The camera lens looks like it's been changed, and the one in the girl's hands isn't the same model she used during the last photo trip to Quhang.
Standing in the crowd, Selina Wu pressed the shutter, capturing the boy who happened to be looking her way, and the girl next to him, Jill Jing, craning her neck to gulp down cola.
In the crowd, the boy's eyes were calm and indifferent, but on camera, his posture stood out strikingly compared to everyone around him.
"What are you doing here?"
Evan Lin noticed Selina Wu and stared at the girl in front of him, a bit surprised. "Skipping class again?"
"Got bored at school, so I came out for a walk."
Selina glanced at the photo she just took, looking satisfied. "Didn't expect it, but you actually look pretty good on camera."
"And you've gotten a lot taller—way taller than before."
She packed up her camera, muttered to herself, then glanced at Jill Jing beside Evan, who was hugging her cola and staring at Selina. Selina smiled.
"Where'd you pick up this little girl?"
Selina reached out to pat Jill Jing’s head, but Jill quickly dodged, refusing to let Selina touch her. Instead, as if to prove a point, she leaned her little head closer to Evan, pressing herself against him.
Her actions clearly told Selina that she and Evan were close.
Selina couldn’t help but laugh again, amused by how Jill Jing, despite her age, was full of little schemes.
She didn’t dwell on it, though, and quickly turned her attention to Evan.
"Warren Wu is on break this time, so he can go out—but he’s stuck in Beijing. So I came to see him. It’s been a while; he’s still my brother."
Selina explained: "Later, I overheard Gloria Rong and Leon Lu chatting, and learned you were in Beijing too. I asked around and guessed you might be here for the math modeling competition, so I came to try my luck."
"Didn’t expect my luck to be this good."
She spoke with a bright, straightforward smile, her eyes clear as ever. If this place weren’t so noisy, Selina would probably be humming a tune.
"Pretty good, actually. If you’d come a few days earlier, I might not even be here."
Evan nodded without comment. "Want to walk together?"
Selina didn’t refuse. The three of them walked side by side through the university town’s city streets. Aside from that first photo Selina took, she didn’t bother with her camera again.
That first shot was just of Evan Lin himself. As for the bustling scenery around them, Selina found it less captivating than the landscapes of Quhang.
Along the way, Jill Jing kept sneaking glances at Evan, then at Selina on his other side, her brows furrowed and lips pursed, looking like a little jar of jealousy.
Selina had fun teasing Jill, who seemed forever stuck at her tiny height. Jill would tilt her head and let out three little 'hmphs,' making it clear she had no intention of getting along with Selina.
"How are things going with Lynn Chen?"
Selina withdrew her gaze from Jill, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her hair had grown a bit compared to before, and she was debating whether to dye it—maybe chestnut red or pale blue.
Just thinking about those colors felt a little weird, so Selina was still undecided.
She asked the question absentmindedly, right as they reached the gates of Beijing University. It was a casual, spur-of-the-moment thing.
"Not much."
Evan shook his head. There was no point discussing it, so he just let the topic drop.
"When we first met, I just thought you were a bit special—but I never expected you’d be the kind of special that girls really like."
Selina laughed. "I still remember growing up in the compound—Warren Wu’s biggest dream was to be the boy all the girls liked. But he was born with darker skin, lively but not handsome, so his dream stayed a dream."
"Later he lowered his goal—to be the one all the girls admired. He worked hard to become the king of the kids, always fighting and making trouble, and got scolded plenty."
"Because he became the king of the kids, some girls did like him back then. But now, Warren’s still single. Do you know why?"
Selina tilted her head and asked softly.
"Why?"
"Because he focused so much on being the king of the kids, he forgot his original goal was to win girls’ hearts. Later, he really felt happier being the kids’ boss than being liked by girls."
"By the time he realized it and wanted to find those girls who once liked him, they’d all grown up and stopped caring about kid leaders—and about him."
Selina grinned slyly. "When it’s time to love, just love. People who overthink always end up bothering themselves."
"Even if you don’t love now, you should at least give it a try."
Selina was speaking slowly, and before Evan could respond, Jill Jing’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Jill, forever tiny and cola-loving, always speaking in three-word phrases, nodded solemnly and raised her half-finished cola bottle.
"Makes sense!"
She voiced her agreement, then gazed expectantly at Evan.
Evan reached out and pressed her head down, forcing her eyes downward until Jill’s face scrunched up in distress, nose wrinkled in frustration.
She was still immature; whenever she was upset or wronged, she’d just sulk in silence.
"I’ve got more important things to do. In this mortal world, lots of things look free, but in reality, people aren’t truly in control."
Evan shook his head.
Selina didn’t look at Evan; instead, she watched Jill sulk, finding it amusing.
Still, she couldn’t help herself and shot Evan a rare glare, then burst out laughing.
"You sound just like some enlightened monk."
"What’s so bad about the mortal world? Even if there really are gods and buddhas up there, mortals live their lives and deities live theirs. In the end, everyone just lives their own life."
After she finished, Selina paused and checked the time.
"Oh right, since we ran into each other, want to go see Allen Ju together?"
"He happens to be free today."