Xiao Jinyu's gaze dropped slightly, landing on her knee.
It was only then that Wen Li suddenly realized—he wasn't looking at her legs, but at the cut from the last time she'd been injured at the hospital.
Before she could even finish forming the thought, her wrist was suddenly yanked, and a force pulled her entire body backward.
She stumbled two steps, nearly losing her balance, and by the time she regained her senses, she'd already been dragged to the other side. Ji Cheng had come out of the dormitory at some point, standing beside her with his hand still clamped around her wrist.
Xiao Jinyu didn't say anything.
Ji Cheng didn't say anything either, but the warning look in his eyes was unmistakable—like a possessive wolf pup guarding its food.
The air went still for a moment.
Wen Li: "?" Wait, where did all this hostility come from?
She hadn't even figured out what was happening before Ji Cheng was dragging her back toward the dormitory. "What are you doing?!"
The moment she finished speaking, a jacket was thrown right over her head. "Don't wear skirts this short from now on."
Wen Li pulled the jacket off her head, baffled. "Why?"
"Didn't you see Xiao Jinyu staring at your thighs?"
Wen Li's face flushed bright red in an instant, and she hurled the jacket back at him. "Are you insane? He was looking at my knee!"
"Your knee?" Ji Cheng said. "Xiao Jinyu's got some kind of weird fetish?"
"??" Wen Li was truly done with him. "Bro, it's your mind that's dirty. Last time at the hospital, I accidentally cut my knee, and he was the one who helped treat the wound. That's why he was looking at my knee."
Ji Cheng scratched the tip of his nose. "Is that so?"
Wen Li finally saw it clearly now. The whole "poor little thing oppressed by Xiao Jinyu" act was just him being jealous. He couldn't stand the guy, so he nitpicked for faults—and did it with total confidence. A grown man acting this childish, and not even embarrassed about it.
At least Xiao Jinyu probably didn't know she was Ji Cheng's sister. Otherwise, he'd definitely think she had the same screws loose as Ji Cheng.
Wen Li pursed her lips. "Can you stop being so biased against people?"
"I'm just looking out for you. Why are you taking his side?"
"I'm on the side of reason, not family."
Ji Cheng let out a cold laugh. "I think you're on the side of pretty faces, not family. I'm warning you—don't get any ideas about him just because he's handsome! I don't approve."
Wen Li felt a twinge of guilt at his words. "What are you even thinking? How… how could I possibly have any ideas about him?"
Ji Cheng clicked his tongue, crossing his arms as he scrutinized her. "Want me to get you a mirror so you can see how lovesick you looked just now?"
Wen Li was so annoyed by him. "I already told you, I don't! Who likes that deadpan face of his anyway? Bland and boring—standing next to him you'd catch a chill. Say ten sentences to him and he won't reply to a single one. Even Xiang Kui's dog gives better emotional support…"
The words tumbled out like beans spilling from a jar, and before she could even finish trailing off, she caught a shadow pressing in from the corner of her vision.
Wen Li froze, slowly turning her head—and came face to face with Xiao Jinyu's expressionless face.
Wen Li: "…"
Fortunately, he seemed to just be passing by. He didn't stop, calmly pulling open the dormitory door and stepping inside.
The latch clicked shut with a soft click.
The air went silent for several seconds. Wen Li stiffly turned her gaze back and swallowed before asking Ji Cheng, "Was I… loud just now?"
Ji Cheng answered honestly, "Pretty loud."
Wen Li closed her eyes in utter despair.
This was it. He definitely heard her badmouthing him. Her already mediocre impression in his eyes just got worse. All because of Ji Cheng, that tumor—he was practically a stumbling block on her path to romance. She should never have come to help him move in the first place.
She kicked the box on the ground in frustration.
"Careful," Ji Cheng said, nudging the box aside. "Those are all new shoes in there. Worth tens of thousands."
Wen Li kicked it again.
On purpose.
Ji Cheng couldn't be bothered with her. He bent down and hoisted two boxes. "Stop standing around—get to work. The car's downstairs."
Wen Li reluctantly picked up a box and carried it downstairs.
Ji Cheng had even borrowed their dad's car for the move this time. It was parked right outside the dormitory building, and Wen Li loaded things into the trunk one trip at a time.
Just as she was about to head back up for the second round, she saw Xiao Jinyu walk out of the dormitory building.
He was probably heading to the library—he had a backpack slung over one shoulder. In that brief moment, a girl ran up to him with an excited expression and started talking to him.
Probably asking for his WeChat.
Wen Li crouched behind the car, pretending to organize things, moving slowly and deliberately, her peripheral vision practically growing legs as it kept drifting toward him.
Before long, the girl walked away looking disappointed.
She didn't get it?
Wen Li thought to herself, quietly pulling her gaze back as she flipped through a stack of books she'd already rearranged three times. A few seconds later, she couldn't help glancing over at him again. That glance collided directly with his gaze.
Xiao Jinyu seemed equally caught off guard by her sudden look. His usually indifferent face showed a flicker of unease.
"?"
Was he just looking at her?
No way. It had to be her imagination.
Wen Li quickly lowered her head and continued kneeling on the ground, sorting through her things.
She had her hair in a ponytail today, a white T-shirt tucked into a milky pink pleated skirt, the hem flaring out and resting against her thighs.
Xiao Jinyu watched her. Her knees were kneeling unprotected on the rough asphalt, scattered with sharp little stones. The skin was rubbed red, nearly scraped raw—yet she didn't seem to care at all.
He watched for a while.
Then, almost against his will, he spoke: "Your legs."
Wen Li paused mid-motion, her gaze wandering around with a hint of confusion before finally landing on him. She wasn't quite sure: "Are you talking to me?"
Xiao Jinyu hummed in affirmation. "Your knees."
"Knees?" Wen Li was genuinely surprised that he'd initiated a conversation with her. It took her a moment to process before she remembered, "Oh, you mean my knees? It's fine, they're all healed, and there's no scar either."
"Don't kneel on the ground. The stones will cut your legs."
Wen Li nodded blankly. "Oh, okay."
He was actually concerned about her.
She quickly scrambled up from the ground, brushing the dust off her legs. "Thanks."
"Mm."
"But it's really fine—I recover fast. A few stones like this are nothing." Her voice lifted again. "You know, when I was a kid, I fell out of a tree once and gashed my knee open pretty badly. My mom said the blood was gushing like she'd slaughtered a chicken. But within two days, I was climbing trees again."
Xiao Jinyu didn't respond—though she didn't need him to. Give her a starting point, and she'd just keep chatting along. He thought that if you dropped her into a tribe in Africa where she couldn't speak the language, she'd probably manage to become a minor chieftain in no time.
Xiao Jinyu nodded slightly as a response, then turned to leave.
What?
He was just leaving like that?
Wen Li felt a flicker of urgency, her mind scrambling with thoughts. This was the first chance she'd had to talk to him.
So she mustered her courage, stepped forward, and gently tugged at his sleeve. She didn't use much force, but Xiao Jinyu still felt the resistance and turned back to look at her. "Something else?"
"Um, sorry about earlier. I wasn't calling you names, and I don't think you have a blank face. You're still way better than a dog…" She realized that didn't sound right either and quickly tried to backtrack: "No, no—I mean, you're not worse than a dog…"
What was she even saying?
"What I mean is… you've got a lot of good qualities, like…" Wen Li's tongue was tripping over itself, not even knowing what she was saying. "Your legs are really long…"
Xiao Jinyu looked at her impassively. He didn't quite understand how the conversation had jumped to this.
Wen Li hadn't actually thought before speaking—she just wanted to stay a little longer. "Your waist is pretty slim too."
Xiao Jinyu: "…"
"Your face is really handsome too."
"…"
The air went quiet. It was… pretty awkward, wasn't it? What else could she compliment? She couldn't exactly say he had a nice butt—that would make her look like a creep.
She was racking her brain for something to say when she suddenly heard someone call his name.
"Xiao Jinyu."
Wen Li instinctively turned her head and saw a guy walking toward them.
She didn't recognize him—probably a classmate from their medical school. Considering that the dorm entrance was a busy spot where people might know each other, it wasn't a good place to linger. Reluctant as she was, she was perceptive enough to take her leave: "Alright, I'll get going then. See you."
After she left, the guy looked at her retreating figure with curiosity. "Who was that girl?"
"Ji Cheng's girlfriend," Xiao Jinyu replied.
"Ji Cheng's girlfriend?" Su Yucheng let out a sharp exclamation and leaned in, eager for gossip. "Wait, aren't you two usually at odds? Why was his girlfriend pulling at you like that?"
"Don't know."
Xiao Jinyu walked straight ahead.
Su Yucheng followed. "I heard everything just now. She said your legs are long and your waist is slim—what's that about? She's not trying to hit on you, is she?"
Xiao Jinyu paused mid-step, immediately denying it. "You're overthinking it."
"What do you mean, overthinking?" Su Yucheng said with an air of worldly wisdom. "I've been burned before—I know what I'm talking about. She's definitely into you. If she were single, I wouldn't say a word, but she's got a boyfriend and she's saying stuff like that? What is that? That's textbook fishing."
"…"
"You know what fishing means, right? Casting a wide net, seeing which fish bites and reeling it in. Don't you go biting, whatever you do."
His words were dripping with implication. Xiao Jinyu's face turned cold, a sudden irritation stirring in his chest, and he quickened his pace.
With his long legs, it didn't take long before he'd left Su Yucheng behind.
"Be careful—you've got no experience. Don't let her fool you." Su Yucheng's earnest warning came from behind.
Back in the dorm, Ji Cheng was already gone. His desk and bed were tidied up spotless—the scattered books, charging cables, and water bottles that usually littered the space had all vanished without a trace.
He was about to look away when his gaze snagged on something on the floor.
It was a pink hair clip, very small, shaped like a heart, lying quietly beneath Ji Cheng's desk.
He stared at the clip for a long moment.
His phone buzzed. He unlocked it.
Big Pear Shi: [Sending you a little flower~0v0~]
Big Pear: 【[Image]】
The girl's pale, slender fingers pinched a flower—a rose rolled from maple leaves, the leaves a vivid red with edges slightly curling upward.
She held the stem, her fingertips tinged with a faint pink.
Xiao Jinyu stared at the photo, the cold glow of the screen making him squint involuntarily.
What was this supposed to mean again?
She had a boyfriend—why would she send him these?
He didn't want to think of her in terms of "flirting," but the thought still crept up uncontrollably. Was she trying to flirt with him? Or was he just a way for her to pass the time?
He paused for a few seconds, his thumb hovering over the screen. He long-pressed, saved it, then deleted the chat thread cleanly.
The movements were quick, as if afraid someone might see.