novelraw Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Chapter 29
The senior sister only exhaled once the pair had shrunk to specks in the distance. She pressed a hand to her chest like she’d just survived a sprint.
First time I’ve ever talked that much to a total stranger...
Probably because I’ve been holed up in the clubroom too long.
People with glasses really are nice, after all.
She adjusted the frames on her nose and sent a grateful look after Lin Zhe.
First flyer I’ve managed to hand out all day.
The check-shirted, bespectacled senior’s face fell.
If we don’t recruit anyone this year, the club’s getting disbanded.
Halfway across campus Chen Zhijing finally dropped her guard, switching from dead-eyed robot back to human.
“Trash it.”
She snatched the flyer from Lin Zhe, crumpled it into a ball, and spike-dunked it onto the path.
I was polite, and that woman had the nerve to paw my Xiao Lin.
Shameless. Unforgivable.
Lin Zhe watched her puff-cheeked tantrum and laughed; she was adorable when jealous.
Chen Zhijing mumbled, sour little pout still in place, “So a shameless girl like that is your type?”
Lin Zhe waved the thought away. “Nope.”
He said it—and immediately cracked up again.
Jealous Chen Zhijing was dangerously cute.
“Still, no littering.” He bent, retrieved the paper ball, and smoothed it flat for a quick glance.
“Otome Game Art Research & Production Club.”
Another gaming circle, looks like.
Out recruiting this early? Must be under-powered and on the chopping block.
Hope the club I start never ends up like that...
He tossed the flyer into the nearest bin, then scanned the quad to make sure the senior sister wasn’t watching; dumping it in front of her would’ve been cruel.
“There, problem solved. Truce?”
He ruffled Chen Zhijing’s soft hair.
She stayed squirrel-cheeked and huffy.
“Xiao Lin should take better care of himself. Who knows what germs that shameless woman was carrying.”
“Hahaha, no such thing.”
The jealousy clinging to her took ages to evaporate.
Lin Zhe strolled the campus with her until five-thirty, when stomachs steered them to the canteen.
He ordered two Wooden-Barrel Rice bowls.
Appetite plus nerves had him polishing off one-and-a-half.
A grain of rice had glued itself to the corner of Chen Zhijing’s mouth; he plucked it off and popped it into his own.
“Wasting food is a bad habit.”
By now the rice was sitting like lead, but the sudden intimacy made Chen Zhijing’s lid blow clean off.
Steam seemed to whistle from her ears as her whole face flamed.
She stared at the floor, fingers twisted in her skirt.
Lin Zhe propped his chin on his hand and enjoyed the show.
Eventually the kettle stopped whistling and she regained human form.
They walked the grounds to digest, then, at nearly seven, headed for Lihai University’s sports arena—big enough for more than thirty thousand, practically a city stadium.
That’s the kind of clout Lihai has in Jiangbei.
They wandered until Chen Zhijing’s social-anxiety meter red-lined from the crush; only then did they spot Yang Zhen and his girlfriend Zhao Lin.
The couple had saved them seats—front row of Section A, perfect sight-lines.
To keep Chen Zhijing from petrifying on the spot, Lin Zhe kept their fingers laced.
The crowds still made her dizzy, but his grip anchored her.
Zhao Lin saw the interlocked hands and broke into the smile of a proud auntie.
These two are pure sugar.
Unlike my blockhead, she thought—he’d almost vanished into the sea of bodies without her.
If I hadn’t dragged him back, who knows where the idiot would’ve ended up.
Once Chen Zhijing and Lin Zhe had sat down, Zhao Lin gave Chen Zhijing a gentle nudge with her elbow and whispered, “Xiao Jing.”
Then, with a knowing smile, she glanced at the hands Lin Zhe and Chen Zhijing were still holding; her expression said everything.
Chen Zhijing’s face flushed scarlet again and she shyly lowered her head.
Lin Zhe and Yang Zhen took the aisle seats, leaving Zhao Lin and Chen Zhijing in the middle.
The welcome gala kicked off at seven sharp.
First, the president offered a brief message to the freshmen, then proceeded to tear up the floor with a jaw-dropping hip-hop solo that ignited the entire arena.
Even Lin Zhe couldn’t help laughing.
The man had zero pretension—funny, self-mocking, and to the point. Whether it was the military-training opening, the closing ceremony, or tonight’s gala, he never subjected anyone to a long-winded speech; a few crisp, punchy sentences and he was done.
The new students fed off his energy.
Next, the deans and senior administrators stormed the stage for a group reenactment of the classic “Axe-Gang” dance.
Their suits and bulging bellies made the sight hilarious, yet they still pushed the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
Lihai University’s welcome show isn’t just for students; outsiders snap up the limited public tickets—prices sky-high by showtime.
But the lineup that follows proves the gala is in a league of its own, well worth every yuan.
Even Lin Zhe was stunned: Lihai’s talent pool is downright scary.
Every act has been cherry-picked from hundreds of submissions.
Credit goes to the university’s serious investment in students’ diverse abilities and its vibrant club system that lets those talents bloom.