Chapter 23: You Are My Keyword

The motion sensor lights in the corridor flickered on and off, leaving only the faint glow held in Qin Yingxia’s hand.

She looked at Yu Zhizhi, a gentle smile blooming on her face, as soft as a white rose after the rain. “How could I ever get tired of him? Jin Zhuo has always been the keyword that moves me.”

At twelve years old, Qin Yingxia first learned his name.

Those two characters, “Jin Zhuo,” resonated throughout her entire youth.

And they haven’t stopped resonating even now.

Loving Jin Zhuo, perhaps, is an inescapable deep sea.

Yu Zhizhi was touched by her gentle and serene demeanor. “Yingying, be bold. You’ll succeed.”

Qin Yingxia smiled. “Maybe one day.”

She would certainly walk boldly towards him, because Jin Zhuo himself was the happiness she wanted to touch.

•  

The next morning, Jin Zhuo was awakened by the vibration of his phone. He instinctively pinched his brow, looking slightly annoyed.

When he pulled out his phone and saw it was a call from Qin Yingxia, his eyes instantly cleared.

He answered the call. On the other end, he could hear the clinking of bottles and jars.

“Good morning, Jin Zhuo!”

Girls’ dorms wake up early. They need to do everything, from sunscreen to hairstyles to clothes, and nothing can be out of place.

So for the 8 am training, Qin Yingxia’s dorm woke up at 7 am.

She calculated the time and called Jin Zhuo at 7:30 to wake him up.

“Are you awake?”

Jin Zhuo rolled over, lazily responding, “Ah, I’m awake.”

He had just woken up, his voice hoarse, inexplicably alluring.

Qin Yingxia finished applying her sunscreen and reminded him, “The UV rays are strong today, remember to wear sunscreen!”

She had gone to the supermarket and bought him sunscreen beforehand.

Jin Zhuo seemed to laugh. “Okay…”

Qin Yingxia’s face flushed. “…What are you laughing at?”

“Our Xiao Qin junior is really keeping her promise.”

Jin Zhuo got out of bed. The rustling of clothes reached her ears, like the sound of fabric rubbing against fabric.

He was changing clothes.

Qin Yingxia imagined Jin Zhuo changing clothes, then remembered the time she helped him measure his waist, and she was too embarrassed to continue and hurriedly hung up the phone.

[Jin: Why did you hang up?]

She didn’t reply, but went to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face to cool down.

[Jin: Huh?]

Qin Yingxia took a deep breath, picked up her phone again and replied, [You’re already up, my mission is complete.]

[Jin: How do you know I’m up? Maybe I’m still in bed…]

[Youxia: You’re clearly changing clothes…]

There was a two-second pause on the other end, then a message came back, [Oh~ Little Qin junior saw me changing clothes.]

[Jin: Where?]

[Youxia: I’m still in the dorm.]

[Jin: I’m asking, where did Little Qin junior hide the camera?]

Qin Yingxia’s heart skipped a beat, and she directly sent him a voice message, boldly saying, “I hid it on your bedside table, Jin Zhuo, didn’t you see it?”

This time, Jin Zhuo was completely stunned.

After realizing what she said, he laughed even harder.

Pei Lanhe, who was yawning and going to the balcony to wash up, stopped in his tracks. Seeing Jin Zhuo with a toothbrush in his mouth, he laughed, “Bro, are you dating?”

Jin Zhuo came to his senses and smiled, “No.”

But he was actually thinking about it.

Pei Lanhe: “Then what’s so happy about it so early in the morning?”

“There is,” Jin Zhuo smiled at the mirror, “I woke up this morning and realized I’m better looking than yesterday.”

Pei Lanhe: “……You’re still saying you’re not dating?!”

Your thoughts are already abnormal.

Jin Zhuo washed his face, then put his hands on the sink, his smile warm. “Yesterday’s me is not today’s me, did you learn nothing from high school politics, He’er? Look at you, you’re so clueless…”

“Big brother, I study science, why would I learn politics? You’re the one who’s stupid.” Pei Lanhe had never been so speechless.

He felt that Jin Zhuo was different from before.

He was talking about intelligence.

It seemed to have started when he met Qin Yingxia.

Sure enough…

The wise do not fall in love.

Anyway, he wouldn’t fall in love.

•  

The morning sun wasn’t particularly harsh. Perhaps influenced by Instructor Xu Siwan, all the formations had to start their morning run overnight.

Fortunately, their instructor was very humane and only dared to make them run 800 meters.

Running 1000 meters was out of the question.

The morning run was crowded with people, and Yu Zhizhi had time to chat with Qin Yingxia, “You mean you woke Jin Zhuo up this morning?”

Qin Yingxia nodded, “Yeah, I suddenly realized that Jin Zhuo… is quite playful.”

He always said things that caught her off guard.

Like this morning, she tried to be playful like Jin Zhuo.

“How playful? Did he flirt with you?”

Qin Yingxia quickly denied it, “No. He said I was peeking at him changing clothes.”

“Ah?” Yu Zhizhi laughed until she almost died, “Did you really peek at him changing clothes? How’s his figure?”

Qin Yingxia glanced at her helplessly, “Zhizhi, do I look like the kind of girl who would peek at a guy changing clothes?”

Yu Zhizhi chuckled, “Jin Zhuo likes to tease you so much, and you even called him personally to wake him up this morning. What’s the difference between that and dating?”

“The difference is, there’s no name, no title.”

“Just go for it, girl!” Yu Zhizhi patted her shoulder.

Qin Yingxia asked back, “Do I not go for it because I don’t want to? It’s just that I’m scared, okay…”

Yu Zhizhi: laughed until her teeth hurt.

They ran side by side, and a man suddenly ran past Yu Zhizhi, pushing her aside.

“Who is it? No way, you’re squeezing past?”

She looked up and met Xie Chi’s eyes.

“You’re so short, but your temper is so bad.” Xie Chi teased her, he lowered his voice and leaned close to her ear, “I wonder which girl cried last night… ”

Yu Zhizhi smiled wryly and pushed his head away, “Xie Chi, what are you trying to do?”

Xie Chi directly stated his purpose, “That man last night looked like a real jerk, he looked like a goblin, so, I’ll help you beat up the scumbag, and you treat me to dinner.”

“You really have a good plan!”

Xie Chi raised his lips, “Of course, how else can I be the chairman?”

He nudged Yu Zhizhi with his elbow, “Think about it?”

Yu Zhizhi lowered her eyes, “Then I’ll think about it.”

After all, she wasn’t sure if Lin Shen would come to harass her again.

“Okay, that’s settled, I’m off.” Xie Chi turned his head and greeted Qin Yingxia, then pointed at her back.

Qin Yingxia was still wondering, when she turned around, she almost bumped into Jin Zhuo.

Jin Zhuo held her shoulders, “What a coincidence, Qin Yingxia.”

“Why are you both in our formation?”

“Wrong,” Jin Zhuo slightly raised his chin, gesturing for her to look ahead, “You guys are the ones who are lagging behind.”

Qin Yingxia and the others were in formation number five, while Jin Zhuo and the others were in formation number seven.

At this time, they were both so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t keep up with the speed of their team, and they fell behind two formations.

“Oh no!”

Qin Yingxia hurriedly pulled Yu Zhizhi, who was still daydreaming, and rushed forward, “Oh no! Zhizhi!”

They had to hurry, if they were caught by the head instructor, they would have to do fifty push-ups!

Push-ups, she would struggle to do five!