Near the end of October, Lin Manqing’s birthday was fast approaching when Shen Yi suddenly called Gu Nansheng. At that moment, she was already browsing online, trying to figure out what kind of birthday gift she should buy for her best friend.

Shen Yi was Gu Nansheng’s junior from the same department, currently a sophomore. He had the kind of handsome, sunny appearance that made him instantly likable. The first time he met Lin Manqing, she had come to see Gu Nansheng, and he had fallen for her at first sight. After tirelessly pursuing her for quite some time, he had finally succeeded in winning her heart.

“Senior, Manman’s birthday is almost here. I want to buy her the perfect present, so you have to help me,” Shen Yi pleaded anxiously over the phone.

Every time Gu Nansheng heard him call Lin Manqing “Manman,” she felt goosebumps all over from how sweet and clingy it sounded.

“Of course~” she agreed without hesitation.

Helping create romantic surprises was one of her favorite things, especially when it involved her closest friend.

“Great! I’ll send you the address. Come help me choose.”

After receiving the location, Gu Nansheng quickly changed into something casual and headed out. The place Shen Yi chose was a small boutique jewelry shop with a very refined atmosphere.

“So, what are you planning to buy?” she asked while browsing the display counters.

Shen Yi scratched his head awkwardly. “I want to buy Manman a necklace, but I honestly have no idea what kind of style she likes.”

Gu Nansheng slowly walked around the store until her eyes landed on a delicate necklace. The pendant was a tiny dolphin surrounded by a circle of sparkling pavé diamonds, elegant yet playful at the same time.

Pointing at it, she said to the sales assistant, “Could you take this one out for us to see?”

“Of course, miss. You can even try it on,” the assistant replied warmly.

“Alright, then I’ll try it.”

The assistant carefully fastened the necklace around Gu Nansheng’s neck. Against her fair skin, the rose gold chain looked especially beautiful, and the dolphin pendant shimmered brilliantly beneath the boutique lights.

“What do you think?” she asked with a satisfied smile as she turned toward Shen Yi.

“It’s gorgeous,” he answered sincerely. “Senior, your taste is amazing. Manman will definitely love it.”

Meanwhile, outside the boutique, Lu Shijing happened to pass by.

Through the glass window, he caught sight of a familiar figure inside. At first, he thought he was imagining things. Recently, Gu Nansheng had occupied his thoughts so often that it felt as though he could see traces of her everywhere.

But the moment the girl inside turned around with a bright smile directed at the young man standing across from her, Lu Shijing froze in place.

So his eyes had not deceived him after all.

His footsteps came to an abrupt halt, and his gaze locked onto the scene before him.

So… she could smile at other people like that too.

Beside him, Zhou Yang noticed that Lu Shijing had suddenly stopped walking and followed his line of sight into the shop.

“Huh? Isn’t that Gu Nansheng and Shen Yi?”

“You know them?” Lu Shijing asked quietly.

Zhou Yang had been Lu Shijing’s classmate since high school. Later, both of them ended up attending University A in the same city. Since their parents also worked in the same department, the two had always been close friends. Today, Lu Shijing had only accompanied Zhou Yang to buy a new laptop.

“Of course I know her,” Zhou Yang replied immediately, excitement flashing across his face. “That’s Gu Nansheng. She’s super famous at University A. She’s unbelievably pretty, and her figure is incredible. Tons of guys chase after her.”

Lu Shijing glanced once more at the young man inside who appeared to be preparing to pay for the jewelry.

“And him?” he asked calmly.

“Shen Yi? He’s from the media department too, one year above us. His dorm is right next to mine. Pretty handsome guy. I heard he recently got himself an older girlfriend.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhou Yang suddenly paused.

“Wait… hold on.” His eyes widened in realization. “No way… don’t tell me that older girlfriend is Gu Nansheng?”

Lu Shijing’s expression instantly darkened.

“Hey! Where are you going all of a sudden?”

Lu Shijing could not understand it at all.

One moment, she was confessing to him, saying she liked him, and the next moment she was smiling so brightly at another guy.

Was she like this with every younger man she met?

If that were true, then why had she deliberately approached him in the first place?

Back inside the boutique, Gu Nansheng also picked out a matching pair of earrings for Lin Manqing before finally paying the bill together with Shen Yi.

As thanks, Shen Yi insisted on treating her to lunch, but she refused, saying she still needed to buy a few other things and they could eat another time.

After leaving the boutique, Gu Nansheng headed to a cosmetics store.

Recently, a white peach oolong lip gloss has become extremely popular online. Lin Manqing had mentioned wanting it a few days ago, so Gu Nansheng decided to try it herself first.

Standing in front of the mirror, she applied the lip gloss carefully.

The color looked soft and delicate, somewhere between innocent and alluring, like a sweet peach blossom in spring.

Quite satisfied with the result, she snapped a selfie and casually sent it to Lu Shijing.

At that same moment, Lu Shijing and Zhou Yang had just walked out of the electronics store after buying the laptop.

His phone vibrated.

When he opened the message, he saw a photo of Gu Nansheng pouting slightly at the camera. Alongside it was a short line of text:

“How does this lipstick color look?”

Their previous chat history from the night before still ended with the cute “begging for a hug” emoji she had sent him.

Looking at the photo now, Lu Shijing suddenly recalled the image of her smiling at Shen Yi in the jewelry shop.

A faint, self-mocking laugh escaped his lips.

Without replying, he locked his screen and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

After waiting for a long time without receiving a response, Gu Nansheng assumed he must be busy.

Not long afterward, she prepared to head back to campus.

However, as she turned a corner on the street, she unexpectedly ran into Lu Shijing, who had just walked out of a bookstore across from her.

“Lu Shijing!”

The moment she saw him, her eyes lit up with delight. She waved enthusiastically before running straight toward him.

Just as she was about to grab his arm, she suddenly noticed the stunned guy standing beside him, his mouth hanging wide open.

“Senior… Gu?”

“Hm? Who are you?” Gu Nansheng asked in confusion.

“Oh, I’m also from University A, computer science department. I’m his high school classmate, Zhou Yang,” he explained hurriedly.

“Oh~ Hello.”

“Senior Gu, where’s your boyfriend?” Zhou Yang asked awkwardly, simply trying to make conversation. Standing this close to such a beautiful woman made him nervous.

“Boyfriend? What boyfriend?”

Gu Nansheng looked completely puzzled.

Unless the person standing in front of her finally agreed to date her, she certainly did not have one.

“Shen Yi. We saw you two together earlier at that jewelry store.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

She instinctively glanced at Lu Shijing and noticed he was quietly staring at her as well, clearly waiting for her answer.

Immediately, she explained, “He’s my best friend’s boyfriend. I only accompanied him to help choose a birthday gift.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Senior Gu! I completely misunderstood!” Zhou Yang apologized frantically, dying from embarrassment.

“It’s fine.” She waved it off casually before turning all her attention back to Lu Shijing. “I messaged you earlier, but you never replied.”

Hearing the intimacy in her tone, Zhou Yang’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them in utter disbelief.

What exactly was happening here?

Bro, what is this situation?!

“My phone died,” Lu Shijing replied stiffly.

“You two… wait… the two of you…” Zhou Yang stared at them, too shocked to even finish his sentence.

Gu Nansheng smiled brightly.

“I’m pursuing him right now.”

“What?!” Zhou Yang nearly screamed.

“Would you mind giving us a moment alone?” she asked politely.

“Huh? Oh, right, right, right! Of course. I’ll get going then.”

Even as he left, Zhou Yang’s face remained frozen in shock.

Once he was gone, Gu Nansheng looked back at Lu Shijing, her expression turning slightly aggrieved.

“You really thought I was with someone else too?”

Earlier, she had clearly seen the suspicion in his eyes.

“How could you think I’m that careless with relationships?”

Looking into her eyes, Lu Shijing suddenly felt regret for doubting her.

In a low, clear voice, he asked softly, “But I saw you smiling at him, sister.”

“I wasn’t,” she denied immediately.

His dark eyes remained fixed on hers as he slowly asked, word by word,

“Do you only like me, sister?”

The moment he saw her smiling at another man earlier, an unfamiliar emptiness had spread through his chest.

He could not explain the feeling.

He had simply never experienced anything like it before.

Gu Nansheng gently hooked her fingers around his hand.

Her voice softened sweetly as her words drifted into his ears like silk threads wrapping around his heart.

“I only like you.”

At that moment, Lu Shijing quietly realized something.

It seemed that… he might already like her a little too.