The night wind blew, rustling a few fallen leaves that swirled around their feet.
Zhou Ping's brain, under Song Yuqi's direct question, once again let out an unbearable hum.
It was overloaded.
All his pre-set, efficient, and logical response plans were declared invalid.
Waiting for her to do what?
To verify if she was the "key" to his special ability?
If he said that, he'd be on the campus headlines tomorrow for "stalker delusions."
To tell her, "Senior, your dancing is so cool, I really like it"?
That was too stupid, so stupid he wanted to slap himself.
He hated trouble the most, but now, he found himself unable to define everything in front of him with the word "trouble."
Looking at Zhou Ping's stunned, as if unplugged, expression, Song Yuqi not only didn't feel impatient but found it a little amusing.
She took a step forward, the dim streetlights casting soft shadows on her face, and her bright eyes watched him unblinkingly.
"Hmm?"
She deliberately drew out her tone, with a hint of teasing.
Her posture clearly indicated that she wanted to see what kind of earth-shattering reason this school-renowned "lazy junior" could come up with.
The air solidified.
Silence stretched between them, and Zhou Ping could even hear his own slightly erratic heartbeat.
Finally, before his crashed brain could restart, his survival instinct spoke for him.
"Senior."
Zhou Ping's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice a little dry.
"Can I... add your WeChat?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he himself was stunned.
What kind of answer was that?
It made no sense.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to try and salvage the logic.
"I bumped into you this morning, and now, because of me, you're going home so late."
"If you're free, I'd like to treat you to a meal, just as an apology."
This excuse was full of holes.
She was the one who bumped into him this morning.
And the reason was so clumsy that even Zhang Sheng, who was eavesdropping in the nearby bushes, wanted to rush out and rephrase it for him.
Song Yuqi listened to him quietly, saying nothing, but the smile on her lips deepened.
She just watched him, watching as the perpetually calm mask on Zhou Ping's face slowly cracked, and a faint blush uncontrollably crept up his ears.
Finally, just as Zhou Ping was about to give up, Song Yuqi burst out laughing.
"Junior, the way you make excuses is quite cute."
"Read it to you, or have I lost?"
Song Yuqi didn't have her phone with her.
Zhou Ping was startled and instinctively pulled out his phone.
"138..."
Song Yuqi recited a string of numbers.
It was a phone number.
It could be used to add her on WeChat or to call her directly.
Zhou Ping silently noted it down, his fingers quickly tapping on the screen, sending a friend request.
"Done."
"Well, I've noted the meal," Song Yuqi winked at him playfully, "I won't be polite with you."
After saying that, she turned and continued walking towards the school gate.
The taut string in Zhou Ping's heart suddenly loosened, and he almost instinctively followed her.
All the way, he remained silent.
On the contrary, Song Yuqi seemed to have opened her floodgates, chattering away about interesting things that happened backstage, complaining about how difficult the performance costumes were to wear, and grumbling about how one of her friends' makeup looked like they were going to perform in a play.
He listened, occasionally grunting in response.
Two people, one talking, one listening.
Their personalities were worlds apart, yet the sight of them walking together was strangely harmonious... In the evening, Zhou Ping returned to his empty home.
He casually tossed his school uniform onto the sofa and put the bento he bought on the way into the microwave to heat.
After a "ding," he carried the plate and sat at the dining table, but he had no appetite.
【The other party has accepted your friend request】
The notification sound rang.
It worked!
He quickly took out his phone and opened the newly added friend.
The profile picture was a photo of a Corgi.
The chat interface was still blank.
Zhou Ping's fingertips hovered above the screen, hesitating for a long time.
How should he start the first conversation?
"Hello, I'm Zhou Ping." Too formal.
"Senior, have you arrived home?" Too cliché.
He once again fell into unprecedented confusion.
Finally, his finger moved, and he typed two words into the dialogue box, then pressed send.
Zhou Ping.
No address, no greeting, not even punctuation.
Just a simple, direct declaration.
—
Back in her room, Song Yuqi casually threw her bag onto a chair and sank into the soft bed.
Her phone buzzed incessantly on the table, and she picked it up with a hint of annoyance.
The screen lit up, and the red badge for WeChat messages exploded; the "99+" notification was particularly glaring.
She opened the dance club's group chat, which was already in a frenzy.
"Holy moly! Am I seeing things? Our Queen Qiqi left with that Zhou Ping from first year?!"
"Pictures for proof! 【Photo】"
A photo, taken from an unknown angle by someone, was thrown into the chat. In the picture, she and Zhou Ping were walking one after another on a tree-lined path, the halo of the streetlights perfectly setting the mood.
"OMG OMG! What's going on? Spill the beans!"
"We were here working ourselves to death cheering for you, and you, as soon as the performance ended, went on a date, didn't you? Prioritizing love over friends!"
Song Yuqi looked at their teasing, couldn't help but laugh and curse, "A bunch of busybodies," her fingers flying across the keyboard, preparing to brush them off.
Just then, a private chat pop-up from her best friend appeared, her tone noticeably off.
"Qiqi, quickly go check the school forum, someone's talking nonsense, the post is about to explode!"
Song Yuqi's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately switched out to open the campus forum.
A bolded, red-highlighted post was pinned right at the top, its title full of malice.
【Shocking! Aspiring Star Senior Paves Way for Debut, Allegedly Hooking Up with First-Year Rich Second-Generation Sugar Daddy!】
The smile on Song Yuqi's face instantly froze.
She clicked on the post, and the content inside was unbearable.
The OP used a seemingly objective tone to link her upcoming traineeship at Peninsula with Zhou Ping's background of "his family owning gold and jewelry stores," implying in every line that she was approaching Zhou Ping for money and resources.
The comment section below was even more chaotic.
"I knew it, how could an ordinary high school student directly enter a debut group? Turns out there's someone behind her."
"This senior's tactics are pretty good, she specifically targets these rich and handsome ones."
"I know that Zhou Ping, he's super rich and a bit silly, he's probably been scammed."
"For the sake of debuting, she doesn't even care about her reputation? This is an eye-opener."
The three words "sugar daddy" stung Song Yuqi's eyes like needles.
Only she knew how much she had suffered for dancing, how many nights she had stayed up, and how many old injuries she had on her body.
Now, all her efforts, in the mouths of these people, had turned into a premeditated transaction.
A surge of anger rushed to her head.
Ridiculous.
Absurd!
She and Zhou Ping had only just met for what was essentially the third time today!
Just then, another new notification popped up at the top of her phone.
【Zhou Ping】.
No address, no greeting, not even a punctuation mark.
Just those dry words, as if announcing his existence.
Song Yuqi stared at those two words, then glanced at the malicious conjectures on the forum.
On one side were rumors and gossip all over the world, and on the other was the principal's straightforward self-introduction.
She suddenly felt that this matter seemed to be getting interesting.
The anger in her chest, far from dissipating, was replaced by a stranger emotion.
The corners of Song Yuqi's mouth slowly curved into an arc.
Sugar daddy?
Alright.
She lightly tapped her finger on the screen and typed a reply.
"Junior, have you seen the post on the forum?"