Chapter 26: First Meeting

The sky grew increasingly dim, shrouded by a thick, oppressive mass of dark clouds that weighed on people's hearts like a heavy boulder.

It had the air of a storm about to break over the city.

Yet, on Zijin Road, the scene was quite different; the cries of vendors and sounds of laughter rose one after another, bustling and lively.

The group, full and satisfied, walked along comfortably, continuously discussing the delicious meal they had just finished; overall, they were very pleased and even said they would choose this place for their next gathering.

This provided some consolation to Lin Yang, who had paid the bill.

Passing by the Baccarat KTV at the school gate, Shen Yan's gaze inadvertently fell upon a snow-white stray dog.

Why does it feel somewhat familiar?

Hey! Isn't that the stray dog that peed on Wu Yue'er?

"Wu Yue'er, look over there!"

Wu Yue'er followed his gaze, her smile vanishing instantly; her eyes blazed like a blacksmith's furnace, and her teeth made a "grinding" sound, looking as if she wanted to eat someone alive.

How could she possibly forget that unspeakable incident?

Seeming to sense that danger was imminent, the stray dog scanned its surroundings uneasily, then immediately locked eyes with that pair of fiery eyes.

The eyes had met, and the right person had been found.

"Damn dog, I'm going to stew you today for sure."

Seeing Wu Yue'er chasing after it aggressively, the stray dog turned and ran without hesitation.

The scene of one person and one dog chasing each other left everyone bewildered; Lin Yang hurriedly asked, "Old Shen, what's wrong with Wu Yue'er? Why is she chasing that dog?"

Shen Yan shook his head: "That's an unpleasant experience; Wu Yue'er doesn't let anyone talk about it. If you want to know, you'd better ask her yourself."

"But Lao Lin, if you can catch that dog, maybe Wu Yue'er will offer herself to you in gratitude."

There's such a good thing?

Lin Yang couldn't care about anything else now; he kicked off and gave chase.

Yu Youwei knew the inside story, but even so, she felt a lingering fear and said with admiration: "Yue'er is truly amazing, daring to fight with a dog; I get weak in the knees just seeing one."

That's right, that's right!

The other girls echoed her sentiments repeatedly; Wu Yue'er was truly a role model for them all.

"Ding-dong!" A new message on the phone.

Shen Yan opened it to see it was from the young girl from before.

"Are you there?"

That book on chat techniques had a record of this question.

Shen Yan: "Barring any accidents, I'll be here for the next fifty years."

The girl: "Pfft! You're a bit cheeky (smiley face)."

"Have you guys gone back? Looking at the weather, it's about to rain."

As if to confirm the girl's guess, suddenly, a bolt of lightning like a silver waterfall tore through the sky, and the rumbling of thunder followed.

"It might rain; let's walk faster," Tang Song reminded them.

The group decisively quickened their pace.

Shen Yan replied to the girl: "Just arrived at the school gate; you should be at your dorm by now, right?"

The girl: "Mm!"

"By the way, when I went over to add you on QQ earlier, your girlfriend didn't misunderstand, did she?"

Is this testing the waters?

The three great illusions of life: the phone rang, someone knocked on the door, and she likes me.

Shen Yan felt he was suffering from the same problem now.

Shen Yan: "It's fine, we just met."

"So you're a freshman too? Hello, my name is Hao Anqi, from Suzhou, Jiangsu; a freshman, Photography Class (1) at Southern Media University."

It was estimated that there would be heavy rain for the next two days, so military training couldn't proceed as scheduled; as an old homebody, stocking up on food was imperative.

Walking quickly along the campus path, Shen Yan ducked into a supermarket as he passed by to buy a large bag of snacks, as well as milk, bread, and instant noodles.

Just as he returned to the dorm, the rain began to fall—first like soft whispers, then like the loud, chaotic patter of a heavy downpour, with a momentum like ten thousand horses galloping into battle.

Like a mischievous child, the rain was thrown heavily everywhere—on the ground, on the walls, on the tiles—the chaotic drumming weaving into an intriguing symphony.

Tang Song was secretly relieved over there, "Luckily we came back fast, otherwise we definitely would have been soaked like drowned rats."

Seeing Shen Yan carrying a large bag of snacks, Lin Yang asked curiously: "Old Shen, why did you buy so much food?"

"A typhoon is coming soon, and the rain follows the wind; military training will likely be delayed. I'm too lazy to go out, so I'm stocking up on some food in the dorm."

"That's great! I hope it rains for ten days or half a month."

Hearing that military training might be delayed, the people in the dorm were all beaming with joy.

Shen Yan asked Lin Yang again, didn't he go to chase the dog? Why was he back so soon?

Lin Yang shook his head helplessly, saying don't even mention it; that dog had motors installed on its legs, "whoosh," it turned into an alley and couldn't be found anywhere.

Well! It seems Wu Yue'er won't be able to get her revenge.

Opening his phone, there were two unread messages from Hao Anqi.

"Hey! I introduced myself, aren't you going to introduce yourself too?"

"Where did you go (aggrieved)?"

Shen Yan smiled, leaned lazily against the bed frame, and continued typing: "Why, do you want to know about me that much?"

On the other side, at the Communication University of China girls' dormitory, Hao Anqi, lying on her bed, had a slightly flushed face; she swung her little feet a few times before saying: "This is called mutual respect; after I introduced myself, shouldn't you have responded politely?"

At this moment, Lin Yang turned his head and asked Shen Yan to join him for a game; Shen Yan said he was a bit tired today and to do it next time.

Then he washed his feet and got into bed.

"Shen Yan, from Wencheng, Zhe Province, Law Class 1 at Hangzhou University."

"Huh? I thought we were at the same school," Hao Anqi replied instantly.

She then asked Shen Yan why he hadn't posted a single status update, and Shen Yan said that posting such things had no meaning; Hao Anqi retorted, how could it have no meaning, if you post more bits and pieces of your life, outsiders will think you are approachable, and you can make many friends.

"Being approachable leads to being harassed by many people; don't you have such troubles?"

After replying, Shen Yan opened her QQ Zone.

Good grief! A whole row of status updates, including dance videos, pictures of food, various funny jokes, and all sorts of life experiences.

The top one was posted two hours ago.

"Arrived at the new school today to register, met a few new friends, super happy (smiley face) (mischievous)"

Attached below were nine photos, including the beautiful scenery of the Southern Media University, a group photo with roommates, with a table of food in the background, four roommates leaning their heads together, making peace signs with their hands.

The girls were all quite pretty, but compared to Hao Anqi, they paled in comparison.

Looking at those dance videos again, my god! Having a good figure is just unreasonable.

Shen Yan felt his mouth go dry as he watched.

It would be one thing if she danced well, but her figure was so illicit, and she was dressed so thinly, with her breasts trembling, her waist thin and legs long; what man could stand it.

On the other side, at the Communication University of China.

Thinking carefully, Hao Anqi felt that what Shen Yan said was not without reason; every time she posted a status, there was a huge crowd of people commenting below, and suitors emerged one after another.

Perhaps this was the common trouble of handsome men and beautiful women.

Whatever, even if she wanted to change, it wouldn't be now.

After all, she had met Shen Yan...