Kissing the Snow-Color - Chapter 3

The sun in late summer and early autumn was just as scorching, and the cicadas chirped hoarsely, as if they were either being baked or singing a requiem for summer.

It was only when Lin Shuxue reached the building she had in mind that she realized she was supposed to go to “Mingsi Building,” but this was “Mingxue Building.” A single character’s difference, a world of difference.

Looking at the lock hanging on the door, she let out a long sigh. She resigned herself to the situation and turned around, trying to find someone to ask for directions. Hearing movement in the corridor not far behind her, she stepped forward quickly.

“Do I really not have a single chance left?”

The sudden female voice made Lin Shuxue stop in her tracks. Through the intense sunlight, she vaguely saw the back of a girl talking in the corridor. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her figure was tall, but her slightly trembling shoulders betrayed the sob in her words.

“My apologies.”

It was only then that Lin Shuxue saw the man standing in the shadows at the corner of the corridor. Before she could get a clear look, she heard his shocking words:

“You are too pure; I prefer the wild ones.”

The frivolity in his words shocked Lin Shuxue. She wasn’t paying attention, lost her footing, and stepped on some dead branches and leaves, causing a slight rustle.

The girl in front of them was clearly stunned as well. She took two steps back, inadvertently clearing a space that gave Lin Shuxue a full view of the man’s face.

He wore a crisp black shirt, leaning lazily against a corridor pillar. His hair, flecked with golden light, hung slightly over his sharp brow bone. Even in the blurred light and shadow, his jawline remained fierce, and his ink-like peach-blossom eyes curved upward, as if he wanted people to drown in the deep affection within them.

If someone had walked by without knowing the context, they might have assumed he was whispering sweet nothings.

Lin Shuxue recognized him he was Jiang Zong.

Thanks to the gossip collection of her roommate Meng Shuyin, she had been shown high-definition photos of Jiang Zong the very night she moved into the dorms, complete with a long list of his scandalous news.

Meng Shuyin had summarized her feelings with great emotion: “Dissolute and amorous, with no sincerity, holding nothing but a perfectly handsome face; it truly makes one sigh with regret.”

At the time, Lin Shuxue had felt that her description was an exaggeration. Now, it seemed the rumors were not false at all.

The girl turned her body, likely wiping away tears. Lin Shuxue couldn’t bear to watch any further. Asking them for directions was definitely not an option, so she helplessly took out her phone, praying that the other two “directionally challenged” roommates in her dorm could help her find the way.

Before she could open their WeChat group chat, she was interrupted by a voice that popped up out of nowhere behind her.

“Eavesdropping on other people’s conversations isn’t a very good habit.”

Lin Shuxue was startled and almost dropped her phone. She turned around to see the “scumbag” himself standing right in front of her. He bent his eyes, his gaze filled with shimmering gold, making it impossible to discern his true expression.

“I went to the wrong teaching building, it wasn’t on purpose.” Lin Shuxue brushed aside the hair blown across her face and explained in a soft voice.

“A freshman?” Jiang Zong frowned.

She nodded slightly, taking it as an admission.

“I don’t believe it.” Jiang Zong laughed, sounding rather malicious. “Who knows if you were following me on purpose and just made up a lie.”

Lin Shuxue was at a loss.

“How about this, give me your student ID to check?” He leaned in close, as if discussing a reasonable request.

Lin Shuxue didn’t think much of it; she just wanted to leave as soon as possible, so she took out her student ID to show him.

“Lin, Shu, Xue.” He read the name on her student ID clearly, enunciating every word. “It really is a freshman.”

His fingertips rubbed against her student ID as if deep in thought. Lin Shuxue saw this and offered a guarantee:

“I won’t tell anyone about this.”

Jiang Zong paused, looking down at the girl’s cautious demeanor and her obvious desire to avoid any involvement with him. After a momentary trance, he returned to his roguish expression.

He feigned a threat: “Then you must keep your promise, little freshman.”

“Otherwise, this upperclassman is a vengeful person.”

“Why are you back so early? Didn’t you say your advisor asked you to process data?” Zhong Rong put down the game he was halfway through and looked up at Jiang Zong.

“Wait, why is there perfume on you?” Zhong Rong sniffed and questioned him.

Jiang Zong laughed: “Are you a dog?”

Zhong Rong: “Do you not know what I am? Don’t try to change the subject!”

Jiang Zong was helpless: “You’ve got it wrong, someone else called me.”

Zhong Rong on the bed and Pei Tianyang at the desk exchanged a look, gossiping tacitly: “The beautiful Miss Wen?”

Jiang Zong didn’t speak, which was taken as a silent admission.

Zhong Rong grew more excited: “Did she confess to you?”

Jiang Zong sent a cold, sharp glance his way, but unfortunately, people are at their boldest when they are gossiping, and Zhong Rong acted as if he hadn’t seen it.

He clicked his tongue repeatedly: “Brother Jiang, you’re really cruel, rejecting even Goddess Wen. A cold, elegant, black-haired goddess with a kind heart and a good temper. I condemn you; you’re now the public enemy of all us boys!”

Pei Tianyang chimed in slowly: “Look at the women around Brother Jiang; they are all stunning beauties with wavy hair. He is focused; Brother Jiang is completely indifferent to anyone except that type!”

Zhong Rong said with disdain: “Vulgar!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than an abrupt sound rang out in the dorm room.

“With great ambitions, we soar like horses; youth is the time to serve the country. Military training is…”

Zhong Rong’s eyes widened. “Who is talking?”

Jiang Zong spread his hands, feigning innocence.

Pei Tianyang, buried in his desk, said slowly: “Shh, don’t be noisy. I’m watching the live stream of the military training assembly.”

The expression on Zhong Rong’s face looked as if he’d seen a ghost: “The military training assembly???”

“Have you finally suppressed yourself until you went crazy in the dorm?!”

Pei Tianyang shook his head, looking profound. “You don’t understand this. The student representative giving the speech is my goddess. She looks so cute and pure; she is practically my dream lover”

Zhong Rong interrupted his infatuation: “Your goddess? Why have I never heard you mention her?”

Pei Tianyang: “I did mention her! She is the protagonist of the military training photo that went viral on our school’s social media account!”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Rong’s eyes shone. He jumped off his bed at a sprinter’s pace and leaned over Pei Tianyang’s computer to exclaim: “Does she really look the same as in the photo?!”

Pei Tianyang felt like he had found a kindred spirit: “Right! She’s even better-looking than in the photo! I heard her name is Lin Shuxue; even her name is so poetic”

Jiang Zong had been tidying up his things, planning to go to the library later to check some experimental data. Hearing the name, he paused, his brow arching almost imperceptibly.

“What did you say her name was?”

“Lin Shuxue! I begged Guan Zhiyu for three days, and she wouldn’t tell me the name. I had to flip through the freshman list one by one to find it!” Pei Tianyang said proudly.

Guan Zhiyu was the head of the Student Union’s Publicity Department; she had been responsible for running the school’s account. It just so happened that Pei Tianyang and her families had known each other since childhood, and they had always been at odds. Pei Tianyang was in the Art Department, and Guan Zhiyu was in the Publicity Department; these two departments had been arguing incessantly.

Lin Shuxue. Jiang Zong recalled that the girl he had just met seemed to have that name. Although he told himself it wasn’t important, his feet moved toward Pei Tianyang of their own accord.

Sure enough, the screen showed the girl’s familiar face, though compared to the panic he had seen, the Lin Shuxue on stage was much more composed.

“How about it, Brother Jiang, is my goddess pretty?” Seeing Jiang Zong stopped in front of the screen with a thoughtful look, Pei Tianyang boasted carelessly: “These eyes, this nose, this mouth—she is exactly like my ideal type!”

Jiang Zong nodded slightly, his expression inscrutable.

“The camera work is not bad; you can go to the Publicity Department to learn from them.”

“I learn from them? No, this is just a fixed camera; how can you tell there is camera work?” Pei Tianyang bristled. “Does it kill you to praise my goddess for being pretty, Brother Jiang?”

Jiang Zong chuckled: “Eight.”

Pei Tianyang was confused: “Eight what?”

Jiang Zong picked up his bag, his tone teasing: “That is the eighth goddess you have introduced to me.”

“I have to praise every single one…” He curled his lips. “Are you trying to get a ‘model essay’ from me so you can use it to confess?”

Pei Tianyang was poked where it hurt and felt a bit guilty.

“No, Brother Jiang, this one is really different!!!”

“Will you consider it, Junior Lin?”

Across the dining table, Guan Zhiyu looked at her with burning anticipation. She was the senior student assigned to mentor Lin Shuxue during military training and had taken great care of her. This time, she had come to invite Lin Shuxue to join the Publicity Department of the Student Union.

Lin Shuxue was a bit conflicted: “But I’m not very good at…”

“It doesn’t matter! You just need to handle some chores and show your face!” Guan Zhiyu said pitifully: “The Art Department guys play dirty; every time they recruit, they drag Jiang Zong out as their mascot. We’ve had to pick their leftovers for two years in a row!!!”

Student Union recruitment was done via forms, distributing students according to their first and second preferences. With Jiang Zong in hand, the Art Department could recruit a large influx of fresh blood every time, which made Guan Zhiyu both angry and resentful.

Fortunately, Lin Shuxue had come this year, and her photo had gone viral on the Publicity Department’s account. With such high campus visibility, she was the perfect advertising billboard.

“Is Senior Jiang Zong actually in the Student Union? Why haven’t I ever heard of that?” Meng Shuyin asked curiously.

“Oh, his reputation is mixed, and he’s afraid of trouble, so he never holds a title. On the surface, the head of the Art Department is his roommate Pei Tianyang, but in reality, Jiang Zong is the one in charge.” Guan Zhiyu explained. These things were well-known within the Student Union.

“So those rumors about Senior Jiang Zong are all true then?” Meng Shuyin leaned in to ask.

“That…” Guan Zhiyu looked troubled. “My relationship with him is average, so I don’t know the specifics, but it is true that he beat up a former roommate in class during his freshman year, and that the women around him change often. But I don’t know the exact circumstances.”

Guan Zhiyu lowered her voice: “I heard that the school didn’t punish Jiang Zong later, but rather, those roommates received warnings.”

Without giving them time to continue gossiping, Guan Zhiyu received a notice for an impromptu Student Union meeting and had to leave first. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to advocate for the Publicity Department again, asking Lin Shuxue to prioritize them.

Lin Shuxue just smiled. After Guan Zhiyu left, she also found an excuse to go to the restroom.

She had endured her abdominal discomfort until now with great difficulty. Finally reaching the sink, she vomited in front of the mirror until she felt like the world was spinning. Her stomach was weak; she had been too busy rushing to prepare for the freshman assembly speech to eat lunch, and after eating a few bites of the cloyingly sweet pastry, her stomach couldn’t digest it and “raised a flag of protest.”

After vomiting, her head felt a bit dizzy, and her steps were unsteady. She didn’t pay attention and bumped into a guest who was walking in.

Lin Shuxue was about to apologize when she looked up into a familiar face.

The person was dressed in a loose white long-sleeved shirt with the collar unbuttoned, revealing a glimpse of his collarbone shadow he had clearly just come from a night of decadence.

Too close. Lin Shuxue thought.

So close that Lin Shuxue could feel his slightly tensed muscles relax quickly. The orange blossom scent lingering on the tip of her nose she didn’t know if it was laundry detergent or perfume.

She only saw his beautiful peach-blossom eyes narrow, smiling brightly: “Throwing yourself at me? Is this a new tactic you’ve thought of, Junior?”

“No, I lost my footing.” Jiang Zong’s joking words made Lin Shuxue feel a bit embarrassed, so she explained softly: “My apologies.”

Fortunately, Jiang Zong didn’t intend to make a scene; he only asked with concern: “Can you stand steadily now?”

“Yes, thank you, Senior.” Lin Shuxue replied softly.

Her tone sounded a bit cold to others.

Jiang Zong turned around, and where Lin Shuxue couldn’t see, he curled his lips.

He understood. After all, “good girls” didn’t like to be associated with someone as notorious as him.

And the next second, a voice message started playing on Lin Shuxue’s phone. The female voice was excited and loud, sounding even clearer in the small room:

“That Jiang Zong has no heart, he’s cold-blooded and ruthless! Junior, don’t you dare be seduced by his good looks and abandon the light for the darkness!!!”