After Rebirth, I Discovered the Whole World Wants to Harm Me [GL] - Chapter 19

S-University Centennial Celebration Day.

Traffic on campus was much heavier than usual. Students walking under the shade of trees frequently saw long queues of cars stalled for ten minutes at a time.

Figures wearing celebration uniforms could be seen in every corner of the school. Even under the old student dormitory buildings, several middle-aged men with cameras were taking photos of the flowers and plants in the garden.

The once-familiar S-University campus, to those who had been away for a long time, now felt more like a physical validation of their own memories. Even sitting in a seat in the cafeteria they used to occupy would stir up many emotions, making the students still studying here vaguely share in a sense of belonging as S-University alumni.

Tang Xiaoran, wearing a pair of white sneakers, stood under a banner from the School of Management wishing the alma mater a happy birthday. She raised her left hand to block the sunlight that was about to fall into her eyes.

The “Autumn Tiger” in the north was beginning to lose the scorching strength of its tail-whip, but the sun over S-City remained exceptionally energetic. Every year, it refused to let the people under its gaze change into long sleeves until at least December.

She looked at her own shadow and quietly shifted further under the shade of the banner.

After a short while, a boy ran out from the building opposite. He jogged through the burning sun to reach her side. Before he could even steady himself, a bottle of juice was thrown at him. Fortunately, his reflexes were sharp; he caught it with one hand, twisted it open, and took a drink. Finally, he wiped the corner of his mouth with his right thumb.

“It’s so hot today and the campus is packed. How come you were willing to leave the house?”

The school was on holiday for the celebration. Tang Xiaoyu had asked about her plans earlier and only received a reply that she wanted to stay home. He hadn’t expected this “homebody” to abandon her holiday lounging and run back to school.

The girl kicked a small square cardboard box at her feet. Inside, there was the faint clinking of wine bottles.

“Big Brother went to Guiyuan yesterday. This is Osmanthus wine he got for you, and he told me to look after your roommates too.”

The two tufts of hair on Tang Xiaoyu’s head had been dyed back to a normal color. Tang Xiaoran gave them a habitual glance, found it uninteresting, and looked away. Her gaze passed over his shoulder, fixed on the main auditorium of the Management School.

The boy, whose features shared some similarity with hers, had more defined lines. The delicateness on her face, when sketched with a few broader strokes, turned into a rugged handsomeness on his.

He followed her gaze and looked back at his school’s auditorium. Recalling the activities currently taking place inside, he asked:

“What? Taken a liking to someone from our school?”

As for the “bringing care and concern to him and his roommates on a hot day” persona, he absolutely refused to attribute that to Tang Xiaoran.

Tang Xiaoran flashed a fake smile at him, choosing not to answer that question, and asked instead:

“Is there a gala tonight for the famous alumni? In your school’s auditorium?”

“The gala should be in the University Music Hall, but I think there’s a dinner activity afterward. Which one are you actually interested in?” Tang Xiaoyu leaned down to look at the contents of the box. Besides two beautifully packaged bottles of Osmanthus wine, there was also a box of Osmanthus cakes.

Tang Xiaoran pouted and replied casually, “I’m interested in Sister Xin’s schedule, okay? Come on, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Tang Xiaoyu bent over to pick up the box. Hearing this, he raised his eyebrows in extreme surprise, unsure whether to be shocked by her mysterious warming relationship with Xiao Shixin or by the fact that she had found a conscience and wanted to treat him to a meal.

But the duck had flown right to his mouth! It would be a waste not to eat!

“Let’s go! Follow me to the dormitory first. I heard a new Korean place opened near the North Gate. The taste is pretty good; we’ll go there in a bit.”

“Oh? I thought you were so busy today you wouldn’t even have time to drink water.” Tang Xiaoran blinked in surprise, her tone intentionally exaggerated.

Tang Xiaoyu adjusted the box in his arms and looked at the people passing by under the trees on both sides of the road, suppressing the urge to send his sister to her grave in public.

Then he said quite calmly, “If you dare say that you only offered this treat because you thought I wouldn’t have time to eat—I swear on my stomach that’s been eating cafeteria takeout for three days, I will crush you right now. Believe me?”

Tang Xiaoran let out a sigh and said with a look of “martyrdom,” “Life is finally going to lay its hands on a little kitty like me.”

Tang Xiaoyu: “…” She is a literal drama queen.

Now the question was: why did he even talk to this mental case?

The excitement at S-University lasted from day until night. The street vendors who were busy selling school badges, uniforms, postcards, and other souvenirs during the day saw their business volume increase rather than decrease at night.

Consequently, among the crowds walking near the campus groves, groups of twos and threes held either glow sticks or balloons. Both those selling nostalgia and those buying it were happy.

After rewarding her brother, who was being squeezed dry by the Student Union, Tang Xiaoran spent the afternoon wandering the campus, experiencing the difference between a celebration day and a normal day. Now, she stood in front of the renovated University Music Hall, staring at the three golden words while thinking:

Is it more boring to continue wandering the campus tonight, or more boring to go clubbing with Sun Jiali and the others?

“Xiaoran.” A call came from not far behind—a man’s voice.

Tang Xiaoran maintained her posture of looking up at the building, but a few seconds later, the voice drew closer.

She thought for a moment, took her phone out of her pocket, and pulled out a pair of white earphones. Just as she was about to put them on to block the disturbance, a hand patted her shoulder.

“Xiaoran! I’ve been calling you for a long time. Are you attending the celebration today too?” That bright, sunny voice rang out right next to her.

Tang Xiaoran unhurriedly opened the international news app on her phone, plugged in her earphones, and adjusted the volume.

Only then did she look up, staring at Zhou Haoran standing in front of her. She smiled, and then, right in front of him, she stuffed the two earbuds into her ears.

A masterclass performance of the gif: Hello, the person you are calling does not want to talk to you.jpg

The smile on Zhou Haoran’s face froze. Even the hand resting on Tang Xiaoran’s shoulder felt as if it had been pricked by a needle; he awkwardly moved it away the next second.

“Xiaoran, is there some misunderstanding between us?” Zhou Haoran remembered that previously she would still be pleasant to him, even occasionally agreeing to his invitations. What exactly had made her suddenly keep him at a distance?

Tang Xiaoran raised her hand to cover her mouth and let out a small burp. While her ears heard his “misunderstanding,” the words echoing in her mind were: 【Dad, someone asked me for money today. Guess who? It was actually Tang Xiaoran, that arrogant woman with her nose in the air. So poor she had to ask me for a loan…】

She lowered her hand, licked her somewhat dry lower lip, and twitched her lips at Zhou Haoran again, saying, “How about this? For the sake of our past connection, I’ll sing a song for you?”

“Huh?” Zhou Haoran was dizzy from this sudden, unexpected “surprise,” staring at her blankly.

Tang Xiaoran cleared her throat and, with absolutely no sincerity, sang a line in a wobbly tone:

“Scram is just one word, I’ll only say it once?”

The ex-boyfriend could only remain silent.

Tang Xiaoran didn’t care about him. Audience members were already walking out of the Music Hall in small groups. She had asked Xiao Shixin and knew she had gone to the Music Hall, so she was planning to wait for her at the door.

Who had time to play with trashy ex-boyfriends?

Zhou Haoran, however, didn’t want to give up—or rather, he insisted on hearing a reason he could accept. He reached out and easily grabbed the girl’s arm. The fake, sunny smile had vanished from his face, replaced by a heavy gaze as he called out again, “Xiaoran.”

Seeing the girl look over impatiently, he still chose to explain: “I don’t know what kind of bad rumors you’ve heard about me, but you have to believe me—my heart is true for you.”

Xiao Shixin had finished attending the celebration activities and wasn’t very interested in the subsequent dinner. At the moment, she was walking out with several local political and business figures, chatting about the changes at S-University.

Just as she was walking down the steps of the Music Hall, she saw two people standing by the fountain under the dim yellow lights in the distance.

“Bad rumors? What are you referring to?” The smile on Tang Xiaoran’s face vanished completely. She simply let her face turn cold, her deep brown eyes appearing pitch black in the night.

When she stared coldly at someone, she actually looked a bit like Xiao Shixin.

Zhou Haoran’s explanation faltered instantly.

But the girl didn’t wait for him to continue. She opened her mouth and said, “I don’t have time to watch you act, and don’t come here to show off your acting skills anymore.”

“Also, let go. You probably don’t want Xiaoyu going to your department tomorrow to find trouble for you, do you?”

Zhou Haoran stared at her for a few seconds before reluctantly letting go of her hand.

He looked as if he wanted to say something more. At that moment, a cold woman’s voice rang out behind him: “Xiaoran.”

A look of joy instantly appeared on Tang Xiaoran’s face. Without hesitation, she bypassed him and walked toward the person behind him: “Sister Xin!”

Zhou Haoran turned around and saw a figure standing straight. When he met the woman’s cold eyes, he froze for a second and called out, “President Xiao.”

Xiao Shixin only gave him a single glance before looking away. She didn’t even nod back in acknowledgement, acting as if she had just seen a stone on the side of the road.

Tang Xiaoran, of course, wasn’t going to introduce them. She hooked her arm through Xiao Shixin’s, wanting to suggest they go for late-night snacks.

As Xiao Shixin was being led away with her bag in her hand, she wanted to switch hands, but the bag was taken directly by Tang Xiaoran.

Once again, she accidentally touched the other woman’s fingers—

Inside the earphones she had forgotten to take off, the string of ABCs from the international news was still playing.

Simultaneously, she fell into that grey world once more.