Following behind Zhang Xueji and the others as they twisted and turned through the campus, Xie Qiaoqiao finally caught sight of the Qinxue Building.
Once she entered the hallway, there was no longer the scorching heat of the Sun beating down, and it finally didn’t feel so hot anymore.
Xie Qiaoqiao took the backpack she’d been holding over her head down and touched the side that had been exposed to the Sun—it was so hot it almost burned her hand.
She added a line in her phone’s memo: Seems to be especially, especially, especially good at math.
The Research Room was on the third floor.
It wasn’t a classroom open for general use; you had to apply in advance to get the key.
After Zhang Xueji and his companions went in, the last one closed the classroom door behind them, leaving just a faint trace of cool air drifting near the entrance.
Xie Qiaoqiao crouched by the classroom window, only half her face peeking in.
Inside, there were several movable blackboards, covered in Formulas that Xie Qiaoqiao couldn’t make sense of—even though they were written in English, just one glance made her head spin.
Zhang Xueji picked up a pen and wrote a few more lines in the blank spaces.
Xie Qiaoqiao squatted down, opened her phone’s memo, edited the line she just wrote, and added two more ‘especially’s.
A group of people had been pondering over a single Formula for the entire day.
Zhang Xueji was getting a headache from staring at it.
He bit into a Chocolate Stick, chewing it to replenish his energy.
After his eyes felt less sore, Zhang Xueji finally picked up his own phone.
“Let’s take a break. Does anyone want Milk Tea? My treat.”
In an instant, the sound of chair wheels rolling over the floor filled the classroom as a dozen chairs rushed over to Zhang Xueji’s side.
“What should we get? Cha Bai Dao or Hushang?”
“I want to try the new sparkling water from Yidian Dian. Senior, use Ele.me, they’re giving out coupons lately!”
“Or maybe Honey Snow Ice City. Get a large Stick-Pounded Fresh Orange. I’ll drink half, and the rest I can take back to stew with pork ribs.”
“Stick-Pounded Fresh Orange stewed with pork ribs???”
“Yeah, it’s actually pretty tasty………………”
Zhang Xueji handed his phone to the nearest person: “Let’s go with Yidian Dian, pick whatever you like yourselves. Once you’re done, let me know—I’m going to the restroom to wash my face first.”
Leaving the air-conditioned classroom, the heat outside was stifling everywhere.
The sharp, unending chorus of cicadas and the blinding sunlight crisscrossed, making even the railings along the corridor scorchingly hot.
Zhang Xueji walked to the restroom sink and turned on the tap—icy cold water ran over his palm, splashing into the basin.
It seemed like the sink’s drain was clogged.
Water pooled up in the square basin surrounded by white tiles.
Sunlight refracted off the white tiles, the glare so intense it made him dizzy.
Dazzled by the reflection, Zhang Xueji’s vision suddenly blurred and spun.
The narrow, square sink seemed to grow larger and larger.
The pale blue water rose past his calves, the surface rippling as if something enormous was stirring beneath.
Xie Qiaoqiao ran over and grabbed the collar at the back of Zhang Xueji’s shirt, yanking him backward and pulling his head—which was almost fully submerged in the sink—out by force.
He was pulled back, his face blank with confusion, unable to steady himself and falling to the floor.
Still clutching Zhang Xueji’s collar, Xie Qiaoqiao was dragged down as well, landing right on top of him.
Thanks to Zhang Xueji cushioning her fall, Xie Qiaoqiao didn’t feel any pain.
She quickly got up and checked on the unlucky victim; the young man’s whole face was dripping wet, his soaked hair plastered to his cheeks, and the collar of his apricot shirt was stained with a large patch of water—he looked just like a poor puppy who’d been inexplicably splashed with water while passing by the Girls’ Dormitory.
He just seemed dazed, nothing else wrong from nearly drowning.
His pupils trembled, and a bead of water hanging on his lashes rolled into his eye.
The sour, stinging sensation finally snapped Zhang Xueji back to his senses, his blurry vision gradually clearing—only to see Xie Qiaoqiao’s face right up close.
For a moment, he thought he was still dreaming.
Otherwise, how could Xie Qiaoqiao’s face be so close, close enough that he could see the pupil in her jet-black eyes and the fine sweat on the tip of her nose?
Xie Qiaoqiao leaned in and sniffed his face, her warm breath brushing his cheek and making the tiny hairs on his skin stand on end.
She wanted to make sure he didn’t have the scent of a Monster on him.
The scent of Monsters was usually unpleasant—especially for someone like Xie Qiaoqiao, it was as bad as a foul odor.
But Zhang Xueji didn’t have that stench.
She only smelled the dampness of water, a scent a bit like watermelon rind.
“Senior! Did you fall into the toilet? You’ve been gone nearly half an hour—”
The loud, boisterous voice stopped abruptly at the restroom door.
Zhang Xueji and Xie Qiaoqiao both looked over.
At the door stood a boy in a white T-shirt and plaid shirt, his eyes wide in disbelief as he stared at them.
Being stared at by both of them, the boy instinctively took a step back, awkwardly saying, “I didn’t—uh, I didn’t see anything, you two carry on, just carry on…uh, Senior, watch out for the hallway cameras.”
As he spoke, he backed away, and by the time the last few words left his mouth, he’d already run off at top speed, not giving Zhang Xueji a chance to explain.
Xie Qiaoqiao was the first to look away, smoothing out the wrinkles she’d made in Zhang Xueji’s collar, then calmly getting to her feet as if nothing had happened.
Zhang Xueji’s mind was blank, but he got up too.
Xie Qiaoqiao headed out, and Zhang Xueji followed her.
As they stepped out of the restroom, Zhang Xueji glanced up at the sign by the door.
It was definitely the Boys’ Dormitory restroom.
Zhang Xueji hesitated a little. “Qiaoqiao, you………………how did you end up here?”
Xie Qiaoqiao: “Just passing by.”
Her answer was so flat and even it was almost emotionless, just like her expressionless face.
After speaking, the corners of her lips pressed downward, her expression cool and indifferent.
Zhang Xueji rubbed the back of his head.
The wet collar clung uncomfortably to his skin, and with the Sun beating down, he felt both hot and damp.
But more uncomfortable than his soaked collar was the awkward atmosphere at the moment.
His new neighbor was colder, harder to approach, and…more mysterious than he’d imagined.
Seeing that Xie Qiaoqiao was about to head for the stairs, Zhang Xueji’s mind spun and he quickly called out, “Do you want some Milk Tea? My treat—”
The girl stopped, turning back to look at him.
Those deep, pure black eyes seemed naturally immune to the light; even under the harsh summer Sun, their color didn’t fade or suddenly shine.
Being stared at like that by Xie Qiaoqiao made Zhang Xueji nervous, and he unconsciously straightened his back.
Zhang Xueji said, “And the Sun’s pretty strong right now…there’s Air Conditioner in our Rest Room.”
That reason convinced Xie Qiaoqiao.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder and followed Zhang Xueji into the air-conditioned classroom.
Inside, some people were still staring blankly at the Formulas on the blackboard, some were on their computers, and a few were scribbling on scratch paper.
When the door opened, everyone glanced over at the same time.
The silence was almost exaggerated, and their gazes were a bit strange.
Xie Qiaoqiao spotted the boy who’d shown up at the restroom door earlier.
He rubbed his nose and stood up, avoiding Xie Qiaoqiao’s gaze with a slightly awkward expression, handing his phone to Zhang Xueji. “Um…Senior, we’ve all finished ordering.”
Zhang Xueji had already composed himself.
He took the phone without looking at the screen and handed it directly to Xie Qiaoqiao. “Pick whatever you like, and just order two of them.”
Xie Qiaoqiao: “I can get two drinks?”
Zhang Xueji was momentarily stunned.
He’d originally meant they could just order the same thing.
But meeting her gaze, Zhang Xueji hesitated, then changed his mind: “Yeah, sure—so long as you can finish them.”
Xie Qiaoqiao took the phone, ordered two large strawberry Milk Teas, and handed the phone back to Zhang Xueji.
Zhang Xueji glanced at the newly added two strawberry Milk Teas, added one more cup, and paid.
Xie Qiaoqiao found an empty seat by the window, opened her phone’s memo, and added two new lines.
Weak aura, easily drawn into abnormal incidents. (Note: Possibly an aftereffect of the Water Park Incident.)
Generous and grateful, not like the usual Science Major, not so annoying.
Two cups of Milk Tea were no challenge for Xie Qiaoqiao. Her only worry was that too much sugar would affect her body data.
But today she’d saved a Science Major from nearly drowning in a sink outside of work, so she deserved a little sugar reward—Xie Qiaoqiao finished both cups of Milk Tea with a clear conscience, then took out the English book she hadn’t finished last time and continued reading.
Every so often, she’d get distracted and watch Zhang Xueji. The science discussions were quite boring—she couldn’t understand what they were talking about, and the computer screens were full of software she didn’t recognize.
But Zhang Xueji seemed in his element. He stood among the group, talking with them, his soaked collar unbuttoned at the top two buttons, brow furrowing slightly as he looked at someone else’s work.
Whenever Zhang Xueji frowned, the others would get nervous and frown too.
By dinnertime, the meeting finally ended. The others closed their laptops, but didn’t show that relieved, carefree look students usually have when class is over. Instead, they left with their laptops, faces troubled, taking the trash with them.
Zhang Xueji was the last to leave—since he’d applied for the classroom, he had to check all the equipment before leaving.
He turned off the Air Conditioner and lights, wiped down all the blackboards—took photos for the Administrator, then called Xie Qiaoqiao to leave together.
Stepping out of the Qinxue Building corridor, a blast of hot wind hit them, making their skin tense after staying in the air-conditioned room for so long.
Zhang Xueji glanced up at the Sun still hanging in the sky, then took a folding umbrella from his satchel and opened it.
He tilted the umbrella toward Xie Qiaoqiao, covering her upper body completely in shade, while half of his own face was still bathed in sunlight.
He didn’t mind the Sun, and usually didn’t use an umbrella. He’d only brought it in case of rain, not for shade.
But seeing Xie Qiaoqiao, Zhang Xueji suddenly remembered: it seemed girls liked to use umbrellas on sunny days.