Chapter 312: Limited Edition Skin

The chirping of cicadas on campus grew increasingly noisy.

"The cicadas are crying in the fifth month..."

Chen Shu hugged his books and walked into the Teaching Building.

It was now the second semester of his junior year, and the semester was nearly over; before he knew it, more than half of his university life had passed. It seemed like there were still two years left, but in reality, next year the school would organize many internship activities depending on the major, so time would pass very quickly. By the time he reached his fifth year, there would be no more classes.

"It's really fast."

Chen Shu was different from others.

He had experienced university once before, and naturally, he had lost it once before, so he knew better the preciousness of campus time and knew better that he should experience it.

"Senior Brother Chen!"

"Senior Brother Zhang, what a coincidence."

"Yeah, what a coincidence..."

Senior Brother Zhang Yunyan was beaming, and he said to him: "I watched your final match, it was too awesome!"

"A narrow victory, a narrow victory."

Chen Shu chatted with him for a moment and walked into the classroom.

The noisy classroom fell silent for a few seconds.

In the minutes that followed, Chen Shu finally experienced the feeling of a champion returning in triumph—those cries of "big shot" and the boasting, those gazes of admiration; even someone with a temperament as firm as his was almost intoxicated by it, almost turning into Zhang Suannai on the spot.

Until Teacher Shi Qian walked in and asked him with a smile:

"Champion, how does it feel?"

"It's great..."

Chen Shu also responded with a smile and answered frankly: "I really hope this kind of time passes a little slower."

"Haha!"

The bell for class rang.

The class today was "Advanced Principles of Spells (4)".

Chen Shu now had only two classes he absolutely did not want to miss: one was Teacher Shi Qian's Spell class, and the other was Teacher Fu Jia's cultivation class—although he was already at the Sixth Stage, the problem with advancing too quickly was that some theoretical knowledge was hard to keep up with, and relying solely on reading books was always a bit lacking. Every time he listened to their classes, regardless of whether the content was something he had already mastered, he could always gain something.

Ling'an Academy.

This Teaching Building had been around for some years. The windows pushed outward were actually made of rosewood, and the clarity of the glass was very poor; it always felt a bit yellowed, and in some places, the thickness was uneven, with traces of air bubbles, distorting the scenery when looking through it.

Ning Qing was also sitting in the classroom. She found a seat by the window and lazily propped up her chin, which to a certain extent diluted her aloofness.

The chirping of cicadas and the wind entered her ears.

The person teaching was a female teacher.

And outside the window, downstairs, a tall girl wearing denim overalls and short hair was walking back and forth, bored. Her hands were in her pockets, and one of the straps of her overalls had slipped loosely down to the crook of her arm; she didn't care, just kept her head down, focused on walking back and forth.

Ning Qing would glance at her from time to time.

If it were an ordinary animal, this might be a stereotypical behavior caused by anxiety, indicating a psychological problem.

But if it was Zhang Suannai, it was quite normal.

"Ring-a-ling..."

The bell for the end of class rang.

The female teacher stopped decisively and said to them: "That's all for today's class. Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, so everyone have a good holiday. If you have time, take a look at the books I recommended to you; you'll be able to gain something."

There was a chaotic response from below.

Ning Qing leaned out to glance under the window.

Zhang Suannai's stereotypical behavior had stopped. She had also pulled up the fallen strap and was standing on the steps, stretching her neck to look at her.

Their gazes met for a moment.

Zhang Suannai immediately beamed with a smile and waved at her.

"..."

Ning Qing pursed her lips, picked up her books, and stood up.

She went out and downstairs. Just as she walked out of the hallway door, Zhang Suannai came up to meet her, following behind her:

"Class over?"

"Mm."

"Let's go, let's go find Xiaoxiao!"

"She will go back by herself."

"Okay!"

"I need to go pick up a package."

"I'll go with you!"

"As you wish..."

Ning Qing responded coldly, but after a pause, she glanced at Zhang Suannai again:

"When did you get discharged from the hospital?"

"This morning."

"The short hair looks quite good."

"?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Suannai couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

Did my roommate just compliment me?

Could it be that her sincerity had finally been rewarded? Had her roommate's Heavenly Human heart melted? Was this the beginning of her roommate treating her the same way she treated Chen Shu?

"Are you still not recovered?"

"Oh, oh!"

Zhang Suannai reacted immediately, and while she was at it, she touched her own short hair, her smile radiant: "Haha, I think so too!"

"..."

"I look good in any hairstyle!"

"..."

"What did you buy?"

"..."

"Why aren't you saying anything? What are you eating for lunch? Eating at the canteen or going out to a restaurant? Do you have classes this afternoon?"

"Have you been cooped up in the hospital for too long?"

"How did you know?"

"..."

Ning Qing pursed her lips and continued walking forward. After a few seconds, she said to her: "I'm going back to the small courtyard this afternoon; I won't be in the Dormitory for the next few days."

"Oh..."

Zhang Suannai blinked her eyes.

"Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. If you're free, come to the small courtyard to wrap zongzi," Ning Qing added, "Chen Banxia is coming too."

"Really?"

"Forget it if you're not free."

"I'm free, I'm free!"

Zhang Suannai's eyes curved, and her steps became a bit lighter.

Dragon Boat Festival.

Chen Shu stretched as he came down from upstairs. Having slept well last night, plus having something to look forward to, he was in a very good mood.

Walking to the living room—

Qingqing had kept her promise and was wearing a pure white A-line skirt that sat just above her knees, while her upper body was clad in a light grayish-blue shirt that felt very high-end. This outfit made her figure look very tall and slender, her long legs were extremely eye-catching, and the material under the shirt seemed to be a bit fuller, giving a sense of being high and firm.

Chen Shu's eyes brightened a little.

To be honest, someone with Qingqing's personality would usually choose underwear that minimizes a large bust, and her daily style of dress was mostly focused on being homey, casual, and comfortable; she wouldn't wear things like hip-hugging skirts or tight dresses. Chen Shu couldn't imagine her wearing those sexy clothes either; perhaps, as she said, it would feel incongruous with her own personality and temperament.

It could, however, be used as an occasional bit of romantic flair during their long life together, much like black silk stockings.

As for what she wears normally...

Something like this is quite nice.

Aloof, capable, refined, and very aesthetically pleasing.

Chen Shu's gaze swept back and forth over her, unable to look away, while at the same time he greeted her:

"Morning, Secretary Ning."

"..."

"Morning, Qingqing."

"Morning."

"You look very good in a skirt," Chen Shu did not hold back his praise, "Wear them more often in the future."

"Heh..."

Ning Qing glanced at him indifferently, but suddenly asked:

"What do you rate it?"

"What?"

Chen Shu didn't react for a moment.

"..."

Ning Qing turned her head away and said nothing more.

"One hundred points."

The corners of Ning Qing's mouth slowly curled up.

Then, this person sat down beside her, harboring ulterior motives toward the legs under her skirt.

But before he could make a move, Xiaoxiao also came down from upstairs.

The young girl was wearing a dark pleated skirt with a white shirt and a long tie. Beneath the skirt were two fair, slender legs, black knee-high socks, and small leather shoes. Paired with her fair, tender, and expressionless face, she looked pure and beautiful.

Chen Shu felt as if he had returned to the past in an instant.

There was a period when the young girl's school uniform was just like this—

A dark pleated skirt with a white shirt tucked in. Such an outfit worn on a beautiful, refined young girl had immense lethality. Even someone with a violent temper might find their expression unconsciously softening upon seeing such a young girl.

Back then, Chen Shu always liked to put a hat on her, usually a bucket hat, goose-yellow or tender red, to make her look even cuter.

It's just that the young girl didn't like it very much—

It was too cute, and it would ruin her aloof image.

"Brother-in-law, morning."

"Morning."

Chen Shu responded, his smile never fading, and then his gaze darted downward again.

Taozi was also wrapped in a small floral dress, the kind specifically made for cats. Fortunately, it was already used to wearing clothes and didn't feel uncomfortable, though when Chen Shu greeted it, it was a bit unwilling to pay him any mind.

The person and the cat also sat down in the living room.

The little girl glanced at Qingqing and couldn't help but frown.

Even now, she couldn't understand why, when her sister lost the bet, she had to wear a dress too?

"Brother-in-law, does it look good?"

"It looks good."

"What about my sister?"

"It looks good."

"I'll tell you a secret—"

The little girl cast a glance at her sister, and under her sister's cold gaze, her expression remained firm and unwavering: "My sister bought several dresses, several styles, and even a black silk suspender dress; it's so pretty."

"Really?"

"Mm!"

The little girl nodded heavily, turning a blind eye to the gaze her sister was throwing at her.

Just then, a knocking sound rang out.

Zhang Suannai had arranged to meet her little friends as usual, arriving at Zhilan Garden early in the morning, and waited at the entrance of the residential complex for them to arrive together before walking in.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Zhang Suannai knocked on the courtyard gate a few times.

In fact, this gate was of no use against her; inside was a simple latch that could be opened with Spirit Power, and the courtyard wall was only two meters high, so even at her age, she could easily climb over it.

"Click..."

The one who came to open the door was Xiaoxiao.

"This..."

Both of them were stunned for a moment.

The little girl's attire had changed from her usual Chen Shu-style, replaced instead by a school uniform; it was rarely exquisite, making her look pure and clean.

Her face was fair and tender, and her legs were fair and tender too.

"?"

The little girl stared at the two of them expressionlessly, but ignoring them, she turned and walked away.

Chen Banxia followed first, catching up to the little girl, and while turning her head to look her over, she asked curiously: "Xiaoxiao, what made you think of wearing a dress? In my memory, I haven't seen you wear a dress for many years; the last time I saw you wear one, you were only this tall..."

"I don't like wearing dresses."

"Why? It looks very good."

"I don't like it."

"Then why are you wearing one?"

"Don't mention it."

"Oh, oh..." Chen Banxia thought for a moment, "Come to think of it, your sister also rarely wears dresses; I don't even remember what she looks like in one."

"Don't mention her."

"Oh, oh..."

Zhang Suannai followed silently behind.

At this moment, her mood was very complicated.

She felt that the little girl's outfit was so cute that it made her heart melt, and she just wanted to pull her into her arms and cherish her, or rub her vigorously, but then hearing the little girl say she didn't like wearing dresses, she couldn't help but clench her fists, filled with self-reproach.

As she walked through the courtyard, her heart was both anxious and expectant.

As expected, Qingqing was also wearing a dress.

Even Taozi hadn't escaped this fate, wearing a small floral dress; it sat quietly beside its owner, its expression appearing normal, but in Zhang Suannai's eyes, it was clearly aggrieved and silent.

Seeing this, Chen Banxia was stunned again.

Zhang Suannai remained silent, her fists clenched even tighter, yet she couldn't help but secretly cast her gaze toward her roommate.

It's all my fault for losing the match!

But... it really looks so good...