Jiang Xu, who was sitting nearby, kept his attention focused on Xie Ran the entire time, taking in every single one of the other person’s expressions.
He spoke up to ask, “What is wrong? Your face looks really red. Are you feeling unwell?”
Xie Ran had not expected that Jiang Xu, who was deep in his studies, would actually notice him. The thought that the other person might have seen the contents of the package information made him feel completely awkward all over.
“I am fine.”
“It is just…”
Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow. “Just what?”
Xie Ran directly asked aloud, “Did you see what was written on my express delivery package?”
Jiang Xu answered honestly with a nod, “I saw it.”
Xie Ran tried to save face, lying without changing his expression, “That was bought by my younger cousin. She does cosplays, and the clothes are not adult-style either. She heard that packages need to be picked up outside the school gates over at her campus and it was inconvenient, so she had it shipped to me instead.”
Jiang Xu curved his lips. “Didn’t you say you do not have a younger sister?”
Crap.
He forgot.
Xie Ran scrambled to cover it up again. “I have a female cousin.”
I am sorry, Xiexuan. Big brother is doing this for your own good too.
Following that, he added, “The two of us are very close.”
Jiang Xu did not expose the other person’s lie. Nodding while speaking in a calm and unhurried manner, he said, “It is fine. You do not need to explain it to me. After all, there is no way you would wear that kind of clothing yourself.”
“If you had not told me, I would not have thought that much about it.”
Xie Ran thought to himself that this person was truly sharp.
You are right.
He had indeed bought it for himself to wear.
Jiang Xu did not say anything further, turning his head back to continue reading his book.
Xie Ran still felt very strange in his heart.
He somehow felt that Jiang Xu’s lips had been holding back a smile that he could not suppress. Could it be that he did not believe what was said?
Or perhaps he had seen wrong.
Whatever.
Forget it.
He simply tossed the matter to the back of his mind. Anyway, Jiang Xu would never catch him actually wearing women’s clothing in real life.
After calming his mindset down, Xie Ran noticed that V still had not replied.
He thought about how he could navigate intense operations in a video game while still managing to switch out to a small screen for a second-response reply. Yet the other person, acting like a jerk, not only failed to reply but even put on a cold front, truly thinking he was Jiang Xu or something.
Xie Ran kept comparing V to Jiang Xu every now and then.
In his subconscious, the other person lacked Jiang Xu’s looks, family background, and talent, yet put on airs and refused to reply.
Did he really think that playing hard to get would win over a little girl?
Such a strong guy.
If he were not a genuine simping dog, the other person would surely end up single with that kind of intentional coldness.
Thinking of the camera lens that was breathtakingly expensive, Xie Ran shamelessly sent another message to V: [Teacher V, is my question that hard to answer? Otherwise, why are you not replying to my messages, duck?]
As soon as he sent it out, he received a reply from the other person.
V: [Haven’t tasted it.]
The three brief words made Xie Ran feel an inexplicable sense of shame.
He had tasted the braised eggplant, but the only thing he hadn’t tasted was him.
Was the person on the other end really He Ruizhe?
A playboy from the physical education department putting on a cold front online, sending messages as if every word cost money and failing to squeeze out more than a few characters after ages.
His wording was not greasy and stopped right at the boundary.
There must be an expert giving him pointers behind the scenes.
Otherwise, judging by He Ruizhe’s careless personality, how could he possibly remain indifferent toward a young girl throwing herself at him?
Xie Ran could not come up with any more sickening words to say, so he could only randomly send a cute sticker to change the topic.
And take the opportunity to put on the persona of an innocent, pure girl.
[Teacher V, this little sister does not understand what you are talking about.]
V: [Good.]
Good what? Not pressing the advantage?
Xie Ran had never had any romantic experience, and no matter how hard he racked his brain, he could not think of how a girl should go about flirting with a guy she fancied.
Right at this moment, a message popped up in the Art Department Class 1 group chat. The general content was that they would be adding a photography course this semester, and students were asked to prepare their cameras as early as possible.
Misfortunes never come singly.
Heaven was out to destroy him.
Xie Ran glanced at the money remaining in his bank card, and finally had no choice but to turn to his mother, Ms. Song Cuilian.
Typing politely: [Is my dear Cuicui lady present?]
Ms. Song replied instantly: [Speak.]
Xie Ran: [Cuicui lady, I want to buy a camera lens. Are you flush with cash right now? Spare me 2,000.]
Ms. Song sent several sticker memes in a row.
[Asking for 20 bucks, so expensive.jpg]
[You look like you are worth five bucks.jpg]
Finally, she said: [Go find your dad. I am busy right now.]
After Xie Ran sent a “Received” sticker, he immediately tapped open his dad’s chat interface and sent: [Reporting to Comrade Jianguo! Supplies for purchasing a camera lens are facing an emergency upfront and cannot sustain reinforcement from the main army. Requesting private stash support, over.]
Xie Jianguo: [[Transfer ¥2000]]
Xie Ran happily tapped to accept, and sent a reply:
[Thanks, old man.]
Xie Jianguo: [Fist salute/Flowers/]
Having gotten the 2,000 yuan, combined with his existing savings, he was still short about 3,000 yuan.
Xie Ran was frowning deeply at this moment.
His family was not considered exceptionally well-off; both parents worked in public service units. Since his mom and dad were busy with work since he was a child, they exerted less control over him, but the family relationship was harmonious and warm. They were not like traditional parents expecting their son to become a prodigy, only hoping he would be healthy and happy.
He was sensible too, and would not ask his family for a single extra cent beyond his living allowance. Usually, whenever he went out to play or bought things he liked, he used his own little savings stash and money he earned.
Three thousand yuan was not a small sum for a student.
Xie Ran figured he might as well lower his budget and buy something around 6,000 yuan with relatively good performance instead.
Suddenly, the dorm door opened, and another roommate who was also Xie Ran’s classmate, Liu Shaoyu, walked in carrying milk tea.
Sitting down on his chair, he said with a puzzled expression, “Ran-er, did you see the group notification? Didn’t they say the photography course was canceled? Why is it coming back this year, and why do they require buying a camera?”
Xie Ran turned around. “I saw it.”
Liu Shaoyu said, “I remember you seemed to have a camera.”
Xie Ran’s heart shattered. “Of all the coincidences, my lens got chipped two days before the start of the semester. I was originally planning to save up to buy a Fujifilm X-S10, but I did not expect the newly added class to require one. Now I am planning to lower my budget and buy something with roughly similar performance.”
Liu Shaoyu expressed pity. “That really is bad luck.”
Lowering his head to take a sip of milk tea, he said, “You could still ask your friends if anyone has a camera you can borrow temporarily. I heard this course is only for this semester. I am planning to borrow my cousin’s.”
Xie Ran cycled through his mind, but could not think of a single friend around him who owned a camera.
Anyway, Wang Wenjing and Yu Wei definitely did not.
Ever since those two found out he started playing around with photography, all of their couple travels had been canceled and turned into trio travels, dragging him, this single dog and utility tool person, along every time to help take photos.
He clicked his tongue lightly. “Let me look into it more.”
Jiang Xu, who was sitting nearby playing with his mobile phone, thought about how Xie Ran was so strapped for cash yet still spent money to buy women’s clothing.
For a moment, he actually did not know what to say.
A minute later, Jiang Xu exited the materials he was reviewing and opened a shopping application.
He tapped the search bar and entered the keyword: Fujifilm camera.