"That's not necessarily true. Maybe Ms. Zheng used to be low-key, but now that she's dating, she might want everyone to know about it."
Tan Shumo guessed, "Sometimes, you just can't figure out what women are thinking."
The group kept discussing.
Autumn Zheng had already turned and walked back into the school, while the man in the Lamborghini started his car and slowly drove away.
The car passed through the street in front of the school gate and quickly vanished from sight.
The impact of that luxury car was far from over; all around the school gate, people were still talking about Autumn Zheng, and many had begun speculating about the man's identity.
Some said he was a super-rich second-generation, maybe from a multinational company abroad, the kind who controls family wealth.
Otherwise, ordinary people couldn't possibly afford a luxury car like a Lamborghini.
There were endless rumors and guesses.
Evan Lin and the others returned to their dorm. With nothing to do, they all decided to head to the internet cafe and play games together.
He played until midnight, barely making it back before the dorm manager locked the doors.
Over the next few days, Evan Lin went to class as usual, but even more people started coming over to him in the classroom to dig up gossip about Autumn Zheng.
In their words, Evan, as class monitor, ought to know more than anyone.
Plus, Autumn Zheng got confessed to two days ago, and Evan showed up at school today—talk about timing.
Everyone figured Evan must know something.
Some even egged Evan on to go 'test the waters' with Autumn Zheng.
Evan shot them all down, one by one.
These people were way too obsessed with gossip.
Evan just shook his head.
He didn't go looking for Autumn Zheng, and she hadn't come to find him either these past couple days.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
That Lamborghini still shows up at school right on schedule, picking up Autumn Zheng for lunch and dinner every day.
After eating, she gets dropped off at the school gate at the busiest time, around five or six in the afternoon.
Day after day.
Seven days pass.
Evan Lin’s phone rings. He checks the caller ID—it’s Autumn Zheng.
"Hello?"
"Dinner tonight."
On the other end, Autumn Zheng’s voice is sharp and decisive: "Wait for me downstairs at the teaching building at 4:30."
She pauses. "You’re free, right?"
"Yeah."
Evan doesn’t refuse.
He hasn’t seen Autumn Zheng in days. Normally, whenever Evan returns to campus, she’d invite him out for a meal and ask what he’s been up to lately.
This time, Evan’s been back for a week. Autumn has seen him around, but barely reacted.
If she doesn’t invite him, Evan doesn’t rush her.
In Evan’s view, Autumn Zheng has waited for Azure Dragon for so many years—there’s no way she’d give up so easily.
This is all for show.
Every day, luxury car pickups, parked right at the school gate—crowds passing by, endless gossip.
There’s no way those rumors won’t reach Azure Dragon’s ears.
That’s exactly Autumn Zheng’s goal.
Evan sees through it, but says nothing—he lets her play it out.
Four-thirty.
Downstairs at the teaching building, Autumn Zheng comes down wearing a white wool sweater and sneakers, humming a tune—she looks like she’s in a good mood.
"You’ve been back for days and haven’t bothered to come find me?"
Autumn gives Evan a sidelong glance, sounding annoyed: "Always waiting for me to call you? If I didn’t, you’d probably ignore me all semester!"
"You’re the class monitor, I’m your counselor—you ought to take some initiative and update me about the class, right?"
Autumn Zheng flicks Evan’s forehead with her finger.
The move catches Evan off guard.
"I tried calling you when I got back, but the call didn’t go through. I let it drop."
Evan shakes his head: "Counselor Zheng, if you want to know how the class is doing, I can tell you right now: everyone’s most interested in your relationship with that mysterious boyfriend."
"Why not drop by the class yourself and answer their questions?"
Autumn laughs at Evan’s words: "You’ve learned to tease me, huh?"
"But who told you he’s my boyfriend? There isn’t even half a stroke written yet."
Autumn Zheng shakes her head.
"We’ve got some time—come walk with me first."
Without wasting words, Autumn grabs Evan by the wrist and heads toward the track.
Right now, Autumn Zheng is the campus’s hottest topic. Everywhere they go, people are staring.
"You’re famous now, but honestly, you used to be way too low-key around here."
Evan looks around at the students who want to approach but don’t dare.
He always knew Autumn was pretty, but hadn’t expected that just stepping into the spotlight would stun the entire campus.
This really was a surprise.
Even the ultra-shut-in juniors and seniors—guys who barely leave their dorms—have come out just to catch a glimpse.
These old-timers have spent years in college, lost their initial enthusiasm, and sometimes won’t step out for months.
But now, one by one, they’re all here for a look.
It’s practically a miracle.
"Isn’t it better to keep a low profile?"
Autumn gives Evan a look: "You think everyone’s like you—causing trouble as soon as you set foot on campus?"
"I haven’t stirred up trouble in ages. You’re slandering me." Evan shakes his head.
"You’ve been behaving lately—because you’re never on campus, so you couldn’t cause trouble even if you wanted to." Autumn sighs, "I keep approving your leave requests, so now a bunch of teachers are annoyed with you."
"They think you look down on their classes and skip every day. Even when I try to speak up for you, it doesn’t help. Your participation score is probably zero, so whether you pass finals depends on your exam—there’s nothing I can do."
Autumn Zheng gives another helpless laugh.
Those teachers really have it out for Evan.
A few famous old professors even went straight to Autumn Zheng’s office, demanding to meet this student named Evan Lin.
According to them, from the first class to now, they’ve never seen Evan Lin once.
One professor said he’s been teaching for years, but never met a student who’s so elusive.
The old professor even waited in Autumn Zheng’s office for half a month, dropping by whenever he had time.
But Evan happened to be away that whole stretch, so the professor never managed to see him.
"Exams are easy."
Evan yawns, "But do you think Azure Dragon will notice what you’re doing?"
Evan’s sudden question makes Autumn stop in her tracks.