Under the gazes of the male students who looked ready to grind their teeth to dust, Mo Xiangwen accompanied Yan Nuoya to return the books before leaving the study room.
It wasn’t until they had stepped out of the library that Mo Xiangwen finally spoke. “I thought you might not be used to that kind of situation just now.”
“Hm?”
Yan Nuoya’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. She paused for a moment to think before realizing what he meant.
“It is a bit uncomfortable,” Yan Nuoya said with a soft sigh. “Things were fine not long ago, but lately, the library has been getting more and more crowded.”
“Why not consider somewhere else?”
“. . . Yeah, if the library is more crowded than the dorms, then there’s no point in coming here.”
Though he couldn’t see Yan Nuoya’s expression, her voice made it clear that her mood wasn’t great.
“I’ll just study in the dorm from now on.”
Mo Xiangwen hesitated for a moment before teasing her. “You’ve already gotten into university. You don’t have to push yourself so hard, you know, Miss Top Student.”
Yan Nuoya shot a glare at Mo Xiangwen, who knew full well what he was doing, and said irritably, “So, did you come to the library to find me because there’s something you need?”
“Am I the kind of person who only thinks of you when I need something?” Mo Xiangwen replied, a touch annoyed.
“Well, not exactly.” Yan Nuoya turned the tables and teased him back. “But you do only come looking for me when there’s something going on.”
Mo Xiangwen’s face darkened, and he decided to exercise his right to silence.
He was used to Yan Nuoya seeing right through him by now, but he had promised Su Mengli that he would give Yan Nuoya a surprise.
The more he said, the more likely she was to guess it.
Seeing him like this lifted Yan Nuoya’s low spirits considerably. A faint smile even crept onto her face.
However, even though he stayed quiet and deliberately took a side path, as they drew closer to the Entrepreneurship Incubation Base, Yan Nuoya caught on.
She suddenly handed him the books she was holding, then clapped her hands lightly. “So, your entrepreneurship application got approved? Congratulations!”
Well, he hadn’t really expected to keep something like this from Yan Nuoya anyway.
“Let’s go. I’ll show you my activity classroom,” Mo Xiangwen said, taking the books from her with a smile. “Feel free to drop by whenever you have time.”
“Really? Does that mean I can come every day?” Yan Nuoya teased on instinct.
“Why not?” Mo Xiangwen nodded without hesitation. “Do you think I wouldn’t welcome you?”
“Uh . . .”
That did sound just like him . . . Yan Nuoya felt something was a little off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
When they reached the door of the studio, Mo Xiangwen inserted the key and twisted it several times, as if searching for the right spot.
He finally unlocked the door and turned to Yan Nuoya with a grin. “The size of the space inside is going to surprise you.”
Yan Nuoya nodded noncommittally, smiling as she waited for him to open the door.
Surprised? So what if the room was a bit bigger . . .
Bang. As the door swung open, two explosive pops rang out in succession. Instead of the spacious room she had imagined, she was greeted by Su Mengli and Su Mengyao blocking the entrance.
“Welcome back!”
The two of them pulled the strings on party poppers they must have bought somewhere, showering colorful confetti over Yan Nuoya and Mo Xiangwen’s heads the moment the door opened.
Even he was caught off guard.
He hadn’t known Su Mengli and Su Mengyao had prepared this.
Yan Nuoya, completely unprepared, instinctively stepped back, but Mo Xiangwen—having anticipated it—grabbed her wrist and pulled her firmly into the studio.
Su Mengyao was quick to shut the door behind them and twist the lock for good measure.
“Long time no see, Nuoya-chan,” Su Mengyao said with a cheeky grin, greeting her first.
“Act normal,” Su Mengli said helplessly, giving her a look before turning to Yan Nuoya. “But it has been a little while, Nuoya.”
Yan Nuoya pressed her lips together and shot a resentful glare at Mo Xiangwen, who was still holding her hand.
He had gone on about how the room’s size would surprise her, when really he had just been lulling her into lowering her guard so Su Mengli and the others could scare her.
But what was done was done.
Yan Nuoya forced herself to calm down. She pinched the back of his hand hard in retaliation.
Mo Xiangwen winced and let go on instinct. Faced with her gaze—equal parts indignation and reproach—he looked away awkwardly.
Left with no choice, Yan Nuoya faced reality. She mustered a smile and greeted them. “Long time no see, Mengli, Mengyao.”
Mo Xiangwen chuckled. “Come on, don’t just stand there. Have a seat on the sofa first.”
And so, with the three of them ushering her along, Yan Nuoya sat down on the sofa.
Fortunately, Su Mengyao and the others didn’t push her too hard. She and Mo Xiangwen sat together on one side, while they took the opposite seats.
No sooner had she settled in and started gathering her thoughts than Su Mengli pulled an Eevee plushie from behind her and offered it to Yan Nuoya.
“. . . What’s this?”
Yan Nuoya knew full well it was an Eevee plushie. She just hadn’t expected Su Mengli to suddenly give her a gift.
“Everyone gets one,” Su Mengli said with a smile. “Xiangwen picked the Umbreon for himself. He said you’d probably like the Normal Eevee.”
Yan Nuoya fell silent for a moment, weighing her options, before reaching out to take it.
“Thank you, Mengli.”
Mo Xiangwen had guessed right—she really did like the Normal Eevee.
In light of his good judgment, Yan Nuoya quietly crossed off the mental note she had just made about his “malicious scheming” and decided to forgive him this time.
Unaware that he had narrowly escaped punishment, Mo Xiangwen breathed a sigh of relief. Guessing was one thing, but he hadn’t been entirely sure she would like it.
Su Mengli nodded in satisfaction as Yan Nuoya accepted the gift.
“Today marks the official founding of Aurora Night Studio,” Mo Xiangwen said with a laugh. “We were just going to invite you out for a meal, but Su Mengli wanted to surprise you.”
We? Mo Xiangwen and Su Mengli and the others? Hadn’t he turned down their request to join earlier?
Yan Nuoya paused slightly before asking softly, “Have Mengli and Mengyao joined your studio too?”
“Yeah, I ran into them again when I went to submit the entrepreneurship application a while back,” Mo Xiangwen confirmed with a nod.
Su Mengli chuckled lightly. “And then Mengyao brought it up again, so he agreed.”
“Yep, yep. I really thought Xiangwen would turn me down again,” Su Mengyao added with a pout.
So that’s how it was. Yan Nuoya looked at him wordlessly.
Mo Xiangwen didn’t seem fazed at all. Instead, he winked at her and grinned. “After that, we went to the mall and bought some gaming desks and sofa chairs . . .”
“We were discussing it at the time—since Yan Nuoya is at the same school anyway, why not get an extra set?”
“Eh?” Yan Nuoya blinked in surprise.
“What I’m saying is . . .” Before she could process it, Mo Xiangwen grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. Under her astonished gaze, he pointed at the four desks and computers pushed together. “Since we’ve already set aside a spot and a computer for you . . .”
He leaned in close to her ear and whispered with a smile, “Why not consider joining the studio? What do you say, Nuoya?”
