Zhang Chenxi was walking back to his dorm holding two brick-thick textbooks.
Once back in the room, Zhang Chenxi quickly polished off the meal Sun Dong had brought him, then opened up one of the textbooks and forced himself to study for two hours.
Just as he was about to relax, he saw a notification that someone had sent him a direct message on Note.
[I Am Invincible Kid]: "With all that background noise around you, even the recording from my grandma's toilet has better audio quality than you."
[Chaste and Devoted Warrior]: "When are you going to show your face? I've been following you for two and a half years."
[Little Roll Hates Coriander]: "Why do you wear this same shirt every time? Does the anchor not have any other clothes?"
[Jieyue]: "Requesting a song. I want to hear the one named after my ID. If you don't sing it next time, I'm unfollowing."
Zhang Chenxi had a singing account on Note that he had maintained ever since the national college entrance examinations up until now—acapella singing with no sound card, no accompaniment, and no face reveal.
On a Note platform flooded with aspiring singing bloggers, it was no easy feat to accumulate over 60,000 followers, especially since Zhang Chenxi poured his heart into caring for every single fan, replying to almost every direct message.
Looking at the messages and comments one by one, Zhang Chenxi brushed off his exhaustion and smiled happily.
To him, these familiar fans were not just internet strangers, but companions who had accompanied him through his growth.
He truly enjoyed interacting with people and sharing interesting things with them, and he was always willing to listen to his fans' occasional venting and complaints to offer them comfort.
Of course, when it came to haters who didn't even follow him and whose profiles were set to private, Zhang Chenxi would log directly into his burner account to discuss the linguistic charm of Chinese culture with them.
[Xizhao] replied to [Chaste and Devoted Warrior]: "If I show my face, you'll unfollow me. We can't let these two and a half years go to waste."
[Xizhao] replied to [Little Roll Hates Coriander]: "This shirt is special. I'll tell you all about it when the opportunity arises, and this account is connected to it as well."
Zhang Chenxi hadn't wanted to answer that question, but what was past was past. He felt guilty about it, yet was powerless to change it.
Amidst a brief daze, that figure from the third year of high school flashed through his mind again—the weighty promise made back then, and the weightless pledge that followed.
[Xizhao] replied to [Jieyue]: "Got it, I'll sing that one next time. By the way, you said you were going to unfollow last time, but you still haven't."
[Jieyue] replied to [Xizhao]: "Hmph, last time it was only because I saw you had already promised someone else first, so I decided to let it slide."
[Xizhao] replied to [Jieyue]: "Wow, thanks for your understanding and support. Go play, kid."
[Jieyue] was also an old fan who had followed him for a long time and frequently interacted with him. After communicating with her multiple times, Zhang Chenxi had roughly guessed she was just a little girl.
After replying to the little girl, Zhang Chenxi logged into his burner account to resume discussing traditional linguistic art.
[One Key Opens Heaven's Gate] replied to [I Am Invincible Kid]: "Why don't you give the anchor the address of your grandma's toilet? I'm sure he'd really appreciate it."
[I Am Invincible Kid] replied to [One Key Opens Heaven's Gate]: "Triggered."
[One Key Opens Heaven's Gate] replied to [I Am Invincible Kid]: "Classic."
[I Am Invincible Kid]: "............"
………
Meanwhile, on her bed, Ji Mingyue widened her eyes in sheer disbelief.
Go play, kid?
Kid?
Ji Mingyue sat up from the bed with a jerk, tossing her messy hair behind her, and sat cross-legged.
Her pure white slip nightgown caught the moonlight streaming through the window, accentuating her fine figure.
She lightly scrunched her nose and gave her hair another tug.
"Who's a kid? You're the kid! Whoever wants to be one can be one, but I sure as hell am not."
Muttering softly to herself, Ji Mingyue threw herself back onto the bed.
Then a thought struck her—it seemed she'd been treated like a kid twice today. Ji Mingyue pouted as a cunning smile flashed across her face.
She turned over, grabbed her phone, opened Honor of Kings, and sent a message to [God in Charge of Being a Smartass].
[Genie Girl]: "The college entrance exam is tomorrow. What should I do? I'm so nervous."
Right then, Zhang Chenxi was comfortably browsing live streams on Note when a message shattered his peace.
[God in Charge of Being a Smartass]: "It's fine. You've already done so many practice papers. Just keep a calm mindset and take the exam. You'll definitely do great."
[Genie Girl]: "Will I definitely get into Longcheng University?"
At this moment, Zhang Chenxi's expression looked just like the third sticker in Ji Mingyue's sticker pack—a blank, lifeless black-and-white panda.
[God in Charge of Being a Smartass]: "You can do it, kid."
Seeing those two words again, black lines covered Ji Mingyue's face. She grabbed her hair in helpless rage and replied even more recklessly:
[Genie Girl]: "Then sing me a song, will you? I'm still so nervous."
Seeing the message, Zhang Chenxi felt a surge of dread. Hardening his heart with a cold tone, he rejected her flatly.
[God in Charge of Being a Smartass]: "I don't know how to sing, and besides, we aren't close enough for me to sing to you."
*A bit harsh, but hopefully it won't affect her exams,* Zhang Chenxi thought. *In a little while, she'll definitely forget about it.*
Ji Mingyue froze. *He actually rejected me?*
Come to think of it, though, it was true. Previously they had only played a few games together with hardly any real conversation, so making a request like this now did seem a bit much.
But the words were already out—how could Ji Mingyue give up before achieving her goal?
[Genie Girl]: "But aren't we a couple?" (Confused JPG)
[Genie Girl]: "Couples aren't allowed to sing to each other either?" (Confused JPG)
[Genie Girl]: "You're all like this, just brushing me off! I'm so tired, I don't want to take the exam anymore!" (Crying JPG)
Faced with the barrage of questions, every single question mark knocked Zhang Chenxi back by 2.5 meters.
Finally, upon seeing [Genie Girl] say she didn't want to take the exam anymore, Zhang Chenxi immediately rushed to reply.
[God in Charge of Being a Smartass]: "Don't cry, don't cry! I'll sing for you, okay? Just promise me you'll take the exam seriously first, and I'll sing for you right away. Deal?"
With her goal achieved, Ji Mingyue broke into a proud smile of triumph.
[Genie Girl]: "Mhm, I will definitely take the exam seriously. Go ahead and sing."
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Ji Mingyue added:
[Genie Girl]: "Oh right, we've known each other for so long and we haven't even added each other on Penguin. Let's add each other on Penguin."
At this point, Zhang Chenxi was filled with utter despair and could no longer care about the increasingly outrageous and demanding requests [Genie Girl] kept making.
He just wanted to brush this idiot girl off as quickly as possible so he could get a good night's sleep. So, he helplessly agreed.
To his surprise, [Genie Girl]'s Penguin nickname was also Genie Girl. What a narcissistic girl.
[Genie Girl]: "What's your name?"
Zhang Chenxi had already decided to completely cut ties with her as soon as her exams were over. Even if she came to Longcheng University, she wouldn't know his real name anyway, so she surely wouldn't be able to find him.
His top priority right now was to fool this idiot girl so she would take her exam properly, so he started making things up on the spot.
[Puyue Cat]: "Zhang Xizhao"
*What a nice name,* Ji Mingyue thought. *Zhang Xizhao... hmm, the sun at dusk. The junior's name is actually quite pretty.*
Wait.
Xizhao?
Ji Mingyue instantly froze—so much so that she completely missed all the humble messages Zhang Chenxi had sent her.
[Puyue Cat]: "What about you, what's your name?"
[Puyue Cat]: "What kind of songs do you like to listen to?"
[Puyue Cat]: "Still listening, sis?"
[Puyue Cat]: "Well, you're the one not listening now. I kept my promise to you, so don't forget to take your exam seriously tomorrow and get some early rest."
……
……
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