On September 10th, Yun Li finished her class and headed to the cafeteria to pack a meal to take back to her dorm. She wanted to eat quickly so she could catch a short nap before her busy afternoon classes.
At that time, the cafeteria was quite crowded, with students wearing various forms of athletic attire bustling around. The Dance Academy was different from other schools; there were no colorful outfits or flashy designs, just a sea of bun hairstyles and practice uniforms, with very few students in casual clothes.
Yun Li stood in line at the food counter, looking down at her phone. She received a message from Qin Nianchu: "Ah, I can't take it anymore! I still have rehearsals. Li Li, help me out!"
Yun Li smiled faintly and quickly typed back: "Come on! I heard you guys are going abroad to perform with students from other countries. We can't lose!"
After sending the message, she noticed that Qin Nianchu hadn’t replied yet; she must have gone off to rehearsal.
Once Yun Li had picked up a meat dish, a vegetable dish, and a small portion of rice, she headed towards her dorm. Just as she reached the entrance, someone called out to her.
"Hey, you must be Yun Li, right?"
Yun Li turned towards the voice and froze for a moment. A boy stood in the shade of a tree, dressed in a plain white shirt and black pants. He was tall with very short hair, and there was an air of impatience about him. His sharply defined features were etched in her memory from six years ago.
"I'm Nianchu's twin brother. She asked me to give you something."
Yun Li quickly shifted her gaze to the boy as he handed her a tote bag.
She took it and noticed it seemed to contain clothes. "How did you know I was Yun Li?" she asked in confusion.
Qin Nianzhe fixed his gaze on her. "Nianchu showed me your photo."
"I added you on WeChat, but it looks like you didn't accept."
Yun Li hurriedly opened her phone and checked; sure enough, there was a red notification in her contacts. She scrolled down through numerous friend requests until she found three requests from Qin Nianzhe.
"I'm sorry! I didn’t notice," Yun Li said apologetically as she looked up with a smile and tapped to accept the request.
Her large eyes sparkled with long eyelashes, exuding a lively charm that made Qin Nianzhe's heart flutter.
Qin Nianzhe let out a silly laugh, his eyes staring blankly. "No, it's nothing."
"You haven't eaten yet, have you? How about we go together?"
Yun Li glanced down at his meal, then caught a glimpse of Jiang Shiyu under the shade of the tree.
"Ah!"
Yun Li led them to a cafeteria that was closer to their dormitory.
He placed his things on the table and said to them, "Our school’s Spicy Hot Pot and grilled meat rice are pretty good."
"A Yu, let's go try it," Qin Nianzhe suggested.
Once inside the cafeteria, it was much cooler. Jiang Shiyu's impatience faded as the two of them walked toward the grilled meat rice counter.
Both of them were tall, and their appearance and demeanor didn’t quite fit the typical image of Dance Academy students.
Someone recognized Jiang Shiyu and approached to ask for his WeChat.
Jiang Shiyu didn’t refuse; he casually pulled out his phone with one hand and shared his QR code with them.
Seeing this, Yun Li tightened his grip on his chopsticks, feeling a mix of frustration and discomfort in his heart.
After the two girls left, Qin Nianzhe laughed, "Your charm is even attracting people from Jing Wu."
Jiang Shiyu smirked slightly. "If it weren't for you dragging me here, I wouldn't have been exposed for so long."
They had actually been there for a while; since Qin Nianzhe didn’t have Yun Li’s WeChat and couldn’t reach Qin Nianchu, they could only wait idly at the dorm entrance. If they hadn’t run into Yun Li, things might have gotten tense with the person beside him.
"Still, Brother Yu is righteous; this meal is on me," he declared.
Jiang Shiyu glanced elsewhere, somewhat disinterested, and scoffed lightly. "How rare."
"A Yu," he continued, "I’ve heard about that Yun Li before. She’s beautiful and has a great personality, plus her professional skills are impressive—she consistently ranks first. Many boys are after her! Just now when she checked the application list, there were a long line of requests she hadn’t accepted; her influence rivals yours."
Hearing this from Qin Nianzhe made Jiang Shiyu finally focus on Yun Li in the distance.
The girl was eating with disposable chopsticks; her bowl contained only a few green vegetables and a bit of meat—most of it had been picked out—she chewed slowly and deliberately.
Her expression was blank as if she were in a daze.
She wore a Blue Gauze Robe with a long-sleeved sun protection jacket over it, and her hair was tied up neatly in a bun with a few stray strands falling down.
Just now, when he saw Yun Li downstairs in the dormitory, he was feeling quite irritable, yet he still caught the subtle glance the girl sent his way—very faint, but not insignificant.
Her eyes were lively and delicate, accompanied by a faint smile that was utterly charming.
Jiang Shiyu had seen many beautiful girls before, but Yun Li was the first who struck him as both pleasing to the eye and truly beautiful.
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