Forced Me to Regress, Huh?

Relative! They must be relatives! Pei Yan started coming up with reasons for his goddess in his heart.

Only the bond of kinship could create such care. Even romantic feelings would somehow fall short.

It was like being in a relationship during college, where your girlfriend waited for you outside your dorm, holding a bottle of water or bubble tea, and she was absolutely stunning—wouldn’t you brag about it in the dorm for a whole year?

Wouldn’t your roommates kneel and call you master, begging you to share your secrets?

His looks are… passable. Pei Yan sized up Cheng Zhu discreetly. And he’s not really that tall.

As for his vibe… he doesn’t really look like a proper student, definitely not someone the student council would accept.

He stubbornly clung to a sense of superiority, no matter how minor.

At this moment, Cheng Zhu was still puzzled. Why is Shen Qingning the one handing me water? Lin Lu, what’s the use of you?

But he was indeed thirsty, so he unscrewed the cap and took a sip.

At the same time, he felt the blazing sun at the school gate and edged closer under the parasol. “Move over, make some room. It’s way too hot today.”

In college, if a guy used a parasol by himself, it wasn’t exactly a big deal, but people would still point and whisper.

But if he shared a parasol with a girl? That made him a campus champion.

Zhou Xiao, a member of the student council, watched from the side and felt that this new student had a bit of a bad-boy charm. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and long-legged.

There was something about him that was hard to pin down. He carried himself with ease and confidence, unlike some who walked with their heads down or avoided eye contact during conversations.

He’s handsome! she thought with a sigh.

At this moment, Pei Yan walked over. Anyone who could become the vice president of the student council was naturally outgoing and socially adept.

“I was wondering why you two were standing here so long. Turns out you were waiting for someone.” He glanced at Cheng Zhu. “And this is?”

Lin Lu replied, “A friend! No, wait, a junior brother now!”

She emphasized the words junior brother.

Pei Yan’s heart instantly tightened.

—Something’s not right!

If he’s just a friend, Shen Qingning wouldn’t treat him this way. Am I not her friend too? I should be, right? Why don’t I get this kind of treatment?

What the hell, why him? Damn it!

“Junior Brother Cheng, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Pei Yan, vice president of the student council.” He looked at Cheng Zhu.

“Oh, hi,” Cheng Zhu replied nonchalantly.

In his past life, he had also attended Sci-Tech University, so he naturally recognized Pei Yan.

His strongest memory of this person was the time he got beaten up off-campus by a hot-headed student from the same school. After the story spread, many students cheered, feeling that the attacker was a hero. Everyone had already gotten sick of Pei Yan’s self-important student council act.

Afterwards, the student council’s attitude improved, just a little.

“Junior Brother, what’s your department? Which dorm? Want me to show you there?” Pei Yan offered enthusiastically.

“Huh? No need,” Lin Lu cut in quickly. “Wouldn’t that mean Ningning and I waited here for nothing?”

She grinned and hinted crazily at Shen Qingning, “Right, Ningning?”

“Huh? Mm,” the cold and aloof girl replied, then said icily to Lin Lu, “Get out!”

“Okay!” Lin Lu obediently stepped out from Shen Qingning’s parasol, rummaged through her bag, pulled out a parasol, and opened it.

Just as Cheng Zhu was feeling puzzled, the world suddenly dimmed slightly. Shen Qingning had tilted her parasol towards him, blocking out the blazing sun.

“Let’s go,” she said to Cheng Zhu. Her tone seemed calm, but her right hand holding the parasol was slightly stiff.

Shen Qingning was already starting to regret it.

She was certain that Lin Lu was out of her mind. She’s doing this to mess with me!

But Shen Qingning had indeed agreed to Lin Lu’s request.

She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t help paying attention to Cheng Zhu and Lin Lu’s interactions.

She had a vague feeling something was going on between them and thought today might be a good chance to find out.

But now, Lin Lu stood off to the side, grinning mischievously with a hint of smug satisfaction.

Am I overthinking it? Shen Qingning wondered. Could they just be good friends?

At this moment, Lin Lu chimed in, “Oh, I actually have some voice acting work today, so I’m heading out. Bye!”

“Huh? No… you!” Shen Qingning watched as she briskly walked away.

Cheng Zhu, still confused, thought, What the hell, did she just ditch me and get someone else to take over?

“Let’s go,” Shen Qingning said softly.

There were too many people at the school gate, and with both of them being good-looking—handsome guy, beautiful girl—they were drawing too much attention.

This was the first time Shen Qingning had ever experienced something like this—standing in a crowd with a guy, surrounded by a strange atmosphere.

This kind of atmosphere could easily get to a girl’s mind.

When they were students, many young couples ended up together simply because of the constant teasing from others. What might have been nothing at first became something serious through all the prodding.

Such examples were everywhere. In fact, there was a bit of a science to it.

A strange feeling began to spread in Shen Qingning’s chest. She had always had a strong aura and was never afraid of the others’ gazes, but at this moment, she wanted to slip away.

“Okay,” Cheng Zhu said casually.

He dragged his suitcase along, basking in Shen Qingning blocking the sunlight for him as they strolled down the familiar campus paths. It was a supreme treatment that no other new student could enjoy.

Speaking of which, the parasol did shield part of their faces, but there was a problem. Cheng Zhu and Shen Qingning had a height difference!

Whether Cheng Zhu was shielded or not was another matter, but Shen Qingning was definitely exposed to everyone.

She said softly, “Lin Lu asked me to do this for her birthday gift this year.”

“Her birthday?” Cheng Zhu said, wanting to get the date. He really had no idea when Lin Lu’s birthday was.

“It’s still a while off. It’s on Christmas.”

“Oh, I see. Is she crazy or something?” Cheng Zhu remarked, trying to find common ground. While scolding Lin Lu, he remembered the date.

“Exactly!” Shen Qingning pursed her lips slightly, her eyes frosty, her tone sharp.

Cheng Zhu found that with her expression like this, she seemed more alive and less cold and aloof.

Making her angry seems kind of fun? The thought suddenly crossed his mind.

As Chekhov said, “If a gun appears in a story, it must be fired.”

Many dramas were like this. The gun that appeared in the first act would definitely go off by the third act.

Some people’s ‘ill intentions’ worked the same way.

—An angry Shen Qingning is pretty fun.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the school gate.

Zhou Xiao watched their retreating figures, suddenly feeling as if a romance novel had come to life before her eyes. The cold, aloof, rich girl and the bad boy from campus! Ah! Isn’t this one of the classic romance templates?

She couldn’t help herself and said aloud in front of Pei Yan, “Are they dating?”

Can I ship them? Is it allowed to ship them?

Could Shen Qingning’s coldness towards the opposite sex be because she has a boyfriend? That’s so sweet!

This third-year woman was now feeding herself some artificial sweetness, creating her own sugar rush as she shipped them in her head.

Pei Yan frowned. He was cursing inwardly, but he maintained his damnable elegance on the surface. “Don’t talk about things that aren’t confirmed. Rumors are dangerous, understand?”

“Huh?” Zhou Xiao quickly realized that Pei Yan was pursuing Shen Qingning and immediately became obedient. “Okay.”

But of course, she would definitely share this with her roommates later.

As if. Just because you have a higher position, do you think you can shut my mouth? That’s something only my future boyfriend is entitled to!

Such juicy gossip? It would be a miracle if it didn’t spread through the girls’ dorms! As long as I’m not the first person to bring it up, it doesn’t count as coming from me.

* * *

At this moment, Cheng Zhu and Shen Qingning, still under the parasol, were already far away from the school gate.

After venting about Lin Lu, they hardly said a word to each other.

Only when passing by certain buildings did Shen Qingning give brief introductions.

Cheng Zhu deliberately didn’t initiate any conversation, intentionally letting the awkward silence stretch on between them.

The flow of people around them was still large. Shen Qingning was too famous on campus, and Cheng Zhu was quite striking. Who wouldn’t glance at them when passing by?

As they continued walking in awkward silence, the strange feeling in her heart only grew with every step. The experience of this moment deepened, and the emotions stirring inside her became more intense.

It was like the first time a teenage boy and a girl were alone together. When they were laughing and joking, the atmosphere felt easy. But when silence suddenly fell, neither could speak. That moment of awkwardness was the beginning of something wonderful.

Of course, the premise was that the girl didn’t dislike you.

“Why don’t… we stop using the parasol?” Shen Qingning suddenly asked.

Although she had promised Lin Lu to share the parasol with Cheng Zhu and do her best to provide excellent service, walking together under one parasol with a guy on campus felt too weird! It was too ambiguous!

Many boys cast envious, jealous, and even admiring glances at Cheng Zhu.

This made her prefer to get a little tan and soak up some UV rays rather than keep using the parasol.

She could kill Lin Lu right now!

“It doesn’t matter to me. I still have military training later,” Cheng Zhu said.

Many boys underwent a small medical procedure before military training to avoid it. During the summer, ads for this procedure were everywhere, with some clinics even offering ‘buy one, get one half-off’ promotions to encourage groups of boys to come together.

Shen Qingning immediately packed up the parasol.

When they reached the male dorms, Cheng Zhu said, “You can go back now. No need to wait for me. I’ll handle the rest myself.”

“Is that okay?” Shen Qingning asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

When Cheng Zhu heard these three words, for some reason, he found her endearingly out of character.

His mind drifted back to the day at the arcade, when she hid in a corner alone to catch a keychain.

“Sure.” He raised an eyebrow and grinned. “What’s wrong? Does Lin Lu have something on you?”

“No!” Shen Qingning replied.

“Then go ahead.” Cheng Zhu deliberately took half a step closer to her, narrowing the distance between them. Then he lowered his head and teased, “The guys in dorms are all watching you.”

Shen Qingning had been irritated the whole way, and now that she could finally leave, she raised her eyes and scanned the surroundings, letting her aura spread out.

We’re innocent. Why should we lack confidence?

Many of the gazes on them really turned away, not daring to meet her eyes.

Teenage boys were such cowards!

Before parting, Shen Qingning said, “By the way, Lin Lu said she’s treating you to dinner at the school cafeteria tonight.”

“She’s such a rich lady, but she’s only treating me at the cafeteria?” Cheng Zhu was speechless.

“Then scold her yourself. Really let her have it!” Shen Qingning was annoyed to death with Lin Lu today. With that, she swiftly strode away on her impressively long legs without looking back.

Cheng Zhu, pulling his suitcase, looked at her beautiful figure from afar. She really does seem to have some kind of long-leg effect. Fortunately, I maintain a balanced diet. If I were just into legs, wouldn’t I be charmed to death by this ‘leg goddess’?

With this thought, he began to handle some paperwork and then headed upstairs, ignoring the envious, gossipy, or even murderous glances around him.

What the hell are you looking at?! This is nothing compared to what’s coming. He even left everyone with a cool, one-hand-in-pocket pose as he walked away.

In the future, I’ll let you know what it means to have one hand in my pocket, asking who’s a match for me at Sci-Tech University.

Cheng Zhu’s dorm room was on the third floor. Since he was strong enough and his suitcase wasn’t heavy, he still had one hand free to play on his phone.

He had planned to check in with his parents, but he received a new message.

He opened WeChat, guessing that Shen Qingning had told Lin Lu the task was completed. Sure enough, the voice actress came to claim credit, feeling quite pleased with herself.

“So, how was it? I got the most aloof senior sister at Sci-Tech University to welcome you. Is the service good enough?”