It Seems Like My Senior Seems to Like Me - Chapter 19

Ye Wanjia usually liked to write, and even the little feelings she harbored for Pei Suye found their way into her very first web novel—

“The First Day I Met Miss Pei.”

*“The first day I met Miss Pei, it was unbearably hot.

But it wasn’t the kind of summer heat that stifles and irritates. It was an active, fiery heat, like the golden sunshine bathing the tiny yellow flowers by the roadside—every petal blossoming with youthful color, even the passing breeze turning gentle.

I stood at the end of the corridor in confusion, like a stray farm dog that had stumbled into a blooming garden, hopping, bouncing, running about, my nose filled with pollen and fragrance.”*

The first chapter only covered the opening ceremony that day, but she still managed to write 6,000 characters, describing every glance and every detail with painstaking delicacy.

She uploaded the novel to a big online platform. After one day, it gained only four clicks, and no comments. Ye Wanjia felt a pang of disappointment, but just for a moment. When she reread her words, the vivid memories of that day resurfaced in her mind, and happiness replaced her gloom.

Under Pei Suye’s leadership, the cheerleading team for the Veterinary Medicine Department was formed: 24 girls and 6 boys. Every evening, after classes ended at 8:30, they gathered for training.

Thanks to her gymnastics background, Ye Wanjia moved with ease when performing the routines. Recognizing her as their trump card, the dance club president Yi Meixi specifically added an entrance move featuring her—a forward aerial flip.

“Looks like we might actually have a shot this year,” Yi Meixi said confidently, standing on the steps as she watched the thirty members practice their synchronized moves to the music.

Beside her, Pei Suye held a video camera, recording. She quickly spotted two girls in the corner who were struggling to keep up with the rhythm, already planning to give them one-on-one training later.

“Mhm, everyone’s working hard. The choreography looks good too,” she commented.

Yi Meixi puffed up with pride. “Of course! My mom owns a dance studio, you know. I’ve been immersed in this since I was little.”

When the first half of the music ended, Pei Suye gave a round of encouragement and called for a five-minute break. Yi Meixi then also noticed the two out-of-sync girls and patiently pulled them aside to teach them.

Meanwhile, Ye Wanjia stood in the center-front position as lead dancer, giving her utmost effort every practice. After just twenty minutes that night, she was already drenched in sweat.

“Senior.”

During the break, a girl standing next to her suddenly raised her hand. “I want to switch places with Ye Wanjia.”

Her name was Chen Fangfang, a student of Animal Pharmacy, with several years of classical dance training.

Ye Wanjia was the center lead—in other words, Chen Fangfang didn’t want to remain a background “green leaf.” She wanted the coveted center spotlight.

Yi Meixi rushed over. “That won’t work. Ye Wanjia’s entrance was choreographed for her specifically, and she has the right foundation. She’s the best fit for center.”

Chen Fangfang protested, “I’ve been studying classical dance since elementary school! My foundation is solid too. And I’m just as slim as Ye Wanjia—I can handle the final lift as well.”

Yi Meixi shook her head. “Classical dance and gymnastics are completely different. Take the final lift, for example: you don’t just need balance, you also have to control your posture midair and land smoothly. That’s not easy.”

Chen Fangfang’s self-recommendation fell flat. Still, she grew emotional. To prevent the situation from escalating, Pei Suye suggested letting her try the final lift.

Yet despite her flexibility, once Chen Fangfang was hoisted onto the male teammates’ shoulders, the sudden height startled her. She faltered, and her landing looked clumsy—far less light and graceful than Ye Wanjia’s.

In the end, she failed to shake Ye Wanjia’s lead dancer position.

Most brushed it off as just a girl used to being center stage throwing a small tantrum at being sidelined. But one week later, after the entire routine had been choreographed and strung together for rehearsal, bad news arrived from Yi Meixi.

“Our final formation has been plagiarized!”

The team had just finished practicing and was resting. As Ye Wanjia reached into her bag for water, she froze upon hearing Yi Meixi’s near-breakdown on the steps above.

Plagiarized?

Her hand stiffened around the water bottle. She crouched quietly by the wall, listening for Pei Suye’s reaction.

Pei Suye, usually so calm, actually sounded shaken. “What? Are you sure you didn’t mistake it?”

Yi Meixi was utterly deflated. “That final freeze-frame formation—I designed it myself! The inspiration was a pair of blooming flowers. No one could’ve thought of the exact same thing. And I just checked—it’s not only the final pose. The six eight-counts leading up to it, the whole sequence for the blooming effect—it’s identical, move for move, in the exact same order!”

This time, there was no doubt.

Ye Wanjia’s chest sank like a stone plunging into icy water.

Who did it? Could someone really be that petty—ignoring their own team’s training just to copy another department’s routine?

No… that didn’t make sense.

Pei Suye had said before: the Veterinary Medicine team had always scored poorly in cheerleading, barely scraping third place for years. If someone were to plagiarize, they’d copy the stronger teams, not them.

Wait!

A sudden spark lit her mind. She glanced at the crowd, noticing someone who was pretending to chat with her roommates while watching Pei Suye and Yi Meixi out of the corner of her eye—Chen Fangfang, the same girl who had failed to snatch her center spot the week before.

Up on the steps, Yi Meixi clearly thought the same. She jumped to her feet in fury. “It must’ve been Chen Fangfang! I’m going to confront her!”

Down by the wall, Ye Wanjia stomped her foot—Yes! Confront her! We all worked so hard. How dare she hand over our routine to someone else!

But before either of them could act, Pei Suye grabbed Yi Meixi’s arm.

Was Pei Suye anxious? Of course she was. As the team leader responsible for the competition, she had finally seen hope for a good ranking this year. How could she not be?

But anxiety solved nothing.

“Wait,” she said, stepping in front to block the resting team’s view.

“It’s not certain it was her. Even if it was, going to accuse her now won’t work. Without evidence, she’ll deny it. And even if she admitted it, it’s too late. The other team has already performed the formation—they won’t have it canceled. What matters now is figuring out how to fix this.”

Yi Meixi’s tears fell in frustration. “Fix it? How? I stayed up two nights designing that formation. We all trained for half a month. There’s just one day left before the competition—what can we possibly do?”

Pei Suye pulled a tissue from her pocket and handed it to her, but the comfort only made Yi Meixi cry harder. Just as she debated whether to hug her, a firm voice rose from the wall below:

“Senior, I have an idea.”

“Hm?”

Both Yi Meixi and Pei Suye turned their heads. There stood Ye Wanjia, clutching her water bottle, eyes burning with determination.

Pei Suye’s gaze softened into a faint smile. “What’s your idea?”

Calmed by Pei Suye’s composure, Ye Wanjia spoke clearly:

“The formation is fixed, but we can change the moves. For the final lift, we can increase the difficulty. Originally, two guys stood front and back, and I did a split on their shoulders. Now, I can step on their shoulders, then launch into a forward aerial flip. We could even stack the bases—have the lifters stand on others’ thighs—so the visual effect multiplies.”

Pei Suye frowned slightly. “Wouldn’t that be unsafe?”

Ye Wanjia admitted, “There’s some risk, but it’s manageable. Back when I did gymnastics, I pulled off things much more dangerous.”

“Even if it’s safe, what about the time? The energy?” Yi Meixi fretted. “There’s only one day left. Training like that will be exhausting.”

Her answer was the brilliance in Ye Wanjia’s eyes, glowing under the streetlamp.

“I’m not afraid of exhaustion. I’m only afraid that after all our hard work, all our effort, it’ll end up wasted.”

At that moment, Ye Wanjia’s mind was filled with nothing but the competition—the fire of overturning the odds. She never realized that the sight of her, eyes blazing with resolve, was more dazzling than the brightest North Star.

Pei Suye’s frown eased, her lips curving into a smile. “Alright. We’ll do as you say.”

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