Bai Muyao felt a trace of doubt surface in her heart, but she quickly pushed it down and focused on the lecture.
Sensing Bai Muyao's gaze, Chu Chen looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under his gaze, Bai Muyao quickly withdrew her eyes and pretended to listen intently to the lesson.
Not disturbing her, Chu Chen lowered his head and continued taking notes.
The classroom returned to quiet, save for the teacher's lectures and the rustle of students turning pages.
Time ticked away second by second, and the class drew to a close.
The end-of-class bell finally rang, and Bai Muyao let out a long breath, stretching her somewhat stiff body.
"Tingting, accompany me to the restroom." She gently nudged her close friend Shen Tingting beside her.
Shen Tingting was busy holding her phone and chatting with someone on QQ. Hearing Bai Muyao's words, she immediately put down her phone and stood up. "Let's go, go, go!"
Chatting and laughing, the two walked out of the classroom toward the restroom.
"Yaoyao, you've got some nerve!" Shen Tingting suddenly lowered her voice, full of gossip. "How dare you sit next to Chu Chen? Aren't you afraid he'll pester you again?"
"Talk about that, why didn't you save me a seat?" Bai Muyao gave her an eye roll.
"It's because I saw Xiao Ce, the one I have a crush on, come in. He didn't have a seat, so I had him come over and sit there," Shen Tingting said with a infatuated look. "You know I have a crush on him."
"Choosing a crush over your best friend!" Bai Muyao laughed and poked her on the forehead.
After using the restroom, the two of them had just stepped out when they happened to run into Chu Chen coming out of the men's room.
Seeing Chu Chen, Shen Tingting instantly looked like a startled little rabbit, subconsciously hiding behind Bai Muyao.
Bai Muyao maintained her usual expression, giving Chu Chen a slight nod as a greeting.
Chu Chen nodded back at them, then unhurriedly followed behind them as they walked back to the classroom together.
"Do you guys usually follow celebrities?" Chu Chen asked suddenly, his tone casual, as if it were just an offhand question.
Bai Muyao shook her head. "I don't follow celebrities."
Shen Tingting stole a glance at Chu Chen and whispered, "I do. I follow a South Korean boy band."
"Oh? Then do you usually buy things related to these stars?" Chu Chen seemed to grow interested and pressed on.
As soon as the topic of following stars came up, Shen Tingting opened the floodgates and chattered endlessly, "Of course I buy them! Posters, stickers, and things like that. Also matching accessories and such. If I go to a concert, I'll buy all kinds of merchandise too—t-shirts, towels, badges, and everything."
Watching Shen Tingting instantly come alive, Bai Muyao thought to herself with a silent sigh that the power of chasing idols was truly formidable.
Chu Chen nodded thoughtfully.
"How about this," Chu Chen mused for a moment, as if a sudden good idea had struck him, the corners of his lips curling into an amused smile. "I'll treat you to lunch, and you can fill me in on all the different kinds of merchandise there are."
Clearly not expecting Chu Chen to make such a sudden invitation, Shen Tingting froze for a second. Then she looked at him warily, her speech stuttering slightly, "A-are you treating me, or are you treating Bai Muyao?"
Chu Chen chuckled lightly, as if seeing right through Shen Tingting's little thoughts. "Mainly treating you, since you're the celebrity-following expert after all. But if Bai Muyao is willing to honor us with her presence, I'd be more than welcome to have her."
Bai Muyao rolled her eyes and said nothing.
"Then it's a deal!" Shen Tingting eagerly agreed.
The class bell rang once more, and the three of them returned to their respective classrooms.
"Yaoyao, you have to come at noon!" Shen Tingting eagerly looped her arm through Bai Muyao's, her tone full of excitement and anticipation.
Looking at Shen Tingting with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, Bai Muyao said helplessly, "He's treating you to lunch, why am I going?"
"Aiya, I'm still a little scared of him," Shen Tingting said, purposely shrinking her neck and putting on a frightened look. "Just come with me, consider it keeping me company."
Bai Muyao wanted to refuse, but Shen Tingting suddenly leaned close to her ear and lowered her voice. "Yaoyao, you're not jealous, are you?"
Bai Muyao's heart gave a fierce jolt, but on the surface she forced herself to look calm. "What nonsense are you talking about! What is there for me to be jealous of?"
"Then why won't you go?" Shen Tingting pressed relentlessly, her big eyes staring straight at Bai Muyao as if trying to see right through her.
Feeling somewhat guilty under Shen Tingting's gaze, Bai Muyao could only sigh helplessly. "Fine, fine, I'll go, okay?"
At that, Shen Tingting let out an immediate cheer, grabbed Bai Muyao's arm, and said excitedly, "I knew you were the best!"
Watching Shen Tingting's excited appearance, Bai Muyao felt an inexplicable discomfort in her heart.
If he was treating her to dinner, why did he have to invite her as well?
Could it be that she was just an afterthought?
As soon as this thought popped up, Bai Muyao startled herself.
What kind of wild thoughts was she having!
"You couldn't really be jealous, could you? What were you just thinking about?" Shen Tingting suddenly leaned close to Bai Muyao's ear and asked with a mischievous grin.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Bai Muyao's face instantly turned red down to the roots of her ears. "I am not!"
"And you say you're not, your face is all red!" Shen Tingting pointed at Bai Muyao's blushing face and laughed uproariously.
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'm not going!" Bai Muyao glared at Shen Tingting in embarrassment and anger.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore." Shen Tingting quickly raised her hands in surrender. "Still, aren't you even a little bit curious about what Chu Chen is really up to?"
Shen Tingting's words reignited Bai Muyao's curiosity.
Right, why would Chu Chen suddenly treat Shen Tingting to lunch and specifically ask about celebrity fandom? What was his real purpose?
Could it be...
Bai Muyao's heartbeat skipped a beat.
Could it be that he wanted to get close to her through Shen Tingting?
Thinking of this, Bai Muyao's heartbeat uncontrollably sped up a little.
"Fine, I'll go." Bai Muyao took a deep breath and finally made up her mind.
She wanted to see for herself what on earth Chu Chen was trying to do!