Xu Han followed closely behind Tang Shiying like a child who had done something wrong!
The two of them walked one after the other at a moderate pace!
A gentle breeze blew past, carrying a faint, pleasant fragrance that brushed against Xu Han.
The scent was not overpowering, yet it put one's mind at ease!
It must have been the girl's perfume!
Perfume is toxic, one shouldn't touch it—all sorts of bizarre thoughts surfaced in his mind!
For a moment, Xu Han's thoughts drifted far away!
Tang Shiying, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped in her tracks!
The boy behind her bumped right into her!
"Ouch!"
Feeling something soft against his chest, Xu Han snapped out of his trance.
Their eyes met, and Tang Shiying hurriedly stepped back!
"S—sorry!"
Xu Han hastily explained, "I was just spacing out!"
He was not a man of many words, nor was he particularly good at expressing himself. Whenever he saw a girl, his tongue would completely tie itself in knots!
Tang Shiying looked at the tall boy before her with a blank expression. If not for her close relationship with his senior sister, she would never have come to the police station to pick someone up!
Glancing at the time, she saw it was already eleven o'clock. The dormitories would be locked by now, wouldn't they?
"Do you have a place to stay?"
Out of concern for her senior's younger brother, Tang Shiying offered a polite question!
Xu Han glanced at the time and only then realized that he couldn't go back to the dormitory!
"An internet cafe works."
"You're going to sleep at an internet cafe?"
The woman opposite him raised her chin, revealing her snow-white neck as she looked at Xu Han.
His gaze flickered, and after a brief glance, he quickly averted his eyes!
A bit alluring, with delicate collarbones. Looking any lower would be hard to handle!
Xu Han actually wanted to say he wanted to stay at her place, but he didn't dare!
"The chairs at internet cafes are quite comfortable."
His brain short-circuited, blurting out such a remark. The moment he said it, he regretted it!
"Fine!"
Dropping that single word, the woman turned around and walked away.
Watching her graceful figure retreat, Xu Han opened his mouth, but in the end, no sound came out!
So cold and aloof.
Upon returning to her faculty apartment, Tang Shiying immediately sent a message to Senior Sister Xu: The person has been released!
The other party replied very quickly: My little brother, he's quite handsome, isn't he?
Tang Shiying: A bit of a dork!
The moment she sent the message, she quickly recalled it...
After all, telling someone's sister that her brother was a dork didn't seem very polite!
Xu Ruolan on the other end saw the message the very second it came through, followed immediately by the notification that the sender had recalled a message!
She muttered to herself: He really is quite a dork!
Who in their right mind manages to get themselves dragged into a police station just by going to a barbershop!
Elsewhere, Xu Han stood in front of an internet cafe.
After hesitating for a long time, he poked his head in and stepped inside!
The scene of being hauled away earlier was still fresh in his mind.
He still had reservations; the place didn't look entirely respectable!
"Boss, is everything above board here?"
Xu Han's question left the boss baffled.
"What kind of talk is that? Are you looking for some shady business?"
"No, no, I was just asking..."
Xu Han pulled out his ID card and handed it to the owner. Once the paperwork was done, he found a seat by the window and sat down!
The boss looked at Xu Han as he walked away and shook his head helplessly:
What on earth do these young people have running through their heads?
Out of pure familiarity, Xu Han logged into his account. Instead of playing games like other youngsters, he opened up a forum!
On this forum, users could choose different categories according to their preferences!
There were personal essays, daily anecdotes, novels, short scripts, and micro-stories, among others!
He loved writing short scripts there, earning money based on view counts.
If a story proved captivating enough, selling the copyright to be adapted into a short drama could also net him a handsome reward.
Xu Han stared blankly at the screen for a few seconds.
Today's story had been a bit of a rollercoaster—where should he even begin?
Rebirth? Being mistaken for a client soliciting prostitutes? Going to the police station?
Or perhaps...
At the thought of these things, Tang Shiying's face involuntarily surfaced in his mind!
Him crying over an ambulance...
And their re-encounter at the school gates!
Xu Han quickly clicked on his chat room, where the pinned contact was nicknamed 'Yueying Sanren'.
The two had met on the forum, all thanks to a short script Xu Han had written.
'Yueying Sanren' had spotted a factual error in one of the chapters and kindly pointed it out.
Gradually growing closer, she would later take the works of 'Han Shan Guying' (Xu Han's online pseudonym), record voice-overs for them, and upload them to audiobook platforms.
Because 'Yueying Sanren' had a pleasant and versatile voice, she was quite popular on those audiobook platforms!
Little did he know, she turned out to be his academic counselor—someone he hadn't exchanged more than a few words with in three whole years!
Yet Han Feifei had shamelessly used her identity to freeload off him for three years.
Her status showed she was online.
Xu Han stared at the chat box for a full ten minutes, utterly at a loss for how to start the conversation!
Emotional intelligence depleted; please top up.
Ding...
Just as he was wondering what to do, she posted a new status update: A new starting point!
A new starting point?
Was she going to take on the role of an academic counselor?
He remembered Tang Shiying saying during their very first class meeting in freshman year, "We are the first batch of students she is guiding!"
Xu Han copied her words.
And then added a line at the end:
Shall we set off together?
The other party instantly replied with a 'cheer' emoji!
Suddenly, heavy rain began to pour outside the window, and Xu Han turned his head to take a look.
Han Shan Guying: It's raining!
Yueying Sanren: Yeah, it's raining!
Han Shan Guying: Are you in Haicheng?
Yueying Sanren: You are too? (accompanied by a surprised emoji)
Han Shan Guying: Haicheng University!
Tang Shiying stared at the chat box. While she deeply admired his talent, she didn't really know what kind of person he was in reality.
Listening to the sound of the rain outside the window,
she suddenly thought of something, stood up, and walked over to the window!
That little fellow?
"It's raining, could that little fellow really be curled up sleeping on a sofa in an internet cafe?"
In Haicheng, September days were blazing hot, but at night, the cold wind still had a bit of a chill to it, not to mention the rain!
Recalling his dorky appearance,
Tang Shiying could practically guarantee her guess was spot on!
Senior Sister Xu had been very kind to her; she ought to look after her younger brother!
With that thought, Tang Shiying threw on a coat, grabbed an umbrella from the cabinet by the door, and hurried out!
Inside the internet cafe!
Xu Han closed the chat window, which had remained dead silent for a long while, and shivered all over.
It really was getting a little chilly.
"Boss, get me a bowl of instant noodles, add a sausage and an egg!"
"Coming right up."
Five minutes later!
A steaming bowl of instant noodles was placed in front of Xu Han.
"This long-lost feeling, is it trying to drive someone crazy with craving?"
Muttering to himself, Xu Han rubbed his palms together and dug right in.
Slurping down a mouthful of piping-hot noodles, every cell in his body seemed to awaken. At that moment, he felt like the happiest person alive.
Xu Han was someone who was easily satisfied; see, a single mouthful of instant noodles was all it took to conquer him.
A shadow blocked the light above Xu Han's head.
When he looked up, Tang Shiying, standing right before him, seemed to be glowing.
"A fairy?"
Xu Han's mouth hung half open, a strand of noodle still dangling from his lips.
"You haven't eaten?"
"Huh..."
Hearing her voice, Xu Han finally snapped back to reality.
"Ah... what... what are you doing here?"