"Look."
Her friend gestured toward the stage with her chin, signaling with her eyes.
The girl with the oval face quickly put on her glasses, cupped her chin, and began to admire the sight.
The young man beside Elder Professor Zhang Yanping listened with rapt attention, occasionally nodding slightly, frowning in thought, or his expression clearing with a flash of understanding. He had a bright, clean aura, as gentle as a spring breeze in March, with long eyelashes and delicate yet defined features.
It was hard to describe, but he had that familiar youthful innocence unique to a school campus. His features, not yet fully matured, held a hint of boyishness, yet his physique was nearly identical to that of an adult.
This created a striking contrast.
The blazing sunlight streamed through the window, striking him right in the eyes the moment he looked up.
The young man raised a hand to block it, tilted his head to the left, and went back to listening with his head lowered.
Those perfectly ordinary clothes looked effortlessly casual and comfortable on him.
Without a doubt, in those few short seconds, Chen Yuan had unintentionally captured the hearts of many girls in the classroom.
The world has its own kind of fairness. It’s a simple truth that being handsome makes you more popular with the opposite sex.
Although many of the girls had never said it out loud, for the nearly one semester they had been at the university, most of them in the class had imagined what it would be like to date Chen Yuan.
Take Wu Lanlan, for example. She had tried just that once, and she wasn’t too upset after being gently rejected.
Chen Yuan—he was outstanding, self-disciplined, hardworking, polite, and understated.
He deserved to be liked.
The other girls in the class didn’t have Wu Lanlan’s courage. At most, they would steal a few extra glances, never anything blatant. This wasn’t the same as a high school secret crush—it was more of a fleeting infatuation.
A flutter of the heart doesn’t necessarily have to lead to a relationship.
Even just watching him quietly from the sidelines was pleasant enough.
Of course, this was all on the condition that Chen Yuan didn’t date any of the girls in the class. Most girls were prone to jealousy, and if no one had him, then they could accept not having him with peace of mind.
If one of them did end up with him, that subtle, unspoken understanding would likely shatter.
It wasn’t out of the question that the other girls would then isolate and distance themselves from that girl.
Take An Jiaxin, who had just put on her glasses, and Mo Nan, for example. Right now, they were good friends who could admire Chen Yuan together, bound by a great friendship where neither would hog him for herself. But if either An Jiaxin or Mo Nan started dating Chen Yuan...
Then... sorry, but it would be an all-out war the very next second!
Watching him like this, An Jiaxin felt so happy. An imperceptible smile touched the corners of her lips as she secretly took out her phone. CLICK. She sneakily snapped a photo and saved it to an album named "crush."
The album contained quite a few photos of Chen Yuan.
The album was aptly named. A "crush," in this context, refers to someone who makes a girl’s heart flutter—an object of affection outside of an actual relationship.
Its pronunciation in Chinese also lends itself to a rather crude pun.
On short-video apps, you can often see girls posting about swoon-worthy moments with their crushes, fantasizing wildly in their own heads while not daring to say a peep in real life, with a whole group of other girls gushing along with them.
They’d say things like, "That would totally make my heart flutter," "Ahhhh, sis, I get it!", and "Ahhhh, sis, you’re so cute too!!!"
However, most guys hated the "crush" concept. When the word appeared in short videos, it was often accompanied by some girl’s unhinged, grammatically incorrect ramblings, a bunch of random hashtags, and a mix of sweet potato and watermelon emojis.
Taking photos of people without their permission was unethical, and Chen Yuan was not a fan of it.
He had no idea that a picture of him at this very moment, head bowed as he asked a question, had already been saved to the photo libraries of certain female classmates.
The only thing in his ears was the earnest guidance of Professor Zhang Yanping. "If I’m not mistaken, the reference book you’re reading is Xu Yichao’s *Linear Algebra and Matrix Theory*, isn’t it?"
"Yes, Professor."
"That one isn’t really suitable for a first-year student. In fact, most linear algebra textbooks aren’t suitable for beginners. The majority of their authors were students of Mr. Hua Luogeng, who was on another level entirely, so their work is disconnected from a beginner’s mindset. Here, let me recommend a few for you..."
Chen Yuan took out his notebook and jotted them down. Just as he was about to express his thanks...
...the old professor added another comment that left him feeling both flattered and startled.
"I can tell you’ve been studying this diligently, you’re just not going about it the right way. That’s why your solution became too convoluted to continue. And you even dared to use proof by contradiction, even if the steps were wrong... Not bad. You’re a promising candidate for theoretical research."
Receiving praise from Elder Professor Zhang was a great honor.
Chen Yuan blushed slightly and scratched his head. "Thank you, Professor."
"Off you go."
Then, as he stepped off the stage, Chen Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, his steps feeling much lighter.
He felt that his time spent holed up in the library the past few days, plus the whole afternoon of studying over the weekend, hadn’t been in vain. He was genuinely moving in the right direction.
This, perhaps, was the meaning of learning: you reap what you sow.
Back at his seat, Chen Yuan continued to study the optimal solution, following the general principles he had outlined.
His expression was focused, the end of his gel pen trembling incessantly.
Just then, a breeze blew in from the window. It carried a slight chill, flipping over a page of his book and rustling the strands of hair that lay lazily across Chen Yuan’s forehead.
...
Night slowly fell. In Lanjing, the city lights began to sparkle, and the streets filled with an endless stream of traffic.
Jiangg Ning got off work and was driving home. She had received a call and would probably be having dinner at a friend’s place tonight.
’I wonder what’s wrong now. Judging by their tone, it doesn’t sound like anything minor...’
She planned to go home first to sort out dinner for Jiangg Yao, then head out herself.
That way, she wouldn’t have to worry about her sister not eating properly.
On the way, as she drove, she replayed the scene from the office in her mind.
Jiangg Ning knew. Chen Yuan’s behavior, the way he’d acted jealous—it was undeniable proof that he hadn’t moved on from their relationship. He still liked her.
The thoughts she had worked so hard to put aside came fluttering back, and her cold, hard heart began to stir.
Jiangg Ning couldn’t help but wonder, ’Is this relationship really over?’
’Why do we keep running into each other at the university?’
’Why can’t I bring myself to stay away from Chen Yuan?’
’Why can’t I say the cold words that are on the tip of my tongue?’
’Why do I blush and my heart race whenever I see him? Why can’t I help but stare?’
’Just why?’
’I know perfectly well that the best choice is to cut all ties and live my life, but I just can’t bring myself to treat Chen Yuan with the same indifference I show other students.’
’Do I really have to leave Lanjing for this to work...?’
’Or... there’s the other option.’
’Since we like each other, maybe we should just forget the consequences. This rare connection might be a once-in-a-lifetime thing, something I’ll never find again.’
’I could even resign. For true love...’
Jiangg Ning quickly shook her head. She decided she needed to talk to Jiangg Yao and ask her how she managed to get over Chen Yuan.
’Who knows, I might get some valuable experience!’