CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 33: SWITCHING LIVES (2)

Early the next morning, at five.

The phone alarm on the bedside table kept blaring.

Zhou Huaiyi pulled the covers over her head and reached out to turn it off.

Ten minutes later, Xiang Qichen pushed open the guest room door, strode over to the bed, yanked away her quilt, and said loudly, "Get up, time to catch the plane."

After speaking, he walked to the window and drew open the curtains, letting bright light flood the room.

Zhou Huaiyi blinked, shielded her face with her hand, and stomped her foot with a pout, exuding a grumpy morning mood.

Xiang Qichen was relentless, walked over, patted both sides of his handsome face, and raised his voice, "Get up!"

Only then did Zhou Huaiyi slowly open her eyes, scratching her head as she sat up, staring blankly at the person in front of her, and suddenly pointing between her legs with a low voice: "It’s up again."

Xiang Qichen: "..."

With a "thud," a pillow struck Zhou Huaiyi in the face, and Xiang Qichen blushed as he left the guest room.

Zhou Huaiyi: "..."

At six o’clock, Yang Li arrived punctually at the bottom of the building.

At this time, Zhou Huaiyi was changing clothes. Xiang Qichen stood by the full-length mirror, appraising her outfit, then retrieved a pair of transparent sunglasses from a drawer and handed them over: "Put these on."

Zhou Huaiyi complied smoothly.

The phone rang then, no doubt it was Yang Li.

Zhou Huaiyi picked up: "Hello..."

Yang Li turned off the engine and pulled out the keys, preparing to get out of the car: "Qi Chen, I’m downstairs at your place, heading up now."

Zhou Huaiyi glanced subconsciously at Xiang Qichen in front of her, and hurriedly said, "No, no need, you don’t have to come up, I’m coming down now."

Yang Li paused with his hand on the car door: "Do you need me to help carry your suitcase?"

Zhou Huaiyi was speaking as she walked towards the entrance hall: "No, no, I can take it down myself, just wait there!"

With that said, she hung up the phone without giving the other party a chance to reply.

Xiang Qichen pushed the suitcase to the entrance, observing her hurried demeanor, but remained quite calm, saying, "When you get to the airport, there will generally be fans seeing you off or picking you up. Just go your own way, don’t be nervous. If someone talks to you, just respond a little."

Zhou Huaiyi firmly planted her feet in her shoes, lifted the suitcase, and smiled: "Got it, got it, just act cool."

Xiang Qichen opened the door for her: "Anyway, call me if there’s anything you’re unsure about; don’t answer unfamiliar numbers."

Zhou Huaiyi turned to look at him as she went out: "Uh-huh, bye, superstar!"

Xiang Qichen: "...Goodbye."

Having sent off Zhou Huaiyi, Xiang Qichen couldn’t sleep either, so he changed his clothes and grabbed the car keys to go to the underground garage.

Finding his car, Xiang Qichen opened the door and got in. Zhou Huaiyi’s body was too slender, so he had to adjust the seatback and pull it forward. After fastening the seatbelt, he drove out of the garage with ease.

He arrived at Zhou Huaiyi’s school by seven thirty.

Yanchuan Film Academy, Xiang Qichen had visited with classmates during his university days at the Dance Academy. The school wasn’t large, and the buildings hadn’t changed much, so he was well acquainted with it.

After parking the car, he slung a backpack over his shoulder and followed the signposts to the recording department’s teaching building.

Standing in front of the building, he sent a WeChat message to Zhou Huaiyi: [Which classroom]

[Zhou Luobu: 2332]

[Xiang: Have you boarded?]

[Zhou Luobu: Mm-hmm, taking off in about ten minutes]

Putting away his phone, Xiang Qichen entered the building towards the classroom.

Perhaps he came too early; there were only three people sitting in the classroom, eating breakfast with their heads down.

Xiang Qichen stood at the door, examining each of them, none of whom were among the four roommates Zhou Huaiyi had shown him the day before.

He adjusted his clothes and stepped inside.

A short-haired girl in the back row heard the noise, glanced up, then grinned happily, her clear voice full of energy: "Little Huaiyi, good morning."

Xiang Qichen paused for a few seconds, then smiled and nodded in response: "Good morning."

After speaking, he found a spot in the corner, sat down, and buried his head in his phone.

When the screen lit up, Xiang Qichen stared at the unfamiliar wallpaper, only then realizing that he and Zhou Huaiyi had swapped phones. The current phone he had was Zhou Huaiyi’s.

Though they switched phones, their WeChat accounts remained their own.

Xiang Qichen unlocked the screen with his fingerprint, and what met his eyes was the familiar face of himself on the desktop. The photo was a magazine cover shot from earlier this year, with some words added by Zhou Huaiyi at the bottom—

[Yours sooner or later]

Xiang Qichen: "......"

"Zhou Huaiyi!"

A clear voice suddenly sounded above him. Xiang Qichen instinctively looked up, sizing up the face before him, and after a while, he said, "Ying Yue?"

Ying Yue furrowed her brows and sat down next to him: "How come you seem dumber after a few days without seeing you? Did you have fun these days? I haven’t seen you post anything on your Moments."

Xiang Qichen put his phone away and slightly smiled: "It was alright."

Just then, an old man with a short beard walked in. Both of them raised their heads to look up, and Ying Yue raised her eyebrows: "Class is starting."