the secretary quickly turned away upon seeing her, Ruan Nianxi was certain she hadn't mistaken the person.
And in a crowd of students, a white-collar in a suit and high heels stood out conspicuously.
Instantly, Ruan Nianxi's already sour expression darkened further.
It must be her mother who had sent Secretary Lin to follow her.
How annoying, what were they planning to do now?