good night

After finishing the meal, Su Baizhou bid farewell to the owner, Sister Zhou, and then returned to her pink "Chopped Pepper Fish Head" car. Luo Ye sat in the driver's seat, feeling a bit nervous. Today's date was coming to an end, and he couldn't help but wonder if the senior liked him at all.

"Back to the teacher's apartment," Su Baizhou said softly.

Her alcohol tolerance wasn't great, but since it was her first time out with a guy, she wasn't going to drink too much. A bottle of plum wine had little effect on her, just making her face a little flushed.

Luo Ye could see the faint flush on her cheeks, though her expression remained as cold as ever. He sneaked a glance at her, and his heart began to race. This senior was truly a fairy — she was so beautiful.

Since it was past rush hour, there weren't many cars on the road. The "Chopped Pepper Fish Head" car had a large internship sticker on the back, and with its pink color, it seemed to be a girl's car. No one dared to mess with it.

Soon, they arrived at the teacher's apartment and parked. After getting out of the car, Su Baizhou grabbed her bag and said, "Your phone's been buzzing nonstop."

Luo Ye took out his phone. While driving, he hadn't been able to check it, and now he saw that his roommates were frantic because he hadn't come back yet. They thought he had a new crush and was abandoning them.

"My roommates are urging me to go back home," Luo Ye said, glancing around. "Senior, you live in the faculty apartments too?"

Su Baizhou hesitated for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, room 614."

Luo Ye found the room number familiar, but it didn't immediately ring any bells. He had only been there once and, after half a month of military training, had forgotten all about it. Even if he went again, he'd probably have to look up the address.

Luo Ye waved and said goodbye to Su Baizhou. But instead of leaving, he stood there and watched her walk upstairs before he left.

When he got back to the dormitory, he didn't go in immediately. He looked at the bottle of plum wine in his hand. If he went inside, Wang Dachui would definitely try to grab it from him. So, Luo Ye decided to drink it right there.

He drank it in one go. It was sweet with a hint of sourness, very delicious, but it didn't make him feel tipsy at all. After tossing the empty bottle into the trash, he walked into the dormitory.

As soon as he entered, his roommates surrounded him.

Wang Dachui stood at the front, his eyes wide with suspicion. "What happened? You better explain yourself to your three dads."

Shen Qiao smiled and said, "Looks like something's up."

Li Haoyang sent a picture.

Wang Dachui exclaimed, "Wait, hold on, you're dating Ice Heart?!"

Hearing the noise from the group chat, Luo Ye quickly closed his phone. He decided to pretend he hadn't seen the messages. After all, the situation was a little hard to explain.

But it looked like their fitness coach had been completely wrapped around the little leggy girl.

"Wild child, don't you want to rank up?" Luo Ye quickly returned to his desk.

Wang Dachui grinned. "Of course, let's go!"

But since his novel hadn't been updated yet, Luo Ye decided to finish it first. He was tapping away at the keyboard when Wang Dachui asked, "Hey, I've been wondering — you've been typing away since the first day of school. What's the big secret?"

"I'm a web novelist," Luo Ye casually wiped his nose, saying it coolly.

But to the others, this sounded like something else.

"What? Are you writing adult content?"

Wang Dachui rushed over, trying to peer at Luo Ye's draft.

"Stop talking nonsense, writing that stuff is illegal."

"It's fine, just show it to me," Wang Dachui grinned lewdly.

"Get lost!" Luo Ye shouted, rolling his eyes.

After finishing his writing, Luo Ye saw his roommates had gone to bed, with Shen Qiao still staring at his phone, seemingly reading a novel.

Luo Ye lay down and was about to take off his pants when he felt something in his pocket. He pulled it out and froze.

It was the key to Su Baizhou's "Chopped Pepper Fish Head" car.

Oh no, when they got out of the car earlier, he had subconsciously put it in his pocket.

Luo Ye was about to message Su Baizhou, but then realized it was already 2 a.m.

He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed the time. For novel writers, staying up late was nothing new.

But sending a message now didn't seem appropriate, especially since it was so late.

Luo Ye knocked his head, frustrated with himself. "You idiot, you didn't even message her after she got home."

He'd never pursued a girl before. His high school crush was something he never acted on, only confessing to her after graduation, which led to an awkward end.

But with Su Baizhou, he felt that he liked her for real. Sure, maybe it started with physical attraction, but that didn't necessarily mean anything bad. It could just be the beginning.

He sent her a message: "Goodnight, senior."

Luo Ye then tried to sleep, but he couldn't. Without hearing back from her, he found it hard to rest.

Su Baizhou, reading his message, froze for a second. "Goodnight?"

Back in high school, there had been a boy who would tell her goodnight every day. But she hadn't been interested in him.

That same boy had confessed to her at a class reunion after graduation, only for Su Baizhou to reject him on the spot. He couldn't handle the rejection and, after the reunion, tried to threaten her into dating him. She rejected him again and blocked him, leading him to spread rumors about her.

Because of that, Su Baizhou started to dislike men and kept her distance from them. Even her female friends were few, and she became a social anxiety sufferer, eventually earning the title of "Iceberg Goddess" at her new university.

Looking at the message, Su Baizhou didn't respond but put her phone aside. She started typing again, feeling a bit uneasy. Something felt missing.

She thought about Luo Ye's image. That innocent and shy boy, always looking out for her when they played games. He might not even have realized he was protecting her, but he did.

And that sweet boy didn't seem to be able to handle bitter coffee.

This boy must be sweet.

She remembered something that her teacher, Gu Mingxuan, had said: "I told you to take care of my little brother, but you're not trying to get with him, right?"

Su Baizhou's face flushed slightly.

She picked up her phone again, opened the chat with Luo Ye, and typed two words: "Goodnight."