“Forget it—I hope I do make it. Jin Yang looks that good—he must be trying to lure us into the student union.” She lowered her voice and said to Wen Yan.

Wen Yan glanced back. The first person she noticed wasn’t Jin Yang, but Jiang Luer beside him.

Because Jiang Luer happened to be looking back at her too.

She wore a crabapple-red dress, her lightly curled long hair swept over one shoulder. A faint flush spread across her collarbone. When her gaze met Wen Yan’s, she winked her left eye at her.

“…”

Wen Yan hesitated, then returned a small smile.

—

“It’s all your fault! You act all proper on the surface, but in private you’re a total pervert, bullying me no matter the setting. Now I couldn’t even go say hi to her!” Once Wen Yan’s figure had faded into the distance, Jiang Luer stomped on Jin Yang’s foot.

Jin Yang kept his hands in his pockets. “Why would you want to say hi?”

Jiang Luer smacked him. “I’ll be honest with you—I’m actually bi. When I see a gorgeous woman, my legs won’t move. Sorry, Vice President Jin, my affections have shifted…”

Jin Yang couldn’t be bothered to listen to any more of her nonsense. He simply tilted his head down and sealed her mouth with his. “I don’t mind. One more time.” His voice was flat, carrying a hint of threat.

—

Chapter 7: Aurora – Baby, I’m Shallow

【I actually made it to the second round!!】

【Yan Yan, did you get the text yet? You definitely made it too, right?!】

Wen Yan had just come out of the library when she received Qiu Xue’s WeChat.

Her eyes moved to the top of her phone screen—it was exactly 6 PM. But she hadn’t received any message yet.

【No.】 Wen Yan replied.

【Huh?? No way—check your texts again.】 Qiu Xue didn’t quite believe it, then offered comfort: 【Yan Yan, don’t panic. The texts probably haven’t all gone out yet. I remember the senior who interviewed me said everyone gets a text whether they make it to the second round or not.】

【Mm, I’ll wait a bit longer.】 Wen Yan replied. And just as Qiu Xue said, her phone buzzed with a text message:

『Hello Wen Yan, congratulations on passing the first round of interviews for the Qingda Student Union Publicity Department and advancing to the second round. Your second-round interview is scheduled for tomorrow at 16:20, at Wen’nan Building, 3rd Floor. Please also add the following WeChat contact: 183xx92. Best of luck with your interview.』

Wen Yan unlocked her bike with the key and texted Qiu Xue: 【Got it, Xuexue. I passed too.】

Qiu Xue: 【That’s great! I knew it, Yan Yan! What time is your interview? Mine’s tomorrow at noon.】

Wen Yan: 【Mine’s in the afternoon.】

Qiu Xue: 【Ah, so we can’t go to the interview together.】

Wen Yan: 【Yeah, we’ll just have to cheer each other on separately.】

Qiu Xue: 【Wuwuwu, I heard both the president and vice president will be at the second round. I’m getting nervous again.】

Wen Yan teased: 【Don’t you want to see Jin Yang?】

Qiu Xue: 【Having him there makes me even more nervous. I heard Jin Yang is super cold and unapproachable. He’s just good-looking—he’s actually a big tyrant!】

“…”

After texting with Qiu Xue, Wen Yan swung onto her bike seat and pedaled toward the cafeteria.

Only after she’d grabbed food from the self-serve counter and found a seat did she pull out her phone again to add the contact from the student union’s text message.

The request was accepted quickly, and the other side sent a message first.

Iceland’s No. 1 Talent: 【Hey, Junior Wen.】

Wen Yan had included her name in the friend request note. She replied: 【Hello, Senior.】

She didn’t know the person’s gender at first, but with a nickname like that, it was definitely a girl.

Iceland’s No. 1 Talent: 【Just call me Senior Jiang. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow~】

Wen Yan: 【Mm, will you be one of the interviewers tomorrow, Senior?】

Iceland’s No. 1 Beauty: 【That’s a secret. Oh, and Junior Wen—just being nosy—do you have a boyfriend?】

Wen Yan: 【No…】

The other side sent a slightly exaggerated “wow” cat emoji.

【What’s wrong, Senior?】 Wen Yan asked.

Iceland’s No. 1 Talent: 【Just curious, that’s all. See you tomorrow, Junior Wen~】

Maybe she really was just curious. Wen Yan had been used to that kind of curiosity since childhood—with her looks, many boys and girls alike were naturally curious about her.

【Mm, Senior.】 Wen Yan replied.

On Saturday afternoon, when Wen Yan arrived at Wen’nan Building to check in, the hallway was quiet—far fewer people than yesterday. After signing in, she entered the outermost meeting room to wait. There were four people inside, and more trickled in afterward, totaling ten. A senior led them into the innermost meeting room at the end of the hall.

This room was large. As soon as they stepped in, a tense, serious atmosphere could be felt. Twelve interviewers sat inside, all dressed in black formal wear—the men with neat ties, the women with simple silk scarves. Each held a notebook and pen, their expressions stern.

The two in the center drew the most attention.

Student union president Jiang Luer sat on the right, her long hair pinned in a low bun, pearl earrings gleaming under the light. A delicate butterfly brooch adorned the collar of her black suit jacket.

To her left sat vice president Jin Yang, in a matching black suit. His skin was pale, strands of hair falling over his forehead, his features sharp. His thin, well-defined lips pressed into a cold, straight line.

“Welcome, everyone. I’m Jiang Luer, the lead interviewer for this round.” Jiang Luer rose gracefully from her seat, her gaze briefly sweeping over Wen Yan before she walked, in red-bottom heels, to a long table nearby. “Please all come and sit here. This round is a leaderless group discussion. Vice President Jin Yang will read out the topic for you.”

Everyone moved to the long table, choosing seats freely.

Not long after they sat down, Jin Yang and the other interviewers stood up and walked over, forming a circle around the table.

The tension in the room expanded. Observing and scrutinizing eyes were all around them. The interviewees couldn’t help but straighten their backs.

Among them, the female candidates kept glancing at Jin Yang. Jiang Luer observed with interest and noticed that Wen Yan seemed to be the only girl who showed no interest in him—she hadn’t looked his way even once.

Moreover, she was so beautiful that even if her interview performance was poor, Jiang Luer desperately wanted to use her position to recruit this stunning girl into the student union.

She also vaguely remembered that she might have seen Wen Yan before.

Last month, outside the seafood buffet restaurant.

And that day in the heavy rain, when she’d been walking along the roadside…

“Hello, I’m Jin Yang, the associate interviewer. I’ll now read out today’s discussion topic.”

Jin Yang flipped open his notebook, his voice low and cool.

“Suppose you are Tang Sanzang, on a journey to the West to obtain scriptures. You may choose three of the six disciples to take with you. The six candidates are Confucius, Wu Zetian, Lin Daiyu, Zheng He, Newton, and Watt. Please discuss among yourselves for thirty minutes. Your group must reach a consensus—not individual conclusions. Finally, please nominate or volunteer one person to present the results.”

“……”

What an abstract topic. These six “disciples” couldn’t be more different.

The crisp click of heels passed behind Wen Yan’s chair. Jiang Luer casually brushed a strand of loose hair from her ear, her voice sweet and charming—much less serious and distant than Vice President Jin Yang’s: “Alright, the interview starts now. Begin your discussion.”

The candidates around the table stirred. Wen Yan lowered her lashes and pulled a few sheets of scratch paper and a pen from her backpack, which she held on her lap.

The girl sitting next to her had come empty-handed, bringing nothing. She lightly tapped Wen Yan. “Excuse me, could I borrow some scratch paper and a pen?”

Wen Yan nodded, handed her two sheets, and found an extra pen from her pencil case for her.

Surrounded by pairs of senior eyes observing them, everyone began to discuss.

Wen Yan had researched this type of interview beforehand. Leaderless group discussions were designed to assess team collaboration and leadership, adaptability and communication skills, as well as logical thinking and expression. If she hadn’t prepared, as an introvert, she probably wouldn’t have participated much. But since she’d made it to the second round, she had to perform with purpose.

Clearly, others had prepared too. A boy took on the “leader” role first, maintaining order, while the “timekeeper” role was also claimed—the girl two seats away said she’d watch the clock and make sure they didn’t run over, leaving ten minutes at the end for consensus and summary. Soon after, three other students raised their hands to be presenters.

It was all too fast—nearly everyone came prepared. All the “roles” that could earn points with the interviewers were snapped up. Of course, there were also those who were completely lost—clearly facing this type of interview for the first time, without any preparation. Seeing everyone so proactive, they became socially anxious, unable to get a word out or squeeze into the conversation, gripping their scratch paper in frustration.

Wen Yan, by contrast, appeared much calmer. She didn’t fight for the floor and wasn’t in a hurry. Gradually, the drawback of half the group fighting to speak and show off became apparent—the discussion was descending into chaos, almost turning from discussion into an argument.

“Why isn’t anyone choosing Lin Daiyu?! I think she’s great! She could tell us actual Dream of the Red Chamber stories along the journey and provide high emotional value. Everyone else is too formidable—Wu Zetian, Confucius—they’re so impressive, would they even listen to Tang Sanzang?!”

“Newton? I disagree. Newton and Tang Sanzang don’t even speak the same language—how would they communicate?!”

“What’s language got to do with it? Confucius is so learned, he could teach Tang Sanzang languages!”

“So you’re saying if we take Newton, we have to take Confucius too? Why choose Newton over Watt, then?”

Wen Yan’s fingertip tapped absently on her scratch paper. Seven or eight minutes had passed, and the discussion still hadn’t broken through. At that moment, a stocky boy slammed the table excitedly: “Let’s vote! By how famous they are!”

“Perhaps.” Wen Yan cleared her throat lightly, trying to draw everyone’s attention. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a small pebble dropped into a noisy pond—instantly quieting the room. All eyes turned to her. Some people just seemed born with that kind of magnetic appeal—Wen Yan was one of them. She looked at no one in particular, placing her water bottle horizontally in the center of the table.

“We shouldn’t be fixated on who to bring. We should first clarify one thing: what is Tang Sanzang’s core need for obtaining the scriptures?” Wen Yan extended her index finger and tapped one end of the bottle. “This is the starting point—’the Great Tang.'” She tapped the other end. “And this is the destination—’the Western Heaven.’ What we need to consider is forming a team that can best guarantee ‘completing this journey,’ not simply picking the three most capable people.”

Wen Yan looked up, her gaze calm as it swept across the other candidates. “The pilgrimage team needs complementary functions. We can break the requirements down into three core capabilities: first, unwavering faith and spiritual guidance; second, strong survival and combat ability—this is essentially the role of the original disciple Sun Wukong; third, excellent diplomacy and logistical support—because along the way, the group will pass through many kingdoms and need to interact with kings and leaders.”

A girl pushed up her glasses, thoughtful. “So… we categorize the six people according to these criteria?”

“Yes.” Wen Yan picked up her pen and quickly wrote three labels on her scratch paper: 「Spiritual Core」, 「Combat/Survival」, 「Diplomacy/Logistics」.

“Now, let’s look at the six ‘candidates’ again.”

Wen Yan’s pace was steady, her logic clear: “Confucius—he’s a Confucian sage with firm convictions and top-tier teaching abilities. He’s the perfect choice for ‘Spiritual Core,’ capable of compensating for Tang Sanzang’s occasional weakness, and even playing a key role in spreading Buddhist teachings back in the East after the scriptures are obtained. As for ‘Combat and Survival’—who do you all think is the most suitable?”

Wen Yan was so stunning—bold brows, bright eyes, rosy lips, and long, sleek hair like the finest black satin—that everyone loved listening to her. But she didn’t overperform; she threw the question back out. Following the direction she’d set, a boy quickly picked up the thread and expressed his thoughts: “For survival and combat, it’s definitely Zheng He! Zheng He was a navigator and a diplomat—he led massive fleets on seven voyages, visiting over 30 countries. You could say he’s a well-rounded warrior.”

The discussion continued, but this time, everyone had a clear direction. The chaos was replaced by a coherent logical framework. Others added to the discussion within the structure Wen Yan had laid out, and efficiency skyrocketed.

Wen Yan had become the de facto leader.

…

The interview finally ended. Wen Yan stood up, put away her scratch paper and pens, and stowed them in her backpack. The results of the second round wouldn’t be announced immediately—this time, they’d take two days.

During their discussion, the observing seniors had been taking notes on each candidate’s performance in their notebooks.

As Wen Yan picked up her water bottle, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned to see Jiang Luer.

“Hey there, Wen Yan baby.” Jiang Luer raised an eyebrow at her.

Being called “baby” directly made Wen Yan a little uncomfortable. She gave a polite smile. “Senior Jiang.”

“You did great, you know. Consider this an early congratulations on joining our student union.” Jiang Luer stared at Wen Yan’s face.

“…”

“Really?” Wen Yan hadn’t expected the other to tell her the result so directly. “Thank you, Senior.”

“You don’t seem very surprised or excited?” Jiang Luer pressed her finger to her chin, tapping lightly, her gaze growing even more curious as she studied Wen Yan.