When they came out of the cafeteria, it was almost time for roll call. The weather in Country T was scorching hot, but fortunately the indoor air conditioning was strong enough.
Reaching the activity room, many people had already returned, finding places to rest nearby while waiting for the assembly. Liu Yiyi and Shang Hui also found a corner to sit down.
As soon as she sat down, Shang Hui asked Liu Yiyi, "Yiyi, how many signatures did you collect? Did you really get a full set like the senior said?" She had assumed Yiyi simply lied to avoid a conflict with that senior.
"Yes, I checked and there are exactly a hundred."
Hearing that it was actually true, Shang Hui's eyelids drooped. "Why haven't I reached that yet? I'm still short a dozen or so. The seniors must have thought I was an easy target and didn't give me their signatures."
Shang Hui pulled a long face, losing her usual sunny expression. "Yiyi, you can't abandon me. Come with me this afternoon to get a dozen more signatures," she said, shaking Liu Yiyi's arm.
"Alright."
Shang Hui already knew she didn't like to talk much; just this single word was enough.
"Yiyi, you're from China, right? Why is your Country T language so good? Is China really big? I've never been abroad," Shang Hui chatted beside her.
"You can go visit China when you have time."
As the two chatted, assembly time arrived. After roll call, the senior dismissed the freshmen. "Yiyi, did we collect those signatures too fast? I only have a few left—how about we wait until the last day to finish? Is there anywhere you want to go right now?" Shang Hui looked up at her.
Listening to her, Liu Yiyi replied, "I'm going to the library. If you want to go get signatures, contact me." With that, she turned and left.
"Wait for a second, Yiyi, I'll go with you. I don't have anywhere else to go anyway." Shang Hui hurried to catch up with Liu Yiyi. They arrived at the library and found a spot to sit.
Liu Yiyi browsed through the various bookshelves, found a history book on Country T, brought it back to her seat, and began to read it carefully. Opposite her, Shang Hui was already bored to sleep.
The atmosphere in the library was the quiet and elegant kind that Liu Yiyi loved, with only the pleasant sound of turning pages. Everyone was engrossed in their own tasks, and the clock on the wall ticked steadily as time slipped away in the sound. "Yiyi, it's already five-forty." Shang Hui woke up, though she didn't know when she had fallen asleep.
Liu Yiyi glanced at her watch, signaling that it was time to go to the assembly. She stood up, returned the book to its original place, and left with Shang Hui. The assembly was dismissed.
For the past two days, Liu Yiyi had spent her time in the library. Looking at Liu Yiyi, who was flipping through a book in front of her, Shang Hui whispered, "Yiyi, it's time." Every time, it was Shang Hui who called out to her; whenever she immersed herself in reading, her sense of time would fade.
"Mhm." Liu Yiyi stopped turning pages and returned to the activity room. Today was already the third day. "Yiyi, come with me this afternoon to get the rest of the signatures, okay?"
"Mhm."
"Yiyi is the best!" Shang Hui linked her arm through Yiyi's and rested her head on her shoulder.
Yang Xuhe, a senior from the Department of Literature and a member of the training guidance team, came over and asked, "Who is Liu Yiyi?"
Hearing someone call her, Liu Yiyi looked at him and raised a hand to signal, "I am."
Receiving her reply, the senior looked at the junior sitting in the corner and spoke again, "Could you come over for a moment?"
Shang Hui said to the senior, "Senior, is something the matter? Can I go too?" Shang Hui stood up.
"I just have a few questions for Yiyi, nothing major. Junior, wait here for a little while," senior Xuhe said with a smile, the dimples on his face making his reply to Shang Hui even gentler.
"I'll go with you. Wait for me here a moment," Liu Yiyi said, looking at Shang Hui as she stood up and walked behind the senior.
The senior led her to a classroom, opened the door, and went in. "Liu Yiyi is here," Yang Xuhe announced as he walked over to Tan Qiuyan's side.
Liu Yiyi stood in place, seeing the five freshman training seniors in the room, the five people she had beaten the day before, and a boy sitting in front of them with his legs crossed, looking down as he twirled a ring on his finger.
"Junior, we just want to ask you a few questions, no need to be scared," Tan Qiuyan said.
"Alright, what do the seniors want to know?"
"I heard you beat up Dan Qing," the boy looking down stopped twirling his ring, raised his head, and said in a low voice. Liu Yiyi looked at the boy in front of her: he wore a blue denim jacket, with a rebellious air, handsome features, a high nose bridge, and cold, sharp eyes that stood out even more amidst his blue-gray hair.
"Yes."
"The reason?"
"You'll have to ask him."
"He said he just wanted to make friends with you."
"If making friends means using this kind of method, I refuse." Liu Yiyi and the boy sitting in the chair locked eyes, each appraising the other, neither willing to yield.
Fearing the situation would escalate, Tan Qiuyan quickly chimed in, "Junior, hitting people is wrong. Apologize to the seniors, and let this matter pass. Senior Xu Chengjin, what do you think?"
Xu Chengjin ignored Tan Qiuyan and simply looked at Liu Yiyi. "You don't seem very convinced." He saw that the junior's eyes were calm, without a single ripple, and felt a trace of admiration; to maintain such composure under this kind of intensity, he truly appreciated someone like that.
"Yes, if an apology is in order, you should be the ones apologizing to me. This whole affair was provoked by you, and you threw the first punch. I respect the seniors, but you guys don't seem very worthy of it." Liu Yiyi shifted her gaze to look coldly at the rest of the freshman training team. "Furthermore, Senior Tan Qiuyan, you should know the whole story, yet you still let your own junior bow her head. It must be pretty hard for you to command respect this way."
Tan Qiuyan felt a bit guilty and glanced sideways at Xu Chengjin. Liu Yiyi watched them—naturally, this little action didn't escape her notice either—and continued, "You... are afraid of Senior Xu Chengjin because he's a junior? But I am only here to learn this country's culture, and I will not let myself be subjugated by anyone. Do the seniors have any other business? If not, I'll be leaving." Liu Yiyi spoke calmly, without a single fluctuation in her voice, turned around, and prepared to leave.
Suddenly, a cold rush of air came from behind, and a fist lunged toward her. Liu Yiyi tilted her head to block the oncoming punch and remarked, "Dan Qing is really your friend; you all love to launch sneak attacks."
Watching his move get parried, Xu Chengjin chuckled and said, "Junior, you're not bad. Again." He threw another punch straight at her face.
Liu Yiyi flashed aside, exerting force with her palm to chop toward him. Seeing Xu Chengjin's hunter-like gaze as he launched another offensive, she moved sideways and swept her right leg. Liu Yiyi clenched her five fingers into a fist, gathered the strength of her body, and leaped upward, executing a swift maneuver to meet his attack head-on. Finding a weak spot in Xu Chengjin's defense, Liu Yiyi struck quickly, flipped in mid-air, brought her right hand into a fist to press against his lower back, delivered a heavy blow while rapidly stepping forward, and seized Xu Chengjin's throat. "You lost," came Liu Yiyi's cold, sharp voice.
Xu Chengjin let go of the hand he had grabbed from Liu Yiyi, turned his head to look at that frosty gaze that failed to convey a shred of warmth, and smiled. "You're formidable, Liu Yiyi. I want to make friends with you."
"Dan Qing, you, come over and apologize to Yiyi."
"Junior, I'm sorry. It was our fault," Dan Qing muttered in a low voice.
Liu Yiyi released Xu Chengjin. "I accept the seniors' apologies." She then looked back at Tan Qiuyan. "Senior, can I go back now?"
Recovering from their shock, the seniors said, "Alright, junior."
Liu Yiyi turned to leave. "Liu Yiyi, give me your chat," Xu Chengjin's voice called out.
"I don't want to join your circle. Sorry." Her voice echoed from afar. She didn't look back. Xu Chengjin stared at Liu Yiyi's retreating figure in deep thought. "I've never met such a formidable girl. I will definitely make you my friend."