Chapter 125

That day, Song Anan was tidying up her desk in the dormitory when Li Sirui rushed in, in a flurry.

"Anan, little Anan, you've gone viral!!"

Song Anan was stunned for a moment, thinking it must be another trending search about her again.

Why did she think "again"? That goes back to last year when she accompanied Song Linchuan on a lifestyle variety show that became unexpectedly popular. Neither of them had anticipated the show would explode like that.

But that was already a year ago, it had long faded from public consciousness.

"What for this time? Am I topping the trending chart?" Song Anan asked.

She wondered if Jiang Han had seen it. If so, he'd probably be working to take down the trending topic.

Li Sirui was also stunned for a moment. "No, I didn't mean the trending chart.

Song Anan blinked, then what was it?

Li Sirui shoved her phone in front of her, "I'm talking about our school's forum, posts about you and Pei Kuang have gone viral!"

Pei Kuang.

A familiar yet unfamiliar name to Song Anan.

She was familiar with the name Pei Kuang, the legendary figure of B University's Medical School, or to be precise, the entire B University.

Like Song Anan, he was also in the 8-year MD-PhD program, and was said to be the top student in his cohort every year with exceptional talents. The dean of their medical school took him under his wing as a closed-door disciple.

Judging by this, one could say he's the legend of their medical school.

But why the legend of the entire B University? The reason was simple - his looks!

Pei Kuang was known as the "Godly Face of B University". With just one blurry photo taken during military training, he took the B University forum by storm.

Since he enrolled in B University, he had been the "Campus Heartthrob" for 8 consecutive years!

The title did not change hands until after he graduated.

Reportedly, several talent agencies had approached the school trying to sign him for a debut in entertainment industry, but were rejected by him. He appeared determined to devote his life to medical career.

Song Anan had heard people around her mention him ever since she became a freshman.

"Hey, do you know Pei Kuang? I heard he's very handsome."

"Wow! So you are from the Medical School! Have you seen our school's heartthrob Pei Kuang?"

Comments like these were not rare. It would be difficult not to know about him.

However, Song Anan had never seen Pei Kuang in person. He had already gone abroad by the time she enrolled.

She heard he was hired by a prestigious hospital locally after graduating a couple years ago, and had been working there since.

Song Anan wondered what had happened, but when she took Li Sirui's phone for a look, she said, "Aren't these old posts? Why are they suddenly trending again?"

Speaking of these posts, Song Anan felt somewhat helpless about them.

B University had an unspoken tradition of selecting "campus belle" and "campus heartthrob" annually. Shortly after Song Anan enrolled, she was somehow voted "campus belle" out of the blue.

Later, for some reason, a post mentioned her and Pei Kuang together, calling them the two faces of the Medical School.

She didn't think much of it at the time, only occasionally hearing her roommate bring up that many were shipping her and Pei Kuang on their school forum.

Song Anan was even more puzzled by this. What's there to ship? The two didn't even know each other. What's there to ship?

Perhaps for this reason, the matter just spread within a small scope at the time, and quickly blew over without making too huge a wave, or causing much disturbance to the two persons involved.

But unexpectedly, just last year, possibly owing to Song Linchuan's overwhelming popularity, people dug up her past after they appeared on the variety show together, as her popularity was also high.

This wouldn't have been an issue in and of itself. Song Anan had anticipated such an outcome before going on the show, and didn't think there was anything that couldn't be brought to light.

What caught Song Anan off guard was that netizens actually dug out the old shipping post about her and Pei Kuang, and it even trended for a time.

Although Jiang Han promptly got the topic taken down, it did cause some impact.

Song Anan had always felt apologetic about the matter, since Pei Kuang was caught up in the unnecessary trouble because of her.

At the time, she asked a senior schoolmate acquainted with Pei Kuang, to convey her apology through him.

According to that senior schoolmate, Pei Kuang expressed his kind understanding. But Song Anan still felt remorseful towards him.

So seeing the old incident being brought up again now, Song Anan inevitably felt a bit nervous.

Li Sirui patted Song Anan on the shoulder, and said mysteriously: "Why is it being brought up again? Of course it's because..."

Song Anan's heart was instantly suspended as she nervously swallowed her saliva: "Because of what?"

Li Sirui unconsciously raised her tone a little: "Because, Senior Pei has returned!"

Song Anan let out a few "ah"s, suddenly feeling a bit muddled.

Pei Kuang came back, returned where? "I heard Senior Pei came back to China, and is now working at our school's affiliated hospital. Someone took a photo of him and posted it on the forum."

As Li Sirui spoke, she scrolled down her phone and opened up a picture to show her: "Is it my illusion? Why do I feel Senior Pei has become even more handsome than in the old forum photos?"

Song Anan stared blankly at the photo on the phone, dazed for a moment.

He was very handsome.

Wearing the same white coat as other doctors, Pei Kuang stood out from the crowd.

Well, with a face like his, he would shine no matter where he stood.

Just as Song Anan was lost in thought, Li Sirui suddenly looked at her with great gossip interest: "Little Anan, your rumored partner has returned. Any thoughts?"

Song Anan pursed her lips. What thoughts could she have?

She didn't even dare imagine it.

Ever since the shipping post trended, Song Anan would inevitably feel guilty at the mention of Pei Kuang.

Thinking of their potential encounters in the future, she couldn't help feeling somewhat at a loss.

Students in clinical programs at their medical school did internships at their affiliated hospital. Naturally Song Anan would be going over as well.

Now that Pei Kuang had returned, they were bound to run into each other whether they wanted to or not. Oh well, her internship was still a year away. Hopefully it would all have blown over by then, Song Anan comforted herself.

But she didn't know plans could never keep up with changes, and changes happened so swiftly it caught her completely off guard.

After chatting with Li Sirui for a while longer, Song Anan glanced at her phone and hurriedly got up.

"I'm running out of time, got to go now."

Li Sirui casually asked: "Where are you rushing to? So urgent?"

Song Anan replied: "A student council senior sister's birthday, I'm going over to celebrate with her."

Li Sirui didn't know this senior sister, so she didn't ask further, only telling Song Anan to give her a call if she drank too much and needed picking up.

Song Anan waved her hand, said she didn't drink alcohol, told her not to worry, and left the dorm.

The birthday senior sister was called Zhang Han, also from their Medical School, a few grades above Song Anan. She was a senior sister Song Anan knew from the student council who had always looked after her well.

Song Anan checked the location Zhang Han sent her, it was a KTV, not too far from their school, probably a half hour drive by cab. By the time Song Anan arrived at the booked room as directed, there were already quite a few people inside.

Seeing Song Anan, Zhang Han immediately came up to greet her, "Anan, you came!"

Song Anan smiled with a nod, and handed over the birthday present she brought, "Senior sister, happy birthday."

Zhang Han smiled as she accepted the gift, hugging Song Anan.

Just as she was about to chat with Song Anan for a bit, the room door opened again. As the birthday girl, Zhang Han was destined to have no rest.

Helpless, she could only leave Song Anan to another girl's care, and went to entertain the other guests herself.

In fact, Song Anan was no stranger to most of the people present. Aside from the variety show she participated in last year, it was mainly because most of them were also from the Medical School, and had heard of or seen each other more or less.

Plus they had the mutual familiarity through Zhang Han. Shortly after sitting down, Song Anan was chatting with several people around her.

Gradually more and more people filled up the room, and the atmosphere became increasingly lively.

Song Anan had always felt somewhat uncomfortable in such occasions. With the room getting crowded, she found a corner to stay in, thinking she would take her leave after singing the birthday song and cutting the cake, if she could excuse herself from Zhang Han earlier.

But after a while, Zhang Han still didn't show any sign of getting into the main event, and the people around couldn't help but feel strange.

"Zhang Han, why haven't you started yet? I'm anxious to sing happy birthday," someone said.

Zhang Han smiled and said, "Everyone wait a moment, there are still people who haven't arrived yet, soon, it'll be soon."

Hearing this, everyone stopped saying anything.

Song Anan unconsciously touched her nose, she didn't know if it was an illusion, but she felt Zhang Han seemed to glance at her when he said someone hadn't arrived yet.

But there was no reason, she must be overthinking it.

Song Anan soon threw the thought to the back of her mind.

Not long after, the door of the private room was opened again, and two male students walked in, looking quite tall from afar.

The private room suddenly quieted down, and everyone looked up at the two people at the door in unison.

Song Anan was no exception, but from her angle, she was looking against the light and couldn't see the faces of the two people clearly.

"Senior Brother Pei!" someone shouted.

Hearing this title, Song Anan's heart couldn't help but tighten.

Senior Brother Pei?

What a coincidence.

Just as she was apprehensive, the next second, everyone suddenly turned to look at her. At this time, the two at the door had also walked in, and they looked over at her along with everyone else.

It really was Pei Kuang!!

Under everyone's gaze, Song Anan unconsciously shrank back into the sofa.

Why were they all looking at her?

Her mind went blank, Song Anan had no idea how to react. Fortunately, Zhang Han came forward in time to help her out of the awkward situation.

"Hey, why is everyone looking? The birthday star is here, come on, don't just stare," she said jokingly.

The male student who came in with Pei Kuang was the first to react. He walked over to Zhang Han and handed over the gift he brought, "Junior sister Zhang, happy birthday. This is a gift from me and your senior brother Pei. Don't look down on it."

Pei Kuang also spoke, "Happy birthday."

Zhang Han smiled so wide her eyes were barely visible, "To have senior brother Li Xiang and senior brother Pei here, I'm so honored. Of course I wouldn't look down on the gift."

The few exchanged a few more pleasantries, then some familiar faces came over to greet them as well.

Looking at the crowd not far away, Song Anan finally silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that everyone had arrived, next would naturally be the main event - singing happy birthday and cutting the cake. Everyone came forward to give Zhang Han their birthday blessings.

Finally, led by the birthday star Zhang Han herself, everyone raised their glasses to celebrate.

Song Anan poured herself a drink from the side and also stood up.

But just as she raised her glass, a male student next to her suddenly said, "Junior sister Song, drinking a soft drink? Here, here, eighteen years old, old enough to drink alcohol now."

As he spoke, he poured her a glass of alcohol and handed it to Song Anan.

Seeing this, Song Anan quickly waved her hand and declined, "I'm sorry senior brother, I have a very low tolerance for alcohol, I can't drink."

She wasn't being modest, she really couldn't hold her liquor.

To what extent exactly? Without exaggerating, she'd be knocked out after one glass.

Last month when she turned eighteen, her eldest brother and sister-in-law celebrated with her along with Lin Chuan. To celebrate her coming of age, they drank a glass of red wine.

Really, just a small glass, and she immediately passed out drunk, unconscious.

At that time, her eldest brother and sister-in-law, along with Lin Chuan, were all stunned. No one had expected she'd have such a low alcohol tolerance.

In the end, Lin Chuan had to hurriedly piggyback her home before they even finished celebrating her birthday.

Because of this, her eldest brother and sister-in-law specifically gave her a stern order to never drink alcohol outside again!

Hearing Song Anan's words, that male student looked like he still wanted to say something, but was stopped by Pei Kuang stretching out his arm.

"Alright, we're all going to be doctors, so let's not push drinks on others."

At his words, the alcohol persuasion stopped, but people's gossipy spirits were ignited.

Oh my! He's protecting her!?

To say, of those at the medical school who shipped their cp the hardest, it was the students there.

To trace it back to the source, the first batch of people on the B University forums who paired them up were basically medical school students. It couldn't be helped. With their looks, they really brought honor to the medical school!

For so many years before Song Anan and Pei Kuang showed up, their medical school never had anything to do with the school belle and school hunk competitions on campus. Those were always snatched up by the schools of arts and literature next door.

But it didn't matter! Whether they had them or not, once one appeared, they would dominate the screen.

Pei Kuang monopolized the school hunk title for eight years. Song Anan has already monopolized the school belle title for three years, and will likely continue occupying that spot for the next five years.

Such glorious things!

Therefore, in order to be even more glorious, the first batch who paired the two up upheld the principle that one plus one is greater than two.

In their words, they wanted to expand the influence even more.

Admittedly, it made no sense, but looking at photos of the two's stunning looks together, one would suddenly feel like fervently shipping them.

Faced with everyone's gossiping expressions, Song Anan was extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately everyone had appropriate boundaries, after giving the two of them a teasing look, they retracted their gazes.

Not long after, the people in the private room were immersed in fun. Some were singing, some playing games, some chatting in hushed voices. The atmosphere was very lively.

Song Anan chatted with the senior sister next to her for a bit, but soon that senior sister was called away by someone opposite them.

She looked at the time, it was getting late, so she planned to first go to the bathroom before finding a chance to say goodbye and leave.

But when Song Anan came back from the bathroom, she found someone else sitting in her previous spot - it was Pei Kuang.

He was speaking to a senior brother next to him.

Song Anan hesitated for a moment before still walking over. She could have gone to sit at another empty seat, after all she wouldn't be staying for much longer.

But the problem was her bag was still there, she'd have to take her bag when leaving.

Song Anan had planned to just take her bag and leave without disturbing their conversation, but unexpectedly Pei Kuang moved over after seeing her, leaving the spot she previously sat empty.

If she directly took her bag and left now, it seemed a bit inappropriate.

Like she was deliberately avoiding Pei Kuang.

Song Anan hesitated for a few seconds before sitting down.

She planned to sit for five more minutes before leaving, so it wouldn't seem too obvious. But unexpectedly, before five minutes passed, the senior brother speaking with Pei Kuang was the first to leave.

Song Anan: "......"

The private room wasn't small, most people were in the middle section, some singing, some playing games, while their spot was at a corner where there were usually fewer people, only those wanting to chat would come sit here.

With that senior brother's departure just now, now only she and Pei Kuang were left.

There was a somewhat awkward atmosphere.

Pei Kuang turned to look at her, smiling as he asked, "Do you mind me sitting here?"

Song Anan was stunned for a few seconds. "No, I don't mind."

Pei Kuang nodded lightly. "That's good, seeing you not speaking, I thought you did mind."

In his eyes, not speaking meant she minded?

But she really didn't know what to say, so she could only look at him and stiffly say, "Hello, senior brother."

Pei Kuang was clearly stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting this reaction from Song Anan.

He chuckled lowly and replied, "Hello, junior sister. Do you need me to introduce myself?"

Song Anan shook her head. "No need, I know who you are, senior brother."

Pei Kuang uttered an "oh", his tone carrying a hint of amusement. "What a coincidence, I also know who you are, junior sister."

The two looked at each other for a few seconds before both bursting into laughter at the same time.

The atmosphere also lightened up along with the laughter.

Song Anan thought about it and decided she still wanted to directly apologize to Pei Kuang. In her opinion, if it weren't for the hot search incident last year, their ship probably wouldn't have escalated to the degree it was at now.

Judging from the reactions of the people in the private room today, he must not have had a shortage of teasing over this matter after returning home.

After all, there were many of their senior brothers and sisters at the medical school affiliated with B University.

"Um, senior brother, sorry," Song Anan said.

Although she didn't state what she was apologizing for, Pei Kuang clearly understood.

His brow quirked slightly as he looked at Song Anan and asked, "Did you buy that hot search?"

Song Anan's eyes widened as she quickly waved her hands in denial. "No, I didn't buy it!"

Why would she buy a hot search! That would be crazy!

Pei Kuang's eyes lifted slightly as he said lightly, "So you see, it's got nothing to do with you, no need to say sorry."

Song Anan was stunned for a moment.

How could it have nothing to do with her? After all, it was because of her that he got caught up in this.

Seeing her reaction, Pei Kuang smiled and said, "Alright, if you really feel apologetic, why don't you treat me to a meal sometime as compensation, and we'll call it even."

Song Anan let out an "Ah", a little slow to react.

Her, treat him to a meal?

Pei Kuang raised his brows lightly, "Don't want to?"

He shrugged, "Fine, if you're forcing yourself, then just pretend..."

Seeing Pei Kuang had misunderstood, Song Anan anxiously interrupted him, "No!"

Just to make sure he understood clearly, she emphatically repeated, "Not at all unwilling!"

Pei Kuang asked uncertainly, "Really not forcing yourself?"

Song Anan nodded heavily, "Not one bit forced, it's only right."

Pei Kuang's mouth lifted slightly, "That's good then, if it's no trouble."

"Then let's exchange WeChat, it'll be easier to set a time later."

Song Anan obediently took out her phone and brought up her QR code to hand over.

Pei Kuang took out his phone and successfully scanned to add WeChat: "Done, now just verify my contact."

Song Anan gave an "Oh" and tapped 'Accept'.

Looking at the newly verified WeChat contact on his phone, an imperceptible smile flashed in Pei Kuang's eyes.