Paparazzi Pics
Editor: Exodus
On Friday afternoon, Wen Le and Xu Wenhao met at the school café.
This time, they had arranged to discuss matters concerning the school publication articles.
After their conversation relating to business was over, it was already 4:30 in the afternoon. Wen Le put her notebook back into her bag and looked up to find Xu Wenhao gazing straight at her.
Xu Wenhao had always been mild-mannered, and even his gaze was as gentle as a spring breeze. However, this also meant that it was difficult for others to read any deep emotions from his eyes.
He rarely displayed his emotions in such a way, and his gaze fixed on Wen Le even carried a hint of unusually heightened warmth.
Wen Le was momentarily stunned. She lowered her gaze, and avoided making direct eye contact with Xu Wenhao.
Yet, Xu Wenhao said, “It’s almost dinner time. Since we last talked about trying the Japanese restaurant on North An East Road, do you want to give it a try? It should be open now.”
Wen Le couldn’t help but recall the conversation downstairs of the female dormitory building the other day. She felt a bit awkward; she hadn’t expected to be able to get rid of her single status so soon.
Feeling somewhat apologetic, Wen Le thought that she should have politely declined the last time if she had known things would develop this quickly.
Wen Le replied, “I’m sorry, senior. I have plans with my boyfriend tonight.”
Xu Wenhao’s expression froze upon hearing this, “Boyfriend?”
Wen Le lowered her gaze, smiled faintly, and somewhat embarrassedly said, “I just got into a relationship yesterday. Senior is probably the first to know.”
Xu Wenhao gazed deeply into Wen Le’s eyes. A fleeting expression of cold detachment appeared on his face, which sharply contrasted with his usual gentleness.
However, in just a moment, he regained his composure, let out a light sigh, and spoke casually, “I wonder who’s so lucky to have won your favor.”
Wen Le smiled shyly, lowered her head, and said, “If there’s a chance, I’ll introduce you to him.”
As they left the café, Xu Wenhao held the door open like a gentleman. Wen Le gave a light smile and thanked him.
After leaving the school café, Wen Le went to the Student Union to handle some matters. She didn’t go to the library and went straight back to her dormitory.
Her academic workload hadn’t been heavy lately; she had finished the assignments from class and the tasks she had set for herself. Only the articles for the school publication were left.
At 8:00 in the evening, Cheng Hui, Bao Xiao Fan, and Man Qingxuan rushed back to the dormitory in a whirlwind of energy.
Their boisterous entry made Wen Le hear their voices as soon as they appeared in the corridor on the third floor.
The three of them chatted, laughed, and playfully entered the dormitory. ‘Peng’ came the sound as the door closed, and then they saw Wen Le editing her articles at the desk.
Man Qingxuan exclaimed loudly, “Wen Le!”
Wen Le was startled and made a typo.
Speechless, she asked, “What’s up?”
Bao Xiao Fan put down her bag, came to Wen Le’s side, and smiled, “Le Le, did you have a date with a little brother today?”
Upon hearing the word “date,” Wen Le subconsciously thought of Zhou Kao, but she quickly realized that it wasn’t right; she hadn’t seen Zhou Kao today.
Wen Le was speechless and deleted the typo she had just made. “What’s going on again? I don’t have the time to do that.”
Since the day she and Zhou Kao had established their relationship, she hadn’t seen him yet.
However, Bao Xiao Fan didn’t give up. With one hand propped under her chin, she grinned at Wen Le. “They say it’s a senior from the School of Literature. Tsk tsk, quite handsome.”
After Bao Xiao Fan’s remark, Wen Le remembered; she was referring to Xu Wenhao.
Wen Le smiled and shook her head. “He’s a senior from the school publication. We have a project collaboration recently. Look, it’s this one.”
Wen Le pointed to the manuscript in front of her to show her, “How did you know I met him today? Did you run into us?”
Man Qingxuan rolled her eyes, “I suggest you go download BBS. Haven’t you had enough of the feeling of lagging behind?”
Upon hearing “BBS,” Wen Le frowned, “Did they snap pics again?”
Cheng Hui nodded and pulled up the post from the BBS, “Yes, congratulations, another trending post.”
Wen Le was speechless; aren’t these people too bored with their lives?
Cheng Hui handed her phone to Wen Le, showing her the post.
There were a few photos.
The picture of Wen Le showed her looking down with a shy smile. The post said that someone had accidentally seen them at the school caf
The title was extremely sensational:
“#Shocking! Campus Goddess x School of Literature’s Handsome Student Suspected of Being in a Relationship!”
Although Xu Wenhao wasn’t a school heartthrob, his refined and scholarly aura made him quite popular at school.
Most of the replies in the thread expressed disbelief.
1st Comment: Taking away our handsome student from the Literature Department, but don’t take him on a date!
2nd Comment: Speechless… Seriously, how many times has wl appeared on trending posts this month?
3rd Comment: This gossip is so dull.
4th Comment: Seriously, this month it’s WL x School Hunk, WL x Lei Si, WL x Xu from the Literature Department. I’m starting to wonder if WL is just boosting her own popularity.
5th Comment: Boring, so boring.
6th Comment: To be honest, considering all the rumours surrounding WL, I still think there’s a higher chance that Wen Le will be single through her four years in college.
7th Comment: +1
8th Comment: Actually, I still think Wen Le is lesbian.
While the post generated a lot of attention, it didn’t really imply that there was anything between them. Instead, several previous posts had been unearthed and were pinned at the top of the page.
The very top post was:
“#Flowers and Grass* That Will Definitely Stay Single Throughout Their College Years.”
*Flowers and Grass: a common way of naming the prettiest girl (flower) and most handsome guy (grass) in school in China.
Wen Le clicked on it, and the first name listed was hers, followed by Zhou Kao’s.
She was speechless and handed the phone back to Cheng Hui.
Cheng Hui also saw the post. Scrolling through it when Wen Le returned the phone, she laughed heartily, “Both you and Zhou Kao are considered the least likely to get rid of the single status.”
Wen Le forced a fake smile, thanks, unfortunately, Zhou Kao and I just got together yesterday, so we’re both not single anymore.
Bao Xiao Fan held her phone and fangirled, “But that little brother is really handsome, especially that gentle and refined demeanor. Ahhh, that’s my type!”
Wen Le patted Bao Xiao Fan’s shoulder, “Keep at it; you do have a chance.”
Bao Xiao Fan snorted, “Forget it. Why do I feel like that senior really likes you?”
Wen Le said, “No way. I already politely declined.”
Bao Xiao Fan said, “With a high-quality guy like that, you’ve ruthlessly turned him down. I also want to lobby that you will definitely still be single in your 4 years of college.”
Wen Le hesitated; now that Sun Youmei was absent, could she reveal the truth to them?
Suddenly, Cheng Hui asked, “Bao Xiao Fan, what about that younger guy you were flirting with at the social event last time?”
Bao Xiao Fan’s gaze wandered, “What younger guy?”
Cheng Hui scrutinized Bao Xiao Fan with a suspicious gaze, “I sense something going on.”
Man Qingxuan yelled out, “Ah! Bao Xiao Fan, a few days ago, when you went out to eat with your classmates, was it a date with that younger guy?”
The two of them interrogated Bao Xiao Fan, and just at that moment, Wen Le’s phone rang. She discreetly slipped away to the restroom with her phone.
It was a call from Zhou Kao.
Just a few minutes earlier…
Due to some work-related matters in his company, Zhou Kao had been attending frequent meetings lately, which made it inconvenient for him to stay on campus. Therefore, he had been residing in a property near the school under his name.
After all, Zhou Kao was just a sophomore student, and the company had dedicated personnel to manage things. He only occasionally involved himself. However, there was a major project underway in the company, and the CEO expressed the desire for him to participate.
In the evening, Zhou Kao had dinner with the CEO to get an update on the project’s status and progress. By the time he got home, it was already 8 PM. After taking a shower, he realized his WeChat was bombarded with messages from Lan Zhixin.
Zhou Kao opened the messages and found a row of links at the top.
Perhaps knowing that Zhou Kao might not click on them, Lan Zhixin had sent a few long voice messages.
Zhou Kao opened one of them and left his phone on the couch. He walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of mineral water.
Lan Zhixin’s voice rang out, “Boss, hahaha, guess what I saw on the BBS? You’ve been selected as one of the least likely to get attached, hahaha. I also voted, it seems the public’s eyes are indeed sharp. Hahaha.”
As one voice message finished, the next one played automatically, “Guess who else is a contender with you?”
Lan Zhixin answered his own question, “It’s Wen Le, hahaha. Both of you… I tell you, if I had your face, I would definitely…”
After finishing the water, Zhou Kao stopped the voice message, putting an end to Lan Zhixin’s chattering.
In fact, he had absolutely no interest in the childish polls and forum posts in the school.
Especially after just finishing a company meeting and a conversation with the project manager, he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest.
Possibly due to getting caught in the rain yesterday, he had a slight cold. Given his busyness, he hadn’t paid much attention, and now he just felt thoroughly drained.
However, inexplicably, Zhou Kao still clicked on the link Lan Zhixin had sent.
He quickly glanced through it, then exited the page and returned to the main forum page, where he saw the prominently displayed red thread.
The top few threads were all related to Wen Le. Zhou Kao furrowed his brows slightly and clicked on the latest-dated thread, revealing several pictures of Wen Le caught on candid camera.
As he looked at the photos, Zhou Kao’s expression darkened.
It was that guy again. A pang of jealousy surged within Zhou Kao. He had never seen Wen Le smile so gently at him.
Zhou Kao furrowed his brows slightly and dialled Wen Le’s number.
Wen Le answered the phone, “Hello.”
Zhou Kao’s voice came through the speaker, “Where are you?”
Wen Le responded, “I’m in the dormitory. What’s up?”
There was a pause from Zhou Kao before he said, “Do you have time this weekend?”
Wen Le replied, “No, I have a whole day of activities with the Volunteer Association on Saturday, lasting until the evening. Then, I have dinner to attend. On Sunday, my dad is coming over, but I’m not sure of the specific plans yet.”
Zhou Kao sighed, “Alright then.”
There was a hint of tiredness in Zhou Kao’s voice, and Wen Le couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”
Zhou Kao retorted, “What about me?”
Wen Le explained, “Your voice sounds a bit off.”
Zhou Kao sighed, “I heard that my girlfriend has time to meet other guys this weekend but not me. I’m not feeling great.”
Upon hearing this, Wen Le understood that Zhou Kao had probably seen the post online.
She chuckled, “You saw that post on the BBS?”
Zhou Kao confirmed, “Yeah, that person looks familiar.”
Wen Le clarified, “He’s a senior from the Editorial Department of the school magazine. We’ve been working on a project together recently, so we’ve been in touch.”
Zhou Kao remarked, “He even mentioned taking you out for Japanese food last time.”
A subtle smile tugged at the corner of Wen Le’s lips, “Your tone sure sounds really sour.”
Zhou Kao remarked, “It’s jealousy handmade by the girlfriend, how sour do you think it is?”
Wen Le couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “Today, I even mentioned that I would introduce my boyfriend to him. But with you being so jealous, I think maybe it’s better not to meet after all.”
At Wen Le’s words, a slight smile tugged at the corner of Zhou Kao’s lips. He also felt relieved inside and said, “No need to worry. I’m happy to meet him.”
Wen Le smiled, then suddenly asked, “I thought you wouldn’t check the BBS.”
Zhou Kao responded, “Indeed, I didn’t install it, but I can’t resist when someone brings it to my attention.”
“Seeing the posts on the BBS, the only thing that comforts me is that threads related to you also have my name mentioned.”
Wen Le made a slight clicking sound, “It’s a bit bittersweet.”
Zhou Kao replied, “Exactly, you also find it a bit bittersweet.”
Wen Le chuckled, “Okay then, if you’re available, I’ll free up Sunday afternoon for you, okay?”
Zhou Kao agreed, “Okay, I’ll reluctantly accept.”
TN: Hahahaha I can’t wait for everyone’s reaction once they find out that our leads are already together!
