Green Tea? She's Clearly a Hidden Gem!

The Nani Fashion Issue By:Kinoshita Nakui 4.8/5 Ratings 2.3 K Reads 3.6 M Words Tags Synopsis: Chapter 111: Not Everyone Will Be Happy at the Music Festival

On the day of Xingnan's Music Festival, the university was bustling with people coming and going, creating a lively atmosphere.

By the afternoon, warm-up activities had already begun. Numerous booths had been set up on the grass, hosting various events.

“Senior, are you planning to watch the music festival tonight?”

Lin Yilin stood in front of a merchandise booth, asking Jiang Linyuan beside her.

“Xiao Yilin, what kind of dumb question is that?”

Jiang Linyuan replied.

“Mm…”

Lin Yilin felt a little displeased, pretending not to look at him as she deliberately said:

“Ah, I was planning to go too, just not sure where to sit. All alone, just me, only me.”

What was that, straight-up bait fishing?

Jiang Linyuan glanced at her:

“So Xiao Yilin doesn’t want to sit with me? How disappointing.”

Lin Yilin’s little scheme had been exposed, and her face flushed red in an instant. She murmured softly:

“Then I’ll just sit with Senior.”

He figured that if the music festival had a good vibe at night, he might get to steal a kiss from Xiao Yilin.

But unfortunately, my ambitions aren’t there. Sorry, Xiao Yilin. Once I’ve had my fun, I’ll come find you.

“Xiao Yilin, no need to be shy. The Department Head will be sitting with us too. Oh, and Yu Songsong will probably be there as well. Ah, and my little sister—she’s coming too.”

Jiang Linyuan said with a smile.

Lin Yilin got angry, glaring at Jiang Linyuan:

“Senior is doing this on purpose!”

“I don’t understand.”

Jiang Linyuan played dumb, infuriating Lin Yilin so much she flailed her arms, but she couldn’t really let loose.

The Department Head and Senior had known each other for a long time—they were good friends, so sitting together was normal.

She hadn’t met his sister, but that was understandable too.

But…

“Why does Yu Songsong have to sit with Senior too?”

Lin Yilin said with a sour tone.

“She’s chasing me. The kind that won’t go away.”

Jiang Linyuan stated frankly.

“Oh.”

Lin Yilin felt a bit down, and a little puzzled at the same time.

Senior used to say he liked Yu Songsong, but now Yu Songsong had fallen for him, and he didn’t like her anymore.

She didn’t understand.

“Xiao Yilin, do you want this merchandise plushie?”

Jiang Linyuan pointed at a cat plushie on the booth and asked.

“This one seems to require some kind of activity.”

Lin Yilin’s attention was quickly diverted as she stared at the plushie on the booth, her interest suddenly piqued.

“Hello, classmates! We have an activity here—quick questions and answers. Get four right, and you can pick any merchandise item. They’re all common-sense questions, very simple.”

The activity volunteer smiled at the two, explaining the process.

“But you can only participate once per person.”

“Let me give it a try first.”

Jiang Linyuan said.

“Mm, okay…”

“Sister Nan! We’ve got something over here—come take a look!”

A shout came from a distance. The booth volunteer looked apologetically at Jiang Linyuan and Lin Yilin:

“Sorry about this. We’ll switch someone in. Juntang! I’m going to check that out—you handle things here!”

With that, she left, and from a nearby booth walked over a girl with a camera, her neck slightly hunched.

“Juntang?!”

Lin Yilin was delighted, walking over to grab Zhang Juntang’s little hand.

“Junior Zhang Juntang, fancy meeting you again.”

Jiang Linyuan greeted.

Zhang Juntang looked up at him, then lowered her head again.

What a coincidence.

This was probably the first time they’d met since that hot pot dinner last time.

Not that it was particularly awkward.

“I’m going to ask the questions now…”

Zhang Juntang said, then quietly added:

“If you get one wrong, you have to take a photo. Senior, do you still want to participate?”

“I’ve never been stingy about showing off my charm to others.”

Jiang Linyuan smiled confidently.

“Really?”

Zhang Juntang asked uneasily.

Was something like this really that important? Jiang Linyuan found it strange but answered anyway:

“Of course. It’s just a photo.”

“Then… that’s good.”

Zhang Juntang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, which was utterly baffling.

“Alright, I’ll start asking.”

The two went through the quick questions. The first three were extremely simple—things like Xingnan University’s motto—easily answered.

“Then, the last question.”

Zhang Juntang glanced at Lin Yilin, then turned back to Jiang Linyuan and whispered:

“How many times does Xingnan University’s bell tower ring in a day?”

“Once.”

Jiang Linyuan recalled that thing only chimed once at 8 a.m. every day.

“Wrong… wrong.”

Zhang Juntang lowered her head.

“It’s not once?”

Jiang Linyuan looked at Lin Yilin, who also shook her head:

“I don’t know either. I’ve never paid much attention.”

“Take… take the photo.”

Zhang Juntang looked at Jiang Linyuan, reminding him softly, then added:

“Just one person. Just one.”

Jiang Linyuan didn’t refuse. He’d just follow the activity procedure.

“How’s this?”

Looking at the camera, he deliberately let the sunlight hit his profile and asked with a smile.

Zhang Juntang zoomed in the lens until only his smiling face remained, meeting her gaze as if in a daze.

In that fleeting moment, she felt her heart pounding wildly.

“It’s… beautiful.”

She stammered, quickly pressing the shutter a few times.

Under the sunlight, his handsome face and that smile that seemed aimed right at her gave Zhang Juntang an almost dreamlike feeling.

Only in the instant she pressed the shutter did she truly grasp reality.

After taking the photo, Jiang Linyuan continued answering questions, grabbed the music festival merchandise, and left with Lin Yilin.

Zhang Juntang stood there dazedly, clutching her camera, feeling as if it was filled with the warmth of sunlight.

“Excuse me, could we trouble you to take a photo for us? Is that okay?”

A lively female voice rang in her ear. Zhang Juntang looked over—it was a girl she didn’t recognize.

But the person beside her, she knew. It was Zhang Xiaoxiao.

“No… not allowed.”

Zhang Juntang clutched the camera tightly.

“It’s normal that she refused. I checked several booths, and there’s no such penalty as taking a photo for a wrong answer.”

Zhang Xiaoxiao looked at Zhang Juntang, arms crossed, with undisguised contempt:

“She just wanted an excuse to take that boy’s picture.”

“Mm…”

Zhang Juntang’s fists clenched slightly.

“Haha, he sure is popular.”

Bai Yi blinked, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes:

“Back when we were in college, someone this good-looking would’ve been snatched up long ago. I wish I could go back to those days.”

“Even if you went back, Yi Yi, you’d still be unable to spit out a single word in front of people.”

Zhang Xiaoxiao showed no mercy in sparing her feelings.

“Xiao Xiao!”

Bai Yi huffed and slapped Zhang Xiaoxiao’s shoulder.

Truly carefree. After all these years, she still seemed like she’d never left the ivory tower.

How enviable.

Zhang Xiaoxiao looked at Bai Yi, and as she thought of her own work troubles, she grew irritable.

That old hag…

“Ring, ring, ring…”

A phone suddenly rang.

“My phone, my phone. I’ll go take this.” 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Zhang Xiaoxiao glanced at the screen—it was her direct superior calling. She found a relatively quiet spot to answer.

“Xiao Zhang, are you at the company right now?”

A somewhat irritable female voice came through the phone.

“No, President Wang. Today is my day off. I’m with the company…”

“Oh, cut the crap! Get to the company right now! There’s something very urgent!”

The woman on the other end interrupted Zhang Xiaoxiao impatiently.

Zhang Xiaoxiao took a deep breath. She had a feeling this “urgent matter” wasn’t going to be anything good:

“President Wang, what exactly is it? You can explain it to me over the phone.”

The woman retorted:

“Are you coming or not? If you don’t, don’t bother keeping your job.”

How disgusting. Relying on having connections at the company to run wild without restraint.

No, what disgusts me isn’t that she has connections—it’s that I don’t.

Zhang Xiaoxiao raised the phone:

“You’d better explain yourself clearly. What kind of matter is so trivial it can decide whether I stay or go?”

“You’re not coming? Fine. You don’t need to come anymore.”

The woman spoke bluntly, leaving Zhang Xiaoxiao momentarily stunned. She subconsciously shot back:

“On what grounds? Why?”

“This is illegal termination!”

“What right do you have to illegally fire me?!”

The woman on the other end sounded like she was laughing in exasperation:

“So what if I’m breaking the law? Don’t you get it? You’re fired. What’s it to me if I’m breaking the law?”

“Aren’t you afraid of labor arbitration?!”

Zhang Xiaoxiao gripped her phone tightly, shouting in a strained voice.

“Go ahead, I’m not stopping you. File it. First instance, second instance—I’ll play along. I’ve got a meal ticket either way. Tomorrow, you won’t even set foot in the company! See if you can still find a job?”

The woman’s attitude was condescending, her tone dripping with disdain and mockery.

“You’re fired, Zhang Xiaoxiao. I’ll be waiting for your lawsuit. Heh.”

With that, she hung up.

Zhang Xiaoxiao stood there, surrounded by the youthful, vibrant laughter, yet she felt nothing but utter blankness.

Out of nowhere, the job she’d held for years was just gone like that?

File a lawsuit? How could she, unemployed, have the energy and time to fight that person?

Six months for a result? Or a year?

Her mother was disabled and depended on her for support.

At that thought, she couldn’t help but squat down, covering her face as she sobbed softly.

She was twenty-six this year. By all rights, it shouldn’t have come to this.

Bai Yi was also twenty-six. Why could she live so happily? She envied her so much, envied her so much, hated herself so much.

P.S. Reflections after review:

The censors didn’t pass it, which only proves they understand my thoughts. Even the censors agree with me, which only confirms that my ideas are right.

If the censors did pass it, well, that goes without saying—it just proves my ideas were right to begin with! Hehe!

Author's Note