Chapter 4: The Senior Turns Out to Be the Author

In life, we may encounter many coincidences, but our first reaction is often to deny them. Just like Ling Geng right now. Even though the coincidence was glaringly obvious, he couldn’t believe it. To confirm his suspicion, he pretended to slip and sent several more emojis in the chat. He thought, if the person next to him wasn’t Yu Huaizhi Ju, he could still retract the messages in time.

But the result was clear—Shao Huaizhi’s phone chimed with notifications again.

He couldn’t sit still any longer.

Stammering, he said, “Your… your phone…”

“What’s the matter?” Shao Huaizhi looked nonchalant, casually picking up his phone and glancing at it. “Suddenly getting so many messages, did that scare you?”

“No… um, can you show me the messages on your phone?” Ling Geng’s hand trembled slightly.

Though it was phrased as a question, Ling Geng’s hand was almost touching Shao Huaizhi’s phone.

Shao Huaizhi’s lips curved slightly. Finding Ling Geng’s current state quite endearing, he figured it was fine to reveal his identity. So he naturally unlocked the phone and handed it to Ling Geng.

The moment Ling Geng saw the chat on the screen, it was like fireworks exploded in his mind. What could be more exhilarating than discovering that the person you admired and thought was untouchable was sitting right beside you, smiling at you?

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was extremely excited, his emotions so complex that he struggled to speak coherently. “Shao Huaizhi, no, Yu Huaizhi Ju, I… I’m your fan. Just now, I was the one sending messages, the one with the ‘heart attack’… I… I…”

“Don’t rush.” Shao Huaizhi held his trembling fingers, gently taking the phone back. “Take your time. Who are you?”

The warmth of the touch brought Ling Geng back to his senses, though just barely. He managed to say, “Heart attack on day 101.”

His pronunciation was clear, and his voice bright.

Shao Huaizhi laughed aloud. He couldn’t help but ruffle Ling Geng’s hair, acknowledging, “Yes.”

Ling Geng stared at Shao Huaizhi for a long time, dazed. He began to realize something unusual. 

“Yu Huaizhi Ju… isn’t a girl?!”

“Yu Huaizhi Ju is a senior?!”

But that couldn’t be right. Yu Huaizhi Ju wrote BL (Boys’ Love) novels; how could he be a man? Moreover, he’d been writing for so many years—how could he be a senior?

Ling Geng’s expression grew increasingly peculiar.

Shao Huaizhi, guessing Ling Geng’s thoughts, coughed lightly. “Don’t look at me like that. I attended the same school as you but graduated six years ago. So technically, you can still call me senior.”

“Then… why are you back at school after six years?” Ling Geng, struggling to let go of his image of Yu Huaizhi Ju as a soft-spoken girl, asked.

“Well, it’s for inspiration for my writing.”

“So… you’re planning to start a new novel?” Ling Geng’s eyes lit up.

“Something like that. You can look forward to it.” After a pause, Shao Huaizhi added, “Ling, can you keep my identity a secret?”

“Um… sure.” Under the halo of Yu Huaizhi Ju, Ling Geng automatically ignored Shao Huaizhi’s increasingly intimate manner of addressing him. He understood, after all. Authors aren’t 

celebrities; wanting to remain anonymous is perfectly normal.

Shao Huaizhi’s eyes curved into a smile. “Thanks. By the way, Ling, are you full?”

“Huh?” Ling Geng blinked in confusion.

“If you’re full, let’s go for a walk.”

The enticing suggestion, combined with Shao Huaizhi’s warm demeanor, made Ling Geng feel like he was dreaming.

But with someone leading him, he strolled leisurely, watching the light shimmer on the lake, listening to soft songs on the bridge, until the timing was perfect, resting in the shade to escape the heat.

Everything reminded him this wasn’t a dream. He was really close to his most admired and beloved author!

Ling Geng almost wanted to shout for joy. But looking at Shao Huaizhi’s profile, he held back.

Yes… one must remain composed in front of their idol.

“Ling,” Shao Huaizhi turned to him, “it’s getting late. I have to go.”

Ling Geng was reluctant. “So soon?”

“Yes, I have an appointment in the afternoon.” What Shao Huaizhi told Ling Geng was true. He was on campus for writing inspiration and had arranged to meet an old professor. The person he was meeting in the afternoon was Professor Li.

Ling Geng didn’t want to part from his idol just yet, so his words naturally took on a bit of a pleading tone, “Will you come back to school again?”

Shao Huaizhi didn’t answer directly. Instead, he reached out, ruffled Ling Geng’s hair again, and said with a doting tone, “Next week, I’ll give you a surprise.”

As for what the “surprise” was, Shao Huaizhi gave no hints.

Ling Geng pondered all the way home and couldn’t resist messaging Shao Huaizhi, hoping to get some clues.

However, perhaps Shao Huaizhi’s afternoon appointment was too important; he didn’t reply until the evening.

Just two short words: **”Guess.”**

Ling Geng felt like throwing his phone in frustration.

There were still five days until next week. How could he guess?

…

Originally, waiting should have been a torment, an anxious cycle of thinking by day and dreaming by night without any resolution. But in reality, for Ling Geng, it was far less pressing than the sudden load of homework assigned over the next few days.

After all, it was unexpected and there had been no prior warnings.

The homework assignment was given by the teacher of another major course.

The task was to design an experiment based on the content learned, create a PowerPoint presentation, and deliver it in the first two sessions of the lab class next week. The presentations would be evaluated by the teacher to determine if the experiment design was reasonable and feasible.

“Xiao Xunzi, come take a look. Did I get this step right?” Ling Geng pointed to the PowerPoint on his computer.

Yu Xun approached from behind and examined it carefully. “I remember the theoretical yield of this experiment should be quite high. After purification, you should get at least 3 grams, but you only have 0.1 gram here. You should rethink this.”

“Ah… I still calculated it wrong…” Ling Geng sighed, feeling like banging his head against the wall.

This was already his tenth revised PowerPoint.

Blame his luck for being so poor. Among the eight topics for the experiment design assignment given at the last minute, he happened to pick the most difficult one. What’s worse, he was the only one in the entire class who got it. Even Yu Xun couldn’t offer much help.

He sighed deeply.

The frustration lingered until three days later.

After typing the final word, Ling Geng watched as the theoretical yield on the screen finally approached 3 grams. He closed his computer with a sense of relief and stretched lazily.

Turning his head, he saw Yu Xun fixing himself in front of the mirror.

Curious, Ling Geng leaned over. “You’re dressing up so nicely. Are you going on a date?”

Yu Xun shot him a glance. “What else? It’s Sunday. I can’t just stay in. How would I face my girlfriend?”

Yu Xun’s girlfriend was Fang Qi from the adjacent class. Since their majors were the same, except for lab classes, both classes generally attended lectures together. Over time, Yu Xun and Fang Qi grew closer, and they started dating in the second semester of their freshman year.

Ling Geng teased bitterly, “Alright, Xiao Xunzi, you’re leaving me behind like this. Have you ever thought about the feelings of a perennial single dog like me?”

“You? A perennial single?” Yu Xun clearly didn’t believe it. “Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Does this face look single to you? Even the class flower from Class 10, Li Yan, is shamelessly chasing after you. If you’re willing, she…”

“Stop it.” Ling Geng surrendered. “I’m not interested in her. I can’t just lead her on.”

Yu Xun clicked his tongue, expressing his speechlessness. “I really can’t understand you. With such high standards, you might end up alone forever.”

After a while, Yu Xun seemed to remember something. “Oh, by the way, there’s a class meeting at 7 p.m. tonight. Remember to attend.”

“A class meeting?” Ling Geng opened his phone to find a message in the class QQ group reminding everyone about the meeting.

As per tradition, at the beginning of each new semester, there would usually be a class meeting in the first week. Unless there was something significant happening throughout the year, these meetings were rare.

Ling Geng wondered what this meeting was about.

Yu Xun smirked mysteriously. “I heard from the class monitor that there are some announcements to be made.”

Ling Geng’s interest was piqued. Oh?

At 6:55 p.m., the front rows of the classroom were filled with people.

Ling Geng found a corner seat, trying to minimize his presence.

As soon as he sat down, the class monitor, Yang Hui, hurried over to him with a smile. “Ling Geng, you share a dorm with Yu Xun. Do you know where he is? The class meeting is about to start, but he’s not here.”

“Oh… he had something come up and went to the city center this afternoon. There’s traffic now, so he probably won’t make it back in time for the meeting. Should I let him know he’s excused?”

Ling Geng’s explanation was reasonable, but in reality, Yu Xun had lost track of time while shopping with his girlfriend, so Ling Geng had to come up with an excuse to cover for him.

Yang Hui didn’t suspect anything. “I see. Then, can you pass on the content of today’s meeting to him later?”

“Sure, I will.” Ling Geng smiled.

With a handsome and sunny smile, he inadvertently caused a momentary distraction in the eyes of a young girl nearby, who blushed when she turned away.

“Students, the new semester has begun, and we’re taking up 30 minutes of your time for a class meeting to announce a few important matters. The first item is…”

The class teacher’s energetic voice echoed in the classroom.

It all revolved around two main themes: graduation and employment.

Ling Geng listened attentively for a while, feeling a bit drowsy.

Just as he was about to take out his phone to wake himself up, the voice suddenly stopped, intentionally leaving everyone in suspense. Then, the teacher continued, “The fifth item on the agenda is that our class will be welcoming a new student next month. This student is a disciple of Professor Li Tongze, so you can all call him senior. Due to the research project, he will be attending classes, dining, and living together with you all.”

The teacher glanced towards the door, signaling, “Huaizhi, come in and introduce yourself to the class.”

As Ling Geng was seated far from the podium, he couldn’t catch the last sentence clearly, only vaguely hearing the words “introduce yourself.”

Resting his chin on his hand, he leaned to the side with a curious look.

A tall figure walked in from outside, backlit by the light. His voice sounded somewhat aloof but 

very familiar as he said, “Hello, everyone. My name is Shao Huaizhi.”

Ling Geng’s hand slipped for a moment, and with a crisp sound, his chin hit the table.

The clear noise echoed in the suddenly quiet room.