Returning to the classroom, Shen An, Yang Bin, and Li Yun were drenched in sweat, utterly soaked from head to toe.
They had barely taken their seats when Wang Yuqiong and Song Rui came back as well.
Wang Yuqiong walked over with a bottle of water in hand and handed it to him.
She and Song Rui had only played half a game of badminton before calling it quits. When they saw Shen An heading off to play basketball, the two girls had tagged along to join the fun.
As a result, they had spent nearly the entire time just watching Shen An in the match.
Shen An took the mineral water and gulped it down in big swallows until it was empty. Then he let out a long sigh of relief. “I almost died of thirst there.”
Wang Yuqiong sat down beside him, shooting him a glare. “You deserve to die of thirst. You couldn’t even say thank you.”
Shen An raised an eyebrow and flashed her a sincere smile. “Thank you, classmate Wang Yuqiong.”
“Tch, it’s so hot.”
Wang Yuqiong pulled out some tissues and naturally handed half the pack to Shen An. By coincidence, Song Rui on his other side was doing the exact same thing, holding out her own tissues toward him.
The two girls exchanged a glance, and the atmosphere subtly shifted toward awkward tension once more.
Shen An quickly reached out with both hands, snatching the tissues from them. He wiped his face with one from each pack, looking for all the world like he was applying a facial mask.
“Looks like next time I need to bring some spare clothes.”
Wang Yuqiong dabbed at the fragrant sweat on her forehead while muttering to herself, “Otherwise, it’s really uncomfortable.”
“Clothes?” Shen An blinked in confusion.
“Mm-hmm~” Wang Yuqiong gave him a playful pout. “Didn’t you know? There’s a shower room over at the sports hall. We rushed out in a hurry today, or else I definitely would’ve brought a change.”
Just then, someone turned on the air conditioning, and a cool breeze swept through. Wang Yuqiong finally felt a bit more comfortable.
Of course, sweaty or not, neither Song Rui nor Wang Yuqiong had any unpleasant odors on them. Instead, the scent of their perfumes lingered in the air.
With the doors and windows closed, the air conditioner’s chill intensified, filling the entire classroom with a medley of perfume fragrances. It was like a stunning summer vista in its own right.
Oh, wait—no, it was autumn now.
Shen An grumbled inwardly to himself. He still hadn’t fully adjusted to the south. Even if he wasn’t sure of the exact location, only the southern regions stayed sweltering like summer well into fall, as if the year consisted of nothing but summer and winter.
Lost in thought for a moment, Shen An noticed Wang Yuqiong’s odd stare.
He furrowed his brow. “What are you looking at?”
Wang Yuqiong pursed her lips and leaned in closer. Her warm breath carried the unique scent of her perfume. “How many girls did you add on WeChat?”
“What girls…?” Shen An played dumb.
“Don’t play coy.”
Wang Yuqiong glanced at Song Rui. “Song Rui and I saw it clear as day. Class hadn’t even ended, and a bunch of girls were swarming you.”
“Right, Song Rui?”
Song Rui hesitated. “I guess so…?”
Tch, all she knows how to do is suck up to him!
Wang Yuqiong sneered inwardly. She wasn’t about to go easy on Shen An.
“That’s just my charm shining through. It has nothing to do with adding girls or not.”
Shen An chuckled lightly. “Since you saw it so clearly, you must’ve noticed how I slipped away after just a minute, right?”
“Uh…”
Wang Yuqiong was at a loss for words.
What was there to see?
She had gotten annoyed the moment she saw Shen An surrounded by a crowd of girls. She had dragged Song Rui away without a second thought about what happened next.
If Song Rui hadn’t reminded her afterward, she wouldn’t have even bothered buying him that mineral water. Let him die of thirst for all she cared.
“Ahem, so, what do you think about the weekend plans?”
Wang Yuqiong forcibly changed the subject.
“What choice do I have? Gotta go.”
Shen An shrugged. “If I made excuses not to, Senior Sister Zhao definitely wouldn’t let me off the hook.”
“I know you don’t have the guts to skip!” Wang Yuqiong pouted. “That’s not what I asked. I want to know what you think about it.”
“Share your profound insights!”
As she spoke, Wang Yuqiong dramatically pulled out a pen and held it like a microphone in front of Shen An’s mouth.
“Why not interview the other two first?”
Shen An poked Song Rui, then glanced back at the coolly detached Shen Lianyao.
Wang Yuqiong rolled her eyes. “I want to hear your opinion first.”
“Hmm, then can I ask yours first? Are you going?” Shen An countered.
“Probably…” Wang Yuqiong hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I’ll go.”
“And Song Rui?”
Shen An turned to Song Rui.
“Of course…” Song Rui had even less spine to defy Zhao Qingyu’s decision.
Especially since Shen An was going—she’d definitely tag along.
“And you, Miss Shen?” Shen An was bold enough to toss the question straight to Shen Lianyao, right in front of Wang Yuqiong.
Though it was a perfectly reasonable topic, all things considered.
Shen Lianyao arched an eyebrow slightly. She hadn’t planned to acknowledge him, but with him asking so earnestly and both Song Rui and Wang Yuqiong watching…
She finally spoke. “Depends.”
“Oh ho? Does that mean Miss Shen has other plans this weekend?”
Shen An swiveled around fully, resting his chin on Shen Lianyao’s desk. “Care to share with me?”
Murderous intent flashed across Wang Yuqiong’s face, but she suppressed it deep down, repeatedly reminding herself: He’s just helping me out! Stay calm, it’s fine.
For some reason, seeing Shen An’s usual shameless grin put Shen Lianyao inexplicably at ease.
During the sports class, his retreating back—without a hint of reluctance—had stirred a faint unease in her.
But ease was one thing; Shen An’s brazenness quickly brought her instinctive aversion bubbling to the surface.
“None of your business.”
She replied coldly.
“Tsk, we’re old classmates. No sharing?”
Shen Lianyao’s mouth twitched. Unable to withstand his thick skin any longer, she stood up and moved to another seat, putting physical distance between them.
Wang Yuqiong couldn’t help but burst out laughing, her expression teasing. “Looks like someone can’t stand you, huh?”
Shen An shot her a sideways glance, and Wang Yuqiong immediately stifled her mockery, putting on a straight face. “Keep it up.”
Heh.
Shen An reached out and pinched Wang Yuqiong’s cheek. She froze for a split second, then flailed wildly in resistance.
“You jerk! Your sweat!!!”
After another round of horseplay, with class about to start and time running short, Wang Yuqiong finally called a halt. “Hurry up and share your opinion.”
“My take? I got nothing.”
Shen An pouted. “How should I know what Senior Sister Zhao is thinking? Besides, going out to have fun with everyone—how’s that bad?”
“If you insist on my opinion, I think it’s pretty great.”
Wang Yuqiong sneered. “Afraid not many people think like you!”
She added leisurely, “This weekend happens to coincide with a bunch of other events. Plus, from what I know, quite a few people don’t live on campus—they’re locals who go home every day. And it’s the weekend, no less.”
“Personally, I think Senior Sister Zhao’s idea is fine, but it’s too rushed. No buffer time at all. Announced today, starts this weekend.”
Wang Yuqiong sighed. “I’m not optimistic. I bet a good chunk of people won’t show.”
Shen An leaned back. “So?”
“So?” Wang Yuqiong bristled. “You don’t seem worried at all.”
“Worried about what? I’m just an ordinary staff member.”
Shen An gazed at her innocently.
“You…” Wang Yuqiong gritted her teeth, feeling her concerns were a bit overblown.
Truth be told, she wasn’t worried about Zhao Qingyu’s plan falling through. She couldn’t care less about Zhao Qingyu’s feelings.
Best if no one showed up at all—let Zhao Qingyu choke on her rage!
No, what she feared was Zhao Qingyu lashing out at Shen An if things went south!
This guy was practically her personal punching bag.
Seeing her like this, Shen An smiled gently. “Relax, it’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure she’s prepared for it. Who knows—maybe this is some kind of test.”
“Those who go get promoted; those who don’t, wait to get fired next year, right?”
Wang Yuqiong snapped coldly, “Screw that. Whatever. It’s not my problem anyway!”
“But you, Mr. Personal Secretary—if something goes wrong, just you wait.”
“Don’t come crying to me then, and don’t expect any help.”
With that, Wang Yuqiong turned away.
Right on cue, the class bell rang, ending the conversation.
Shen An watched her slightly angry profile, a secret smile tugging at his lips.
Of course he knew what Wang Yuqiong was worried about.
But for now, he had no way to fix it.
He could only listen to Zhao Qingyu’s deeper intentions at the moment—he couldn’t change her mind yet.
From his perspective, if Zhao Qingyu hit a snag this time, it might not be a bad thing for him.
Besides, it wasn’t a big deal—just a group outing.
Wang Yuqiong was simply overly concerned about Shen An, throwing her usual composure off-kilter.
If it didn’t involve him, she wouldn’t bat an eye.
Soon enough, Wang Yuqiong’s attention shifted to the lesson.
Shen An’s thoughts wandered too.
Not to the lecture, though—that stuff just made him sleepier the more he tried.
No, he was thinking about the dinner invite after class.
With whom?
Chen Nannan, naturally.
Their relationship had made a massive breakthrough last night.
Yet on the surface, nothing seemed changed. Their interactions stayed the same. Chen Nannan only chatted with him briefly in the mornings; the rest of the time, she was in do-not-disturb mode.
It was as if she hadn’t been affected at all, showing none of the urgency or clinginess typical of that ambiguous early stage.
Shen An had the upper hand here; he could sense that Chen Nannan wasn’t uninterested. She was simply clinging to a sense of propriety.
Last night’s unexpected breakthrough had been entirely due to the perfect atmosphere—it would have been impossible not to get intimate.
Under normal circumstances, it likely would have taken months of interaction to reach that level.
Since it had happened by accident, Chen Nannan needed time, psychologically speaking, to adjust, accept, and grow accustomed to it.
At a moment like this, she especially needed Shen An’s care and attention.
If he held back now or even voiced any complaints, their budding ambiguity might fizzle out before it truly began.
When it came to boys, they had to take the initiative at the right moments.
You had to launch a fierce offensive when a girl was feigning reserve, and show appropriate respect when her restraint was genuine.
That was why, from the moment he woke up that morning, he’d arranged dinner plans with Chen Nannan for that evening.
After all, both he and she only had free time in the evenings.
Even if his guess was off—if Chen Nannan wasn’t being reserved but was simply too busy to dwell on it—more dinners and time spent together would only help nurture their growing feelings.
