Chapter 16

 The oath-taking ceremony was held on a weekend, with the high school freshmen and sophomores enjoying their day off while the senior students and their parents were bustling around the school grounds.

They were engaged in typical activities like marching in formation, shouting slogans, and earnestly reciting their pledges...

But Bai Xunyin didn't have to participate in any of that.

She managed to avoid it altogether, unable to utter the slogans or make the pledges, and thus couldn't join the enthusiastic crowd. After considering various factors, Yu Shen decided not to have Bai Xunyin march with the group. Instead, she was assigned to assist in the office.

There wasn't much for her to do. There were other students specifically tasked with moving tables and chairs, and those selected to carry the flags at the front of the procession were already chosen. Bai Xunyin's job was simply to double-check the speeches and help with small tasks around the main stage.

As she circled around a massive display board, carrying bottles of water in her arms, Bai Xunyin accidentally bumped into someone. It wasn't a severe collision, but it caused the bottles in her arms to tumble to the ground.

With so many students around, minor collisions were common at the school, so Bai Xunyin didn't think much of it. She quickly knelt down to pick up the fallen bottles when she noticed a pair of high-heeled shoes... high heels?

"Are you alright?" A practiced yet gentle voice, tinted with familiarity, came from above Bai Xunyin's head. A slender hand reached down to help her pick up the water bottles.

Bai Xunyin paused, hearing the voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar, and looked up at the woman she had accidentally bumped into. Her usually reserved expression brightened with a rare smile.

The woman before her was dressed in a deep purple suit, with an elegantly curvaceous figure and an air of mature charm, though she seemed to be in her forties. Her face was impeccably maintained, without a single wrinkle.

When she lowered her head, some of her shoulder-length curls fell forward, partially covering her side profile, revealing fair skin and red lips that captivated Bai Xunyin's gaze.

Indeed, Bai Xunyin recognized the woman before her—she was Gu Yuan, a physics professor renowned for her extensive research in the field, and Bai Xunyin's academic idol.

Bai Xunyin had long admired Gu Yuan, listening to her lectures online, purchasing books and magazines about her research and interviews, much like a fan following a celebrity.

Never did she imagine that her idol would suddenly appear before her one day, catching her completely off guard.

Gu Yuan seemed to understand Bai Xunyin's excitement. She smiled knowingly and spoke gently, "Student, do you like physics?"

At this moment, Bai Xunyin was at a loss for words, feeling regretful for not being able to respond. She nervously bit her lip, nodding repeatedly.

"I didn't expect to meet a high school student who knows me here. What a pleasant surprise," Gu Yuan continued, her brows and eyes radiant with warmth. She glanced at her watch. "I'm about to speak at your oath-taking ceremony. I'm afraid I don't have time to chat with you now. We'll meet again, perhaps."

Sure enough, Gu Yuan had only spoken a few words when two officials in suits and school teachers approached her.

"Professor Gu, please come to the stage."

"Professor Gu, your presence at Sanzhong High School truly enriches..."

Amidst the familiar bureaucratic chatter, Gu Yuan was escorted away, leaving Bai Xunyin standing in place, utterly dazed.

Meeting Gu Yuan felt like a dream come true for Bai Xunyin. She had always dreamed that one day, when she went to university to study science, she might have the opportunity to attend Gu Yuan's public lectures. Yet, her dream had unexpectedly come true so soon.

Moments of genuine happiness were rare. Bai Xunyin forgot about delivering the water and stood there, unable to contain her smile.

"Bai Xunyin."

It wasn't until Yu Luoyin came looking for her that Bai Xunyin was snapped back to reality. The boy's voice carried a hint of annoyance as he spoke near her ear, "Why are you hiding here?"

Bai Xunyin was puzzled as she turned to see Yu Luoyin, the boy with the unzipped school uniform halfway open. His pitch-black short hair was slightly damp and disheveled from the heat, and his sharp eyes were fixed on her.

Bai Xunyin found it strange. Why was Yu Luoyin upset? She hadn't been hiding here.

However, Bai Xunyin was in a good mood at the moment and didn't want to argue. She patiently took out her phone to type a message: [The teacher asked me to come here to deliver water.]

After sending the message, she pointed to a box of water bottles on the nearby table.

"Teacher asked a girl to deliver water? Is Teacher Yu crazy?" Yu Luoyin chuckled, bending his finger and tapping the box. "Forget about it. I'll help you deliver it. You go back to your seat and accompany your parents. Have they arrived?"

Bai Xunyin was taken aback, hesitating before nodding.

Yu Luoyin raised an eyebrow. "Then why aren't you going? Do you want to do manual labor?"

Bai Xunyin continued to message: [But aren't you supposed to go on stage to speak?]

Everyone knew that Yu Luoyin had been selected by the school to represent the students.

"Hmm?" Yu Luoyin's voice softened as he listened. The brief moment of anxiety was replaced by his usual laziness, and he casually asked her, "Why are you so concerned about me?"

...

"Ignore your face."

Bai Xunyin's ears turned slightly red. She typed a message to him with some stiffness: [All students know.]

She hadn't intentionally been concerned about him!

Yu Luoyin looked at the slight blush on the girl's ears and didn't bother with her clumsy excuse. He just chuckled softly and complied, "Alright, my mistake. But can I help you carry the water? So you don't take too long to get back to your seat and miss my speech segment—whom would I deliver it for?"

The boy's charming words seemed to come effortlessly, as if they didn't cost a thing, yet each time they made Bai Xunyin's heart flutter and her toes curl up in a way that could be described as 'a three-room apartment'.

For a moment, Bai Xunyin didn't know whether to be angry or how to react. The joy of meeting Gu Yuan just now was still fresh in her heart, and she found herself smiling ambiguously, unable to muster up anger as she 'glared' at Yu Luoyin like a petulant child.

"Good." The boy effortlessly lifted the box and before turning away, he gestured towards the direction of the parents' platform, silently mouthing: Wait for me.

Perhaps it was the nature of youthful recklessness to indulge in a bit of 'romance'. Everyone had a touch of arrogance and self-love. In any case, Yu Luoyin didn't want Bai Xunyin to stop looking at him.

But for him to have such thoughts, she must be... a bit more important?

Not daring to overstep boundaries too much, Bai Xunyin couldn't help but smile faintly, nodding lightly towards Yu Luoyin.

This was the first time she had shown such a 'cooperative' attitude towards him, and the first time she smiled. The ivory complexion of her transparent face, with the peach-blossom corners of her eyes gently enticing.

Yu Luoyin watched her, momentarily bewildered.

Suddenly, he wanted to kiss her.

The boy's thoughts were always straightforward and passionate, but he had to restrain himself because he wasn't exactly straightforward. Facing Bai Xunyin's smiling eyes, Yu Luoyin lowered his gaze slightly, a vague smile curling his lips.

Conflicted, yet restrained.

When he stepped onto the stage, Yu Luoyin felt a mix of intense fire and ice in his heart.

Standing in front of the microphone on the platform, amidst countless eyes of parents and students below, all he saw was a dense sea of faces—he couldn't pinpoint Bai Xunyin among them.

Yu Luoyin paused, his clear voice gradually emanating from the microphone, "Respected leaders, teachers, dear students..."

In reality, he was saying all those classic lines from the prepared speech, but hearing them from the boy on the stage, they seemed particularly extraordinary.

He was dressed simply in a school uniform, his slender figure standing tall like a pine tree on the stage. With one hand holding the microphone steadily, his speech exuded a natural charm.

Yu Luoyin seemed to gather more light than the sun in the vast sky.

He was so good-looking, so pure, that light naturally gravitated towards him.

Bai Xunyin sat among the crowd below, her clear eyes looking as if they were veiled by a faint mist, unblinkingly watching the boy on stage.

Only when Yu Luoyin wasn't near her did she dare to unabashedly look at him like this.

No wonder Sheng Churan liked him, and so many girls were fond of him...

Yu Luoyin seemed to hold all the world's light in the palm of his hand, and even the slightest glimpse through his clasped fingers was enough to captivate anyone.

Such a boy, young, handsome, and unstoppable, was the dream of almost every girl.

And he was Bai Xunyin's dream too.

In the neglected corners of her heart, Bai Xunyin finally couldn't resist surrendering and admitting this.

Perhaps she couldn't resist Yu Luoyin after all.

...............................................................................................................

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