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Marin tugged Chen Tian along, sprinting toward a teaching building marked with the sign "Faculty of Visual Arts." Just as she was about to pull Chen Tian headlong inside—
The force on her wrist suddenly stopped.
"Huh?" Marin looked back in confusion, seeing Chen Tian standing still at the bottom of the steps, looking at her with a helpless expression.
"Marin," Chen Tian looked at her red eyes, which were filled with the question "Why did we stop?", and gently sighed. He raised his hand, crooked his index finger slightly, and flicked her smooth forehead with a light snap. "Didn't you forget something?"
"Ah?" Marin clutched the spot where she was flicked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, her small mouth habitually pouting, like a startled small animal. "Forget what? My backpack? My phone? I have everything!"
Chen Tian looked at her bewildered expression, which showed no sign of realizing, and the corners of his mouth, which had been tight, couldn't help but curve upwards. He reminded her: "You and I, we have different majors now."
They were university students now, no longer high school classmates who could stick together in the same classroom all day.
"Ah—!" Marin suddenly opened her eyes wide in dawning realization, her cheeks instantly flushing red.
"Oh, right! Ten-kun, you have to go to the Faculty of Economics and Business!" She sheepishly stuck out her tongue, embarrassed by her absentmindedness.
The next second, that embarrassment was washed away by her unique vitality.
Her eyes curved into crescents. She swiftly wrapped her hands around Chen Tian's neck, stood on her tiptoes, and leaned in to give him a loud muah on the lips!
After the kiss, she immediately let go and turned to run into the teaching building like a graceful young deer.
She stopped abruptly in front of the glass door, turned around, and flashed a smile even brighter than the sunlight, vigorously waving at Chen Tian, who was still standing in the same spot: "Then it's settled! Remember to come find me after class!"
She paused, then added mischievously, "Or! I can come find you! Wait for me, Boyfriend-kun~!"
As soon as the words were out, she pushed the door open and bounced out of sight into the hallway, leaving behind a string of cheerful laughter.
Chen Tian stood there, the warm lingering touch on his lips distinct.
He looked at the still-swaying glass door. A few rays of sunlight streamed through the crack and fell at his feet, as if still carrying the girl's lively energy.
He raised his hand, unconsciously touching the corner of his mouth, and finally just shook his head gently, an expression of infinite tenderness passing through his eyes.
Then, he turned and walked alone toward the Faculty of Economics and Business building.
Chen Tian had just rounded the Ginkgo Avenue leading to the Faculty of Economics and Business when he saw Shinomiya Kaguya standing on the steps of the teaching building.
The November wind swept dried leaves past her feet, and the hem of her dark blue school uniform skirt swayed slightly.
Her hands were folded in front of her, her posture straight as a cedar, like a wife at home welcoming her husband back.
"Ten-kun." Shinomiya Kaguya gave a slight nod, the curve of her lips precisely at a fifteen-degree angle. Sunlight fell on her eyelashes, casting fine shadows on her cheek.
Chen Tian stared at her for two seconds, then suddenly reached out and pinched both her cheeks.
"Ngh?" Shinomiya Kaguya's pupils contracted sharply.
Before she could react, the flesh of her cheeks was being kneaded inward.
Her carefully maintained smile instantly distorted. Her lips were forced into a pout, making her look exactly like a goldfish whose gills were being squeezed.
"Stop smiling," Chen Tian kneaded her cheeks twice more. "It's ugly."
Shinomiya Kaguya froze in place. The warmth spreading across her cheeks made her ear tips burn, and her mind went blank.
This distance was too close, close enough to clearly see the curve of his eyelashes. She instinctively tried to step back, but Chen Tian's other hand pressed down on the top of her head.
Chen Tian's fingers rested on top of Shinomiya Kaguya's head. The warmth from his palm traveled through her hair.
He suddenly smiled, that gentle smile that had always been imprinted on Shinomiya Kaguya's heart.
"Kaguya, do you remember what I told you in high school?"
Shinomiya Kaguya's pupils widened slightly. That smile was like a key that opened the floodgates of her memory with a click—
It was on the rooftop that afternoon. The wind was strong.
Chen Tian stood on the railing, his white shirt flapping loudly in the wind. The sunlight was so bright it was hard to keep her eyes open, yet his figure, silhouetted against the light, was extraordinarily clear.
"I will be your support," the boy's voice mixed with the wind. "Do whatever you want to do, Kaguya."
Shinomiya Kaguya remembered gripping the edge of her skirt tightly.
As the Young Lady of the Shinomiya family, it was the first time she had heard anyone tell her to "do whatever you want to do," instead of "that is not proper etiquette" or "please remember your status."
"You…" she parted her lips, her meticulously styled hair blown into disarray by the wind. "Do you know what you're saying?"
Chen Tian jumped down from the railing, kicking up a gust of wind as he landed. He casually brushed the hair that had fallen into his eyes away from his forehead, revealing those eyes filled with amusement: "Let's skip class."
Before she could finish, Chen Tian had grabbed her wrist. It was the first time anyone had dragged her along in a run.
Her leather shoes made crisp sounds on the concrete. Her skirt flew up, and her heart pounded impossibly fast.
They climbed over the wall and left school.
Chen Tian took her to eat at a street stall. The takoyaki was so hot it made her gasp for air.
They played Taiko no Tatsujin at an arcade. She lost miserably but laughed out loud.
Finally, they sat on a park bench, sharing an ice cream. When cream got on the corner of her mouth, Chen Tian naturally wiped it away with his thumb.
In that moment, she wasn't the Young Lady of the Shinomiya family; she was just an ordinary high school girl.
The memories receded like a tide.
Shinomiya Kaguya blinked, realizing Chen Tian was still looking at her, his gaze exactly the same as it had been years ago. She suddenly noticed her cheeks were still being pinched by him. This realization made her ear tips burn.
"I remember," she whispered, her voice slightly muffled. "But now you…"
"It's the same now," Chen Tian released her, then gently ruffled her hair, messing up her perfectly styled hairdo. "So stop putting on that fake smile."
Shinomiya Kaguya froze. A ginkgo leaf blew past and softly landed on her shoulder. She lowered her eyes, and when she looked up again, the curve of her lips finally became genuine.
"Ten-kun is still so willful," she complained softly, but reached out to grab Chen Tian's sleeve.
"Let's skip class."
The three words that came from Shinomiya Kaguya's mouth carried a hint of barely perceptible excitement. Chen Tian's smile instantly widened. He didn't hesitate, seizing her slender wrist and turning to walk away.
"What am I seeing? Two bad students planning to skip class?"
A clear, steady female voice abruptly cut in. The two froze and looked over.
A few steps away, Yukinoshita Yukino stood quietly. Her black hair flowed like a waterfall, her school uniform was immaculate, and her overly refined face was devoid of expression. Her icy blue eyes, like a newly melted mountain lake, watched them calmly, radiating an inherent air of scrutiny.
(Here, Yukino's image is based on the third anime version, where her eyes are blue.)
Chen Tian's smile not only didn't fade but grew even more radiant. He pulled the obviously tense Shinomiya Kaguya and walked over to Yukino in a few quick steps.
"Yo, Yukino." Chen Tian's greeting was as familiar as if he were meeting an old friend. Before the words were out, his other hand shot out like lightning and clamped onto Yukino's wrist.
Yukino's ice-sculpture expression instantly shattered. She tried to pull her hand away, but Chen Tian's fingers were like iron clamps. "Chen Tian-kun!"
Her clear voice rarely carried a hint of panic. Her pale cheeks visibly flushed red at lightning speed, quickly spreading to the tips of her ears. "What are you doing? This is… an immodest gesture!"
Kaguya, watching Yukino's efforts to appear composed despite her obvious embarrassment, let a small, teasing smile play on her lips. A flash of mischievousness crossed her eyes.
Seeing the perpetually calm, self-possessed, and correct Yukinoshita-san flustered seemed to add a fun twist to this unexpected plan to skip class.
"Immodest?" Chen Tian raised an eyebrow, shaking his head with an innocent expression, but the grip on her hand didn't loosen. "You misunderstand. I'm just inviting you."
"Inviting me?" Yukino frowned, glaring at him with a blush.
"That's right," Chen Tian nodded as if it were obvious, pulling both of them as he began to walk. "Join us. Yukinoshita Yukino-kun, today you won't be the honor student. Be one of the 'bad students.'"
With one hand pulling the slightly helpless but faintly smiling Shinomiya Kaguya, and the other pulling Yukinoshita Yukino, whose face was screaming "absurdity" and "resistance" but who had to stumble along because her wrist was clamped, he strode purposefully toward the school gate.
The three strikingly different figures moved in the November cold wind, heading in the direction of non-conformity.
The trio rushed to the school gate.
The university gate was wide open, the crowd mixed. Tourists taking photos, students without classes coming and going—it was much more liberal than high school.
Chen Tian pulled Shinomiya Kaguya and Yukinoshita Yukino, not slowing his pace.
Whoosh—In an instant, the surrounding attention focused on them.
"Hey! Look!" A girl holding a book nudged her companion hard. "Is that… Nero? Is he back from his concert?"
"Oh my God! It is him! He's pulling… Student Council President Shinomiya?!" Her companion's eyes widened. "And next to her… Yukinoshita from the Faculty of Business?"
A nearby boy gasped: "Hiss… He's pulling both of them at once? Running so fast? Where are they going?"
Not far away, a petite girl covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes instantly tearing up. "Waaah… Nero-sama! How can you hold other girls' hands! Let them go—!"
"Heh," a stylishly dressed boy folded his arms, his tone sour. "Celebrity privilege? He thinks he can hold girls' hands just because of his status? And two at once?"
Another boy passionately refuted: "What do you know! Nero-sama has a reason for everything he does! Maybe it's a mission?"
Another rabid fan's eyes shone: "Exactly! Look at Nero-sama's magnificent running! So cool!"
"Let go of Shinomiya-senpai's hand! Let me… ah, no, let go of my Nero-sama!"
"Yukinoshita-san! Please just look at me once!"
Whispers and various stares pricked at them like needles.
Yukino's face flushed even hotter, her earlobes turning crimson. She desperately tried to pull her wrist free, whispering fiercely: "Chen Tian-kun! Let go! You're causing a commotion!" All she wanted was to disappear immediately.
Shinomiya Kaguya's faint smile didn't budge. Instead, she met the stares, holding her back even straighter, tinged with a hint of pride, and briefly glanced toward the direction of the sour comment.
Chen Tian was deaf to the noise. The casual smile on his lips didn't change. Instead, he tightened his grip on both their wrists, quickening his pace. Like a gust of wind, he purposefully cut through the churning crowd at the school gate.
Behind him, he left only a trail of fervent discussion and shattered young hearts.
"Don't mind them," he muttered under his breath, not turning back, his tone light. "Keep up. Today's plan is 'Sunshine Girl Steps Out of Her Room.'"
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