On New Year's Day, every school was bustling with activity. Especially at University T, which was livelier than ever before. The sports festival had many events, and after finishing one competition, participants would take a short break before moving on to the next. The weather still hadn’t improved—small snowflakes drifted from the sky—but even so, today was a day for sweating it out. As previously registered, Long Aotian and his three friends stood on the field. "I’ve got a middle-distance race later. When it’s over, you better cheer for me properly!" Huang Fei rubbed his hands together, warming up before the match, his voice brimming with excitement. "Run, run. When the tug-of-war starts later, you can go to the other side. With a weakling like you, our chances of winning will be even higher!" Li Longlong joked. "Shut up! You wouldn’t really abandon me, would you?" Huang Fei said confidently. Li Longlong turned to Long Aotian. "Would you?" Then Li Longlong looked at Xu Shuai. "And you?" "No question about it! What’s our dorm’s motto? Never abandon, never give up!" "But let’s be honest—if Old Huang joins the other side, we might actually win this thing in one go!" Huang Fei covered his face. "Why did I end up with roommates like you?" Long Aotian waved his hand. "Enough talk—get ready!" From morning onward, the cheers at University T never stopped. Meanwhile, at another university—University A— Unlike University T, the New Year’s Eve festivities were liveliest in the evening. The morning was still filled with rehearsals. The Hanfu Club served as the true opening act, followed by several students who had practiced classical dance taking the stage one after another. Hu Yuying was among them, though only as part of the group dance. Even so, Li Qingxue spotted her immediately. Dressed in flowing white robes with light, delicate makeup, Hu Yuying looked pure and enchanting. Holding an oil-paper umbrella, her sleeves fluttered as if she might take flight at any moment—radiantly innocent. Hu Yuying had originally planned to go with Qingxue to the music school afterward to watch Lin Wanning’s performance, but she wasn’t sure if they’d make it in time... Just then, the camera focused on Hu Yuying, lost in thought. The crowd erupted in cheers, and those who knew her chanted her name. Hearing her name, Hu Yuying looked up in confusion—only to see her own face projected onto the big screen. She froze for a moment before realizing what was happening, then flushed with shy embarrassment. The rehearsal hadn’t mentioned anything ! That fleeting moment of innocent bashfulness was enough to captivate everyone who saw it. This simple clip alone set University A’s confession boards ablaze. Of course, Hu Yuying didn’t know that yet. Once the projection ended, she took a deep breath, steadied her nerves, and finished the performance flawlessly. Backstage, Hu Yuying changed out of her costume. After returning the Hanfu to the club, she left with Li Qingxue, who had come to meet her. After Hu Yuying left, a girl with striking makeup stormed in. "Where’s that new girl?" Seeing the anger on her face, someone told her Hu Yuying had already gone. The girl stomped her foot in frustration. She was the lead dancer of the classical performance—today should have been her moment to shine. Yet all the attention had been stolen by Hu Yuying, a mere background dancer. Though she still received scores and applause, no one was talking about her. Every conversation was about Hu Yuying. For Wang Zouyue, who had hoped to make a name for herself at the New Year’s Eve gala, this was infuriating. And now, with her anger boiling over, the one responsible had already left—leaving her with no outlet for her frustration. Meanwhile, completely unaware, Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue had already left University A. "Will we be late if we go now?" Hu Yuying asked. "No, I just texted Wanning. Her performance is ninth, so it’s still early. We’ll make it in time," Li Qingxue reassured her. "That’s good. I was worried we’d miss it." "Look, Wanning even saved us seats—front row, too!" Qingxue showed Hu Yuying a photo on her phone: two empty seats in the very first row. Unlike Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue, Lin Wanning had faced an unpleasant incident on her first day at school—right at the campus gates. It drew a crowd, and soon, many knew about her. Beautiful and talented, Lin Wanning had even gathered a small fanbase at school. "It’s snowing again." Watching the tiny snowflakes drift down, Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue exchanged a smile, spreading their arms to catch the falling snow. "How about hot pot tonight?" Li Qingxue suggested. "Sounds great! Though I don’t know when Longlong will be back. He might miss it." "Don’t worry about him. With his thick skin, he’ll never go hungry, no matter where he is." At that, even Hu Yuying couldn’t help but laugh. Soon, they arrived at the music school. Following Lin Wanning’s directions and the stream of students heading toward the venue, they easily found their way. "Over here!" Lin Wanning, draped in a black coat, hurried over as soon as she spotted them. "Are we late?" Seeing her outfit, Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue asked in unison. "Not at all! My performance is still a while away. I saw Qingxue’s message and waited here so you wouldn’t get lost." Three strikingly beautiful girls—each with their own charm—naturally drew attention wherever they went. Several people even approached to strike up a conversation. Lin Wanning whispered something in their ears. After a brief hesitation, Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue nodded. The next time someone tried to chat them up, all three replied in unison: "We have boyfriends." "Want to check out the backstage?" Lin Wanning, worried they might get bored in an unfamiliar place, suggested taking them behind the scenes. She knew plenty of people there—they definitely wouldn’t be bored. "Sure! After your performance tonight, let’s treat ourselves to hot pot." "Ah~ That’ll be so relaxing." Eating hot pot while watching the snow outside—what could be more soothing? "Right? And with the snow falling, inspiration will be overflowing for our updates!" The three of them had recently signed contracts for their collaborative slice-of-life light novel. And already, they had readers eagerly waiting for the ...