Chapter 14: This Senior Is Amazing

Reba met Zhang Yang’s gaze, a thought involuntarily crossing her mind: "His eyes are truly beautiful."

Upon hearing Zhang Yang's question, Reba, who was usually slow to warm up to strangers, found herself answering instinctively: "I forgot my textbook. I have to go back and get it."

"Forgot your textbook?" Zhang Yang glanced at his watch and said, "There are only eight minutes left before class starts. You don't have enough time to run to the dormitory and back; you'll definitely be late. It would be better to explain the situation to your professor and share a book with a classmate."

"That won't work today. We have an open-book quiz," Reba explained. "Not having a textbook will affect my grade, and I don't want to inconvenience my classmates either."

"Besides, I left my book in the library. If I run over there now, I’ll only be a few minutes late. It won't have much of an impact."

"I see," Zhang Yang nodded with a realization.

As expected, the guidance provided by the Opportunity Manual was the optimal solution—perhaps even the only one. If he hadn't followed the instructions to bring a freshman "Introduction to Art" textbook, he wouldn't have been able to resolve Reba's predicament, or at least not perfectly.

"Could you hold these for me?"

Zhang Yang handed the documents in his hand to Reba, who reached out and took them instinctively.

"Among the books I brought today, I actually happen to have the 'Introduction to Art' textbook for freshmen."

Zhang Yang pulled his backpack to his front, unzipped it, and took out several books. After pretending to browse through them, he pulled one out and held it up to Reba: "Classmate, is this the one?"

"Yes, that's it!" Reba’s face lit up with surprise, but then she asked doubtfully, "Classmate, don't you need it?"

Zhang Yang picked out the top book from the stack he had pulled out and pointed to the cover. "Junior, I'm a sophomore. Of course, I don't need a freshman textbook."

"Oh, you're a senior?" the slightly dazed Reba realized belatedly.

"Yes, I'm a member of the Student Union. I'm here to deliver these documents to Professor Jiang." Zhang Yang tapped the stack of files in Reba’s hands and added, "It’s your lucky day that I happened to bring a freshman textbook with me today."

"Class is about to start. Why don't you use mine for now? I’ll go to the library and find yours, and we can swap them back after class."

Reba was tempted; she didn't want to be late, but she felt bad about troubling Zhang Yang to go to the library for her. After a moment of thought, she said, "Senior, let's exchange contact information."

"I’ll borrow your book for now. You don't need to waste your time on my behalf. We can arrange a time and place later, and I’ll come find you to return it."

"And you don't need to go to the trouble of finding my book in the library. I'll go get it myself after class."

Zhang Yang was not surprised by Reba’s decision. He knew a bit about psychology and understood that Reba was the type of person who disliked inconveniencing others.

"What's your phone number?" Zhang Yang asked, seemingly agreeing with her choice.

Reba exhaled in relief and immediately rattled off her number. Zhang Yang entered it, called her, and hung up once her phone rang.

Putting his phone away, Zhang Yang said to Reba, "Don't be so polite. I was already planning to go to the library for self-study until dinner, which is why I brought so many books with me."

"Just tell me roughly where you were sitting in the library, and I'll go look for your book first."

"If you wait until after class to look for it, someone might have taken it by then, which would make it even harder to find."

"If I find it, I'll text you. After class, you can bring my book to the library, and we’ll swap."

Reba thought this made perfect sense. Since he was going to the library to study anyway, it wasn't really a bother, so she nodded. "Thank you, Senior. I’ll leave it to you then. I was sitting at a window seat in Zone X on the second floor."

Zhang Yang said, "You're welcome," then put on his backpack and turned to leave.

Reba placed the documents on the podium and returned to her seat with the textbook.

"Reba, did someone find your book and bring it back?" Yuan Bingyan leaned over to ask in a whisper.

Zhang Yang had been standing near the door, and with Reba blocking the view, those inside the classroom couldn't see him; they only heard that Reba was talking to a boy.

"No, it's a senior's book. He’s in the Student Union and came to deliver files to Professor Jiang. I was just lucky..." Reba recounted their conversation at the door without holding anything back.

Yuan Bingyan didn't think much of it and smiled gently, "You are lucky. Is this senior who lent you the book handsome?"

"I think he's very handsome—the most handsome guy I've ever seen," Reba said without hesitation.

This piqued the interest of Yuan Bingyan and Mi Re, who wanted to know more. But the professor for the course walked in at that moment, and her stern demeanor caused everyone to fall silent instinctively.

"Alright, let's start by taking attendance," the professor said, pulling out a roll sheet.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yang strolled toward the library.

"The opportunity this time is just to help Reba with a small favor so I can get to know her?"

To be honest, Zhang Yang felt this opportunity was mediocre. Given his status as the vice president of the Student Union and his looks, was it really that hard to get a freshman's contact info?

Reba would eventually become a top-tier star in the Chinese entertainment industry, just like Liu Shishi, but that was all. Liu Shishi could actually help him with connections, while Reba had always been the leading lady at Jaywalk Studio—she had popularity but almost no substantial work. She was essentially a vase with very little water in it.

"I want opportunities, I want a career; I don't need you to help me pick up girls," Zhang Yang communicated his thoughts unilaterally to the Opportunity Manual.

Nearly ten minutes later, he found the book near the seat Reba had described; it had fallen on the floor.

"I found your book," Zhang Yang sent a text.

Reba felt her phone vibrate and checked the message. She let out a sigh of relief and replied, "Thank you, Senior. I'll come to the library to find you after class."

Zhang Yang replied, "Sure, I'll be sitting right where you said you were."

Reba immediately sent back an "Okay."

After a moment's thought, she began typing a message to ask for his name, so she could save it in her contacts. She felt that such a handsome senior couldn't possibly be a nobody at the school, but she couldn't recall his name for the moment.

Before she could send the message, a sharp voice rang out from the front: "This student, why don't you answer: what is the essence and characteristics of art, and how do you understand it?"

Immediately after, Reba felt Yuan Bingyan tugging on her sleeve.

A chill ran down her spine. Reba stiffened as she looked up, meeting the professor's wry, scrutinizing gaze. She stood up hurriedly, her behavior and expression clearly flustered.

The professor wasn't being aggressive, but repeated, "Reba, answer the question. What is your understanding or summary of the essence and characteristics of art?"

Reba quickly picked up the textbook. She remembered that the lecture the professor had just given was precisely about the essence and characteristics of art.

"Huh?"

Her eyes fell on the pages of the book. Where they should have been blank, they were now filled with detailed notes. Reba’s eyes widened: "This senior... he's amazing!"