The sky was still a hazy white, and the other performers around them were also sleepy-eyed, reciting English like Buddhist scriptures.
While leisurely eating the steamed buns that Xiaoxin had brought for her, she looked at her English book, but her two eyeballs kept moving, and the English words seemed to come alive, jumping around on the page.
"Lean on my back." Xiaoxin believed that if this continued, she would most likely collapse and fall asleep.
You Ran did as she was told. So, with a steamed bun in her mouth and her head resting on Xiao Xin's strong back, You Ran, still half asleep, rested her head on Xiao Xin's strong back. The morning light was just beginning to appear, and the scenery was beautiful.
But the blissful moment didn't last long. You Ran suddenly felt that Shin-chan's spine seemed to straighten up.
I've only ever heard that men like to pitch a tent in the early morning, so why is Shin-chan doing the opposite and pitching a tent in the upper body?
Just as he was about to ask what was going on, he looked up and saw a pair of familiar eyes.
Her eyes were upturned at the corners, still deep and captivating, but her pupils were an endless black, freezing the peach blossoms around her eyes and causing them to wither away.
He stood a meter away, watching them, not knowing how long he had been standing there.
But the moment You Ran met his gaze, Qu Yun averted his eyes without a trace.
It was as if the glances he had just given them were merely unintentional and meaningless.
However, someone caused Qu Yun to lose his power.
“Li Youran, Counselor Qu has been watching you and Long Xiang with a very displeased look.”
The sudden voice beside them startled You Ran and Xiao Xin. They turned around and saw the chubby-faced principal.
The principal patted the two on the shoulder, his smile as gentle as a thin-skinned soup dumpling: "Keep up the good work, I believe in you!"
Before You Ran and Xiao Xin could react, the principal, with his chubby face, hands behind his back, chuckled and stepped onto the pebble path, then turned and entered the public restroom over there.
Meanwhile, Qu Yun walked towards You Ran.
He stood up straight with ease, determined to meet any challenge head-on.
When they arrived, Qu Yun handed her a sign-in book instead.
You Ran breathed a sigh of relief, holding the booklet in one hand and taking the pen that Qu Yun handed her with the other.
She grabbed the tip of the pen, but... Qu Yun wouldn't let go.
The pen remained stuck between the two for only half a second, but for You Ran, it felt like an eternity of awkwardness.
Qu Yun looked at You Ran with her eyes lowered and her expression focused and dreamy. The corners of her mouth, which were usually slightly upturned, were now tightly pursed.
"Teacher's pen isn't very good, you can use mine instead." As Shin-chan spoke, another pen was placed in You Ran's hand.
Without much thought, You Ran quickly took the pen, removed the cap, signed her name, and promptly returned the sign-in book to Qu Yun.
Without a second's delay, we followed Shin-chan to the pavilion next door.
Qu Yun behind her, whether he stopped or walked, she could no longer see him.
After the morning reading and performance, You Ran went to two more classes, and at noon she met Xiao Xin for lunch in the cafeteria as usual.
The school cafeteria's signature dish is sweet and sour pork, but there's only a small plate available each day, which is always in high demand, so the sweet and sour pork window is always packed with people.
You Ran once tried to snatch it without fear of death, but the result was disastrous: her face was squashed, her feet were swollen, and even three large pieces of braised pork were stolen from her lunchbox.
But ever since Xiaoxin came along, You Ran has had sweet and sour pork every day.
The moment he stood there, raising an eyebrow, a white microcosm would rise around him, chilling him to the bone as if he had entered the Ice Age.
Life is precious, and it's not worth losing your life for a piece of sweet and sour pork. Naturally, everyone quickly made way for him to go first.
Every time You Ran sees Shin-chan carrying a plate of crispy, fragrant, tender, and delicious sweet and sour pork towards her, she always feels that Shin-chan is just like the general in the movie "A Tragedy Caused by a Steamed Bun," wearing a flower-embroidered armor.
And I, of course, am Dong-gun oppa who uttered the classic line, "Following you, I'll have meat to eat."
Xiaoxin took the food leisurely and was enjoying it when he suddenly said, "I really don't understand why you like eating in the cafeteria."
"The cafeteria is where you eat, the dormitory is where you sleep, and the toilet is where you poop," You Ran began to explain to him.
"But it's too noisy here. I think we should just eat out from now on. It's more convenient and the environment is better," Xiaoxin advised.
"Long Xiang, you're dating a poor female college student from an ordinary family. Please understand my capacity to handle this." You Ran shook her head and sighed inwardly. Rich kids have no idea about the hardships of life.
"Of course I'll take the money," Xiaoxin said, his tone matter-of-fact.
Leisurely, she put down her fork, covered her collar, turned her head to the side, her brows furrowed and conflicted, and said in a theatrical tone, "No, Xiang, I can't accept your sugar daddy!"
"You should be grateful that someone is willing to support you." Xiaoxin was speechless.
I've gotten used to being criticized anyway, so I just ignore it and keep gnawing on the pork tenderloin.
After finishing one piece, she picked up another, held it in her mouth, and was about to spit out the bone when Xiaoxin's words almost made her swallow it whole: "Before... when you were dating Qu Yun, you didn't use his money, did you?"
For some unknown reason, You Ran's face suddenly burned, as if the flame had suddenly ignited when she brought her face close to the gas stove, burning her face not only hot but also somewhat painful.
After thinking for a long time, she finally said, "Are you sure you want to know about the things between your current girlfriend and your ex-boyfriend?"
Shin-chan poked his rice a few times with his fork and said softly, "So, the answer should be yes, right?"
You Ran also poked at the white rice in the lunchbox with her fork.
Poor meal.
“Generally speaking, we order takeout. Neither he nor I cook, so we occasionally eat out.” You Ran couldn’t stand the silence any longer and had to be honest.
"So, who pays?" Xiaoxin kept agonizing over this question.
“…It was him.” At this point, a hint of harshness unconsciously crept into You Ran’s words, as if she were secretly angry with someone.
"Is there anything different between him and me?" Shin-chan stuck his fork into his rice one last time, but didn't pull it out.
"Can this kind of thing be handled with the principle of treating everyone equally?" You Ran found it amusing.
Just as the atmosphere was about to become awkward, You Ran's three roommates came over and sat down with the two of them.
You Ran didn't know what else to say, so she cheered up and joked with her roommates, dealing with their teasing about her and Xiao Xin.
And just like that, the matter was diverted.
But since the wind had passed, a few leaves still fell.
What made You Ran even more amused and exasperated was that that afternoon, she was summoned to the college office, where the principal's secretary handed her a fountain pen that was often used for awarding prizes, and conveyed the principal's decree: "You're a promising child, I like you."
After the principal's secretary left, the college leaders, with forced smiles and full of concern, asked, "Li Youran, why did the principal give you a fountain pen?"
With her left hand on the table and her right hand covering her collar, You Ran turned her head and kept the college leaders in suspense for a full minute before saying, with a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment, "I guess... the principal wants to keep me as a mistress."
At that moment, the college leaders really wanted to pick up the Boss brand carbon ink next to them and smash it into the student's head.
Every day, she eats and sleeps, then sits and reads. When she goes out, even her schoolbag is carried by Shin-chan. She burns too few calories, and gradually, You Ran starts to gain weight.
When she could no longer fit into last year's pencil pants, You Ran suddenly realized that she couldn't continue to be so decadent.
So she got a swimming certificate and went swimming to lose weight whenever she didn't have classes in the afternoon.
Generally, Shin-chan accompanies You Ran, but this afternoon, Shin-chan participated in a basketball game, so You Ran went by herself.
Put on your swimming goggles, plug in your earplugs, and leisurely begin your swim.
This is her perverse hobby—enjoying the pleasure of watching other people's lower bodies underwater.
The weather was lovely that afternoon; warm yellow sunlight streamed into the pool, and shimmering waves danced in the water.
A silent world, countless... human legs.
There were legs as thick as telephone poles, legs as hairy as if they were wearing thermal pants, legs as thin as hemp sticks, and legs as black as if they were coated with chocolate.
He surfaced, took a breath, and then changed direction to continue diving.
Change direction, and there's a pair of great legs just two meters ahead.
Those were a man's legs, long and straight, not thin, but full of just the right amount of strength, and the pert buttocks wrapped in swim trunks made one want to touch them.
But the more I looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.
As I was examining them, those legs walked straight toward me. As they moved, sunlight flashed across the back of their legs, revealing a tiny black mole the size of a grain of rice.
In a flash, You Ran finally remembered—those gorgeous legs belonged to Qu Yun.
"Damn it," You Ran muttered softly. "He put on his pants and he didn't even recognize himself."
At this moment, You Ran was like a submarine that had discovered a torpedo and began to sound the alarm.
She turned around and ran away quickly.
But Qu Yun leaped forward with his long legs and blocked the way in just a few steps.
Okay, this way is blocked, so she'll go somewhere else.
However, Qu Yun always managed to block her way. After four or five times, the leisurely oxygen chime finally broke the surface of the water before suffocating.
He took off his swimming goggles and looked leisurely at Qu Yun in front of him.
Water droplets dripped from her forehead into her eyes, making it very difficult for her to open them.
Qu Yun was also damp, with water droplets slowly dripping down his dark, lustrous hair and his distinct features. However, his eyebrows and the corners of his eyes were dry, as if they had been evaporated by complex emotions.
Taking a deep breath, You Ran plunged back to the surface, preparing to escape.
Without time to put on swimming goggles, I casually closed my eyes and ran forward aimlessly. Before I knew it, my head bumped into something that was neither soft nor hard.
With her impure mind, You Ran realized that her head had bumped into someone else's turtle's head.
Upon resurfacing, they discovered good news: the person who had been hit was Qu Yun.
There was also bad news: the person who was hit was Qu Yun.
You Ran wiped her face, opened her mouth, and after a long pause, asked, "Does it hurt?"
Qu Yun's brows relaxed slightly, and he shook his head.
"Then I don't need to pay compensation. Excuse me." You Ran turned to leave.
Qu Yun swam ahead of her again, and then contradicted himself, saying, "It hurts a lot now."
"Then you should go to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible. Perhaps you can still recover some of your function. Excuse me."
You Ran turned around again, intending to leave, but Qu Yun blocked her way once more.
"Is talking to me really that unbearable for you?" Qu Yun asked.
His voice seemed to reflect the shimmering blue waves of the sun.
“Long Xiang will be unhappy if he sees this,” You Ran said.