The owner came out and could not help smiling again when she saw her still standing there. The owner did not know that much about her relationship with Chi Ye.
But the older men and women in the village all knew the two were probably friends, so when Shen Zhiyi came downstairs, Uncle Zhao waved his fan and asked her where Chi Ye had gone.
The two were usually inseparable. With Shen Zhiyi alone today, he could hardly help being curious.
Shen Zhiyi sighed inwardly. Even though Chi Ye had left, the traces he had left in her life could not be erased anytime soon.
"He had work and had to head back first. Uncle Zhao, he'll come back when he has time."
Uncle Zhao's hand paused with the fan before he resumed fanning himself. There was some disappointment in his expression, but he soon took it in stride and said,
"Oh, you young people are always so busy. Still, being busy is good. Work hard while you can. Besides, one look at that boy and you can tell he's no ordinary person.
You've had it hard, Shen. That boy's temper isn't very good, either. You're about the only one who can put up with him.
Looks like you're leaving too. Here, take these sweets with you.
An old man like me doesn't have anything else to give you. Just stay safe and healthy out there. Off you go."
Shen Zhiyi looked at the sweets that had appeared in her hands and thanked Uncle Zhao in all sincerity.
"Thank you. I'll come back to visit if I get the chance. I wish you good health."
Uncle Zhao smiled warmly as she pulled her suitcase toward the village entrance, where the owner's assistant was waiting for her.
After entering the airport, she distinctly felt the contrast, like lake water stirred by the wind, ripples spreading across it one after another.
She had gone from a quiet village full of everyday warmth to a city built of steel. All around her came the sound of suitcase wheels rolling and hurried footsteps, and everyone's face was constantly tense.
After going through security, Shen Zhiyi went to her boarding gate and sat quietly, staring into space.
After parting with Chu Yannan last time, An Qian kept running into him now and then at school.
She found it amazing. Someone she used to never see even if she walked halfway around campus now happened to appear whenever she turned a corner. It would be a lie to say she was not happy. When it came to Chu Yannan, she had hopes of her own.
They were in different departments, but some of their general courses overlapped, so the two would be pleasantly surprised to discover they were in the same classroom.
An Qian was reading while she waited for the teacher to arrive when whispers soon began rising around the classroom.
[Hey, look. Is that Chu Yannan? Oh my god, it really is him. He's so handsome.]
[Chu Yannan picked this class too? Oh my god, I'm so lucky. I actually picked the same class as Chu Yannan.]
[Aaah, Chu Yannan! He's seriously so handsome. Is he looking over here? Oh my god, is he smiling? I can't take it. Mouth-to-mouth, I need mouth-to-mouth!]
[I thought this class was kind of boring, but just thinking that I'll get to study in the same classroom as Chu Yannan from now on makes me feel so happy.]
The voices around her grew louder, but An Qian was absorbed in studying and did not notice. She wore a chiffon dress, her long hair falling loose down her back.
A stray lock mischievously slipped forward, and she raised a hand to tuck it behind her ear. She sat right by the window. Outside, the trees were thick with leaves, and the green bamboo brimmed with life. Sitting there, she was as lovely as a painting.
"Hi, may I sit here?" A pleasant, melodious voice rang out. An Qian looked up, and Chu Yannan's faintly smiling figure came into view.
Her lips parted slightly, and she seemed very surprised.
"Of course," she replied.
After Chu Yannan sat down, the voices around them grew even louder. Some people knew An Qian, and some knew Chu Yannan. With the two sitting together, everyone inevitably began pairing them up.
[An Qian and Chu Yannan are sitting together. Oh my god, they actually look pretty good together.]
[Good together, my ass. Chu Yannan only sat there because there weren't any seats left, okay? Stop pairing people up just because a guy and a girl sit together!]
[A handsome guy and a pretty girl. The photo's really easy on the eyes. Besides, An Qian's no slouch, okay? She's a computer science prodigy, and she's pretty too. She and Chu Yannan make a good match.]
[Do I have to say it eight hundred times? Doesn't Chu Yannan have a fiancée? Keep pairing them up like this, and watch out for Miss Liu coming after you.]
It had started when someone took a photo of Chu Yannan and An Qian sitting together, smiling at each other, and sparked a discussion.
On S University's forum, everyone was having a field day with the gossip, leaving comments under the post one after another. Then the picture went viral, spreading at lightning speed.
Then Liu Muyan saw it.
At the time, she was happily enjoying a face mask in her apartment when those girlfriends of hers began messaging her nonstop.
Liu Muyan had finally managed to skip a class to enjoy some skincare time. When she saw the photo and her girlfriends' messages, she grew a little impatient.
She had never heard of this An Qian. What was Chu Yannan doing? In the picture, he was practically a peacock spreading its tail. What the hell was he showing off for? He was still her fiancé in name!
She touched her face mask, planning to settle the score once she finished using it.
But the others would not let her have that peace, especially those girlfriends, who had secretly been waiting for Liu Muyan to kick up a fuss.
The Chu Family and the Liu Family held equal standing in S City, and the two families were longtime friends. Before Liu Muyan was even three or four, Chu Yannan had declared that he wanted to marry her when he grew up.
Then the two careless families had simply arranged a childhood betrothal for them. Once the engagement was made, Liu Muyan became Chu Yannan's fiancée. The two went to school and grew up together, inseparable.
After that, the cooperation between the two families and their public reputations kept improving.
Who knew what had gotten into Chu Yannan later? Once, when someone called Liu Muyan his fiancée, he got angry on the spot and shouted in front of everyone that he had no feelings for Liu Muyan and only saw her as a younger sister.
Naturally, everyone was taken aback. Chu Yannan also looked as though he had endured some deep, long-standing grievance, leading everyone to mistakenly believe he had been forced into it.
Then rumors spread that Liu Muyan loved Chu Yannan without having her feelings returned and was using her family's power to threaten him.
Liu Muyan was no pushover, of course. After Chu Yannan finished shouting, she struck him right on the head. She had been putting up with that wretched bastard for far too long.
Remembering Chu Yannan's past bouts of madness made her skin crawl. Having a childhood friend like him was just her bad luck.
She had just put down her phone, intending to close her eyes and rest for a moment, when it suddenly rang again. She glanced at it. It was one of her fake girlfriends.
She answered, switched on speakerphone, and set it on the table.
"Hello, Mumu? Have you seen the posts on the forum? This is seriously outrageous!" The call was from Shan Yirou.
Liu Muyan knew perfectly well that this woman liked Chu Yannan.
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