Why are you being so fierce? I’m not crying at all

At eight o’clock in the morning, a stepped lecture hall at University B was packed to the brim.

The classroom itself wasn’t very large—at most it could seat fifty or sixty people—but now every original chair was taken, and some people had even carried in extra chairs to sit in the aisles and listen in.

If this were an ordinary 8 a.m. class, most students would have skipped it if they could, depending on how important the course was, and there definitely wouldn’t be such a full-house scene.

But right now, although the people sitting below the stage looked like they were listening attentively, their eyes were actually revealing gazes of infatuation or admiration.

The reason was simple—the person giving the lecture on the podium was something of a legend at University B.

This was a postgraduate entrance exam experience-sharing seminar, organized entirely by the student union.

Normally, not many people would be interested in attending this kind of seminar, but since the student union needed to take photos and upload them to the school bulletin, too many empty seats would look bad, so someone came up with a clever idea.

They invited Xu Shuche to give the talk and publicized the news loudly across the entire campus.

As a result, on the day of the seminar, the student union member responsible for registration was typing so fast the keyboard might as well have been sparking, barely managing to register the first sixty-plus students who signed up.

Xu Shuche, a second-year graduate student from the School of English, was already able to publish papers independently at a young age.

Last year, he had represented University B at a well-known academic forum and instantly became famous within academic circles.

With his outstanding grades and remarkable research achievements, the faculty was even subtly considering letting him pursue a direct PhD.

But the students crowding into the room weren’t just curious about how strong Xu Shuche’s academic abilities were.

More of them were there because Xu Shuche had been dubbed the “department heartthrob” on the campus forum.

This so-called “department heartthrob” sounded exaggerated to those who hadn’t seen him in person.

But once they saw him for real, they felt that every word humanity could imagine to describe “good-looking” still fell just a little short of doing Xu Shuche justice.

The person on the podium was wearing a white shirt and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

The sunlight after eight in the morning was a pale gold, outlining the contours of his side profile and perfectly coating him in a warm yellow glow—soft and fluffy, like the newly grown wings of an angel.

From the side, Xu Shuche looked shockingly slender, like a sheet of fragile glass paper.

“Help… Senior Xu must be Nuwa’s graduation project, right?”

“I’ve lived for twenty years and this is the first time I’ve seen a guy this pretty.”

“Looks and talent both maxed out—he’s basically a character who walked straight out of a novel.”

Several girls sitting in the back row huddled together and whispered to each other.

A boy in the front row seemed to overhear them and turned around to join in, saying, “It’s not just you—my roommate likes him too. He’s been preparing for ages to confess to him.”

The girl who spoke first was shocked. “What? Senior Xu doesn’t like men, does he?”

“Seems like we’ve never heard about him dating any female classmates…”

“Senior Xu really does attract everyone—total human wrench. I heard a little wolf-dog type from the neighboring Sports Institute squatted at University B’s gate for a whole month just to wait for him.”

Xu Shuche, standing on stage, had no idea how the seemingly attentive juniors were gossiping about him.

Seeing people whispering, he felt it was understandable.

After all, lectures really were boring, and chatting quietly was normal.

He flipped the prepared PPT to the last slide and habitually pushed up his glasses.

“…Although today is a postgraduate exam mobilization lecture, what I want to say is that taking the exam isn’t the only choice in front of you right now.

Someone once said that life is a wilderness, a plain, not a one-way voyage.

I hope that every student at University B can find the wilderness that belongs to them.”

The audience fell silent for a moment, then broke into enthusiastic applause.

Xu Shuche took a deep breath and bowed slightly to the juniors.

His hands, hidden in his sleeves, had been clenched into fists, his palms coated with a thin layer of sweat.

He was actually someone who didn’t like crowds and rarely gave speeches in public settings like this.

Because of some experiences in the past, he felt an instinctive resistance toward “participating in activities” and “making friends.”

If he could avoid showing his face, he would.

If he hadn’t owed the student union president a favor, he absolutely wouldn’t have come to give this lecture.

Since the PPT was finished, it should be over now, right?

Standing on the podium, Xu Shuche felt like he was sitting on pins and needles and cast a slightly pleading look toward the student union president.

“Today’s lecture by Senior Xu ends here. Students who still have questions can stay behind,” the president caught on and stepped onto the stage in time to help him out.

“If there are no questions, everyone is free to leave.”

The audience roughly fell into three groups.

One group genuinely wanted to get closer to this young academic bigshot.

Another group came to admire Xu Shuche’s god-tier looks.

The last group was more interested in Xu Shuche’s love life.

More than a third of the students in the stepped classroom left.

A girl raised her hand. “Senior.”

Xu Shuche nodded to her.

She stood up and said confidently, “Senior, I’m a third-year student from the English Department. My future exam focus is linguistics. If there’s something I don’t understand, may I come to ask you for guidance?”

“No problem,” Xu Shuche said gently.

“I’m usually in the library or the research office. If you need me, you can find me in either place.”

The girl couldn’t hide her joy, thanked Xu Shuche, and sat back down.

On the other side, a male student raised his hand as well.

“Senior, if girls can go, can guys go too?”

As soon as he finished speaking, laughter erupted from the audience.

Xu Shuche had never encountered a situation like this before.

His face instantly heated up, and at a loss, he looked toward the student union president for help.

“He’s asking you,” the president poked him.

“It’s fine—just answer.”

Xu Shuche cleared his throat, nervously pushed his glasses again, barely masking his fluster.

His voice was much softer than before.

“M-male students can come too.”

The energetic juniors burst into laughter again.

Mixed in were joking remarks like “scheming top,” which hit Xu Shuche’s ears.

His already slightly flushed face grew even redder.

The tips of his ears felt like they were burning, dyed pink from the heat—especially obvious against his fair skin.

Everyone had originally thought that the rumored immortal Xu Shuche was a cold, untouchable high mountain flower.

Only today did they realize he was actually a gentle senior who was fairly easy to talk to and easily embarrassed.

So they relaxed even more, asking questions freely, and the entire seminar ended amid laughter and chatter.

After completing his task, the student union president handed Xu Shuche a cup of strawberry fresh milk.

“Thanks for your hard work today. I’ll treat you to a meal another day.”

Xu Shuche shook his head, took the strawberry fresh milk, and said thank you.

His teeth unconsciously bit lightly on the straw as he wondered whether he should quietly slip away now.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the door of the stepped classroom was suddenly pushed open with a loud bang.

A boy wearing a sports tank top stood in the doorway.

His red hair, soaked with sweat, clung to his scalp, and just looking at him, he seemed to radiate a strong smell of sweat.

He first scanned the people in the room, then lifted his gaze to Xu Shuche.

“Hey, surname Xu.”

Xu Shuche’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as he stood up from his chair.

“We’ve got a meeting in Building A, Room 201 later,” the red-haired boy said.

“You hear me?”

Xu Shuche moved his lips, his voice turning cold.

“Can’t you speak properly?”

“Speak properly?”

The other snorted, bounced the basketball tucked under his arm twice on the ground.

“I’ve got nothing nice to say to a sissy. If I weren’t helping Brother Xun with a favor, I’d feel sick just looking at you.”

Several people from the student union couldn’t stand it anymore and frowned at the red-haired boy.

One male student took a few steps toward him, ready to throw him out if he did anything excessive.

“I’ve never offended you before. If you’re saying this just because of how I look, then I—”

Xu Shuche’s voice began to tremble slightly.

He took a deep breath, but halfway through the sentence, he couldn’t continue.

His eyes quickly filled with mist.

He was born with a tear-prone constitution.

Whenever he encountered conflict, before any real arguing even began, his nose would sting and tears would fall uncontrollably.

A hand reached out from behind and patted the rude red-haired boy on the shoulder twice.

“What are you saying?”

The foul-mouthed redhead flinched, his face instantly switching to a somewhat ingratiating smile.

“Brother Xun.”

The one called “Brother Xun,” Jian Yixun, was also wearing a sports tank top.

With his thick brows knitted together, he dragged the red-haired boy behind him.

“Who taught you to talk so horribly?”

“Apologize to him.”

“Apologize for what? Brother Xun, don’t you hate this kind of sissy the most?”

The red-haired boy muttered.

“Getting upset over a few words—what a glass heart.”

“You already bullied him to the point of… crying.”

Jian Yixun lifted his eyes to look at Xu Shuche.

The words he was about to say paused subtly.

Behind his glasses, Xu Shuche’s eyes were misty, shrouded in a layer of moisture.

He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

The corners of his lips drooped slightly, as if he were deeply aggrieved.

Both hands were still tightly holding a cup of pink strawberry fresh milk.

No matter how one looked at it, he was clearly the bullied, vulnerable one.

The red-haired boy got smacked on the head by Jian Yixun.

The sound was crisp, like a fully ripened but hollow watermelon.

“Sorry about this, Senior.

He’s a member of my basketball team—I didn’t manage him well.”

Jian Yixun scratched his brow awkwardly.

“He doesn’t know how to talk, so I’ll apologize on his behalf.

Um… don’t forget the meeting in Building A, Room 201 later.”

He had planned to leave after saying that.

But the sight of those beautiful phoenix eyes veiled in mist made his heart itch for no reason.

Someone from the student union nearby had already recognized him and was quietly telling others that he was Jian Yixun, a first-year graduate senior from the Physics Department.

Jian Yixun attributed the inexplicable itchiness and irritation in his chest to the small whispers in his ears.

He lifted his eyes again to look at Xu Shuche.

Wasn’t he already apologized to?

Why did he still look so wronged?

Enough already.

“Stop crying,” Jian Yixun said in a fierce tone.

His features were already sharp to begin with, and now his expression looked downright intimidating.

“Why don’t you curse him out instead?”

As he spoke, he fished out a crumpled pack of tissues from his pocket and tried to stuff it into Xu Shuche’s hand.

Xu Shuche pressed his lips together tightly.

His eyes were red-rimmed, and he didn’t take the tissues meant as a peace offering.

After a long while, Jian Yixun finally heard his voice.

It was light and soft, as if he didn’t know who he was explaining himself to.

“Why are you being so fierce?

I’m not crying at all.”