Yue Bai’s hand trembled slightly as she held her phone, still dazedly processing Sang Wan’s words. “Military training tomorrow?”
Sang Wan glanced tenderly at the time displayed on her watch and shrugged helplessly. “Hasn’t your counselor notified you yet?”
Yue Bai hurriedly unlocked her phone and checked QQ. In the class group chat, there was nothing beyond the usual back-to-school notices. “No, not at all.”
Sang Wan raised an eyebrow. The faint smile at the corner of her mouth hadn’t faded. “She must be too busy to post it yet.”
She paused for a few seconds, then flashed a sly grin. “After all, the Student Council already got the message.”
“Put on extra sunscreen tomorrow. Don’t come back looking like a little lobster, or your senior sister won’t even recognize you.” Sang Wan teased, watching Yue Bai’s face grow more frozen by the second.
“Senior Sister, why did you have to tell me this awful news now? I wanted a few more hours of bliss, but now it’s all gone.” Yue Bai pulled a long face. She hunched her shoulders weakly as she walked side by side with Sang Wan, the two of them less than half a meter apart.
Sang Wan gave her waist a light tap. “Don’t slouch.”
“Oh.”
They walked all the way to the bottom of the dormitory building. Sang Wan tilted her head and placed both hands on the shoulders of the girl who had deflated completely upon hearing the news. “Don’t worry—it’s only half a month.”
“Half a month.” Yue Bai repeated the words without any emotion. “Senior Sister, thanks for letting me know.”
Sang Wan couldn’t help but chuckle. She straightened Yue Bai’s slumping back again, her slender fingers sliding down the other girl’s arms. The warm touch made her glance a second time. “Come on, stand tall and face your first challenge in university.”
Yue Bai gave a bitter smile. “I want to run away.”
“You…” Sang Wan was just about to offer more comfort when her phone suddenly vibrated. A melodious piano melody rang out—calm and soothing.
Yue Bai recalled that Sang Wan was from the Music College, so this piano piece must be one of her favorites to serve as her ringtone. She made a mental note of the tune to search for it later.
Sang Wan lowered her eyes to glance at the caller ID on the screen. She put a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, then swiped to answer. “Hello… Yeah, I’m at the dorms. Okay, I’ll head over now.”
After hanging up, Sang Wan gave an apologetic smile. “Junior sister, I’ve got something to take care of. You should head back and get some rest.”
“Senior Sister, go ahead with your stuff.” Yue Bai spoke up quickly. She waved goodbye to Sang Wan. “See you next time.”
“See you next time.”
Yue Bai stood in place, watching Sang Wan’s figure gradually recede into the distance. Unconsciously, she lingered a moment longer. She undid her casually tied-up hair.
She had been so looking forward to meeting Senior Sister Sang, so why did she always feel this urge to flee whenever they were face-to-face? She remembered the promise she’d made with Sang Wan—if she got into A University, Sang Wan would model for her.
But from the moment she’d learned of her admission results until now, she hadn’t dared to bring it up again.
Only after Sang Wan’s figure had completely vanished from sight did Yue Bai enter the dormitory building. She ambled slowly to the stairwell and glanced at the nearby elevator. After a few seconds of silence, she opted to take the stairs.
It could count as pre-military-training exercise. It was only the fourth floor, but it offered some psychological comfort. Yue Bai gripped the handrail and climbed step by step.
The dormitory door stood wide open. Her three other roommates sat neatly in their spots, each clutching their phones. Yue Bai paused in the doorway for half a second before going in. She walked straight through the central aisle and sat down on her chair.
It was rock-hard. Yue Bai rubbed her fingertip over the power button, opened a shopping app, and picked out a soft cushion.
“Classmate.” Xu Nuo sidled over slyly, her phone screen still lit. Yue Bai caught a glimpse of what looked like a forum interface.
“What’s up?” Yue Bai removed her earbuds and looked puzzled at her two other roommates, who were also staring curiously at Xu Nuo.
Xu Nuo tapped her phone screen and asked nervously, “Was that Senior Sister Sang Wan just now?”
Yue Bai nodded honestly, not sure what the fuss was about. “Yeah, it was.”
At those words, Chen Han and Zhao Yu crowded over too, their faces alight with excitement. “It really was Senior Sister Sang Wan!”
“Hey, are you super close with Senior Sister Sang or something?”
“You ran into her on the very first day at school! Aaaah, I thought she looked so familiar when she showed up earlier.”
The three of them chattered away, one after another. Yue Bai blinked in confusion. “Is there a problem?”
Xu Nuo tamped down her excitement and held her phone screen up to Yue Bai’s face.
On it was a serene, gently smiling face. The girl stood perfectly poised in front of the Music College’s iconic building, hands crossed at her waist. A pair of light blue high-waisted jeans paired simply with a white blouse accentuated her figure and aura beautifully.
“That’s Senior Sister Sang’s promo photo for the Music College,” Xu Nuo said, her hand trembling slightly.
“And?” Yue Bai shifted her gaze away. It was just a promo photo—what was the big deal?
She tapped into the forum and examined the picture closely. Hmm, it really was stunning.
She long-pressed to save it.
“Aaaah, I actually talked to Senior Sister Sang today—she’s so gentle!” Xu Nuo turned off her screen. “Senior Sister Sang is super famous at A University. Word is, she caused a huge stir at the Music College right when she arrived. She’s a music major, but her academic scores were top-notch too—higher than the cutoff for A University’s best programs.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.” Yue Bai finally showed a spark of interest. She knew Sang Wan was a good student, but she hadn’t realized just how exceptional.
“Right? Not only are her grades amazing, but she’s drop-dead gorgeous—totally my type.” Xu Nuo sighed and slumped back onto her desk at her spot. “If I weren’t a girl, I’d chase her myself.”
Women had even less resistance to beautiful women than men did.
“Whatever, the competition’s fierce.” Xu Nuo started fiddling with her phone again.
Chen Han chimed in with a sigh. “Not really—only one or two people actually have the guts to pursue her.”
Zhao Yu nodded. “Yeah, and those one or two are enough to scare off most admirers. She’s on a whole other level—like a goddess.”
Yue Bai stayed quiet. She opened a music app’s song identifier feature and softly hummed the ringtone melody she’d heard, over and over. Several tries later, the app still couldn’t recognize it.
She wisely closed the app. She really had zero musical talent—the suggestions it spat out were light-years from what she’d heard. Not even a hint of similarity.
“Holy crap!” Zhao Yu suddenly slammed her hand on the table. She shot to her feet in shock, eyes glued to a message on her screen. “Military training starts tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow is the start of military training. Please head to the North Plaza to pick up your uniforms,” the counselor had posted.
Yue Bai, having learned the news first, remained calm. She checked the QQ group chat, where it had already exploded into a chorus of groans and complaints.
Xu Nuo looked on the verge of tears. “Why is it starting so soon this year? Can’t they give us one more day to rest?”
Chen Han wailed, “I want to drop out.”
Zhao Yu: “Seconded.”
The dorm atmosphere livened up as they added each other on WeChat and created a group chat.
“Should we go to the North Plaza now to get the uniforms?” Zhao Yu asked.
“Let’s go.” Chen Han agreed.
Yue Bai stood up and walked to the balcony to check the sun outside. September sunshine was still brutally intense.
As they left the dormitory building and stepped into the direct sunlight, Yue Bai realized just how scorching it was. Mid-afternoon was when the sun blazed the hottest—she already regretted heading out so early.
“So hot.” Xu Nuo grumbled. “Why are they handing out uniforms right now?”
Yue Bai didn’t reply. She just didn’t feel like speaking; her energy had been sapped by wave after wave of heat. She wasn’t even sure exactly where the North Plaza was and trailed loosely behind her roommates.
“Yue Bai, are you feeling okay?” Chen Han noticed her unusual silence and asked with concern.
Her other two roommates turned to look at her. Yue Bai shook her head. “Too hot. Don’t feel like talking.”
The three relaxed and resumed their own chatter, leaving Yue Bai in peace.
Long lines had already formed at the North Plaza. The open square offered no shelter from buildings, and the sun beat down mercilessly. Before long, fine beads of sweat dotted everyone’s skin.
“So many people,” Zhao Yu marveled.
“Let’s get in line first.” Xu Nuo pulled them toward a relatively shorter queue.
Relatively shorter, but still plenty long.
“Senior Sister Sang is here too.” Chen Han spotted her right away at the front. “Is she helping tally the uniforms?”
Yue Bai looked over upon hearing that. Sure enough, Sang Wan stood beside the uniform distributors, clipboard in hand, her pen darting across it in quick marks.
“Student Council, probably,” Xu Nuo guessed. “They usually handle this kind of thing.”
Yue Bai’s brow twitched. Sang Wan had mentioned the Student Council before.
“I kind of want to join the Student Council too,” Zhao Yu said from behind Yue Bai, her voice carrying clearly. “But I hear you need an interview.”
Chen Han said something in response from farther back, but Yue Bai didn’t catch it.
The line inched forward slowly. After more than half an hour, it was finally their turn.
“What size, classmate?” the distributor asked.
“Large, thanks,” Yue Bai said.
Sang Wan was jotting something down on her clipboard when she heard the familiar voice and looked up. “You came so early?”
Yue Bai hummed in affirmation. “Came right after the message, but still had to wait forever.”
Sang Wan smiled softly and pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket, handing them over. “Wipe the sweat off your forehead.”
As their fingertips brushed, Yue Bai’s hand trembled twice. She leaned forward a bit more, her skin meeting the other’s soft pad.
As if she’d been electrocuted, Yue Bai yanked her hand back, and the paper fluttered to the ground.
In the sunlight, her earlobes flushed a deep red. She froze for a moment before scrambling to pick it up. “Senior Sister.”
Sang Wan pulled her aside with a helpless sigh. “There are people behind you who need to grab their military training uniforms. Step over here.”
Yue Bai let out a nervous “oh” and shuffled her feet, positioning herself at Sang Wan’s side.
This was rather amusing. Sang Wan jotted down sizes one by one in the ledger, a gentle curve touching the corners of her lips.
Yue Bai stood there like a fool. Once her roommate had collected her uniform, the girl waved her over.
Taking a deep breath, Yue Bai mustered her courage. “Um, Senior Sister, my roommate’s waiting for me.”
Sang Wan glanced back at her, puzzled. “Do you have something you want to say to me?”
“Wasn’t it you who told me to step aside…?” Yue Bai trailed off as realization dawned. She’d completely misunderstood—Sang Wan had only meant for her to get out of the way so others could pass, but she’d thought it was an invitation to linger.
“Um?” Amusement bubbled up in Sang Wan’s eyes.
