Surprise

Nan Xiuxiu!

Jiang Ran's right hand gripped the edge of the table.

Twice in just two hours, he'd encountered this girl, and both times it was in such a terrifying situation... Was this girl a ghost?

"Why are you here?"

Jiang Ran asked warily:

"Were you following me?"

"What do you mean following, that sounds so unpleasant!" Nan Xiuxiu protested, hands on her hips.

Jiang Ran remained silent.

He didn't believe her at all.

If she wasn't following him, how could she have tracked him down precisely across two districts of Donghai?

It was too unbelievable.

And she was standing outside his door, peeking in without a sound; it was extremely suspicious.

"I came because I was worried about you!" Nan Xiuxiu emphasized.

"How did you know I was here?" Jiang Ran pressed.

He hadn't answered Nan Xiuxiu's calls, nor had he told anyone he was coming to Donghai University's Film Club. If she didn't have precise tracking, there was no way she could have found him.

"The dating app!"

Nan Xiuxiu dangled her phone:

"You forgot? The dating app we're linked on allows us to see each other's location and whereabouts."

"..."

This hit a blind spot in Jiang Ran's knowledge.

There was such an app?

He opened his phone and, sure enough, on the second page of his apps, he found one called "Love," with an icon of two hearts pressed together.

He tapped it open.

The homepage displayed a giant "[We've Been Dating for 4 Days!]" with profile pictures of Jiang Ran and Nan Xiuxiu on either side.

Oh my god...

His scalp tingled.

Was this him?

Jiang Ran fell into deep suspicion.

He truly wished he could look in a mirror right now, to see if some Worldline Jump had gone awry and transported him into someone else's body.

Below the app, there was indeed a list of movements.

He tapped it open, and his day's itinerary was laid out clearly.

It wasn't just his current location... it was incredibly detailed, showing every precise route, including his stealthy infiltration into Donghai University, all clearly marked on the map.

Similarly, he could see Nan Xiuxiu's movements.

She had taken a taxi from the villa district, just like him, then came to Donghai University and followed his exact route to the club building.

"What kind of perverted software is this?"

Jiang Ran frowned, immediately wanting to uninstall this troublesome app.

It was suffocating.

Was this how dating was supposed to work? There was absolutely no privacy.

"Where is it perverted?"

Nan Xiuxiu snorted:

"This is a record of our love~"

Click.

Jiang Ran locked his phone screen and stared at her:

"Why are you here?"

"To apologize to you." Nan Xiuxiu blinked.

?

An unexpected answer.

"Apologize for what?" Jiang Ran asked.

"After you left, I called Wang Hao and only then did I find out you have a childhood friend named Cheng Mengxue..."

Nan Xiuxiu said earnestly:

"Sorry, I didn't mean to joke."

She clasped her hands together:

"I meant no harm. It's just that you never mentioned her before, and I didn't know she had passed away... Anyway, I misspoke, and I hope you don't mind."

Jiang Ran quietly looked at her.

Such a sincere and straightforward apology was quite a contrast to her arrogant exterior.

The joke Nan Xiuxiu was referring to must have been, "Cheng Mengxue, could she be your ex-girlfriend?"... She had just come out of the restroom then and overheard him calling that name while talking to Wang Hao on the phone, which was why she came out to ask.

Actually, to be honest, Jiang Ran didn't feel that statement was offensive at all.

Firstly, he didn't believe Cheng Mengxue was truly dead; with the positron cannon and spacetime messages, Cheng Mengxue could only be considered "temporarily" dead.

Secondly, he didn't consider Nan Xiuxiu his girlfriend, nor did he accept it, so no matter how much she fussed, Jiang Ran didn't care.

"It's nothing."

Jiang Ran said casually:

"I didn't mind."

"Hehe~"

Nan Xiuxiu's demeanor shifted to playful and mischievous once more:

"Actually, you don't need to hide things like this from me. Even though I'm your girlfriend, I'm not that petty."

"Besides, even if... even if you really had an ex-girlfriend, it wouldn't matter. We only met in college, I won't dwell on past events."

"But don't run off because of this kind of thing next time. I was very worried about you late at night, and you weren't answering your phone..."

"Alright, alright."

Jiang Ran interrupted her:

"Let's go, the patrol is coming soon."

He had indeed seen the flashlights of the school patrol from afar and didn't want any trouble.

But more importantly, he didn't want to share these secrets with Nan Xiuxiu.

The Film Club, Worldline Jump, positron cannon, spacetime messages... he didn't want her to know any of it.

So, let's leave quickly.

The two left the activity room. Jiang Ran carefully locked the door and then placed the spare key back under the flowerpot before leading Nan Xiuxiu away from the club building.

After exiting the building, the patrol's flashlights were not far away.

The two quickly crouched and quietly took a detour, finally reaching the small grove near the west gate without incident.

"Hey, you still haven't told me."

Nan Xiuxiu poked Jiang Ran:

"It's one thing for you to sneak out in the middle of the night, but why did you come here? What kind of club is that? It looks so run-down."

"Film Club."

Jiang Ran made up a reason to brush her off:

"It's a club for film camera enthusiasts. I have a friend there, and I came here to find him last time. I might have left something here, so I came to look for it."

This reason was far-fetched, but he couldn't think of a better one at the moment, so he had to stick to his guns.

"Oh."

Nan Xiuxiu didn't think too deeply:

"Why haven't you mentioned it before?"

"Heh."

Jiang Ran chuckled:

"Big sister, we've only been dating for [4 days]. I can't possibly tell you my whole family history, can I?"

"That's not necessary," Nan Xiuxiu pouted.

Jiang Ran glanced at his watch:

"It's getting late, let's head back to the dorms."

This whole ordeal had already made it four in the morning; it was better to just go back to the dorms and sleep.

Saying that, Jiang Ran started walking towards the dormitory building, but Nan Xiuxiu turned and walked towards the west gate of the school.

?

?

They both turned around simultaneously, question marks above their heads, and looked at each other in confusion.

"Where are you going?"

"Where are you going?"

Jiang Ran pointed south.

"The dorms are this way."

Pfft—

Nan Xiuxiu burst out laughing.

"Big brother! Are you still confused? This is Donghai University!"

"Yeah, so what?"

Jiang Ran was puzzled.

He was a student at Donghai University. Where else would he go if not the Donghai University dorms?

"Alright, alright, stop messing around."

Nan Xiuxiu grabbed Jiang Ran's arm and walked quickly towards the west gate, then pushed him through a hole in the fence.

"Where are we going?"

Jiang Ran asked, but received no answer.

It was clear Nan Xiuxiu was tired of discussing it with him.

Nan Xiuxiu walked to a taxi, opened the rear door, and pushed Jiang Ran inside.

Then she got in herself and closed the door.

"Driver, take us to Donghai Vocational College of Foreign Economy and Trade."

???

Jiang Ran's neck stiffened.

"What are we going there for?"

Nan Xiuxiu looked at him like he was an idiot.

"To go back to our school."

Our school?

Jiang Ran froze.

Donghai Vocational College of Foreign Economy and Trade.

Vocational College?

He gasped.

"A junior college!?"