It wasn’t until Kong Ning exited the chat window that she realized what a massive trap she had dug for herself.
Why should she bring her roommates just because Wei Mu asked her to?!
She had fallen for her trick again.
Besides, she hadn’t even figured out how to introduce Wei Mu to them.
Kong Ning considered her relationship with Wei Mu to be extremely complex, the kind that ordinary people simply couldn’t comprehend.
Wei Mu was…
Her enemy? Who has dinner with an enemy?
Her good friend? Kong Ning was the first to deny that.
Her childhood friend? Kong Ning was deeply reluctant to admit it.
In that case, wouldn’t it be better to say…
“Hey, some sucker wants to treat us to dinner tomorrow. Anyone want to go?” That evening, after everyone had climbed into their beds, Kong Ning finally brought up the matter, albeit reluctantly.
“Which sucker? A secret admirer of yours, Little Kong?” Le Xiu chimed in eagerly.
Gossip was her favorite thing in the world.
“Get lost! You’re the one with secret admirers.” Kong Ning felt that putting Wei Mu and “secret admirer” in the same sentence was entirely out of place.
“Oh, don’t deny it! As if we don’t know your charm, Little Kong.”
Le Xiu winked at her playfully.
Kong Ning didn’t want to pursue the topic. She indeed had a few unwanted suitors. Later, Le Xiu and the others mentioned that the girl who liked talking to her during military training had a crush on her. Kong Ning had felt deeply guilty about it; she didn’t want to be a heartbreaker who hurt other girls’ feelings, which made her want to keep a low profile even more.
Kong Ning believed that if it came to romantic affection, she didn’t like anyone. It was fine for people to compliment her, but they had better not fall in love with her.
She, Kong Ning, had no heart, no feelings, and no love to give.
“It’s my next-door neighbor’s daughter. She studies at Peking University next door, and my mom asked her to come check up on me.”
“She’s super rich, so we can total her wallet. Eat without worry.” Kong Ning tried her best to state Wei Mu’s identity in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, not wanting them to get suspicious.
For instance, why would the next-door neighbor’s daughter come to check up on her on her mother’s orders? That was very strange in itself.
Kong Ning had already thought it through: if anyone asked, she would just say she was too wild and her mother was worried.
Sure enough, someone raised a doubt. Not many people who got into Tsinghua University were fools.
It was just that the tone of their question was slightly different from what Kong Ning had anticipated.
“Next-door neighbor? You mean your little childhood friend!” Yu Lingbo said with certainty. Being able to know each other’s mothers and even being entrusted with a favor meant the relationship was clearly not as simple as just “the next-door neighbor’s daughter.”
“Uh, I guess so.” That was indeed the truth. She and Wei Mu had known each other since they were running around in diapers, so she couldn’t deny it.
“Hehehe, childhood friend, the wicked childhood friend,” Shen Nanxi suddenly chimed in, sounding eerily mischievous.
Without needing to ask, everyone knew she had been consuming some bizarre internet memes again.
“Help me, Nanxi! Can you stop surfing the internet so much? Give me back my quiet, refined beauty!” Yu Lingbo protested.
“Huh? Does this meme not fit the current situation?” Shen Nanxi asked in confusion.
“No!”
“No!”
“No!”
Everyone answered in unison.
“Wait, I remember now! You said earlier that your archenemy is also at Peking University. Spill it, what’s your little childhood friend’s name?” Le Xiu discovered the crucial point. Everyone Kong Ning knew had gotten into Peking University; she didn’t believe for a second that it was just a coincidence.
And they had long known from Kong Ning’s boasting that the woman who always managed to overshadow her was named, Wei Mu.
“Spill.”
“Spill.” The other two backed up Le Xiu’s intimidation.
“Are you two her parrot echoes or what?” Kong Ning complained.
“Detective Le is top-tier,” Yu Lingbo said.
“Lord Le is truly wise,” Shen Nanxi continued.
The two exchanged a look.
“We shall follow you unto death!!!” they declared in unison.
Ridiculous. Kong Ning rolled her eyes.
If one were to ask why Yu Lingbo and Shen Nanxi shared such tacit understanding, it was naturally because, this was a routine phrase Kong Ning herself used regularly.
Since Le Xiu and the others often went out, whenever Kong Ning was feeling lazy, she would beg her dear roommates to bring back food for her, and Shen Nanxi ended up benefiting from it as well.
The two of them often said, “We thank you, my Lord, for your benevolence in bestowing relief grain upon us commoners. We shall follow you unto death!”
Over time, this had become an established tradition in Dorm 203.
“Ahhhhhhh, you guys are so annoying! Yes, yes, yes, fine!”
“That person is Wei Mu.”
“Oho, so your archenemy is your childhood friend!” Le Xiu teased, sharing a laugh with Yu Lingbo.
“Oho, not bad at all,” Yu Lingbo added.
“Yo yo, check it out, give me a set of savory crepes,” Shen Nanxi continued with her cheesy internet slang.
“What did I do to deserve this!” Kong Ning lamented. With a loud thud, her straight back finally collapsed onto the bed. She had surrendered.
“Kong Ning, don’t abuse yourself by slamming into the bed. Be careful, or the people downstairs will complain. If you’re really that upset, you can hide under the blanket and cry. Don’t worry, we won’t laugh at you,” Le Xiu continued to tease, refusing to let her off the hook.
“You’re the one who hides under the blanket to cry!”
She wasn’t a crybaby like Wei Mu.
After that, everyone unanimously agreed to tag along with Kong Ning for a free meal.
How interesting it would be to see her for the first time, the “archenemy” of Kong Ning, the ultimate show-off!
The next evening, the four of them walked side by side down the street, strutting menacingly as they headed toward the restaurant together, determined to win this battle.
Of course, that was merely Kong Ning’s own perspective.
In reality…
“Little Kong, can you let go of my arm? It’s kind of tiring,” Le Xiu said helplessly, looking at Kong Ning, who was clutching her arm tightly.
“No! We can lose the fight, but we can’t lose our imposing air! Remember, we are a family, we are a team!”
Kong Ning said forcefully, tightening her grip on Yu Lingbo’s arm on her left and Le Xiu’s on her right. As for Shen Nanxi on Yu Lingbo’s left, she was simply being held forcefully by Yu Lingbo.
“You’re right,” Yu Lingbo replied in agreement, tightening her left arm as well.
If they were going to embarrass themselves, they couldn’t just leave three people out, they had to embarrass themselves together.
“Target acquired right ahead. Move forward!” Kong Ning waved her hand dramatically, pointing straight at a girl standing in front of the restaurant.
Everyone looked over in the direction she pointed.
The girl before them was wearing a light purple chiffon top with puff sleeves. The lotus-leaf frills along the neckline swayed gently with her movements. Below, she wore a crisp white pleated miniskirt that brushed just above her knees, revealing calves that were slender, straight, and as fair as snow.
She raised her chin slightly, and a few stray curls tossed by the wind added an unstudied air of playfulness. Though her outfit had a touch of youthful student charm, she was so breathtakingly beautiful that one couldn’t tear their eyes away.
Everyone couldn’t help but scream internally: How can a girl be this pretty?!
Even a dog passing by on the street would turn its head to take a second look at her.
Wei Mu had dressed up like this on purpose. She usually didn’t dress this way, but when her roommates heard she was going to meet that person from Tsinghua University next door, they mobilized en masse to take her shopping and even had her hair perked into curls.
Ning Qing and the others were laughing maniacally in their hearts: We are definitely going to make that guy head over heels.
Yes, they still assumed that Kong Ning, this mystery person, was a guy.
Since they had eaten her snacks, they naturally had to do a good job wingmaning for her, not to mention their Miss Wei was clearly in love with the other party.