Chapter 63

Chapter 63

How could Nan Mu possibly like her?

In Wen Miao’s memory, Nan Mu didn’t like her at all. This feeling could be traced back to the first time they met-their first day of college registration.

That day, in addition to checking in and getting dormitory assignments, students had to go to the Office of Academic Affairs to take a one-inch photo for their student ID cards.

He happened to be standing right in front of Wen Miao in the queue.

Just as Wen Tangtang had said, his appearance was undeniably striking in a crowd. This was evident from the way the girls ahead of her kept glancing back and the hushed whispers coming from the people behind her.

Yet, the person in front of her seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings. He had one hand in his pocket while his right hand scrolled incessantly through his phone screen. The scorching sun fell on his left shoulder; to block the glare from his screen, he leaned his body slightly to the right, keeping his back to the sun.

Wen Miao had always considered herself a bit of a “visual person,” so her gaze uncontrollably lingered on his profile for several seconds. It wasn’t until he flicked his eyes up to glance at her that she rubbed her nose and turned away, pretending nothing had happened.

She could feel his gaze resting on her face for a few seconds before he quickly looked away. Then, Wen Miao heard a familiar tune coming from his phone. It turned out he was playing a game-the one that was incredibly popular at the time, “Sheep A Sheep.”

September was hot, the sun was blistering, and the line was long.

Wen Miao was starting to feel dizzy from the heat. The front of the line was nowhere in sight, and her phone was nearly out of battery.

She tucked her phone into her small bag. Looking up, she saw the boy in front of her was still playing “Sheep A Sheep.” He probably hadn’t cleared the level yet.

He was very tall, and the position where he held his phone was exactly at Wen Miao’s eye level. So, she simply stood there and watched him play.

She had a bit of a bad habit: once she got engrossed in something, it was difficult for her to hear any outside noise.

Consequently, when Wen Tangtang called out to her, she didn’t even react at first. Her mind was entirely occupied with which tile should be cleared next to find the optimal solution.

In contrast, the moment Nan Mu heard the name “Wen Miao,” he looked up instantly.

He stared at the approaching Wen Tangtang with an intense, burning gaze, his eyes following her every movement.

“Wen Miao,” Wen Tangtang said as she reached her side, nudging her with an elbow. “What are you doing? I called you and you didn’t even respond.”

Only then did Wen Miao snap back to reality. When she looked up, her eyes crashed right into Nan Mu’s.

She saw Nan Mu’s gaze shift from her face to the temporary pass hanging around her neck. This pass was a temporary substitute issued by the school until student IDs were ready; it only displayed her name and class.

But the moment Nan Mu saw it, his originally cold expression suddenly turned pale. Wen Miao could never forget that look-it was as if he had seen something terrifying.

Wen Miao didn’t know why he was afraid of her. But every encounter after that seemed to confirm one thing: Nan Mu really disliked her.

Once, she went to find Wen Tangtang. Standing at the classroom door, she watched as Nan Mu, who had been laughing and playing with his classmates while heading out, abruptly wiped the smile off his face the second he saw her. He made a sharp turn and took a long detour to leave through the back door instead.

A second time, Wen Miao was dragged along by her roommates to watch a basketball game.

The court was surrounded by layers of students, but Wen Miao spotted Nan Mu at a single glance. He was wearing an orange basketball jersey over his bare skin, leaping off the ground and extending his arm. The basketball fell accurately through the hoop.
The screams from the sidelines were deafening.

During halftime, girls eagerly ran over to bring water to the boys on the team. Wen Miao saw Nan Mu take a bottle of mineral water from a girl, smiling as he seemingly said thank you. Around him, the other boys on the basketball team were hooting with “mischievous” intent.

She was too far away to hear what they were saying. She could only watch as Nan Mu waved them off and walked over to the bench on her side. He grabbed a towel hanging over the back of the chair, draped it over his face, and wiped away the sweat.

He unscrewed the cap and tilted his head back, gulping the water down. After finishing, he turned and leaned over to place the bottle on the ground. When he looked up, his gaze collided head-on with Wen Miao’s, catching her off guard.

He stared at Wen Miao, momentarily stunned. Then, with perfect composure, he set the water bottle down and sat on the bench for two minutes.

Afterward, he strode toward the referee.

Wen Miao didn’t know what he said to the official, but a substitute went in to play the second half. He… had left.

To an indifferent observer, these actions might not have meant much, but Wen Miao had a strong gut feeling-Nan Mu really, truly disliked her.

The first time the two of them spoke was during the first semester of their junior year.

At the time, the school was holding a sports meet. Wen Miao was poor at athletics and hadn’t signed up for any events, so she had been pulled in to serve on the medical team, contributing her part to the event that way.

During the 400-meter hurdles, Wen Miao saw Nan Mu take the field. He was very fast and easily made it into the finals.

But during the finals, an accident occurred. It happened so quickly that by the time Wen Miao found out, others were already rushing over to call for them, shouting that Nan Mu had fallen.

It seemed that the boy in the lane next to Nan Mu had somehow crossed into his path. Nan Mu had been mid-sprint and couldn’t brake in time, causing the two of them to collide.

That day, Wen Miao was supposed to be on duty with another girl, but that girl happened to be in the restroom, so Wen Miao headed over first, carrying the first-aid kit.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw two boys sitting on chairs, both with scraped knees. Because of the track surface, the injuries looked quite severe-raw and bloody. Wen Miao looked at the two of them and hesitated for a moment.

It was the boy who had cut Nan Mu off who spoke up. Full of apology, he told Wen Miao to treat Nan Mu first, saying Nan Mu’s injury was worse and that he was fine.

Wen Miao was actually quite hesitant because she could feel Nan Mu’s rejection of her. If the other girl were there, they could have handled one person each, letting the other girl treat Nan Mu’s wound. But now, given what the boy had said, she found herself unable to decide.

Bracing herself, Wen Miao walked over to Nan Mu’s side. she could see him pressing his lips tightly together, appearing very displeased. However, since he didn’t voice any refusal, she couldn’t exactly turn around and leave.

So, Wen Miao could only pretend not to see the look on his face. She knelt beside him to examine the wound.

His knee was still bleeding, and due to the dust from the track, the blood looked dark. She had to clean the wound with alcohol first.

She took the alcohol from the medical kit and was just about to pour it when the girl she was partnered with finally arrived.

Relieved as if a heavy burden had been lifted, Wen Miao immediately stood up, wanting to let the other girl clean Nan Mu’s wound. But she had barely spoken a word before Nan Mu interrupted her.

“Don’t go to all that trouble. You keep going.”

Those were the first words Nan Mu ever said to her.