It Seems Like My Senior Seems to Like Me - Chapter 33.1

In the blink of an eye, it was time for the student union recruitment. Everyone in dorm 617 signed up. Ye Wanjia applied for the Literary Society, Wei Xiaoxiao for the Photography Club, Jiang Shiyu, following her heart, for the Learning Department, and the others for the Sports and Publicity Departments.

On the day of the interviews, Ye Wanjia wore a long-sleeved white shirt, thinking that a literary society meant she should dress a bit more artistically. Besides, her usual T-shirts, which cost a few dozen yuan, didn’t feel right for an interview.

Wei Xiaoxiao shook her head. “It’s 12 degrees today; you’ll freeze to death in that!” She took a dark blue denim dress from her closet, pulled it off the hanger, and handed it to Ye Wanjia. “Wear this.”

Then she took out a caramel-colored trench coat she had borrowed and put in Ye Wanjia’s closet. “And this.”

Wei Xiaoxiao seemed bossy and pampered, but she was actually very considerate. She knew Ye Wanjia came from a poor family, so even when giving her clothes, her reason was “the weather is cold,” not “you look so tacky” or “why don’t you have any clothes?”

Ye Wanjia was at a loss for what to do with the clothes. “If I wear this, what will you wear?”

Wei Xiaoxiao looked exasperated. “This young lady’s closet is full of clothes, okay? I’ll wear that colorful oil-painting dress. I’m going to be the most stunning person there! Hey, Shiyu, what are you wearing?” she asked Jiang Shiyu.

The top student looked up from her notebook. Her naturally curly short hair looked especially fluffy in the natural light. She calmly adjusted her glasses. “My school uniform.”

Wei Xiaoxiao was speechless.

In the end, Jiang Shiyu went to the interview in her school uniform. For one, her skills were top-notch—she was first in her major in the college entrance exam, spent every day in the library, and had a calm and steady personality. She was guaranteed to get in as long as she applied. For another, she just didn’t like wearing dresses.

Wei Xiaoxiao complained all the way. “My dresses aren’t all that flowery, you know. I have simple styles too. What’s wrong with you? You don’t like any of them?” She had bought one with a math formula on it especially for her.

“Jiang Shiyu, are your eyes emotionless? You won’t even accept my clothes for free?”

At her last sentence, Jiang Shiyu finally reacted. She stopped walking and corrected her. “Eyes cannot, in fact, produce emotions.”

Wei Xiaoxiao was speechless again.

Ye Wanjia, caught in the middle, tried to smooth things over. “Well, haha, maybe Shiyu thinks her school uniform better reflects her nature. It’s a good thing, actually; I heard the head of the Learning Department likes people who are a bit more simple. So, this might actually be a good way to win favor.”

“Hmph… hmph…” Wei Xiaoxiao’s chest heaved with anger. She snapped out of her daze and looked at Ye Wanjia. “Turn around.”

Ye Wanjia was stunned. “Huh?”

“Just turn around.”

Confused, Ye Wanjia awkwardly spun around on the side of the cherry blossom-lined road. The hem of the denim skirt swirled slightly, and her beautiful face in the petals looked like something out of a painting. Suddenly, Wei Xiaoxiao’s spirits lifted as if she had been granted rain in a drought. She bounced happily, like a butterfly.

“Ah, you look so good, so good! Let’s go, let’s go, the interviews are starting!”

It was no wonder Wei Xiaoxiao’s mood changed so quickly. Ye Wanjia’s outfit was a huge success. Over her white shirt, she wore a sleeveless V-neck denim dress, with a long caramel-colored trench coat over that. Her long hair fell naturally to her waist, and a Jupiter hair clip was pinned to the side. The formerly simple and plain university student had instantly transformed into a sophisticated young literary type from a cafe window. A casual photo would look like a work of art. How could anyone not be captivated?

As she entered the interview room, all the interviewers’ eyes landed on her. The student union interviews were multi-on-one. The interviewers for the Literary Society included the president, vice-president, and the president and vice-president of the Publicity Department, which worked closely with the Literary Society. In the very center sat the executive committee member overseeing the Literary Society—Pei Suye.

Ye Wanjia was directed to a chair across from them and began her self-introduction as planned.

“Hello, senior students. My name is Ye Wanjia, from Animal Medicine Class 233. I want to join the Literary Society, first, because I personally love literature. I often write in my diary and jot down essays; I’m very interested in anything related to words. Second, I want to make more friends who also love words in the Literary Society, so we can all learn and improve together. Finally, I heard that the Literary Society will soon be hosting the “Chinese Hero” competition, and I want to use my knowledge and skills to help the competition run smoothly. This concludes my self-introduction. Thank you.”

It was a very comprehensive self-introduction. It was clear she had prepared well.

Pei Suye, sitting in the center, nodded and wrote a 9 in the “Self-Introduction” score box.

The president of the Literary Society began to ask questions. “You said you like writing essays. What kind of topics do you usually write about?”

Ye Wanjia was a little nervous but managed to answer. “Sometimes poetry, sometimes just a few sentences to record my feelings at the time.” She hid the fact that she was currently updating a novel on an online platform called “The First Day I Saw Miss Pei.”

The president continued, “Then, if I give you a title, can you write a short piece on the spot?”

Ye Wanjia unconsciously clenched her palms. “I can try.”

The head of the Publicity Department on the side took over the question. “Then, let’s use the incident from last week, when that boy caused a stir at your dorm, as the topic. If you were responsible for this week’s  (public account) post, how would you write it?”

Ye Wanjia felt a little uncomfortable, and her heart rate fluctuated with her emotions. Luckily, she reacted quickly and immediately said, “If I were to write it, the topic would be ‘How to fend off stalkers.’ I would divide it into several points. First—”

“Fend off stalkers?” The head of the Publicity Department interrupted her in disbelief, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he let out a masculine laugh. “But as far as I know, that boy was confessing to you. Don’t girls love sincere guys? You’re not touched at all?” His tone was light, almost accusing Ye Wanjia of being cold-hearted.

Ye Wanjia’s eyes darkened slightly, but she calmed down, remembering this was an interview. “No, I’m not. He disturbed my life, so my theme would be ‘Fending off stalkers.'”

The male club president, who couldn’t understand what it felt like for a girl to be harassed, once again dismissed her attitude. He looked her up and down; even her jacket was a brand worth over a thousand yuan. He tried to brainwash her. “You’re pretty, you know how to dress, and you’re intelligent. In the next four years, there will probably be many more boys coming to your dorm to confess.”

Finally, Pei Suye, who had been presiding over the situation, spoke. She said in a cold tone, “This has nothing to do with today’s interview.”

Whoosh!

An icicle dropped from the sky, piercing the head of the Publicity Department president, chilling him from head to toe.

The president of the Literary Society also came to her defense. “Men always like to blame their selfishness on women.” He then looked at Ye Wanjia and encouraged her with a smile. “This junior’s answer is perfectly fine. We can respond normally to normal confessions, but for harassment that disrupts our lives, we need to have the courage to fight back.”

Ye Wanjia nervously clenched the fabric of her skirt on her knees. She hadn’t expected the interviewers to start an argument, with her right in the middle of it. After receiving a look of encouragement from the Literary Society president and then a reassuring smile from Pei Suye’s calm face, her heart finally relaxed. She focused on answering the next question.

When she returned to the waiting area, a lecture hall, Wei Xiaoxiao and Jiang Shiyu had also finished their interviews. Jiang Shiyu’s position was confirmed on the spot; the head of the Learning Department even discussed her work schedule with her after she joined the club.

There was also no suspense for Wei Xiaoxiao. Not only was she a skilled photographer, but her treasured camera was also more advanced than the one the Photography Club had applied to purchase. The club head had already added her to the group chat.

Ye Wanjia’s result was still unknown. During the interview, her answers were decent, but it seemed the head of the Publicity Department didn’t like her much. If he gave her a low score, her average might not be high enough for her to be accepted.

A little while later, after the student union tallied the interview scores, Pei Suye personally announced the list of new members. The Learning Department, Publicity Department, Science and Technology Department, Student Life Department… and so on, until the last one, the Literary Society.

“Next is the Literary Society. A total of eight people have been accepted: Liu Fei, Du Can, Zhao Langru, Chen Shuai, Chu Lili, Gao Mingxuan, and Tang Jiali.”

With each name, Ye Wanjia’s heart sank a little. Not me, not me, still not me…

Her eyes, fixed on those two lips, were practically sparking. The arm holding her skirt was as stiff as iron. She noticed that Pei Suye paused after saying the second-to-last name, then looked up from the list in her direction. Their eyes met, and there was a sacred sense of proclamation.

“And the last one, Ye Wanjia.”

“Ah…” Ye Wanjia’s body relaxed, and she let out a sigh of relief, smiling.

Afterward, everyone gradually left the lecture hall.

Pei Suye was the last to leave, as she had to organize the recruitment information. Just as she stepped out the front door, she saw the three roommates from 617 loitering furtively by the corridor wall at the back door. Wei Xiaoxiao was desperately making eye signals to Ye Wanjia, her eyes almost popping out. Ye Wanjia was hesitating, while Jiang Shiyu stood beside them, righteous and detached like a guard.

Pei Suye pretended not to see them and turned toward the exit near the front door of the classroom. She could vaguely hear Wei Xiaoxiao’s hushed voice saying, “Hurry up,” and “She’s about to leave.” No more than three steps later, Ye Wanjia jogged over and called out to her.

It seemed Wei Xiaoxiao had played the role of a stepmother quite well.

“Senior, can you help us take a group photo?”

She turned around and looked at the artistic figure in the long denim dress, a trace of nervousness still on her face. She smiled gently. “Okay.”

Taking a three-person photo was the fake goal; the real purpose was a two-person photo.

After taking two quick shots, Wei Xiaoxiao, whose intentions were clear from the start, suggested, “President, I want to take a picture with you, is that okay?”

Pei Suye nodded. “Sure.”

After that, Jiang Shiyu was glared at by Wei Xiaoxiao and, surprisingly, abandoned her aloof persona as a top student to step forward and say, “I want to take one too.”

Finally, it was Ye Wanjia’s turn to rightfully benefit from the foundation her two roommates had laid. “I want one too.”

And so, she was able to stand beside Pei Suye. It was at that moment that she realized, because of her nervousness, she had missed something obvious—she just noticed that Pei Suye was still wearing the maple leaf brooch she had given her.

Click!

The shutter clicked, capturing the sweet feelings brewing deep in their eyes.

[A Little Scene]

Wei Xiaoxiao: “I am the number one hero of this assist.”

She shot a dagger-like look at Jiang Shiyu, who had to cooperate and say: “I’m number two.”

Pei Suye: Should I walk slower? It takes some time for little Yezi to run over.

After the photos, the three roommates from 617 and Pei Suye walked out of the academic building together. Wei Xiaoxiao and Jiang Shiyu made an excuse about returning books to the library, successfully creating a private space for the two of them.

It was already December. After a rainfall, the temperature had dropped significantly. A wool coat was not enough to block the wind, and it felt like their bones were exposed and chilled to the core.

Pei Suye was wearing a short leather jacket that day, which made her look much more serious. Her gray-brown curly hair was tied back, and she carried a stack of documents in her left hand and a bag on her right, looking every bit the capable urban professional.

Ye Wanjia took a deep breath and took the initiative to start a conversation. “I didn’t expect so many people to sign up; the lecture hall was completely full.”

Pei Suye hummed in agreement. “Our school of Animal Medicine has the largest student body at Nanzhou University, and we hold many events. So, we’re given a few more spots during recruitment.”

Thinking about how she was the last one to be accepted, Ye Wanjia still felt a little anxious. “Thank goodness the Literary Society needed eight people, or I would have been out.”

As a judge, Pei Suye knew the entire scoring process, as well as the ridiculously low score the head of the Publicity Department had given Ye Wanjia. After averaging it out, the high-performing Ye Wanjia was only 0.2 points higher than the ninth-ranked person—it was a close call.

But she didn’t tell Ye Wanjia about it. What was the point? To tell her that a male club president disliked her so much that he gave her a 1 out of 10 on the score sheet, and that the source of his dislike was a situation where Ye Wanjia was the victim?

“It was a bit of a nail-biter, but you made it through. Do your best in the Literary Society from now on.” Wise people always look ahead.

Ye Wanjia didn’t dwell on the unpleasantness of the interview. “Okay, I will!”

Her gaze fell on the cloth cushion on the back of Pei Suye’s bike. A little thought, hidden in her heart, was stirring, wanting her to be more proactive and ask for a ride. So she asked, “Senior, are you going back to your dorm soon?”

This way, she could get off at the entrance to Pei Suye’s dorm. On the bike, she could try to grab onto Pei Suye’s clothes and smell the light perfume that would drift back to her.

However, Pei Suye said, “I’m going to the dean’s office.”

The light in Ye Wanjia’s eyes visibly dimmed. She tried to act casual. “Oh, right. You just finished recruitment. You have a meeting, right?”

Pei Suye glanced at her from the side, trying to figure out what was on this little Xiao Yezi’s mind. She honestly explained, “The university student union wants to co-host an event with us, so we need to discuss it.”

Yes, the university student union.

A thick, tangled mist of emotions began to form in the air, shrouding her heart.

In that moment, Ye Wanjia clearly felt the gap between her and Pei Suye. What she had tried so hard to squeeze into was just the smallest club in the School of Animal Medicine’s student union. And Pei Suye was in charge of the entire student union, and even had meetings with the university’s student union.

The huge difference in status created a distance between her and Pei Suye. Suddenly, an inferiority complex, like a speck of dust, grew in her heart.

She felt that Pei Suye definitely didn’t like her. All the kindness before was just a goddess loving all living things, a kind of pity she showed to everyone equally.

And so, she went back to her dorm. Wei Xiaoxiao, however, adamantly opposed her way of thinking.

“How could she not like you? Even if it’s not love, she definitely has a good impression of you. Not to mention, when Chen Feng came to the dorm that day, she was the first to stand up and protect you!”

Ye Wanjia took off her heavy wool coat and hung it neatly on a hanger. “She’s the president. If any other girl was in danger, she would have stood up too.”

“But it’s not the same! What about the last time, when you went to the competition? She took a cab late at night to find you.”

“She would have done that if any of you had gone missing.”

“Then what about her teaching you to high jump?”

“Better results mean a higher ranking for the school.”

…For every example Wei Xiaoxiao gave, Ye Wanjia could find a reason to interpret it as a kind of universal compassion. Finally, Wei Xiaoxiao sensed her strong inferiority complex. She got up, stood behind Ye Wanjia, and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her twice.

“What’s wrong? Everything was fine before.”

Ye Wanjia shrugged. “I just feel like she’s so outstanding, and I’m not good enough for her.”

Wei Xiaoxiao was furious. “Who says that two people have to be ‘good enough’ for each other to be together? If there’s no love, not even the president’s daughter is good enough. But if there is love, what does it matter what your grades are or what your position is in the student union?”

With that, she turned back to her desk and opened the camera’s photo gallery. “She even took pictures for us. Even if she hasn’t fallen for you yet, she definitely thinks you’re a good person. Otherwise, why would she be so patient and take so many pictures of the three of us for several minutes? I’ll show you, the one she took at the time… took… took…”

Her thumb, pressing the “next” button, slowed down. She scrolled back to a photo that had flashed by. Her beautiful eyes widened and became still.

Ye Wanjia looked over curiously, only to see her holding the camera, frozen like a stone.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just,” Wei Xiaoxiao handed her the camera, “look.”

Ye Wanjia took the camera. The person on the screen was her. She was wearing the long denim dress and the caramel-colored coat, just like her outfit today. Nothing seemed unusual.

“What’s wrong with this picture?” she still didn’t understand.

“Flip back and forth a few times.”

So, her full thumb scrolled back and forth, showing the two photos they had asked Pei Suye to take at the beginning—the group photos of the three of them.

In other words, while she was focusing, Pei Suye’s gaze fell on Ye Wanjia. She even had the selfish thought to zoom in and take a solo shot of her.

Plop!

A drop of dew slipped from the tip of a lotus leaf and fell into a calm pond in the early morning, sending out ripples.

She had her in her heart.

After joining the Literary Society, her days became busy. Meetings, plans, records, and texts. As an official member, Ye Wanjia started from the ground up, beginning with meeting minutes, and gradually taking on more and more work.

Not long after, the Literary Society was to host a university-wide “Chinese Hero” competition. There were over 100 participants. After the preliminary and semi-final rounds, the final nine teams would compete for the first-place title in the library’s auditorium.

“Wanjia, please revise this part of the host script.”

Ye Wanjia’s writing skills had been recognized by the entire Literary Society after she had a chance to show them off. For this event, she was in charge of the host script along with a student from the hosting club. In addition, she knew a lot about ancient poetry, so she was fully responsible for the questions in the “World of Poetry” segment.

This competition was the Literary Society’s biggest event of the year, aimed at establishing the club’s reputation at Nanzhou University while also encouraging contemporary university students to appreciate Chinese culture.

However, a day before the finals, the female host caught a cold.

“The competition is tomorrow, but she can’t even speak!” The president was frantic.

The vice president suggested, “Hurry and contact the hosting club to find another girl.”

The president shook his head repeatedly. “The hosting club members aren’t familiar with our competition’s flow, and they haven’t rehearsed. Even if they cram the script overnight, they won’t know the full process.”

“Then what do we do? With so little time, where are we going to find someone with good speaking skills who is also familiar with the script and the process?”

As soon as he finished speaking, both of them stopped talking, their eyes meeting in understanding. They turned and looked at Ye Wanjia, who was dutifully revising the script beside them. A bad feeling rose in Ye Wanjia’s heart.

“What, what’s wrong?”

Recently, the School of Animal Medicine had a packed schedule of events and competitions. The Performing Arts Troupe, Literary Society, Debate Team, and Science and Technology Association all had their most important competitions this month. Pei Suye had only slept four hours a night for three consecutive days, squeezing out every last bit of time from an already empty sponge.

Today was the “Chinese Hero” finals. The Literary Society’s entire year revolved around this one big event. As the person in charge, after overseeing all the rehearsals, she had to attend the entire competition.

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