Chapter 38: Love Me a Little More

The next day was sunny, and the temperature climbed steadily to 8 degrees Celsius in the morning. The National Day performance was scheduled for three days later, followed by a seven-day National Day holiday.

Jin Zhuo was already waiting for Qin Yingxia downstairs at her dormitory building, ready to take her to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Qin Yingxia wasn’t in the habit of eating breakfast regularly, but she had promised Jin Zhuo to get up and eat, so she forced herself to wake up half an hour earlier.

“Qin Yingxia?”

“…”

“Qin Yingxia…”

“…”

Jin Zhuo sat opposite her, leaning his forehead against his hand, biting on the straw of his soy milk, watching Qin Yingxia with amusement as she closed her eyes and mechanically chewed her baozi.

She didn’t respond to his calls.

“Xiao Qin Junior Sister~”

“Yes!” Qin Yingxia opened her eyes, finally regaining her consciousness. “What is it?”

She had dark circles under her eyes. She looked so tired, he wondered if she had even fallen asleep after hanging up the phone last night.

“We’re not going to rehearsal today.” Jin Zhuo walked over to her and sat down beside her.

Qin Yingxia turned her head. “Why?”

“You didn’t get a good night’s sleep last night.” Jin Zhuo pulled out a hair tie from his pocket, stared at Qin Yingxia’s long hair, and said seriously, “Want me to tie it up?”

Otherwise, her hair would always fall down and tickle her face while she was eating.

“Where did Little Jin Comrade get this hair tie?” Qin Yingxia stared at the plain black hair tie and couldn’t help but laugh.

Jin Zhuo raised an eyebrow, indicating that he had taken it from the store’s service counter. “This store is pretty thoughtful.”

Qin Yingxia indeed saw a small box of hair ties next to the store’s cash register. She turned back, her face flushed, and softly asked, “Jin Zhuo, do you know how to tie hair?”

“Ah,” Jin Zhuo chuckled, “Little Qin Junior Sister asked me that, so even if I don’t, I have to learn…”

He hooked his long legs around the legs of Qin Yingxia’s chair, easily pulling her towards him. “Get closer, so I can guide you.”

Qin Yingxia instinctively grabbed his arm, holding her breath. Then, realizing they were too close, she slightly backed away.

“Avoiding me?” He asked with a smirk.

Jin Zhuo feigned sadness. “Little Qin Junior Sister doesn’t want to teach me… It’s okay, I can learn to tie hair by watching tutorials myself…”

He sounded particularly aggrieved.

Qin Yingxia held back her laughter. “I’m not avoiding you, Little Jin. Don’t be sad, Little Qin will teach Little Jin.”

Jin Zhuo didn’t make any further moves, as if he was waiting for Qin Yingxia to take the initiative to teach him.

She bit her lip, grabbed his hand, and placed it on her long hair, patiently teaching him how to tie it up. “This is very simple, you can tie it with one hand once you get the hang of it.”

Jin Zhuo’s eyes flickered with hidden emotions, his attention focused on Qin Yingxia’s pink lips. His bony fingers were tangled in her hair. “…Okay.”

Qin Yingxia frowned, feeling that he wasn’t paying attention. “Did you learn it?”

“I did.”

“…Then tie it for me again.” She untied the hair she had just tied.

Jin Zhuo scratched his eyebrow. “Wrong, I was distracted just now, I didn’t listen carefully…”

He gently touched her eye with his hand. “Qin Yingxia, I can’t focus when you’re in front of me…”

Qin Yingxia was stunned, once again captivated by him.

“Still sad?” Jin Zhuo asked her.

She shook her head and smiled at him. “Not anymore, Little Jin is telling me stories.”

“Didn’t you get a good night’s sleep last night either?” Qin Yingxia’s gaze slowly moved to the two strands of hair sticking up on his head.

They were actually quite cute.

Jin Zhuo had stayed up all night, first accompanying Qin Yingxia, and only turning off the microphone after he heard the girl’s long breaths.

He finally finished his homework and lay down on the bed, but tossed and turned, his mind filled with all sorts of scenarios of Qin Yingxia being upset. The more he thought about it, the more his heart ached, and he couldn’t fall asleep.

Sometimes, having too much imagination is a kind of torture.

Qin Yingxia: “Then you have to go back to the dorm to rest later, it’s the first day of rehearsal today, it’s not good if I’m absent.”

Jin Zhuo nodded, his two little tufts of hair bobbing along.

“You’re so cute…” She couldn’t resist, taking out her phone to snap a picture of Jin Zhuo. “Look at your little tufts…”

“They look stupid.” Jin Zhuo frowned, clearly disliking his appearance.

Qin Yingxia chuckled, “They’re so cute…”

“Cute?” He asked back, lifting his chin, smiling, “Then… Junior Qin, love me a little more.”

Qin Yingxia blinked, blushing as she avoided his overly ardent gaze…

•  

The school was taking this performance very seriously, and the three major clubs were also feeling the pressure. The Student Union was responsible for selecting the program list for each college.

The Media Club was also promoting the event on various media platforms, and the live broadcast equipment was also in place. The Broadcasting Club’s hosting team was also ready.

This time, it was Pei Lanhe, the president, who was personally hosting the event.

The man had silver hair, wearing a black suit, exuding a serious and restrained aura with a touch of rebellious casualness.

As soon as he took the stage and delivered his opening remarks, the screams from the audience threatened to blow the roof off the gymnasium.

“Wow…” Yu Zhizhi peeked through a corner of the backstage curtain, “Pei Lanhe’s got the whole package…”

She held Qin Yingxia’s camera, taking several pictures of Pei Lanhe hosting on stage.

“Handsome, right?”

Yu Zhizhi nodded vigorously, “Handsome, handsome big boy, and his skin is so white!”

By the time she realized it, Xie Chi’s face was already inches from hers, “Handsome isn’t yours.”

Yu Zhizhi was speechless, retorting, “It won’t ever be yours either.”

Xie Chi: …

Seeing him speechless, Yu Zhizhi was in a good mood, about to turn and leave when her skirt got caught on her heel.

“Watch out!” Xie Chi’s hand reached out, but she managed to steady herself before he could touch her.

Yu Zhizhi turned back, glancing at his hand frozen in mid-air, then calmly withdrew her gaze. “Don’t worry, sis is steady.”

Then, with a graceful movement, she used her high heels to hook up her skirt, lifted her chin, revealing her beautiful neck, and walked forward with her skirt in hand without looking back.

She was showcasing a modern long dress, her long wine-red hair tied up, a black waist-cinching long dress reaching the floor, paired with matching high heels, and her legs, exposed through the slit in the skirt, were white and slender.

Xie Chi’s gaze was burning, following her figure, his heart beating like a wound-up spring.

So beautiful, like a noble black swan.

Too bad the black swan didn’t seem to care for him much…

“The charm of ancient and modern clothing unfolds, the models walk gracefully, each step is a collision of fashion and time, a spectacle not to be missed…”

With Pei Lanhe’s program transition words, the students from the Department of Language and Literature were preparing to take the stage.

Since the program was about showcasing ancient and modern clothing, the models were divided into two rows, one showcasing mainly ancient clothing and the other showcasing modern clothing.

They paired up, bringing the audience a visual feast.

Qin Yingxia was wearing a snow-white pearl-white brocade robe, her face adorned with Song Dynasty pearl makeup. The brocade robe shimmered in the light, her every move exuding elegance and nobility.

She was on stage with Yu Zhizhi, and the audience erupted in cheers.

“Ahhhhh, beauty and beauty are the best match!”

“Qin Yingxia, my god, a celestial being descended to earth!”

“Yu Zhizhi, my god, the Emperor of Smoke!”

“Why can’t people have four eyes at once? I don’t know who to look at!”

“How can anyone be so beautiful ahhhhh!”

“…”

The audience was enthusiastic, and the official account of the Imperial University Media Club’s live stream was instantly flooded with “You Xia” fans, frantically licking the screen and spamming.

In just a few minutes, the live stream’s popularity reached 100,000+.

The publicity department staff stared at the rapidly rising numbers, no longer able to remain calm, “Holy moly…”

Jin Zhuo, who had just returned from a call with the dean, looked up and saw the girl on stage, radiating beauty…