Chapter 107: Can I pursue you?

Unfortunately, the beautiful plan fell through again.

That male student, 185 cm or taller, wearing an Ultraman mask, did not respond to Zhao Lei's words. His crystal-clear eyes, through the two black holes in the mask, glanced at the three of them, then he lifted his foot and walked toward Nan Guangchang.

Leaving the shade of the trees, he stepped under the streetlight, his figure becoming even more slender and tall, wearing a black-and-white baseball jersey, black tapered work pants, white canvas shoes, giving the impression of youthful vigor and sunshine.

Wu Qinglu sized up the male student's build and outfit while muttering, "He doesn't seem to be Senior Xu; his height is similar, but his clothing style and gait don't quite match."

Wang Qiuyu agreed: "I also think it's not him."

Zhao Lei's flicker of hope was extinguished by their words; she lowered her head, disappointed: "I thought things were turning around, that Xu Yanfeng had really come."

"Wait, why is that male student approaching Xi Xi?" Wu Qinglu kept watching the male student, sensed something off, and spoke up immediately.

Wang Qiuyu and Zhao Lei turned their heads simultaneously; sure enough, the male student stood before Xia Xi, lowering his head slightly. Though his expression was unseen, his posture conveyed a hint of deep feeling.

Only a few students remained on the square to watch; all were stunned by this sudden reversal, and the atmosphere, which had dropped to zero degrees, boiled over again.

"Holy shit, did Xu Yanfeng come?!"

"Take a good look—is that Xu Yanfeng? Would Xu Yanfeng wear an Ultraman mask?"

"Is this... someone confessing to Xia Xi?"

"Honestly, I've imagined several outcomes: one where Xu Yanfeng doesn't come, one where he comes but rejects Xia Xi, and one where he comes and accepts her confession. How did a fourth outcome pop up?"

"Sure, an O. Henry-style ending, completely beyond my expectation."

Not only did it defy the expectations of the onlookers, Xia Xi herself hadn't imagined this scene. She stared blankly at the male student who had appeared out of nowhere, feeling a mix of surprise, confusion, and doubt—her emotions truly complex.

"Um, do you... have something to say?" Xia Xi, freezing, could barely speak without almost biting her tongue.

The male student gazed deeply at her, pushing the roses in his arms forward.

Xia Xi's frozen red nose was filled with the rich fragrance of the roses; she glanced at the flowers held in his arms—each blossom vivid, just in full bloom, dotted with dew.

But she did not take them.

She felt bewildered; she didn't even know who this person was.

Just as Xia Xi was at a loss, the male student spoke: "Xia Xi, I heard you were waiting for Xu Yanfeng in Nan Guangchang to confess, so I nonstop ran to the flower shop outside school, personally picked a bouquet of red roses—each one I selected myself. You've waited for Xu Yanfeng how long, I've waited for you that long. I've thought: if you get Xu Yanfeng and he accepts your confession, then this bouquet will be my congratulations. If Xu Yanfeng doesn't come, I'll use this bouquet to confess to you. Xia Xi, I'm Su Yuanjia from the Computer Science Department; I like you."

After pouring out his heart, the male student removed the mask from his face, revealing a handsome visage.

A face completely unfamiliar to Xia Xi.

Su Yuanjia shook the Ultraman mask in his hand, smiling, his face becoming especially lively and handsome: "Do you know why I chose this mask?"

Xia Xi stammered: "Because you like Ultraman?"

The male student somewhat harbors a special affection for Ultraman; many girls like Ultraman too, such as her—she once deliberately compared which Ultramen were handsome and skilled, sometimes arguing with friends until their faces turned red.

Su Yuanjia said: "Because whenever trouble arises, Ultraman descends from the sky, defeats the bad guys, and rescues the harmed. I hope to become your personal Ultraman, descending from the sky when you need rescue."

His gaze was sincere, sincerely moving. On the romantically decorated square, he seemed like a male lead with his own background music.

Xia Xi pressed a hand to her forehead, her thoughts too chaotic to put into words.

What is all this? She had been waiting here for Xu Yanfeng to confess, but Xu Yanfeng didn't come; instead, a Su… Su Yuanjia showed up to confess to her, right in the setting she had prepared.

Xia Xi felt dazed, unable to sort her thoughts, so she simply stopped thinking: "Are you serious? We hardly know each other."

"It's you who don't know me." Su Yuanjia pushed the flowers in his arms forward again, his gaze still sincere: "I've remembered you since the day you moved to Xin Xiaoqu; I've silently watched over you. Because you openly said you were pursuing Xu Yanfeng, I respected your feelings and took no action. But you saw that Xu Yanfeng won't come tonight; I feel I have a chance, so I chose today to confess to you. Xia Xi, I really, really like you. I know you still don't know me well; I'm willing to wait—for you to forget Xu Yanfeng and gradually come to like me."

Having rehearsed these words for who knows how long, Xia Xi, as the listener, had to admit they were indeed moving.

But she only likes Xu Yanfeng; she feels nothing for others, destined to disappoint his feelings.

Xia Xi looked at the dazzling roses before her, symbolically plucking one stem: "The flowers are beautiful; thank you for liking me, but sorry, I can't accept your confession."

The luster faded from Su Yuanjia's face, replaced by a sense of loss.

That loss didn't linger on his face for long; a few seconds later it vanished, and he regained his former radiant look.

"I understand your current mood; you may not be able to consider others for now." Su Yuanjia changed his phrasing: "Then may I pursue you?"

Xia Xi's face showed hesitation: "This…"

She truly didn't know how to answer Su Yuanjia; if she said no, she could still pursue Xu Yanfeng, so on what grounds could she stop Su Yuanjia from pursuing her? There's no such reasoning in the world.

Xia Xi felt trapped in a vicious cycle: "You said you've been silently watching me for a long time; you should know I only like Xu Yanfeng and won't like anyone else…"

"Xia Xi." Su Yuanjia's expression held a hint of apology, as if apologizing for interrupting her: "A lifetime is long; you're only twenty—how can you be sure you'll like only that one person?"

That night, Xia Xi never got to wait for Xu Yanfeng; as the dormitory curfew approached, her roommates who hadn't left pulled her back.

The protagonist had left, and the onlookers naturally dispersed.

Before Xia Xi even returned to the dormitory, the campus bulletin board and various department groups circulated the night's events—countless photos and videos from every angle, scattered like snowflakes everywhere.

【Nan Da's newly crowned school belle Xia Xi's carefully prepared confession ceremony ended in dismal failure; Xu Yanfeng didn't appear from start to finish, and the school belle became a joke. Worth mentioning is that Su Yuanjia, the 'school grass' of the Computer Science Department, seized the moment, publicly confessed to Xia Xi, rescued her, and can be called a stroke of genius!】

Just as Xu Yanfeng returned from outside, Chen Mian rushed over with his phone: "You really didn't go?!"

"Where to?" Xu Yanfeng asked, feigning ignorance.

He took off his jacket and draped it over the chair back, lifted the chair to set it upright, sat down, legs slightly spread, picked up the heavy volume on the desk, turned to the page he had been reading, pulled a neutral-toned pen from the pen holder, and made annotations in the blank space.

Chen Mian truly admired him, still able to read; he opened a photo and shoved it at him: "That Computer Science Department guy, what's his name—Su Yuanjia, holding roses, confessed to Xia Xi, your junior!"

Xu Yanfeng paused, the pen in his hand pressing onto the book, leaving a tiny ink dot that fell between characters; besides him, no one noticed.

He kept his eyes forward, not looking at Chen Mian's phone; he knew the square's situation all too well.

"What does this have to do with me?" Xu Yanfeng asked Chen Mian seriously, using a cold, inquisitive tone.

Chen Mian opened his mouth, then fell silent; after a while, he turned off his phone screen, silently deciding this would be the last time he managed Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi's affairs: "... I was wrong."