Сhарtеr 4: Оnly a Bеаst Could Dо Such a Тhing
Whеn Wеn Yао rеturned tо thе dоrm, nо one еlse was there уеt. She fеlt unсоmfоrtаble in thе drеss shе was weаring аnd wantеd to changе out оf it.
Just then, the dorm dоor suddеnly орened.
“Yаo Yao, уоu’rе bаck!”
Xu Сhао рut down the bаg in her hаnd and gavе Wen Yaо a light hug. “Yaо Yao, I brought уоu dinnеr.”
Tоdаy was the birthdаy оf оne of Хu Chaо’s friends. Хu Сhаo hаd originallу invited Wen Yао tо go along, but Wen Yao couldn’t mаkе it because shе hаd another арpointment.
“Braised pork, garlic shrimp, and steamed spare ribs.”
“I packed them before eating, so they’re clean.”
Wen Yao sniffled, her eyes growing moist.
“Thank you, Chao Chao.”
Even though Xu Chao never mentioned it, she had brought Wen Yao delicious food many times before.
And whenever she shared snacks, she always gave Wen Yao a huge portion.
Xu Chao patted Wen Yao’s back while laughing heartily, pulling out her phone to snap a few photos. “A beauty in tears—so picturesque.”
Xu Chao took a closer look at Wen Yao’s face before finally noticing the dress she was wearing.
“Yao Yao, this dress is so pretty, and it looks a bit familiar.”
Wen Yao lowered her eyes, searching for the right words, and stammered an explanation: “It was bought for me by the uncle who sponsors me and his wife.”
Xu Chao rested her chin on her hand, her gaze curious. “It looks like some brand’s autumn limited edition, but I can’t quite remember which one.”
“They seem really nice. This dress must be expensive.”
Wen Yao forced a smile, then suddenly remembered Xie Zongxun’s cold expression as he told her she’d have to come back naked if she didn’t wear it. A chill ran down her spine.
The two were still chatting when Chi Ying returned, carrying her textbooks. She gave a brief greeting before heading to her own bed to study.
Chi Ying had a somewhat aloof personality. She wore black-framed glasses, had fair skin, and was tall and slender—giving off the vibe of a highly intelligent beauty.
Of course, her academic performance was genuinely outstanding; she had been admitted to the English major with the highest score.
Wen Yao secretly admired her.
Later, the last roommate, Tang Li, also returned from outside.
Like Xu Chao, she had a lively personality. Both loved binge-watching dramas, playing games, and gossiping about handsome guys. As Xu Chao put it, the two of them were like long-lost soulmates.
Tang Li smiled, her eyes curved with satisfaction. “Seeing all my beloved concubines here puts my mind at ease.”
Her antics made everyone laugh, even Chi Ying, who had been focused on her books, allowed a faint smile to touch her lips.
As soon as Tang Li sat down, she and Xu Chao started gossiping about handsome guys. Since Wen Yao and Chi Ying weren’t particularly interested, they didn’t drag them into the conversation.
“Guess who I saw outside the school?”
Tang Li could barely contain her excitement.
Then she moved her phone in front of Xu Chao and exclaimed, “Xie Zongxun!”
Wen Yao, who had been half-lying on her bed previewing new lessons, jumped in fright, nearly dropping her heavy brick-like textbook on her face.
“The photo’s a bit blurry, but just look at how handsome he is! His car was parked there for a long time. I wonder who he was waiting for.”
Wen Yao’s palms grew clammy with sweat. She took a quiet breath, relieved she hadn’t run into him.
From now on, she’d better come back on her own.
“With looks like that, he must have a lot of people chasing after him, right? I wonder who’s lucky enough to date someone on that level.”
Xu Chao continued the gossip: “Like that girl from the art college, what’s her name… Xia Shi. Someone took a photo of the two of them together at a KTV before.”
Boyfriend.
Wen Yao seemed to remember something. She pulled out her phone and stared blankly at Xie Zongxun’s chat window.His moral standards had already hit rock bottom in Wen Yao’s eyes, and he was treating her like this after just one meeting.
If he had a girlfriend, Wen Yao would feel her own morality being trampled into the dirt.
Because of one morally bankrupt man, another girl would have to suffer injustice.
That was never her intention in the first place.
She typed out a line and hit send.
[Do you have a girlfriend?]
Then she went to wash up and didn’t receive a reply before going to bed.
Xie Zongxun had just started driving when Gu Yanche called him out for drinks.
Xie Zongxun walked in without a word, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes.
“You’re this sleep-deprived, yet you come here to sleep,” Gu Yanche shot him an exasperated look. “What were you up to last night? Don’t tell me you were sleeping with some woman.”
A vein throbbed at Xie Zongxun’s temple—he hadn’t slept in almost forty-eight hours.
His thin lips parted slightly as he spat out a cold word: “Fuck off.”
Gu Yanche was long used to his deadpan demeanor. He threw a pillow at him and called over a bunch of people to play games.
“Hey, there are a few really innocent girls who just joined. They might be your type.”
Gu Yanche had grown up with Xie Zongxun. Although Xie Zongxun appeared to be the model student on the surface, that act only fooled people meeting him for the first time.
Having spent so many years with him, Gu Yanche knew this guy was no saint deep down.
Street racing, fighting, smoking, drinking—he did it all. The only thing he wasn’t interested in was women.
Gu Yanche had seen all kinds of women growing up. Though he’d had plenty of them, he always gave them a proper title—he’d only get involved after they were dating. More of a romantic than a womanizer.
All these years, he’d been especially eager to drag Xie Zongxun into the same waters.
Whenever he brought this up before, Xie Zongxun would have already killed him with a look.
Today, surprisingly, he didn’t say anything, as if lost in thought.
“Changed your tune? I’ll have them come over.”
Gu Yanche’s enthusiasm was even fiercer than when he found someone he liked himself.
Xie Zongxun’s voice was indifferent: “Not interested.”
Just as Gu Yanche was feeling deflated, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a red mark on Xie Zongxun’s neck. How could he not know what that was?
“Holy shit, a hickey!”
“You bastard, you went and got some on your own behind my back, didn’t you?”
Xie Zongxun instinctively touched the spot, recalling the memory.
He had told her to endure it, and she had indeed been holding back the whole time. Later, when he picked her up while standing, she bit him because it hurt too much.
Knowing he had gone too far, he let her.
“Who is it? What kind of stunning beauty finally broke your virginity?”
Gu Yanche kept pressing, but Xie Zongxun—who had once been suspected by him of being gay—had directly thrown his Pornhub history in his face.
Fine then, straight as an arrow.
So Gu Yanche figured he just hadn’t met someone who really suited his taste. Otherwise, with Xie Zongxun’s dog-like personality, he’d definitely have brought her to his side by now.
Xie Zongxun was utterly annoyed. “Fuck off.”
Sensing Xie Zongxun’s extreme impatience, Gu Yanche didn’t push his luck further.
They drank until the early hours of the morning. Gu Yanche pushed the girl in his arms away and waved his phone in front of Xie Zongxun.
Completely forgetting that Xie Zongxun might already have a woman now.
“Look, look, everyone’s trying to track down these two.”
“This one is Chi Ying, and this one is called Wen something.”
Gu Yanche and his rich-kid friends had skipped military training altogether, so he hadn’t paid any attention to school news. He only returned to campus today.
Xie Zongxun glanced up.The girl in the photo, wearing military training attire and obediently drinking water, was unmistakably the same one who had been lying on his bed that afternoon.
Gu Yanche squinted his eyes and continued his drunken rambling: “This one’s my type. She looks hard to get—interesting.”
Gu Yanche’s personal tastes leaned toward mature women, but that didn’t mean he lacked normal aesthetic judgment. He frowned, pondering for a couple of seconds.
“This one’s a knockout too. But she looks so innocent—what kind of beast would dare make a move on her?”
Xie Zongxun: “…”
Just then, a message popped up on Xie Zongxun’s phone.
He unlocked it and stared at the screen for a few seconds.