As soon as he arrived, Pu Li Ming jumped out of the driver’s side of the car and hurriedly grabbed his bag and keys before finally slamming the door shut.
He ran as fast as he could, slipping his keys into his pocket and sling bag in his grip so it wouldn’t hit his leg each time he took a step.
He caught a glimpse of one of his best friends waiting for him right outside of the building.
“Wenduo!” he shouted as he approached him.
Shang Wenduo narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, “Why are you late this time?”
Pu Li Ming sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in an effort to make it less messy, “I slept late finishing that project and slept through my first few alarms.”
“Which alarm did you finally wake up to?”
“…the fifth one.”
“…Pu Li Ming.” He was given even more of a deadpan, almost as a precursor to a scolding.
“I know! I know! I’ll manage my time better I swear.” Pu Li Ming answered.
Shang Wenduo only ‘tsk’s, “Like I haven’t heard that from you before.”
Pu Li Ming almost pouts, “Just leave it for today, Wenduo! You already scold me almost every day.” He says to which Shang Wenduo only responds with an eye roll.
He continues as if not noticing the reaction, “We should go. Has the conference started yet?”
His best friend looks at his watch before grabbing Pu Li Ming’s arm and tugging him inside, “In a few minutes or so. Come on, let’s go inside. And make sure to eat this char siu bao I brought for you.” Pu Li Ming only mutters a small agreement.
Once finally inside, the two settled in vacant seats by the middle of the room just as the conference started.
Shang Wenduo studiously takes out a notebook and starts taking down notes of almost every detail mentioned by each speaker and their different topics.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Another man was walking towards the stage. The next speaker maybe? But he was so young, a few maybe two years older than himself, Pu Li Ming thinks.
His eyes… Pu Li Ming couldn’t help but stare while the man climbed up the stage as the others in the audience clapped.
His phoenix eyes were a gorgeous onyx and perfectly framed by fierce dark eyebrows that perfectly matched his dark hair.
Pu Li Ming startles when Shang Wenduo’s shoulder slightly brushes against his own. Oh, the fourth speaker was already done.
“Now please welcome our final speaker, Zhou Fi Hai!” The host said into the microphone.
The man smiled politely to the crowd, nodding his head in an almost bow in greeting.
“Some of you may not know, but Mr Zhou is actually a graduate of Nom Si University. Not only that, but he was also the Top 1 lister when he graduated.” The host boasted.
Pu Li Ming’s eyes widened.
Top 1? He whispered to himself in disbelief.
“You didn’t know?”
You could almost hear the crack in Pu Li Ming’s neck when he turned to look at Shang Wenduo, “Know?”
“Zhou Fi Hai, he’s like a Campus God in the university. He graduated last year. Everyone in Engineering knows him.” Shang Wenduo explains.
“Well, clearly not me. I wasn’t even in the country until close to the start of the school year.” Pu Li Ming said.
“Right… I guess that does explain why you wouldn’t have known him. But surely you’ve heard of him before? I know for a fact that everyone in Engineering had been bemoaning about the Campus God finishing Uni. In fact, I’m sure Feng Phan and I have mentioned him before in some way.”
“…I don’t like listening to gossip?”
“Or maybe you’re just oblivious.”
“I’m not that bad—”
“Shh,” Shang Wenduo shushes him, making Pu Li Ming startle with an offended look on his face, “The Campus God’s about to start.”
Throughout their whole talk, the host finally finished his introduction of the final speaker.
As soon as Zhou Fi Hai’s voice rang through the speakers, Pu Li Ming was enraptured. It wasn’t a voice you’d compare to a siren (ironically enough with the state Pu Li Ming is in just from hearing him), silky and tempting. Instead, it was smooth and firm, and it almost demanded you to listen.
And of course, who was Pu Li Ming to not listen? To be fair, he’s never been one who’s known for self-control.
“…Aside from that, we also have Climate-Responsive Land Use Planning. Integrating climate projections into land use planning allows cities to anticipate and adapt to future climate change impacts. Avoiding construction in high-risk areas and implementing zoning regulations that consider climate vulnerability can improve resilience…”
Pu Li Ming was only paying half attention, but from what he did catch, Zhou Fi Hai was the real deal. He knew what he was talking about, and everything from his body language and tone of voice showed that.
“…By incorporating these innovative urban planning techniques and engineering solutions, cities can create more resilient and sustainable environments that are better prepared to withstand and recover from the challenges posed by natural disasters and urbanization. That’ll be all.” And with that, his last words and small bow were met with loud applause that made Pu Li Ming snap out of his daze once again.
“He was great.” Shang Wenduo complimented with a nod of approval.
“En…” Pu Li Ming agreed absentmindedly.
Noticing the weird tone, Shang Wenduo turns to him with narrowed eyes. Also noticing the stare, Pu Li Ming’s attention snaps to his friend, and gives him a bewildered look.
“What’s up with you?” He interrogates.
“What?” Pu Li Ming asks, “What do you mean?”
Shang Wenduo only hums before narrowing his eyes even more so that they were almost just slits before he goes to look back to the stage.
Without the intense gaze of Shang Wenduo on him anymore, Pu Li Ming’s tenseness relaxes, and almost breathes a sigh of relief.
Instead, his breath is caught in the middle of his throat when the man on stage being thanked for his speech, Zhou Fi Hai himself, crosses his gaze with Pu Li Ming for a split second.
While he seemed to stop breathing for a second, the other’s gaze just slipped past and away.
–
This author has something to say:
Playing Enchanted by Taylor Swift
Yes, MC is simping for ML
But— He doesn’t know it yet 😉
Oh wait, did you think I meant ML?
No, no, no… I mean Li Ming has no idea he’s simping for ML already 😃
On another more serious note!
You can go grab the role for this book in CG’s Discord Server!
Just check out the #get-your-roles channel, and react with the ☔ to get the role for Ready to Take, Ready to Break!
With said role on your account, you can be notified for any new updates!
Eitherway, my usual update schedule are every Saturday 10 PM Philippines Time!
I’m liking Pu Li Ming, he’s kinda cute?