He nearly choked on his drink, coughing twice before he could catch his breath. He stared at Xi Liye with wide eyes, as if he’d just heard a tall tale from an alien civilization.
“What? A public account? Oh… you mean those ‘Dating Guides’?” His expression became incredibly bizarre, like he was dying to laugh but trying his best to hold it back. “No… Old Xi, you didn’t… you didn’t actually read them, did you?”
Xi Liye didn’t deny it. He just looked at him calmly, his gaze saying: *And if I did?*
Qin Yu finally lost it. His shoulders shook as he leaned back, laughing so hard he nearly slid off the sofa. “My god… so the reason you actually came out tonight, for the first time in forever, was because you wanted me to recommend more articles?”
Xi Liye remained indifferent to the exaggerated reaction. He waited for Qin Yu to finish laughing before asking matter-of-factly:
“Wasn’t it you who told me I should learn how to date?”
Qin Yu was over the moon. Who would have thought the pride of the heavens, the cold-blooded King of Hell Xi Liye, would one day come to *him* for relationship advice? If this got out, he’d have enough material to mock him for a decade!
What a show! A once-in-a-lifetime show!
Qin Yu’s eyes darted around. He quickly reined in his overt laughter and leaned in close to Xi Liye, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper:
“Brother Xi, I get it, I totally get it! Love is a profound science. A few public account articles aren’t enough; those are just the basics for rookies.”
As he spoke, he glanced left and right like a thief to make sure no one was watching. Then, he reached into his flashy, designer clutch bag sitting in the corner of the sofa and rummaged around.
Xi Liye raised a brow at the suspicious behavior.
A few seconds later, Qin Yu pulled out a… small pink booklet. He shoved it into Xi Liye’s hand as if he were handing over top-secret government documents, using his body to shield it from view.
“Shh! Keep it safe! This is the good stuff! My most prized possession!”
Xi Liye looked down at the overly pink, almost blinding object in his hand. The cover featured rainbow fluorescent artistic lettering that read: ***《36 Strategies of the Green Tea Male: Secret Collector’s Edition》***, adorned with cartoon characters floating in pink bubbles.
His expression froze for a split second.
Qin Yu was still winking and nudging him. “Don’t let the tacky packaging fool you; the content is hardcore! Everything from basic theory to advanced practical drills… it’s all in there!”
The more he talked, the more he felt he was doing a great service for his friend’s happiness. “Believe me, Old Xi! Follow this, and I guarantee you’ll get twice the result with half the effort. You’ll have Wen Chu head over heels for you in no time!”
Xi Liye gripped the pink booklet, his fingertips tightening slightly. After a long pause, he spoke, his voice unreadable:
“Is this… what you usually read?”
“Ahem! I—I’m just broad-minded! It’s theoretical reserve! You think everyone is like you, with a negative dating IQ? Anyway, take it home and look. You might get some inspiration!”
Xi Liye didn’t say anything else. He looked down and, after a moment, tucked the booklet into the inner pocket of his heavy coat. *Fine. Everyone has their specialty. Qin Yu might be unreliable, but he’s had countless girlfriends; there must be something useful in there.*
Seeing this, Qin Yu’s grin nearly reached his ears. He was already imagining Xi Liye, with his usual “cold as ice” face, seriously studying that pink manual… the mental image was so beautiful he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud.
Xi Liye ignored him and drained the rest of his whiskey. The burning liquid slid down his throat, bringing a brief warmth and suppressing a strange restlessness.
“By the way… Wen Chu always sends me a lot of messages. When we’re together, she likes to get angry, but after every time she’s mad, she still awkwardly sends me more messages.”
“Why do you think that is?”
*She’s clearly angry, yet she still chattered away sharing her daily life with him.*
Every time he checked his phone after an experiment, he’d find a flood of messages from her: she’d eaten a pastry she liked at the cafeteria, she’d seen two fat cats fighting in the woods, her professor had assigned too much code for homework, or even just a complaint like “It’s so cold, I don’t want to go out.”
Why did she have so much to say to him over the phone when she barely spoke a word in person?
“Holy crap…” Qin Yu blurted out, looking at Xi Liye with an expression that said *this guy has no idea how lucky he is.* “Old Xi, you’re… you’re bragging, right? You definitely are!”
He leaned in, his envy nearly overflowing. “A girlfriend who is that clingy, that pretty, and who thinks about sharing her day with you even when she’s mad… how did a block of ice like you land someone like that? Where can I play Truth or Dare to get a girlfriend like that?”
Xi Liye set his empty glass back on the table with a soft *clack*. “But she loses her temper easily. Though, it’s not exactly annoying when she does.”
He gave Qin Yu a brief summary of his interactions with Wen Chu.
“Well… Brother Xi, that’s where you’re clueless,” Qin Yu adopted the posture of a romance master. “When a girl gets angry, it doesn’t necessarily mean she hates you or wants to stay away. In fact, it’s usually because she cares.”
“Cares?” Xi Liye repeated the word, his brow twitching almost imperceptibly.
“Exactly! Think about it: if she didn’t care about you, she wouldn’t give a damn what you were doing. Why would she care if you knew she didn’t like mushrooms or if you valued your date? Her getting angry means she has expectations of you. She wants you to act a certain way, to pay more attention to her.”
“It’s called acting spoiled! She’s throwing a tantrum for attention and comfort!” Qin Yu said with absolute confidence.
“As for messaging you after being mad…” Qin Yu rubbed his chin. “That’s even simpler. It means her anger comes and goes fast. Or rather, in her heart, keeping in touch with you is more important than being angry.”
*She cares about me.*
Xi Liye remained silent, his fingertip resting on the rim of his glass. “I see,” he nodded, a strange emotion bubbling up.
“Oh, by the way, Old Xi, did you know Xi Yunchuan is coming back to the country soon?” Qin Yu suddenly remembered.
Xi Yunchuan was Xi Liye’s younger brother. Their relationship had always been terrible; the last time they crossed paths, Xi Liye had outmaneuvered him and sent him abroad. Who knew what kind of trouble he’d stir up this time.
“I know,” Xi Liye nodded. “Just a fool.”
His family had called him back last time for this very reason, but he had been too annoyed to deal with it. Hearing this, Qin Yu relaxed. It seemed Xi Liye wasn’t worried.
“I’m leaving,” Xi Liye stood up, his black coat swirling in a sharp arc.
“Huh? Already? You just got here!”
“I have data to check at the lab.” Xi Liye’s excuse was flawless. He glanced at the others. “Have fun.”
With that, he walked straight out of the booth.
When Wen Chu returned to her dorm, she felt like she had stepped into a different dimension’s battlefield.
Her three dear roommates were each fighting their own wars, immersed in different gaming worlds. The sound of clicking mice, mechanical keyboards, and leaking headset audio turned the room into a mini internet cafe.
In Dorm 408, aside from Wen Chu who had “accidentally” left the single life, the other three were staunch members of the single nobility. Their interests were highly unified: gaming.
Of course, “Computer Science Dorm 408” also represented the final destination for many: the hellish difficulty of the “11408” code for postgraduate entrance exams.
Right now, the battles were in full swing.
On the bunk closest to the door was **Xia Yaoyao**. She wore massive gaming headphones, her fingers flying across her keyboard in a blur of shadows. She was chanting: “Go, go, go! CC him! CC him! … Where’s the healer? Heal me!! … Dammit! Is this jungler sleepwalking?!”
She was playing a classic 5v5 MOBA, earning her the nickname “Dorm Overheat Warning.” Before a match, her hands would be cold; after a match, her face would be flushed red—either from excitement or, more likely, pure rage. Seeing her gritting her teeth at the screen now, it looked like this match was going south. Wen Chu tiptoed past her, afraid a single bump to her chair would cause a misplay and result in “friendly greetings” from her teammates.
At the middle desk was **Zhou Rui**. She was much quieter, wearing in-ear monitors and staring intensely at the screen, her hand sliding smoothly across a drawing tablet. Her screen didn’t show a battle, but a beautiful, ancient-style courtyard. She was meticulously adjusting the placement angle of a plum blossom tree. She was a “408 Construction Maniac,” famous for her aesthetic and obsession with detail. No killing here—just “cozy vibes” and top-tier graphics that could melt a GPU.
On the top bunk by the window was **Li Yue**. She leaned against a pile of blankets, holding her phone. On the screen was a man with silver hair and purple eyes, dressed in ornate vintage clothing, gazing out from the screen with deep, soulful eyes.
Li Yue was the top student of the CS department, a woman who could debug code until 3:00 AM. She perfectly triggered the hidden law of computer science: everyone in the field is at least a *little bit* into the 2D world.
She, unfortunately, had turned that “little bit” into a full-blown obsession. Her true love was a “Paper Man” (fictional character).