"You said it yourself, it has been six years. If he stops pursuing me just because I turned him down this time, then I'd say turning him down wasn't such a bad thing after all."
Wu Xiaoya was silent for a moment before saying, "Yingying, I hope you don't live to regret today's decision."
"As if. Never."
The only reason Chen Ying spoke with such certainty was her absolute conviction that Xue Yang could not possibly give up on her.
It was simply out of the question.
Those who are loved are always emboldened.
...
"Xue Yang, are you really not going to chase Chen Ying anymore?"
In the classroom, Cui Hao was still in shock over the cool, collected way Xue Yang had handled running into Chen Ying earlier.
In the past, Xue Yang would have bellowed out like a besotted puppy, playing the devoted servant and rushing over to grovel.
And today? From start to finish, he didn't even spare Chen Ying a single glance, maintaining his composure and unshakeable poise even when the onlookers started egging him on.
You had to keep in mind that this was her clique of best friends; the slightest ripple could ruin a guy's reputation across the entire campus. Fail to win the goddess, and you'd be branded with titles like jerk, loser, or arrogant narcissist—labels you couldn't wash off even if you jumped into the Yellow River.
So Xue Yang's performance genuinely made Cui Hao look at him in a whole new light. This kind of backbone was exactly what a good brother should have, wasn't it?
"If you've got so much free time on your hands, why don't you help me finish today's assignment?"
"Holy shit, I almost forgot we even had homework today. Hurry up and let me copy yours. Can't believe we still have assignments in university, what the hell."
"..."
Word of Xue Yang and Chen Ying crossing paths in the corridor spread to every corner of Yanbei with lightning speed.
"I heard Xue Yang ran into Chen Ying in the corridor today, but for the first time ever, he didn't say a word to her and just walked right past."
"She must still be mad at him. He probably didn't dare speak."
"Think about it—in the past, whenever he confessed and got rejected, he'd still come trotting back with bubble tea like nothing happened. I heard Chen Ying's best friend tell him to go buy bubble tea and apologize, and he didn't even respond. Back then, he would've been over the moon. You know what they say: if you want to win a girl over, you have to conquer her friends first."
"He looked pretty calm in class today. Uncannily calm, almost."
University life wasn't as grueling as high school, and whenever people had downtime, they loved a good gossip.
Some senior students asked with mild curiosity:
"Who is this Xue Yang? How did the whole school turn upside down just while we were away?"
"Senior, you guys were out on your internships, so you missed it. This guy Xue Yang has been chasing Chen Ying since the very first day of university, coming up with a new way to confess to her every single day."
"No, no, that's not it. I heard he's been after Chen Ying since the first year of middle school. Doing the math, that's a whole six years! The only reason Xue Yang even managed to get into Yanbei was to pursue her. How romantic is that?"
The senior exclaimed in surprise, "Same university acceptance letter? This junior doesn't mess around."
At this, the girls in the school chimed in enthusiastically.
"I heard that for the past six years, Xue Yang has sent Chen Ying a confession text every single day, and she hasn't replied even once."
"Would you believe they haven't even held hands yet?"
"I mean, Xue Yang isn't bad-looking, and he got into Yanbei with top scores. I heard he was the top scorer for Huicheng, and in three years he went from the bottom of the class to number one. Only Xue Yang himself knows what he went through to pull that off. Why on earth won't Chen Ying give him the time of day?"
"Who knows? Honestly, if it were me, I'd have been moved to tears by now. Why play hard to get? I would've said yes in a heartbeat."
"Xue Yang is stubborn to a fault, too. Yanbei is famous for its high-quality women—why does he have to hang himself from just one tree?"
...
When the morning classes ended at noon, the two of them found a relatively secluded spot in the cafeteria to sit down.
The moment they sat down, that loudmouth Cui Hao started up again.
"Look, look! The Lin Group's heiress is missing! Anyone who provides clues gets a reward—a minimum of one hundred thousand, up to a hundred million. Oh my god, as expected of a top international corporation, they really throw money around like it's nothing. This Lin heiress is gorgeous, too. If she falls into the hands of bad guys, she's in deep trouble. Xue Yang, take a look! Maybe we'll run into her tomorrow when we're handing out flyers. A hundred million! Would I still have to bow down to my family? With a hundred million, they'd have to drive over in person and beg me to come home."
"Instead of pinning your hopes on that, you'd be better off taking the last ten bucks you have to your name and buying a lottery ticket. Your odds of winning might actually be higher."
"What the hell, how did you know I only have ten bucks left?"
"If you had ten bucks to your name, would you, great master, be out handing out flyers?"
"You know me so well I'm starting to wonder if you've swung the other way and fallen in love with me."
"My sexual orientation is completely normal, thank you very much."
"..."
Mid-sentence, a slight commotion broke out near the cafeteria entrance.
Xue Yang just kept his head down, focused on devouring his food. Cui Hao couldn't suppress his urge to gossip, ran over to take a look, and came back crestfallen.
"It's just the campus belle coming to the cafeteria for lunch. Do these people have to act like they've never seen the sun and swarm over to gawk? I thought some major celebrity showed up."
"Weren't you one of the ones gawking? Hurry up and eat your food. Once we're done, let's head back to the dorm for a nap. I didn't sleep well last night, I'm exhausted."
Cui Hao instantly felt a wave of sympathy for Xue Yang. The guy hadn't returned to the dorm last night, choosing instead to lick his wounds alone in his rented apartment.
Man, the feels. I'm tearing up.
He pounded his chest. "Say no more, bro understands."
"What? No, what the hell do you understand?!"
Xue Yang could bet his life that whatever was going on in that guy's head, it certainly wasn't anything good.
Chen Ying scanned the cafeteria. Although she had been at Yanbei for three years, the number of times she had actually eaten in the cafeteria could be counted on one hand. Whenever she came down and saw the massive crowds, she would simply turn right around and order takeout instead.
Ever since Xue Yang started university, the few times she did come to the cafeteria, he would always reserve a table ahead of time, buy the food, and call her over only when everything was ready.
Chen Ying's pretty brows furrowed slightly. There were too many people, and hardly any empty tables were left. Even if there was one, it had just been vacated by strangers, and she certainly wouldn't sit at a dirty table.
Wu Xiaoya looked around and spotted Xue Yang's table. Remembering that Xue Yang used to always save seats for them, she pointed over there and said, "Yingying, look! Xue Yang and the others are over there. Let's go over quickly."
Chen Ying stood her ground, unmoving. She hadn't forgiven Xue Yang yet, so accepting his apology was completely out of the question.
"Oh, stop overthinking it. Do you really want to sit at a table where strangers just ate? Let's go."
Wu Xiaoya practically dragged and pulled Chen Ying over to Xue Yang's table.
Xue Yang acted as though he hadn't noticed their arrival at all, keeping his head down and continuing to shovel food into his mouth.
Cui Hao shifted his meal tray aside, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.
Everyone else's gazes drifted over in their direction as well.
...
...