The cold wind whipped at Lu Jingdu’s jacket, sending his platinum blond hair flying freely in the snow.

He wore oversized black sunglasses, revealing only his high-bridged nose, alluring lips, and the smooth lines of his jaw.

Even without seeing his eyes, it was easy to sense the superiority of his bone structure and the uniqueness of his aura.

【Damn! The movie king got me again!】

【Wearing sunglasses in the middle of winter is a bit much, but he really is that handsome!】

Whispers from both male and female students buzzed around them.

Before Ning Xiaoyu could respond, a male student jogged up to Lu Jingdu, grinning as he asked loudly, “Bro, what department are you from? What year? A female friend of mine wants your contact info and asked me to come ask. Would that be okay?”

【Kid, that’s the movie king! The national movie king! Don’t you recognize him?】

【Honestly, even if Lu Jingdu is standing right in front of me now, I probably won’t recognize him either.】

【Stop playing. This isn’t the movie king. This is obviously a college guy! He’s so hot, I can’t even!】

【Totally crushing a little bit.】

Lu Jingdu’s clean and youthful voice rang out, “Sorry, that’s not convenient.”

The guy wasn’t ready to give up. He pushed further, “What’s up, Bro? Do you already have a girlfriend?”

He had noticed the cameraman nearby but never considered that the guy in front of him might be a celebrity. He just assumed he was some popular internet personality. After all, these days, it wasn’t uncommon for college students to double as influencers.

Lu Jingdu let out a soft chuckle. “Not yet.”

That laugh was too attractive. How could someone like this be unknown on campus?

The male student got even more excited. “Then come on, Bro, give her a chance. Otherwise, I won’t know how to explain it to my friend.”

He started rattling off details, “She’s 168 centimeters tall, likes gaming and drama series, and she’s got a bit of that sweet girl-next-door vibe. I mean, adding a new WeChat friend doesn’t hurt, right?”

“No.” Lu Jingdu replied flatly. Then he turned to Ning Xiaoyu, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. “Xiao Yu, come here.”

〖Love System: Aaaaah! Girl, get on the bike! Let the movie king take you to fly!〗

Ning Xiaoyu, wearing her usual deadpan expression, declined, “Thanks, but no need.”

Though the campus was huge, she felt her own two legs were good enough.

With that, she turned and began walking in a chosen direction. The other guests either sat on the sidelines, eating up the gossip, or silently fuming.

At that moment, Pei Yi also showed up with a bicycle. He cheerfully offered, “Shuyi, come on, I’ll give you a ride.”

Wanna hop on? I’ll take you flying.

Shuyi, come on, I’ll give you a ride.

Though both lines meant essentially the same thing, they gave off completely different vibes.

The second sentence felt ordinary— something you might hear anywhere.

But the first one radiated youthful confidence, brimming with a kind of electric charm that made hearts race.

As the saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy.

After hearing both, Liu Shuyi glanced at Pei Yi again, and suddenly nothing about him seemed right.

She responded with clear disinterest, “Forget it, I’ll walk too.”

So, the rest of the guests began wandering around campus on foot.

Snow was still falling, and the campus looked beautiful under the white veil. Ning Xiaoyu strolled leisurely, while Lu Jingdu pushed his bike beside her, neither too close nor too far.

Just then, the group happened to pass by the sports field.

Pei Xin spoke up, “Why don’t we hit the basketball court and shoot around a bit?”

Pei Yi immediately caught on to Pei Xin’s intention. He clearly wanted to challenge Lu Jingdu. So Pei Yi played along, “We’re already here, let’s do it! Come on!”

Xi Rui glanced around at the others. “But there are twelve of us.”

Basketball usually only requires ten players.

Pei Xin quickly offered a suggestion, “Boys versus boys, girls can have their own game. If we’re short on players, we’ll grab some students.”

In a university setting, the one thing you never lacked was people. Couldn’t find folks to play ball with? No way.

Even referees could be pulled from the school’s basketball team.

Ning Xiaoyu had no interest in playing basketball in the freezing weather. Neither did Liu Shuyi nor Ning Yuwei, so the female guests sat on the sidelines and watched the guys.

Pei Yi, Pei Xin, Xu Cheng, and Ling Zige formed one team.

Lu Jingdu and Shi Chao made up another.

Basketball teams needed five players each, so they pulled extra guys from the crowd of male students gathering around the court.

There were plenty of volunteers, and even more students came running from the dorms to watch.

Very soon, both teams had full rosters.

Ning Xiaoyu had never been enthusiastic about basketball. She rested her chin on her hand and lazily sat beside Shen Yueyue, watching the guys play.

Back when they collaborated with 《Hello, Dad》, Lu Jingdu had played a game of basketball on the show.

But that time, he had simply leaped up, flicked his elbow, and landed a clean three-point shot. It was steady and understated— no flashy moves, no showing off.

It was totally in line with his aloof movie king image.

Straightforward and clean.

It earned applause, but not the kind that made people scream out loud.

But this time, the Lu Jingdu on the court was nothing like that calm, low-profile movie king.

He dribbled, passed, broke through defenders, and jumped for slam dunks.

His movements were flashy yet fluid and full of aesthetic beauty. As he jumped, the hem of his shirt lifted slightly, revealing glimpses of his abs.

The wind caught his platinum hair, revealing his sharp, spirited features.

Low-profile? Steady?

Nonexistent.

His youthful flair and unrestrained confidence were on full display.

The cheers from the audience grew louder with each play.

“Which department is that senior from? Or is he a freshman?”

“Gotta be a freshman, right? Aaaah, he’s so cute and handsome, definitely a little brother!”

“Probably a first-year student? If he were a senior, no way we wouldn’t have heard of him before!”

“Wait, isn’t he playing with some celebrities?”

“So what you’re saying is…… our school’s freshman is hotter than actual celebrities?”

Some students only knew a reality show was being filmed on campus, and that celebrities were playing basketball with selected male students.

But for those who didn’t follow the entertainment industry, they couldn’t even tell which of the ten guys on the court were students and which were stars.

Everyone could clearly distinguish Xu Cheng and Ling Zige, but as for the rest, they honestly couldn’t tell who was who.

Pei Xin and Pei Yi looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six— definitely too old to be university students. Shi Chao appeared to be nearing thirty, so that was a clear no as well.

But Lu Jingdu, with his platinum blond hair, looked barely twenty.

The girls naturally assumed he was a fellow student from their university— a male student whose looks rivaled that of celebrities.

When Lu Jingdu came off the court to drink water, several girls nearby began cheering for him.

“Go, Junior Brother! You’re even cooler than a celebrity!”

“Charge ahead, Junior Brother! You’re the best!”

“Junior Brother, I’m cheering for you! Love you!”

Lu Jingdu, whose brows were up slightly: “?”

【Hahaha, the movie king looks completely lost. He was still being called senior earlier, so how did he suddenly become a junior now?】

【Because only juniors have that youthful, fiery vibe. Junior Brother Lu really doesn’t give off a greasy feel at all. He’s clearly different from those upperclassmen.】

【So full of youthful energy with zero awkwardness. Is this the power of a movie king? Truly terrifying!】

【Terrifying indeed!】

Ning Xiaoyu was handed a bottle of water by Shen Yueyue, who then wiggled her eyebrows playfully. “Aren’t you going to say something to our junior brother?”

All the girls were shouting ‘junior brother’, and since Shen Yueyue was older than them, she naturally joined in too.

She had, quite openly, taken advantage of the movie king along with everyone else.

Seeing her only friend on this variety show getting into character, Ning Xiaoyu played along, saying, “Here, Junior Brother, drink some water.”

With that, she handed the bottled water to Lu Jingdu.

Lu Jingdu took it naturally. The corners of his lips lifted slightly, and a glint of light seemed to flicker in his eyes. “Thank you, Big Sister.”

【Ahhh! He actually said it! He really said it!】

【This movie king is a real friend. You can count on him to say ‘big sister’ when the time comes.】

【Big Sister? Not even ‘senior sister’?】

【They didn’t go to the same school anyway. But honestly, ‘big sister’ hits way harder than ‘senior sister’!】

【Wuuwuuwuu, that ‘big sister’ was way too cute.】

【Still, I’m more looking forward to the day he calls the salted fish queen ‘little sister’.】

【That day will come. We’re only on character number two so far.】

【If it’s the movie king saying ‘little sister’, I bet it wouldn’t sound greasy at all.】

That one word— ‘big sister’— was just too adorable.

There wasn’t any sort of boyish falsetto or soft baby voice.

But it still sounded incredibly sweet and obedient!

A few of the female guests nearby couldn’t handle it anymore.

If he said that on stage, the impact would probably double.

So the movie king was this good?!

As expected, once the movie king took the lead, his impact was overwhelming. No one else could compare.

Only one person remained calm— Ning Xiaoyu. With her deadpan expression, she simply said, “You’re welcome.”

The love system roared in frustration, 〖Girl, you have no girlish heart. Not even a little!〗

Ning Xiaoyu looked confused. “Didn’t you already realize that a long time ago? Why bring it up again?”

〖Love System: ……〗

After giving out missions for so long, it thought it would have some effect— even a little.

To its surprise, it turned out to be utterly useless.

At that moment, it felt the urge to drag out Ning Zhen’s name and give him a thorough verbal lashing again.

It was all his fault! Entirely his fault!

────ρя


Right then, the second half of the match began.

Ning Xiaoyu had drunk too much water earlier and felt the urge to go to the restroom.

She informed Shen Yueyue and left the field. Naturally, a school wouldn’t lack restrooms, so she casually asked for directions and headed toward one of the teaching buildings.

Some of the girls wanted to accompany her, but Ning Xiaoyu politely declined.

She wasn’t a grade schooler. She didn’t need company just to go to the bathroom.

At the same time, Zhang Xue also arrived at the university campus.

After getting out of the car, she kept a close eye on the livestream while scanning the surroundings carefully.

The moment Ning Xiaoyu’s figure disappeared from the camera, Zhang Xue let out a breath of relief.

She was still technically Mrs. Shen and didn’t want to air their family’s dirty laundry in public. Plus, Ning Yuwei was there too. If Ning Yuwei found out she had actively gone looking for Ning Xiaoyu, Ning Yuwei might start asking questions.

And if Ning Yuwei learned she and Shen Ke were on the brink of divorce, things might spiral.

If she could avoid running into the other guests and just have a brief word with Ning Xiaoyu, that would be ideal.

Zhang Xue’s luck was pretty good. After looking around a few nearby buildings, she quickly spotted Ning Xiaoyu.

The moment she saw her, she called out loudly, “Xiaoyu, wait!”

To Ning Xiaoyu, that voice felt completely unfamiliar now. In fact, she didn’t even recognize it as Zhang Xue’s voice.

Seven years had passed and Zhang Xue’s tone had changed considerably, so it wasn’t strange that Ning Xiaoyu couldn’t place it. After all, they hadn’t interacted in years.

Still, Ning Xiaoyu instinctively paused in her steps.

Zhang Xue hurried over. “Xiaoyu, it’s me, Mom. I came to ask you something.”

Once Ning Xiaoyu realized it was Zhang Xue, her first instinct was to leave immediately. But then, a sliver of curiosity crept in. What exactly did Zhang Xue want to ask?

So Ning Xiaoyu remained silent and waited patiently for the woman to speak.

Zhang Xue exhaled and got straight to the point, “Xiaoyu, which hospital did your dad transfer to?”

With that, she looked at Ning Xiaoyu expectantly.

Ning Xiaoyu immediately understood that Zhang Xue was probably trying to go back to her father again.

With a blank expression, Ning Xiaoyu replied, “Ma’am, we’re not that close. I’m afraid I can’t help you.”