Looking at the girl before him, her embarrassment palpable, as if she wished to disappear into the ground, HuMing crossed his arms, keeping a composed demeanour.
Encountering her in this unexpected location was quite a surprise. Based on the plot, their meeting was six months later.
Xia XiaoXi, a campus idol and the so-called heroine!
According to the plot, after she transfered to his school, she would be attracted to Han ShuYi, and their relationship would gradually improve.
As for HuMing, there wasn't much interaction between them.
HuMing hadn't intended to interact with her either since he didn't know much about her.
But now that he had met her ahead of schedule, HuMing found the girl rather amusing.
She looked adorable, but her actions were somewhat reckless, and when she realized she had made a mistake, she would become awfully embarrassed.
Xia XioXi lowered her head, not daring to look HuMing in the eye.
She never imagined someone wouldn't recognize her. Her wish was for the entire world to know her, yet it appeared that she still had a long way to go before achieving it!
She felt a bit disheartened but quickly pulled herself together.
She looked around, put her mask back on, and took out her phone to look up her name.
"Come, come, come, this is me, Xia XiaoXi herself!"
On Baidu most of the information about her past, including her hobbies, is listed by the official sources.
But what no one expected is that she had a hidden passion for anime culture, boasting an impressive array of personal collections.
Despite Xia XiaoXi's public image as a vibrant and youthful idol, she leads a private life filled with intense internet forum surfing and frequent chats with fellow fans about new anime, merchandise, voice actors, and more.
If people knew she was so down-to-earth, it would most likely benefit her career. However, Xia XiaoXi did not want her hobby to be exposed. After all, as a community expands, it will inevitably become disrupted.
What appeared to be ordinary items could be hyped into expensive commodities. Xia XiaoXi didn't want to face criticism for it.
Today, she had sneaked out to buy some new merchandise. Xia XiaoXi thought she had encountered a fan who recognized her, but the person didn't know her at all!
Moreover, more importantly, the person seemed devoid of interest in her.
This left her feeling defeated. What was even more difficult to accept was that she couldn't say,
"How could you not recognize me?"
She didn't want to appear desperate!
So, she was now trying to get him to know about her. She could even gain an extra fan.
Xia XiaoXi lifted her head, her eyes filled with a hint of anticipation.
But after HuMing glanced at the introduction, he just nodded, and his expression remained unchanged.
It was as if he had no concern whether Xia XiaoXi was a big star or not.
An indescribable feeling surged in her heart.
For the first time, Xia XiaoXi wanted to kneel before someone.
"Um... don't you have any reaction?"
"Don't you want to keep your identity a secret? Isn't it a good thing that I'm not reacting?"
"It's good... but do you really feel nothing at all?"
"I can understand your desire not to want to be recognized but also to see others surprised. You don't have to feel awkward."
HuMing kindly patted her shoulder, his voice full of understanding.
And this time, Xia XiaoXi really felt like killing herself.
It felt he had seen right through her, reading her inner thoughts with perfect clarity.
'There's no more reason for me to live in this world anymore; I should just die... but it would be painful to kill myself. The world should just be destroyed with me.'
HuMing walked past her, letting out a tired yawn as he pulled out his phone to check the time.
It was already past one in the morning. If HuMing didn't go back to sleep soon, he'd probably fall asleep while doing his test in the afternoon.
But before he had gone far, he stopped.
Because Xia XiaoXi was closely following him.
He turned to see the fully masked girl, seemingly unaware that HuMing had stopped, and she bumped into him. This time, HuMing firmly grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling.
Realizing her carelessness, Xia XiaoXi blushed and kept apologizing to HuMing.
"I'm so sorry, so sorry!"
"You don't have to be so nervous."
"I... I just feel really embarrassed. After all, you're not even a fan of mine, and I said that kind of thing to you."
Perhaps even after a hundred years, she might still have flashbacks about this.
Upon hearing the girl's words, HuMing let out a helpless sigh. Just as he was about to offer some advice, a commotion of raised voices and shouting erupted nearby.
"Want money? I won't give you a single cent, you beggar!"
"This girl, how can you be ? Before I brought it back to you, didn't we agree on a hundred yuan?"
A crowd had gathered around the voices, seemingly enjoying the spectacle.
"Hey, aren't you going to see what's happening over there?"
"Not getting involved in trouble."
Perhaps because HuMing didn't show much enthusiasm when speaking to her, unlike others, Xia XiaoXi felt somewhat reassured when with him.
It was as if validating that line from a domineering CEO novel:
"Hmph, woman, you have caught my attention!"
Xia XiaoXi's voice was soft and somewhat coaxing.
The tension in the crowd escalated, reaching the brink of physical confrontation.
Reluctantly, HuMing followed Xia XiaoXi over.
As they approached, they overheard others explaining the situation.
"-the girl lost her phone, and the kind lady helped her find it. The lady said she had to ride her tricycle for over ten kilometres and waited here for more than an hour. And the girl? She promised to give the lady a hundred yuan, but once she got her phone, she turned her back on the lady and is now shouting and cursing at her!"
Passersby couldn't bear to watch, but none of them stepped in to help.
The girl was cursing with a fierce expression, shouting at the tricycle lady.
"Did I tell you to wait here? If you want to leave, go ahead! But you want money? I won't give you a single cent!"
"Didn't we agree on a hundred yuan? How can you be ?"
"That's how I am, and now I even want to hit you!" She said, reaching out to grab the lady's hair.
The surrounding area erupted with more shouting. Some were watching the drama, others were trying to mediate, but no one stepped in to stop it.
HuMing watched the scene quietly, his expression unchanging.
On the other hand, Xia XiaoXi, under her mask, was gritting her teeth in anger, her voice filled with anger.
"How can she treat that lady ? Clearly, she's the one in the wrong!"