Two-Faced and Tsundere, Aren't You

Ma Mingfan didn't dare to speak too absolutely about the future. He only knew that he needed to work hard now. Even if he didn't plan to change his major, he still wanted to aim higher.

For his own sake and for a better future, hard work was absolutely essential.

Ma Mingfan chuckled. Noticing that Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun were both wearing the same black hair tie on their wrists, he lifted his chin toward them.

"Are you two done pretending?"

"What pretending? Do we have to announce it to the whole world just because we're dating?" Shen Nian rubbed his chin and smiled. "Xia Yanchun and I just prefer to keep a low profile."

Xia Yanchun nodded in agreement.

They hadn't wanted to go public during high school to avoid a lot of gossip. It was a wise choice.

Strictly speaking, the first person in their class to know about her relationship with Shen Nian was their teacher, Yan Yuzhu. Even her best friend, Li Shiyan, only found out right around the college entrance examination.

"You actually like keeping a low profile? Wow, so low-key."

Ma Mingfan definitely didn't think Shen Nian was the low-profile type.

At the start of their senior year, who else but Shen Nian would buy a slice of watermelon with Chen Dong and go watch the freshmen do their military training?

Not to mention renting out advertising space on the school's honor roll. That was not something a low-key person would do.

It is fine to fool your bros, but don't fool yourself.

However, Shen Nian had the confidence and capital to be high-profile, so there wasn't much to say. Besides, he didn't dislike Shen Nian's flashy style.

Since the topic of romance had already been opened, Ma Mingfan didn't shy away from it. After asking Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun, he turned to Li Shiyan and asked curiously, "What about you, Li Shiyan? Do you plan on dating in college?"

"If I meet someone good, of course I'll date," Li Shiyan said with a frown. "But it's not like I can just date whenever I want to..."

Ma Mingfan inexplicably felt that Li Shiyan was humblebragging.

A woman chasing a man is as easy as piercing a veil, let alone a cute girl like Li Shiyan. If she really wanted to date, there was an eighty percent chance she wouldn't have to worry about finding someone.

But Li Shiyan's melancholy little expression didn't look fake.

"..."

Ma Mingfan realized it in hindsight.

Had he really grown to the point where he could chat so naturally with girls other than Liang Jing, especially about romance?

Have I really evolved into a normie?

"College has just started. There will be plenty of opportunities to meet people later," Ma Mingfan said casually.

"How are things going with you and Liang Jing?" Shen Nian nudged Ma Mingfan with his elbow.

"Ah..." Ma Mingfan smiled awkwardly and said in a low voice, "We don't have that kind of relationship. We just play games together a lot, and at most, we go out for a meal or something..."

Xia Yanchun and Li Shiyan looked like they were ready to feast on some gossip, their big eyes blinking as they began to eavesdrop.

No girl could resist romantic gossip about their friends.

"What do you mean? You're already eating out together. Isn't that the talking stage?"

Called out by Shen Nian, Ma Mingfan cleared his throat. "Maybe. Anyway, it is what it is."

"Good for you, man."

"Ah, let's stop talking about this. Let's eat, let's eat..."

"Ma Mingfan, how did you and Xiaojing start hanging out?" Li Shiyan hadn't heard enough. Seeing that they were about to drop it, she hurriedly kept the conversation going.

"We just played games together, blah blah blah..."

It had been a while since the high school classmates had eaten lunch together.

It felt like the food they usually ate had become much more delicious.

Ma Mingfan didn't tell them everything. When it came to romantic tension and the like, some things were better kept hidden deep down.

Just like Shen Nian and the class monitor.

Calling each other before bed, brushing hands while shopping, taking photo booth pictures together... These were little romantic secrets belonging only to the two of them, best kept in the bottom of their hearts.

After the National Day holiday, the next public holiday was New Year's Day, which was very short. The next time they met would probably be during the winter break.

Sigh, he missed her.

After lunch, Shen Nian returned to his single dorm room.

Single dorm rooms were mostly used for taking afternoon naps. Even if he wasn't tired, he would sometimes come back to lie down and let his mind wander.

But more often than not, he would secretly browse Bilibili, watching video tutorials posted by professionals in his field.

Secretly grinding?

Shen Nian just wanted to become better. In the booming era of AI, if he didn't seize the opportunity, it would be very easy to miss out.

...

In the blink of an eye, it was Wednesday.

Shen Nian slowly woke up. A sliver of light peeked through the unclosed curtains, shining right onto his face.

By the looks of it, it was probably already eight or nine o'clock.

Perhaps they were connected by heart, because the girl in his arms also shifted at that moment.

"Mmm..."

"Are you awake?"

"Yeah..." Xia Yanchun shrugged, rubbing her fuzzy little head against Shen Nian's chest. She struggled to open her eyes, her groggy voice scratching at his heart like a little kitten. "What time is it?"

"Let me check... Eight-twenty."

Xia Yanchun had no intention of getting up. Today was the only day she didn't have morning classes, so she could sleep in. The lazy girl wasn't as energetic as Shen Nian.

"I want to sleep a little longer."

"Okay." Shen Nian stroked the girl's hair and said softly, "I plan to go back to our high school to visit our teachers. Do you want to come?"

"I'm sleepy..." Xia Yanchun opened her eyes a crack. She hesitated for a moment, still reluctant to get out of bed. "Are you just going to visit the teachers?"

"Yeah, before we graduated, I told the teacher I'd bring her a gift and visit her. Other than Wednesday, my only free time is the weekend, and I don't want to disturb her rest on the weekend."

"Th-then say hello to the teacher for me. I'm going to sleep a little longer."

"Will do, will do. I'll just tell her that although my Chunbao is as lazy as a pig, she still cares about her teacher and wanted me to say hello for her."

"I'm going to hit you..."

Having just woken up, Xia Yanchun didn't have any strength. She said she was going to hit Shen Nian, but it was just talk. Her voice was so soft she sounded like she was about to fall back asleep.

Shen Nian lay with her for a few more minutes and kissed her soft, sweet cheek before finally bringing himself to get out of bed.

Even for Shen Nian, who didn't need much rest, getting up was never easy. Sometimes, he would lie there for an extra half hour just because he craved the comfort of the girl, to the point where he even started neglecting his morning workouts.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Shen Nian sent a QQ message to Teacher Yan and Teacher Su.

Teacher Yan didn't reply, probably because she was in class, but Teacher Su replied quite quickly.

[Shen Nian]: Hello Teacher Su, are you free? Your proudest back-row elite is coming to see you with a gift!

[Su Kexi]: I still have one class this morning. If you're coming, pay attention to the time. I'm on the third floor of the freshmen building.

[Shen Nian]: Got it, teacher. What kind of gift do you want? I'll go buy it for you now. I probably won't be there until around eleven.

[Su Kexi]: Why bring a gift when you visit? When you get here, I'll treat you to a meal at the staff cafeteria on the third floor.

[Shen Nian]: Sounds good, sounds good. Then I won't buy your gift, I'll just give your share to Teacher Yan.

[Su Kexi]: ??

[Shen Nian]: Just kidding, teacher. My most beloved Teacher Su will definitely get a gift too.

[Su Kexi]: You really don't need to bring a gift when you visit, honestly. When you get here, I'll treat you to a meal.

[Shen Nian]: (Holding back laughter meme.jpg)

So Su Kexi was just going through the polite motions.

It is just like when relatives hand out red envelopes during the New Year. Your mouth keeps saying, "No, no, I couldn't," but your hands have already pulled your pockets wide open, waiting for them to stuff the cash inside.

Teacher Su, you sly guy. Saying one thing while meaning another—you are just being a tsundere, aren't you?