It was easy to say that she was avoiding Hua Zhao...but whether that was a feasible plan? Not really. It was seven in the morning and right now they were participating in the mandatory morning run. With nearly six hundred acres owned by the university that they traversed through daily...it was a wonder why they still required students to participate in morning runs?

It was ridiculous.

Although nobody was actually running… they were walking. Listening to audiobooks or music with their phones. And some were even walking backwards. "Hah! I can do this with my eyes closed." Bo Ling challenged his friends with a laugh. His voice was so loud that even she could hear it.

She bit her lip and slowed down her pace, waiting for them to get even further away from her. She wanted to be as discreet as possible. Zhao's circle of friends were about a couple of meters away from her. She was in the back along with the few stragglers.

"U-uh, Chan Lee right?" A voice spoke up.

She turned to see a familiar face. A young woman with owlish glasses, blinking at her. "Mei, it's been awhile. What can I do for you?" she mustered a smile.

"Ah, I just saw you today and wanted to catch up for a bit." The girl smiled demurely. "It's been a year since we were freshmen!"

"It sure is, so how are things with you?" she asked. "I'm glad we finished our research together." Was that even a good thing to say?

"I-I'm good, I've made a couple of good friends at the Environmental Engineering and Science club. What about you? Have you joined any clubs?"

Chan Lee sheepishly laughed, "Not really. I'm doing my best to take extra modules."

"Oh, you want to graduate early."

She nodded. "The earlier, the better."

"You should still have time to relax though!" Mei spoke to her with a small pout.

Chan Lee couldn't help but think that her acquaintance was cute and also a bit assertive now. She was glad for that. "I do have time to relax and I've also made friends too."

"Do you mean, Hua Zhao?"

"W-well, no." she paused. "I mean yes. Kind of." She scratched her head. She was thinking more in the lines of Xue and even Han Jing.

"Do forgive me for speaking up but… he's a bit of a—"

"An idiot." she muttered and glowered at the distant figure.

"N-no! I wouldn't say an idiot, though he sits in the back rows a lot and they're a bit of a rowdy group..."

"Well, it's not like we're really close." she waved her off. It was a bit disorienting that she was getting asked about this. She only talked with the man twice!

Mei relaxed. "That's a relief, if anything I think you'd enjoy the club I'm in or we should hang out sometime?"

Chan Lee paused for a moment, "I-I'd like that, send me a message if you're going out."

"Of course!"

A warm glow coursed through her heart, she was looking forward to that. "So what did you have in mi—" She stumbled back and landed on her butt.

"A-are you alright?" Mei moved towards her.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"I'm good." She looked up to see a man turn to her with a peeved expression. She had stumbled into him carelessly. "U-uh, my bad!"

"But Lee, he's the one who—"

The man wordlessly extended a hand. She raised a brow but reached for it and he pulled her up. "Be more careful with strangers next time." He then turned away and jogged off.

"Ah, he was rude." Mei sighed and pushed up her frames.

Chan Lee shrugged, "Who was he?"

"I'm not really sure..."

"Well, he's good looking." She grinned at the retreating figure before she noticed a not amused look from her friend. "What? You gotta admit it."

"He is. But I-I'm more into other kinds of men." Mei averted her gaze. "And you need to look at their character too, or else it's shallow.."

Chan Lee choked before sheepishly laughing. "Okay, good point. I was uh, just admiring him...anyhow tell me what kind of men are you into?"

"U-uh!!"

Chan Lee half-wondered if Mei and Jing would be a good fit...but as her gaze lifted up towards the people in the front.

She wondered if Zhao had noticed her falling down. Would he have approached her?

Chan Lee tried not to slap her face. It was such a nonsensical thought!

. . .

Zhao was keeping himself distant after the course of events last night. All he wanted to do was make sure that she got home safe but she didn't want that. He had a passing thought of following her from a distance—but that would have been disturbing. Stalking even.

But he still felt bad about it, though he was trying to brush things off. She was alright wasn't she? She was participating in the jog as well. In the corner of his vision, he watched another girl approach Chan Lee and felt a bit relieved. So she really did have friends? Making friends? He couldn't exactly tell from afar.

"Ey, where you looking at?" Bo Ling jabbed an elbow at his side, walking backwards beside him.

He sighed and shook his head. "No one."

"Oh, it's someone." Bo Ling managed to look smug about it. "I have my guesses~"

"You should run properly or you'll trip." he muttered underneath his breath.

"Hah! You mean like that girl over there?"

Zhao turned to see Chan Lee on the ground, and he fought the urge to race to her side. Everybody else paid no heed to the sight and continued to walk pass them… except this other man. He helped her up.

"Looks like somebody is making some moves." Bo Ling noted.

He shrugged. "He only helped her up."

"You didn't see it, but I swear he stopped walking so that she could stumble into him."

"What?" he frowned. "You can't be serious."

"Personally, I would have caught the girl before she fell—wouldn't that be more charming?"

It didn't feel right…"Who's that guy?"

"I don't know, first time I've seen him around. But all the girls seem to be eyeing him, right, Ning Bi?"

"W-what! No!" Ning Bi shook her head. "I was looking at somebody else." She frowned.

"And who'd that be?" Bo Ling raised a brow. "Wait, you're not scouting the competition are you?" He smirked.

Zhao raised a brow. "Huh, what competition?"

"It's nothing! Ling is just messing around. Besides, if there's anybody that people eyeing around here, that would be you, Zhao." Ning Bi told him.

"You compliment me too much." Zhao chuckled until he saw the man jog past them. "I'll see you guys after the morning run."

"B-but—!"

Zhao caught up to the man. "Hey, brother!"

The man continued jogging.

"Excuse me?" He tried again but still received no response. It was as if the man didn't hear him at all… but he didn't seem deaf. So the man was choosing to not answer him.

Normally, he wouldn't care at all but..."Oi you, carrot head man." He needed answers so he'd bear with this.

The man finally threw a blank look at him, "What do you want, plebe?"

"Woah, there's no reason to be harsh." Zhao raised his hands up. There was room for compromise right? Maybe they were just anxious over their hair too much? He should apologize for it.

"Do I need to have a reason?" The man slowed down and pondered before smiling. "No. Not at all."

Okay, they were a jerk.

"...alright." Zhao rubbed his face. "I'll ask you one question and I assure you that I'll be long gone after that."

"Or I can leave you." The man resumed his jog.

Zhao stared at the man's back and sighed. "Do you have any intentions with Chan Lee?" He knew that his question could still be heard.

"Who's Chan Lee?" The man threw a dismissive look at him, a brow languidly raised.

Zhao blinked, slightly thrown out with his reaction. "The girl that bumped into you." Maybe Bo Ling was overreacting earlier and he was playing to the man's fiddle right now.

"So that's her name." the man mused aloud.

Zhao trailed after the man. "Well?" It didn't matter if the intentions were good or bad, he needed to know.

"I have no intentions with her."

Relief flooded his chest as he exhaled. Bo Ling threw him into a nonsense goose chase, but at least nothing else but his reputation was marred. "I see, I see, my friend was overreacting—"

"—I do have some business with her, however." The man answered with a nonchalant shrug. "If we were to consider it in broad terms. But that's enough indulgement of your little demands." A smile formed on their lips, "Please don't follow me around, Hua Zhao."

The man soon left after that, leaving him in the dust.

How did that man know his name?