Buzz buzz.  
Mu Feng: rolled over.  

Buzz buzz.  
Mu Feng: scratched his head.  

Buzz buzz.  
Mu Feng: kicked the air irritably with his leg.  

Buzzzz…  

He grabbed his phone from beside the pillow, face flushed red with rage, eyes blazing—who dared disturb his sweet slumber? He’d make them regret waking someone with morning grumpiness! 😡  
When he went crazy, he’d even beat himself up.  

“Are you seriously never gonna stop?!?!”  
“It’s barely morning—why aren’t you sleeping and instead—”  

Mysterious Partner:  
“Today, you must follow Xia Yan at all times. Ideally, get photos of him and Lin Qingyu together in compromising positions. Once it’s done, we’re even.”  

“3”  
“2”  
“1”  

Mu Feng: “Understood. (Serious) 😊”  
“I’ll expose that wicked woman Lin Qingyu for who she really is. Brother Yan… he’s been poisoned too deeply. (Sighing sadly) As his friend, my heart aches…”  

No reply came.  

Mu Feng sighed, put down his phone, and rubbed his eyes dazedly.  
Why was he suddenly so against Brother Yan? They’d always gotten along fine… Sure, Lin Qingyu was a bit scheming, but she and Yan actually made a pretty good match.  

Top student for two years straight, no campus rumors, responsible, kind—pure white-rich-beauty material…  

Sigh…  
But what choice did he have? Hua Lao held something over him. Honestly, didn’t seem like someone with social anxiety at all…  

Hmm?  

Mu Feng squinted suspiciously at Pang Xiong—the roommate sitting up beside him, also staring at his phone.  
“You’re supposed to be a full-blooded American from the Stars and Stripes! How are you awake already?”  

Xiang Guan lifted his head slowly, dark circles under his eyes as thick as a panda’s. His gaze was hollow, lifeless—as if despair were seeping through every pore.  

“My Ling’er just said ‘good morning.’ (Exhausted)”  

“Wait—” Mu Feng twitched.  
He really wanted to roast Xiang Guan hard… but then remembered how, at 1 a.m. last night, Xiang’s face had been bathed in that faint green glow of late-night texting…  

Forget it. A simp’s a simp. In the end…  
You lose even your underwear.  

“I’m going back to sleep. Don’t wake me.” With that, Mu Feng collapsed onto the bed like a corpse.  

Xiang Guan didn’t respond. He just stared blankly at a message received two minutes ago:  

Lin Qingyu:  
“Today I need Xia Yan’s full activity log. You must not leave his side for even one second. If you succeed, I’ll arrange a private dinner for you two.”  

“3”  
“2”  
“1”  

Xiang Guan: “Understood. (Serious)”  

“(Um… carefully…) Does Ling’er need anything else today…?”  

“Complete your task.”  

The words dripped with icy indifference. Then—silence.  

Xiang Guan quietly reopened last night’s chat with Xiao Ling.  
Twenty-something messages stared back at him—some long essays detailing childhood memories, friends’ embarrassing moments, fitness tips… and thinly veiled love confessions.  

Not a single reply.  

Uh…  

Suddenly, Xiang Guan clutched his left pectoral muscle—his heart seized with sharp pain. He gasped for air, vision blurring as the green-lit screen wavered before him. The palpitations hit like an electric shock from Haojing itself—he convulsed weakly on the bed.  

“Ugh…”  

Then—  

Xiao Ling: “Morning.”  

Next second—  

Xiang Guan (standing at attention):  
“Senior, have you eaten breakfast yet? I’m out on my morning run—what would you like? I’ll buy it right now! 🥵”  

His eyes sparkled with vitality. His chest no longer hurt. The dark circles vanished. Even the exhaustion from only half an hour of sleep evaporated.  

Xiao Ling:  
“Hmm… Could you grab some soup dumplings and soy milk and deliver them to Male Dorm 3, Room 3601? It’s for Senior Lü.”  
“I owe him a favor—thanks so much!”  

Xiang Guan: “…”  

Sure, he was a devoted admirer—but this was obviously using him as a tool!  

He let out a cold, bitter laugh and gripped the blanket…  

Xiao Ling: “You’ll help me, right? (wink)”  

In an instant, he flung the blanket aside, leapt out of bed like an earthquake had struck, and sprinted out in his slippers—eyes burning with unwavering loyalty to love.  

Mu Feng sat up slowly, blinking at the eerily calm dorm.  
“Was that… an earthquake?”  
“Should I evacuate?”  

——————————  

“I’ll stab you, slash you, kick you, I’ll—”  

Hua Xin furiously plucked petals from a roadside flower, mentally rehearsing how she’d “shark” Xia Yan. Her oversized sleeves bunched up on her forearms, looking comically bulky.  

“Who kisses first thing in the morning?! 😭”  
“Jian Fu Yin Fu… JIAN FU YIN FU!!”  
“Today, I’ll expose both of you… just you wait…”  

After wandering in circles, finally finding the right direction, enduring endless wrong turns—and arriving at school exhausted—only to witness that scene…  
All the joy from smelling sour-and-spicy noodles vanished instantly.  

Afraid of getting emotional “pinkeye,” Hua Xin stormed into campus without looking back.  
She wouldn’t give Xia Yan and that evil woman the satisfaction of seeing her cry.  

The flower in her hand was now just a bare stem. She stopped walking.  

Wait.  

Where was this??  

Hua Xin stared in confusion at the grove of trees ahead, the pebbled path, the wooden pavilion nestled within.  

Where was the classroom building? 😨  
The cafeteria?  
The sports field?  
WHERE WAS SHE?!  

She swallowed nervously, turned to retrace her steps—  
—but saw a group of chatting students approaching.  

…  
(Scared.)  

Even though crowded streets didn’t scare her much, quiet, secluded spots with small clusters of people always triggered bad memories.  
Memories that made her body ache with phantom pain.  

Gripping her backpack straps tightly, she chose not to flee—but stepped into the little forest instead.  

As she walked toward the distant pavilion, she stole glances at her surroundings.  

Uh…  
Trees—she didn’t know their names.  
Grass—just regular grass.  
Flowers—no idea.  

“Huh…”  

Walking on the pebbles felt oddly novel—bumpy, uneven. She’d only ever seen paths like this from afar in parks.  

Hiding behind a pavilion pillar, she watched the group pass by and finally exhaled in relief. Thank goodness they didn’t come into the grove—otherwise, she’d have been trapped.  

“Meow.”  

“?”  

Hua Xin looked down. At her feet sat a sleek tabby cat—black-gray markings, white paws like gloves, golden slit-pupiled eyes—gently pawing at the frayed threads of her poorly cut pants.  

Her eyes widened—then lit up with pure delight.  

“Hakimi!!! Uh—I mean, kitty!!”  

Unafraid, she crouched down and began petting it, voice bubbling with joy.  

Strangely, the cat wasn’t scared at all. It flopped onto its back, purring loudly, belly exposed.  

“So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! 🥰”  
“Your fur feels amazing…”  
“What’s your name?”  

Sitting on the ground, she cradled the cat in her lap, curious.  

“Meow? (What are you saying?)”  
“?”  

It flicked its tail lazily and burrowed deeper into her arms.  

“Sang Biao?”  
No reaction.  

Hua Xin gently rubbed its head.  
“Cola?”  
“Sprite?”  
“Little Bro Cat?”  

No matter what she tried, the tabby just closed its eyes contentedly, letting her fuss over it.  

“You don’t have a name…? Hmm… what should I call you…”  

She pondered seriously—then suddenly lifted the cat high with solemn determination.  

“From now on, your name is Chun Qiu (Spring Autumn).”  

“Because there’s Xia Yan and Dong Miao—today, if he bullies me, you have to come help scratch him!”  
“You hear me?!”  

“Meow… (I just wanna sleep.)”  

Hua Xin giggled softly, hugging Chun Qiu close. Gazing at the adorable feline, she whispered tenderly:  

“Chun Qiu… Chun Qiu…”  
“Will you stay with me—from spring to autumn?”  
“Through these last four years?”