Ye Zhou tossed and turned for a full fifteen minutes, but he still found it difficult to close his eyes—
‘Is it because my mind is too sensitive?’
‘But I’m not that kind of person, am I? Have I changed? If so, when did it happen?’
Just then, the phone by his bed vibrated incessantly.
Ye Zhou sighed and rolled over. He picked up his phone, tilted his head, and squinted with one eye to look—it was actually a video call from Senior Chen? Why was she calling at this hour? Was it to complain about being muted by the Vice President in the group chat for half an hour?
He immediately sat up. After a moment of hesitation, he declined the call and sent a follow-up message.
[Sorry Senior Chen, it’s not very convenient for me to take a video call right now. Uh, my apologies, but I have a habit of sleeping naked…]
[Whoa! Little Ye Zhou, you’ve got some nerve, actually hanging up on your greatest Senior!]
This message was quickly retracted by Chen Yuhe. She attempted another video call, but hung up herself after a few seconds. Immediately after, she switched to a voice call.
Ye Zhou was completely puzzled by her behavior, but he answered without hesitation.
“Oh! Good morning, Junior!”
As soon as she spoke, Chen Yuhe’s sweet voice spilled out of the receiver.
“Um, good morning to you too, Senior Chen.”
“You just said you’re sleeping naked right now, right?” Chen Yuhe asked in a very low voice, sounding like a thief.
A look of confusion flashed across Ye Zhou’s brow. “Yes, that’s right. Is something wrong?”
“I don’t think I know where you live. How about you send me your home address?” Chen Yuhe asked again.
“Huh?”
The confusion on Ye Zhou’s face deepened. “Uh, I don’t quite understand what you’re implying.”
“Stupid Junior!” Chen Yuhe said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Didn’t you say you were feeling unwell and resting at home? I was thinking of coming over to your place to take care of you!”
“I see. But your train of thought is really too erratic, Senior. I couldn’t keep up for a second.”
Ye Zhou rubbed his chin, feeling guilty. “Thank you for your concern, Senior, but there’s no need. I’ll be fine after resting alone for a bit.”
“Alright then. But honestly, Junior, you’re the strange one. How is my thinking erratic? Haven’t I always been like this? Wow, I’m so jealous of you. While I have to go to class, you get to lie around at home.”
Chen Yuhe followed up naturally, “Actually, the reason I called was to tell you not to take Vice President Shen’s words to heart. She’s just that kind of person. Once you spend more time with her in the Drama Club, you’ll understand!”
“Okay, I got it. President Jiang already gave me a general heads-up about the Vice President.”
Having said that, Ye Zhou couldn’t help but press a hand to his forehead and complain, “Ahaha… Senior, you still say your mind isn’t erratic? I feel like we’re talking past each other.”
“Hmm? That’s strange. Did the sun rise from the west today? For President Jiang to actually talk to a Junior about that… is that the same President Jiang I know?”
“I mean, she and the Vice President usually disagree on certain concepts. For example, if President Jiang says rules are static while people are flexible, then the Vice President will say that without rules, there is no order. They always end up arguing over things like that.”
“But President Jiang wouldn’t normally say anything bad about the Vice President behind her back, right?”
Chen Yuhe was mumbling on the other end of the line. On this end, Ye Zhou frowned slightly; she sounded like an old woman talking in her sleep, making it hard to hear her clearly.
“Uh… Senior, were you saying something?”
“Oh! I was just talking to myself!”
“Senior, I actually have a question I’d like to ask you as well,” Ye Zhou said after a moment of thought.
Chen Yuhe replied readily, “Go ahead and ask! I assume it’s not an academic question? If it is, you might have to ask someone else, like Lin Shulan.”
“Of course not. It’s just that I have a friend. He’s… well, he’s particularly timid. He’s afraid of getting hit by a car whenever he goes out. May I ask how one should avoid that?”
“Huh? You don’t seem timid at all, Junior. You’re unexpectedly bold! Just like right now, actually chatting naked with your Senior.”
“Ahaha… Alright, Senior, I’ve already put on my clothes. Besides, I told you it’s not me; it’s a friend of mine.”
“Oh! Okay, okay, let’s just say it’s your friend!”
Chen Yuhe answered without hesitation, “If your friend is so timid and afraid of being hit by a car, then just take the subway. It’s impossible to get hit by a car while riding the subway, right?”
“Huh?!”
Ye Zhou’s eyes lit up as the realization dawned on him.
Since the distance from his apartment to Jianghai University wasn’t far, he had mostly used shared bicycles before, rarely taking the bus or the subway.
Furthermore, there was a road right outside his apartment leading to the subway, and a path from the subway exit led directly into Jianghai University.
He wouldn’t even have to cross a single intersection with traffic lights.
Hiss, thinking about it now, he really had overlooked that option.
“That’s right! Why didn’t I—cough, why didn’t my friend think of that? You really are a Senior, with a mature brain. I’m still too young; I can’t compare at all.”
“But of course—”
On the other end of the phone, Chen Yuhe slightly puffed out her impressive chest and raised her head, only to realize something a moment later.
“Wait! Are you saying that I’m old, Junior?”
“No, not at all… See, I told you your train of thought is too erratic.”
***
Before heading out, Ye Zhou changed into a black trench coat. Fortunately, he managed to board the subway safely.
Sigh, even if he did check the almanac before leaving, it wasn’t like his brain had been scrambled, right?
[Vice President, I suddenly feel like my health is no longer a problem. I can participate in your Ability Assessment today.]
Ye Zhou sent the prepared message to the Drama Club group chat, put away his phone, and exhaled a long breath. He leaned back against the seat and slowly closed his eyes to rest.
‘I remember my original intention for joining the Drama and Film Club was just to have a sweet romance, right?’
‘Why does the process seem to be going further and further in the opposite direction?’
‘Is this really the result I wanted?’
“Dear passengers, the next stop is Jianghai University. We will be arriving shortly. Please prepare to disembark.”
He didn’t know how long he spent thinking, but upon hearing the subway announcement, Ye Zhou stood up and walked to the doors. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a railing, and shook his head with a smile.
“But as far as the current situation goes, it’s not bad, is it?”
There was always a way out; things would work themselves out in the end.
Little did he expect that as he walked out of the subway station with his hands in his pockets, a bicycle would come wobbling toward him at high speed.
It was moving fast and was already right in front of him.
At this moment, other than Voiding, he couldn’t think of any way to avoid it.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but complain internally: ‘Right, getting hit by a vehicle… a bicycle is also a vehicle.’
“Agh! Student in front, please move! My brakes failed!”
Ye Zhou let out a muffled groan as he was knocked back two or three steps by the impact. It was merely a minor physical pain.
However, as the bicycle collapsed onto the ground in front of him, a Blonde Girl fell off along with it.
***