You are all bad women! Don't come over!

The principal passionately delivered his speech at the side, giving Shen Mochen time to prepare his own.

But for Shen Mochen, there was simply no need; he could easily come up with such nonsense on the spot.

His bored gaze searched the audience below; the faces of girls who met his eyes would blush, and the bolder ones would even stare at him with a hint of flirtation.

Compared to this, the boys' reactions were varied, but the only one who was really smiling and waving to him was Liu Bo. Shen Mochen wanted to see Zhao Yuji's reaction, but unfortunately, he searched the crowd for a long time without spotting him.

Perhaps he had taken a leave of absence, Shen Mochen thought, which wouldn't surprise him.

In fact, Shen Mochen didn't know that recently the school was abuzz with rumors about him. With public discussions forbidden, the stories grew more outlandish in whispers.

Some said he was a lost Young Master from a top Family, some claimed he was actually a Prince of a certain country, while others said he had been favored by the highest echelons of Buque and taken as a paramour, and yet others speculated he had been killed, and the person now was an imposter standing in for him.

Shen Mochen was oblivious to these rumors, and even if he knew, he wouldn't have cared too much. Now, he was just marveling at how, just a few months ago, he was an ordinary member of the audience, thinking destiny was really a curious thing.

Suddenly, he thought of Su Mo, who must be accustomed to this sort of situation by now. It had been a long while since he had dreamed of him; the last time, Su Mo seemed as if he wanted to say something. What was it that he wanted to say? Shen Mochen vaguely felt it must have been something important.

As the principal spoke with fervor, Shen Mochen's mind wandered.

Catherine's hands roamed restlessly over his leg, and he took the chance to grasp her slender hand.

A director noticed the two's movements beneath the table. "What are you two up to? Keep it under control, will you?" he thought. "If there weren't other people around, would you be gnawing at each other?"

Of course, he could only grumble inwardly, pretending not to have seen anything.

After what felt like an eternity, Catherine poked Shen Mochen, who snapped out of his reverie, realizing it was time for his speech.

...

The meeting lasted until noon before Shen Mochen and Catherine left the scene, with the teachers and students following suit at a slower pace.

After the meeting, many were looking for Shen Mochen, but he and Catherine seemed to have vanished into thin air; even the cafeteria aunt said they had taken away two meals before departing.

Yet, despite searching the entire school, the students found no trace of them. Could the two have already left?

"Weren't there arrangements for someone to show them around the school in the afternoon?"

"I really didn't expect you to be capable of picking locks."

In the deserted library, Catherine sat in a comfortable leather chair, eating lunch with a smile in her gaze.

"Ah, in my reckless youth, I acted the outlaw for a few years," Shen Mochen said grinningly, without a shred of shame on his face.

Originally when Shen Mochen had pulled Catherine to the library, she wanted to mention that she had already returned the library key when she left school, but it turned out he didn't need a key at all— a piece of wire was enough to jiggle the lock open.

After lunch, the two of them tidied up a bit and picked out some books to read. They had spent many noons just like this, back in the day.

Shen Mochen sat across from Catherine, gentle sunlight spilling over the girl's figure. Her long hair shone like platinum, and her icy skin was bathed in a halo of light.

For a moment, it was as if he had returned to the past.

Back then, he wasn't any kind of star, had no superpowers, knew nothing of the world's fortunes, and cared not for the fate of humanity. He was just an ordinary person, focusing solely on honest study, hoping to find a good job in the future, oblivious to the safety or peril of the world.

"Why are you looking at me?" Catherine looked up to find Shen Mochen staring blankly at her and smirked slightly, "What, are you reminiscing about the past?"

"Hmm, I really never expected we'd have today... At that time, I was thinking, Catherine is so beautiful, why does she look at me differently? Could she possibly fancy my organs?"

"I thought your memories would be more romantic. You actually spent all day thinking about this kind of thing?"

"It was indeed very romantic, especially now that reality reflects back on those memories. You don't know how much I loved watching you bow your head and read."

Catherine pursed her lips and smiled faintly, "But in my memory, you were just a bookworm, who came to the library only to study. Even if the world's most beautiful girl was beside you, you could focus on your studies with undivided attention!"

Shen Mochen laughed, "How could I really be undistracted? Princess Kajiena was so beautiful, even a highly disciplined monk couldn't calm his mind. I was just more discreet with my peeping."

"So that long fringe you had before was just for sneaking glances at me, huh?"

"Ah, you caught me?"

The two teased and laughed with each other, the sunlight perfect, the years long.

"By the way, there's something I've always wanted to do here with you. Close your eyes," said Catherine.

"What is it?"

"Close your eyes!"

Shen Mochen closed his eyes, and Catherine stood up, walked to him, and bent down to gently kiss him on the lips.

"This kiss is worth a hundred," Catherine said with a light smile.

...

In the afternoon, they strolled around the school. Shen Mochen had been away for only half a year and there hadn't been many changes to the school, just an additional sports center and the infirmary had been relocated.

Speaking of the infirmary, Shen Mochen and Catherine exchanged glances, both remembering what had happened before, and then they smiled.

"You're quite the fast runner," Catherine said.

"It's my life-saving skill. If I didn't run fast, I would have been beaten to death when I was a kid," Shen Mochen said.

Leaving First Middle School, Shen Mochen and Catherine drove home.

"By the way, I need to go back to Roman in a while," said Catherine. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Why are you going back to Roman again?" Shen Mochen asked.

"Exams! Did you think I have a job like you? I'm still a student, you know. I'll have a lot of time after the exams are over."

"Are you going to study at a university in Roman?"

"While I don't really mind where I am, the schools in Roman are way better than yours in Yupi, right?"

"Well... that's actually true..." Shen Mochen scratched his head, "I'm afraid I can't just go abroad easily."

"Should I take a break from school to stay here?"

"No, don't. You should focus on your studies and not give up on yourself entirely for love."

Catherine chuckled, "That's something you should say to Han Muxue, not me. Of course, I'll go to school. I'll just have to come and find you during vacations... Oh, right, what color of iron underwear do you like?"