As the new semester approached, Xin Xiaohe invited Sheng Xia to return to school together. Only then did Sheng Xia dare to surface in the group chat. The moment she appeared, the conversation somehow took a turn, with a barrage of questions that made her blush and her heart race. There was no way she could respond, only silently grumble in her mind.
"Were they all instant?"
—Not really.
"How much was spent?"
Sheng Xia didn’t understand, so Xin Xiaohe clarified: "How many boxes were used?"
—Two. The first box was wasted either because it wasn’t put on properly or because of her issue. The second box left a deep impression because his hands were so sweaty he couldn’t tear it open—he had to bite it. That look in his eyes… just thinking about it made her shudder.
Heaven knew how red her face had been lying there.
"How did it feel?"
—Painful, hot, and nervous.
"How many times?"
—Hard to say.
At first, it hurt too much. He kept comforting her, but she still shook her head, biting her lower lip until it turned white. Beads of sweat covered him, but he gave up, holding her hand to soothe her.
After the chaos, he hugged her from behind as they slept on their sides. She finally managed to fall asleep, but in the middle of the night, she felt unbearably hot. Half-asleep, she kicked off the blanket, accidentally waking him up. He turned her head and gave her a deep kiss, making up for earlier—and then some.
By morning, Sheng Xia had just started sleeping comfortably when he woke up with the tide. His body was as punctual as the ebb and flow. If he was awake, she wasn’t getting any sleep either. He even coaxed her, saying, "Just keep sleeping."
Yeah, right.
Who could sleep like that?
Annoying, annoying, annoying!
"A man who’s just tasted meat is like a cat in spring—exceptionally enthusiastic and utterly irritating." Seeing Sheng Xia hadn’t replied in the group, Xin Xiaohe dropped this bombshell.
Sheng Xia froze: Did Xin Xiaohe have mind-reading powers?
Xiaomai: "If it’s Brother Shu, he’s not really like a cat…"
Tao Zhizhi: "Then, a dog?"
Lanlan: "A lion?"
Xin Xiaohe: "Have you ever seen a lion in spring?"
College girls were terrifying—their boldness had definitely escalated since high school. This group was unbearable. Sheng Xia first muted the notifications but couldn’t resist peeking. Eventually, she chose to leave the group.
A while later, she received a private message from Xin Xiaohe: "Don’t you know that when the person in question isn’t around, the conversation only gets more explicit?"
Tao Zhizhi sent her a screenshot privately—the group name had changed to: 【Shy Girl Runs Away from Home】
……
Compared to them, her college roommates were much more reserved. They didn’t tease her outright, but whenever Zhang Shu came to Heqing and waited for Sheng Xia downstairs, they would start hooting.
After Liao Jing’s failed forced mixer, the girls of Room 219 lost interest in similar activities. But after being subjected to watching couples being all lovey-dovey under their dorm every day, they started clamoring to date again.
So Sheng Xia was pushed to extend an invitation. Unfortunately, out of Zhang Shu’s four roommates, only one was single—a rarity in the male-dominated computer science department, since most had started dating in high school.
Zhang Shu had to invite his project group members to make up a 4v4 gathering.
Before setting off, Zhong Lujie nervously asked, "Guess how many of them will be wearing plaid shirts?"
Sheng Xia admitted, "Zhang Shu doesn’t own any plaid shirts. Actually, none of his classmates I’ve seen wear them much?"
The stereotype of programmers and plaid shirts was deeply ingrained.
They met at an amusement park. Sheng Xia and her friends arrived late, and before even getting out of the car, they spotted Zhang Shu and his group.
"Uh…" Sheng Xia was speechless.
There really was one wearing a plaid shirt."See, one out of four is wearing a plaid shirt—that's not a low probability!" Liao Jing said.
The boy had a fair and clean appearance, with large black-framed glasses covering most of his face. The plaid shirt didn’t look bad on him.
Sheng Xia recognized him—a taciturn super genius whose parents were both in computer science. He was a gold medalist in informatics competitions, a straight-A student, and probably had the temperament typical of geniuses, unable to form teams with anyone. In the end, the teacher assigned him to Zhang Shu’s group. At school, he basically only interacted with Zhang Shu outside of academics. Every time she went to Haiyan without notice, she would see him by Zhang Shu’s side.
Zhang Shu introduced the people he had brought along, among whom the plaid-shirt guy was named Cheng Zhuoyang.
Sheng Xia hadn’t expected such a top student to participate in this "matchmaking" kind of event.
The next second, Liao Jing excitedly stammered, "You, you, you..." for a long time before finally remembering, "Cheng Zhuoyang? The top scorer in our province!"
The 219 dorm was utterly shocked.
Even if the elite department had many top scorers, this was like wholesale—way too ridiculous!
"That’s me. Hello, Liao Jing," Cheng Zhuoyang replied indifferently, leaving everyone even more confused.
"Are you guys from the same hometown?"
"Yes, but..." Liao Jing was baffled. She had only seen the top scorer’s photo and name on the honor roll—they weren’t from the same high school.
Cheng Zhuoyang explained, "We were in neighboring classes in middle school."
The genius frowned tightly, as if every extra word was painful, but he had no choice but to speak.
"Wow, what kind of fate is this?" someone marveled.
Zhang Shu, standing to the side, raised an eyebrow, took Sheng Xia’s hand, and pulled her close, distributing the tickets to everyone. "Let’s go in. It’s too sunny."
Behind them, Liao Jing bombarded Cheng Zhuoyang with questions.
Liao Jing: "Middle school? How come I don’t remember? I remember everyone who threatened my top rank!"
Cheng Zhuoyang: "I didn’t do well in middle school."
Liao Jing: "No way? Why?"
Cheng Zhuoyang: "Games were more interesting."
Liao Jing: "Then how do you remember me?"
Cheng Zhuoyang: "You were first place."
Liao Jing: "Oh, right. You computer science guys—can you make cheats for games?"
"..."
"Do you still play? Take me with you!"
Sheng Xia wiped her sweat and whispered to Zhang Shu, "Your classmate seems so honest. Won’t he be scared off by my roommate?"
Zhang Shu looked at her, suddenly leaned down to kiss her, and said, "Birds of a feather flock together."
Sheng Xia: "..."
Zhang Shu: "Who scares whom isn’t certain."
That night back in the dorm, Liao Jing immediately booted up her computer and logged into the game, eagerly waiting for the genius to carry her.
Zhong Lujie asked slyly, "Did you two hit it off or something?"
Liao Jing waved her hand. "No way. He’s too quiet. And if he hadn’t worn that plaid shirt today, maybe there’d be a chance."
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Halfway through the semester, the busiest time for the computer science department arrived.
Homework poured in like "rewards," midterms followed closely, and the lab was extra busy with an inspection team coming to visit.
Weekends next semester would be occupied by various experiments, so Zhang Shu could only squeeze in time to meet Sheng Xia. As long as he didn’t have evening classes, he would unfailingly go to Heqing to have dinner with her, take a walk, and then return to campus.
"Shu-ge."
Early Saturday morning, just as Zhang Shu got up, Cheng Zhuoyang was already waiting outside his dorm. The lab had visitors today, and they needed to go help.Actually, Cheng Zhuoyang was a few months older than Zhang Shu, but he liked to call him that, and Zhang Shu didn’t mind.
Both Zhang Shu and Cheng Zhuoyang had just joined the Computer Vision Center at Haiyan University this semester. The entire lab had fewer than ten undergraduates, and they were the only sophomores. Although they were just following along and learning for now, the opportunity was rare and enviable across the department—even the entire college. Naturally, some people weren’t convinced.
Cheng Zhuoyang was one thing—after all, he ranked first in their major. But Zhang Shu wasn’t at the top academically, and many couldn’t understand why the department had specifically chosen him.
Cheng Zhuoyang knew the reason, but he couldn’t be bothered to explain, and he also knew Zhang Shu didn’t care.
The lab was never short of academic stars—what it lacked was coordinators.
Last year, the lab had made a major breakthrough in the field of image diagnostics, resulting in practical applications. Many companies had extended olive branches, so corporate representatives often came for visits and research. But they’d never seen the lab take one so seriously before.
“Who’s coming today?”
Even the senior students were discussing this question, and the junior advisors had no idea.
Zhang Shu helped organize materials and adjust equipment, paying little attention to the chatter.
Outside the lab, the guide’s voice came through the loudspeaker: “This way, leaders.” From that, everyone could guess it was government officials.
When Zhang Shu saw Sheng Mingfeng at the front of the group, he was briefly surprised—but only briefly. He suddenly remembered Sheng Mingfeng’s impressive resume from long ago, filled with outstanding political achievements. Nowadays, many local governments prioritized technological empowerment, pinning their hopes on AI to improve grassroots medical care. So Sheng Mingfeng’s presence here wasn’t all that strange.
What was strange, though, was that when Sheng Mingfeng spotted him through the glass door, he cheerfully greeted, “Ah, Zhang Shu?”
The lab director asked in surprise, “Secretary Sheng knows him?”
“Zhang Shu—top scorer from Nanli, one of the Ten Outstanding Youths for Acts of Bravery! I presented him the award!” Sheng Mingfeng was delighted.
Hearing this, the director shot Zhang Shu an approving look and chimed in with praise, “Nanli produces talent indeed. Zhang Shu is an outstanding student.”
Zhang Shu stood where he was, his gaze neither submissive nor arrogant, perfectly polite.
But everyone around knew—the director probably couldn’t even name all the Ph.D. students, let alone remember an undergrad’s name. In fact, the director likely didn’t even know Zhang Shu was an undergrad.
“He is outstanding,” Sheng Mingfeng didn’t hold back on the praise. “Director Fan’s lab doesn’t have anyone who isn’t outstanding.”
Zhang Shu’s office wasn’t a key area for the tour, so the delegation soon moved on in a grand procession. But this little episode had caught many people’s attention. Even Zhang Shu’s junior advisor couldn’t resist coming over to gossip. “I’d heard you’d won some social honor before—so it was the Ten Outstanding Youths! The top leader remembers you—impressive, kid!”
After the advisor left, Cheng Zhuoyang remarked leisurely, “There are so many Ten Outstanding Youths every year—how could he remember? I think your girlfriend looks way too much like this Secretary Sheng.”
Zhang Shu nodded without saying much and went back to work.
“Go for it, Shu-ge.”
Zhang Shu: “…”
Soon, someone who had been with Sheng Mingfeng earlier came to fetch Zhang Shu. He set down his materials and followed them out.
Outside the lab, the cameras had stopped rolling. Sheng Mingfeng and the lab director were shaking hands in farewell."You must come visit our Nanli. We can provide a wealth of training data, and the application scenarios are extremely broad. We sincerely hope..."
"Absolutely, absolutely. Secretary Sheng's sincerity has truly moved us..."
Zhang Shu followed the person around, exiting the laboratory through the back door, and waited by the campus road. Before long, Sheng Mingfeng's car pulled up in front of him.
"Student Zhang Shu, how about joining me for a meal?"
Zhang Shu nodded, "Of course, Uncle Sheng."
The car drove off smoothly. The secretary in the front seat reported the upcoming schedule, and Sheng Mingfeng said apologetically, "I forgot I had other arrangements. It seems our meal will have to wait until next time."
Zhang Shu remained unfazed, "I'm available anytime. If it weren't for official business, I should be the one hosting you, Uncle Sheng."
The secretary and driver in the front remained expressionless, silently evaluating Zhang Shu in their minds.
Sheng Mingfeng's lips curled slightly, maintaining his usual amiable demeanor, yet still exuding authority. He got straight to the point, "I heard from Sheng Xia that you two are dating."
Zhang Shu smiled faintly and looked at Sheng Mingfeng, "What she probably said was that we're becoming friends, right?"
Sheng Mingfeng raised his eyebrows slightly before laughing heartily, "You certainly know her well."
Zhang Shu didn't deny it, seeing no need for modesty on this matter.
"So, is she telling the truth?"
Zhang Shu replied immediately, "That depends on her."
Sheng Mingfeng paused for two seconds, "Not on me?"
As soon as Sheng Mingfeng said this, the two in the front tensed up: Young man, here comes the life-or-death question.
This time, Zhang Shu took a brief moment to think before calmly responding, "If she thinks we're just friends, I'll wait a little longer. If you think we're just friends, I'll push a little harder."
The car fell silent. Even the secretary stopped flipping through documents.
The car had already left Haiyan University, passing by towering buildings along the bustling streets.
Zhang Shu felt a weight on his shoulder as Sheng Mingfeng spoke with a hint of emotion, "Then push hard, Student Zhang Shu."
Zhang Shu nodded solemnly, knowing full well: he had been pushing, never stopping.
"Do you know what's more important than pushing yourself?" Sheng Mingfeng asked.
Zhang Shu had his own answer, but he understood that now was the time to listen, not speak.
"Without Sun Quan's family legacy, be Cao Cao. Without Zhuge Liang's wisdom, be Liu Bei. Just don't end up becoming Yuan Shao or Liu Biao."
"Student Zhang Shu, you're not the type to work for others, and you can't afford to be. Do you understand?"
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