Flirting Under Favor (GL) - Chapter 4

At the southwest of F University lies a mountain with an ancient pagoda on top. A few years ago, the school had a sudden idea and excavated a lake at the foot of the mountain, which perfectly reflected the pagoda. Thus, it was beautifully named “Pagoda Shadow Lake,” and the bridge over the lake was called Pagoda Shadow Bridge, making it a minor famous spot at F University.

Mu Fan stood on the bridge, her hand resting on the railing, looking at the misty, distant waters. She had long, slightly curled, center-parted hair and was wearing a chestnut-colored overcoat. Under the coat was just a long-sleeved inner top, paired with black wide-leg trousers and low-key flat shoes. Her look was particularly noticeable on campus; mature students in their junior and senior years rarely strolled on campus anymore, and the freshmen and sophomores still maintained a green, youthful look.

Beside her stood another person, tall and slender with a ponytail, wearing a casual tracksuit.

“Did you give Li Xixi my number?” Mu Fan asked faintly, without turning her head.

“Yes. She heard about Auntie’s passing and kept nagging me about it. I softened up and gave it to her. She didn’t bother you, did she?” the girl in the tracksuit said.

“No, I just didn’t expect her to reach out. It’s been two years.” Mu Fan’s expression was cold and indifferent. She took out her phone and looked at the chat interface with Wang Lin, where a new message had just popped up: “I’m here!”

Mu Fan turned her head and looked down to the right of the bridge. In that direction, a girl was also looking up.

It was her.

Wang Lin was inexplicably certain.

Wang Lin waved, and Mu Fan smiled and waved back.

“It’s rare for you to smile,” Yu Sheng said.

“Is that so?” Mu Fan replied casually.

Wang Lin ran onto the bridge. This must be the legendary first meeting. She couldn’t help but feel a little excited and nervous. When she reached Mu Fan, she was momentarily stunned. The image in her memory became crystal clear: a smooth, full forehead, delicate, slender eyebrows, a perky little nose, lips that must have been dusted with light lipstick, tender and red, slightly closed, forming a beautiful lip line. The wind blew her well-maintained long hair, making it appear messy but not tangled, further highlighting the exquisite shape of her face.

She met Mu Fan’s gaze. Beneath the long, curly lashes, her eyes were as hazy as smoke and as cool as snow. These were the same eyes that had once held tears in front of her.

“Your new friend?” Yu Sheng asked Mu Fan, her tone casual, even a little nonchalant.

Yu Sheng’s voice brought Wang Lin back to the present, but her eyes still lingered on Mu Fan: “Mu Fan xuejie (senior).”

Mu Fan nodded, giving a soft “Mm,” and her gaze softened a bit.

“She’s here to return the campus card,” she told Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng understood: “I see.” Looking at Wang Lin, who was staring at Mu Fan, she joked, “Looks like another little junior has been captivated by you.”

“Oh.” Wang Lin realized her lapse in manners and quickly averted her eyes, looking left and right to cover her embarrassment.

Mu Fan smiled and asked, “Well, who has captivated her?” She gestured with her eyes to the other side.

Yu Sheng looked over and saw a boy not far away staring at Wang Lin, his friends beside him grinning playfully.

She recalled a line: “You stand on the bridge and admire the scenery, while the person admiring the scenery is watching you.”

It was true.

Wang Lin naturally noticed but paid no attention.

Mu Fan was so beautiful, a mature kind of beauty, yet different from the maturity of her mother, Lin Jia. It was the maturity of an “older sister.”

Wang Lin’s mind was racing when a shout came from the distance: “Mu Fan! Mu Fan!”

The three sets of eyes turned to look. Wang Lin recognized the person—it was the small girl she had met yesterday, the one Mu Fan said was called Fan Beibei, a name that quite suited her.

Yu Sheng couldn’t hide her smile and said, “Sigh, here comes another fangirl.”

Fan Beibei ran over impetuously and immediately threw herself into Mu Fan’s arms, startling Wang Lin.

“Aiya, Boss, I didn’t expect you to come to school today!” Fan Beibei hadn’t actually seen Mu Fan many times. She had been assigned to Yu Sheng’s dorm after Mu Fan moved out, a substitute from another major. She was naturally outgoing. After hearing about Mu Fan’s deeds, she admired her immensely. She already loved following idols and was a “looks-dog.” After meeting Mu Fan, she quickly transformed into Mu Fan’s number one little fangirl, even forgetting her favorite idol. As she put it, her idol was out of reach, but Mu Fan was different—she could hug her.

Yu Sheng distastefully pulled Fan Beibei away from Mu Fan and asked, “Why are you alone? Where’s Huang Xi?”

Fan Beibei reluctantly let go of Mu Fan and was clearly unhappy that Yu Sheng had pulled her away. She pouted, “She’s behind.”

Fan Beibei complained, “I couldn’t wait! I ran ahead. She’s so slow, slower than a snail!” As she spoke, her eyes fixated on Mu Fan again, full of infatuation and expectation. “Boss Mu Fan, are you done with your company’s business?”

“Mm,” Mu Fan nodded with a smile.

“Then can you tutor me? I failed two more subjects last semester, woo-woo-woo,” Fan Beibei pleaded pitifully.

“We’ll see about the time,” Mu Fan said.

Fan Beibei was truly clingy and quite adorable. She often pestered Mu Fan to explain problems to her, but Mu Fan was usually very busy and could only occasionally spare time to briefly teach her online.

Mu Fan didn’t give a definite answer, but Fan Beibei was as excited as if she’d been injected with chicken bl00d, leaping and jumping. Finally, she noticed Wang Lin standing nearby.

“Hey, aren’t you the one from yesterday?”

Wang Lin thought, “You finally noticed me,” but politely said, “Hello, my name is Wang Lin.”

“Oh, Wang Lin! We’re going out to eat hotpot. Do you want to come with us?” Fan Beibei was clearly overly excited. When people are happy, they like to share, and they’re generous to others. So, she extended an invitation to Wang Lin, whom she had only met twice.

“Huh?”

Wang Lin hadn’t expected them to be going out for hotpot. She glanced at Mu Fan and saw Mu Fan looking back at her, her gaze gentle, as if seeking her opinion: “Well, want to join us?”

“Sure!” Wang Lin didn’t hesitate much.

“Hurry up!” Fan Beibei shouted to the person at the head of the bridge.

“Coming, coming! Hey, try to be considerate of us people who never exercise! You think everyone bounces around all day like you?” Huang Xi, a typical girl from Sichuan, complained in a heavily accented Mandarin as soon as she arrived.

She looked at Mu Fan and offered a slight smile as a greeting. Mu Fan had only lived in the school dorm for a few short weeks before moving out. Truthfully, Huang Xi was not very close to Mu Fan even now. Only Yu Sheng seemed to have known Mu Fan for a long time, and the two were very familiar.

This dinner outing had been Fan Beibei’s idea. Initially, they hadn’t expected Mu Fan to join, but when Yu Sheng casually mentioned that Mu Fan was coming over today, Fan Beibei was thrilled and immediately tasked Yu Sheng with convincing Mu Fan to come along. Yu Sheng just casually mentioned it to Mu Fan, and to their surprise, Mu Fan agreed, as she happened to have the day off.

However, only Mu Fan knew that she had come because of Wang Lin.

“Everyone’s here! I’ll call a car now.” Fan Beibei took out her phone, ready to hail a ride. As she scrolled on her phone, she suddenly looked up and counted the people.

One, two, three, four, five.

There were five of them, but a standard sedan, excluding the driver, could only seat four people.

“Oh dear,” Fan Beibei looked troubled.

“How about we take my car?” Wang Lin had anticipated the problem of not fitting in one car when Fan Beibei started counting.

Fan Beibei was visibly surprised: “You have a car?”

Wang Lin nodded.

“Wow, a little fu po (rich woman), I see!” Fan Beibei circled Wang Lin twice. “Alright, from now on, we’re friends.” She then hugged Wang Lin and rubbed against her. “Hug me, fu po.”

The others nearby couldn’t hold back their laughter. Only Mu Fan stood quietly, seemingly not a part of the commotion. Wang Lin was genuinely startled by Fan Beibei’s hug; she was far too friendly.

“Alright, look at you. You’re scaring her,” Huang Xi said from the side, clearly disgusted by Fan Beibei’s behavior.

“Fu po, where’s your car?” Fan Beibei let go of Wang Lin and asked.

“By the entrance of the first teaching building,” Wang Lin said.

“That’s not far! Let’s go, let’s go!” Fan Beibei hopped a few steps to the edge of the bridge, truly the kind of person who “bounces around all day,” as Huang Xi had said.

Huang Xi shook her head and sighed, following suit.

“Let’s go,” Yu Sheng said and started walking first.

It was bright spring, but not warm at all; the wind still carried a chilling bite.

“Cold?” Mu Fan asked on the way.

“A little,” Wang Lin said, tucking her hands into her sleeves, regretting not wearing more today.

After she spoke, she saw Mu Fan move closer to her, shielding her from the wind blowing from the side. She said, “Stay closer to me.”

Feeling a wave of warmth from Mu Fan’s body, Wang Lin looked up at her and tentatively gripped the edge of Mu Fan’s coat.

Mu Fan had a slight smile on her face, and her eyes seemed to tacitly permit her action.

Recalling how Fan Beibei had run and jumped into Mu Fan’s arms, Wang Lin felt a pang of inexplicable envy.

So, Wang Lin slipped her arm through the one Mu Fan had tucked into her pocket and held onto her arm. She looked up again. Mu Fan’s expression was normal, so Wang Lin held on tighter.

“Mm,” she hummed through her nose, like a kitten snuggling by a fireplace.

Mu Fan said, “I was in a rush that day and ran too fast without watching where I was going, and I bumped into you. I’m sorry.” As she walked, she turned her head to look at Wang Lin. The girl really seemed cold; both hands were tightly hooked around her arm, and her head was pressed close.

Lin Jia had pampered Wang Lin since childhood, raising her well. Her skin was as white as milk, faintly flushed red from the wind. The tip of her small nose was also slightly red, making her look very cute. The childishness hadn’t completely faded from her face, with some baby fat that made one want to pinch her cheeks, but her bone structure was already well-formed, with a smooth, defined jawline outlining her exquisite face. Because her clothes were loose, they exposed a small, soft section of her shoulder and her delicate collarbone.

From the side, Mu Fan couldn’t see her eyes, only her vibrant lashes, but she had seen them before—they were clean and bright, still holding a maiden’s curiosity about the world, a curiosity that comes from being uninitiated in the ways of the world.

Despite being of similar age, the difference between the two was vast. The fleeting look of disappointment in Mu Fan’s eyes was gone instantly. She had entered society too early and had long lost the youthfulness of a young girl. Many things exclusive to a specific age were missing from her life; all she had was the bare survival of her life and the wickedness of society.

“It’s okay, I didn’t get hurt at all. And it was my fault for not watching the road,” Wang Lin said, tilting her head and blinking at her, her eyes full of curiosity. “What was the emergency? Running so fast in the cold can make you catch a cold.”

“Going to the hospital. The hospital called me that day to say my mom’s condition had worsened and I needed to rush over. Maybe, just maybe, I could see her one last time. Unfortunately, I still didn’t make it,” Mu Fan said calmly, like a tranquil sea surface. And yet, everyone knows that below a calm sea surface, there are often strong undercurrents.

Wang Lin froze.

So, that was it?

Wang Lin had never experienced the grief of losing a loved one, but she could imagine. If Lin Jia… she dared not think about it. Mu Fan spoke lightly, but Wang Lin could never forget how Mu Fan had looked that day—clearly so panicked, so sorrowful, so fragile. It was conceivable what kind of despair she felt running to the hospital in the heavy snow when she couldn’t hail a taxi, her tears perhaps trailing her the entire way.

Wang Lin unconsciously tightened her hold on Mu Fan’s arm.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” Wang Lin said.

“It’s nothing. Everything needs to be faced, right?”

“Yes,” Wang Lin said, but she knew that if the same thing happened to her, she absolutely could not be as strong as Mu Fan. Mu Fan was so strong. Wang Lin admitted she was a bit fragile; she couldn’t help it. She had grown up pampered and loved, sailing through life without experiencing any storms. Strength often comes with suffering.

Wang Lin said, “I have to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“I, I forgot to bring your campus card,” Wang Lin lied. Mu Fan’s campus card was actually in her bag right now, but a strange impulse had made her tell this lie.

Mu Fan didn’t mind at all and said, “It’s fine. I mostly use it for the bus, but I can use my phone just the same. You can give it to me anytime later.”

Having lied, Wang Lin felt a little guilty: “I’ll give it to you tomorrow.”

“I’m busy tomorrow. How about Sunday?” Mu Fan said.

“Okay.” Wang Lin nestled into Mu Fan’s arm, staring straight ahead, not daring to look at Mu Fan out of the corner of her eye, afraid the other person would see through her lie.

Mu Fan, however, didn’t suspect a thing, believing Wang Lin had genuinely forgotten to bring it.