Chen Yuan’s head was spinning from the fall. He stared blankly at the sky for a moment, feeling like his hearing was gone. It was as if he’d been plunged into a vacuum.

"Junior! Are you hurt? ...I’m so sorry, I zoned out. I’m really, really sorry." The frantic sound of Lu Yiyi’s voice followed a flurry of footsteps.

Hearing her voice, Chen Yuan’s head instantly cleared, and he abruptly sat up straight.

"The artwork! Is the artwork we were moving okay?" He pushed himself up from the ground and scrambled over to the piece, which had also been thrown onto the grass. He picked it up and inspected it carefully. A fiery, stinging pain flared up in his leg, but Chen Yuan didn’t even glance at it.

’Damaging a precious exhibit would be a disaster. Besides, since Liu Tingyue and the school administration entrusted this to him, he would see it through, no matter how resentful he felt. He’d always been that stubborn and meticulous.’

’Of course, it was pretty reckless of the school administration to just delegate such an important task down the chain to a university student.’

’So even if it did get broken, you couldn’t really blame anyone.’

Chen Yuan looked it over from top to bottom, wiping the fresh mud from the corner that had dug into the ground. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief. Thanks to the protection of the outer frame, the exhibit was completely undamaged, though one corner was caked with dirt.

Only now did he have the presence of mind to turn and look at Lu Yiyi, who was sitting on the ground, rubbing her knee.

"How is it?" Fear tinged her eyes.

"No damage. A silver lining, at least. Are you hurt?"

"I scraped my arm a little, and it hurts a bit. Oh... Junior, you’re bleeding!" Lu Yiyi scrambled to her feet, not bothering to wipe the mud off herself as she pointed at Chen Yuan’s leg.

He looked down and saw a cut about a finger’s length on the side of his calf, crimson beads of blood welling up from it.

Lu Yiyi quickly pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket, tore it open, and squatted down to press them against the wound. "I’m so sorry, this is all my fault..."

A guilty expression washed over her face, and her lips turned down at the corners. Her arms were covered in dirt, and her face was pale.

"Can you still drive?" Chen Yuan asked.

"Huh?"

Lu Yiyi was stunned. She never would have imagined that Chen Yuan wouldn’t say a single word about the crash and would instead trust her to keep driving. She had already prepared herself for an apology, ready to take any outburst or scolding he threw her way without a single word of protest. After all, the mistake was entirely due to her negligence.

"I... I..." Faced with this, Lu Yiyi was the one who was left stammering, at a loss for words.

"If you can’t, I can drive. Or we can see if we can find a student up ahead to help out and take over. That way, since you’re hurt, you don’t have to come with. You can just let Liu Tingyue know later."

"I can drive, it’s totally fine," Lu Yiyi said, waving her hands emphatically. "But Junior... are you sure you still dare to ride with me?"

"Just be careful. Let’s hurry up and get to the main campus."

Chen Yuan walked over to the exhibit and bent down to lift one corner. After struggling for a moment, he looked up quizzically at her, still frozen in place. "What are you standing there for?"

"Oh, oh, oh! Coming."

Working together, the two of them heaved the exhibit back onto the vehicle and settled in. This time, Lu Yiyi drove with extreme caution, none of her previous recklessness remaining. She braked at every single bump, terrified of another accident.

As a result, a trip that should have taken ten minutes ended up lasting until six in the evening. After finally reaching the main campus, they carried the item to the Youth League Committee office and completed the handover to Liu Tingyue.

Once everything was finally taken care of, Chen Yuan seemed to have forgotten all about his injury. All he wanted was to get to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat.

The other members of the Arts Department had also returned. They brought popsicles for the few who had been busy all afternoon—a whole box of mung bean-flavored ones. Even after everyone had taken one, there were still a few left over. Liu Nan grabbed one and then another, earning a joke from a senior sister from the Arts Department that he’d better not be afraid of getting diarrhea.

The thick-skinned Liu Nan just grinned and said that the popsicles the senior sister bought were so good, he’d risk diarrhea to have another one. His reply made several of the senior sisters break into bright smiles.

"Alright, we’re done here. Let’s go to the cafeteria and eat." Chen Yuan’s stomach was starting to hurt from hunger.

"It’s so late, the cafeteria’s probably sold out of most of the good stuff. If we go now, we’ll only be able to get burgers or zhajiangmian, and they’re not even good..."

"All I can say is... someone’s bringing us food." Chen Yuan opened his phone and glanced at it. Since she didn’t have his Green Bubble contact, Jiangg Ning had sent him a text message asking if he was done for the day. She said she had "coincidentally" just finished her own work and was passing by Landa University, so she could bring something for him and his roommates to eat.

’What does it mean to be cared for in every possible way? This was probably it.’

"Holy crap! Don’t tell me Jiangg is the one bringing food? I could die from how moved I am. I was just stressing about not getting anything good to eat, and now Jiangg is basically Saint Mary in my eyes."

"Moved my ass. Don’t make me laugh. She’s bringing it for Yuan, you’re just getting a few bites on the side. And you’re acting like you’re moved to tears?"

The group walked down the hallway of the Youth League Committee office, eating their popsicles.

Chen Yuan turned back. "Ningning didn’t make it. She has real work to do and no time to cook. She probably just picked it up from a restaurant. Anyway, it won’t be terrible, that’s for sure."

"That’s still wifey material right there. Yuan, I’m just saying, in the morning you’re in class using the fan Yaoyao gave you, and in the afternoon you’ve got food from Jiangg. It’s enough to make anyone jealous. What’s the deal? Did you two get back together?"

"Something like that. Honestly, I don’t know what to do either," Chen Yuan sighed.

"Even though the food Jiangg makes is delicious and she’s a great person, I still think Yaoyao is better. She’s cute and warm-hearted," Wei Zhen said, scratching his head. "Yuan, do you have to choose between them? That’s tough. You know what, I’m on Team Yaoyao."

"Then don’t you dare eat a single bite later! You’re getting free food and still running your mouth. That animal’s really got you brainwashed. Jiangg is obviously the best, don’t forget she’s your teacher! You ungrateful, traitorous dog!"

"Stop talking!" While Liu Nan and Wei Zhen were arguing heatedly, Quan Yafeng suddenly cut in.

He gestured with his eyes.

The group froze mid-step.

Only then did they realize that Senior Sister Lu Yiyi was still trailing behind them, listening to their conversation with a bewildered expression.

They all shut their mouths in an instant, embarrassed.

"Senior Sister Lu, aren’t you heading back to the other campus?" Chen Yuan asked.

"I dunno," Lu Yiyi asked cautiously. "I’m a little hungry now. If you guys are going to the cafeteria... can I tag along? I heard the food at the main campus is pretty good."

"Well..." Chen Yuan looked at his friends.

"Let’s go."

Since she’d already asked, anyone with a bit of social grace would know it was impossible to refuse without ruining the mood. Besides, the senior sister was actually a pretty nice person. Aside from being a bit of a ditz, she was quite pleasant to be around.

...

In the cafeteria.

At this hour, the ravenous students had already swept through and cleared out most of the dishes. If you wanted a proper meal, you had to get there by 5 o’clock, which was the actual dinner rush.

The only rice topping left was the fish-fragrant eggplant, but there was an endless supply of instant options like wontons, wheat noodles, and rice noodles. Everyone ordered something and gathered at a table.

Lu Yiyi ordered a bowl of rice noodles with shredded chicken and an egg-filled flatbread. By the time she was wandering around with her tray, looking lost, the others had already started eating and were waving her over.

"Your cafeteria must be twice the size of ours. And you have so much more variety," she remarked as she sat down, snapping apart a pair of disposable chopsticks.

"It’s alright. The first cafeteria is even bigger."

"What’s that you’re eating? It has meat and noodles? It smells so good~" she said, looking at Wei Zhen’s bowl and wrinkling her little nose.

"It’s slow-cooked soup. Want to try some?"

"Can I?"

"Sure, go grab a small bowl and I’ll give you some."

With that, Lu Yiyi actually went to the counter to ask for a small plastic bowl. Her completely unpretentious nature took Wei Zhen by surprise.

A guy’s opinion of a girl can improve very easily. All it takes is for her personality to be a little more genuine.

After being so busy for so long, they were finally able to sit down and fill their stomachs. Everyone dug in, chatting and laughing.

A moment later.

From the covered entrance of the cafeteria, a woman pushed aside the curtain and peered inside. Then, she began to walk in, scanning left and right as if searching for someone, moving through the aisles with a calm and dignified grace.

Students were scattered around the cafeteria in small groups. As many of them saw her, their chopsticks froze mid-air, and their eyes followed her intently.

The woman had an exceptional presence. She wore a flowing, Bordeaux-red long dress that hugged her perfect figure. Golden earrings glittered on her delicate earlobes, and a jade bracelet adorned her wrist, setting off an arm as fair as a lotus root. The hem of her dress swirled as her high heels clicked on the greasy floor.

No matter how you looked at it, she was completely out of place in this environment.

She drew closer and closer to where Chen Yuan was eating. Lu Yiyi had been in the middle of saying something, but suddenly everyone fell silent as if by a shared, unspoken agreement. Only Chen Yuan kept his head down, focused on his food. Lu Yiyi followed the gazes of Liu Nan and the others, and in a single instant, she froze on the spot.

Lu Yiyi’s expression was vacant. She was utterly stunned by the approaching Jiangg Ning. A strange impulse rose within her—an urge to bow, as if that were the only way to express her profound, wholehearted admiration for this woman.

For an art student, aesthetics were of the utmost importance.

And Jiangg Ning, without a doubt, represented a beauty that transcended a normal person’s dimension.

She was also wearing exquisite makeup today and carrying an expensive handbag. At twenty-six years old, her mature allure naturally overshadowed every other girl at the university.

The beauty of ten thousand people could not compare to a fraction of hers.