The little girl was so happy she almost stood up. No wonder she was so excited—Shawn Thompson truly lived up to the “帅” (“handsome”) in his name. He was tall, with a naturally great physique, fair skin, and didn’t look like an athlete at all. Add to that his handsome face, a buzz cut that made him look energetic, and his always-polite manner (but only to pretty women). As the absolute star and main player of the school basketball team, it was almost impossible for him not to be popular.

He himself, out of consideration for the many single girls at U University, had a principle: one girlfriend per semester, trying to give unlimited care to girls during his limited college years.

Shawn Thompson spotted the busy, graceful figure sitting in the middle of the room as soon as he entered. He walked over quietly and sat down beside her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Sophie was fully absorbed in molding clay. She wasn’t interested in the teacher’s lecture about the history of pottery. Mainly, as a girl who had a strict upbringing, she never got to play with mud like boys did when she was little, so she decided to indulge herself in the university’s pottery club. She was simply playing however she liked.

“Wow! What’s that?” a voice sounded beside her. Sophie turned to look—it was Shawn Thompson.

“A little pig!” Sophie held up her creation.

“But, no matter how I look at it… it looks like… a ‘Sibuxiang’!” (a mythical creature, literally “neither like this nor that”)

“Hee hee!” Sophie stuck out her tongue. “If you can’t understand it, that’s what makes it art!”

“…It really is an ‘artwork’…” Shawn Thompson smacked his lips. “Tomorrow I’ll take it to the school’s modern art center and hold a Sophie solo exhibition!”

“Haha! No need for that! By the way, don’t you have to train? I see you come here a lot—do you like playing with clay too?”

“Playing… playing with clay? The pottery club teacher would cry if they heard that… Well, I’m just a substitute anyway. No matter how much I train, I probably won’t get a chance to play.” Shawn Thompson shrugged.

Sophie frowned. “Don’t say that. If you train hard, even a substitute can become a main player…” Sophie suddenly thought of John Bolton. Sometimes he got discouraged easily, but sometimes, just a word from her would make him lively again. He was a bit childish, really—a kid who would never grow up!

Sophie started molding the clay again, wanting to make a Jason Bolton. At that moment, she seemed to forget all about Shawn Thompson beside her, focusing only on shaping the Jason Bolton in her heart.

Shawn Thompson watched as Sophie stopped mid-sentence and suddenly fell silent, then started playing with the clay by herself! For the first time, Shawn Thompson felt he couldn’t clearly grasp what a girl was thinking. In his eyes, Sophie always seemed to be shrouded in a mysterious veil. But the more mysterious she was, the more interested he became.

Who doesn’t want a beautiful woman? Especially one with such poise. Shawn Thompson decided he had to win Sophie over, even though he knew she already had a boyfriend. But he didn’t care—just because she had a boyfriend, does that mean he couldn’t pursue her? What kind of nonsense is that? Besides, that guy seemed to be quite popular with other girls now, which actually made for a good opportunity.

Sophie was completely absorbed in her creation, totally unaware of Shawn Thompson’s thoughts. In her eyes, Shawn Thompson was just the first stranger who helped her with the pigsty when she entered campus—enthusiastic and cheerful. In this unfamiliar environment, making another friend wasn’t a bad thing.

A friend, just an ordinary friend.

A girlfriend, a future girlfriend.

The two of them—who could say for sure…

When someone saw the notice for tomorrow afternoon’s Freshman Cup match on the bulletin board, another wave of excitement swept across campus. All the fans were looking forward to another passionate performance from the history department.

Jason Bolton was excited too. Every Wednesday afternoon, more punctual than a period. He looked forward to once again receiving the cheers and adoration of the crowd.

But on Tuesday afternoon, the sky started to cloud over and the wind picked up. Jason Bolton looked at the weather and had a bad feeling.

The weather forecast said:

Tonight through tomorrow, light to moderate rain, northeast wind at force three, lowest temperature nineteen degrees Celsius, highest temperature…

Hefei, located between the Huai River and the Yangtze River, has a humid, rainy climate. Every spring and autumn, once the rainy season arrives, it’s hard for the rain to stop. Everything from sky to ground becomes wet and gray, making people feel depressed.

The rain started in the second half of the night and hadn’t stopped by morning. By noon, it was coming down even harder.

Jason Bolton stood at the edge of the field with an umbrella, looking at the pitch that had turned into a mud pit, and sighed inwardly. There was no way they could play today. He kicked at a splash of water in frustration and turned to leave.

Sophie was staring out at the rain from her dorm room window. On odd weeks, they had no classes on Wednesday afternoons. This week was an odd week—she had planned to watch Jason Bolton’s game, but now it was all ruined. A long afternoon with nothing to do—how should she spend it?

She picked up the phone and dialed Jason Bolton’s dorm. Henry Clark answered.

“Ah? Sophie? Haha! You’re looking for Jason Bolton, right? He went out to play PS with the others. When will he be back? I have no idea. With no game this afternoon, he’s really bummed out—he’ll probably have to vent it all out in the game before he comes back!”