Chapter 4

And at that moment, it seemed to be preparing to leap onto the ice counter, poised in a crouch. Wen Yan, moved by some inexplicable impulse, didn’t stop it—she just watched it quietly.

The red shrimp succeeded in its jump, landing back on the ice counter, then scrambled forward with renewed effort.

Fu Lanzhuo withdrew his gaze from Wen Yan, walked over, and picked up the red shrimp. This time, instead of dropping it back into Wen Yan’s plate, he tossed it into the glass tank.

“It worked so hard. We won’t eat it, then.” There was a hint of amusement in the man’s voice as he said this, and Wen Yan looked back at him.

Wen Yan nodded in agreement.

“What’s your major? Can you tell me?” Fu Lanzhuo asked.

Wen Yan instinctively avoided his gaze. “I’m… in the law school… There’s ink on your shirt cuff, Uncle.”

As she lowered her head, she noticed a drop of ink staining the white cuff of his shirt. It wasn’t that her eyesight was unusually sharp—it was just that his white shirt was so impeccably clean that any blemish stood out jarringly.

“Yan Yan!” At the same time, a voice cut through the air from across the room, pulling Wen Yan back to the moment. She turned her head.

Fu Lanzhuo frowned slightly and glanced down at his cuff.

After a brief pause, he turned and walked away.

Xiao Xinrui’s eyes lingered on the receding figure for a long while before she finally looked away. She had already reached Wen Yan’s side, barely containing her excitement as she grabbed her arm. “That man is so handsome—and his presence is incredible! Do you two know each other? You were talking just now, weren’t you? Why did he leave?”

Wen Yan gazed at Fu Lanzhuo’s retreating back and replied, “We don’t know each other. I just saw him at the airport earlier.”

“The airport?”

“So he was the one who approached you?” Xiao Xinrui asked. From their brief time together, she’d gathered that Wen Yan was relatively introverted, and with her striking looks, she naturally drew male attention.

“Not really. It was just a coincidence that we ran into each other again. He probably thought it was a coincidence too.”

“Hey, Yan Yan—if he’s here on campus, maybe he’s a professor at our school. If he’s in the law school, we’d be in for a treat! I had no idea Qingda had such handsome teachers.”

“He probably isn’t a teacher.”

“Why not?”

Wen Yan was about to answer when she heard her phone ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket.

Incoming call: Grandma.

“Hold on, let me take this,” Wen Yan said.

“Go ahead, answer it!” Xiao Xinrui said.

“Hello, Grandma.”

Wen Qinhua had called to ask if Wen Yan had arrived at school. Wen Yan told her she had, and they chatted about a few other things. During the call, Xiao Xinrui went off to pick out shrimp.

By the time Wen Yan hung up, Xiao Xinrui had already forgotten what they’d been talking about. Wen Yan went to get some food, then joined Du Jiao at their chosen table.

—

Rain came down on Yancheng again. Lightning lashed across the sky like silver whips. Not long ago, the sky had cleared and the sun had peeked out—but now dark clouds had rolled in again, and rain poured down in sheets.

“Good thing we were smart and brought umbrellas!” Xiao Xinrui huddled with Du Jiao under a blue plaid umbrella, raising an eyebrow at Wen Yan.

Before coming to Yancheng, she’d checked the weather forecast—Yancheng was supposed to have several rounds of rain today.

Under the solid black long-handled umbrella, Wen Yan was shielded from the noisy, wet world outside. Her face was no larger than a palm, her features seemingly carved with precision—stunning and striking. Her silky black hair, flowing like a waterfall, was lifted by the damp wind. Xiao Xinrui swallowed and heard her reply: “Right.”

“Yan Yan, my mom and I are planning to hit the supermarket for some shopping. Do you want to come with us? Or head back to the dorm first?” Xiao Xinrui asked.

The rain was coming down too hard. If Wen Yan didn’t need to buy anything, it’d be better to just go back to the dorm. They were headed to a chain supermarket outside campus with a wider selection, but the dorm was much closer.

Wen Yan thought for a moment. She didn’t seem to need anything—she’d already bought toiletries at the small convenience store downstairs before going up to the dorm. She replied, “I won’t join you, then. Stay safe on the way.”

“Okay, you head back to the dorm first!”

“Xiao Yan, you be careful too—this rain is really coming down hard.” Du Jiao patted Wen Yan on the shoulder.

Wen Yan nodded.

On her way back to Lanxuan Apartments, Wen Yan passed a jewelry shop. She thought for a moment, went in, and picked out a sterling silver bracelet, paying for it.

This bracelet was for Xiao Xinrui’s mother. Since Du Jiao had treated them to dinner tonight, Wen Yan didn’t want to accept a free meal—that seafood buffet was expensive, 698 per person, and Du Jiao had insisted on not letting Wen Yan pay.

Besides, she genuinely wanted to give Du Jiao a bracelet.

She had plenty of scholarship money in her account.

After buying the bracelet, she passed by a bubble tea shop and ordered three drinks. Even though Du Jiao would most likely stay at a hotel rather than come back to the dorm, there was still a chance she’d drop Xiao Xinrui off first.

Raindrops pelted the black umbrella with a crackling sound. Wen Yan drifted into a daze, then heard a new clap of thunder nearby.

A mocha-brown McLaren slid past on the road, its body lines sleek and expensive, like a silent, majestic beast cutting through the thunderous downpour.

Two pairs of eyes looked out from the car. The gaze from the passenger seat lingered briefly on Wen Yan, pale fingers gently brushing the petals on a smoky-pink dress hem.

Wen Yan was the only one standing in front of the milk tea shop. The three drinks were ready quickly—she heard her number called and stepped forward to take the bag from the cashier.

The rain grew heavier—thunder and lightning, wind whipping the roadside trees into a roaring frenzy. Wen Yan clutched the milk teas and quickened her pace.

With a loud bang, something fell from above and crashed at Wen Yan’s feet, startling her. In that moment, her umbrella was snatched away by the wind. Before she could react, before she even registered that the lamppost above her was about to come straight down—within a split second—a black sedan hurtled in from the main road with a deafening screech, and the falling lamppost slammed into its body.

Wen Yan fell to the wet ground.

She looked up. The lamppost was suspended right above her head. If that car hadn’t appeared in time, she might have been crushed—or worse.

The car door swung open, and a figure emerged through the torrential rain. Wen Yan wiped the rain from her face. When she could see clearly, the rain above her suddenly stopped—a gray umbrella was raised over her head, the dense downpour cut off midair. Wen Yan’s gaze was still dazed when the person above her bent down and lifted her off the ground.

“Are you okay?” the man asked.

Wen Yan looked at him and shook her head.

Fu Lanzhuo’s brow was tightly furrowed. He shoved the umbrella into Wen Yan’s hands. “The rain’s coming down hard—head back to campus quickly.”

Wen Yan’s palms were clammy with sweat. She didn’t answer.

She turned her head to look.

Thankfully, the lamppost had fallen on the rear of the car, not the front. Shards of broken glass were scattered everywhere.

“Wait for me a moment,” Fu Lanzhuo said.

Wen Yan was confused. She watched him run back to the car, and when he returned, he was carrying a black suit jacket. Without a word, he draped it over her shoulders.

“You—you’re bleeding here.” Wen Yan noticed a gash on his left jawline, the skin pale and straight, blood seeping out.

Fu Lanzhuo casually wiped it with his hand. “It’s nothing.”

With that, he turned and hurried away.

Wen Yan was too stunned to react, and in that daze, she failed to notice the many eyes around her, or the phones raised in the nearby shops capturing the scene. By the time she thought to run after him, the black lamppost had already been cleared aside by the man.

He got back in the car, and soon all she could see was the rear of the vehicle fading into the rain.

—

The rain didn’t stop until nine that night. Wen Yan was in the shower when she heard Xiao Xinrui return. She didn’t pay much attention at first—the sound of the showerhead drowned out the noise from outside. It wasn’t until the voices grew louder, and one of them wasn’t Du Jiao’s, that she realized there was a visitor in the dorm.

“I heard there was an accident on Food Street—a lamppost crashed into a Bugatti Veyron! When I went downstairs to get my student ID and keys from the dorm auntie, I heard her talking about it. One of the aunties said the Bugatti owner was really handsome, and that he was fine, but the car was completely wrecked!”

“I heard about it too! My mom and I overheard people talking when we came out of Walmart!”

Wen Yan turned the shower nozzle down a notch, her thoughts drifting.

The small bathroom was thick with steam. Warm droplets converged into fine streams, striking Wen Yan’s skin and tracing winding rivulets that slid slowly along her curves. A faint flush spread from her cheeks down to her collarbones.

Outside, the conversation shifted from the Food Street lamppost accident to celebrity gossip. Then the bathroom door opened—Wen Yan had finished her shower and stepped out, wearing a set of beige cotton short-sleeve pajamas with little Chiikawa prints, a brown microfiber towel wrapped around her hair.

The chatter stopped abruptly. Two pairs of eyes turned to Wen Yan.

“Yan Yan! So you were in the shower—I was wondering where you’d gone! We’ve got a new member in our dorm!” Xiao Xinrui said as she tore open the packaging of a clothes hanger.

She didn’t need to point it out—Wen Yan had already noticed the unfamiliar face beside Xiao Xinrui. The girl was slightly plump, wearing a sailor-collar tiered dress.

“You… aren’t you Wen Yan, the most beautiful top scorer? The provincial top scorer from Huicheng, right? Hey, let me introduce myself—I’m a top scorer too! From Fengyi County, Linchuan! Name’s Zhong Youyou!”

“She recognized you with your hair all wrapped up like that—girl, you’re something else! Looks like we’ve got two top scorers in our dorm now! Nooo, I’m about to be third place—I never dropped below first in my grade all through high school!” Xiao Xinrui whined.

Wen Yan couldn’t help but laugh, and offered a comforting thought: “But you might end up being the tallest in our dorm.”

That wasn’t wrong. Looking at the three of them, Zhong Youyou and Wen Yan were about the same height—hard to tell who was taller—while Xiao Xinrui had a good half-head on both of them.

“Doesn’t matter—what’s the use of being tall?” Xiao Xinrui stared at Wen Yan and swallowed. “I’d rather be the prettiest.”

And if she could have Wen Yan’s level of “top-tier beauty,” she’d laugh in her dreams—she could go a month without food or water.

“Xinrui, where’s your mom?” Wen Yan asked.

“She went to the hotel—she can’t stay in our dorm, can she?” Xiao Xinrui said.

Wen Yan figured as much. “Oh…”

“What’s up, Yan Yan?”

Wen Yan walked over to her desk, pulled a box out of the drawer, and handed it to her. “This is a gift for your aunt. You’ll see her again tomorrow, right? Make sure to give it to her then.”

“What’s this?” Xiao Xinrui opened the box, puzzled, and was surprised to find a bracelet inside. “Oh! What are you doing?”

Wen Yan curved her lips. “She treated us to dinner today. I wanted to thank her.”

“She’s the only parent here—of course she was going to pay,” Xiao Xinrui said, pushing the box back. “You’re too polite! You didn’t have to get a gift!”

Wen Yan said, “It’s not expensive—please, give it to her for me.”

It was true. The bracelet wasn’t worth as much as the seafood buffet—it was just a token of appreciation.

Seeing Wen Yan insist, Xiao Xinrui could only accept. “Alright then—thank you, Yan Yan! My mom is going to be so happy tomorrow.”

“Also… I bought milk tea, but it’s been sitting for two hours now,” Wen Yan said.

Xiao Xinrui had noticed the three cups on Wen Yan’s desk when she walked in—one with a straw already in it, empty, and two untouched.

“From Guming! Ooh, the Brulee Crispy Milk Foam—I love that one!” Xiao Xinrui gladly accepted the milk tea, not minding that it had been sitting for a couple of hours. She walked over and stuck a straw right in.

Since Du Jiao wasn’t there, Wen Yan turned to Zhong Youyou. “Youyou, would you like the other cup?”

“It’s too late—thanks, though. It’ll keep me up if I drink it now.” Zhong Youyou felt awkward taking something for free, and it was indeed getting late. But after a moment’s hesitation, she walked over anyway. “Forget it, I’ll drink it anyway. I have trouble sleeping in new beds—first night in the dorm, I probably won’t sleep either. Thanks, beautiful!”

“You’re welcome.” Wen Yan smiled.

The two of them started chugging their milk tea while Wen Yan went to dry her hair.

And so, university life began. The next day, Wen Yan met her fourth and final roommate—a girl named Qiu Xue.