Chapter 14

A sleeping person provides no answers.

Ming Yufu felt as though a layer of water separated her from the girl—she could see her, but she couldn’t truly reach her.

I don’t know Meng Li, Ming Yufu thought.

She knew the girl liked her, knew she was terrible at math, knew she was prone to acting spoiled, and knew she turned in circles while sleeping—but there was still so much of Meng Li’s past that she had yet to understand.

Ming Yufu shifted her position, her calm, steady gaze fixed on the ceiling. She didn’t feel much like sleeping tonight.

“Do you want to sign up?” The class secretary pulled out a registration form. “The deadline is noon today. Fill it out and give it to me; I’ll hand it over to the teacher.”

“Thanks.” Meng Li’s eyes scanned the form.

Transferring majors at Jingda University didn’t just require a high GPA; it also required extra credits. Credits were generally earned through patents, club awards, participating in major campus events, publishing papers, or joining research projects and academic conferences.

Meng Li needed enough credits before she could transfer. After weighing her options, she signed up for the school’s annual Arts Gala.

The Arts Gala wasn’t open to just anyone; applicants had to pass two rounds of auditions. However, ​stolen content​the credit rewards were generous. Once selected, the credits earned would satisfy the graduation requirements for all four years of university.

After her afternoon classes ended, Meng Li sent a message to Ming Yufu, asking what time she would finish work and if she could hitch a ride back.

[Rain: Leaving the office at 5:30 today.]

[A Little Oriole: Can we go back together? I can stay in the library for a bit longer.]

[A Little Oriole: [Fat Oriole pacing in anticipation.jpg]]

[Rain: Okay, I’ll tell you in advance when I arrive.]

Meng Li’s lips turned upward. She tucked her phone back into her bag and found an empty classroom to finish her homework.

At 5:40 PM, she stood under the shade of a tree by the South Gate, waiting for the woman to pick her up.

The weather was fickle; yesterday saw torrential rain, but today the sky was a deep azure, like a clear, polished mirror—vast, tranquil, and without a single blemish. Golden cicada husks clung to the tree trunks, and the sound of the cicadas was restless, possessing a grand momentum that seemed capable of piercing eardrums.

Meng Li wore a royal blue T-shirt and black denim shorts. Because of the heat, she had tied a small knot at the hem of her shirt, revealing a sliver of her slender, pale waist. She possessed a striking aura.

“Meng Li.”

Meng Li turned around. Guan Lu, the class secretary, walked over holding a sun umbrella. “Long time no see.”

Meng Li blinked. “It hasn’t been that long, has it?”

Guan Lu twirled the handle of her umbrella. “Two hours is seven thousand two hundred seconds. Rounded up, that’s a full ten thousand seconds. That counts as a long time.”

Meng Li learned something new. “That makes a certain amount of sense.”

Guan Lu asked, “Are you waiting for the bus here too?”

Meng Li nodded. “Sort of. Waiting for a ride.”

Guan Lu stood beside her and closed her umbrella. “I’ve handed the registration forms to the office. The Arts Department will send a text notification about the audition times, so remember to check your phone.”

The two hadn’t had much interaction before, but Guan Lu had a strong impression of Meng Li. She had heard friends mock her, saying she loved carrying fake designer bags and was relentlessly pursuing the campus belle Omega, causing many scenes.

Meng Li nodded. “Is there a specific group chat for the Arts Gala?”

“Yes. I’ll add you and pull you into the group.”

A new message popped up on her friend list.

Meng Li: “Uni… Universe’s Number One Most Beautiful A?”

Guan Lu smiled. “Thanks for the compliment.”

I wasn’t complimenting you… Meng Li was silent for a moment. “Is ‘Universe’s Number One Most Beautiful A’ you?”

Guan Lu tossed her long hair. “The very same.”

“…”

Meng Li added “Universe’s Number One Most Beautiful A” as a friend and edited the nickname. Guan Lu pulled her into the group.

Ahead, a bus wobbled into view and stopped at the sign. In the time it took Meng Li to look at the group messages, Guan Lu had flashed to the front of the bus door, leaving behind a crowd of elderly passengers who weren’t as fast as her.

“TEXT—ME—IF—ANYTHING—COMES—UP—”

The bus cabin was like a tin can full stolen contentof sardines. Guan Lu’s voice wavered as it drifted out through the window.

Meng Li withdrew her gaze and only then noticed a Rolls-Royce with its hazard lights on by the curb. She didn’t know how long it had been waiting. She got into the car, and the cool air hit her face.

She untied the knot at her hem and smoothed out the wrinkles, looking at the Omega dressed in a well-tailored black suit.

“Long, long, long… long time no see. I was just asking a classmate about some things and didn’t notice your car had arrived.”

She said “long” many times in one breath.

“It wasn’t that long,” Ming Yufu said, looking at her.

Meng Li’s eyes curved slightly, ripples of laughter surfacing in them. “Every second felt like a year. If we count by seconds, we haven’t seen each other since our last lives.”

Ming Yufu was slightly dazed, her dark eyes deepening. A single lifetime of affection isn’t enough; this girl is greedy enough to think of her and her past life.

Ming Yufu’s gaze was like flowing water, sweeping over Meng Li’s eyes. She asked casually, “Is your classmate named Keke?”

Hearing a name she used to call out frequently coming from someone else’s mouth, Meng Li froze for a moment. She tucked a stray tea-colored curl behind her ear. “No, her surname is Guan. Her name is Guan Lu. She’s our class secretary.”

Ming Yufu’s eyes shifted. Her ​unauthorized copy​finger flipped a page of a document, the sharp edge of the white paper pressing against her fingertip. “I see.”

“President Ming, why did you suddenly mention Keke? Do you know someone by that name?” Meng Li tilted her head, her gaze shifting with the turning of the page.

Watching her small movements, Ming Yufu thought of a business partner who kept sun parakeets. The partner’s children were all exceptionally talented with brilliant resumes, but she never bragged about them. Instead, before and after every meeting, she would excitedly pull out her phone to show everyone the parakeets. In every photo, the little creatures would tilt their heads at the camera.

The partner’s explanation was a thinly veiled boast that Ming Yufu had heard so many times she’d developed calluses on her ears: Tilting the head isn’t because of a stiff neck; it represents intimacy, curiosity, research, liking, acting spoiled, and feeling at ease.

At this thought, Ming Yufu’s heart skipped a beat. A wave of heat climbed up her pale, snowy ears. “I don’t.”

Her hand slowly moved to the silver suppressor collar around her neck. The cold material chilled the hot blood flowing beneath her fingertips. Her gaze turned cool and clear again, like frost. “But after you fell asleep last night, you seemed to mistake me for Keke.”

She didn’t know how deep Meng Li’s feelings for the other person were, but she could even call out the name in her sleep.

This sentence seemed to hit Meng Li’s funny bone. She was stunned for an instant, and then a massive smile broke across her face like a blooming lotus, revealing a glimpse of her snowy, even teeth. Her affectionate peach-blossom eyes caught the sunlight, glowing brilliantly.

Her voice carried a trace of nostalgia.

“Sorry. Keke used to sleep with me sometimes. I must have been half-asleep last night.”