Zheng Xiyu was genuinely pissed off.
The forum thread kept getting bumped to the top by users, and after the leg pics, someone even posted full-body shots of her.
Snapped on the way to school, low-angle shots…
In this season when everyone bundled up in thick layers, looking like waddling balls, the same outfit on Zheng Xiyu stretched out slim and long, like it was made just for her.
And even from that awkward angle, her face didn’t distort at all. There was something almost ethereal about how stunning she looked.
Tang Tianman had been glued to the thread all afternoon. At dinner, she shoved her phone under Li Tong’s nose. “Is she really that gorgeous?”
Li Tong scrolled through it. “Sis, she just spent two hours in class with you and left. Do you have to start missing her already?”
“No!” Tang Tianman shot back. “I just wanna know if it’s necessary for them to keep bumping this thing!”
Ruan Ruan leaned over for a peek. “You know the Tall One’s a knockout.”
“I know, but she’s not some standard-issue beauty, right? Tongzi couldn’t even see it before. How’d everyone suddenly turn into her fan club?”
Ruan Ruan eyed her. “Then who’s the standard beauty?”
Tang Tianman puffed up. “Me!”
Ruan Ruan smirked. “And the standard beauty fell for someone who shines like gold no matter what.”
“Not like this!”
Ruan Ruan raised an eyebrow. “Why are you panicking?”
That shut Tang Tianman right up.
Yeah, why was she panicking? It was just a forum thread. People yelling “I’d hit that” online didn’t mean they’d actually pounce on her in real life.
Besides, was Zheng Xiyu the type to entertain just anyone? She was already with a standard beauty like Tang Tianman. Why would she glance at any other flowers in the field?
Tang Tianman’s brows drooped, and she deflated in an instant.
Who knew, though.
She and Zheng Xiyu hadn’t known each other that long, and Zheng Xiyu hadn’t exactly chased her hard.
Even the confession had come because Tang Tianman kept kissing her, forcing the words out.
Yeah… forcing her.
If Tang Tianman hadn’t barged in on her that night, hadn’t kissed her first, hadn’t insisted on sharing a room, would any of this even have happened?
Tang Tianman wilted completely.
The meat in front of her lost its appeal. The milk tea tasted flat. The restaurant windows were sealed tight against the winter chill, but she felt a cold draft whistling in anyway, slithering from the back of her neck straight down to her toes.
Li Tong and Ruan Ruan were chatting about homework, ignoring her.
Tang Tianman wallowed alone for a bit until Ruan Ruan nudged her. “Have a little faith in yourself, okay?”
Tang Tianman bristled. “When have I ever lacked confidence?!”
Ruan Ruan pressed. “Then have a little faith in Zheng Xiyu.”
Tang Tianman wilted again, all pitiful. “You think she actually likes me?”
Ruan Ruan stared at her in shock, then smacked the table. “What kind of stupid question is that?”
Tang Tianman stayed pouty. “For real?”
Ruan Ruan hauled Li Tong over. “Let a straight girl explain it. If even straight girls get this, how come you don’t?”
Li Tong yelped. “Who’re you calling straight? Explain yourself! I’m a cute little yuri girl!”
Ruan Ruan: “…”
Tang Tianman: “…”
Li Tong slammed her chopsticks down. “The way Zheng Xiyu looks at you? Like big ol’ googly eyes. She crashes another department’s class and confesses to you right in front of the prof and everyone? That’s not true love? Isn’t it?!”
Tang Tianman blinked. “She confessed to me??”
Li Tong: “She called the beauty you!”
Tang Tianman: “And that counts as a confession?”
Li Tong: “…Fine, have Captain Wang hype me up like that.”
Ruan Ruan twisted the knife. “Captain Wang doesn’t seem that smooth.”
Li Tong: “Call me your goddess and I’ll slap you!”
The two of them started bickering again.
Tang Tianman pouted, refreshed the thread a few more times, then backed out and fired off a message to Zheng Xiyu:
-Don’t talk to strangers!!!
Zheng Xiyu was in training and didn’t reply for a good while:
-Okay, won’t.
Tang Tianman stared at those three words, unsure if she was satisfied or not.
Why agree so easily? Shouldn’t she ask why? Then keep probing after Tang Tianman brushed it off, until she guessed that… she was inexplicably jealous over this dumb thread?!
Tang Tianman tilted her head and smacked her own cheek.
Love-struck girls could be so irrational.
Over the next two days, fresh pics of Zheng Xiyu kept popping up in the thread. Every time the hype died down, someone reignited it.
Tang Tianman even suspected it was orchestrated. But so far, it was all praise for Zheng Xiyu. If she were an idol, it’d be a killer promo post—her “debut” trajectory was off the charts.
So Tang Tianman couldn’t exactly request a takedown without looking petty. Nor could she bring it up with Zheng Xiyu; it’d make her seem small-minded, like she didn’t want Zheng Xiyu to shine.
All she could do was send a couple extra messages a day, chat a bit more.
Zheng Xiyu started showing up more often for those messages. They’d stroll the campus hand in hand, and Tang Tianman couldn’t help thinking, They’re sneaking pics of Zheng Xiyu—why not us now?
It’d be perfect if a couple shot landed in the thread, sparking rumors like back at the start of term.
But things never went that smoothly. The thread updated with photo after photo, but not a single glimpse of Tang Tianman.
Her conclusion? They weren’t glued together enough!
Damn training, damn classes, damn college life!!!
As she pulled out her phone to message Zheng Xiyu again, Ruan Ruan tugged her arm. “Okay, that’s enough.”
Tang Tianman: “Huh?”
Ruan Ruan: “It’s your business with your girlfriend, but don’t cling too hard. She’s got training. You don’t wanna mess up her shot at glory for the school.”
Tang Tianman: “Am I clinging?”
Ruan Ruan: “Calculate your hangout frequency these past two days.”
Tang Tianman: “Two or three times a day? That’s not much.”
Ruan Ruan: “Now calculate her free time. Freshman courses are packed, especially at Sports College—tons of physical ones. She still does homework, takes tests, trains at night with the big competition looming. Check Xi Chun’s Moments; she’s whining about exhaustion every day.”
Ruan Ruan was getting worked up and smacked the table. “You’ve got her schedule. Every minute she squeezes in for you is skipped class or lost sleep. Keep this up, and she’ll skip training too?”
Tang Tianman froze.
“And! And!!” Ruan Ruan pounded the table. “Scarcity breeds value! Absence makes the heart grow fonder! Give your hot romance some slow-burn space!”
Tang Tianman gaped.
Ruan Ruan rubbed her sore hand. “I stuck my nose in too much…”
“No, no, no,” Tang Tianman grabbed her hand, rubbing it frantically. “Ruan Ruan, you’re right. I lost my head these past days. It’s like a bucket of cold water hit me—love needs freedom, personal space. I knew that before; I don’t know what got into me…”
“I get it.” Ruan Ruan patted her head. “I got too loud.”
“Wah…” Tang Tianman flung herself into Ruan Ruan’s arms, fake-sobbing. “Thanks, Big Baby. You’re the best. You always step up when I need it, guide me back when I’m lost…”
Ruan Ruan let out a long sigh.
Truth be told, she’d gotten a bit too heated.
New couples in the honeymoon phase could be as clingy as they wanted. But watching Zheng Xiyu and Tang Tianman like this, Ruan Ruan couldn’t shake her worries.
Worried someone who shouldn’t know would find out. Worried about outsiders’ gossip and pushback. Worried something had shifted between them, souring this sweet thing.
Time changed everything.
A tiny gesture, a word, an expression in some moment—it could flip the script.
Like with Jiang Xue. Ruan Ruan had started out just curious, fond, wanting to be friends. Now it was this awkward mess.
Jiang Xue’s enigmatic behavior kept pulling her focus, popping into her thoughts at odd times. Ruan Ruan couldn’t pin down her feelings anymore, or even her emotions.
Happy or annoyed seeing her? Lonely or relieved when apart?
She held back words, gestures, even expressions—overthinking every one for the safest spot.
It was exhausting as hell. Ruan Ruan sighed again.
Without Tang Tianman’s phone addiction wrecking the vibe, their library session flew by focused and productive.
Once Ruan Ruan hit her homework goal, she stood, stretched, and wandered to the shelves to loosen up.
Losing weight had drained a tremendous amount of her energy and robbed her of many simple pleasures in life, so Ruan Ruan made a point to monitor her condition closely. She refused to rush herself, resting whenever her body demanded it.
This section of the shelves was stocked with contemporary novels, and Ruan Ruan randomly pulled one out to flip through.
By sheer coincidence—like something straight out of a movie—Jiang Xue’s figure emerged in the gap left behind on the shelf.
The library’s air conditioning was cranked up high, so with her coat off, Jiang Xue wore only a white knit dress.
The skirt was extraordinarily long, buttoned from the collar all the way down, flaring out widely until it brushed her ankles.
On her feet were a pair of white boots.
Who else but Jiang Xue would dare to wear so much white in the dead of winter?
Not only did she never let a single speck of dirt mar her pristine outfit, she couldn’t even tolerate a single lint ball on her sweater.
As a result, she looked just like a mannequin in a shop window, drawing the eye whether one wanted to look or not.
It was a strange sort of allure.
Jiang Xue had been searching for a book, but in the next instant, she suddenly turned her head.
Her gaze locked directly onto Ruan Ruan’s.
Ruan Ruan whipped around in a panic, not lingering for a second as she bolted away.
In her haste, she forgot to return the book to the shelf. It wasn’t until she reached Tang Tianman, who was packing up her things, that she noticed the extra volume in her hands.
The title blazed across the cover in five bold characters: This Awkward Love.
It burned in her grip like a hot potato. Ruan Ruan flung it at Tang Tianman. “Put it back for me.”
Tang Tianman blinked. “Huh? Did you check it out?”
“No.” Ruan Ruan stuffed everything into her backpack.
“Then just return it yourself.” Tang Tianman eyed her. “Are you heading out?”
“Yeah, something urgent came up.” Ruan Ruan shouldered her bag and reached out to pat Tang Tianman’s forehead. “Be good and put it back for me.”
“Got it.” Tang Tianman flashed her a sweet, sweet smile.
Ruan Ruan didn’t waste a second leaving the social sciences room.
Then she dashed straight out of the library without stopping.
A grand flight of steps led down from the library entrance. Even strolling down them slowly could make one’s eyes swim, but sprinting like this felt like a thousand lines twisting and turning in her head.
Ruan Ruan sensed she was about to fall—and sure enough, her foot missed a step.
As she tumbled backward, she figured she’d probably roll all the way down and end up face-first in the dirt.
Her survival instincts kicked into overdrive, urging her to shield her head above all else. She couldn’t afford to bash this precious brain of hers.
Ruan Ruan clutched at her head, her fingers brushing something soft and silky.
Then that soft, silky thing coiled around her neck like a vine snapping taut, as if trying to strangle her.
Ruan Ruan screamed, “Aaaah!”
Another vine snaked around her waist, cinching her tight.
Ruan Ruan shrieked again, “Aaaah!”
Jiang Xue’s voice cut through from right beside her ear. “Stop screaming.”
