CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 34: SWITCHING LIVES (3)

Around seven o’clock, Zhou Huaiyi arrived at the airport in a nanny van. Accompanying him were Yang Li, stylist Xiao Yu, and four sturdy and tall bodyguards in black.

As soon as they got off the car, just as Xiang Qichen had said, there were about ten to twenty fans outside waiting to send them off. From the moment she opened the car door, the fans started taking photos non-stop with their cameras.

Although Zhou Huaiyi occasionally took selfies, facing so many cameras at once was a bit overwhelming for her. Nonetheless, she had no choice but to put on a brave face and walk forward quickly under the bodyguards’ protection.

"Qi Chen, you seem to have lost a lot of weight recently. Take good care of yourself," came a greeting from a fan.

Zhou Huaiyi glanced sideways, giving a slight smile in response.

In her mind, however, she was thinking—

Don’t be too girly, don’t be too girly, don’t be too girly...

Later on, to avoid disrupting airport order, the fans followed alongside quietly, holding their cameras without making any noise or disturbance.

Suddenly, a passerby approached, holding out a notebook and pen, hurriedly asking, "Xiang Qichen, could you give me an autograph?"

Zhou Huaiyi snapped out of it, then reached out to take it, pausing momentarily as they began to write.

How does Xiang Qichen usually sign their autographs?

The passerby looked at her hopefully. Zhou Huaiyi gave a gentle smile, penned a few strokes, handed it back, and then headed towards security with the bodyguards.

The passerby gazed longingly at Xiang Qichen’s departing figure, then slowly looked down at the autograph in their hand, astonished.

Whose cute and round signature is this!

Once it was time, they boarded the plane, Zhou Huaiyi buckled her seatbelt and sat still. Because the phone belonged to Xiang Qichen, she only dared to check the WeChat and not venture further.

Feeling bored, Zhou Huaiyi refreshed her friend circle once more and prepared to turn off the phone. Coincidentally, Xiang Qichen sent a WeChat message at that moment: [Xiang: Which classroom]

[Zhou Luobu: 2332]

[Xiang: Have you boarded?]

[Zhou Luobu: Mm, the plane will take off in about ten minutes]

No further response came, so Zhou Huaiyi turned off the phone.

She glanced out of the window at the scenery moving by as the plane taxied, suddenly thinking of something, and turned to ask Yang Li beside her, "By the way, why haven’t I seen Sister Yan?"

Yang Li replied slowly, "Ever since she was stepped on five times by your fans at the airport last time, Sister Yan decided never to take the same flight as you again."

Zhou Huaiyi: "..."

Feeling sorry for Sister Yan for ten seconds...

——

At 11:50, the four-hour film sound production class ended. Returning to campus life, Xiang Qichen had seriously paid attention all morning and found it quite beneficial.

Ying Yue packed her notebook, reached over to tug on his sleeve, and asked, "Do you want to eat at the cafeteria?"

Xiang Qichen thought for a moment, "Sure."

Yang Qi happened to walk out from the restroom at that moment and casually said, "Are you guys going to the cafeteria? Let’s go together?"

Ying Yue: "OK!"

Xiang Qichen quietly followed the two.

In front of the spicy hot pot in the cafeteria, Xiang Qichen selected the ingredients and handed them to the guy inside, saying, "Please, extra spicy."

Ying Yue, having ordered and coming back, happened to hear his words and was shocked, "Oh my! Zhou Huaiyi! You’re quite something, haven’t seen you for days and your taste has gotten heavier, you can handle extra spicy now?"

Xiang Qichen received the number card from the cafeteria guy, replied casually, "Hmm, recently my taste buds have been off, need stronger flavors."

Ying Yue: "..."

After eating, back at the dorm, Xiang Qichen wasn’t too sure about the direction or room number of Zhou Huaiyi’s dormitory, so he quietly followed alongside the two without interjecting.

Ying Yue swiped the card to enter the building, then turned around to look at Xiang Qichen as she walked in front, asking, "Zhou Huaiyi, why haven’t you been talking today? Not in a good mood?"

Yang Qi also said, "Yeah, you don’t seem like yourself today."

Xiang Qichen smiled slightly and said, "No, just a bit sleepy."

Ying Yue, Yang Qi: "Oh."

At the dormitory door, Ying Yue pushed down the door handle and opened it, stepping in first, followed by Yang Qi. Xiang Qichen discreetly took note of the door number—412, memorized it quietly, and then walked in, closing the door casually.

He stood at the door observing for a while. On the left side, on the three beds, sat two girls, with the farthest bed unoccupied. On the right side, Ying Yue was in the middle, and Yang Qi was at the far end. So Zhou Huaiyi was...

Hmm, the right side near the door.

Xiang Qichen’s gaze slowly shifted to the right: "..."

Several of his posters, in various designs, were hanging on the wall above the desk.

He curved his lips in amusement and headed to the desk, reaching to turn on the desk lamp.

The desk was small but was packed with items typical of a young girl, such as books, snacks, earrings, hair accessories, and so on—it felt cozy and real. Xiang Qichen suddenly remembered the large bag of cosmetics and those dozen or so branded lipsticks in her backpack.

It seemed that she was indeed a girl who loved to look pretty.

Looking around, Xiang Qichen pulled out a 24-inch suitcase from beside the wardrobe, reached out to open the wardrobe door, and casually tossed in a few outfits.

Ying Yue, hearing the noise, poked her head out to look and asked curiously, "Zhou Huaiyi, why are you packing a suitcase?"

Upon hearing this, the other three also turned around to look.

Shiliu leaned over, "Are you going on a trip again?"

Mido chimed in, "This time you’re taking such a big suitcase?"

Yang Qi came over, getting to the point, "What about your classes, you’re a senior, and you’re going to skip classes?"

Xiang Qichen waved his hand with a smile to deny, "No, no, I’m moving out to stay elsewhere for a while."

"Moving out?" Ying Yue was shocked, "By yourself?"

Yang Qi: "Huaiyi, aren’t you..."

Mido: "Got a boyfriend?"

Shiliu gasped in surprise, looking at him, "Living together?"

Xiang Qichen smiled without saying a word, neither admitting nor denying.

Yet, the group had an expression of "I understand," laughing even more meaningfully.