After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

Zhu Xun Chuan bought an Americano in the lobby of the Victoria Hotel and scrolled through his phone while drinking it.

It ranked fourth on Weibo's trending topics.

#Su Mucheng's Relationship Suspected of Being Exposed#

The accompanying photo is a candid shot... taken yesterday evening outside the film studio parking lot, showing the profiles of two people. The man has his back to the camera and is tall. The woman, dressed in ancient costume, is tiptoeing towards the man's arms.

The angle was perfect, capturing the exact moment Su Mucheng took off her mask.

The comments section has exploded.

"Where did my daughter's ambition go?!"

"Who is that guy? Has anyone dug into it?"

"No way, no way? I just got into this fandom and she's already ruined her image?"

"Please, I spent three thousand yuan to buy concert tickets, and you're telling me she's in a relationship?"

Zhu Xun Chuan stuffed his phone into his pocket and tilted his head back to take a swig of Americano.

bitter.

It's much more bitter than the red wine from last night.

He left the hotel and hailed a taxi on the roadside. He didn't dare drive his Pamei, fearing he'd be caught driving under the influence.

I glanced at the trending topics again on the way.

Fourth has become second.

Su Mucheng Studio issued a statement: "The pictures are normal work scenes of staff picking up and dropping off the artist. Please do not over-interpret them."

The first comment reads: "Are you even hiring staff, or are you just putting your arm around someone's waist like that?"

Zhu Xunchuan shut down his Weibo account.

At 9:45 a.m., he walked into the Chinese Department teaching building.

He pulled his collar up as high as possible, but the damn hickey was in such a tricky spot that the edge was visible with the slightest movement of his collar. He bought a pack of band-aids at the convenience store and stuck one on below his collarbone.

It looks like a scratch.

Barely passed.

Upon entering the classroom, Lin Yuan was already seated.

The moment he saw Zhu Xunchuan, his eyes scanned him from top to bottom like a radar.

"You didn't go back to the dorm last night."

"right."

Why do you have a band-aid on your neck?

"I got it by playing basketball."

"You went to play ball so late at night?"

"It started last night." Zhu Xun Chuan sat down without changing his expression.

Lin Yuan leaned closer, sniffing twice: "What do you smell like? It's sweet."

"Shower gel, from the hotel."

"Are you staying at a hotel?"

"It was a friend's treat."

Lin Yuan opened his mouth as if to ask another question, but his gaze suddenly fell on Zhu Xun Chuan's left wrist.

Patek Philippe.

The blue-gray dial reflected a cool light under the fluorescent lamp.

Lin Yuan's mouth hung open.

"This watch...this watch...bro, did you win the lottery?"

"A friend lent it to me."

"What friend lent you their Patek Philippe?" Lin Yuan's voice cracked.

"It's fake, can you please be quiet?" Zhu Xun Chuan opened his textbook.

Lin Yuan stared intently at the watch for five seconds, then leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.

"I feel like you've been lying to me from head to toe."

Zhu Xun Chuan did not respond because he noticed that someone had sat down in the empty seat next to him.

The hem of the white floral dress swept across the chair leg.

Shen Tianxi put her schoolbag on the table, her long hair slipped down her shoulders, and she turned her face to him, giving him a soft smile.

Good morning, Brother Chuan.

"morning."

She didn't speak immediately.

She moved a few centimeters closer to him, tilting her head to get close to his neck.

Then he took a breath.

It's very light.

But Zhu Xunchuan heard it clearly.

Shen Tianxi straightened up, her smile unchanged, but the temperature in her eyes dropped a shade.

"Sweet orange flavor".

"...hotel toiletries."

"You went to a hotel last night?" Her voice was still sweet, but her eyes were definitely a little cold. "With whom?"

Zhu Xunchuan didn't respond.

Shen Tianxi's fingers slowly reached out and rested on his shirt collar.

With a gentle flick of her fingertips, the collar slipped down half an inch.

The edge of the band-aid was sticking out.

"Did you get a scratch?" She looked up at him.

"Um."

"Would you like me to blow on it for you?"

These words were spoken very gently. But the hairs on the back of Zhu Xunchuan's head stood on end.

Shen Tianxi traced a circle with her index finger along the edge of the band-aid, without tearing it off, but the gesture itself was a declaration...

She knew what was down there.

"Brother Chuan".

"Um."

"Didn't you say you weren't going to date online anymore?" Shen Tianxi withdrew her hand, took out a bottle of mineral water from her bag, and opened it with a calm gesture. "Why are there still so many girls around me?"

She took a sip of water, raised her chin, and smiled.

"It's quite erotic."

Just as Zhu Xunchuan was about to speak, the class bell rang.

The classroom door was pushed open.

Gu Qinghan walked in wearing a light gray fitted suit, her hair tied in a simple low ponytail, revealing her entire neck and ears. She looked less stern than usual, and more... indescribable.

She walked up to the podium, put down her lesson plan, and turned to face the whole class.

His gaze swept across the room, as if it were a routine task.

Then it stopped.

It stopped in the last row.

To be precise, it stopped at a distance of less than twenty centimeters between Zhu Xunchuan and Shen Tianxi.

Gu Qinghan's brow twitched slightly.

It was very slight. But Zhu Xun Chuan caught it.

"Today, a new specially appointed professor will be auditing our class and giving a lecture." Gu Qinghan opened her lesson plan, her tone regaining its composure. "Has everyone previewed the materials I assigned?"

A guilty silence fell over the crowd.

Gu Qinghan didn't pursue the matter. She turned to look at the door.

The sound of high heels echoed down the corridor.

It wasn't the crisp and clean rhythm of Gu Qinghan.

Even slower.

It's heavier.

The intervals between each step are as precise as a metronome.

The noise in the classroom automatically decreased.

Everyone looked towards the doorway.

A woman walked in.

The white, custom-tailored shirt was impeccably tailored, with the shoulder line precisely positioned at the highest point of the bone. The collar was turned up, with only the top button undone. The bottom was a black high-waisted pencil skirt that clung to the hips, perfectly showcasing the curves of the figure.

She wasn't wearing jewelry or heavy makeup. Her foundation was so light it was almost invisible, and her lip color was a cool-toned rose-beige.

But as soon as I stood there, the air around me seemed to automatically give way three steps.

It's not about having an intimidating aura.

It is a natural, unconscious sense of isolation.

It's as if there's a pane of glass separating her from the whole world; she can see you, but you can't touch her.

She walked to the front of the podium.

Pick up the chalk.

He wrote three characters on the blackboard, stroke by stroke.

Fu Xinghe.

The characters have a clear structure, with clean strokes and no unnecessary curves.

Someone in the classroom gasped in shock.

"Is this the specially appointed professor? Twenty-seven years old?"

"She's so... good-looking..."

"They're exactly the same type as Teacher Gu, but they're both so good-looking."

"Both of them are cold, but there's something different about them; the newcomer is even colder!"

Fu Xinghe put down the chalk and turned around.

Her gaze swept from the first row of the classroom to the back.

It paused for half a second when it passed Gu Qinghan.

When passing Shen Tianxi, it stopped for another 0.5 seconds.

Finally, it fell on Zhu Xunchuan.

It was not moved.

Those eyes were amber in color, shimmering with a faint golden hue in the sunlight streaming in from the window.

The pupils were calm.

Unlike Gu Qinghan's coldness, which is like a knife.

Fu Xinghe's coldness is like a lake.

Calm, still, but you don't know how deep the water is.

She looked at Zhu Xunchuan for three seconds.

There was no change in his expression.

Then she looked away, placed her hands on the edge of the podium, and parted her red lips slightly.

The sound wasn't loud.

It's cool and languid, like the winter sun... it has warmth, but it's not cozy.

Everyone in the class heard it perfectly, word for word.

"Congratulations to Xun Chuan."

The classroom was so quiet you could hear the air conditioner blowing air.

"I heard you're very good at providing 'emotional value' to the opposite sex."

Zhu Xunchuan's back stiffened.

Gu Qinghan's pen remained firmly planted on the lesson plan.

Shen Tianxi turned to look at the podium.

Fu Xinghe tilted his head slightly, the curve of his lips almost invisible, but it was definitely there.

Come to my office after class.

She paused for a second.

"Let's talk about what you said back then... 'The Milky Way is not as beautiful as you.'"

The classroom is completely dead.

Zhu Xun Chuan looked at the pair of amber eyes on the podium, and only one thought remained in his mind.

The last sentence of the letter he wrote to "The Vast Galaxy" was...

"The Milky Way is not as beautiful as you, but I dare not speak to the stars."

She deleted the second half of the sentence.