Shy?

After the monthly exams, September arrived. After two weeks of dull studying, universities across the country began holding vibrant campus sports meets.

And a tall, handsome guy like Ding Yebai was bound to be pressured into signing up for one or two events.

He actually had no interest in them. If their homeroom teacher hadn't said everyone had to enter one event, he wouldn't have waited until the last minute to sign up for the 800-meter race.

There were no classes during the sports meet. In the evenings, the boarding students would watch movies in the classroom during evening self-study.

The day students simply went home to have fun.

He had nothing to do on the first day. The long-distance races wouldn't take place until the following days.

After spending the whole day doing nothing in the campus class rest area, he returned home and lazily sprawled across his bed.

"It's been a long time since I've been this free."

He stared blankly at the ceiling and sighed.

Indeed, life in senior year was rather dull. Every day consisted of doing practice papers, listening to the teacher's lectures, doing more practice papers, and listening to more lectures.

There was nothing new about it.

Since he finally had a rare break from classes and studying, he should take the chance to get some proper rest.

He turned over and got up, walked into the music room, sat down at the piano, and calmly played a piece of River Flows In You.

Before he knew it, the gentle, melodious piano music had drifted out through the window.

And fallen into Yang Zhi's ears.

She had just reached his front door. After hearing the piano, she didn't press the doorbell and disturb him.

It somehow felt like a sin to interrupt such beautiful piano music.

She smiled faintly, tightened the strap of her shoulder bag, took out a White Rabbit milk candy and put it in her mouth, then gazed quietly toward the music room.

"I didn't expect you to play the piano so beautifully, too."

"No wonder your sister said you're incredibly popular. Come to think of it, I can understand why."

After sighing inwardly for a while, the smile at the corners of Yang Zhi's lips grew even sweeter.

Only after quite some time, when the music ended, did she press the doorbell, enter the house, and begin tutoring him.

When Ding Yebai encountered an unfamiliar word while doing a reading exercise, he casually asked Yang Zhi about it.

In his eyes, Yang Zhi knew everything. There was nothing she didn't know, and she could explain anything to him clearly.

After all, he had heard that she was the top liberal-arts student. Surely she wasn't lacking in knowledge.

During the five-minute break, Ding Yebai went to the balcony to enjoy the evening breeze as usual.

This time, Yang Zhi didn't remain seated in the bedroom. Instead, she walked over slowly with her hands behind her back and stood beside him.

"What are you looking at?" she asked softly.

Ding Yebai glanced at her, then turned his face away and looked up at the night sky. A smile rose involuntarily at the corners of his lips. "I don't know. I just felt like looking at the stars."

Yang Zhi smiled and looked up with him.

"I've always thought Ding Yebai and Ding Yuerong were beautiful names. You can tell right away that they're related to the night."

"Mm. My mom says that, too."

"Yuerong means the gentle, warm moonlight rippling across the sky. And Yebai..." She paused. "The dew is white beneath tonight's moon, and the moon is brighter over my hometown. Haha, I don't know if I'm guessing correctly, but whenever I hear Ye Bai, I think of that poem."

"You guessed correctly."

"Haha. By the way, are you planning to apply to Huaqing University?"

"Mm. My cousin and her husband both went to Huaqing. I want to get in, too."

"Is it because of them?"

"Not entirely. I also want to prove myself by getting into Huaqing. I'm still a little short of the mark, but I'll keep working hard."

After saying that, he looked at Yang Zhi, his tone slightly less cold than usual. "Sister Yang Zhi, please keep helping me, all right?"

The question left Yang Zhi completely flustered.

Looking at Ding Yebai's face, she unexpectedly felt awkward for a moment.

Her pupils instantly widened and her mouth fell slightly open. Only after several seconds did she calm herself and nod.

"Of, of course. I did promise your sister, after all. It's my responsibility."

Ding Yebai was delighted inside, but his face remained cold.

He rested his hand on the railing and looked up at the night sky, watching the twinkling stars. Then he said, "Looking at these stars reminds me of something I once read."

"What?" Yang Zhi asked.

Ding Yebai said, "Every atom in your body came from an exploding star. The atoms in your left hand may have come from a different star than the atoms in your right hand. So..."

He paused, and the corners of his eyes curved as he looked at Yang Zhi. His tone was twice as gentle as usual.

"So, everything about you is stardust."

"..."

Yang Zhi froze on the spot.

Her eyes stared straight ahead. Although she was looking, she couldn't take in anything at all.

What kind of feeling was this?

It was like an orange quietly lifting the night sky, followed by a brief snowfall that didn't disturb any sweet dreams. Even though she had seen the first snow before, she still couldn't control the excitement surging through her heart.

That's right.

How could someone as knowledgeable as her not know this line?

But she had never imagined that one day, someone would say it to her face with such tenderness.

Yang Zhi kept her hands behind her back. Hearing Ding Yebai say that, she became so nervous that she started rubbing the corner of her clothes.

Her usually composed self rarely found herself at a loss.

She abruptly turned her head aside, her gaze drifting away, and coughed twice to ease the awkwardness. "Mm. It's pretty good."

Ding Yebai asked, "Don't you think it's beautiful?"

Yang Zhi said, "Huh?"

This conversation felt so familiar. Hadn't they had it when they first met?

Ding Yebai asked, "Isn't it romantic?"

Yang Zhi said, "...Romantic."

Afterward, she glanced at the watch on her arm and said, "Um... it's time for class. Let's go."

She really didn't know what else to say, so she could only use class as an excuse to end the conversation.

Ding Yebai watched her profile and sighed after a long while.

It looked like Sister Yang Zhi had known the line from the beginning. He had wanted to cheer her up a little.

That made sense. She had read so widely; how could she not know it?

"Sister Yang Zhi, do you think I was spouting some cheesy pickup line...?"

"Huh?"

"Your expression says it all. Don't secretly laugh at me. Come on, let's go to class." After saying that, Ding Yebai turned around and walked toward the bedroom on his own.

Yang Zhi: "???"

Yang Zhi blinked at his back, feeling that he was being rather strange.

Ding Yebai continued walking forward. After a while, a soft voice drifted into his ears. When he turned around, he discovered that Yang Zhi was already standing behind him.

She had picturesque features and a gentle, serene expression. With both hands behind her back, she was still the same tranquil girl.

"To be honest, I've heard this line before. It's from Lawrence Krauss's A Universe from Nothing."

"..."

"I never thought it was a cheesy pickup line. It's the most poetic sentence about physics I've ever heard."

She smiled sweetly. "Everything about you is stardust... Mm, I saw it a long time ago. Thanks to you, I remembered this warm and romantic line again."

Just looking at her made Ding Yebai's heart race. That little red heart seemed ready to leap out of his throat.

He forced himself to maintain his aloofness and said, "It's nothing. I just happened to remember it." Then he quickly turned around and went back to the bedroom.

"Time to study, time to study."

"Mm."

The harmony from the beginning was restored.

Thanks to 20201025143756411 for the 100 Origin Point Coins, book friend 20210424010319025 for the 500 Origin Point Coins, the 500 Origin Point Coins from "Names Will Always Be Repeated," and Amireux for the 100 Origin Point Coins.