Kissing the Snow-Color - Chapter 5

If there were a live-action version of “Bad Luck Bear,” Lin Shuxue felt she could sign up to star in it.

How could anyone get caught red-handed by the very person involved twice in two days?

She could only blame herself; when she was saving the seats, she hadn’t noticed the book left on the innermost desk.

Fortunately, the seats in this classroom were in groups of four, so Jiang Zong’s presence didn’t affect her, which meant she had successfully completed the task her roommates had given her.

However…

Lin Shuxue glanced at the person beside her, of whom only the back of his head was visible. Recalling the astonished looks on her roommates’ faces when they snuck in through the back door and pushed her into the seat next to Jiang Zong without a word, she let out a long sigh in her heart.

Her phone screen lit up with a new message notification. It was Meng Shuyin squealing in their dorm group chat.

【@Lin_What is going on!!! Why is he appearing here!!!】

With a string of exclamation marks, Lin Shuxue could automatically play back her voice in her mind. She sighed and slowly typed.

【I didn’t see anyone in that innermost seat when I was saving the chairs.】

Meng Shuyin, with her freshly manicured nails, tapped the screen furiously.

【I’m asking! Why is he here! In this class!】

It would have been better if she hadn’t mentioned it. As soon as she did, Lin Shuxue remembered Jiang Zong’s malicious smile from just moments ago, effortlessly exposing the post she had been trying to hide. Lin Shuxue felt a bit stifled.

【He’s retaking a failed course.】

She didn’t forget to add:

【This is the exact course where he beat up his roommate.】

Sure enough, a sharp intake of breath came from beside her. Lin Shuxue felt that she might have been infected by someone. Otherwise, why did she have such a sense of mischievous joy now that her prank had succeeded?

She couldn’t help but lose herself in thought, recalling Jiang Zong’s explanation. It seemed Senior Guan’s information wasn’t entirely accurate. Although Jiang Zong hadn’t been formally disciplined at the time, he had been forced to fail the course.

This class was “Outline of Modern Chinese History,” a genuine “easy” credit in the university curriculum. Students from three different classes were taking it together.

A female teacher, appearing to be in her middle age and wearing black-rimmed glasses, walked in clutching a book in the crook of her arm, entering right on the dot as the bell rang. She coughed twice and opened the file folder in her hand.

“Now, we will begin taking attendance.”

Complaints rose in the classroom. There were two types of classes college students hated most: 8:00 AM classes and mandatory attendance for “easy” courses.

Now, this class had both.

Using the surrounding whispers as a cover, Meng Shuyin leaned close to Lin Shuxue and muttered:

“I heard this teacher is a well-known stickler for details, a total nightmare for Modern History. She takes attendance every single class. We’re out of luck.”

Lin Shuxue gave her a helpless smile. The course schedule for the first semester of freshman year was randomly assigned by the school system; they hadn’t had the chance to choose for themselves.

“Jiang Zong.”

His name was suddenly called, accompanied by the electric hum characteristic of a loudspeaker.

The whispers in the classroom grew louder, but this time, it wasn’t out of resentment. Jiang Zong’s name was too famous. Even as freshmen who had just entered university, in an era where information traveled fast and secrets were hard to keep, they had all heard of him.

“Why would he be taking Modern History?” Lin Shuxue heard the girl in the front row whispering to her neighbor.

On the podium, the teacher adjusted her glasses and frowned.

“Jiang Zong.” The speaker sounded again.

Lin Shuxue realized what was happening and hurriedly tugged on the loose sleeve of the person sleeping beside her.

He snapped his eyes open, looking rather impatient. He saw the girl pointing toward the podium, her expression uncharacteristically urgent, and whispered:

“The teacher is taking attendance; she called your name.”

At the same time, the voice on the podium sounded for the third time.

“Daring to skip class on the first day? And you’re a junior? Your nerve is truly”

“Present” The young man lifted his hand lazily. His voice was still hoarse from just waking up. He squinted his eyes, looking like he might fall back asleep at any moment.

The teacher’s unfinished sentence was abruptly cut off. She stared in his direction, pausing for a full several seconds.

“Why didn’t you answer when I called you earlier?”

“Didn’t notice. I thought it was someone with the same name.”

He maintained his languid tone, never standing up, just lifting his head while remaining in his seat. This kind of recklessness caused students across the entire classroom to turn their eyes toward him. Even now, with his body lazily draped over the edge of the desk like he had no bones, he couldn’t hide his handsomeness. The early autumn light shone through the window in large swaths, plating him in golden lines.

Lin Shuxue heard the girl from the front row, who had been whispering earlier, shrug and utter a curse, likely not expecting that the person they were discussing was right behind her.

Fortunately, the teacher just frowned deeper and continued taking attendance.

Meng Shuyin leaned over again.

“Do you feel like more people are looking our way?”

Lin Shuxue nodded.

“The person next to you is truly a disaster.” Meng Shuyin added bitterly. Clearly, the feeling of being stared at in class wasn’t very pleasant.

Lin Shuxue turned to look at the “disaster” himself. As soon as he finished dealing with the teacher, he slumped onto the desk, with only his eyes peeking out from the crook of his arm. His brow bone was deep, his dark eyelashes long—he was a person blessed by heaven with his looks.

Meng Shuyin followed Lin Shuxue’s gaze and felt disgruntled: “Forget it. If it’s this face, I forgive him.”

Lin Shuxue’s eyes curved, wanting to laugh. Meng Shuyin couldn’t help but sigh: “I can understand why so many girls are willing to do anything for him, even though they know what he’s like.”

The protagonist of the discussion had no reaction; he was sleeping very soundly, not faking it at all.

One wondered what he had been up to behind the scenes last night.

The bell for the end of class finally rang just as the teacher mentioned her time as an international student in the United States for the third time.

“Quick, quick, quick! The classroom for the next period is nearly a kilometer away from this building!”

After checking the schedule, Meng Shuyin went into a panic, grabbing a dazed Lin Shuxue and rushing off.

At the very last moment she was dragged away, her gaze flashed past a girl who had approached the seat she had just vacated, attempting to strike up a conversation with Jiang Zong.

A moment later, his lazy voice reached her ears.

“No WeChat.”

The corridors between classes were always crowded.

Pei Tianyang stood by the edge of the hallway, stretching his neck to look, finally seeing the man sauntering out.

“Here, the Americano you wanted, and the record book.”

The moment he handed them over, Pei Tianyang felt like he was Jiang Zong’s head eunuch. No help for it—he was the one asking for favors.

Looking up, he saw Jiang Zong yawning with narrowed eyes, with red marks from his clothes pressed into his skin.

“Did you really sleep through the whole class?” Pei Tianyang was curious.

“Yeah.” He responded lazily, taking a sip of the Americano. The overwhelming bitterness flooded his mouth, and his brow furrowed into a knot.

Pei Tianyang laughed when he saw Jiang Zong like this: “If you don’t like it, don’t drink it. Is the data in the lab worth pushing yourself this hard?”

Jiang Zong glanced at him sideways, his expression ambiguous. Pei Tianyang understood and immediately made a zipping motion over his lips.

He had known Jiang Zong since freshman year and knew a bit about his family background, but to this day, he didn’t understand why a young master from his background would study robotics. And why he spent his time in the lab every other day like his life depended on it.

He participated in every national competition, and even though he was still an undergraduate, he was already working on projects with graduate students. It wasn’t as if he was short on scholarships or prize money!

He had spent another whole night in the lab yesterday. Pei Tianyang had been shocked to see his message when he woke up this morning.

Spending the night in the lab and then going to an 8:00 AM class? And needing an Americano to keep going? Although this wasn’t the first time this man had performed such non-human feats, Pei Tianyang was still shocked.

But concern for his good brother aside, he had come running over early in the morning for a reason.

“Oh, by the way, Boss Jiang, I heard…” Pei Tianyang pulled out a standard fawning smile and leaned in.

Jiang Zong raised his eyebrows, his dark, heavy eyes staring at him. Pei Tianyang saw the “spit it out” order in his gaze and chuckled: “You were in a class with the journalism majors, right?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Zong recalled the member list on the course schedule and responded, sparing his words.

Pei Tianyang smiled even more obsequiously: “Then did you see my goddess?”

“The one named Lin”

“Saw her.”

Pei Tianyang’s words were cut off halfway, and he instinctively said, “Huh?”

He suddenly remembered the aimless warning Guan Zhiyu had sent him yesterday, telling Jiang Zong to stay away from her “Junior Lin.” He had thought then that Guan Zhiyu had drunk too much fake liquor and her brain had gone wrong.

Then, recalling when they were watching Lin Shuxue’s speech yesterday, it seemed that Jiang Zong had… actively moved closer after hearing the name?

Pei Tianyang vaguely felt something was wrong.

“You, know her?” Pei Tianyang tentatively probed.

Jiang Zong narrowed his eyes and arched one eyebrow: “Why wouldn’t I?”

His response was light, as if he hadn’t cared at all. Pei Tianyang felt two thoughts fighting in his brain: that his brother was backstabbing him, and that his goddess was being coveted.

“Met her yesterday morning. She was lost, and I pointed the way.” Jiang Zong took another sip of his iced Americano, looking full of disdain. “Didn’t Guan Zhiyu tell you?”

Seeing his business-as-usual attitude, the absurd thoughts Pei Tianyang had earlier vanished halfway.

He sighed in relief and complained: “You still have the nerve to mention it? That ancestor Guan Zhiyu ran to my WeChat and cursed me out over a dozen times, leaving me completely confused!”

Jiang Zong curled his lips, chuckling: “Isn’t this recruiting talent for you?”

“If you really want to recruit talent, go to the recruitment activity next week and hand out the forms yourself; that’s guaranteed to work!” Pei Tianyang offered a suggestion with a laugh.

Jiang Zong made a “get lost” gesture and threw the finished iced Americano into the trash.

“Let’s go, to the lab.”

“Hey!” Pei Tianyang called out.

Jiang Zong turned his head.

“Are you really not interested in my goddess?” Pei Tianyang tried to confirm.

He must have been incredibly exhausted. The moment he turned around, he held a cigarette in his mouth, leaning against the window frame. His hair was scattered in front of his forehead, and his eyelids were lazily drooping, his face half-lit and half-shadowed in the light.

The bright side of his face bloomed with a smile born out of pure irritation.

“When have you ever seen me… deal with this kind of thing?”

He didn’t finish the words “good girl.”

Pei Tianyang let out a long breath, and the heavy stone in his heart finally dropped.

“I know you only love the stunning beauties. It’s just that I rarely see you take the initiative to pay attention to a girl, so your brother was curious!”

The lighter made a “click” sound, and a tiny spark glowed.

Jiang Zong held the cigarette between two fingers and pulled out his last bit of patience to explain: “I just find her a bit interesting.”

Pei Tianyang frowned and followed up: “Interesting how?”

He rubbed his fingertips with his thumb, his wrist dangling on the window sill, and smiled meaningfully: “Interesting in that”

“Huh?”

“She seems like she really doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. I want to tease her.”

Jiang Zong couldn’t help but recall their first meeting, the deeper, conflicting emotions behind the panic in the girl’s eyes; he couldn’t see through them.

There was one more thing he hadn’t said: he always felt the name “Lin Shuxue” was very familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Pei Tianyang couldn’t look at his smug appearance any longer and gave a well-meaning suggestion.

“Brother Jiang, why don’t you let me take you to a new bar to hang out after you finish this project?”

Jiang Zong was puzzled.

Pei Tianyang pointed his finger at his temple: “I suspect you’ve been single for too long and have turned yourself into a deviant.”