It was easy to say that she was avoiding Hua Zhao...but whether that was a feasible plan? Not really. It was seven in the morning and right now they were participating in the mandatory morning run. With nearly six hundred acres owned by the university that they traversed through daily...it was a wonder why they still required students to participate in morning runs?
It was ridiculous.
Although nobody was actually running... they were walking. Listening to audiobooks or music with their phones. And some were even walking backwards. "Hah! I can do this with my eyes closed." Bo Ling challenged his friends with a laugh. His voice was so loud that even she could hear it.
She bit her lip and slowed down her pace, waiting for them to get even further away from her. She wanted to be as discreet as possible. Zhao's circle of friends were about a couple of meters away from her. She was in the back along with the few stragglers.
"U-uh, Chan Lee right?" A voice spoke up.
She turned to see a familiar face. A young woman with owlish glasses, blinking at her. "Mei, it's been awhile. What can I do for you?" she mustered a smile.
"Ah, I just saw you today and wanted to catch up for a bit." The girl smiled demurely. "It's been a year since we were freshmen!"
"It sure is, so how are things with you?" she asked. "I'm glad we finished our research together." Was that even a good thing to say?
"I-I'm good, I've made a couple of good friends at the Environmental Engineering and Science club. What about you? Have you joined any clubs?"
Chan Lee sheepishly laughed, "Not really. I'm doing my best to take extra modules."
"Oh, you want to graduate early."
She nodded. "The earlier, the better."
"You should still have time to relax though!" Mei spoke to her with a small pout.
Chan Lee couldn't help but think that her acquaintance was cute and also a bit assertive now. She was glad for that. "I do have time to relax and I've also made friends too."
"Do you mean, Hua Zhao?"
"W-well, no." she paused. "I mean yes. Kind of." She scratched her head. She was thinking more in the lines of Xue and even Han Jing.
"Do forgive me for speaking up but... he's a bit of a—"
"An idiot." she muttered and glowered at the distant figure.
"N-no! I wouldn't say an idiot, though he sits in the back rows a lot and they're a bit of a rowdy group..."
"Well, it's not like we're really close." she waved her off. It was a bit disorienting that she was getting asked about this. She only talked with the man twice!
Mei relaxed. "That's a relief, if anything I think you'd enjoy the club I'm in or we should hang out sometime?"
Chan Lee paused for a moment, "I-I'd like that, send me a message if you're going out."
"Of course!"
A warm glow coursed through her heart, she was looking forward to that. "So what did you have in mi—" She stumbled back and landed on her butt.
"A-are you alright?" Mei moved towards her.
"I'm good." She looked up to see a man turn to her with a peeved expression. She had stumbled into him carelessly. "U-uh, my bad!"
"But Lee, he's the one who—"
The man wordlessly extended a hand. She raised a brow but reached for it and he pulled her up. "Be more careful with strangers next time." He then turned away and jogged off.
