Following his movement, Sang Zhi lowered her gaze, staring at the lit lock screen. She looked up again, her lips parting slightly as if to say something, but Duan Jiaxu had already straightened up.
His gaze was gentle and ambiguous.
The entire row was filled with students.
Noticing the commotion, they couldn't help but glance over.
Sang Zhi didn't know most of them. The few classmates sitting nearby, who were under the same advisor, had met a few times and were somewhat acquainted.
But they weren't very familiar, so they had never seen Duan Jiaxu before.
It seemed he had only come over to remind her of that one thing. Duan Jiaxu didn't say anything else. He gave a slight nod, took a step back, turned around, and returned to his original seat.
After he left, the classmate next to Sang Zhi leaned in again. "What's going on? Was that handsome guy hitting on you? That's just too—"
"But then again," the classmate's tone shifted, "that guy's vibe totally screams player, the type who casts his net everywhere."
"..."
"And that face, you can tell at a glance he's a playboy." The classmate clicked her tongue twice, her words tinged with admiration. "I've never seen such a classic playboy face before."
Hearing this, Sang Zhi turned to look at her, her expression complicated.
Classmate: "What's wrong?"
"That," Sang Zhi couldn't help but mention, "is my boyfriend."
"..."
After a few seconds of silence, seemingly feeling a bit awkward, the classmate forced a dry laugh and offered a stiff explanation. "What I meant was, he's really good-looking."
Sang Zhi didn't mind much either, since Duan Jiaxu really did give off that impression. She smiled, her voice unhurried. "It's fine, I'm not angry."
Classmate, curious: "How did you two meet?"
While replying to Duan Jiaxu on WeChat, Sang Zhi said, "He's a friend of my brother's."
"Sigh, I wish I had a brother too," the classmate said enviously. "Preferably one with a really handsome friend, so I could have a head start."
The two chatted for a bit more.
Sang Zhi began focusing on her conversation with Duan Jiaxu on WeChat.
Sang Zhi: 【When did you get here?】
Duan Jiaxu: 【This morning's flight.】
Sang Zhi: 【Then what are you doing here?】
Duan Jiaxu: 【You mentioned you were coming to this awards ceremony. My previous company was invited too, so I came on behalf of Sister Jiang.】
Sang Zhi, displeased: 【You told me yesterday you were busy.】
It had put her in a bad mood all day.
Duan Jiaxu: 【Wanted to surprise you.】
Duan Jiaxu: 【Are you mad?】
Staring at the message for a while, Sang Zhi's annoyance soon faded mostly away. Thinking of how he looked in a suit, she inexplicably licked her lips.
Alright.
It was quite a surprise.
After a moment's thought, Sang Zhi proactively suggested: 【Should we move to the back?】
Sang Zhi: 【There are empty seats.】
The auditorium was spacious, with more seats than people. The front rows were mostly reserved, occupied mainly by company representatives and professors from other universities, while the remaining seats were open.
Duan Jiaxu: 【Sure.】
Seeing this, Sang Zhi gathered her things, said a word to the classmate beside her, stood up, and walked to the back, finding two adjacent empty seats and sitting down.
Not long after, Duan Jiaxu also came over and sat beside her.Sang Zhi glanced in his direction, finding him breathtaking no matter how many times she looked. She noticed the girls nearby also seemed to be stealing glances at him, which irritated her. "Why are you wearing a suit? Did you go home to change after getting off the plane?"
Duan Jiaxu reached out and held her hand, gently squeezing her palm. "Mm."
Sang Zhi couldn't help muttering, "My classmates said you have a 'playboy face.'"
Duan Jiaxu paused his movements and looked up. "What?"
"They said you have," Sang Zhi stared at him, her tone carrying a hint of accusation, "a once-in-a-century, textbook playboy face."
"What kind of face is a 'playboy face'?"
"I don't know either." Taking advantage of the fact that her classmates had said it, Sang Zhi grew bolder. "They said it's exactly like yours."
Duan Jiaxu's eyelids twitched slightly.
Before he could respond, Sang Zhi suddenly flared up, pinching his cheeks and enunciating each word clearly, "Can you stop flirting with everyone?"
"..." Duan Jiaxu was momentarily stunned, finding it absurd. He chuckled helplessly, "I'm always flirting with others?"
Sang Zhi held his head and pushed it downward, trying to use his body to block his face from the surrounding gazes. "Exactly. Just sitting there like this."
After a moment's thought, she said with a stern expression, "Can you wear a mask when you go out from now on?"
Watching her expression, Duan Jiaxu finally understood. The corners of his lips curved upward.
"Little vinegar jar."
Sang Zhi puffed out her cheeks but didn't deny it. She glanced at him and suddenly noticed the tie around his neck—the one she had given him. Her simmering anger reluctantly dissipated a little.
Sang Zhi changed the subject. "When are you returning to Nanwu?"
"The morning of the day after tomorrow."
"Oh."
"I'll come back again during Qingming Festival." Duan Jiaxu said, "To visit my mother's grave. Will you come with me then?"
Sang Zhi nodded. "Okay."
Duan Jiaxu leaned back in his chair, tilting his head to lazily watch her. After a while, he spoke again, casually saying, "Come here."
Sang Zhi suspiciously leaned closer. "What?"
"My tie is loose." Duan Jiaxu said, "Help me retie it."
Sang Zhi was baffled. "But I don't know how."
Duan Jiaxu: "Just push it upward."
"..."
It's not like you don't have hands yourself.
Sang Zhi didn't voice this thought aloud. Obediently, she reached out and grabbed his tie, clumsily pushing it upward as he had instructed. The next moment, Duan Jiaxu suddenly grasped her wrist and pulled it forward.
As if guided by the force.
He leaned forward along with the motion, accurately kissing her lips.
A brief touch, then separation.
"..."
An extremely fleeting moment.
Before Sang Zhi could process what had happened, Duan Jiaxu had already straightened up, leisurely adjusting his tie while saying, "You scared me, gege."
Sang Zhi: "?"
"If you want to kiss me, just do it directly," Duan Jiaxu affectionately nuzzled the corner of her lips, speaking in a playful tone, "No need for these little tricks."
"..."
Sang Zhi's expression was indescribable.
This man was truly the most shameless "dog man" she had ever met in her life.
Sang Zhi restrained herself, expressionlessly pulling his hand away before leaning in again to adjust his tie, stiffly saying, "You messed it up."
Duan Jiaxu lowered his gaze and suddenly laughed, calling out to her, "Kid."
"What?"
"Missed you."
Sang Zhi looked up and whispered, "Oh."
Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow. "Just an 'oh'?""My 'oh'," Sang Zhi helped straighten his suit jacket as well, explaining seriously, "means 'me too'."
Duan Jiaxu laughed: "Alright."
The award ceremony still hadn't begun after quite some time. Sang Zhi glanced down at her phone and asked idly: "Are you going to give a speech later? It seems like each company was given three minutes."
Duan Jiaxu: "Mm."
Sang Zhi became interested: "Have you decided what to say?"
Duan Jiaxu made an affirmative sound again.
The content would naturally be about the company's situation, so Sang Zhi didn't ask further. But because she now had something to look forward to, time seemed to pass much faster.
Soon it was time for this segment.
Duan Jiaxu stood up, glancing sideways at her: "I'll be back soon."
Sang Zhi planned to take photos. Since they were quite far from the stage, she simply changed seats.
After waiting for a while, it was finally Duan Jiaxu's turn to speak. Standing under the bright lights, he stood out remarkably among the crowd.
Sang Zhi started recording.
Duan Jiaxu took the microphone from the host, looking more formal than usual. He began speaking, slowly describing the company's current situation with focus and conciseness.
The person in front was somewhat tall, blocking Sang Zhi's view. Worried about blocking those behind her, she could only raise her phone higher, making the action somewhat awkward.
Two minutes passed.
After finishing a segment, Duan Jiaxu suddenly turned and walked several meters to the side before stopping. Noticing the host's somewhat confused expression, he smiled faintly and explained gently: "Sorry, my girlfriend is filming me."
"..."
"The previous position wasn't good for her to film from."
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