Mixed Chapter 5
byI’m going to pursue her!
The tail end of March slipped away, and April stepped in to take its place, bringing with it the start of elective courses.
Chi Nuan felt that lying around in the dorm every evening wasn’t good, and she always wanted to find something to do. She pulled back her bed curtain slightly to look at Chen Zhiyu’s bunk and saw a light on.
She then opened her phone and found her chat with Chen Zhiyu: “Zhiyu, are you starting your elective course tomorrow night?”
Chen Zhiyu replied instantly: “Yeah, so tonight I’m going to play for a bit longer before sleeping!”
“Can I come with you to your elective tomorrow night? It’s really boring when none of you are in the dorm in the evenings!”
Chen Zhiyu was, of course, happy about this unexpected bonus.
She desperately wanted someone she knew to attend the elective with her so she would have someone to talk to. Otherwise, given her personality, if no one chatted with her, she would surely bottle up her emotions.
“Hahahaha, of course! We’ll go together tomorrow night!”
On Thursday afternoon, after they finished their classes and returned to the dorm, Chen Zhiyu climbed into bed to catch up on sleep. Chi Nuan, being the academic she was, didn’t slack off at all. She opened her computer to prepare the materials for the upcoming Hangcheng Youth Photography Competition.
With almost no hesitation, Chi Nuan quickly filled out the information on the registration form. She then uploaded all the photo files according to the official competition requirements.
She clicked “Submit.”
At 6:10 PM, Chi Nuan shook the groggy Chen Zhiyu awake.
“Chen Zhiyu, are you a pig! Stop sleeping! Class starts in twenty minutes! We need to get into the classroom five minutes early.”
Startled, Chen Zhiyu quickly got up and tidied herself, then was dragged by Chi Nuan straight to classroom 312 in the First Teaching Building.
It usually took them about 8 minutes to reach the First Teaching Building at a normal pace, but Chi Nuan forcefully shortened that to 5 minutes.
They arrived at classroom 312 at 6:28 PM, two minutes before class started.
But because they were so late, only the “prime spots” in the first row were left.
It looked like Chen Zhiyu’s plan to chat and relieve boredom wouldn’t be realized.
The moment they sat down, Song Shixue walked in, wearing a camel-colored cardigan over a white shirt, paired with linen-colored trousers.
Her elegant demeanor was fully on display.
It was her!
Chi Nuan’s birthday wish had truly come true.
She felt her heart skip a beat, and her breathing gradually became erratic.
So close. Why did she look even more beautiful than the first time Chi Nuan saw her?
Chen Zhiyu was also incredibly excited. Her desire to gossip and chat had reached its peak.
She kept tapping Chi Nuan’s arm, trying to keep her voice as low as possible.
“Oh my god, Chi Nuannuan, isn’t this the beautiful older sister you photographed! I knew it, I knew I felt like I’d seen her somewhere!”
Since Chi Nuan and Chen Zhiyu were sitting in the first row, even with other noises in the classroom, their conversation was more or less picked up by Song Shixue.
Song Shixue lowered her eyes and glanced in Chi Nuan’s direction, but her face showed no change in emotion apart from her usual calm indifference.
Chi Nuan couldn’t decipher the look, only guessing that it was because she had been talking with Chen Zhiyu just now.
Her brows furrowed, eventually almost meeting in the middle. She looked extremely nervous and uneasy.
Song Shixue turned around, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote her name on the blackboard.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Song Shixue. For the next month, I will be your instructor for the course ‘Color and Emotional Expression’…”
As Song Shixue spoke, Chi Nuan focused all her attention solely on her, automatically filtering out the surrounding noise.
She could only hear Song Shixue.
Song Shixue’s voice was beautiful. It was like a pool of water under the moonlight—calm, gentle, and clear. It seemed to possess a kind of magic. Chi Nuan’s breathing became steady, and her tightly furrowed brows relaxed.
She found it strange. It was true that some people could calm your emotions the moment they spoke, even as your heart rate sped up.
During the winter break, she spent the remaining half month accepting the fact that she had fallen in love at first sight. After school started, she spent half a class confirming the fact that she had fallen for Song Shixue.
Chi Nuan lowered her head, found a piece of paper and a pen, wrote a sentence, and winked at Chen Zhiyu beside her.
Chen Zhiyu took the note and unfolded it—”I’m going to pursue Song Shixue.”
At first, Chen Zhiyu thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. She repeatedly looked over the note, front and back.
Afterward, her mouth hung open. Shocked, she wrote back, “No, sis, you don’t even know her. Maybe think about it again. Could it just be lust at first sight?”
“What if, and I mean what if, she doesn’t like girls, or she’s married, or has kids!”
Although Chen Zhiyu had indeed guessed that Chi Nuan had a crush on the woman in the photo, she had no idea that this woman would turn out to be a teacher at their school! And for an elective course, which meant they would learn even less about her.
Chi Nuan looked at Chen Zhiyu’s reply and fell silent.
Chen Zhiyu had a point. In today’s society, heterosexuality was still the mainstream. Thinking about it that way, the chance of Song Shixue being gay was even smaller.
The paper was crumpled in her hand, and Chi Nuan felt quite unwilling to give up.
She thought that there was always a chance, and she had to try. If it didn’t work out, being friends wouldn’t be bad either.
She wrote, “I’ve already thought it through. Whatever the result, I’ll accept it. I have to reach out to have a chance.”
Chen Zhiyu knew Chi Nuan’s personality. Once she set her mind on something, she had to see it through to avoid any regrets.
“Alright, then I’ll be your support squad and give you advice from the sidelines. Hahahaha!”
Chen Zhiyu had a sudden idea and opened her browser. She typed in “Song Shixue.”
Chen Zhiyu, the Slacker, was nearly floored by the long list of accomplishments in the introduction. She quietly handed her phone to Chi Nuan, then smiled bitterly, closed her eyes, and slumped onto the desk, almost leaving this beautiful world behind.
How could there be such a huge gap between people? She couldn’t understand it, truly couldn’t understand it.
The profile showed: Song Shixue, 27 years old, Associate Professor of Oil Painting at Hua Guo Academy of Fine Arts, member of the Hua Guo Artists Association, member of the Hua Guo Oil Painting Association, winner of one gold and one silver award at the 13th Hua Guo Art Awards…
Not many people achieved this level of success in their twenties. Chi Nuan was equally impressed, though not as dramatically as Chen Zhiyu. At most, she just pursed her lips and opened her mouth slightly.
To Teacher Song, the two students’ behavior was conspicuous and somewhat impolite.
She looked displeased and seized an opportunity. “The student in the middle of the first row wearing the blue denim jacket, please stand up and answer—what is the first impression that warm and cool color palettes give people?”
Chen Zhiyu poked Chi Nuan’s thigh with her hand and let out two unconvincing coughs from her throat.
Startled, Chi Nuan shot up from her seat and said with a lack of confidence, “Um. Teacher Song, could you please repeat the question?”
Her sudden jump caused the surrounding students to burst into laughter.
If Chi Nuan had a mirror right now, she would understand why someone’s face was described as looking like a monkey’s butt.
Song Shixue frowned slightly and repeated the question.
As if touching upon a field Chi Nuan was particularly good at, she finally raised her head and answered the question fluently, even adding a supplement: “I believe that every different individual will exhibit different emotional color palettes due to differences in their upbringing and experiences.”
“And these different color palettes will, in turn, create different impressions that the individual gives to others.”
Song Shixue’s expression softened considerably, and her tone was curious: “Hmm, then what color palette do you think I am, student?”
Chi Nuan lowered her head and pursed her lips. She said weakly, “A cyan tone…”
Seeing her genuinely shy expression, Song Shixue didn’t want to press her further: “You may sit down, this…”
Chen Zhiyu noticed Song Shixue’s hesitation: “Teacher Song! Her name is Chi Nuan, Chi as in ‘late,’ Nuan as in ‘warmth’!”
Song Shixue looked at Chen Zhiyu, who was eagerly helping Chi Nuan introduce herself, feeling a little puzzled.
“Take a seat, Student Chi.”
After Chi Nuan sat down, Chen Zhiyu pointed to herself and gave a thumbs-up.
Chi Nuan nodded in agreement. At least thanks to Chen Zhiyu’s assist, Song Shixue knew her name now.
The 45 minutes passed particularly quickly, especially for Chi Nuan.
Chen Zhiyu finally had time to throw the question she had been holding in for an entire class at Chi Nuan: “Chi Nuannuan, why did you say Teacher Song is a cyan tone?”
“I don’t know, I just said it randomly.”
Because she was like a distant mountain viewed through a thin mist—beautiful yet difficult to reach.
It might also have been Chi Nuan’s personal feeling.
Her affection for Song Shixue was like an unripe, cyan-colored fruit—tart inside, yet something she wanted to touch carefully.