A Team Forms Amidst Unexpected Encounters

Jiang Chen lifted his gaze, observing the spirited girl before him. Her bright, crystalline eyes sparkled with an abundance of fighting spirit.

Even the way she furrowed her brow in thought conveyed a vibrant, almost comically lively energy that brought a smile to his face.

Whenever he was with her, time always seemed to fly by with remarkable speed.

This feeling of ease and vitality, if only it could…

His thoughts were abruptly cut short by the girl’s clear, ringing voice.

“Alright, meeting time!”

Zhou Yi grandly slapped the table. “Now that our team has officially formed, we must first establish clear roles and responsibilities.”

Amused by her sheer drive, Jiang Chen chuckled. He gathered his thoughts, leaning back into his chair. “Alright, Captain, lay it on us.”

“I’ll be responsible for the proposal and the logical framework,” Zhou Yi declared, ticking off points on her fingers. “Jiang Chen, you’re eloquent, so you’ll handle the presentation and defense.”

She then turned to Li Yanze, who seemed a little reserved. “The data models and market research are all yours. Don’t worry, we trust you completely.”

“Me?” Li Yanze looked up, genuinely surprised.

“Of course, you,” Zhou Yi affirmed with a nod. “Your programming skills are excellent; you need to believe in yourself.”

Jiang Chen noticed that as Zhou Yi spoke those words, Li Yanze’s back unconsciously straightened a little.

This perfectly timed encouragement proved that she was a natural leader, perfectly suited to guiding a team.

Li Yanze paused, then a slow light began to gleam in his eyes. “I… I will do my best!”

“Doing your best isn’t enough,” Jiang Chen suddenly said, his smile fading as he clapped Li Yanze’s shoulder. “You must aim for perfection.”

Li Yanze nodded repeatedly. “Yes!”

Zhou Yi grew more animated with each word, excitedly urging the two. “Quick, quick, let’s brainstorm! We need to roll the dice and decide on a direction. What theme should we choose for this competition?”

“Environmental protection? Smart campus? AI-assisted learning? Or perhaps delve into some social issues?”

The three exchanged ideas rapidly, their discussion growing lively. For the first time, a true sense of teamwork began to solidify.

“We could develop a campus social app,” Zhou Yi mused, sketching a mind map on a piece of paper. “It would focus on authentic social connections, just like ours right now…”

Just then, the doorbell of the milk tea shop chimed crisply, accompanied by a burst of boisterous laughter.

Zhou Yi’s fluent explanation abruptly ceased. She looked up, watching the three people who had just pushed open the door and entered. Li Yanze’s gaze followed hers.

Two fashionably dressed young men escorted Su Xiao, who resembled a goddess, into the shop.

Su Xiao wore exquisite makeup and a light pink dress. As she walked in, her entire aura radiated superstar glamour, clearly relishing the feeling of being the center of attention.

Her steps faltered slightly when her gaze unexpectedly landed on Li Yanze.

The moment their eyes met, she almost imperceptibly pursed her lips and let out a soft huff through her nose.

However, when she saw Zhou Yi sitting at the same table as Li Yanze, that flicker of disdain was instantly replaced by an expression of utter disgust.

Jiang Chen, whose back was to the door, keenly sensed Li Yanze’s stiff posture and Zhou Yi’s sudden silence. He turned his head to look.

The instant he saw Su Xiao, the faint smile on his lips vanished, and he indifferently averted his gaze.

“How unlucky,” Zhou Yi muttered under her breath, poking a pearl with her straw.

Jiang Chen naturally slid her milk tea cup closer to himself. “What did the milk tea ever do to you?”

Zhou Yi’s hand, still holding the straw, hung in the air. She made a motion as if to stab it towards Jiang Chen’s cup. “Give it back!”

“No,” Jiang Chen said, raising a hand to lightly block her. “You’re going to poke a hole in it.”

Zhou Yi tried to snatch her milk tea back, but Jiang Chen deliberately held down the bottom of the cup.

“Childish!”

“Who started it?” Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow, finally releasing his grip.

However, Jiang Chen was utterly oblivious to how familiar and intimate this seemingly simple interaction between them truly was.

Su Xiao observed the entire scene.

Jiang Chen, who always maintained a certain distance from others, was actually bickering playfully with Zhou Yi over a cup of milk tea.

A wave of sourness threatened to spill from her chest, but she quickly masked it with a carefree smile.

She feigned indifference, tossing her hair and speaking in a sweet voice to the two young men beside her. “Oh dear, it’s a bit noisy here. Let’s find a window seat instead.”

The bespectacled young man next to Su Xiao followed her gaze and immediately spotted Zhou Yi, instantly understanding the implication of Su Xiao’s ‘noisy’ comment.

Seeing Su Xiao’s forced smile, a sense of chivalry, of rescuing a damsel in distress, welled within him. He immediately spoke to Zhou Yi in a mocking, sarcastic tone:

“Well, well, if it isn’t our esteemed Senior Zhou from the Business School! Yesterday, she was lecturing junior students downstairs in the girls’ dorm, and today she’s already out drinking milk tea with boys? Such mental fortitude, truly admirable.”

The other young man, with spiky hair, immediately caught on and sneered, “Tsk, you just don’t get it, do you? She’s a top student from the Business School; isn’t her specialty scheming and latching onto powerful people? What’s a little dignity? As long as there are benefits, right!”

Li Yanze’s face flushed crimson. Impulsively, he stood up, ready to argue with them, but Zhou Yi pressed him back down.

“Sit down. No matter how loudly dogs bark, it won’t disrupt our meeting.”

She didn’t even glance at the two. Instead, she turned to Li Yanze. “Junior, regarding the user persona modeling you just mentioned, what specific data points do we need to collect?”

The bespectacled young man, however, refused to back down. He took two steps forward, pointing at Zhou Yi as he demanded, “Who are you calling a dog?”

As the tension visibly escalated, Su Xiao hastily stepped forward, feigning the role of a peacemaker. Her voice was laced with a wronged tone. “Alright, alright, don’t say such things. Senior Zhou… she’s actually a very nice person. Let’s just leave quickly, so we don’t… so we don’t cause any misunderstandings.”

As she spoke, she deliberately hid behind the bespectacled young man, a move that predictably ignited an even stronger protective instinct in him.

“Misunderstanding?” The bespectacled young man shielded Su Xiao. “Misunderstanding? She’s pushed you to this point, and you’re still defending her!”

The spiky-haired young man cooperatively stood by, acting as an enforcer. “Exactly! Some people just rely on having someone backing them up and think they’re invincible!”

Li Yanze could no longer tolerate it. He slammed his hand on the table in anger. “You’re going too far!”

That shout silenced the entire milk tea shop.

All the previous chatter and the clinking of straws instantly ceased.

Everyone’s eyes swiveled in unison to look at them.

The shop was directly opposite Dongda University, and almost all the customers were students. After a brief silence, whispers spread rapidly like a tide.

Someone immediately recognized them.

“Hey, aren’t those the main characters from that campus wall incident?”

“Zhou Yi! And Su Xiao! Is this real? A live showdown?”

“Holy crap, this gossip is piping hot!”

More and more people craned their necks to look over, even the shop staff secretly peeked out.

Eventually, everyone stopped trying to hide their curiosity, openly watching Zhou Yi’s table with an air of anticipation for a good show.

Seeing her table had become the center of gossip, Zhou Yi felt a sudden headache. She quickly pulled at Li Yanze’s sleeve. “Alright, alright, don’t be impulsive.”

“What’s wrong?” The bespectacled young man saw Zhou Yi’s reluctance to escalate the situation, misinterpreting it as her backing down. He provocatively pushed up his glasses. “Did we hit a nerve? You…”

“‘You’ what ‘you’?” A cold voice suddenly cut him off.