Jiang Zao couldn’t put into words the emotions stirring inside her after hearing those words.
The breeze suddenly felt too slow, too tepid against her skin.
He watched her without the slightest shift in his gaze.
It wasn’t deep affection, nor overtly flirtatious—untainted by ulterior motives. Those eyes, which usually sparkled with mischief, now brimmed with unfeigned honesty.
It was a quality she found impossibly hard to emulate.
Jiang Zao pressed her lips together. All at once, the bouquet cradled in her arms felt scorching hot. She took half a step back and fixed her stare on the petals. “Um… then.”
“Then I really am quite the handful, aren’t I?”
Heavens, what on earth was she doing, blurting out such nonsense?
Xie Lisheng let out a soft, mocking chuckle.
The conversation stalled right there. Neither of them spoke.
The air began to circulate once more, laced with an unspoken tension that hung between them.
Jiang Zao glanced at the time on her phone and thrust the flowers back into his hands.
Xie Lisheng raised a silent eyebrow in question.
She explained, “I’m about to go on stage for the outstanding graduate address. Just wait here for me, okay? Um… I’ll treat you to lunch at the cafeteria.”
“Graduates get free meal coupons at the cafeteria today.”
With that, Jiang Zao spun on her heel and dashed toward the graduation venue. Her flushed cheeks flashed by in an instant, and the hem of her master’s gown flared out behind her like the wings of a bird in flight.
Xie Lisheng clutched the bouquet and watched her recede into the distance, a touch of absentmindedness in his eyes.
~~~
The graduation ceremony dragged on for ages. More than an hour in, they finally reached the outstanding graduate address.
Jiang Zao hurried back to the wings, straightened her appearance, clutched her speech script, and lined up behind the undergraduate graduates waiting to take the stage.
Xie Lisheng found a spot closer to the action—somehow at the tail end of an undergraduate class lineup. He pulled over a chair and sat down.
The students around him stole furtive glances, wondering if this stylish, handsome guy was a teacher or a student’s family member.
He was so tall that the student-sized chair looked comically small and low. Xie Lisheng leaned forward, elbows propped on his knees, and gazed lazily at the current speaker on stage.
It was a sunny day with a gentle breeze. Jiang Zao stood ramrod straight before the standing microphone, the tassel of her academic cap swaying left and right in the wind—a dynamic backdrop that only accentuated her poised beauty.
The script seemed etched into her memory. Facing the sea of students and professors below, she opened with a steady voice: “Respected leaders and teachers, dear students, good day. It is my great honor to speak as the representative of the master’s graduates at this solemn yet joyful graduation ceremony. First, allow me to express my gratitude to those who have nurtured, supported, and guided us all this time…”
Speeches like these usually followed a rote template, their content as predictable as ever. But when the dry words flowed from her naturally gentle timbre, the audience fell silent in unison, drawn in and immersed in the soothing cadence of her voice.
The venue grew noticeably quieter than before.
Addressing thousands of graduates alongside deans and legendary professors was no small feat, even for those accustomed to public speaking. Few encountered scenes like this every day.
Everyone couldn’t help but admire her relaxed yet composed presence on stage. They whispered praises of how impressive she was, and some even asked who she was.
Xie Lisheng’s gaze drifted downward, catching the way her fingertips had turned white from pinching the corner of her script out of shape.
His expression remained unchanged, save for the subtle arch of his brow.
~~~
Only after stepping off the stage did Jiang Zao fully unwind. She was about to slip away when she remembered Xie Lisheng was still somewhere in the crowd.
It was an open-air event, so spotting someone with just her eyes was no easy task. She pulled out her phone and fired off a WeChat message.
After searching for ages, she found the man planted at the end of some undergraduate class’s lineup, shamelessly occupying someone else’s seat and lounging there like some entitled lord.
From behind, he looked almost comical—holding the flowers obediently, sitting there waiting to be claimed like a lost pet.
It was strangely off-putting, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
Jiang Zao approached with half her face shielded, tapped his shoulder, and whispered, “C’mon, let’s go eat.”
Even so, a few students still turned to look.
Xie Lisheng caught the glances out of the corner of his eye and, with deliberate volume, turned to her and said, “Oh, there you are? I thought you’d ditched me.”
The onlookers: ?!
What was the deal with these two?!
Mortified, Jiang Zao urged him, “Aiya… hurry up, let’s go, let’s go…”
Xie Lisheng’s lips curved into an even broader smirk. He said no more, stood up, and followed her lead.
The graduation program was interminably long. Plenty of students had already snuck out to snap photos or beat the rush to the cafeteria. For most, the real highlight of graduation day was posing for group pictures with classmates and strolling around campus.
Boring addresses and reports? They skipped those whenever possible.
Nanchuan Media School sprawled across a impressively vast campus, complete with no fewer than seven or eight cafeterias.
Jiang Zao figured she’d treat him to a quick meal, wolf it down, and send this unwelcome intruder on his way. The last thing she needed was for someone who knew Xie Lisheng’s identity to spot them strolling around campus.
Everyone had a smartphone these days. If they got snapped and the photo went viral online, it would spell disaster if anyone from the company saw it.
Xie Lisheng had done both his bachelor’s and master’s at Nancheng Polytechnic and had never set foot in any other school. Years after graduation, stepping back onto a campus felt strangely fresh to him. He glanced around left and right. “The school might be smaller, but the campus is way prettier than Nancheng Polytechnic.”
Jiang Zao kept her head buried as she walked. “Mm, probably because they have more art majors here. It’s got that artistic vibe.”
She’d thought it was a solid plan at first, but the moment they stepped into the cafeteria and she saw the seething crowds, she realized just how naive she’d been.
Her initial instinct was to find a quieter spot, but the man beside her marched right in and asked, “What’s good here?”
She scratched at her hair and hurried after him with quick little steps.
Half a minute later, Xie Lisheng found himself at the end of the beef noodles line. He noticed every other counter had three times the crowd. Glancing back over his shoulder, he asked, “You sure you picked this one because it’s good and not because the line’s short?”
Jiang Zao replied with conviction. “Because it’s good.”
He let out a cold snort. “I think it’s the short line.”
She stood firm. “It’s good.”
Xie Lisheng said nothing more.
It was the kind of silence that spoke volumes—resigned, exasperated, and all too aware of how accepting a free meal put you in someone’s debt.
He turned back around. “I’m curious. Am I really that much of an eyesore?”
Jiang Zao flicked her gaze up, taking in his broad back as he slouched there with his hands jammed in his pockets. Even though he knew she was paranoid about them being seen together, he hadn’t bothered changing his usual posture—chin tilted arrogantly toward the heavens.
This was one of the things about him that had always grated on her. She couldn’t decide if he had sky-high emotional intelligence or none at all.
He saw right through everyone else, yet he couldn’t be bothered to spare a thought for their feelings.
She settled on a polite way to phrase it and forced a wry smile. “Maybe it’s because you’re just too famous?”
He actually played modest for once. “I only have a bit of a name in the tech world, that’s all.”
Jiang Zao didn’t bother humoring him further. She eyed the sluggish line ahead and prodded his back. “Move up. It advanced.”
Her finger jabbed unexpectedly into the groove of his spine, and Xie Lisheng stiffened for a split second. He twisted around to shoot her a glare.
~~~
The facts soon proved that Jiang Zao hadn’t underestimated Xie Lisheng’s notoriety—or the magnetic pull of that face of his.
The moment they sat down with their bowls of noodles, she felt furtive glances pouring in from every direction.
Jiang Zao ducked her head even lower, wishing she could shove her entire face into the bowl.
She twirled up a chopstickful and shoved it in her mouth. As she chewed, her expression twisted into something odd.
She looked across at him, forcing down the mouthful with visible effort, and asked weakly, “…Is it good?”
It was a question she already knew the answer to.
“Meaning trumps taste.” Xie Lisheng’s response caught her off guard. He ate slowly but steadily, without any pretense of savoring the food.
He met her eyes and cracked a smile. “This is a graduation treat from you, after all.”
Jiang Zao’s guilt spiked, heat creeping up the back of her neck.
God, what a filthy mouth I have.
She lifted her bowl sheepishly for a sip of broth. “…The soup’s pretty good, at least.”
Xie Lisheng chewed on, the faint puffiness under his eyes rising slightly. He didn’t reply.
That the noodles tasted awful was a silent agreement between them, so the meal didn’t drag on. Jiang Zao forced down half a bowl at best. When she wiped her mouth, she saw he’d already set his chopsticks aside. For all his leisurely pace, his bowl was scraped clean, with only broth left behind.
Inwardly astonished, she glanced at her own half-full bowl.
Maybe it really is good, and I’m just missing something?
No—he must have some kind of pica.
“Let’s go… take a walk.” Jiang Zao was afraid more people would try to sneak photos of Xie Lisheng if they lingered. She gathered their trash and stood.
~~~
The graduation ceremony must have wrapped up by then, with the crowd dispersing on their own. By the time they emerged from the cafeteria, even more students filled the campus, snapping celebratory selfies. Plenty of couples were among them, decked out in matching bachelor’s gowns that made for the most natural, atmospheric couple’s outfits imaginable.
Jiang Zao watched them, momentarily lost in a daze.
Even if the future held mostly harsh realities, this moment—couples embracing in their gowns—outshone every word ever coined for beauty.
She drank in the scene quietly, then remembered the man who’d been silently keeping her company. Out of politeness, she ventured, “President Xie, what if we dated like normal people, the way they do, and then got married?”
“The kind of romance you have depends on the person you find.”
They watched others’ youthful romances, having already missed their own chance to enjoy love back in their school days.
Xie Lisheng shot back directly. “What about you?”
Jiang Zao sighed helplessly. “Aren’t I asking you?”
He raised an eyebrow and said righteously, “When prying into someone’s private life like this, you usually lead with your own answer as a show of good faith.”
“Where’s Classmate Jiang’s good faith?”
Jiang Zao: “…”
She turned her gaze back to the students nearby. After a moment’s thought, she said, “I can’t put it into words exactly, but in general terms… I guess I’d prefer something purer.”
“Purer?” he asked.
She nodded.
Xie Lisheng looked utterly speechless for a moment before blurting out seriously, “Am I dirty or something?”
Jiang Zao froze for a second, then suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth.
He stared at her shaking shoulders, his eyelids drooping. “…No laughing.”
That only made her lose it completely.