My Online Friend Can't Be This Cute

Well, even when she sat in the front row, she always looked prim and proper.

Maybe she genuinely enjoyed studying these academic subjects too, he thought.

At first, influenced by Yan Nuoya, he had tried hard to pay attention in class.

But before long, he started getting sleepy.

Apparently, he was better suited to listening with a purpose. At least he did not get this sleepy during major-related classes.

"What's wrong?" A soft question pulled him from his thoughts.

He steadied himself, only to find Yan Nuoya's familiar face already close to his.

Probably to avoid disturbing the others as much as possible, she had leaned slightly toward him.

Her bright, captivating eyes were practically right in front of him, making him instinctively shift his gaze away.

Only then did he realize how close they were. He could even smell the faint, fresh scent of body wash on Yan Nuoya.

"I was just thinking, you're this attentive even when it isn't a major-related class."

There was no need to beat around the bush over something like this, so he said it directly.

"Mm, it is class, after all." Yan Nuoya nodded lightly. "Besides, I'm somewhat interested in what the teacher is talking about."

Mo Xiangwen nodded in agreement, then prepared to force himself to stay awake and keep listening.

But unexpectedly, Yan Nuoya did not immediately turn her attention back to class. Instead, she simply stared at him.

Her face, usually either expressionless or smiling, rarely showed such a conflicted look.

After thinking for a moment, he understood what Yan Nuoya was conflicted about.

Sure enough, Yan Nuoya resembled him, but they were not the same.

Though Yan Nuoya was rational too, she also had a strong emotional side and was kinder than him.

He suddenly realized that his thinking had been wrong from the start.

Even if he was inevitably affected by certain bodily hormones and occasionally acted on impulse—

He had seen too many classic cases and would do his best to avoid risks.

Fundamentally, he was no longer just an ordinary college student.

"If you want to help, then help." Mo Xiangwen spoke softly. "I just needed a reason. It's not like I truly didn't want to help."

Yan Nuoya could not help letting out a breath of relief.

She had not planned to bring it up again. She had considered taking on the counselor's request alone, since the counselor mainly needed her anyway.

But just as the counselor had said, Yan Nuoya knew she neither liked nor excelled at dealing with people.

If she took on the request alone, it would most likely end with good intentions causing trouble.

She had wanted to say they could forget it if he truly did not want to, but that suddenly felt unnecessary.

Yan Nuoya hesitantly asked, "Then... I'll owe you a favor?"

Rarely seeing her so conflicted and hesitant, Mo Xiangwen could not help laughing softly. But since class was in session, he did not dare laugh too obviously and draw attention, leaving him struggling to hold it in.

It was not until the embarrassed Yan Nuoya darkened her face and viciously poked him in the waist that he finally settled down.

"What would I need a favor from you for?" Mo Xiangwen shook his head, suppressing his laughter. "It's just a small favor. Don't take it to heart."

After class, the two of them went to the office again.

Perhaps most of the teachers had not returned from class yet. Only three or five teachers were working in the office.

Fortunately, their counselor, Fu Qianping, was there as well.

She looked as exhausted as ever, but the moment she saw the two of them arrive, her expression brightened considerably.

"You're here. Have you thought it over?"

Yan Nuoya said, "Yes, Teacher. We've decided to take on this task."

Though she had already guessed their answer when she saw them, Fu Qianping finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing what she wanted.

"It's a good thing you agreed. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to convince Shishi." Fu Qianping complained, "I have no idea where she found this so-called friend who said he could bring her into the school."

"Never mind whether he's a good person or a bad person—how could I dare hand Shishi over to someone of unknown background?"

"The key is that Shishi seems to trust him a lot. I have no idea where she got so much confidence in a stranger."

For some reason, Mo Xiangwen suddenly felt as if an arrow had struck his knee.

Yan Nuoya said, "It sounds like this person is also a student at H University. If that's the case, couldn't you just have her bring that friend to meet you then?"

"We definitely need to meet." Fu Qianping sighed, speaking with a hint of worry. "Otherwise, one day my daughter might get abducted and I'd still be in the dark."

Mo Xiangwen hesitated before asking, "So what now? Should we arrange to meet that person at the school gate?"

Fu Qianping shook her head, her tone unfriendly. "No. I told Shishi to invite him directly to the office. Let's see if he dares to come."

He began seriously considering whether he should turn around and ask Baibai if her mom worked at H University.

"Oh, right. I forgot to ask—what's your daughter's name, Counselor?" Yan Nuoya asked. "Otherwise, it'll be hard to greet her when the time comes."

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. Look at this memory of mine."

"Bai Shishi. The Shi from Book of Songs. She's as cute as her name." Fu Qianping's smile and voice were equally gentle. "Bai Shishi is a good child. I'm sure you'll like her."

Mo Xiangwen froze on the spot, suddenly overcome by the urge to flake out on both sides.

PS: I forgot. I should have used "Modest" or "Flawless" as the title. Sigh.

Club Recruitment Day

"Old Mo, want to go check out the clubs later?" Xi Shaojie asked.

"No... wait, maybe I will."

"What do you mean, maybe you will or maybe you won't?" Xi Shaojie frowned. "If you're going, go take a look with the bros."

"I can't go with you guys. I've got something else to do." Mo Xiangwen shook his head and declined.

"What is it?"

"What do you mean, what is it? I think you're the one who doesn't get it. Doesn't he have to accompany Classmate Yan?" Zhong Taihong sneered. "Brothers can't compare to women, huh?"

He wanted to say they had misunderstood. He had never considered accompanying Yan Nuoya around the clubs, and neither of them seemed like the type to join a club.

But then he thought about what they were about to do.

Were he and Yan Nuoya together? Were they checking out clubs?

Fine. What was there left to explain?

His silence was taken by his roommates as an admission.

"Ah, Old Mo, haven't you heard? Brothers are like hands and feet, women are like clothes." Xi Shaojie walked over, slung an arm around his shoulder, and let out a heavy sigh. "I never thought the bond between us would be so fragile."

"What bond do I have with you idiots?" Mo Xiangwen said with a dark face. "Get lost."

Just after the lunch break, he received a message from Yan Nuoya saying that the counselor and her daughter were already waiting for them in the office.

Of course, at the same time, he also received a message from Baibai saying she was waiting for him in the office.

Now the heart hanging in the air was finally dead.

Although he had confirmed it with Baibai yesterday, he had still held onto a tiny sliver of hope.

Maybe it was just his survival instinct at work, he thought, then sighed at the drifting clouds overhead.

It was fine. When he imagined the expression and reaction Yan Nuoya might have upon discovering that Bai Shishi knew him, it did not seem quite so painful anymore.

What was going on? A huge "DANGER" sign had clearly appeared over his head, yet he suddenly felt a little anticipation.

Mm, he must simply be looking forward to seeing Baibai too much.

Still, although they were going to the office, he first had to meet up with Yan Nuoya. Otherwise, whoever arrived first would be left awkwardly standing there alone.

Yan Nuoya was not good at socializing, but how much better was he?

Just imagining the scene later made his stomach ache. His feelings were extremely complicated.

Before he even reached the Small Plaza, he could see from afar that the plaza and both sides of the surrounding main road were filled with tents from all sorts of clubs.

All kinds of signboards stood before the tents, while upperclassmen enthusiastically called out to passing freshmen.

"Come on over, take a look—"

Hm? Was it his imagination, or did that sales pitch sound a little off?

He wondered where Su Mengyao and Su Mengli were right now. Su Mengyao had said she was going to help the Anime Club, but after scanning the area, he did not see any sign of it.

Logically speaking, a club full of people in bizarre costumes should have been the most conspicuous one.

Suddenly, someone patted his shoulder from behind.

He stopped and turned around, only to discover it was their class monitor, Dong Xiang.

"Mo Xiangwen, good afternoon." Dong Xiang asked with a cheerful smile, "Here to check out the clubs?"

"Class Monitor, good afternoon." Mo Xiangwen glanced behind him. Besides the vice class monitor, Li Xiaoxiao, several other classmates were there too, chatting together.

"Want to come with us?" Dong Xiang pointed behind him with his thumb. "We ran into quite a few classmates on the way, so we decided to look around together."

Once Dong Xiang said that, the other students behind him noticed Mo Xiangwen as well and came over to greet him.

"No, I'll pass. I have something else to do." Mo Xiangwen shook his head. "Have fun."

The moment he said that, the others all wore knowing expressions.

Li Xiaoxiao blinked and smiled. "As for Classmate Yan, I saw her heading toward the Small Plaza just now."

Although he had already arranged a meeting place with Yan Nuoya, they meant well as classmates, so there was no need to be cold toward them.

"Really? Thanks, Vice Class Monitor."

He could not even be bothered explaining anymore. His conscience was clear, and that was enough.

Dong Xiang said enviously, "That's great. I want to walk around with a beautiful girl too."

The moment he said that, the male students in the group immediately chimed in.

"Yeah, yeah. Mo Xiangwen, why don't you ask Classmate Yan whether any of her roommates are looking for a boyfriend?"

"I know Classmate Yan is pretty too," Li Xiaoxiao said darkly, "but the way you put it makes us sound terrible."

Li Xiaoxiao had wanted to get angry, but when she considered the gap between the four of them and Yan Nuoya, a gap so vast that the boys' reactions suddenly seemed understandable.

There were only four girls in the class besides Yan Nuoya, and they all shared the same dormitory, so naturally they were all here too.

With that one remark, they had offended every girl in the class.

Objectively speaking, the girls in their class were fairly pretty. After all, high school girls and college girls had youth, the best makeup of all.

As long as they knew how to dress themselves up a little, none of them would look bad.

But comparing them to Yan Nuoya was a little excessive. Even Yan Nuoya without makeup was beyond their reach.

Besides, he did not seem to have ever smelled any strong perfume on Yan Nuoya.

"I think you might need to apologize?" Mo Xiangwen coughed and lowered his voice to remind them. "There are only four girls in our class, and plenty of guys, but don't they know girls from other classes too?"

After being reminded, Dong Xiang and the other boys quickly turned to apologize.

After parting with his classmates, he arrived at the Small Plaza and, sure enough, saw a white figure on the steps.

He checked the time. There were still more than ten minutes until their agreed time of three o'clock.

He had a habit of leaving some extra time for unexpected events, so he generally arrived well ahead of schedule. Yet Yan Nuoya had apparently come even earlier than him.

"Nuoya." He jogged over to Yan Nuoya's side. "You got here so fast."

"Just got here." Yan Nuoya smiled lightly. "Only one or two minutes before you."

"Then let's go. We shouldn't keep the counselor waiting too long."

Thus, the two of them headed toward the office side by side.

"You seem pretty excited?" Yan Nuoya blinked. "Even though you were against it at first?"

"Since I agreed to help you, I should be proactive about it." Mo Xiangwen shrugged. "Otherwise, if I was going to half-ass it, I might as well have refused from the start."