Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I quickly added that senior as a friend, and the first thing he sent was: “You’re Ye Xingchun?”

Confused, I replied: “I am. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Your name sounds beautiful.”

His voice-or at least the way he texted-was nice too.

This senior, only one year above me, was named Pei Yu. He sent over a lot of relevant materials.

“Look through them first. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask me.”

Not long after that, he added me to a group chat. Besides me, there were also two senior girls in it.

The senior girls were really nice. They shared which cafeteria window had the best food, and even recommended their favorite takeout places.

Once we found a suitable time, the four of us met up at the cafeteria.

But the moment I saw Pei Yu, I still froze for a second.

His hair was slightly long, styled in a wolf tail cut. His skin was fair, his nose bridge high and straight, his eyes bright, and his figure slim and tall.

The senior named Luo Ling slung an arm around my shoulders and said familiarly, “Little junior, Senior Pei Yu is handsome, right? He’s the treasure of our year.”

“…”

In our major, having far more girls than boys seemed to be the norm.

And among the very limited number of guys, someone with looks like his really could be called a treasure.

“Stop teasing the junior,” Pei Yu said, smiling with his eyes. “Do you really treat me like some treasure?”

“How do we not? Back when school started last year, I even bet on who you’d end up with. Do you know how thoroughly you made me lose?”

According to the senior girls, this Senior Pei Yu had no shortage of pursuers because he was too handsome and had such a good personality.

And yet, for more than a year, he had somehow managed to maintain his single status.

The other senior girl was named Li Siyan. She had obviously been part of the betting too, and clicked her tongue.

“It’s been over a year already. I’ve dated and broken up in that time, but you still haven’t liked a single one of them. Don’t tell me you have some white moonlight in your heart?”

Pei Yu laughed out loud. “Read fewer romance novels and more academic papers.”

“Little junior, you need to study hard too.” The senior in front of me looked at me gently.

I nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

When people get busy, time passes quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was winter break.

Pei Yu and I happened to be headed in the same direction on the way home. He lived in the neighboring city, and we agreed to do field research during winter break.

As for Luo Ling and Li Siyan, they were temporarily in charge of organizing the literature.

On the way back, I looked out at the scenery beyond the window and couldn’t help feeling a little emotional.

It was ironic, really. I used to think that when winter break came, the person sitting beside me would be Zhou Tingshen. But instead, it was a senior I’d only known for a short time.

“Xingchun, see you in a few days.”

Pei Yu got off the high-speed rail one stop before mine and said goodbye to me with a smile.

Our research topic was Suzhou embroidery. It wasn’t exactly obscure, and there was even a dedicated cultural heritage base for it.

For the first few days, Pei Yu and I went there every day. We even signed up for a class with one of the masters.

Unfortunately, I really had no talent for it. My embroidery came out all crooked and uneven. Pei Yu, on the other hand, produced work that actually looked quite decent.

“Senior, your embroidery is so beautiful.”

I leaned in beside him and stared at it.

“Thank you,” Pei Yu said, smiling as he looked at me. “Your work is cute too.”

“…”

You really didn’t have to compliment me.

After several days of field research and interviews with some of the artisans, Pei Yu and I also took the chance to look around the nearby area.

“Ye Xingchun-”

A voice suddenly called out from behind me.

I turned around and saw my deskmate from senior year of high school jogging over.

“What a coincidence.” Her gaze darted excitedly between me and Pei Yu beside me, and she asked gossipy, “Your boyfriend?”