Lu Xuan's mind raced.
Zhang Yining? It shouldn't be her. That woman suffered such a huge loss; unless her brain was squashed by a door, she would never dare to provoke him again.
Besides, she didn't have the power to accurately predict that he would appear here today, nor to time it so precisely.
His parents? Even less likely.
Their enemies? That wouldn't warrant it, a hundred carnivals?
That's three hundred thousand. Who would spend that much money just to set him up?
But the person behind this even knew he would come to this building for the scholarship stamp, and timed it so precisely.
The more Lu Xuan thought about it, the more his brows furrowed.
This whole thing felt eerie. He was just a nobody from a poor, remote place, so why would anyone go to such lengths to plot against him?
Just as he was deep in thought, Luo Xiaoran, already on the verge of tears, shakily called out to a nearby patch of bushes, "Xiaomei... Xiaomei, you, come out..."
As soon as her voice fell, the bushes rustled a few times, and a girl wearing a baseball cap, not very tall but quite well-endowed, cautiously poked her head out.
She was holding a professional-looking DSLR camera, its lens pointed in their direction.
"Oh, Xiaoran, are you finally done?"
The girl jogged over, her face flushed with excitement, her eyes sparkling, "You two acted so realistically! It was amazing! Especially you, Xiaoran, those tears just came out, I almost thought it was real!"
As she spoke, she excitedly held up the camera for Luo Xiaoran to see, "Look at this angle, this lighting, it's perfect! It'll definitely go viral on Douyin!"
Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow, discreetly sizing up this suddenly appearing "best friend."
Luo Xiaoran's face alternated between green and white, so embarrassed she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
She looked at Lu Xuan for help, and seeing that he showed no reaction, she bit the bullet and explained to the girl in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, "Ah... that, Meimei, let me introduce you, this is... this is Lu Xuan. We... we were just rehearsing a short skit for the school's short video competition."
The more she spoke, the softer her voice became, and the lower her head drooped, looking exactly like a primary school Student who had made a mistake and was waiting to be scolded.
"The script... the script is about him, he plays a... a somewhat obsessive suitor who falls for me, and then... then he..."
"Oh—so that's how it is!" Guo Meimei suddenly understood, clapping her hands, and her gaze towards Lu Xuan instantly filled with admiration, "Hello, handsome, I'm Guo Meimei, Xiaoran's roommate and best friend!"
She extended her hand generously, "Your acting is too good! That fierce gaze just now, I could feel it even from far away! It was so powerful!"
Lu Xuan looked at her outstretched hand, lightly shook it, and a gentle smile appeared on his face, as if the cold-eyed, imposing person from just now wasn't him: "Hello, Student Guo Meimei. It's all because Xiaoran wrote a good script; I just acted according to it."
He took the opportunity to continue, speaking loudly to the lingering onlookers, "Students, let me explain, we were just filming a public legal education short film about 'campus safety and preventing harassment.'"
"This is Student Luo Xiaoran from the performing arts department, I'm her partner Lu Xuan, and that's our camerawoman Student Guo Meimei. We apologize for startling everyone."
His words were clear and sincere, and coupled with his naturally handsome and upright appearance, the skeptical gazes quickly dissipated by more than half.
"Oh, so they were filming a video!"
"I knew it, how could Department Beauty Luo be grappling with someone in the street."
"This young man is quite handsome; playing a bad guy actually has a bit of a contrasting cuteness."
"Public legal education short films are good. The campus really needs to strengthen this kind of promotion now."
The discussions gradually subsided, and the curious crowd began to disperse in twos and threes.
After all, only real conflicts were worth watching; a staged performance wasn't nearly as exciting.
Seeing this, Lu Xuan felt a little relieved. He turned to Guo Meimei, his smile unwavering: "Student Meimei, how did the video turn out? Can I see the effect first? So we can adjust it if needed."
"Of course, of course!" Guo Meimei already had an excellent impression of Lu Xuan, and now being called by his magnetic voice made her even more delighted. She handed over the camera without hesitation, sweetly calling out, "Brother Xuan, feel free to look! My skills are very steady!"
Lu Xuan took the camera and operated it skillfully.
The video was very clear, from Luo Xiaoran falling, to him stepping forward to "flirt," then the "princess carry" and Luo Xiaoran's "fierce resistance" and tearful "accusation"—every detail was clearly recorded.
In particular, Guo Meimei seemed to understand the 'traffic' algorithms perfectly, with several close-ups on Luo Xiaoran's tear-streaked, pitiful face and her torn collar.
Lu Xuan was secretly alarmed watching it. If this were to be taken out of context and posted online, he wouldn't be able to explain himself even with a hundred mouths.
He discreetly checked the memory card, then, in front of Guo Meimei, selected the video file directly and pressed the delete button.
"Hey? Brother Xuan, you..." Guo Meimei was stunned.
"Oh, I just checked and found that the lighting in a few shots wasn't very good, affecting the overall effect."
Lu Xuan lied without batting an eyelid, "And Xiaoran's emotions just now didn't seem to be adjusted properly. We plan to find a place with better lighting later and reshoot a few takes."
"For something like this, it's better to strive for perfection, right, Xiaoran?" He looked meaningfully at Luo Xiaoran.
Luo Xiaoran wouldn't dare say no, nodding repeatedly like a pecking chick: "Yes, yes, Lu Xuan... Student Lu Xuan is right, we do need to reshoot. I was too nervous just now, and my facial expressions weren't managed well."
All she wanted now was for Lu Xuan to be lenient and not expose her embarrassing secrets.
Although Guo Meimei felt a bit regretful, seeing that both the male and female leads said so, she couldn't insist. She just mumbled, "Okay, then good luck! Oh, Brother Xuan, Xiaoran, your script is quite interesting. Next time you have such a good opportunity, find me again, I'll be your camerawoman for free!"
Lu Xuan smiled: "Definitely, definitely. Student Meimei, you've worked hard today. Xiaoran and I still have some script details to discuss, so I won't keep you. Another day, I'll treat you and Xiaoran to a meal to properly thank you."
"Really? That's great!" Guo Meimei's eyes lit up, then she showed an expression of "I understand," giving Luo Xiaoran a knowing wink.
"Alright, then I won't be a third wheel! Xiaoran, make sure to communicate well with Brother Xuan about the script! Good luck!"
With that, she even gave Luo Xiaoran a 'good luck' gesture, then hummed a tune and turned to leave contentedly.
Luo Xiaoran watched Guo Meimei's retreating figure, the words she wanted to say for help stuck in her throat, and the forced smile on her face was uglier than crying.
It wasn't until Guo Meimei's figure completely disappeared at the end of the tree-lined path that the smile on Lu Xuan's face receded like a tide, replaced by a chilling coldness.
He turned his head, his deep eyes once again fixed on Luo Xiaoran, his gaze sharp as a knife, as if to dissect her entirely, from inside out.
The air seemed to solidify at this moment, and even the summer cicadas' chirping around them seemed to be suppressed by this invisible pressure.
Luo Xiaoran felt a shiver run down her spine under his gaze, and couldn't help but tremble, the tears she had just stopped now threatening to burst forth again.