Judging by their interaction style, the two of them actually looked like they had a pretty good relationship.
Xie Ran couldn’t understand why Jiang Xu would have a good relationship with a scumbag like He Ruizhe.
Aside from partnering with Tan Hao from the same department to go to classes, Jiang Xu never seemed to have anyone visit him in the dorm; instead, Xie Ran frequently saw the other person wandering the campus completely alone.
For instance, that day in the cafeteria, Jiang Xu had also been standing alone by the entrance waiting for someone to bring him a meal card.
It gave people the mistaken impression that he was too handsome to have friends.
As a result:
Seeing that his good friend was so mesmerized by something, Wang Wenjing asked, “What are you looking at?”
Following the direction of Xie Ran’s gaze, he spotted Jiang Xu and the others.
“Don’t you want to know what He Ruizhe looks like?” Xie Ran lowered his voice and said, “The one sitting on the left side of the guy with red hair is him.”
Wang Wenjing narrowed his eyes to examine him closely, touching his chin as he said thoughtfully:
“This He Ruizhe actually looks pretty good, but he’s not as drop-dead gorgeous as Xuanmei described.”
“Compared to Jiang Xu, he’s falling way too short.”
He Ruizhe better not hear this sentence; it was a bad review.
He finally concluded: “No wonder Jiang Xu is your Haotian.”
Xie Ran’s mouth twitched. He looked around and lowered his voice, “Classmate Wang Dahuang, please refrain from talking nonsense.”
During the first few sentences, both of them had been whispering quietly, but Wang Wenjing used a normal volume for his final remark.
As a result, the girls in the back rows who loved shipping couples only caught the sugar-coated sentence: “No wonder Jiang Xu is your Haotian.”
Once again, they erupted into excited discussions.
This time, it wasn’t on the forum, but inside their private QQ fan group of two thousand members dedicated to their favorite ship:
[Pretty R says he likes the aloof X! I heard it with my own ears.]
[Ah! I can vouch for it! I’m the camera in Pretty R’s arms, and I heard him say with his own mouth that he likes Jiang Xu.]
[No jokes, I heard it too. I’m the air around Pretty R.]
[To put it without exaggeration, Pretty R’s exact words were: “The aloof X is my Haotian.”]
[That’s right, the two of them are real! Otherwise, why wouldn’t they come out and debunk the rumors? If they don’t debunk it, I’m going to start fabricating rumors.]
Xie Ran himself had no idea that the evil organization on the Peking University forum was growing step by step and had even evolved into a shipping fandom.
He rarely checked the forum, and besides, they were all using code names, so he never in a million years would have associated it with himself.
Moreover, the shipping fans from Peking University and other schools all kept to themselves within their own circle, neither disturbing the private lives of the two principals nor ever bringing such matters directly to their faces.
Wang Wenjing laughed merrily, “Alright, alright, I won’t say anything.”
“Speaking of which, didn’t you buy water for Jiang Xu? Why aren’t you taking it over to him?”
Xie Ran glanced at the mineral water inside the plastic bag and then looked away.
Seemingly thinking of something, Wang Wenjing’s eyes suddenly lit up. He immediately leaned closer to him, his face plastered with a sneaky expression that screamed he was up to no good, and whispered a terrible idea at a volume only the two of them could hear.
“Since Jiang Xu and He Ruizhe know each other, why don’t you consider making a move through Jiang Xu?”
Xie Ran frowned slightly, seeking guidance with an open mind, “How do I make a move?”
Wang Wenjing offered a suggestion: “Infiltrate the enemy camp and become Jiang Xu’s Yang Zhenzhen.”
“Get lost.”
Xie Ran smiled: “Watch fewer TV shows.”
Wang Wenjing coughed lightly and pitched another recommendation: “Seriously, you and Jiang Xu are roommates. Why not use him to find out about He Ruizhe’s preferences and movements? Wouldn’t that be a much better way to get a firm grip on evidence of the guy being a scumbag?”
Xie Ran pondered for a moment, feeling that what Wang Wenjing said made a lot of sense.
“Would this count as using someone?”
Wang Wenjing unscrewed a bottle cap and took a sip of water: “How is this using someone? You guys are good roommates.”
“Mutual help and cooperation are only right.”
Xie Ran nodded slightly, seemingly agreeing with the other person’s logic.
Both of them looked in unison toward the spot where Jiang Xu was sitting.
On the other side, He Ruizhe kept talking non-stop, while Jiang Xu just held his beverage and stared at it without moving.
“Brother, aren’t you thirsty?”
Jiang Xu tossed the drink back to He Ruizhe: “I don’t drink beverages.”
Tan Hao burst out laughing: “I won, Xiao Ze! A-Xu isn’t drinking beverages today, transfer twenty thousand to my Alipay right now.”
“A bet is a bet.”
He Ruizhe widened his eyes: “Brother, since when do you not drink beverages?”
As he spoke, he took out his phone, opened Alipay, and tearfully transferred twenty thousand yuan over.
Money was a minor issue.
The main point was that he had lost the bet today.
He Ruizhe and Tan Hao had rather bouncy personalities, which made Jiang Xu look overly cold and uninteresting by comparison. Because the latter had a cold temperament yet great popularity and always maintained a completely nonchalant attitude no matter what happened in daily life, the other two frequently liked to use him to place bets as a pastime.
Today’s bet was whether Jiang Xu would drink a beverage or not.
If he drank it, He Ruizhe won; if he didn’t, Tan Hao won.
Two adult college students who loved playing such pointless betting games every single time.
The most boring instance was during a group dinner when they bet on whether Jiang Xu would step through the door with his left foot first or his right foot first.
You have to admit, it was truly childish.
Jiang Xu had long since grown accustomed to his friends’ dog-like antics and said flatly, “Starting today.”
He Ruizhe’s tears fell six ways at once.
“Brother, Haozi and I have another bet going.”
“It’s about that little girl you bumped into while playing ball at Chunhe Road last time. Haozi bet that you’ll end up winning her over sooner or later, and the stake is a Ferrari,” He Ruizhe said with a fake sob. “You can’t let me lose this.”
Tan Hao gave a light click of his tongue: “Why are you cheating?”
“What’s losing a Ferrari? That’s A-Xu’s lifelong happiness we’re talking about.”
“Don’t you want a sister-in-law?”
He Ruizhe said indignantly: “A sister-in-law can happen, but she absolutely cannot be that little girl we bet on.”
The stakes were just a Ferrari, which was a drop in the bucket for the He family, but he was a heavy spender and had long been placed on a restricted spending limit by his family. Besides, the Ferrari Tan Hao wanted was his most beloved car.
The two of them chattered back and forth, but Jiang Xu’s attention wasn’t on them at all.
He gripped the drink tightly in his hand, his gaze fixed on the figure in the front row of the spectator stands not far away.
Xie Ran and Wang Wenjing were chatting and laughing, leaning close to whisper to each other from time to time.
Didn’t Xie Ran know that Wang Wenjing had a girlfriend?
Given Xie Ran’s personality, usually casual, breezy, and comical, how could he possibly become a third party knowingly?
This was a matter of principle.
Noticing that Jiang Xu hadn’t uttered a single word, Tan Hao followed the direction of his gaze.
“A-Xu, what are you looking at?”
He Ruizhe was also curious. Aside from lab work and thesis projects, it was rare to see Jiang Xu wearing such a serious and contemplative expression, as if he were trying to use his sharp discernment to verify the authenticity of something and explore the correct answer to a problem.
Jiang Xu lowered his eyelashes, his tone calm as he said: “Looking at the subject of your bet.”
Only, it wasn’t a little girl, but a guy.
Not only that, but the person was also his opposite-bunk roommate.