Chapter 2: Aurora – Caught Him Back for You

The downpour came without warning. Wen Yan was halfway through her noodles when the sky outside changed—rumbles of thunder pierced straight down through the clouds.

Wen Yan set down her spoon and gazed at the rain streaming down the window glass.

There was still no text notification on her phone—her suitcase probably hadn’t arrived yet. Looking away, she slung her backpack on and headed toward the restroom.

Compared to the outside, the VIP lounge was much quieter. A faint fragrance lingered in the air, and even the sound of the rain was muffled.

After using the restroom, Wen Yan stepped out of the stall to find a spacious communal sink area.

Her gaze unexpectedly met a pair of eyes in the mirror—familiar eyes, ones she’d seen just over twenty minutes ago.

Wen Yan tightened her grip on her backpack straps and walked over to the sink.

The man beside her seemed to have just finished washing his hands. A delicate gold watch lay still on the countertop.

He was using a fine crimson handkerchief to pat dry the water droplets from his hands. Wen Yan hadn’t meant to observe him—but she noticed that those eyes in the mirror seemed to be fixed on her. Or maybe she was being overly sensitive. To confirm it, she lifted her head.

Their gazes met again.

This time, his dark brows furrowed slightly, a crease forming between them. Wen Yan found this eye contact strange—a little unsettling. She averted her gaze.

She placed her hands under the faucet. The sensor detected the temperature, and a gentle, cool stream of transparent water flowed down over her skin.

The man finished putting on his watch and left the sink area first. Only after he was gone did Wen Yan look up again.

She removed her hands, and the water stopped. The air grew quiet enough that she could hear the sharp, crisp sound of leather-soled shoes stepping away on the floor—brief and decisive.

Wen Yan glanced at herself in the mirror, then pulled two paper towels from the dispenser.

After drying her hands, she left the restroom area with her backpack on.

On her way back to the lounge, she passed a private suite. This must have been an independent VIP room—the door was half-open, and as she walked by, she caught a glimpse of a figure inside.

The man in the black suit had just settled onto the sofa, crossing his legs, as he accepted a document from another bespectacled man in a suit beside him.

Wen Yan inexplicably recalled the conversation she’d overheard earlier.

He was the president of Yaohang Group.

Wen Yan had once read a news piece about Yaohang. It wasn’t just a single company or simple enterprise—Yaohang was a vast business empire controlling over a dozen listed companies. Its industrial footprint stretched from heavy industries like shipbuilding, electronic defense, and insurance, to finance and real estate, all the way to cutting-edge technology, including healthcare and aviation. It profoundly influenced the nation’s economic lifelines.

The suite door closed, and the figure within vanished.

Wen Yan looked away, quickening her pace toward the seating area.

Back at her spot, she waited a few more minutes before finally receiving a text notification from the airport.

Her suitcase had been returned by the person who’d taken it, and the airport had arranged for someone to deliver it directly to her.

After retrieving her luggage, Wen Yan opened it first to check and make sure nothing was missing. Only then was she ready to leave the airport.

The rain outside had stopped. Wen Yan pulled her suitcase and took the subway to Qingda.

—

The main roads inside Qingda were wide and straight, lined with tall plane trees and cedars, lush and green.

It was orientation day, and the campus was packed with people, with signs set up everywhere. Wen Yan navigated through the crowd with her suitcase, scanning for the law school freshman registration area. Two male students in orange volunteer T-shirts walked up to her.

“Hey! Freshman? Which school are you with?” the one on the right asked, his voice loud and a little fast.

As soon as he spoke, the guy next to him nudged him. “Hey hey, I’m guessing you’re in an arts program, right?”

“No, I’m from the law school.” Under their intense gazes, Wen Yan replied.

“Law school! This way, this way! I’ll take you there—come on, follow your senior.” Before Wen Yan could say anything, her suitcase was snatched away. She felt a little flustered, but she followed along. The guy in front got elbowed by his companion again.

“Why are you competing with me?!”

“Who’s competing with you? Do you even know her?!”

“…”

“…”

“Mom, is this the privilege of being pretty? Why isn’t anyone coming up to ask me which school I’m in?”

Wen Yan had walked too far to hear the lament behind her.

The speaker was a girl in a rainbow-striped short-sleeve top and white skirt, her hair in a ponytail. She was pulling a suitcase with one hand and holding the arm of a middle-aged woman beside her with the other, her forehead slightly damp with sweat.

“She’s in the law school, sweetie—that’s the same school as you. Let’s just follow them and we’ll get there,” the middle-aged woman said, patting the girl’s back.

The two guys led Wen Yan to the law school registration desk, where several teachers sat—one of them her counselor. She pulled her admission notice out of her backpack and handed it over. After reviewing it, the counselor had Wen Yan fill out a sign-in sheet, then gave her a student ID card and two keys.

The two keys were for her dorm room and the locker inside.

“The law school dorms are at Lanxuan Apartments. We’ll walk you over! It’s a bit far—don’t want you getting lost,” came the enthusiastic voices beside her again.

Wen Yan had downloaded the Qingda campus map on her phone and was confident she could find her way. She didn’t want to keep bothering these two seniors, so she gave a slight smile and said, “No need—I think I’d like to wander around campus a bit before heading to the dorm. Thank you, though.”

“Wander around? Great! We’ll come with you!”

“Ah… do you have time for that?” Wen Yan asked.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t we? We’ve got tons of time!”

“Tons of time my ass—Teacher Zhang said we’re responsible for this area. You really planning to take the girl on a voyage across campus? Calm down, will you!” They started bickering again, and under the other’s persuasion, the first one reluctantly suppressed his urge to accompany Wen Yan around campus and escort her to her dorm, bidding her a very regretful goodbye.

“Damn, forgot to get her contact info!”

“Damn, you idiot!”

By the time Wen Yan’s figure had disappeared into the distance, the two of them burst out with belated remorse.

—

Lanxuan Apartments were the largest student dormitory complex at Qingda. Wen Yan was assigned to Building 13, Room 604. The building had elevators, making it easy to get up and down. When she entered 604, the room was empty—four people to a dorm, and she was the first to arrive. Her roommates hadn’t shown up yet.

Wen Yan had just finished making her bed when she heard someone unlocking the door from outside.

It was probably one of her roommates. She turned around.

The person outside pushed the door open, spotted Wen Yan, and froze in place.

“Hello,” Wen Yan said first.

“Hey! Hello, hello.” The girl had a sweet, round face, wearing a clean rainbow-striped top and white skirt, with a middle-aged woman following behind her. As soon as Wen Yan spoke, she broke into a smile, revealing two dimples.

“You… you… I can’t believe you’re in the same dorm!” The girl seemed a little tongue-tied, a faint blush rising to her cheeks as she walked closer to Wen Yan, clearly excited.

“You… know me?” Wen Yan asked, puzzled.

“Oh, no—haha, I saw you at the registration desk. You, well… you’re so pretty, I remembered you right away. Oh, let me introduce myself—I’m Xiao Xinrui. And you?”

“Wen Yan.”

“As in gentle ‘wen,’ and ‘yeon’ like from The Glory?”

“What’s The Glory?”

“Ah, never mind—it’s a person. You haven’t seen The Glory? She’s the villainess in it.” Xiao Xinrui said.

Wen Yan hadn’t even heard of it, let alone watched it. She shook her head. “My ‘yan’ is the one that means ‘speech.'”

“Ohhh, got it! Hey, hey—can we take a photo together? I want to post it on my Moments.” Xiao Xinrui pulled out her phone from the small crossbody bag she was carrying.