Throughout the entire afternoon training session, Chen Jinshan acted as though he had been injected with chicken blood.
He was in an exceptionally hyped state.
He even devoured his dinner like a whirlwind sweeping through clouds, tilted his head back to finish his soup in one gulp, and left without a single backward glance.
Sitting at the same table, Gao Zhiyang was so shocked that he forgot to swallow the rice in his mouth, exchanging dumbfounded looks with their other two roommates.
When the three of them returned to the dormitory and pushed the door open, they found Chen Jinshan enthusiastically trying on clothes.
He tried them on one by one, completely unbothered by the hassle, striking all sorts of vain, posturing poses in front of the full-length mirror on the wall with every single outfit.
The sight made Gao Zhiyang feel so nauseous that the rice he had just eaten threatened to come back up.
Because Chen Jinshan’s behavior was truly bizarre and his expressions and movements in front of the mirror were so uncanny, the three of them tacitly pretended to be blind, silently minding their own business.
After a long period of dawdling, it finally came down to the final selection.
Holding a jacket in each hand, Chen Jinshan turned around to ask them, “Give me some input. Does this one look good, or is that one handsomer?”
Gao Zhiyang chimed in, “The one on the left, probably. The denim jacket looks a bit more youthful and energetic.”
Roommate Number One immediately followed up, “I think so too.”
Roommate Number Two: “Ditto.”
Without a shred of lingering attachment, Chen Jinshan tossed the denim jacket into the wardrobe.
He took the leather jacket from his right hand, propped it up with a hanger, and hooked it onto the outside of the wardrobe.
He made a swift, decisive judgment: “Then I’ll wear this leather jacket tomorrow.”
Gao Zhiyang and the other two felt utterly indignant: “Chen Jinshan, you’re questioning our taste!”
Chen Jinshan sat down on his hanging chair and said faintly, “I think I heard someone saying earlier today that they didn’t have enough allowance left. Who was that? It’s only the beginning of the month.”
The moment Gao Zhiyang heard this tone, he knew there was a chance.
Instantly switching to a flattering expression, he hurriedly raised his hand, “I said it. Brother, Shan-ge, my blood brother, Boss Chen, I bought a graphics card and I really don’t have any money left for food. Please save your brother from this dire situation.”
Seeing this, Roommate Number One immediately joined in, “Me too.”
Roommate Number Two: “Ditto.”
Chen Jinshan slowly fished out his phone and let out a theatrical sigh, “Why does my back hurt a little?”
Quick on his feet, Gao Zhiyang rushed forward to pound his back.
“My arms feel quite sore too.”
Roommate Number One massaged his arms.
“My legs are pretty tired as well.”
Roommate Number Two kneaded his legs.
That night, Chen Jinshan—whose mood was good enough to pull off ten consecutive mid-air spins—sent dozens of red packets into the dormitory group chat.
The other three snatched the red packets until their hands grew numb.
When they saw the amounts, their eyes practically gleamed with gold coins as they shouted, “Boss Chen is truly generous today!”
Chen Jinshan fell asleep with a smile on his face that night, actually waking himself up from laughing a few times in between.
Meanwhile, in the girls’ dormitory, Zhou Xiaqing woke up yet again.
She picked up her phone to check the time 2:15 AM.
It had been a mere hour since the last time she woke up.
The other three in the dorm were fast asleep.
She sat up cautiously and opened the memo app on her phone.
Those four notes were already deeply engraved in her mind, and she had rehearsed them numerous times in her head.
However, with actual combat about to begin, she couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.
Practice makes perfect.
Once again, she envisioned Chen Jinshan’s reactions and words.
In her daze, she seemed to drift off, navigating through a half-awake, half-dreaming state until morning arrived.
Her roommates left one after another.
Liu Jia got up very early to do her part-time tutoring job.
Xu Ling also dressed herself up exquisitely before heading out to an unknown date.
Zhang Mingzhu packed up her things to head to the library.
Before stepping out the door, she asked Zhou Xiaqing, “Are you coming back tonight?”
Zhou Xiaqing lied, claiming that her younger cousin was coming over to visit and that she needed to act as a tour guide for the day.
Zhou Xiaqing thought about it, a hint of hesitation in her voice: “I probably won’t be back.”
If her seduction plan succeeded, they would likely check into a hotel room near the Financial Street.
The door clicked shut, leaving Zhou Xiaqing entirely alone in the dorm room.
Opening her wardrobe, she hesitated for a long time.
She picked out several outfits and tried them on one by one in front of the mirror before finally locking in today’s look.
After applying light makeup and styling her hair, she slipped a few touch-up cosmetics into her bag.
After a moment of hesitation, she also tucked in a phone charger.
As she sat on her chair letting her mind wander, she ultimately slid her ID card into the inner zippered slot of her bag just to be safe, it was always better to be prepared.
She wanted to send Chen Jinshan a message hinting for him to bring his ID card as well, but no matter how she hinted at such a thing, it would be glaringly obvious.
Besides, registration could always be done using a digital ID nowadays, so she abandoned the idea.
The morning training session finally concluded, matching Chen Jinshan’s intense longing.
Emerging from the swimming pool, Chen Jinshan dashed back to his dorm to change into the prepared clothes, even spending ten minutes styling his hair.
On his way to Zhou Xiaqing’s dormitory, aside from the excitement, exhilaration, and urgency, a subtle trace of nervousness quietly swelled up from the bottom of his heart.
He thought to himself that every time he attended a relative’s wedding, those grooms standing on the stage filled with anticipation for the bride’s appearance probably shared this exact same state of mind.
Reaching the side of that all-too-familiar streetlamp, Chen Jinshan came to a halt and pulled out his phone to send Zhou Xiaqing a message.
He was waiting for her downstairs.
Keeping his eyes locked unblinkingly onto the entrance of the dormitory building, he wanted to make sure that the very first second she appeared, he would see her.
And she walked out.
It was early November, the late phase of autumn, and the chill was deepening.
Zhou Xiaqing wore a white shirt layered under a deep gray knit cardigan.
Her lower body featured a matching plaid pleated maxi skirt, with black loafers on her feet and a vintage British messenger bag slung over her shoulder.
The outfit made her look exceptionally serene and elegant, thoroughly exuding a scholarly aura.
Her makeup was light, clear, and clean.
Her long hair cascaded down, held back entirely by a deep gray velvet headband that pushed all the hair away from her forehead.
Aside from the baby hairs at her temples, not a single strand was left loose to frame her face.
On her small face sat striking and exquisite features.
The contours of her face were smooth—a display of raw, effortless beauty.
He froze on the spot.
Suddenly, memories of the fourth grade rushed back to him.
Their two families had been having a meal together at his father’s restaurant.
During the feast, his mother treated him like the Magic Mirror, teasing him: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful person in this world?”
“It’s Mom,” he had answered without a second thought.
He had been exceptionally clever since childhood.
When he wasn’t causing mischief, he knew exactly what words would make his mother happy.
“My son really knows how to sweet-talk me.”
Although she said that, his mother still smiled from ear to ear, continuing to ask him playfully, “Let me ask something a bit more realistic. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful person in this room?”
“It’s Mom!” he shouted even louder.
“Is that the truth?”
“The absolute truth!”
The next second, he saw Zhou Xiaqing push the door open and walk back in after using the restroom.
He immediately changed his tune: “It’s not Mom. It’s Zhouzhou.”
It was Zhouzhou.
It was the Zhou Xiaqing standing right in front of him at this very moment.
“Chen Jinshan, you look pretty handsome today.”
Zhou Xiaqing kept her mission close to her heart.
Strictly adhering to her newly established persona, she opened up with a sincere, unforced compliment right off the bat.
But in all fairness, he really was very handsome today.
One glance was enough to tell that he had also put effort into dressing up: a gray hooded sweatshirt under a black leather jacket, paired with loose washed-blue jeans whose slightly long cuffs stacked over his gray sneakers.
His hair had also been meticulously styled with hair wax, looking highly textured in a very sharp three-seven side-swept undercut.
A total show-off.
“Zhou Xiaqing, what did you just say?”
Chen Jinshan looked down at the tiny mole on the left side of her nose bridge, his tone intentionally hostile. “Who did you call a show-off?”
Had she accidentally let her inner thoughts slip out of her mouth?
Damn it!
“I said small steamed buns crab roe small steamed buns,” Zhou Xiaqing smoothly covered up without changing her expression.
“When I was in Shanghu, I used to eat them all the time.
I haven’t been to any of the shops around here yet, so today happens to be a good chance to go try them with you.”
As they walked out of the campus together, she laid out today’s itinerary for him.
First, they would take the subway to Financial Street to have Taizhou cuisine.
After lunch, they would head to the neighboring shopping center to watch a movie, followed by some shopping, and finally wrap up the evening with some local specialty snacks over there.
Chen Jinshan calculated the time in his head. “When we head back tonight, the subways should still be running.”
You idiot, who wants to rush back.
Zhou Xiaqing silently rolled her eyes.
“Zhou Xiaqing, who are you calling an idiot?” Chen Jinshan gritted his teeth.
Had she actually spoken it aloud again?
“I said grit some grit got into my eye.”
Zhou Xiaqing rubbed her eye in a performative, artificial manner, her acting utterly terrible.
“Do you really take me for an idiot, Zhou Xiaqing!”
Just then, two girls happened to walk past them.
Looking at the two of them, they giggled and whispered among themselves, “Wow, those two look like a perfect match standing together!
A top-tier beauty and a mega-hottie, so pleasing to the eye!”
Chen Jinshan regained his composure in a split second, a faint smile rippling at the corners of his mouth.
An idiot then, so be it.
Zhou Xiaqing’s idiot.