Being stared at the whole time took away even a delicately beautiful girl’s appetite. Shen An couldn’t help feeling a bit put off.
It wasn’t that he lacked experience with this. Almost every time he went out to eat with a girl, she would be astonished by his ravenous appetite.
But Song Rui’s gaze was downright weird—like she wanted to eat him alive.
Shen An was usually the one basking in those surprised looks. This was the first time he had ever felt “danger.”
The kind of danger where he might actually get devoured.
After forcing down a few casual bites, Shen An couldn’t take it anymore. “Hey, can you tone it down a bit?”
Song Rui blinked. “What?”
“Playing dumb, huh? I’m just trying to eat, and you’re staring without even blinking. What, is your tray empty or something?”
Shen An set down his chopsticks with a huff. “Or do you want to swallow me whole?”
“Uh…”
Song Rui realized it a beat too late and ducked her head, embarrassed.
Without Shen An pointing it out, she really hadn’t noticed how “terrifying” her stare had been.
But she couldn’t help paying close attention the whole time.
At first, Song Rui had wondered if Shen An was the sneaky mastermind behind it all. Turns out, she’d been overthinking it.
That put her mind at ease, but it also stirred up guilt over the misunderstanding.
Not only had he quietly endured the infamy for the “greater good,” but even now, he was still thinking of Shen Lianyao. His sense of loyalty really touched her.
She had already harbored quite a bit of fondness for him, and this incident naturally let it grow, leading to that earlier scene.
Of course, it never occurred to her that she might be overromanticizing things on her own.
Song Rui could be a bit of a one-track mind in certain moments. Once she formed an opinion, all her thoughts barreled straight ahead in that direction.
“Ahem, I didn’t say you couldn’t look.”
Shen An thickened his skin and murmured, “But if you’re gonna stare, at least be subtle about it. Should’ve snapped a pic of your face earlier—pure innocent maiden vibes? Really?”
Song Rui pouted. “I never said I was some pure innocent maiden.”
“Oh?” Shen An raised a brow. “Can’t tell. How many boyfriends have you had?”
Song Rui huffed lightly. “None.”
“Heh, still denying you’re a pure innocent maiden?” Shen An gave her a knowing look. “Though, not having dated doesn’t necessarily make you one.”
“Info’s everywhere these days. Just Google whatever you want. Super easy.”
Song Rui’s pretty face flushed as she shot back playfully, “What does that even mean? Don’t go corrupting me.”
“?”
Shen An shrugged. “Fine, fine. You full yet?”
Song Rui nodded slightly. “Yeah.”
“You barely touched your food. You sure?”
“Mm-hm.”
Song Rui explained softly, “Maybe I ate too much at breakfast. Not that hungry.”
“Not hungry, but you kept rushing me earlier.”
Shen An grumbled to himself, “I’m full too.”
He pulled out some napkins—one for himself, one handed to Song Rui. “Alright, your turn. Spill the beans on the real stuff.”
Song Rui took the napkin from him. Even though she hadn’t eaten much, she still dabbed at her lips.
His words made her pause, tilting her head in that adorably clueless way. “Huh? What?”
“The elective class thing.”
Shen An rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you snag it for me?”
“Oh, right!”
Mentioning it lit Song Rui right up.
She whipped out her phone and opened the Academic Affairs System. “We’re taking it together, and the timing’s perfect—it’s at night!”
“At night?” Shen An frowned. “Hold up. You didn’t pick Thursday, did you?”
“Yeah…”
Song Rui saw no issue, nodding confidently.
“You… we have classes all day Thursday.”
“All day… so?”
“You…” Shen An was speechless.
He rubbed his face in regret. “So what? A full day of classes, then more at night.”
“Just thinking about it hurts.”
The excitement on Song Rui’s face deflated in an instant. A wave of disappointment—like her careful plans being shot down—flooded her heart.
But honestly, she hadn’t seen any problem with the timing.
They already had a packed day—why not keep going into the evening?
Perfect: head to dinner after afternoon classes, eat together, then class, and maybe a stroll afterward.
See? What’s not to like?
Shen An reached for her phone, muttering, “Let me see what you picked.”
His eyes flicked to the screen.
He didn’t even get a good look—just caught the two words.
Then he squeezed his eyes shut, lacking the courage to keep going.
Math…
Who actually picked math as an elective?
Clinging to a shred of hope, Shen An looked at Song Rui expectantly. “Online or in-person?”
Song Rui thought for a second and gave him the honest answer. “In-person.”
Why would she pick online?
At this time, this slot—she had planned it meticulously.
The moment she logged in, she automatically skipped any online classes that wouldn’t require going to a classroom.
If it was online, how could they eat together or take that walk?
Thunder crashed.
Outside, the sun blazed brightly, but in Shen An’s mind, lightning struck, winds howled, and rain poured in a torrent.
“So… what do you think? Like the class?”
Song Rui asked tentatively.
“Like it? Of course I do.”
Shen An forced a grin that looked worse than a grimace.
Oblivious Song Rui didn’t notice his strained smile. She let out a relieved breath and beamed proudly. “I know your math scores are great, so I picked something easy for you.”
“Yeah?”
Shen An mustered another smile with effort.
“Yep! Yuqiong told me. Said you got a 145 on the gaokao math—basically perfect. Isn’t that awesome?”
Shen An’s mouth twitched. “Wang Yuqiong…”
“What? Did Yuqiong get it wrong?”
“No… spot on.”
Shen An nodded through imaginary tears.
“Great! As long as you like it.” Song Rui’s lips curved into a bright smile, the gloom in her heart finally lifting a bit.
“I love it…”
Shen An suddenly stood, turned away, and grabbed a napkin.
“What’s up?” Song Rui rose too, concerned.
“Nothing, just… got too excited.” Back turned to Song Rui, Shen An carefully schooled his expression.
From childhood, he’d been the hopeless slacker in his math teachers’ eyes.
English was tough for him too, but with some tricks, memorization, and practice, he could scrape by on exams.
Math? If you didn’t get it, you didn’t get it.
That stuff was pure talent.
And now…
After finally transmigrating once, majoring in his specialty English—and elective? Math.
Shen An was at a loss for words.
He half-wanted to climb to the rooftop and jump again for a quick redo.
“Actually… my math’s pretty bad.”
Song Rui grinned softly. “So if I have any questions later, you’ll help me out, right?”
Shen An, still facing away, waved a hand.
“No problem?”
Song Rui guessed from the gesture.
His hand, mid-air, froze—then he flashed an OK sign.
What he really wanted to say was forget it, let’s both prep for a retake.
But he couldn’t bear to shoot her down again.
It was rare for the girl to do something she thought was meaningful…
He should encourage her.
Composing himself, Shen An turned back with a light voice. “All good. What’s our afternoon class?”
Song Rui puffed her cheeks. “Think it’s PE.”
“PE?”
“Yep. First few weeks were major intro lectures. Now it’s PE time.”
“Isn’t that supposed to be required?”
“Is it?” Song Rui was a college newbie too; she wasn’t sure if PE was elective or mandatory.
“PE it is, then.”
Shen An had given up on Song Rui.
He just wanted some peace now.
“Should we head out?” Song Rui checked her phone. “Class is starting soon.”
“Yeah, yeah. Which classroom…”
“Main Athletic Field.”
“Right… let’s go.”
The moment they stepped out of the cafeteria, the scorching sun’s heat hit like a devouring beast, threatening to melt them both.
Shen An grabbed Song Rui’s hand and hurried to the Main Athletic Field. Once there, he flopped down in a shady spot.
Song Rui had planned to join him, but upon arriving, she spotted her dormmates.
A bunch of classmates from their year were there too, scattered in little groups.
She glanced at Shen An lounging in the shade, hesitated, then went to join her friends first.
Girls’ social circles were tricky like that.
No matter how close you were to a guy, when the girls clustered up, it was safest to head over—unless he was your boyfriend, or you were dead set on making him one.
Otherwise, gossip was bound to follow.
Particularly in a class filled with far more girls than boys.
“Song Rui, where’s Yuqiong?”
Li Li and Zhang Tong each held a bottle of milk tea, standing in the shade with fine beads of sweat beading on their foreheads.
When Song Rui approached, Li Li handed her the bottle she was holding and asked the question.
“Yuqiong… Yuqiong, I don’t really know.”
Song Rui shook her head.
“Really? Aren’t you in the same department?”
“We are, but not the same subgroup. I’m in the office, and she’s in the drama group. Today we gathered separately by subgroup, so I’m not sure.”
“Got it. I’ll ask her myself.”
After a short wait, Wang Yuqiong finally arrived, fresh from her drama group’s meal gathering.
Fortunately, she wasn’t late.
By the time she showed up, nearly everyone in the class was already there.
Song Rui and Li Li spotted Wang Yuqiong from afar and waved enthusiastically to catch her attention.
But Wang Yuqiong’s gaze sought out Shen An first.
Seeing him lying alone in the shade of a tree, she instinctively wanted to head over.
For some reason, watching him sitting there by himself made her feel inexplicably sorry for him.
With that thought, she acted on it.
Wang Yuqiong first turned back to wave at her dormmates, then strode straight toward Shen An.
Li Li and Zhang Tong exchanged a glance, both seeing the teasing glint in each other’s eyes.
But then they noticed Song Rui standing behind them. The two quickly swapped looks and pretended nothing had happened.
Song Rui hadn’t caught their subtle exchange. She simply watched in silence as Wang Yuqiong walked toward Shen An, a trace of bitterness rising in her heart.
Actually… she could have gone to keep him company too.
It was just…
In the end, Song Rui lacked Wang Yuqiong’s courage and open-mindedness.
Of course, this also had to do with the different positions the two held in the class.
In others’ eyes, Song Rui was just Wang Yuqiong’s sidekick, an ordinary member of East 7 Dormitory 105.
Wang Yuqiong, on the other hand, was both the class president and the invisible leader of their group, wielding significant influence.
But this wasn’t absolute.
If Song Rui didn’t care about others’ gossip, this so-called status difference wouldn’t affect her at all.
She just happened to be a girl who cared deeply about the “vibe” and what others thought.
Wang Yuqiong’s boldness stemmed from her confidence and solid backing.
She knew she could steer the mood and public opinion, and those who gossiped would often pay the price.
Song Rui knew she couldn’t, so she chose to hold back.
But more importantly, Wang Yuqiong was deliberately shaping her relationship with Shen An—or rather, binding herself to him.
So even without that status, she wouldn’t have cared about the gossip. In fact, the more they talked, the more she wanted it.
Song Rui, however, didn’t dare entertain such thoughts. She was always so cautious, even afraid of disturbing Shen An.
That was the real key difference in their choices: their resolve wasn’t even on the same level.
In truth, though, Shen An wasn’t alone.
Yang Bin and Li Yun had just arrived and wanted to cluster around him with Shen An.
But Wang Yuqiong had beaten them to it, so the two could only drop the idea and stay put obediently.
Over this time together, many unspoken class rules had gradually taken shape.
For instance, with Wang Yuqiong as the leader of the girls, Shen An was undoubtedly the leader of the boys.
Even if there were only three boys in total.
Shen An possessed advantages the other two could never match.
As a result, he was quite popular with the girls too, with plenty approaching him privately to chat.
And there was another girl watching Shen An.
Shen Lianyao.
She was a member of Class 1 and the discipline committee member, so of course she had to attend class.
Amusingly, Shen An being alone struck Wang Yuqiong as “pitiful,” prompting her to go keep him company.
But Shen Lianyao was alone too.
And she always had been, from start to finish—whether in class or out.
She kept to herself, drifting outside the class’s various cliques.
One could say she disdained joining them, or that she was naturally excluded.
Her stare at Shen An wasn’t the overflowing “maternal instinct” like Wang Yuqiong’s.
She simply wanted to watch him, to see just how thick-skinned this guy really was—daring to say something like that right to her face.
