Huayu: This celebrity doesn't follow the rules.

Chapter 33 The School Beauty is Too Aloof
The plane tree leaves on the Minggugong Campus of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics have turned golden, and this 211 university, which specializes in aerospace, is bathed in the pale sunlight of late November.

Beside the school motto stele in front of the main building, which reads "Wisdom encompasses all things, and the Way benefits the world," groups of students hurriedly walked by carrying textbooks on aerodynamics and mechanical drawing. The admission score for the aircraft design major has consistently remained above 380 points in Jiangsu Province.

In front of Building No. 2 of the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Chen Duling was looking down at her debate materials.

She wore a navy blue suit jacket, the same style as those worn by the college, over a pure white shirt, and her straight calves were visible beneath a knee-length navy blue pleated skirt.

Unlike the girls around her who deliberately curled their bangs and carefully drawn eyebrows, she simply tied her long, black hair into a neat ponytail, revealing her smooth forehead.

Yet she still attracted the attention of all the boys around her.

"Chen, can I borrow your materials mechanics notes to take a picture?" A boy from the same class chased after him, panting.

She stopped and took a loose-leaf notebook out of her canvas bag.

The notebook on the title page, neatly marked with "Key Formulas of Mechanical Principles," gleamed with a pale blue fluorescence in the sunlight, without even a crease on the edges.

"Thank you, school beauty!" the boy said with a grin as he ran off.

Chen Duling frowned slightly; the title that had accompanied her throughout her university years still made her uncomfortable.

She looked up towards the direction of the School of Electronic and Information Engineering. Today was the semi-final of the third "Talking About Current Events" debate competition, where the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering would face off against the School of Computer Science and Technology.

The lecture hall in the Economics and Management Building was packed.

As Chen Duling entered the venue with the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering's debate team, a cacophony of cell phone shutters suddenly erupted from the back row.

"Chen Duling, the third debater for the opposition," the host said, suppressing a laugh as he read the note on his cue card, "please control the volume of the audience taking photos."

Amidst laughter from the audience, the male students from the Computer Science Department jostled and peered around.

Their debaters were all dressed in plaid shirts and black-rimmed glasses, a stark contrast to the neat dark blue suits of the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.

"The topic for the semi-finals of this debate competition is..."

Yan Wenkai, captain of the school's debate team, pushed up his glasses. "Should the aerospace field focus more on basic research or technological innovation? Please, the affirmative side, the School of Computer Science, begin with your argument!"

The first speaker from the Computer Science Department suddenly stood up: "Our side insists that technological innovation is the core competitiveness! SpaceX's reusable rockets..."

Chen Duling quickly took notes as the other party spoke, the pen tip scratching across the paper.

When it was the opposing side's turn to ask questions, her ponytail drew a confident arc in the air as she stood up.

"Second speaker for the affirmative side," she said, her voice clear and cool like an icy spring, "without Mr. Zhou Peiyuan's fundamental research on turbulence theory, how could there be modern aircraft aerodynamic design?"

The pen tip pointed precisely at the opposing debater, "The Falcon 9 rocket you just mentioned, its engine combustion stability research was based on Theodore von Kármán's work in 1953..."

The second debater from the Computer Science Department had beads of sweat on his forehead.

The Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Department's contingent erupted in cheers, with the boys snapping photos of their school's most beautiful girl.

The audience was abuzz with discussion.

"Holy crap! This knowledge!" Freshman Zhang Xiaofeng exclaimed, frantically slapping his classmate. "Who is this Feng something-men she just mentioned?"

The boys majoring in avionics in the back row scoffed: "You don't even know Theodore von Kármán? And you're chasing after the school beauty!"

"I heard she scored 148 on the college entrance exam in mathematics," the bespectacled senior said in a low voice. "Last semester, only three students in the entire mechanics class scored 90+, and she was the only girl."

Zhang Xiaofeng scoffed, unconvinced: "Just because I have good grades doesn't mean I can't pursue someone? I refuse to believe it..."

"Why don't you give it a try?" someone teased. "Last semester, after the Mechanical Engineering class, the student council vice president handed out roses in front of the entire lecture hall, and he didn't even touch the wrapping ribbon." The discussion was interrupted by a sudden burst of applause.

On stage, Chen Duling was giving her closing statement: "As Mr. Qian Xuesen said, if the foundation is not solid, the ground will shake. When we look up at the starry sky beyond the Kármán line, please do not forget that it is basic research that has built the ladder to the stars."

She bowed slightly, and the pearl earrings on her earlobes shimmered under the spotlight.

The discussion in the back row of the audience continued, with several boys staring wide-eyed at the radiant Chen Duling on stage.

"So beautiful!" a boy wearing black-rimmed glasses exclaimed in admiration. "No wonder she's the campus belle of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, her aura is absolutely stunning!"

“She’s more than just pretty,” the boy in the plaid shirt next to her chimed in. “She’s a real academic star! Last month, on the 19th of the school’s anniversary celebration, she gave a speech in the auditorium as a student representative. Her speech was so well-written that even the principal nodded in approval.”

“You guys are all behind the times,” a boy with a buzz cut whispered mysteriously, “Do you know what she did during the summer vacation?”

He looked around to make sure no one was watching before saying, "They're going to film a movie! It's Alec Su's 'The Left Ear,' and she's the female lead!"

"Really?" Several boys exclaimed at the same time, which drew disapproving glances from the audience in the front row.

"Of course it's true! My cousin works at a film company and said he saw her on set."

The short-haired guy said smugly, "Maybe she'll be a big star someday, and she'll be from a completely different world than us."

A collective sigh rippled through the crowd. Zhang Xiaofeng muttered resentfully, "She truly lives up to her reputation as our school's goddess... but she's just too aloof. I wonder which lucky guy will be able to win her over."

"Don't dream about it," the bespectacled boy pushed up his glasses. "It's impossible. She has high standards. I heard she even turned down a dinner invitation from the student council president."

"Aloof? I think it's alright."

A deep, magnetic voice suddenly broke in.

The boys then noticed that there was a strange man sitting next to them.

He wore a simple black turtleneck sweater with a dark gray wool coat on top. His tall and straight figure of 1.86 meters was particularly eye-catching even when he was sitting.

His sharply defined profile appeared particularly striking in the dim lighting of the lecture hall.

"Who are you?" Zhang Xiaofeng asked warily.

The man's lips curled slightly, his gaze still fixed on Chen Duling on the stage: "Just an audience member."

"Tch, stop acting all mysterious." The buzz-cut guy scoffed. "You say she's not aloof? Do you even know her?"

The man didn't answer immediately.

At that moment, Chen Duling on stage was bowing to express her gratitude, her gaze inadvertently sweeping across the audience.

She was visibly startled when she saw the man, but then casually looked away.

But the sharp-eyed Zhang Xiaofeng still caught this detail: "Holy crap! Was she just looking this way?"

The man chuckled softly and slowly stood up.

His impressive height immediately drew attention from those around him, and several girls began whispering about which college he was from.

"We wouldn't call ourselves acquaintances," he said, adjusting his cuffs as casually as if discussing the weather, "I'm just planning to ask her out for dinner later!"

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(End of this chapter)