Chapter 14: This Senior is Really Amazing

Huo Ba met Zhang Yang’s gaze, the thought involuntary rising in her mind: His eyes are truly beautiful.

In response to Zhang Yang’s question, despite usually being rather slow to warm up with strangers, Huo Ba found herself compelled to say: “I forgot my textbook at home. I need to go back for it.”

“Forgot your textbook?” Zhang Yang glanced down at his watch. “There are only eight minutes left before class starts. You wouldn’t even make it back here from your dormitory, let alone have time to fetch the book. You’ll definitely be late. It might be better to explain the situation to the teacher and share a book with a classmate during the lecture.”

“That won’t work today,” Huo Ba explained. “We’re having an open-book quiz right after class. Not having my textbook will affect my score, and I don’t want to impact my classmates either.

“Besides, I left my textbook in the library. If I run over there now, I’d only be a few minutes late, which isn’t too big of a deal.”

“I see.” Zhang Yang nodded in understanding.

Just as expected, the Opportunity Guide’s advice is not only optimal but possibly the only solution.

If he hadn’t followed the guide and brought along his first-year Art Theory textbook, he wouldn’t have been able to help me—or at least not perfectly.

“Could you hold onto this for me?”

Zhang Yang handed the materials in his hands to Huo Ba, who instinctively reached out to take them.

“Coincidentally, I brought ‘Introduction to Art Theory’ for freshmen with me today.”

Zhang Yang unstrapped his backpack and set it down in front of him. He zipped open the compartment, retrieved a few books, and feigned a casual flip through them before pulling out one in particular. Holding it up to Huo Ba, he asked, “Is this the book you’re looking for?”

“That’s right! It is!” Surprise blossomed on Huo Ba’s face, but quickly gave way to confusion as she asked, “But… aren’t you going to need it too?”

Zhang Yang pointed at the cover of the topmost book among the stack he’d pulled from his bag. “I’m a second-year student,” he explained. “Of course I wouldn’t use your first-year textbook.”

“Oh, so you’re an upperclassman?” Huo Ba realized belatedly.

“Yes, I’m part of the Student Council. We’re here to deliver materials to Ms. Jiang.” Zhang Yang nodded towards the pile of documents in Huo Ba’s hands. “Luck’s on your side today; I just happened to bring my freshman textbooks along.”

“It’ll be time for class soon. You can use mine for now. I’ll fetch another copy from the library while you attend your lecture, then we can swap back after class.”

Huo Ba was deeply tempted—she certainly didn’t want to be late—but felt awkward about inconveniencing Zhang Yang to go retrieve a book for her. After a moment’s thought, she suggested, “Upperclassman, why don’t we exchange contact information? That way, if there’s any trouble finding a book in the library, I could reach out to you later.”

“I’ll borrow your book for now. Don’t waste time on my account; let’s arrange a suitable time and place later when you can come return it.”

“Don’t trouble yourself with fetching my books from the library either. I’ll go there myself after class.”

Zhang Yang wasn’t surprised by Huo Ba’s decision.

He knew a bit about psychology and recognized that Huo Ba was the type who disliked imposing on others.

“What’s your phone number?” Zhang Yang asked, seemingly in agreement with Huo Ba’s plan.

Huo Ba breathed a silent sigh of relief and promptly gave him her phone number.

Zhang Yang entered it, then immediately called the number to ensure it was correct before hanging up.

Putting away his phone, he said to Huo Ba, “Don’t be so polite with me. I was planning to study at the library until dinner anyway, which is why I brought all these books with me.”

“Just tell me where you were sitting in the library earlier, and I’ll start looking for your books right away.”

“If we wait until after your classes, someone might have taken them already, making it even harder to find them later.”

“If I manage to locate them, I’ll text you straight away. Then, once you’re done with class, bring my books to the library and exchange them.”

Huo Ba found Zhang Yang’s words quite reasonable. Realizing that she wouldn’t be imposing since he was heading to the library anyway, she nodded and said, “Thank you, Senior Zhang. I’ll leave this matter to you then. I was sitting on the second floor in Area X near the window.”

Zhang Yang replied with a simple, “No problem,” before turning around and leaving.

Huo Ba placed her notes on the podium neatly, then returned to her seat with her textbook.

“Hey Huo Ba, did someone find your book and bring it back?” Yuan Bingyan whispered as she leaned closer to Huo Ba.

From where Zhang Yang had stood earlier, slightly outside the classroom door, his presence blocked by Huo Ba herself, no one inside could see him. They only knew from the sound of their conversation that Huo Ba was talking to a male student.

“No, it’s actually a senior’s book. He’s part of the Student Council and came here to deliver some materials for Ms. Jiang. It was just luck…” Huo Ba recounted everything that happened at the entrance between herself and Zhang Yang without holding anything back.

Yuan Bingyan didn’t think much about it and smiled gently, asking, “Well, you certainly got lucky there! Is this senior who lent you his book good-looking?”

“I think so,” Huo Ba responded without hesitation. “He’s definitely the most handsome guy I’ve ever seen.”

This piqued Yuan Bingyan and Mi Re’s interest, making them eager to learn more.

However, at that moment, the teacher for this class entered the classroom. With their stern expression, everyone instinctively closed their mouths.

“Good. Let’s start with attendance.” The teacher said while taking out the attendance sheet.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yang leisurely made his way towards the library.

So this opportunity is about helping Huo Ba with a small task just to meet her?

To be honest, Zhang Yang found this opportunity quite average.

With his position as Vice-President of the Student Council and good looks, wasn’t it easy enough to get contact information from a junior student?

Huo Ba might become like Liu Shishi in the future - one of Hua Yu’s top female celebrities and a first-tier actress in China, but that was all.

Liu Shishi could even speak on his behalf, while Huo Ba had always been Jiaxing’s number one lady, known for her popularity but lacking any notable works. She was essentially a vase with just a hint of talent.

“I want opportunities, I want success; I don’t need you to help me pick up girls,” Zhang Yang mentally expressed his thoughts to the Opportunity Handbook.

After nearly ten minutes, he found a book near the seat Huo Ba mentioned, which had fallen onto the floor.

“I’ve found your book,” Zhang Yang sent a text message.

On the other side, Huo Ba felt her phone vibrate and glanced at the notification.

Relieved, she replied, “Thanks, Senior Zhang! I’ll come find you at the library later.”

Zhang Yang responded, “Sounds good, I’ll be at the seat we mentioned earlier.”

Huo Ba immediately acknowledged with a quick “mm-hmm”.

After a moment’s thought, she composed another message, intending to ask for Zhang Yang’s name—convenient for both tagging him and recognizing him in person.

She had a hunch that such a handsome senior likely wasn’t unknown on campus, but couldn’t quite place his name just yet.

Before she could send her question, though, a woman’s voice rang out from ahead, tinged with impatience: “Could you, young man, explain what you understand about the essence and characteristics of art?”

Immediately after, Huo Ba felt Yuan Bingyan tug at her clothes.

A chill ran down her spine as she stiffly lifted her head, meeting the teacher’s inscrutable gaze head-on.

Hastily standing up, Huo Ba appeared visibly flustered.

The teacher, however, didn’t press further. Instead, she repeated, “Huo Ba, please share your understanding of the essence and characteristics of art, or perhaps summarize them for us.”

Huo Ba quickly grabbed her textbook; she remembered that the teacher’s lecture just now was indeed about the essence and characteristics of art.

“Hm?”

Her eyes widened as they fell upon a section of the textbook that should have been blank but was now filled with notes. This senior sure is impressive! she thought, awestruck.