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In the blink of an eye, September arrived, but the scorching heat showed no signs of abating.
Su Ling became quite popular at Z University.
While others couldn’t dig up much about her, the students in their department all recognized Su Ling. After all, even with her low-key demeanor, she was still the department beauty. Those who had read the original novel knew that Jiu Li was a likable character, so everyone envied Su Ling’s good fortune.
However, this time, there were very few rumors circulating about her.
Su Ling truly was excellent; she ranked first in several required courses.
The TV series was gaining significant momentum, but Clear Entertainment still suppressed the earlier incident between Su Ling and Ren Xuebing. After all, in this day and age, even a hint of scandal could lead to endless disputes among fans, regardless of the truth.
During the peak popularity of Twelve Years of Dust, someone in the male dormitories of Q University made a poster.
The guy had custom-ordered it online. When he brought it back and put it up, several roommates laughed: “Zhang Jun, are you addicted? If you want to see her, go to the neighboring university; the real version is right there. Why drool over a poster?”
Zhang Jun smoothed out the corners of the poster: “What do you know? She’s my goddess. I’ll go see her once I get a bit fairer.”
His family lived on an island, and he had been tanned by the sun since childhood. Without careful inspection, he looked like he had just crawled out of a coal mine. Normally, he wouldn’t care about his appearance while walking around in his underwear in the dormitory, but this time, he actually started caring about his image.
As his roommates teased him, Ni Haoyan returned from dinner.
“Class President,” his roommate greeted him, and Ni Haoyan nodded with a smile.
He had topped the admission scores for Computer Science Class B and was directly appointed as class president by the teacher.
“Ni Haoyan, come take a look. Has Zhang Jun gone crazy?”
Ni Haoyan raised his eyes and saw the person on the poster.
The girl on the poster had spent ten years with him.
He was still holding a copy of Introduction to Programming. The moment he saw the poster, the book crumpled in his grip, and the smile on his face disappeared.
His roommates were still discussing.
“Zhang Jun, isn’t it embarrassing for a grown man to have this in the dormitory? Why don’t you take it down?”
“Mind your own business!”
“She’s so beautiful; she probably already has a boyfriend. What makes you think you stand a chance?”
“I just want to look at her every day. What’s it to you?”
The roommates burst into laughter, but the next moment, Ni Haoyan went berserk and tore the poster down.
“Hey!” Zhang Jun exclaimed, “Class President? What are you doing!”
Ni Haoyan held it, the sharp edges of the poster touching his palm. Only then did he snap out of it. He didn’t know whether to tear it or throw it away. The thought of someone fantasizing about her made his hands tremble.
However, he realized his reaction was abnormal.
Ni Haoyan composed himself and handed the poster back to Zhang Jun: “The dormitory beautification competition just ended, and the school hasn’t evaluated the scores yet. The student council will come in a couple of days, and having this on the wall will deduct points.”
The roommates: “…” It made sense, but it felt oddly strange.
Zhang Jun grumbled: “You can’t just rip it down like that. Now it’s all wrinkled, and I only ordered one.”
Ni Haoyan pursed his lips and said softly: “Sorry.”
Ni Haoyan was usually well-liked as class president, so after apologizing, Zhang Jun couldn’t say much more. Zhang Jun folded the poster and placed it in his desk.
That entire day, Ni Haoyan was distracted. Even when the class advisor called him, he didn’t respond.
He kept thinking about August two years ago, when Su Ling had been admitted to Z University and was spending her summer vacation at home. He had just finished his first year of high school, and they had returned together from outside. On the community advertisement screen, a female celebrity was promoting something.
Ni Haoyan noticed Su Ling looking at the screen several times. He raised an eyebrow: “Do you think you’ll become like her someday? You can’t even speak without stuttering.”
She was a bit unwilling to accept defeat, her fair complexion turning a light pink under the sunlight, but she didn’t refute him. Instead, her bright eyes said: “I’ll work hard.”
At that time, he actually believed she would become famous.
After all, she didn’t need to say or do anything. At seventeen, with such a face, simply standing there could make any man’s hormones surge. In a few more years, who could resist such beauty?
A troublemaker looked just like that.
Now she was about to become famous, and they had become strangers. He didn’t even have a reason to scold Zhang Jun for kissing the poster.
He couldn’t even admit that she was his cousin.
But it was September.
September 12th was Su Ling’s birthday, and she would turn 20. Reaching double digits was a big deal in any family, but Su Ling no longer had a family.
Ni Haoyan thought, his parents and Ni Jianan definitely wouldn’t remember.
And grandma? Whenever grandma mentioned Su Ling, there was only silence—whether out of pain or guilt, he didn’t know.
Would anyone celebrate her birthday? How many people in this world remembered the day an angel descended from heaven?
Since the start of the semester, Su Ling had garnered a lot of attention at school, and occasionally, people would come to ask for her autograph.
She was both amused and exasperated but eventually complied with each request.
She hadn’t learned those stylish signatures; what she wrote for them was neat and proper in regular script. The name “Su Ling” written neatly mirrored her well-behaved personality, and it felt perfectly natural.
Yun Bu couldn’t help but laugh: “Lingling, why don’t you change your signature style? Isn’t this exhausting? Why don’t we find someone to design one for you, and then you can imitate it?”
Su Ling shook her head and just smiled.
It was Wednesday, and both Su Ling and Yun Bu had dance class. This course was an elective, and not many students had signed up.
Su Ling changed into her dance clothes and shoes and went to class.
Their instructor was an elegant middle-aged woman in her forties.
When Qin Xiao parked his car in the basement and followed her schedule to find her, he saw a group of young girls practicing dance in the studio.
The dance studio had a full wall of mirrors.
A small speaker in the classroom played soft melodies.
Like the gentle dialect of Jiangnan, humming an unknown ballad.
Qin Xiao hadn’t heard that song.
His gaze almost immediately landed on her. She was wearing black dance attire.
The girl’s figure was graceful, her chest prominent, and her waist slender.
She used to wear loose clothing, so he never imagined her waist could be so slim, as if it could fit in the palm of his hand, fragile enough to break with a slight bend.
Su Ling’s hair was tied up into a bun at the back, her neck long and elegant. Against the black clothing, her skin appeared porcelain white.
They were stretching their legs.
She easily lifted her leg above her head. Her body was incredibly flexible.
He curved his lips slightly; his body stirred.
After all, he was twenty-seven, and it was inevitable to think of some lascivious thoughts.
Qin Xiao admitted he was a beast.
He wasn’t wearing high-end luxury clothing today. Like a college student his age, he wore a plain white shirt. He had taken off his watch and switched to sneakers.
As he walked over, many people were discussing which department’s handsome guy this was. Why hadn’t they seen him before?
Of course, they hadn’t seen him before. He had even refused to appear in business magazines. Many knew his name, but few could match it with his face.
When Su Ling turned her head, she saw the man outside the window.
“...” She hadn’t seen him for a long time and thought he had given up, especially since their last parting had been unpleasant for both of them. She had even sighed in relief.
At this moment, her mind buzzed, realizing that this matter wasn’t over—it might never be over.
Just thinking about it made her heart ache.
However, the teacher was still explaining some movement techniques. He watched her from outside, and his gaze felt too invasive to Su Ling. She felt uncomfortable even raising her hand...
Yet this man showed no restraint, his eyes filled with amusement, focusing solely on her.
Some classmates noticed him and kept curiously glancing outside, guessing whose boyfriend he might be.
Su Ling pursed her lips, her cheeks flushing.
She raised her hand, and the teacher came over: “Is there something wrong, Su Ling?”
“Teacher Yuan, I’m not feeling well. Can I leave early?”
Su Ling had never asked for leave before. Teacher Yuan was elegant and easygoing, not concerned about such things, so she smiled: “Go to the hospital and then rest well.”
The short conversation made Su Ling blush furiously, her ears turning red. She rarely lied, let alone deceive a teacher.
The lies she had told in her two lifetimes were few and far between, but almost all of them were related to Qin Xiao.
Su Ling went to the changing room to change her clothes. Under the curious and suggestive gazes of her classmates, she left through the back door.
She carried her dance clothes and didn’t look at him, but not long after, he followed her.
On this Wednesday evening, the sunset was warm and yellow.
Her shadow was stretched thin and delicate. The dance studio was built in a secluded area, so there weren’t many people around.
She bit her lip and turned around: “Qin Xiao.”
He was somewhat surprised that she called him first, “Hmm?”
Su Ling made up her mind: “Can you stop following me? It’s so annoying.” She had never dared to express such dislike before, and even though he hadn’t done much, she herself felt uneasy.
He curved his lips: “How annoying?”
Thinking of his shamelessness, she looked up at him and said earnestly: “Very annoying.”
Qin Xiao responded lightly: “Hmm.”
“...”
He approached her, bending down to look at her. She had let her hair down, which had grown a bit longer. Compared to her previous adorable and obedient look, she now exuded a more elegant charm.
“Sorry,” he said, “I couldn’t bear it, so I came.”
Su Ling knew he was shameless and had no bottom line, but she still couldn’t help blushing: “Don’t come so close.”
His steps paused, and finally, he smiled: “Su Ling, I just came to give you a gift. Don’t be so cruel, alright?”
Thinking of gifts, she naturally thought of that amethyst necklace, and her expression changed: “I don’t want it.”
Qin Xiao’s smile cooled slightly. He frowned, trying not to get upset, restraining himself from losing his temper.
Qin Xiao took a few steps forward and pinned something onto her hair: “Happy Birthday.”
It was a small and exquisite diamond tiara.
As he leaned closer, she uncomfortably stepped back. Su Ling didn’t know what he had done, but this retreat just happened to tug at that strand of hair, and she let out a soft cry: “Ah...”
Startled by the unexpected pain, the sound slipped out, sweet and coquettish.
It sent shivers down his spine, and his eyes curved with a smile.
Su Ling realized it herself and was now blushing furiously. He was still smiling.
She was so embarrassed she wanted to hide.
She couldn’t help but think of his words—Lingling sounds so nice.
So seductive and shameful. But... but it was her fault. This tone, if not careful, just slipped out uncontrollably.
“Su Ling, receiving a birthday gift, aren’t you going to say thank you?”
She removed the small tiara, her cheeks still flushed: “Thank you, but it’s too extravagant. I can’t accept it.”
Qin Xiao knew she wouldn’t take it.
He smirked playfully: “Even if you don’t want it, how about a gift that doesn’t cost money? Would you accept that?”
A gift that doesn’t cost money?
“What?” She was still confused. What kind of gift didn’t cost money?
In September, the air was warm. It was the transition from late summer to early autumn, shedding the heat of summer. Under the reflection of the setting sun, everything shimmered with a faint golden hue.
He looked down at her. The girl’s eyes were innocent, her gaze pure, appearing... so easy to deceive.
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