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Emerging from the dream of eight years ago, Shen Yihuan was still in a daze when her alarm woke her. She raised a hand to cover her eyes, her eyelashes lightly brushing her hand. After three or four minutes, she finally let out a long breath and sat up.
After washing up, she put her long hair into a bun and applied her makeup before heading out.
Today she had a photoshoot. She was a photographer at a studio, usually shooting a wide range of subjects, but primarily magazine spreads for celebrities and models.
She arrived at the reserved studio with her makeup bag, but the main subject for today’s shoot hadn’t arrived yet.
Shen Yihuan poured herself a glass of water and chatted with her assistant while preparing the equipment she’d need later. “Who are we shooting today?”
“Zhang Tongqi! She’s the female lead in a really popular idol drama lately called ‘Act Like a Spoiled Child.’ Haven’t you seen it, Teacher Shen?”
“No,” Shen Yihuan took a sip of water. “I don’t really watch those kinds of dramas. Zhang Tongqi... is she a newcomer?”
Shen Yihuan hadn’t heard that name before. She was somewhat involved in the entertainment industry and usually kept up with popular fashion and trending celebrities.
“Yeah, I think it’s her first show, and she’s quite pretty,” the assistant said.
Shen Yihuan smiled, then heard a commotion at the entrance. She looked up and saw a tall woman in delicate high heels and a lace dress.
She wore light pink sunglasses on her nose, her figure slender and well-proportioned. She carried the latest Chanel bag, and her features were exquisite—she was indeed a beauty.
Shen Yihuan deduced that this woman was probably Zhang Tongqi and stepped forward to greet her.
“Hello, Ms. Zhang. I’m the photographer responsible for your shoot today. The stylist and makeup artist are already waiting. We can start promptly in half an hour, is that okay?”
Shen Yihuan extended her hand.
Zhang Tongqi didn’t reach out. She stared at Shen Yihuan’s face with a strange expression, her brows furrowed, and she hesitantly spoke, “...Shen Yihuan?”
Slightly startled, Shen Yihuan then smiled. “Hmm? Yes, that’s me. Have you met me before?”
Zhang Tongqi took off her sunglasses. “You don’t recognize me?”
Shen Yihuan looked at her for a moment.
She seemed vaguely familiar, but Shen Yihuan genuinely didn’t remember the name Zhang Tongqi.
“Zhang Tongqi is my stage name. You should know Zhang Tong, right?” She lifted her chin like a proud swan, a few centimeters taller than Shen Yihuan in her heels, looking down at her with clear hostility in her eyes.
“Ah...” Shen Yihuan recalled. “I remember now. Please go to the dressing room first.”
Zhang Tongqi was her high school classmate. Shen Yihuan hadn’t had much interaction with her back then. She had a bad memory, only recalling that Zhang Tongqi also seemed to like Lu Zhou at the time, which was why she always held hostility towards her, always muttering passive-aggressive remarks nearby.
Shen Yihuan, however, couldn’t be bothered with her, as those who are favored often have no fear.
She only pestered Lu Zhou, telling him he wasn’t allowed to talk to Zhang Tong in the future. Lu Zhou nodded, very obediently, and seriously said he understood.
She hadn’t expected her to enter the entertainment industry now.
She also couldn’t remember whether Zhang Tongqi was popular during their school days. At that time, she lived very much for herself, accustomed to others’ gazes, whether disdainful, jealous, or envious – she didn’t care.
________________________________________
Zhang Tongqi sat in front of the makeup mirror, looking at Shen Yihuan behind her through the reflection.
When she’d heard about Shen Yihuan’s recent situation in the class group chat, she hadn’t dared to believe it, but it turned out to be true. She had indeed changed, yet some things hadn’t. That inherent arrogance, that utterly annoying arrogance, still couldn’t be hidden.
“Shen Yihuan.”
The person behind her turned to look at her. “What?”
“Do you know Lu Zhou is back?” Zhang Tongqi’s makeup was heavy, with a retro-style bold red lipstick, and her gaze seemed provocative.
Shen Yihuan said flatly, “Is that so?”
“You don’t know?” She raised an eyebrow.
Shen Yihuan just found her boring and didn’t want to continue the conversation. “Let’s start shooting once your makeup is done. Everyone’s time is tight.”
Zhang Tongqi became even more energized. “I heard you two broke up? I also thought, how could someone like Lu Zhou like a hooligan like you? He was just interested for a bit when he was young.”
Everyone around them noticed the subtle tension between the two and quickly fell silent, pretending not to know, yet wondering how the “hooligan” Zhang Tongqi mentioned could be associated with Shen Yihuan.
Shen Yihuan’s neatly trimmed, rounded nails tapped the camera twice. She still smiled, nonchalantly. “New actors, you should watch your words. There are surveillance cameras in this studio.”
The unspoken threat instantly made the smile on Zhang Tongqi’s face vanish.
The rest of the photoshoot passed without conversation. Shen Yihuan also remained silent, only occasionally speaking to prompt for specific poses and angles.
“Alright, that’s a wrap. Thank you for your hard work, everyone,” Shen Yihuan said.
She imported the photos into the computer, organized them into a folder, and then emailed them to herself for backup.
Shen Yihuan asked her assistant to take the equipment back to the studio, while she went to the restroom.
The sound of a stall door opening and closing behind her. Zhang Tongqi emerged from inside.
“Are you coming to the school anniversary this Sunday?” Zhang Tongqi washed her hands, her red nail polish gleaming.
“No, I’m busy with work,” Shen Yihuan said calmly.
“What kind of work can you have on a weekend? Besides, Lu Zhou will be there,” Zhang Tongqi chuckled softly. “Don’t you want to see who your ex-boyfriend is with now?”
Shen Yihuan thought of that female doctor.
She tore off a piece of paper to dry her hands, then leaned against the sink, looking calmly straight ahead.
“Anyway, it won’t be with you. Zhang Tongqi, aren’t you bored? Even if Lu Zhou isn’t with me, he still won’t like you.”
Her gaze casually swept over her from top to bottom, very much like the high school Shen Yihuan.
A deliberate imitation, but one that utterly failed.
“Don’t make me angry. When I lose it, I can be quite unreasonable.”
Shen Yihuan licked her lips, nonchalantly.
________________________________________
“Hahahaha, don’t scare people off! They finally got some bad news about you, if you hit them with that, their lives will lose all fun!”
Work finished earlier than expected, so Shen Yihuan invited Qiu Ruru to lunch.
Qiu Ruru was her best friend in high school, and one of the few friends remaining after Shen Fu’s company went bankrupt.
Shen Yihuan ate her noodles very seriously. After swallowing, she said, “I remember I never bothered her before.”
“But you stole her male god, darling! She’s had a one-sided grudge against you since military training, have you forgotten?” Qiu Ruru said teasingly.
Shen Yihuan frowned. “Military training?”
Did she know Zhang Tongqi back then?
Qiu Ruru laughed. “Zhang Tongqi’s held a grudge against you for so long, and you’ve actually completely forgotten her. That’s rough. It was about the military training hat, I don’t quite remember either, but I think she deliberately hid your hat.”
She remembered, it neatly connected with the dream she’d had that morning, interrupted by her alarm.
...
The military training at No. 1 High School was extremely strict. No tardiness or early departures were allowed without special reasons, training hours were long, and attire had to be perfectly neat.
The first few days were tolerable, but then Shen Yihuan became increasingly annoyed.
On the fifth day, at noon, she walked back to the classroom chewing on an ice cream bar, only to find that the military training hat she had left on her desk was gone. That meant she would definitely be punished with standing for the afternoon training.
She wasn’t afraid of standing, but this gave her a good opportunity to strike up a conversation with her little deskmate.
“Class monitor,” she leaned closer.
Her little deskmate was very aloof, only turning his head to look at her.
“What do I do if my hat’s missing? The instructor will punish me this afternoon,” her voice was soft, drawing out her words lazily, always with a hint of a smile, intimate, and a bit like flirting.
The creamy scent of the girl wafted over him in waves, gently and completely enveloping him.
Lu Zhou’s gaze lingered on the corner of her mouth for a moment, then calmly moved away. He took out a neatly folded hat from his drawer and handed it to her.
“Wow!” Shen Yihuan exclaimed exaggeratedly, smiling sweetly and innocently. “If you give me yours, won’t you be punished?”
The girl didn’t know how alluring that tiny bit of white ice cream on her lip was. Lu Zhou didn’t even dare to look at her again.
He took a deep breath, blinked slowly, and placed the hat on her desk. “It’s fine.”
Later, Shen Yihuan still didn’t wear his hat. After lunch break, while Lu Zhou was out washing his face, she quietly put the hat back on his desk, then went to the drill ground herself.
The result was, of course, being punished with standing in military posture.
She felt nauseous in the stifling heat, her neck burning as she stood with her back to the sun.
After five minutes, a boy also emerged from the ranks. The sunlight was too strong to see clearly, until he got closer and she saw his face. Shen Yihuan instantly smiled.
With dimples appearing, she asked Lu Zhou, “You didn’t wear your hat either?”
“No,” he said indifferently.
Lu Zhou stood behind her. Shen Yihuan suddenly felt that the sun on the back of her neck wasn’t so scorching anymore.
After a while, she turned her head and whispered, “I put your hat on your desk, didn’t you see it?”
“No.”
She turned back, then a few seconds later, turned her head to look at him again.
She found that her little deskmate’s ears were red again.
Zhang Tongqi approached Lu Zhou with a hat, her face flushed. “Class monitor, I have an extra hat here, do you... do you want it?”
Shen Yihuan leaned against her chair, the front two chair legs slightly lifted, swinging leisurely. A pen twirled between her fair, slender fingers. She said, relaxed and composed, “Hey, classmate, I don’t have a hat either. Why didn’t you ask if I wanted it?”
Zhang Tongqi’s face grew redder.
Lu Zhou said, “Give it to her.”
“But, don’t you not have one either...?” she whispered.
Shen Yihuan raised an eyebrow, her gaze falling on the hat in Zhang Tongqi’s hand. Under the brim, there was a small, hard-to-spot heart sticker—one she had put there.
“Where did you get this hat?”
Her voice turned cold, and even Lu Zhou glanced at her.
“Wh-what?”
“Trying to take credit for someone else’s generosity, are we?” She curled her lips, her tone disdainful, hooking a finger to take the hat from Zhang Tongqi’s hand. “That’s not how you pursue a boy. Want your big sister to teach you?”
She was arrogant, overbearing, and exceedingly proud.
________________________________________
“But why did Lu Zhou come back anyway?”
Qiu Ruru’s voice pulled Shen Yihuan’s thoughts back.
“Hmm?” She lowered her eyes. “How would I know?”
“Cherry.”
This was Shen Yihuan’s nickname in high school because she had a birthmark on her lower back that looked exactly like a cherry.
“You haven’t been in a relationship all these years either. Now that he’s back, why don’t you go ask him to get back together?”
Shen Yihuan raised an eyebrow. “Ask?”
“Yes, yes, yes, you’re Her Majesty the Queen!” Qiu Ruru laughed. “How could Her Majesty beg anyone? But then, why don’t you just get a new boyfriend already, damn it!”
Shen Yihuan rolled her eyes, putting down her chopsticks. “What’s the use of him being back? We didn’t break up because of the long distance.”
“Then why?”
Qiu Ruru also didn’t understand why they broke up. It was just that a series of events hit the Shen family after their breakup, and she didn’t want to ask too many questions at the time.
Shen Yihuan frowned. “...He was too annoying.”
“Lu Zhou?! Annoying?!” Qiu Ruru’s eyes widened. “Oh, dear heavens, give me a boyfriend like Lu Zhou! Annoy me to death, please!!”
“Then you go after him,” Shen Yihuan looked at her.
“No, no, no,” Qiu Ruru chuckled. “Having you as an ex-girlfriend is too much pressure.”
“Oh, by the way, I have two concert tickets here,” Qiu Ruru took two tickets out of her bag. “Didn’t you like this singer since high school? You can also ask Lu Zhou if he wants to go with you.”
Shen Yihuan took them. “Aren’t you coming with me?”
“It’s for the day after tomorrow, I have a business trip, no time.”
________________________________________
After lunch, Shen Yihuan dropped Qiu Ruru off at her company and then returned to her studio.
After her nap, she took out the two concert tickets.
It was quite ironic, she thought, that back then she had so many questionable friends in every class, and now, besides Qiu Ruru, she had no one else to go to the concert with.
She zoned out for two or three minutes, then opened WeChat, scrolled all the way down, found Lu Zhou’s WeChat ID, and tapped on it.
Are you free the day after tomorrow?
I have two concert tickets here, do you want to go?
Lu Zhou.
Do you still remember when we skipped class in high school to go to a concert? I have two more tickets for him.
...
Shen Yihuan typed and deleted, deleted and typed, many times over. In the end, she only typed two words.
Are you there?
________________________________________
— Lu Zhou has enabled friend verification. You are not yet his (her) friend. Please send a friend verification request first. You can chat only after the other party approves the request.
Shen Yihuan’s eyes widened blankly, and she suddenly felt she couldn’t breathe.
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