"Baby, why didn’t you answer my calls just now?" Shen Lan’s tone was casual, his voice low and husky.
"I was out with friends, so of course I couldn’t answer," Jiang You said nonchalantly.
"Mm, who did you go out with tonight, baby?" Shen Lan seemed to deliberately soften his voice so his question wouldn’t sound so much like an interrogation.
In the manor, his long fingers caressed his terminal as he stared at the several missed calls.
He clearly cared a great deal, but he made himself seem like he didn’t, to appear more dignified.
Jiang You tapped her terminal with her fingertip and replied, "Just my girls."
The other end of the terminal went quiet for a moment.
"Turn on your camera, let me see you," Shen Lan’s voice came through.
Jiang You’s lips twitched. She was in a car, so it wasn’t convenient to turn on the camera. She had planned to just say a few words and hang up, but she hadn’t expected him to ask for a video call. ’Does he not trust me?’
"I’m in a car, it’s not convenient," Jiang You said without turning it on. "I’ll call you back when I get home."
"It’s fine, I just want a look," Shen Lan’s voice insisted.
Jiang You: "..."
"Fine, you can have a look, but I’m hanging up right after," Jiang You agreed.
She turned on her camera. The image indeed showed the interior of a taxi.
No other man was driving her, and there was no one else beside her.
’Looks like it really was just a simple get-together with her high-society friends.’
If there were guys there, they wouldn’t have let her go home by herself.
"Be safe on your way. Call me again when you get back to your dorm," Shen Lan said softly.
Jiang You agreed.
When Jiang You’s taxi arrived back at school, she was, unsurprisingly, late again.
She was about to go register her late return as usual, but she didn’t notice Gu Qing nearby.
[OOC Warning.]
Jiang You: ?
’A male lead must be here!’
Jiang You hurriedly scanned the area and immediately spotted Gu Qing leaning against the school gate.
The young man was tall and slender, still dressed in his Rose Liss uniform with a student council sash wrapped around his arm. He leaned lazily against the wall, head down, fiddling with his terminal. His dark hair fell over his forehead, and his ash-colored, almond-shaped eyes were devoid of emotion.
The other student council members were dutifully recording the students returning late, but he just stood there casually, not doing anything.
Jiang You quietly took a deep breath. Whenever a male lead appeared, she had to stick to him. ’What kind of persona is this!’
She quickly walked over in Gu Qing’s direction.
The student who was about to stop her to record her late return paused. "Hey, you..."
He instinctively started to go after Jiang You but stopped when he saw her heading straight for their president.
He quickly understood. It was another one of their president’s admirers.
There were always girls who returned late on purpose just to get their president’s attention.
They really didn’t care about their participation grades, all for a chance to flirt with the president.
This girl was surely the same.
But their president didn’t come to inspect every time. He wasn’t supposed to come tonight either, but for some reason, he had suddenly shown up midway through.
Jiang You had already walked up to Gu Qing. She lifted her chin arrogantly and looked at him. "Hey. You were waiting here specifically for me, weren’t you?"
Gu Qing’s fingers, which were interacting with his terminal’s projection, froze. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Jiang You, his gaze landing on her without a word.
His subtle gaze swept over her curves.
One thing was true: he had come here to wait for her. He was just waiting to see when she would come back, just to get a glimpse of her return.
He just hadn’t expected her to walk over to him on her own initiative.
He remembered that mechanical voice and quickly understood.
Gu Qing slowly and methodically took a notebook and pen from his pocket. His voice was cool and indifferent. "Healing System, Class One. Jiang You. Late return. Five points deducted."
He took his pen and scribbled a few words in his notebook.
Jiang You didn’t care. The system wasn’t letting her study, which meant her final grades would definitely be terrible. In fact, they needed to be terrible.
"Oh? You remember my class and name so clearly. You must have a secret crush on me," Jiang You said, a confident and smug smile playing on her lips.
Gu Qing’s hand paused for a second. Something flashed in his ashen eyes before he resumed writing without looking up. His voice was flat. "Harassing the student council president. Another five points deducted."
Jiang You: "..."
’I know my final grades are going to be bad, but I don’t want them to be *that* bad.’
"Hmph. Playing hard to get," Jiang You muttered, then stormed past him as if in a huff.
Only after Jiang You had left did Gu Qing’s gaze lift from his notebook.
His ash-colored eyes reflected the night, seeming to grow even more obscure.
’I was planning to make my move slowly, but I didn’t expect Shen Lan to get to her first.’
’It’s fine. As long as she’s still around, I’ll have a chance to get involved.’
’Whatever I want, I always get.’
Once Jiang You was gone, Gu Qing no longer lingered at the gate.
The other student council members didn’t think much of it. After all, the president came and went as he pleased, and no one dared to stop him.
Back in her dorm, Jiang You called Shen Lan back. She took off her coat and shoes, getting ready to wash up.
"Mm, you go wash up first. Just leave the terminal on," Shen Lan noticed and said considerately.
"Mm," Jiang You replied, casually tossing her terminal onto her desk.
After Jiang You finished washing up and got into bed, ready to sleep, Shen Lan told her not to hang up.
Jiang You found him a bit too clingy again.
But her persona was in love with him, and she couldn’t hang up without a reasonable excuse.
And that excuse absolutely could not be that she was annoyed with him.
Her persona was in love with him.
"Baby, did you miss me today?" Shen Lan sounded like he had also gotten into bed; his voice and breathing had grown low, husky, and thick.
"Mhm, of course I did," Jiang You replied. "So? I missed you. You must be overjoyed, right?"
"Did you really miss me?" Shen Lan’s voice seemed to drop even lower, becoming even more syrupy, like someone head over heels in love.
His low, magnetic, and pleasant voice carried a cloying affection.
Jiang You’s ears grew hot and felt a little itchy.
"Hmph. Well, did you miss me?" Jiang You had to seize back control of the conversation.
"I did," Shen Lan’s voice grew rougher. "So much..."
"I knew it. How could you not miss someone as beautiful as me?" Jiang You’s cheeks were a little red as she replied haughtily.
"I miss you so much..." Shen Lan’s voice was so low and husky, so ambiguous and cloying. It was as if he were suppressing something, his breathing heavy. "Baby, I miss you so much."
Jiang You’s cheeks burned.
’This damn man!’
’I’m not going to answer. I’ll just pretend to be asleep.’
’Is this what being in a relationship is like?’
Jiang You had no idea.
「The next day.」
The call on her terminal had finally ended.
Jiang You let out a sigh of relief.
She casually swiped out of the screen and saw a red dot notification. She was the type of person who couldn’t stand red dots, so she tapped it instinctively and was taken to someone’s Moments feed.
Caption: Daybreak.
The picture showed a set of abs and the morning sun.
The morning sunlight fell on the lines of the abs, distinct yet dazzling.
’What a beautiful photo of abs.’
Jiang You’s mind went blank for a second. ’Who is this?’
’Which benevolent god posted this?’