Chapter 80: The Two Campus Beauties

When the newsroom was nearly empty—most people having gone off to eat or rest—a door was quietly nudged open, and someone slipped inside with the caution of a thief. But this “thief” was strikingly beautiful: long hair cascading down her back, a charming and gentle smile, and an overall air that made one feel as if bathed in a warm spring breeze—instantly endearing. It was Zhong Yuhan, who had promised Ye Fei that she would help him steal the footage.

Zhong Yuhan herself didn’t quite understand why she was willing to help him. She had only just met Ye Fei for the first time today and hadn’t known him before, yet something compelled her to do this for him. Taking advantage of the empty editing suite, she snuck in as quietly as she could.

Unbeknownst to her, someone was secretly watching from the shadows. After parting ways with Ye Fei and Zhong Yuhan earlier, Cao Bing had been quietly following Zhong Yuhan to see what she was up to. He had trailed her all the way to the newsroom and, instead of alerting her to his presence, hid and observed her movements carefully.

“Not this one—”

“Not this either…”

Zhong Yuhan flipped through the reels one by one. As a journalism student, she was very familiar with the place, and since there weren’t many news pieces today, it only took a few tries to find the footage Ye Fei wanted.

“Found it,” she whispered with a smile, taking out a USB drive and promptly copying the footage onto it.

“All done. Now I just need to delete the original,” she murmured, feeling a bit anxious—after all, this was her first time doing something like this.

She pressed the delete key.

Just as she was about to confirm the deletion, the door lock turned unexpectedly—someone was coming back.

“Cancel.” In a panic, Zhong Yuhan quickly hit cancel, yanked out the USB drive, and stuffed it away.

“Yuhan, I knew I’d find you here,” Cao Bing announced as he entered, his laugh hearty and bright.

Forcing a smile, Zhong Yuhan replied, “Senior, I was just looking over today’s footage.”

“Perfect timing—I came to check the footage too,” Cao Bing said, sitting down and pulling up Ye Fei’s piece to watch.

“This one will definitely make our journalism site tomorrow hotter than the entertainment news from any other department,” he grinned.

Zhong Yuhan replied with a weak, uneasy smile.

Soon after, Zhong Yuhan excused herself to go eat and left, while Cao Bing’s smile turned cold. He lingered for a moment before leaving as well.

Click—

Zhong Yuhan quietly opened the editing room door again. Seeing no one inside, she swiftly took the chance to delete the footage from the machine. Only after ensuring everything was finished and she had left the building safely did she breathe a sigh of relief. She took out her phone, looked at Ye Fei’s number, and called with a smile.

Ye Fei was just about to head to class with Zhang Xiaoxiao when he received a call from an unfamiliar number. Curious, he answered.

“Hello—!” came Zhong Yuhan’s cheerful voice.

There was a pause of silence. As Zhong Yuhan pouted impatiently at the lack of response, the voice on the other end finally spoke.

“Zhong Yuhan?” Ye Fei asked.

“It’s me! Why did it take you so long to say something?” she teased.

“Oh, I was saving your number just now,” Ye Fei replied.

“…Do you save the number of every stranger who calls you?” Zhong Yuhan retorted, exasperated.

“No, I only saved yours because I knew it was you. Did you call to tell me you’ve sorted out my request?” Ye Fei asked with a laugh.

“Yes! Shouldn’t you be thanking me?” Zhong Yuhan replied softly.

Ye Fei responded heartily, “Of course! Thank you so much.”

“No need to thank me. The footage you wanted—I’ve copied it for you, and I’ve deleted the original. Don’t worry! Where are you? I’ll bring it to you,” Zhong Yuhan said.

“All right, where are you? I’ll come get it myself,” Ye Fei replied, jotting down her location.

After hanging up, he noticed Zhang Xiaoxiao standing by, looking at him intently.

“It’s Zhong Yuhan again? Class is about to start, and you’re still going to see her?” Zhang Xiaoxiao asked jealously.

“Yeah, she sorted out what I asked her to help with today. I just need to thank her and pick up something,” Ye Fei explained, comforting Zhang Xiaoxiao with a few words before leaving.

…

Zhang Xiaoxiao stormed into the classroom with a few close friends, her face clouded with anger. She slipped into a seat at the back, lost in her own sulking.

The other students, noticing her solo entrance, immediately started whispering, casting sidelong glances in her direction.

“Hey, why is Zhang Xiaoxiao the only one here? Where’s Ye Fei? Maybe they’re not actually together, and we all got it wrong?” one student wondered aloud.

“Are you kidding? Did you see how close they were this morning, all lovey-dovey? Would Zhang Xiaoxiao just hold any guy’s hand, or let someone touch her forehead? And when Liu Lei tried to cause trouble, she stood up for Ye Fei. If they’re not a couple, I’ll eat my hat,” a classmate’s deskmate retorted.

“Then why is she by herself?” the first student persisted.

“My guess? Maybe they’ve already broken up,” the deskmate speculated.

“Broken up? That fast? They were inseparable this morning, and it’s only the afternoon!” the student exclaimed, secretly hopeful.

“You’re really out of the loop. Didn’t you see what happened during P.E.?” the deskmate scoffed.

“P.E.? What about it? I skipped class—seeing Zhang Xiaoxiao taken hurts too much. So what happened? Tell me!” the student pleaded.

By now, several others had gathered around, eager for some juicy gossip. This kind of news was exactly what everyone loved to talk about.

“Tsk, such a big story and you missed it? I bet it’ll be the top campus headline soon,” the deskmate teased.

“Don’t keep us in suspense! Spit it out!” the impatient student demanded.

“Relax, I’ll tell you,” the deskmate said, leaning in and lowering his voice conspiratorially. “During P.E., right in front of Zhang Xiaoxiao, Ye Fei started flirting with the journalism goddess, Zhong Yuhan. Then he actually abandoned Zhang Xiaoxiao to go chat with Zhong Yuhan, and the two even exchanged numbers. I bet Zhang Xiaoxiao wouldn’t put up with that, so they probably broke up—which explains why she’s here alone and Ye Fei’s nowhere to be seen.”

The classroom buzzed with fragmented conversations, each group speculating.

Some of the boys were secretly thrilled—if Ye Fei and Zhang Xiaoxiao had broken up, maybe they had a chance. Others were annoyed—how dare Ye Fei two-time the campus goddess in their hearts.

Others were simply amazed: “This Ye Fei is incredible! He’s only been here a day and he’s already hooked up with the journalism goddess.”

While the rumor mill churned, Ye Fei was meeting with Zhong Yuhan.

“Thank you,” Ye Fei said with a smile, accepting the USB drive. It was clearly a feminine one, likely Zhong Yuhan’s personal drive—any guy who knew he had managed to get the goddess’s own drive would be green with envy.

“No need to thank me! Don’t worry, that footage won’t make it online,” Zhong Yuhan replied with gentle warmth.

Ye Fei nodded. He had assumed that since Zhong Yuhan was helping him, she must have some feelings for him—maybe she would ask him to dinner, or suggest a date. But, unexpectedly, she simply handed over the USB, and the two went their separate ways to class.

Ye Fei just shrugged and headed back to the classroom with the USB in hand.

“Huh, Cao Bing?” Ye Fei suddenly noticed someone shadowing Zhong Yuhan. Even from a distance, he recognized the figure as Cao Bing from the journalism department. He wondered what his connection to Zhong Yuhan was but decided it wasn’t his place to interfere in others’ business, so he just noted it and walked away.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaoxiao was still brooding in the classroom. Though the whispers were kept low, it was impossible not to catch fragments, and her mood soured further.

Ye Fei strolled into the classroom as if nothing had happened. The entire class fell silent, all eyes turning to him, anticipating some dramatic confrontation.

“Hm?” Ye Fei was confused, completely unaware of what was going on as he made his way to his seat.

Zhang Xiaoxiao glanced up at him, her gaze tinged with jealousy.

“Xiaoxiao, what’s wrong?” Ye Fei asked, puzzled.

“You’re back,” she replied softly, unable to stay mad when she looked at him.

“Yeah…” Ye Fei nodded.

And just like that, the anticipated showdown never happened. Instead, Ye Fei and Zhang Xiaoxiao chatted and laughed as always, their closeness undiminished. Zhang Xiaoxiao’s eyes still sparkled with affection as she looked at him.

Moreover, some sharp-eyed students noticed that Ye Fei was carrying a distinctly feminine USB drive. One student even recognized it: “Wait, isn’t that the journalism goddess Zhong Yuhan’s personal USB? How did Ye Fei get his hands on it?”

Yet Zhang Xiaoxiao showed no sign of being upset.

The whole class erupted in astonishment. The boys were a mix of envy and frustration, while the girls couldn’t understand why Zhang Xiaoxiao wasn’t angry at all.

“Damn, Ye Fei is something else—he’s managed to win over both of the school’s top beauties at once,” one boy muttered, his tone a tangled web of admiration and jealousy.

“I swear, I’m going to ask Ye Fei to teach me his secrets. I’m way better looking than him—if I could just learn his tricks, I’d be even more popular!” another exclaimed, eyes gleaming.

“I want to learn from him too!” several boys thought, wishing they could swap places with Ye Fei on the spot.

In the back of the classroom, Liu Lei gritted his teeth in frustration. What on earth was so great about Ye Fei that both Zhang Xiaoxiao and Zhong Yuhan would be involved with him at the same time?