Chapter Thirteen

"Ten minutes on stage, ten years of hard work behind it."

During rehearsal, Zoe felt quite natural dancing in front of the mirror, but when she went on stage, she felt a bit nervous. However, as soon as the music started, her body began to move along with the rhythm.

The lights were very bright, making it difficult to see the expressions of the audience below, just a dark mass.

After the song ended, amidst screams, whistles, and applause, Zoe realized that beads of sweat were trickling down her forehead. She panted, bowed, and curtsied.

After leaving with the lead dancer, Zoe finally relaxed backstage. She wiped the sweat from her chin with a ribbon. Having worn fewer clothes for the performance, she held her own clothes and prepared to return to her dormitory to change and take a shower for a rest.

Just as she stepped down the stairs, she encountered Nick.

The lighting at the door wasn't very good, and Nick stood on the lower step with a cigarette between his lips.

Zoe was on the upper step, and for a moment, the two of them simply stared at each other silently. After about a second, Zoe nodded to him as a greeting and moved to the side to pass.

But as soon as she moved, Nick moved too, blocking her path. The orange tip of his cigarette swayed and fell into the wind.

The stairs were too short for her to find a place to hide.

Zoe frowned.

"Nick?"

Nick placed one leg on the step Zoe was standing on, slightly lifting his chin, "Hmm?"

Zoe said, "Move aside."

After she spoke, Nick remained motionless. Zoe still frowned, and just as she was about to speak again, Nick's lips curved slightly, and he slightly moved aside to make room for her.

Zoe let out a sigh of relief, withdrew her gaze, and passed by Nick.

The trees blocked the moonlight, and the motion-activated lights at the door had gone out. Zoe dimly felt the scent of tobacco carried by the wind, and the next moment, her foot was suspended in mid-air.

The crimson skirt traced a line in the air, and a hand clasped around her waist.

Nick's lazy voice rang out overhead, "Be careful."

Zoe looked carefully and realized she had stepped into an empty space.

Her waist was clasped by him, and the wind blew harder, rustling their clothes, especially her skirt, which revealed her pale, long legs through its every movement.

"Yi Yi!"

A voice came from the bottom of the stairs.

Leo was standing on the last step, holding a bottle of water and looking up at them.

At that moment, Zoe felt the hand around her waist tighten. She struggled slightly, but before she could say, "Let go of me," the hand released, and Zoe stepped onto another intact brick and descended the stairs.

Leo's expression flickered, somewhat unfamiliar.

Zoe hesitated for a moment, nodded to Leo after some consideration, and then silently left.

As she walked, the wind swept her hair aside, and a faint scent of tobacco lingered at the tip of her nose. Zoe frowned, rubbed her nose, and her figure disappeared around the corner.

Back at the spot.

Nick turned around, his lips slanted with a cigarette, his eyebrows raised as he looked at Leo.

Leo's gaze was fixed on the red skirt. He didn't smile or tease as he usually did. What wouldn't go away was the image of Nick clasping Zoe's waist just moments ago.

The two stared at each other silently.

The air was calm, yet it seemed like a battlefield with smoke and gunpowder.

After about a second, Nick put his hands in his pockets, lowered his eyes, pinched the cigarette from his lips, extinguished it, and descended the stairs.

Leo pursed his lips and remained silent, watching him intently.

Nick raised his eyebrows and said, "I'm leaving."

He walked ahead without any intention of waiting for anyone, offering no explanation or conversation.

Leo turned to face Nick, his long legs resting on the stairs, and said, "Didn't you say you wouldn't fall for Zoe?"

Nick paused and lazily stretched out his voice, "Ah, yeah."

"What was that about just now?"

Leo asked casually, but his voice was taut.

"What was that about?"

Nick chuckled, "Just a helping hand."

Leo: "..."

Hmph.

Not long after the three figures disappeared from the staircase, a pale blue figure emerged. Ivy held her phone, which was still in a call.

The caller ID displayed: "Nerida."

Inside, Nerida was speaking.

"Ah?

You mean Zoe?

Don't worry, she used to pursue Nick relentlessly, but he was completely indifferent to her."

"You should keep an eye on other women."

Ivy: "..."

Really?

Did I just imagine it?

That casual reach and embrace from Nick.

He happened to be wearing a white shirt and black pants, while Zoe was in a red dance dress, looking delicate and fragile in his grasp. It was quite stimulating.

This... is called indifference?

Back in the dormitory, only Luna was there. Ellie and Stella hadn't returned yet.

Luna sat cross-legged on the bed, clipping her toenails, and glanced at Zoe, "You're back?"

The beautiful girl.

Zoe put down her clothes, tied her hair, and said, "I'm going to take a shower."

She was sweaty all over, feeling sticky, and with her makeup, it was even more uncomfortable.

She turned into the balcony, removed her makeup and washed her face, then entered the bathroom. When she emerged, she felt refreshed all over.

Luna was playing with her tablet and said, "Your dance is trending.

Zoe glanced at her tablet and saw that the school forum was full of praise for the dance. The freshman lead dancer immediately gained the attention of countless people for her exceptional beauty.

Luna said, "Not many people noticed you, but there are some."

"Take a look."

She opened a post for Zoe to see, with the title, "The older sister self-study student is so beautiful, I love her. Please give me her WeChat."

Below were photos of Zoe, enlarged.

They were taken during the dance using a phone camera and the clarity was quite impressive.

Zoe: "..."

"And this student council president, that overly handsome guy, is also super popular! What are these young people thinking?"

The forum was filled with posts about him, saying that he hadn't attended the performance last year but came this year specifically during the time of your dance. They speculated if he came for the lead dancer.

Luna chuckled while reading and reciting the posts.

Zoe paused for a moment, smiled, and then pulled a chair to organize the books on the desk.

Nick...

Would he go out specifically for a girl?

It was hard to imagine.

After sitting in the dormitory for a while, Zoe's phone rang.

The caller was the senior who choreographed the dance. Zoe answered, and the senior's cheerful voice came from the other end, "Zoe, are you in the dormitory?"

Zoe: "Yes."

"Come out, we're downstairs. Gather your dormmates and let's go singing."

The senior's voice was accompanied by others' chatter, including those of the freshmen and the lead dancer girl.

Indeed.

A group of people had gathered downstairs, all having changed back into their own clothes.

The senior said, "I see you."

Zoe: "..."

After a busy evening, Zoe was tired. Even after her shower, she had simply put on her pajamas. But this senior was too impressive, directly coming to block her at the dormitory entrance.

The senior said, "Come down and bring your roommates."

"Alright."

Zoe couldn't bring herself to refuse.

She said, "Give me a moment."

"Sure."

After hanging up, Zoe had to return to the dormitory. Luna asked with her arms crossed, "Going out to play?"

"Yeah, together."

"Alright, I'll accompany you."

Luna picked up her clothes.

The two of them changed their clothes and went downstairs. A group of people were chatting downstairs, and the senior waved eagerly when she saw Zoe coming down.

Zoe and Luna followed the senior quietly towards the north gate.

The senior was constantly on the phone, presumably still inviting people.

When they arrived at the north gate, Luna asked the senior, "Should I drive?"

The senior shook her head with a smile, "We have a chauffeur tonight."

As soon as she finished speaking, a red Porsche Cayenne drove up and stopped at their feet. The girls were quite excited.

Luna pulled Zoe and said, "This car won't be enough for all of us."

Zoe glanced at the group and nodded.

The senior smiled and said, "Don't worry."

Shortly afterwards, another black Jaguar stopped, making Zoe's heart skip a beat. The girls were even more excited, covering their mouths with their hands.

"Is that Senior Nick?"

Luna, who knew cars, smiled and said, "This model is quite in line with his personality. That Porsche is too showy."

Zoe: "..."

The two cars stopped one after the other, but no one got out of the vehicles.

The senior calculated the number of people and directed a few to go towards the red Porsche.

She smiled as she counted, pointing to Zoe and Luna.

"You two, go sit in the Porsche?"

Zoe and Luna didn't mind and nodded, walking towards it.

As they passed the Jaguar, the window lowered just enough for Nick to be seen holding a phone to his chin, his elbow resting on the window frame. He glanced lazily at Zoe.

Zoe also looked at him.

Nick looked at her coldly, still talking on the phone, nodding and making affirmative sounds in a low and casual voice that was especially sexy in the air.

After passing the Jaguar, Luna turned to look at Nick and said to Zoe, "This guy, he's truly dangerous."

Even she, a woman who had seen many men, was unconsciously attracted to him.

Zoe didn't respond, and the two of them got into the car. From the driver's seat of the Porsche, Leo turned his head with a smile and handed them two bottles of water, "Welcome to my happy ride..."

When Zoe saw Leo, she immediately fell silent.

She had tried to avoid him in every way possible, but had failed. Since she hadn't seen Leo driving this car before, she had thought...

Luna gave Zoe a knowing look and chatted with Leo.

Inside the black Jaguar in front.

Nick continued talking on the phone while looking at the rearview mirror. In the mirror, Zoe's figure entered the Porsche and the door closed.

Only then did Nick open his door and get out.

Noah ran out of the school, panting, "I'm late."

Nick put away his phone, put his hands in his pockets, greeted the senior, and walked into the school. It was obvious that he had only driven over and didn't intend to be their driver.

The other girls who hadn't boarded yet stared dreamily at his departing figure.

"Senior, isn't he coming with us?"

One of the girls asked.

Noah bent down to get into the car and smiled, "He has other things to do. What?

Your hearts fluttering?"

The girls blushed.

The karaoke place was the same one where Zoe and Luna had played billiards before, a bustling area full of entertainment options.

The karaoke room was already set up, and as they went upstairs and pushed open the door, loud singing reverberated inside, deafening.

Zoe instinctively rubbed her ears.

Luna took Zoe by the hand and quickly took up the best spot.

There were already some people in the room, and seeing the two older sisters, they politely moved aside.

Luna smiled and nodded, "Thank you."

The boys and girls looked shy, and as soon as Noah entered, he stared at Luna. After arranging the seating, he sat down next to Luna and asked, "Hey, junior, do you drink?"

Luna rested her cheek on her hand and replied with a smile, "I'm afraid you can't drink as much as me."

"Let's have a competition."

Noah's eyes lit up, and he shouted for someone to bring alcohol. Soon, the atmosphere became lively.

Zoe squeezed in next to Luna, lowered her head to play on her phone, and tried to minimize her presence. She wasn't interested in drinking.

After Leo finished talking with the senior, he came over and sat down next to Zoe.

Zoe glanced at him and instinctively moved to the side.

Leo opened a bottle of herbal tea, inserted a straw, and handed it to Zoe, "It's not chilled."

Zoe: "Thank you."

Someone was already singing on the other side, and Leo, under the dim lighting, stared at Zoe's profile for a while. Then he leaned over and whispered, "Do you still like Nick?"

Zoe was startled, and she tightened her grip on her phone.

Her thoughts churned.

Given the rumors between her and Leo and Leo's warm attitude, she hesitated, wanting to lie and say that she still liked him.

That way, she could make him give up, but... how could she bring herself to say that?

After a while, Zoe bit the straw, drank the herbal tea, and replied to Leo, "No, I don't like him anymore... but... I'm not interested in dating anyone right now."

She gently rejected Leo.

However, Leo only heard the first part and not the latter. His eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously, only hearing what he wanted to hear.

Zoe: "..."

At that moment, Leo's turn to sing arrived, and damn, the song was "Love is too Long for a Paper".

He took the microphone and handed one to Zoe.

Zoe looked up, startled.

"Sing together," Leo winked.

Seeing this, the entire karaoke room erupted in laughter and cheers.

Everyone knew about the rumors between these two!

"Zoe, Zoe! Leo, Leo!"

"Sing together! Sing together!"

With a bang, the door of the karaoke room was pushed open.

Nick stood there, smoking a cigarette, his hands in his pockets, backlit.

The entire room fell silent for a moment due to this commotion.

Nick curled his lips, lazily laced with a hint of mockery, "Love is too long for a paper, huh?"