A Jolt of Reality and a Sudden Victory

Reaching the corner of the staircase, Jiang Chen suddenly halted, gently blocking her path with his arm.

“If…” he lowered his gaze, staring intently. “If it had been anyone else just now, would you have let them hold your hand?”

Zhou Yi’s heart skipped a beat at his sudden question. “How, how could that be possible!”

“Why?”

“Because…” As she stammered, she suddenly realized how close they were.

Close enough that she could clearly see her own reflection in his eyes.

Close enough that his breath lightly brushed against her forehead.

Jiang Chen softened his voice. “Because of what?”

Zhou Yi frantically pushed him away. “B-because only you could act out such a melodramatic scene so realistically!”

Jiang Chen chuckled softly. He watched her hasty retreat, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the spot where he had just held her hand. A tenderness he hadn’t even realized bloomed in his eyes.

Zhou Yi, meanwhile, had bolted back to the classroom as if her life depended on it.

‘No, no, this is too much!’

As soon as she collapsed back into her seat, Xiao Ju shrewdly leaned closer. “Yiyi! Why is your face so red? Was the Student Affairs Department that troublesome?”

Zhou Yi paused, taken aback by the question. ‘Is my face really that red? No wonder my cheeks feel so hot…’

“I was just, just angered!” Zhou Yi grabbed her notebook and fanned herself furiously. “Some people are truly beyond reason!”

Xiao Ju immediately assumed Wu Junzhe had caused trouble again.

“Don’t bother with people like that! The disciplinary action has already been issued, so let’s not get angry anymore!”

The other two roommates also chimed in. “Exactly! Shall we go to the commercial street tonight? It’s been ages since we had a girls’ outing, Yiyi, what do you think?”

“Mm… anything’s fine…” Zhou Yi stared at the podium, yet before her eyes, the smiling gaze from the stairwell corner reappeared.

Throughout the entire class, she stared blankly out the window. Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the wrist Jiang Chen had just held.

‘That unfamiliar flutter made her anxious…’

‘She couldn’t help but wonder what Jiang Chen’s words truly meant.’

‘Wait! Stop!’

‘No, no, no!’

‘Comrade Zhou Yi, your stance is wavering!’

‘Wake up! There’s nothing to care about here!’

She fiercely pinched her own thigh, gasping sharply at the pain.

‘But seriously, just a few days of wearing a skirt in the simulator and I’m already getting into character?’

‘Just honestly finish this job, complete the mission, return to the real world, and you’ll still be a true man of iron will.’

‘Don’t let beauty corrupt your revolutionary spirit!’

‘All this romance is but fleeting clouds!’

****

Long after the dismissal bell had rung, Zhou Yi remained seated, lost in thought, only snapping back to reality when Xiao Ju vigorously shook her shoulder.

“What are you spacing out for! We agreed we were going shopping!”

Zhou Yi: “Huh?”

The other two roommates had already flanked her, lifting her up. “Let’s go, let’s go! Today, we absolutely must make our Yiyi look gorgeous!”

“Exactly! We’ll use beauty to crush all our troubles!”

“Wait? When did I agree to this??”

Standing at the entrance of the commercial street, Zhou Yi finally experienced the terrifying combat power of girls shopping.

Every three steps, she was forced to stop.

Every single shop had to be thoroughly explored.

Every hairpin, earring, scarf, and ring had to be picked up and tried on.

She now completely understood why the men slumped in the resting areas always wore expressions of utter despair. All she yearned for was a bench to scroll through her phone.

“Yiyi, this suede beret was practically designed for you!”

“These earrings are a perfect match for your hair color today!”

“Oh my god, this silk scarf would look absolutely amazing tied to your bag!”

Zhou Yi’s gaze gradually became vacant, her soul already drifting northward.

Xiao Xia suddenly let out a surprised “Oh?”

She leaned closer to Zhou Yi’s ear. “Speaking of which, you haven’t worn earrings in a long time, have you?”

Zhou Yi subconsciously touched her earlobe. “This… maybe I forgot?”

‘Are you kidding? How could a pure man like me willingly hang sparkly things on myself?’

“Let me help you try these on!” Xiao Ju had already picked up a pair of long, dangling earrings with intertwined star and moon designs.

Before Zhou Yi could even refuse, the cool metal was already clipped onto her earlobe.

The swaying star-and-moon earrings framed the delicate contours of the girl in the mirror. She gazed, slightly dazed, at her suddenly gentle reflection.

Xiao Ju clapped her hands together in excitement. “Oh my god! Yiyi, you look absolutely stunning like this! Jiang Chen definitely wouldn’t be able to resist!”

Zhou Yi: “??????”

Another roommate clutched her chest. “This visual assault… unless his retina detaches, he won’t be able to remain indifferent!”

Zhou Yi: “No! Why do you all keep linking Jiang Chen and me together every single day?!”

The three friends chorused in unison. “Because it’s just too shippable!”

Zhou Yi: “……”

The sparkling star-and-moon earrings dangled gently from her earlobes, complemented by a matching star-and-moon hairpin and the delicate star-and-moon necklace around her neck…

She had to admit… the ensemble was indeed stunning.

‘It even made her feel a little… flutter?’

‘Suddenly, a jolt!’

‘Stop! Zhou Yi, get a grip!’

‘You can’t go further and further down this path of porcelain-like degeneration!!!’

‘You’re a pure man to the bone! Where’s your straight male dignity? You can’t let these earrings easily steal your soul!!!’

“Oh, Yiyi, you’re blushing!”

“Are you imagining Jiang Chen’s reaction?”

“This is clearly a sign of a crush!”

“You guys, stop talking!!!”

****

For the nth time, forced into this ‘business,’ Zhou Yi felt like Tang Sanzang who had stumbled into the Spider Demon’s cave.

In a blink, she was dragged to the cosmetics section. Xiao Ju was already comparing color swatches, while a roommate held up a lipstick and leaned in. “Yiyi, you’ve been so unkempt lately!”

“You can’t get complacent just because you’re familiar with Jiang Chen now~”

“Try this milk tea shade! You can even wear it without makeup!”

Zhou Yi: “???”

‘How can everything lead back to Jiang Chen?!’

‘She doesn’t want to wear makeup purely because her core is that of an iron-willed straight man, hello!’

‘Plus, she can’t even tell the difference between foundation and primer, okay!’

“Really, there’s no need… I’ve been so swamped with schoolwork lately that I haven’t had the mind to doll myself up…”

“And I think I’m allergic to certain ingredients…”

Her three friends automatically ignored her protests, interpreting them entirely as a girl’s coy hesitation.

“Yiyi, don’t be shy, you absolutely must try on a shade for me today!”

“Look how fair your skin is, milk tea color will definitely be amazing!”

“Come on, just a gentle press~”

Zhou Yi: “…………”

She closed her eyes, resigned to her fate. Just as she was about to accept her destiny, her phone rang, like a heavenly melody.

Zhou Yi, as if granted a great pardon, raised her phone. “Counselor’s call! Important call!”

She quickly made a ‘stop’ gesture to her eager friends, then answered the call. “Hello, teacher…”

–Your team has advanced to the semifinals. Come to my office tomorrow morning to discuss the specifics.– The Counselor informed her succinctly.

Zhou Yi: “……”

Her mind buzzed. Before she could even process the news, the phones of her three friends chimed with notifications one after another.

The Counselor had already posted the announcement in the class group chat. [Breaking News! Our school’s Entrepreneurship Competition semifinalist list has been announced. Congratulations to Zhou Yi’s team for successfully advancing!]

Xiao Ju’s cheer drew glances from passersby. “Yiyi!! You really made it in!!”

“Oh my god! That’s incredible!”

“This is a major school-wide competition!”

“I always said your team had the most potential!”

Zhou Yi was hugged so tightly she could barely breathe, yet her heart pounded wildly.

Although she had anticipated this outcome, when she finally saw the official announcement, her eyes still welled up. All the sleepless nights, the hair she’d pulled out, her team’s persistent revisions of the proposal, and the grievances she had endured…

Everything, in this moment, was affirmed.

She blinked, forcing back the burning tears, and simply nodded, her lips pressed together. “Mm.”