The two of them finished adding each other on WeChat.
The girl who had been about to form a group also arrived.
Her gaze swept past Lin Xuechun and landed on Xi Chenzhou, her eyes hopeful: “Hey, could you add me too? I don’t have a group yet, please?”
“Sorry, we’re full.” Xi Chenzhou replied coldly.
The girl puffed out her cheeks and turned away, disappointed.
Xi Chenzhou packed up his things and stood up from his seat.
He slung his backpack over one shoulder, one hand tucked into his hoodie pocket. He didn’t rush her, just stood there with his eyelids lowered, his gaze drifting from the top of her fluffy head to her delicate profile, waiting casually.
Lin Xuechun only realized what was happening when she felt the tall shadow cast over her. She was blocking his way.
She quickly stood up and stepped aside to make room, her face flushing slightly: “Sorry about that.”
She blushes so easily. Xi Chenzhou stepped out of the row, and as he turned sideways, the strap of his backpack brushed lightly across the softness of her chest.
Like a tiny current of electricity had passed through her, Lin Xuechun instinctively took a step back.
Xi Chenzhou noticed and looked back at her, the corner of his brow lifting almost imperceptibly. Lin Xuechun stared back at him with wide, innocent eyes.
“Message me when it’s time for the group project,” he said.
“Mm.” Lin Xuechun gave a small nod of her delicate chin, looking very obedient.
Although Zhou Xinran sat in the front row, the cluster of girls nearby had been chattering about Xi Chenzhou for the entire class, so it was impossible for her not to overhear.
She barely made it through the class, and the moment she saw Xi Chenzhou leave the classroom with his backpack, she immediately ran over to meet up with Lin Xuechun, eyes sparkling:
“Damn, he’s so hot! Did he agree to team up?”
Lin Xuechun nodded: “Mm, he agreed.”
Zhou Xinran wore a knowing auntie smile: “Hehe, I knew it. If you make the move, it’s guaranteed to work.”
“It’s just forming a group, that’s all.” Lin Xuechun felt embarrassed under her gaze and turned her head away to pack up her pens and notebooks.
“Let me tell you, a good start is half the battle!” Zhou Xinran winked at her suggestively, then recalled the gossip she’d heard. “I just found out—while we were in the bathroom, the English department’s beauty queen went to ask for his WeChat and got rejected. It pissed her off so much she was ranting about him nonstop in her dorm group chat, hahahaha…”
Lin Xuechun’s almond-shaped eyes widened: “Huh? How do you know that?”
Zhou Xinran raised an eyebrow smugly: “There’s a girl in their dorm who’s from my hometown—she told me the gossip. Trust me, babe, based on my years of shipping experience, I think you and that guy have real potential.”
Lin Xuechun looked helpless: “You think everyone’s a couple with me. He probably agreed to team up because I was the closest and the first to ask, so he didn’t turn me down.”
Zhou Xinran tilted her head and looked Lin Xuechun up and down, then clicked her tongue: “Babe, do you not know what you look like? If I were a guy, I’d want to—”
She licked her lips, mimicking a sleazy guy’s expression. Lin Xuechun turned her head away in disgust: “Zhou Xinran, tone it down. Your boyfriend’s coming over…”
“Don’t lie to me—he went to take a dump. He farted like five times during class, hahahaha…”
Lin Xuechun: …
“I can never look at your boyfriend the same way again.”
Zhou Xinran laughed heartily, not caring at all.
That day when she got back, Lin Xuechun created a WeChat group and added all the team members.
Zhou Xinran was a social butterfly. Once in the group, she took the lead and suggested they all meet up on Saturday at a bookstore café off-campus to nail down the framework for the group project and divide up the work.
Xu Yang and Lin Xuechun had no objections.
Xi Chenzhou’s schedule worked too.
And so the plan was set.
That night, Lin Xuechun lay in her dorm bed, wearing her earphones as usual, scrolling through handsome guys for a few minutes before sleep to help her wind down.
ksmk123 hadn’t posted a new video.
The private messages were still where they’d left off during the day.
Lin Xuechun swiped away without a second thought, quickly captivated by another handsome guy.
That’s the nice thing about the internet—there’s never a dry spell.
…
Xi Chenzhou was a local of Jingbei.
His parents had been developing their careers abroad, and only recently shifted their work focus back to China because of the elderly’s retirement care.
He had also given up an Ivy League school to come back and enroll at Jing University.
With a green card, excellent SAT scores, and plenty of special talent bonus points, he went straight through Jing University’s international student admission channel.
His grandmother and grandfather were both Jing University professors. After retirement, they moved to a high-end nursing home, leaving their apartment in the faculty housing vacant—which he moved into.
Considering he’d be living there for four years, his grandparents had someone renovate the place before they left, remodeling it into a more youth-friendly Muji style.
All the appliances and furniture were replaced with new ones.
That night.
Xi Chenzhou stepped out of the bathroom after his shower.
His upper body was bare—broad shoulders, narrow waist, with V-lines angling down from his hip bones into the edge of his shorts.
His hair was wet, the ends short and stiff. Unwiped droplets of water slid down his chiseled abs, disappearing into the depths of his V-line.
He walked to the bed, grabbed the towel draped over the chair back, and tossed it onto his head, rubbing his hair haphazardly with one hand.
His expression was casual, carrying a hint of nonchalance, yet his sharp brow and eye contours lent him a cold, defiant air—not someone easy to approach.
The phone on the table vibrated.
He tossed the towel back onto the chair, grabbed the phone, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
The warm light from the bedside floor lamp cast a soft glow from the side, coating his pale, cool-toned skin in a warm sheen, while his features were sculpted into sharp chiaroscuro, making them appear even more defined.
On the phone was a message from his cousin, who had asked earlier in the day for his Douyin account—he’d forgotten to reply.
[I don’t use Douyin.]
He typed a few words in reply, not giving his cousin the account.
After exiting WeChat, he switched to Douyin and set his account to require approval before anyone could follow him.
Catching sight of the chat window with “Chunchun Loves Meat” in his messages, his gaze flickered, and he tapped into her profile.
He hadn’t clicked in during class earlier.
Her avatar was a cute little cat, and her profile was spotless—she’d posted nothing at all. Her following and follower lists were both in the single digits, giving the impression of a burner account.
But her favorites and likes lists weren’t set to private.
Xi Chenzhou tapped in.
The screen loaded for two seconds, then a full page of content spread out before him.
A wall of handsome guys.
Some in uniforms, some without, some working out, some dancing—all kinds.
There were even borderline suggestive ones.
Xi Chenzhou’s face instantly darkened.