A few thin clouds drifted across the azure sky. A gentle breeze slowly nudged them along.
It was midday, and the campus was tranquil.
Melodious piano music drifted slowly from the Multimedia Building.
Following the music, Yu Mo found Room 3016 on the third floor of the Multimedia Building.
This was the address Shen Shuyu had given her when she’d asked where she was.
Several girls with low buns, dressed in training clothes, stood clustered by the bright glass windows, whispering about something.
Yu Mo glanced at the doorplate for 3016, confirmed she hadn’t mistaken the room, and joined them.
Inside the clean, bright dance studio, the classic ballet variation myrtha was playing. Shen Shuyu, feet arched en pointe, stood at the center.
Her training clothes perfectly outlined her elegant figure.
Her waist, legs, and feet formed a continuous line, with a smooth, aesthetically pleasing curve.
As the music flowed, Shen Shuyu, hands behind her back, en pointe, slowly moved from the right side of the room to the left.
Her form was exceptionally stable. Her long lashes were lowered, her gaze seemingly distant.
Even without a tutu, she moved ethereally, like a ghost.
“Shen Shuyu is truly amazing. I really can’t imagine anyone else who could dance the Ghost King so well.”
“Yeah, when Teacher Liu was looking for someone to dance the Ghost King just now, my heart was in my throat.”
“I was just thinking, ‘Please don’t pick me.’ My ambition is just to be one of those little ghosts with a few scenes, standing next to Shen Shuyu. That would be enough for me.”
“Then you might as well audition for the rosemary in Shen Shuyu’s hand. You’d be even closer.”
“Hahaha…”
This remark immediately drew giggles from the surrounding girls. Their hushed whispers grew a bit louder, conspicuously mingling with the music.
Teacher Liu stuck her head out from the front door of the dance studio, reprimanding, “You lot! What are you doing?!”
“Sorry, Teacher…” The girls hurriedly scattered.
The window, moments ago filled with faces, was suddenly empty except for Yu Mo.
Shen Shuyu stood by the window on the opposite side of the room. Soft, white daylight fell upon her, melting some of her cool aloofness.
Seeing Yu Mo, a mischievous impulse to tease her arose. She tilted her head slightly.
And, unexpectedly, she blinked at Yu Mo and smiled lightly.
Like a night-blooming cereus suddenly blossoming in broad daylight—just a fleeting moment of beauty, yet eerily unforgettable.
Yu Mo’s heart immediately quickened.
“Classmate, is there something you need?” Teacher Liu, seeing Yu Mo still standing in the hallway—a girl she didn’t recognize—found it a bit odd.
“Teacher, she’s here for me,” Shen Shuyu answered for Yu Mo.
Teacher Liu looked Yu Mo up and down once more, then said to Shen Shuyu, “Then we’ll end here for today. Remember to lock the door when you leave, and keep the key safe.”
“Yes, thank you, Teacher.” Shen Shuyu politely nodded to Teacher Liu. After watching her leave, she beckoned to Yu Mo, still in the hallway. “Come in.”
This was Yu Mo’s first time entering this dance studio, which held a somewhat sacred, distant aura.
She surveyed the vast yet empty room, feeling slightly constrained.
“Is something the matter that required meeting in person?” Sitting on the floor, Shen Shuyu untied her dance shoes, asking Yu Mo as if nonchalantly.
“Something very important.” Reminded by Shen Shuyu’s words, Yu Mo’s expression turned a few degrees more serious.
Standing over Shen Shuyu, she pulled the ointment tube from her pocket. “Was this from you?”
Shen Shuyu glanced at the tube in Yu Mo’s hand, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
So many days had passed peacefully; she had thought Yu Mo would never discover this secret.
“Yes. It was from me,” Shen Shuyu admitted, nodding frankly.
“And you were the one who brought the medicine to my classroom that day?” Yu Mo asked again.
“Yes,” Shen Shuyu nodded once more.
These two confirmations struck Yu Mo’s heart, rattling loose many doubts buried deep within. “We had only just met that first day. Why would the Academic Rep be so concerned about me?”
“I was just looking out for a classmate,” Shen Shuyu answered succinctly.
She could sense the shift in the atmosphere around Yu Mo, and see the suspicion in her reddish-brown eyes.
Without waiting for Yu Mo to ask more, Shen Shuyu looked up at her calmly, seemingly attempting to brush the matter aside quickly. “What else does Yu Mo think I should have been like? Cold and indifferent, watching you injured, then, because of a minor friction between us, throwing your medicine aside in the infirmary and walking away? That would be a bit too heartless, wouldn’t it?”
“Wasn’t it? Wasn’t that how the Academic Rep used to be?” Yu Mo asked, almost as if the words escaped her involuntarily.
The music from the recorder had finished and slowly started again from the beginning.
Bright sunlight streamed through the glass into the room, tiny dust motes dancing in the beams.
The atmosphere in the empty dance studio was heavy.
Two people harboring secrets: one probing, attacking; the other evading, dodging.
Yu Mo wanted to test Shen Shuyu in this rapid confrontation, to ascertain if she, like herself, had been reborn.
But Shen Shuyu met Yu Mo’s gaze directly the entire time. Her silvery eyes remained calm and composed.
Only deep within, in a place Yu Mo couldn’t detect, Shen Shuyu felt like she’d been capsized by a massive, crashing wave.
Bitterness and acidity intertwined in her nose and throat.
Having navigated the business world for so many years, Shen Shuyu clearly saw the suspicion in Yu Mo’s eyes.
Her fish was very clever, having spotted the slip she’d made back then, and followed the scent to sense something.
Even though Shen Shuyu realized that last sentence had been a test from Yu Mo, her heart was still harshly pricked.
Test or not, Yu Mo likely truly felt that way, deep down.
Shen Shuyu understood this. She knew it clearly.
Whether she admitted it now, or Yu Mo discovered it later—
The next second, Yu Mo would definitely turn and leave, and the bond they had just barely managed to maintain would instantly shatter.
A flicker of guilt, barely perceptible, passed through Shen Shuyu’s eyes.
Then she furrowed her brow slightly, feigning incomprehension at Yu Mo’s words. “What ‘before’? Did you know me before?”
Seeing Shen Shuyu’s genuinely bewildered look, Yu Mo abruptly calmed down.
The clamoring intuition in her heart receded rapidly.
She realized she had indeed been a bit impulsive just now, charging forward on such a thin clue.
Giving her medicine, standing up for her, taking a blow meant for her…
The Shen Shuyu of the previous life had been such an exquisite egoist. If she had also been reborn like Yu Mo, how could she possibly do these things?
Yu Mo shook her head. “No.”
Seeing Yu Mo’s expression soften slightly, Shen Shuyu relaxed her brow. To further dispel her doubts, she added, “Then why did you say I used to be like that? Have we met before?”
Yu Mo lowered her eyes. Her right hand’s fingers again began rubbing her left ring finger. “No. It’s just… the Academic Rep reminds me of a friend from the Upper City. I got confused.”
Shen Shuyu spoke calmly. “But Yu Mo, you need to know: I’m not the same as her.”
The air went quiet for a moment. Yu Mo asked faintly, “Is that so?”
The voice was soft, tinged with skepticism.
It landed on Shen Shuyu’s heart, making her tremble involuntarily.
Shen Shuyu: “Yes.”
Yu Mo gave a humorless laugh, a trace of unmistakable indifference flashing in her eyes.
Since Shen Shuyu wasn’t, as she’d suspected, miserably reborn too—
Then Yu Mo had no need to concern herself with this any further.
The sun had risen directly overhead. Its scorching rays beat on Yu Mo’s back, dispelling the oppressive gloom.
Yu Mo gave Shen Shuyu a slight, apologetic bow, ending this sudden, impromptu interrogation. “I was a bit impulsive just now. I’m still very grateful for the ointment you gave me. I’ll be going now, if there’s nothing else.”
She had narrowly managed to navigate past this hurdle.
Watching Yu Mo turn to leave, Shen Shuyu breathed an inward sigh of relief.
Then, Shen Shuyu rose from the floor. “Is Yu Mo just going to leave like that?”
Her voice was cool, yet held a hint of something different.
Yu Mo almost instinctively stopped in her tracks and looked back at Shen Shuyu.
The dynamic flipped in an instant.
The previous tense, offensive-defensive atmosphere completely dissipated.
Sunlight filtered through a hazy, ambiguous glow, falling on Shen Shuyu.
She leaned slightly against the barre, her waist slender and supple. Lounging with casual ease, like a pampered, weary holy cat.
Shen Shuyu looked up at Yu Mo. “You just lost your temper at me like that. Are you just going to leave?”
“Don’t you want to compensate me a little… treat me to a meal?”
Yu Mo’s throat bobbed. Remembering she hadn’t eaten lunch yet either, she agreed. “Fine. Where does the Academic Rep want to eat? My treat.”
Shen Shuyu raised an eyebrow slightly. “Let’s go then.”
The lunch rush had long since passed.
The campus was quiet and deserted. Yu Mo followed Shen Shuyu along a path carpeted with fallen forsythia blossoms.
The garden was full of fragrance, steeped in poetry.
As they approached a fork in the path, Shen Shuyu, with premeditated intent, tugged Yu Mo’s arm and headed in the direction opposite the cafeteria.
Puzzled, Yu Mo stopped in her tracks. “Hey, the cafeteria’s that way. Where are you going?”
Shen Shuyu paused as well. She turned neatly on her heel, hands behind her back, to face Yu Mo.
Just then, a breeze rose. Spring wind stirred.
Golden petals drifted slowly down around Shen Shuyu with her movement, light and ethereal.
Shen Shuyu: “There’s nothing edible left in the cafeteria at this hour.”
Hearing this, Yu Mo looked towards the west wall corner not far away, suddenly understanding. “You don’t mean for me to take you out to eat, do you?”
“Of course,” Shen Shuyu nodded.
Yu Mo’s face cooled a couple of degrees. “I don’t have money to treat you to a fancy Upper City restaurant.”
Taking in Yu Mo’s cold expression, Shen Shuyu calmly replied, “I didn’t say I wanted you to take me to one of those.”
As they spoke, they arrived at the base of the west wall corner.
This was Yu Mo’s first time witnessing Shen Shuyu climb a wall.
A few days ago, when Wei Lai described Shen Shuyu’s wall-climbing, she hadn’t believed it, thinking Wei Lai’s account was greatly exaggerated.
In Yu Mo’s memory, Shen Shuyu had always been dignified and elegant. Such a vulgar act as wall-climbing seemed utterly incongruous with her.
But seeing Shen Shuyu step onto the desks and chairs and scale the wall, she was stunned.
Shen Shuyu moved with lightness and agility, effortlessly pulling herself onto the top.
Like a pure white ragdoll cat—graceful yet nimble.
“Yu Mo.” Shen Shuyu’s call snapped Yu Mo back to attention.
Yu Mo looked up towards the voice. Shen Shuyu was already perched on the wall.
She looked down at Yu Mo from above. Backlit, she was the picture of dashing coolness.
“Just take me to your home for a meal.”
