Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 87

After Jing University’s anniversary celebration came the intense final exam week.

Summer break was approaching.

Time slipped by quietly, and their busy freshman year was coming to an end.

On the day their exams ended, Ling Shuang and Song Jia organized a gathering, the entire dorm went out for barbecue to commemorate their freshman year together.

“Come on, come on! Sisters, bottoms up! We’ll be best friends for life!”

Ling Shuang raised her glass, speaking with fiery passion, her entire being radiating youthful energy.

With a crisp clink, their glasses collided as all four of them raised their drinks and downed them in one go.

“What are your plans for the summer break?” Ling Shuang asked.

Song Jia puffed out her cheeks. “I have to go home. My parents are waiting for me to tutor my little brother.”

She shrugged helplessly. “That rascal of a brother, just thinking about him gives me a headache.”

Xu Zhizhi wrapped an arm around Song Jia’s shoulder. “Why not come back to Nancheng with me? I’ve rented a small apartment.”

“No, no, no. You’re practically married, don’t drag me into that,” Song Jia said seriously. “You and Zhou Xuci being all lovey-dovey, and me as the third wheel? That’s just awkward.”

“Then come to my place. I’m single,” Cheng Xiaoxin said with a smile. “If you come to Nancheng, Zhizhi and I can take you around to have fun.”

Ling Shuang immediately raised her hand. “What about me? And me?”

Xu Zhizhi tilted her chin up. “We’ll take you along too.”

Song Jia leaned her head on Cheng Xiaoxin’s shoulder, pouting. “I’m so tempted, but I still have to go home and help. Waaah.”

Ling Shuang’s face fell too. “I can’t go either. I have to stay on campus. There’s an issue with the lab project, and my advisor won’t let me leave. Work, work, work, my summer break is ruined.”

Xu Zhizhi pulled Ling Shuang into a hug. “Shuangshuang, your Gu Sen specifically stayed on campus to keep you company.”

Ling Shuang’s expression brightened instantly. “Well, he’s my boyfriend, isn’t he? If my summer’s gone, of course I’d find someone to suffer with me. Hee hee hee.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. All this PDA is going to be the death of me!” Song Jia fed Ling Shuang a fish ball, making everyone burst into laughter.

Just like that, laughing, crying, and joking around, they spent their freshman year together.

Xu Zhizhi felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment. In those busy days, everyone was full of drive, united by a shared energy, charging forward passionately, stumbling yet racing toward a brilliant future.

After a couple of drinks, Xu Zhizhi started feeling a bit tipsy, so Cheng Xiaoxin forbade her from drinking any more.

“With your stomach, you can only have two glasses,” Cheng Xiaoxin said, pouring a cup of warm water and sliding it in front of Xu Zhizhi.

Xu Zhizhi slumped against Cheng Xiaoxin’s shoulder. “Xiaoxin, have you heard from the International Arts Troupe?”

The unresolved matter had been weighing on Xu Zhizhi’s mind.

Cheng Xiaoxin blinked mysteriously and whispered excitedly to Xu Zhizhi, “I got the notice yesterday.”

She hadn’t figured out how to break the news to her friends yet.

Afraid of making everyone sad, she hadn’t mentioned it right away.

Receiving the acceptance letter from the International Arts Troupe meant she would truly be going abroad for further training.

She didn’t want to leave.

But she also couldn’t bear to give up the stage.

She loved her sisters dearly, and she loved the stage just as passionately, a dream within reach.

Xu Zhizhi’s heart trembled. “When are you leaving?”

Cheng Xiaoxin replied, “The acceptance letter says to report in mid-to-late October. After the sophomore year starts, I’ll have to handle the transfer procedures. I’ll probably leave right after National Day.”

October.

The timeline matched up.

In her previous life, Cheng Xiaoxin had also gone abroad for further studies in October of her sophomore year.

Back then, they had fallen out over Shen Yu, had a huge argument, and from then on, became like strangers.

The fragmented memories from her past life flooded Xu Zhizhi’s mind, leaving her dazed and her limbs growing cold.

A sense of dread lingered in Xu Zhizhi’s heart.

Cheng Xiaoxin reached out and touched Xu Zhizhi’s face, noticing her distracted state, and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Zhizhi smiled faintly and shook her head gently. “It’s nothing.”

“I was just thinking,” she made up an excuse, “if you’re not here, there’ll be no one to look after me anymore, no one to stick warming patches on me, make sure I eat on time, bring me stomach medicine, or care about every little detail of my life…”

She sounded pitiful.

“Don’t worry, you have Zhou Xuci,” Cheng Xiaoxin said with a bright smile. “Should I make him a list of ‘How to Take Care of Xu Zhizhi’ tips?”

“I can’t even imagine how I’d survive without you,” Xu Zhizhi murmured, her long lashes lowered, a shadow of sorrow in her eyes.

Cheng Xiaoxin pinched Xu Zhizhi’s cheek. “Xu Zhizhi, no moping allowed. I want you to live your life shining brightly, always.”

Xu Zhizhi rested her chin on Cheng Xiaoxin’s shoulder, her eyes curving into adorable crescents. “When you go abroad, I’ll take a week off and go with you to see you off. How does that sound?”

Cheng Xiaoxin patted Xu Zhizhi’s head. “With your tiny appetite, I’m worried you’ll get sick on the plane. It’s over twenty hours to the art troupe’s headquarters.”

“No, I have to go with you,” Xu Zhizhi insisted firmly.

If things followed the trajectory of her previous life,

Cheng Xiaoxin had died at 19, in a plane crash.

Xu Zhizhi had died at 26, in a car accident.

If this life continued along the same path, Xu Zhizhi was supposed to die at 26, so she wanted to take a gamble.

A brave gamble with her life.

Xu Zhizhi wanted to board that plane and accompany Cheng Xiaoxin on that journey.

“Xiaoxin, do you know?” Xu Zhizhi felt an overwhelming unease in her heart and wrapped her arms around Cheng Xiaoxin’s waist. “In this world, there are only two people I would risk my life for without hesitation.”

“One is you.”

“The other is him.”

“Him” referred to Zhou Xuci.

In my heart, you and Zhou Xuci are equally important.

Cheng Xiaoxin hugged Xu Zhizhi back, leaning against her affectionately, her eyes slightly red. “Oh my, Zhizhi, I don’t know what I’d do without you either.”

Even though she knew distance wouldn’t drive them apart, she couldn’t help but sink into a deep sadness.

“Let me go with you for part of the way, okay?”

Cheng Xiaoxin didn’t refuse again. “I’ll buy your ticket.”

Xu Zhizhi nodded. “Okay.”

Cheng Xiaoxin beamed happily. “Xu Zhizhi, when I turn twenty, I’ll inherit my mom’s estate. I’m going to buy you a villa, make you a princess! Host an art exhibition for you! I’m going to spoil you even more than Zhou Xuci does!”

Her eyes were filled with beautiful dreams of the future.

Xu Zhizhi felt like crying. She tightened her embrace, her eyes slightly damp. “Then I’ll wait until you’re twenty and come to collect on your promise.”

I want to walk with you through your perilous nineteenth year, holding your hand as you step into your twentieth.

Ling Shuang and Song Jia had no sense of restraint. After drinking quite a bit, they started babbling drunkenly.

Hearing the word “villa,” Ling Shuang shouted excitedly, “Wow! A villa! A villa!”

Song Jia was so drunk she couldn’t tell east from west and chimed in, “Me too! Me too! Me too!”

Cheng Xiaoxin was extremely generous, “Then let’s all live in a big villa together!”

“Great! Great! Great!!!!”

…