Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Though he’d threatened to smash Qi Muyao’s greenhouse, Qi Yanyu ultimately gave up.

He knew the owner of those messages was 100% Qi Muyao. After that, he hardly replied.

Qi Yunpu had long returned to the capital. After recuperating at home for nearly a month, he went back to school after the National Day holiday.

Returning just before midterms, every pre-med student was twice as busy and miserable during this period.

Perhaps because of this, his Room 413 dormmates barely reacted when he came back.

He had expected at least some surprise.

Instead, Qi Yuanhan smirked sarcastically at the sight of him, “Oh, look who’s back from vacation?” *After I kept adding you on WeChat to send you notes.*

Huang Shaoze was still polite, even telling him that the lecture materials were on a USB drive if he hadn’t received them successfully.

Huang Shaoze handed the USB drive to Qi Yanyu. The drive wasn’t even Huang Shaoze’s—it was Gu Jinglan’s. But Huang Shaoze was the one who’d diligently asked the professors for the lecture slides after every class and copied them onto it.

Back in the dorm, he didn’t see Gu Jinglan, but his white lab coat had been returned, folded neatly on his desk.

He blinked, certain that Gu Jinglan had been the one to collect and fold it for him.

Watching his two roommates prepping for an all-nighter, he asked, “Where’s Gu Jinglan?”

“Your ‘Bro Gu’ is something else,” Qi Yuanhan, sitting sideways on his chair while zooming in on the “past exam papers” someone had sent him, chuckled without looking up. “Room 413’s about to have its first ‘congrats-you’re-dating’ dinner.”

Qi Yanyu’s first reaction was to laugh. “He’s in a relationship? With who?” He figured it was just Room 413 messing with him.

Huang Shaoze, muttering practice questions while pacing, interjected, “Which Ig binds to the FcR on mast cell surfaces and mediates type 1 hypersensitivity reactions?” (*Question sourced online*)

No one answered Qi Yanyu.

Opening his textbook in the dorm, its pages suspiciously blank, he grabbed a pen to highlight stuff.

But he wasn’t really highlighting anything—he was just thinking, *Who is Gu Jinglan dating? A girl?*

He stared blankly, unable to focus. He had even fantasized about coming back and acing the midterms, knocking Gu Jinglan off his throne as the eternal top scorer.

Opening his phone, he scrolled through Gu Jinglan’s WeChat Moments—bare-bones, with a limited timeline visible.

Aside from reposts of student council event announcements or occasional articles he had written himself, there was nothing else. Not even personal photos.

A WeChat notification popped up, blowing up his phone. It was from a club he had joined during orientation, buzzing incessantly. They seemed to be rehearsing for the post-midterm club performance festival.

Qi Yanyu tapped in, replied casually, and learned they were rehearsing on the fourth floor of the gymnasium. There was a stage and several rooms there, great for club rehearsals.

It was 7 p.m. now, and Gu Jinglan wouldn’t be back till lights-out. Qi Yanyu hadn’t really returned to cram for exams—he was really just here to see someone.

Since that person wasn’t here, there was no reason to stay cooped up in the dorm. He’d been stuck at home for a month already.

He left campus. Even in autumn, the southern university remained sweltering, the air tinged with the smell of dying silk tree blooms and the occasional hint of osmanthus.

At night, the campus was dimly lit. He walked from the west district to the east district’s indoor gymnasium.

On the first floor, people were playing badminton, table tennis, and other small-ball sports, while a few couples were scattered in the stands, probably on dates.

He headed up to the fourth floor—where the real action was.

The Hundred Clubs Cultural Performance is a hallmark event of Kanbei University. Kanbei University consists of two main schools: Kanbei University and Kanbei Medical University. Both schools are in Kanbei City, separated by a small hill and a river running through the urban area.

The hill isn’t particularly large. Students can cross it to reach Kanbei University, though the school locks the hiking paths at night to stop students from hiking at night. Still, some students sneak over by climbing fences or taking unofficial paths.

If not crossing the hill, the only alternative is taking a taxi around, which costs 40 to 50 yuan (about $6–$7) due to heavy traffic—especially in the prime real estate of the North Lake District.

The fourth floor features a performance hall styled like an opera house, though it’s rarely used for performances. The seats are usually stored away, leaving a nearly thousand-square-foot open space and a large stage.

Several clubs rehearse in the open space, while others practice on the stage.

He walked to the edge of the stage, where a group was rehearsing Ibsen’s *A Doll’s House*. He only recognized one girl who looked like his vice president, since she used her own photo as her profile picture in the group chat.

Nearby, a pale, chubby guy was engrossed in watching the rehearsal. Qi Yanyu called out, “Pull me up,” and only then did Lin Na notice him standing two meters below the stage.

“Give me a hand.”

Qi Yanyu naturally reached out, and Lin Na grabbed his hand, helping him climb up by pushing off the stage wall. Dusting off his clothes, Qi Yanyu eyed the unfamiliar faces and introduced himself, “I’m Qi Yanyu from the group chat.”

“I’m Lin Na. Oh, you’re from the Academic Department?” Lin Na had never seen him before, not even in meetings.

“Isn’t everyone here from the Academic Department?” Qi Yanyu retorted.

Lin Na: “…”

The Academic Department operates under the Student Union. Typically, club recruitment targets freshmen, but Qi Yanyu, a sophomore, still signed up anyway. Though selection usually depends on grades and multiple rounds of interviews, his relatively decent looks (compared to the otherwise mediocre applicants) and the insistence of the female vice president and members barely secured him the last spot on the acceptance list.

Lin Na, a freshman, stood by, waiting to be called to move heavy props for the next scene.

Qi Yanyu stood beside him, watching the rehearsal of the classic play.

During the introduction, Vice President Yi Na announced, “*A Doll’s House* tackles the journey of Nora and her husband Helmer from love to rupture, exposing the conflict between patriarchal society and female independence. It inspires women to break free from tradition and fight for equality.”

Qi Yanyu wasn’t particularly interested. He lowered his gaze to the floor, catching sight of Lin Na’s rare sneakers.

Looking up again, he watched indifferently as Yi Na, playing Nora in the third act, delivered a comically adapted line about borrowing money from Krogstad.

Lin Na weighed over 90 kilograms, but his height balanced his build, making him appear evenly built. His smooth, fair skin gave him a refined and likable demeanor.

Qi Yanyu asked, “What’s your role?”

Lin Na: “I just move tables and beds. What about you?”

Qi Yanyu smirked. Having never attended any Academic Department meetings, he declared with mock seriousness, “*Playwright.*”

Lin Na laughed. “Oh, great playwright—are you an officer or just a regular member?”

“A staff member who stays close to the masses is a good staff member…” Qi Yanyu rambled casually until Deputy Yi Na shouted, “Where’s the props team??”

Lin Na immediately rushed over, calling, “On it!” The props team originally had only one person, but with Qi Yanyu joining, it became two.

After getting winded from moving tables—even more dramatically than Qi Yanyu, who had asthma—Lin Na stood by, ready for the next task. Watching the rehearsal together, Qi Yanyu asked, “Do you ever see the SU President at Academic Department meetings?”

Lin Na chuckled. “Bro, are you really from the Student Union’s Academic Department? Have you never been to a meeting?”

Qi Yanyu pulled out his Academic Department ID from the day he passed the interview, proving he was indeed a member—though, like Lin Na, just a regular one, not an officer.

“No chance we’d see the President,” Lin Na said, eyes fixed on the older students and classmates acting out their scenes.

“Then how do you get to meet the President?” Qi Yanyu also glanced back at Deputy Yi Na’s performance.

"You should run for minister. Once you become one, you'll be stuck in student council meetings all the time," Lin Na said, assuming Qi Yanyu was also a freshman. Somehow, he found Qi Yanyu a bit ditzy and a bit dense.

"Wouldn’t we have to wait two semesters for the current ministers to step down…?" Qi Yanyu frowned.

"Props team!"

"On it!"

Lin Na and Qi Yanyu hurried off to haul tables, set up vases, and lug around cardboard props.

"You’re not ugly or anything. Why not try out for a part?" Lin Na, bored from being on standby as part of the props team, struck up a conversation with Qi Yanyu.

"You’re not exactly a shrimp yourself. Why don’t you try out?" Qi Yanyu shot back.

Lin Na: "…" He hadn’t meant any harm, but Qi Yanyu was far from the slow-witted person he’d imagined—his sharp tongue proved he wasn’t dull at all.

Now Lin Na felt less fond of Qi Yanyu. He’d thought they were two peas in a pod—both equally average.

With nothing better to do, Qi Yanyu eyed the crowd below, trying to spot who belonged to the President’s office and the secretary’s department. Since their numbers were small, the two departments had teamed up for the performance.

His eyes zeroed in on Gu Jinglan, curious about what he was doing.

They were shorthanded backstage, and the rehearsal paused as Assistant Director Yi Na looked for an assistant. A no-nonsense type, she spotted the unfamiliar Qi Yanyu and asked, "And you are…?"

Surprisingly, it was Lin Na who smoothly supplied the hard-to-remember name: "Qi Yanyu."

"You’ve missed several meetings. Didn’t you say you were on leave and off-campus?" Before Qi Yanyu could respond, Yi Na continued, "Go assist backstage. Do whatever they tell you."

Qi Yanyu: "Sis, I’d rather stay with the props team."

"…" Yi Na stared at him for a moment before turning away to recruit someone else.

Lin Na: "Whoa…" He actually dared to refuse a senior and a minister. Instantly, Lin Na’s dislike for Qi Yanyu decreased by one point, while his admiration rose by one.

Lin Na thought this guy would stick with him as a ride-or-die props buddy, but before long, Qi Yanyu dipped off the stage.

Damn.

What happened to their "partners-in-crime till the ends of the earth" props team duo?

Lin Na heard singing from across the hall. Many rehearsing in the fourth-floor auditorium turned toward the center, where a girl stood among a small group on the left, killing it with *The Peony Pavilion*. A borrowed PA system amplified her voice.

Lin Na noticed Qi Yanyu standing at the edge of that group.

Though slightly off to the side, Lin Na’s eagle eyes still spotted him.

"What’s he up to over there? That’s not even the best spot to watch Kunqu opera," Lin Na wondered.

"Props team!! Props team!!"

"Oh, coming!" Lin Na booked it.

"Where’s the other guy? It’s just you now?"

Sweating as he hauled a heavy table, Lin Na threw Qi Yanyu a bone: "He went to the bathroom."

Skips meetings, shows up last minute, then wanders off to watch the fun—typical.

Qi Yanyu stood at the very edge of the crowd, craning his neck for a glimpse of Xia Yiyi singing Kunqu opera. *Observing endlessly, yet unable to grasp its lingering charm,*

"To wander through all twelve pavilions is futile,

Better return home and pass the time idly.

Vases with azalea flowers adorn,

And burning incense adds fragrance divine.

Suddenly she turns her head

And tries her spring attire outspread." (Excerpt from *The Peony Pavilion*)

As the short performance ended, the surrounding crowd erupted in applause. Qi Yanyu, however, turned his gaze to Xia Yiyi, who glanced shyly at President Gu beside her before smiling and addressing the audience, "Hope that wasn’t too embarrassing."

"President, what do you think? Can we include this segment?" The staff members debated whether to keep it.

"It’s such a shame not to—she sang so beautifully," President Gu remarked, clearly appreciative of her talent.

"Perhaps it doesn’t quite fit the theme of our program," Xia Yiyi replied gracefully. "It’s alright, I just wanted to share it with our own people. Normally, you’d have to pay to hear something like this." Her soft, melodic voice epitomized the quintessential Jiangnan beauty—likely from Zhejiang province.

Qi Yanyu’s heart melted at her words, let alone President Gu’s. His gaze lingered on President Gu as the latter turned to discuss with the music students whether adding other opera segments might feel out of place.

Blinking, Qi Yanyu looked back at Xia Yiyi. Strikingly beautiful, gentle in demeanor, and academically outstanding, she had become the campus belle of Kan Medical University after starring in the school’s promotional video during her sophomore year. Standing beside President Gu, they made a strikingly perfect pair.

Their performance seemed to be a medical-themed adaptation of *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*.

In the original play, love potions dripped into the eyes made characters fall for the first person they saw upon waking. Here, the potion was replaced with the sedative γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB). Later, they would resolve the romantic entanglements—where A no longer loved B but D, and C no longer loved D but B—using medical methods.

Since the script was constantly being revised, Qi Yanyu wondered who President Gu played and whether he was paired with Xia Yiyi.

Watching their rehearsal, he saw President Gu as Oberon, the Fairy King, and Xia Yiyi as Titania, the Fairy Queen, while the two main couples were assigned to freshmen.

Qi Yanyu held his breath slightly as he noticed them burst into laughter over a miswritten line.

Xia Yiyi, who had been obediently nestled in President Gu’s arms for the scene, also laughed softly at the mistake, leaning slightly against his shoulder despite her usual reserved demeanor.

President Gu, effortlessly strong, held her with ease but eventually had to set her down to cross out the outdated script lines. "No further edits—we’re finalizing Version Eight," he declared. "Let’s rehearse it once more. We’ll be onstage soon."

The stage order was determined by arrival time, and since the Student Council’s President and Secretary teams arrived late, they were placed at the end.

President Gu lifted Xia Yiyi again. At 168 cm, she was slim with porcelain skin. Before the scene began, she giggled, "I can’t—I’m laughing too hard!"

President Gu teased, "Keep laughing, and I’ll seat you on that upturned bucket." It was harmless, just a bit comical.

"Sorry, Mr. President," Xia Yiyi replied playfully, their teasing like a couple’s.

Qi Yanyu’s position blocked the rehearsal of the neighboring Communist Party Members’ Group, and a staff member asked him to move. If he stepped aside further, he’d lose his vantage point to watch President Gu.

Seeing the two chat and laugh, Qi Yanyu reluctantly shifted away.

Just then, the Academic Department’s stage time ended, and they moved offstage to rehearse. During the break, Lin Na approached Qi Yanyu and nudged him, "Didn’t you say you just wanted to be a stagehand? Why are you here to watch Senior Xia?"

Xia Yiyi was quite famous among Kan Medical University’s freshmen—many had chosen Kan Medical University after being captivated by her shy, pure smile (though the exceptionally high admission scores were also a factor).

"Senior Xia is beautiful," Qi Yanyu replied absentmindedly, though his gaze remained fixed on President Gu, who stood beside the "senior" Lin Na mentioned.

"Aren’t you going back? I told Yi Na you were in the restroom. If she sees you slacking off, she’ll kick you out—" Before he could finish,

Xia Yiyi let out a soft yelp, then laughed, lightly hitting President Gu’s back in jest. President Gu, putting on a stern face after the prank, channeled his presidential authority: "Even if you mess up, keep going." Their amateur troupe was ambitious for tackling Shakespeare. When someone else stole a line, and the original speaker repeated it anyway, Xia Yiyi froze, missing her line.

Gu Jinglan was already feeling a bit overwhelmed, so he jokingly pretended to drop her as if he couldn't hold her anymore. Originally, he had intended to set the campus belle down but hadn’t managed to, which startled and amused her. She then clutched Gu Jinglan’s shoulder and murmured repeated apologies, "Sorry, my bad, my bad."

It was clear she was an extremely polite and kind-hearted campus belle.

Lin Na watched the flirty interaction between the campus belle and the President, sighing that handsome guys truly belonged with beauties. It was spellbinding to watch: "Let’s go, what are you staring at? Your ‘club’ is over there."

Qi Yanyu blinked, not giving Lin Na time to react.

Lin Na then saw Qi Yanyu walk straight into the practice session of the Student Union President’s Office and the Secretariat, heading toward Gu Jinglan and Senior Xia.

As he walked, Qi Yanyu took off his jacket, looking ready to throw down, startling Lin Na. "What’s he doing?"

Was he jealous that the President was making moves on the campus belle?

Over a woman? Really?!

Was he going to challenge President Gu to a fight?

The President getting close to the campus belle was completely normal. Besides, the President was a devastatingly handsome guy who could easily outshine all the overhyped so-called 'visual gods' in the entertainment industry and movie stars. Was it really so outrageous for a handsome guy to be with the campus belle?!!!

The President’s Office and Secretariat also noticed someone walking into their midst, unsure who it was. But his face was unreadable, unlike any ordinary junior.

Even Senior Xia, in Gu Jinglan’s arms, was startled. She had been holding onto his neck but now let go in surprise.

She wondered what the newcomer was here for.

Qi Yanyu gently draped his jacket over Senior Xia’s legs. "Almost had an accidental exposure." Senior Xia was wearing a white floral dress, and if not careful during the princess carry, it might accidentally show too much.

Senior Xia smiled, thinking he was just a kind-hearted junior. "Thank you."

After adjusting the jacket for her, Qi Yanyu even straightened her dress and the covering. Gu Jinglan watched him tidy Senior Xia’s skirt and the jacket before looking away. He said to the President’s Secretariat, "Let’s go again. Even if you forget, flub, or step on each other's lines, just keep going."

Qi Yanyu still hadn’t left. As he adjusted the jacket, he looked up at Gu Jinglan.

Gu Jinglan glanced down at the jacket on Senior Xia’s legs, then back at Qi Yanyu. "Done?"

Qi Yanyu nodded. Lin Na’s heart was pounding—he had thought Qi Yanyu was going to throw hands with President Gu, who was holding Senior Xia.

He rushed in, grabbed Qi Yanyu, and dragged him aside, forcing a smile at the easygoing President Gu. "Sorry, please carry on."

Up close, President Gu was so ridiculously good-looking that even Lin Na was awed. What kind of family background and self-worth must one have to turn down fame?

Lin Na even compared President Gu’s looks to the currently popular star Jiang Tiyan and couldn’t pick a winner.

"You really looked like you were about to throw hands with the campus belle’s guy just now!" Lin Na said as they walked away.

"He’s not Senior Xia’s boyfriend," Qi Yanyu replied.