Shopping at the mall
"What? What?"
Qin Yuwen, who was busy playing a game, looked up when she heard the noise.
"Zhouzhou, what's going on with you? You're actually smiling at your phone like an idiot? You've been acting weird lately."
She stood behind Su Baizhou, even pausing her game in the process.
"You're already a junior. Don't tell me the iron tree has finally blossomed?"
Su Baizhou gave a mysterious smile. "Take a guess."
Seeing the expression on her roommate's face, Qin Yuwen put down her phone and exclaimed,
"Something's up, something BIG is up!"
Overflowing with curiosity and nowhere to vent her gossip-fueled excitement, Qin Yuwen was about to lose her mind. But Su Baizhou ignored her, instead messaging Luo Ye on QQ.
Aichihuoguo: She's just like that. If she accepted your friend request, it means she's willing to get to know you.
Luo Ye: Really?
Aichihuoguo: Really. I'm her roommate. I know her very well.
Every word was sincere, without a trace of a lie.
Soon after, Luo Ye's green chat bubble appeared again.
This junior is really pure, Su Baizhou thought to herself.
---
Meanwhile, Luo Ye was still glued to his phone, his fingers tapping away non-stop.
Liu Bingxin, noticing this, asked curiously, "Are you texting your girlfriend?"
"Huh? No."
When dealing with other girls, Luo Ye didn't seem as childish. In fact, he had a faint "cool guy" vibe about him.
"Wow, such a handsome guy and no girlfriend?" Liu Bingxin teased playfully.
Then she pulled Tang Enqi over, grinning.
"Luo Ye, I think no one really doesn't want to fall in love—they just haven't met the right person yet."
"Look at our Qiqi here—great figure, beautiful, smart. Don't tell me you're not the least bit interested?"
Tang Enqi seemed a little shy when suddenly pulled over. She blinked, her pretty eyelashes fluttering slightly, then lowered her head bashfully.
"Luo Ye, long time no see."
To anyone else, she might've looked shy. But Luo Ye knew better—they were both just awkward as hell.
"Yo, Wild Boy!" Wang Dachui's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Liu Bingxin also blinked knowingly—she'd heard Tang Enqi mention a guy who confessed to her right after the college entrance exams.
Truth be told, Tang Enqi did have a bit of a crush on Luo Ye but had no idea how to respond to his confession. Plus, she'd heard he was an orphan, which made her wonder if his family situation wasn't great. She'd spent an entire summer torn about it.
But if he shows potential in college, she thought, maybe I'll give him a chance.
At that moment, Luo Ye noticed something odd near her eyes and couldn't help asking,
"What's that?"
"Huh? What?" Tang Enqi looked confused.
Wang Dachui quickly dragged Luo Ye aside, whispering,
"Wild Boy! You've never heard of double eyelid tape?!"
"What? You can stick that on?" Luo Ye looked genuinely shocked.
"Dude… do you not have any girls around to teach you basic stuff?"
Seeing Luo Ye's clueless face, Wang Dachui sighed deeply.
"Forget it. Later, just keep quiet. I think Bingxin is trying to set you up with Tang Enqi. Watch your bro work his magic."
"Don't." Luo Ye shook his head quickly. "Don't set me up."
"What? Are you blind, Wild Boy? That's Tang Enqi—the freshman campus queen! You're not even a little interested?"
Wang Dachui looked like he was about to lose it, wanting to crack open Luo Ye's head to see what was inside.
How can someone not be into beautiful girls?
But Luo Ye's mind was elsewhere—on Su Baizhou's last message.
She'd said she was busy arranging student council work logs and would chat later.
She's still working this late? Luo Ye thought. Senior is really hardworking.
He sent her a message:
If you're tired from work, I can carry you in games. Guaranteed wins.
He didn't expect much, but to his surprise, she replied with a simple:
Okay.
So she likes gaming too!
Common interests—that's important.
How did he know that?
Well, it was "Senior Qin Yuwen" who taught him that.
Senior Qin had said that if you want to get to know a girl, the first step is finding common ground.
As Su Baizhou's roommate, she'd often seen her playing games alone in the dorm, always solo-queuing and losing because no one played with her.
That's why Luo Ye had confidently offered to carry her.
Thank you, Senior Qin Yuwen, he thought. Your tips are gold.
---
Back in the girls' dorm, Qin Yuwen suddenly sneezed mid-game.
"That's weird. Is someone thinking about me? Why do I keep sneezing lately?"
Then, big red letters flashed across her screen: DEFEAT.
"Again?!"
She was ready to smash her phone.
Su Baizhou glanced at her furious roommate and asked,
"Wenwen, wanna play later?"
"You gonna carry me?" Qin Yuwen's eyes lit up.
"No, my account got banned. If you're not playing, can I borrow yours?"
"Of course, my invincible pro gamer!"
After losing all day, a free booster was too good to pass up.
---
Meanwhile, Luo Ye and his friends left the mall with bags in hand.
Wang Dachui and Li Haoyang looked like they'd just been robbed.
Dinner alone cost them 500 yuan, and shopping with the girls cost another 500.
Of course, they paid for everything willingly—it's not like they'd let the girls pay.
Luo Ye, on the other hand, only chipped in for the food. He had no interest in impressing the girls, so he didn't spend a dime on anything else.
Still, he couldn't understand why Wang Dachui and Li Haoyang looked so miserable.
It's just a few hundred bucks. What's the big deal?
After all, he grew up with his aunt and uncle, who ran a company in Beijing.
They even raised Gu Mingxuan—a multi-degree PhD prodigy—so money was never tight.
Luo Ye's parents died as heroes in the line of duty as police officers, a source of pride for the whole family.
His grandfather doted on him, and his aunt's family treated him like their own son.
Despite losing his parents young, he never lacked love—or money.
Plus, he made his own income from writing novels, rarely needing to ask for allowance.
---
Back at school, they walked the girls to their dorm.
Tang Enqi casually stayed close to Luo Ye, sneaking peeks at his phone like she was curious about who he was texting.
At the dorm entrance, Tang Enqi and Liu Bingxin cheerfully waved goodbye.
"Next time, bring that other handsome guy from your dorm!" Liu Bingxin called out.
"No problem!"
"Leave it to us!"
Li Haoyang and Wang Dachui responded like they'd just been injected with pure energy.
Luo Ye stared at them, dumbfounded.
Bro… is this the "emotional intelligence" you wanted to teach me?
Even if he didn't get it, it was obvious they were being led around by the nose.
As the girls disappeared from view, Wang Dachui slung an arm over Luo Ye's shoulder.
"So, learned anything?"
"Sorry." Luo Ye pushed him off, face cold. "I don't need to learn. I'm not gonna be a simp."
"What did you say? Wild Boy, are you getting cocky?" Wang Dachui snapped.
"Without the courage to be a simp, how can you find true love?"
Li Haoyang's jaw dropped.
A simp… who's proud of it?