166: Chapter 166 The Perfect Illusion and the Sense of Distortion

"My name is Lu Yuan."

When those two words left the mouth of the boy on the podium...

It was like a bolt of lightning striking down from the highest heavens!

It exploded with a roar in Xia Li's groggy mind!

"Lu Yuan?"...

His name was Lu Yuan!

The bright sunlight fell upon his profile—those deep eyes, that half-smile playing on his lips.

Xia Li sat in her seat, dazed.

She even forgot to breathe, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on the boy at the podium, a look of infatuation sparkling in her gaze that even she hadn't noticed.

He's so handsome!

How could someone radiate such a fatal attraction just by standing there quietly, making it impossible to look away?

"Hey!"

"A-Li!"

"A-Li! Snap out of it!"

A violent shaking came from beside her.

Her deskmate, Su Xiaoya, reached out a fair, tender hand and waved it frantically in front of Xia Li's eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's wrong with you?"

"Your soul's been snatched away; you're about to drool!"

Su Xiaoya lowered her voice and leaned in, her face full of gossip.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This is truly a once-in-a-blue-moon event!"

"Our No. 1 High School's incredibly cold Campus Beauty Xia is actually swooning over a boy!"

Teased by her best friend like this...

Xia Li suddenly snapped back to reality, a scorching blush instantly blooming on her snowy-white cheeks.

"What nonsense are you talking about! Who's drooling?!"

Xia Li gave Su Xiaoya a coy glare, guiltily pulling out a book and propping it up to hide her burning face.

The shyness and tsundere nature of a young girl were fully on display at this moment.

Instead of stopping, Su Xiaoya lightly nudged Xia Li's arm with her elbow.

"Stop pretending, I saw everything."

Su Xiaoya gestured with her chin toward the podium.

"Spill it. Do you know that new transfer student?"

"From the moment he walked in, his eyes haven't left you. He's been staring at you the whole time!"

Hearing this, Xia Li's heart skipped a beat uncontrollably.

A trace of irrepressible joy spread through her heart.

Did she know him?

She peeked from the edge of her book and happened to lock eyes with Lu Yuan.

The feeling was truly strange.

She was clearly seeing this boy for the first time, yet he felt incredibly familiar.

It was as if their fates had long been intertwined.

But... where had she seen him before?

Her mind was a complete blank; whenever she tried to think hard about it, a dull ache would set in.

Xia Li shook her head helplessly. "I don't remember. I probably don't know him."

"It doesn't matter if you don't know him!"

Su Xiaoya's eyes sparkled as she excitedly egged her on. "He's such a top-tier hottie, definitely school hunk material!"

"Want me to help you get his WeChat after class?"

"Don't you dare!"

Xia Li's face turned even redder, all the way to her ears, as she hurriedly reached out to cover Su Xiaoya's mouth.

...

The subsequent life in their senior year of high school returned to its usual calm.

Except that the boy named Lu Yuan would always appear before Xia Li, whether intentionally or not.

Not only that.

The sense of dissonance in Xia Li's heart grew stronger and stronger.

That man... was simply too perfect!

So perfect that it almost felt unreal!

He never paid attention in class, and there wasn't a single note in his textbooks.

Yet in every mock exam, his grades consistently surpassed hers, even though she was the top student in the grade.

He had a gentle temperament and his social conduct was impeccable.

He was always surrounded by a large crowd.

Not only were the girls in the class crazy about him, but even the haughty boys who usually loved to get jealous were completely won over by him.

They called him "Brother Yuan" one after another, treating him like a star.

On the basketball court in the evening.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire court a romantic orange-red.

Lu Yuan, wearing loose basketball attire, was sweating profusely on the court.

A beautiful dribble past an opponent, followed by a high leap—a perfect jump shot from beyond the three-point line!

Swish!

Nothing but net!

Then came a steal, a fast break, and finally, a powerful tomahawk dunk!

Those handsome and sharp movements drew continuous screams and starry-eyed looks from the young girls watching around the court.

After landing, Lu Yuan casually lifted his jersey to wipe the sweat from his face.

He turned his head, his gaze passing through the crowd to accurately find Xia Li in the distance.

The man waved at Xia Li.

The corners of his mouth curved into a sunny arc as he intentionally flashed a handsome and charming smile.

Looking at that perfect boy waving at her in the sunlight...

According to the thoughts of a normal girl...

She should have felt excited, perhaps even very happy.

But!

Suddenly!

A sense of dissonance struck...

Why do I feel like he should be looking down on me instead?!

Why is that look in his eyes just like every other man's?...

Deep within Xia Li's cerebral cortex, another sharp, needle-like pain flared up!

In her subconscious, blurry smoke, cold mechas, and blood-red figures churned frantically.

Buzz—!

Immediately after.

A strong wave of nausea suddenly surged in Xia Li's chest, even carrying a strange hint of curry flavor!

Why?!

Why is it that even though her heart flutters when she sees that face...

...she feels such a strong sense of greasiness?!

"Ugh..."

Xia Li's face turned deathly pale. She suddenly covered her mouth, her stomach churning.

Without giving Lu Yuan another glance, she spun around and fled as if escaping a plague.

"A-Li!"

Su Xiaoya, who had been swooning over the handsome guy, was startled and quickly chased after her.

"A-Li! Wait for me!"

"Eh?! What's wrong?! Are you feeling unwell again?!"

The hurried silhouettes of the two girls soon disappeared down the tree-lined path of the campus.

Xia Li ran all the way to the first-floor restroom of the teaching building in one breath.

She abruptly twisted the faucet open.

She scooped up the cold tap water and splashed it forcefully onto her face.

The icy sensation made the strong physical nausea recede slightly.

Droplets of water continued to drip down her snowy cheeks.

Xia Li braced her hands firmly against the marble sink, panting heavily.

She looked up, seeing her pale reflection in the mirror, dressed in her school uniform.

For some reason...

Even though she had only caught a distant glimpse just now...

...that sense of dissonance simply wouldn't go away.

The lingering smell of curry in her nose made her instinctively clench her fists.

Su Xiaoya rushed in out of breath, quickly pulling a tissue from her pocket and handing it over.

"A-Li, what on earth is wrong with you?"

Su Xiaoya was full of confusion and worry. "Lu Yuan was so cool playing basketball, and he even smiled at you. Why did you run?"

Xia Li took the tissue and wiped her face.

Buzz!

In that instant...

she suddenly became dazed again.

Yeah? Why did she run?

Didn't she... dream of that man's smiling face every night?

Eh?

Meanwhile, on the other side.

In the center of the bustling basketball court.

Watching Xia Li's retreating figure as she fled, the perfect, sunny smile on Lu Yuan's face vanished without a trace in an instant.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Deep within those seemingly clear and profound eyes, a flash of undisguised greed and lewdness suddenly flickered!