Gu Nansheng woke up a little later than usual that day. After a simple breakfast, she spent an hour on the treadmill. Ever since filming the reality show, she had realized just how badly she needed to exercise.

Lin Manqing called just after she finished showering.

“How did you end up tangled up with Lin Siyan?!” Lin Manqing skipped all greetings and went straight to the point, nearly bursting her eardrums.

“Watch your wording, okay? How can you use the word ‘tangled up’ like that?”

“Fine then. Why did he suddenly join your company? And become a singer? And why are you two filming shows together?!” Lin Manqing fired off several questions in one breath.

“What are you, Doraemon’s Question Encyclopedia?”

“I’m One Hundred Thousand Whys.”

Gu Nansheng burst out laughing and briefly explained everything she knew.

“I can’t believe Lin Siyan would be this reckless. Tsk.”

In Lin Manqing’s memories, he was still the pale and timid little boy from childhood. Back then, he would always look at her cautiously and call her “big sister,” while she usually ignored him.

Seeing him again on television, she could still vaguely recognize traces of the child he used to be, except now he had become a singer.

She had always assumed Lin Siyan would eventually take over the Lin Corporation and follow a business career. Ever since the day he entered the Lin family and was acknowledged by their grandfather, he had lost the right to live entirely as he pleased.

“Manqing, you should go home and visit Uncle Lin sometime. He… he really misses you.”

Lin Manqing fell silent for a while before finally replying,

“Maybe another time.”

At least for now, she still did not want to face them.

“Don’t tell me Lin Siyan is trying to pursue you?” Lin Manqing suddenly blurted out.

“What are you talking about? I see him as a younger brother, and he probably sees me as an older sister too.” Gu Nansheng was startled by the thought.

“And Lu the Beauty didn’t get jealous?” Lin Manqing teased. “Or did he not watch your show?”

Gu Nansheng looked confused. “What happened in the show? Why would he be jealous?”

“You haven’t watched it either, have you?” Lin Manqing immediately guessed.

“Uh… not yet.”

The only thing she had done that day was post a Weibo update about the reality show airing, and even that was because Xuanxuan reminded her.

“Oh, excellent.” Lin Manqing sounded utterly delighted by her misery. “Go watch it yourself, Miss Superstar.”

After hanging up, Gu Nansheng deliberately went to watch the aired episode. She turned on the scrolling comments to see everyone’s reactions.

“Gu Nansheng is so pretty~”

“Lin Siyan is adorable~”

“These two look so good together~”

“Lin Siyan definitely likes Gu Nansheng~”

“I’m shipping them so hard!”

“The way Lin Siyan looks at Gu Nansheng is so affectionate~”

…

Really?

Gu Nansheng replayed the scenes between herself and Lin Siyan several times, but she honestly did not notice anything unusual.

It was obviously just a simple older-sister-and-younger-brother relationship, mixed with senior-and-junior respect.

She even specifically called Xuanxuan and asked for her opinion after watching the show.

Xuanxuan excitedly replied, “Nansheng-jie, if Teacher Lu didn’t exist, I would absolutely ship you and Lin Siyan! He’s way too sweet!”

Gu Nansheng felt everyone was seriously overthinking things.

That night, while video calling Lu Shijing, she casually asked whether he had watched today’s episode of her reality show. While asking, she secretly observed his expression.

“Yeah, I watched it.”

“So… what did you think?” she asked as naturally as possible.

“It was good.”

See? Just like she thought, no reaction at all.

“Sis?”

“What?”

“Was the ice cream good?”

…

Gu Nansheng finally could not hold back her laughter anymore.

“The ice cream…” she deliberately dragged out her words, “was incredibly delicious.”

“I’ll buy you some next time.”

It was rare to see him jealous, and Gu Nansheng’s eyes curved with amusement.

“Alright~”

…

October.

A University’s sixtieth anniversary celebration had arrived.

As one of the university’s celebrity alumni, Gu Nansheng had been invited to attend the ceremony.

After confirming her work schedule with Xuanxuan, she cleared several days to fly back to Yancheng.

She deliberately did not tell Lu Shijing. It had already been a long time since they last saw each other, and she wanted to surprise him.

Lu Shijing had become the youngest lecturer in the Chemistry Department at S University.

He was extremely popular there. Many students specifically enrolled in his classes. Even students uninterested in chemistry found themselves very interested in his face.

His lectures were always packed.

And naturally, most of the students were girls.

Wearing a white dress shirt with the top button undone, exposing the sharp line of his throat, sleeves rolled above his forearms, black slacks outlining his long legs and lean waist, his slightly tousled hair could not hide his cold and strikingly handsome features.

One day, while he was writing on the board, a student secretly snapped a side-profile photo and uploaded it online. Overnight, it went viral.

Lu Shijing was soon crowned S University’s “genius professor blessed with both beauty and talent.”

On the day of the anniversary celebration, Gu Nansheng took a midday flight. The ceremony would begin in the afternoon.

Her outfit was simple without looking casual, black jeans paired with a white silk blouse. Her makeup was light, giving her an elegant professional vibe.

A University was especially lively that day. Many students wore white T-shirts printed with the university’s sixtieth anniversary logo, and the entire campus overflowed with youthful energy.

“Senior Gu?”

She heard a familiar voice behind her.

“Zhou Yang?”

“It really is you, Senior! I thought I was mistaken.”

“Long time no see, Zhou Yang.” Gu Nansheng greeted him warmly.

“Senior Gu came back for the anniversary too?”

Zhou Yang had not changed much. He still carried that same honest and slightly goofy air about him.

Only now, dressed in a fitted suit, he looked much more like a successful professional.

“Yeah.”

The two found a quieter spot to sit.

“You work in Yancheng now?”

“Yeah, I’m a programmer at a tech company. I was actually talking to Ah Jing yesterday about meeting up tonight, but now it looks like he’s going to ditch me again.” Zhou Yang sighed regretfully.

“He doesn’t know I’m back yet. I haven’t told him. How about we all have dinner together later?”

“Wouldn’t I just be a third wheel?”

“How could you? After the ceremony, we’ll go find him together.”

She remembered Lu Shijing’s class ended at five in the afternoon.

“Sounds good.”

“Then let’s add each other on WeChat. We can contact each other later.”

“Uh, okay, okay!”

Zhou Yang looked pleasantly overwhelmed.

The person responsible for receiving them was Professor Wang from the Media Department, who had once been Gu Nansheng’s mentor.

“Nansheng has become even prettier,” Professor Wang said warmly. His hair was already completely white, and gold-rimmed glasses rested on his nose, making him look especially kind.

“Thank you for the compliment, Professor.”

Spotting several old classmates nearby, Zhou Yang excused himself to take a walk around campus.

Professor Wang asked about Gu Nansheng’s recent career developments, and the two chatted for quite a while. Outside the classroom, many curious students kept peeking in.

“Is that really Gu Nansheng?!”

“It is! She’s insanely beautiful!”

“Let me see! She looks even prettier in person than on TV!”

“I heard she graduated from A University too. Was she invited back for the anniversary?”

Hearing the excited chatter outside, Professor Wang laughed.

“Come in, all of you. Looks like everyone’s far too curious about you.”

The students immediately rushed inside.

In the end, Gu Nansheng took photos with them and signed autographs as well.

When Professor Wang noticed the time, he smiled and motioned for Gu Nansheng to head toward the ceremony hall.