“Hey, what did Xie Qingwang say to you just now?”
After returning the camera, Ruan Yu saw her friend already turning to leave, while Xie Qingwang stood behind, staring fiercely. “You have no idea—he looked so scary just now.”
“Delusional as ever. He questioned me about why I didn’t give him water,” Ji Nian said, tucking her chin into her collar, her voice muffled. “So many people brought him drinks—was that not enough? He’s not a water tank.”
“It’s true a lot of people gave him drinks, but I don’t think he accepted any of theirs,” Ruan Yu said fairly.
But he definitely wouldn’t refuse the female lead’s drink… she had been waiting right there for him earlier.
“Forget about him. I want to eat the malatang at the entrance.”
“Let’s go then.” Ruan Yu looked around for a shared bike. Luckily she found one and scanned it. “Hop on.”
Ji Nian sat behind her, grabbing her clothes. “Let’s go.”
Back at the court, people still hadn’t quite recovered from that exchange. Xie Qingwang stood there, frozen.
Bai Xiao stared at his back, biting her lip before walking over. “Qingwang, what’s wrong? Did you argue with Ji?”
He didn’t answer—his gaze fixed on the exit, lost in thought.
“Qingwang, I heard there’s a new hot pot place near the back gate. I’ll treat you?” Bai Xiao stepped in front of him. “Ji probably already has plans—I heard from student council members that Senior Zhou invited them to dinner.”
At that, Xie Qingwang finally looked at her. “What did you say?”
“I said I’ll treat you to hot pot.”
“The last sentence.”
Bai Xiao forced a smile. “I heard Senior Zhou invited Ji to dinner.”
“Thanks.” With that, Xie Qingwang turned and left, his face dark.
Left behind, Bai Xiao couldn’t even keep up her smile anymore.
Why, after all this time, couldn’t she even get his attention?
On the way back to the dorm, He Weichen kept glancing at him, unsure how to comfort him. Then he remembered something. “You remember what you said that night when you were drunk, right?”
“Of course. My memory’s great.”
He had already admitted to himself that he liked Ji Nian—but now that he was sober, he felt confused again.
“So what now? You’re going to win her back?” He Weichen asked.
Silence.
Just when he thought there’d be no answer, Xie Qingwang suddenly gritted his teeth and said:
“She said I’m not worthy of drinking her water.”
“How am I not worthy? If I’m not, then who is?”
“If I’m not worthy, then that guy Zhou is?!”
“…Seriously?” He Weichen looked at him speechlessly. “You stayed silent that long just to think about that?”
“Isn’t that worth thinking about?” Xie Qingwang shot back.
“It is—but you’re thinking about it the wrong way.”
“How is it wrong?”
He Weichen tapped his bag. “Back then, she always came to watch your games, brought you food and drinks, cared about you, right?”
“…Right.”
“And how did you treat her?”
What else? Cold attitude. Even when he accepted her things, he acted reluctant.
“But I only drank her water,” Xie Qingwang frowned.
“Is this about water?!” He Weichen felt like he was talking to a brick wall. “It’s about your attitude. You were cold to her for months—four or five months! Even if she liked you, she couldn’t keep it up forever.”
He continued, “Don’t forget those forum posts you deleted.”
Back then, many people mocked Ji Nian online—some of the comments were especially cruel. Xie Qingwang had tracked those people down, forced them to apologize and compensate her.
But the way he gave her the money was condescending—like charity. Ji Nian thought she had to repay him, so she used that money to buy things for him… spending it all on him again.
“She was constantly mocked for chasing you, trying to climb up to you. And you still treated her like that—of course she’d be hurt and stop caring about you.”
Without him, He Weichen felt his friend’s love life would be doomed.
“So I should…” Xie Qingwang squeezed the little rabbit keychain in his hand.
“You should honestly express your feelings. Stop putting on that deadpan act.”
“Malatang is so expensive now,” Ruan Yu complained while eating. “This little bit costs like 20–30 yuan.”
Ji Nian agreed. They weren’t extravagant spenders, so it felt pricey. “And bakeries too—one piece of bread is over ten.”
“Everything’s getting more expensive except salaries,” Ruan Yu grumbled.
After chatting, she brought up the student council selecting performances for the New Year event.
“Ji Nian, why don’t you sign up to dance? You’re so good—you’d definitely be popular.”
“You dance, I’ll play the guzheng for you.”
Ji Nian shook her head. “I haven’t danced in over a year. I’m rusty.”
“So what? You’ll get it back in a couple days,” Ruan Yu insisted. “And there’s prize money—top three get rewards.”
“Prize money?” Ji Nian’s interest sparked. “How much?”
“First place is at least over a thousand.”
With sponsors involved, the prize would likely be generous.
Three seconds later, Ji Nian decided. “Alright, I’ll join.”
“Great! I’ll borrow a guzheng and we’ll win that prize.”
After eating, they walked back to the dorm instead of biking.
Halfway there, Ji Nian received a call from an unknown number. She answered instinctively.
“Hello?”
A familiar voice came from the other end:
“I like you, Ji Nian.”