Chapter 1 : Unknown Secrets

“Qin Yingxia, can I kiss you?” — Jin Zhuo

The September air in the imperial city was a bit stuffy and humid. Perhaps it had just rained, leaving the sky a clear blue and the air filled with the scent of freshly cut grass.

The entrance to the Imperial University was filled with students getting off buses, fresh faces arriving from airports, high-speed train stations, and other places, bringing new life to the campus.

“It was still raining when I left this morning! Now it’s sunny, and I feel so happy!” A girl smiled, her eyes filled with anticipation for her university life.

“Are you sure?” Her companion nudged her with her elbow, gesturing towards the sun overhead. “That sun looks bigger than the one that made Huanhuan kneel and miscarry in the palace.”

“Ha… you’re so funny.”

“…”

The asphalt road, baked by the sun after the rain, felt like a steamer. The students, having just left the cool air of the bus, were wilted by the scorching sun.

“Little white cabbage, yellow in the field, just came out, dried to a crisp!”

“What are you chanting about?”

“Don’t worry about it, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go register! Let’s see the handsome guys at Imperial University!”

“…”

A taxi stopped steadily at the bus stop not far from the school. The driver got out to help with the luggage. “Little girl, the Imperial University is just a few steps ahead. There are too many students there, it’s hard to park. I’ll just park here…”

The back door opened, and a white hand emerged. The girl’s wrist was slender, her skin like jade.

She felt the sun and decisively opened her sun umbrella. At the same time, a soft voice, like a thin mist in the Jiangnan rain, with the coolness of raindrops falling on her face, said, “Thank you, driver.”

WeChat payment, 75 yuan.

That was the cost of the ride from the airport to Imperial University.

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome. I’m always happy to see the flowers of our country bloom in our Imperial University! Each one is a little genius! Hey, happy start to the semester!” The driver, a native of the imperial city, was very enthusiastic.

Imperial University is a century-old school, with hundreds of majors and students who are all exceptionally talented. Those who can get into this university are also very gifted in their studies.

Qin Yingxia, hiding her pink lips behind a mask, slightly pursed them, her long eyelashes fluttering. In the end, she didn’t say anything.

She wasn’t a genius. It was no exaggeration to say that getting into Imperial University had cost her half her life.

But what could she do?

The person she liked stood at the top of the pyramid.

She wanted to see the scenery he had seen, so she came.

Jin Zhuo.

The girl, with her secret thoughts, silently repeated the name she had thought about countless times.

Qin Yingxia pushed her suitcase, unconsciously quickening her pace.

•  

“Where’s Zhuo? Is he here? Who picked him up?”

Xie Chi came over with a stack of documents, all cartoon versions of Imperial University’s paper maps, specially prepared for freshmen.

They even thoughtfully marked the top ten food stalls on campus, ranked by popularity.

You know, freshmen are prone to stepping on landmines when it comes to campus shortcuts and food.

Imperial University has seven or eight large dining halls alone.

He put down the things in his hands and looked around, but couldn’t find Jin Zhuo.

Jiang Yinghuai, who was registering freshmen nearby, spoke up, “He’er went to pick him up. You, old man, should focus on the freshmen. Zhuo won’t get lost, but the baby freshmen might!”

Xie Chi laughed and stuffed the things in his hands into his arms. “I’m at ease with you here!”

“Where are you trying to run to?” Jiang Yinghuai reached out to grab him, but missed. “Damn, are you a loach?”

Xie Chi put on his baseball cap and walked backwards. “Wrong, I’m a rabbit, so I run fast!”

Jiang Yinghuai: “…Who’s actually the student council president?”

“I think you look like it.” Xie Chi raised an eyebrow at him and blew him a kiss. “I have to go rescue the lost little freshmen, 886!”

Jiang Yinghuai: I’m the one who looks like a big fool!

He took off his work badge and put it on the table, ready to run away. He wasn’t even a student council member, there were plenty of people to do this registration work.

Poor him, he had only gone halfway when he remembered those two credits and silently sat back down. “Okay, I’m a born ox and horse.”

…

Just as Jiang Yinghuai settled down, a dazzling white hand appeared in front of him. Qin Yingxia held out her admission letter to him. “Senior, I’m here to register.”

The girl’s voice was a little muffled. Jiang Yinghuai looked up, met her clean and beautiful eyes, and couldn’t look away.

Even though Qin Yingxia was wearing a mask, it wasn’t hard to see that she was a beautiful girl.

Her eyes were a tea-colored, like clear glass.

“Senior?”

Qin Yingxia thought her voice was too soft and called him again.

Jiang Yinghuai came back to his senses, took her admission letter, cut off the front page, and accidentally saw the photo on her letter. He looked up at her again, this time with a hint of amazement in his eyes. “You’re… Qin Yingxia, the big blogger on Douyin with over 20 million fans, right?”

He was the president of the street dance club and also liked to post dance videos online, gaining hundreds of thousands of fans.

Qin Yingxia blinked her eyelashes and nodded slightly. “Yeah.”

Feeling her shyness, Jiang Yinghuai didn’t ask further, but took a map and gave it to her. “Your dorm is in Building 12, do you need me to take you there?”

“No need, I can go by myself, thank you, senior.” She put away the map and was about to leave with her suitcase when she heard a commotion behind her.

Jiang Yinghuai looked over and stood up abruptly. “Zhuo! You’re finally back! When you’re not around, that guy Xie Chi just exploits me!”

Zhuo?

Qin Yingxia’s hand, which had been resting on her suitcase, tightened suddenly. Her heart beat involuntarily faster, and she hesitated whether to turn around and see if it was Jin Zhuo.

“He exploits you, you beat him up…”

A cold, masculine voice reached her ears, with a hint of amusement in his words.

Qin Yingxia turned her head and found that they weren’t far apart.

The boy had his back to her, tall and slender, with smooth muscle lines on his exposed forearms and clear veins.

Qin Yingxia was more familiar with his back and voice than his face…

Jin Zhuo’s appearance was eye-catching, an undeniable presence in the crowd. New students would always steal glances at him.

The boy was leaning lazily against the wall, bonelessly. He half-closed his eyes and talked to the person next to him, relaxed and casual.

Only Qin Yingxia knew that the moment she saw Jin Zhuo, her heartbeat had already become deafening.

He stood there, like the cold sun of winter, lazy and indifferent, seemingly warm and inviting, but afraid that after touching him, she would still not feel the warmth.

“A—choo——”

Xie Chi pulled Jin Zhuo’s suitcase over. “Are you guys talking bad about me? I’ve sneezed several times!”

“Bang——”

Before Qin Yingxia could recover from the joy of seeing Jin Zhuo, her suitcase was knocked over.

The noise was quite loud. Jin Zhuo just lifted his eyelids to look over, and she turned sideways first, avoiding his gaze.

“Sorry, freshman, I didn’t see your suitcase.” Xie Chi bent down to pull her suitcase up. “Which department are you in, freshman? Which dorm building?”

“Your suitcase looks heavy, do you need me to help you take it?”

Qin Yingxia shook her head, in her panic, she pulled the suitcase over. “…Thank you, senior, my friend is waiting for me, I have to go find her.”

“Huh? Freshman?” Xie Chi saw her hurry away and was still confused.

But Jin Zhuo, his gaze lingered on the girl’s pretty back for a few seconds before he retracted it.

—

pS:

The heroine is a media major, a beautiful blogger with a pretty face. (′o?????o????`)

The hero is a lawyer, a law major, with a flirtatious way of speaking, a cold-outside-hot-inside guy. |?’-‘?)??

This is a sweet story, there won’t be any abuse in the relationship between the male and female leads. (Except for the bitterness of secret love, and the slight abuse of the male lead, and the slight redemption.)

This is the story of Yingying’s seven years of secret love finally seeing the light of day. (So: even if I abuse the male lead a little, so what?)

Welcome to the world of the “Youxia” couple～˙?˙??