“So, you really had no idea that this project is actually ours from the dorm?” Lin Nuo’er looked at the folder in Gu Zhe’s hand and found it a little funny.
The cover of the folder only had general details like college, major, supervising teacher, and project name. To protect privacy, all the specific content was inside the documents. While any student who cared enough could find out—just like that girl who had come to Lin Nuo’er’s dorm earlier asking to join the team—Gu Zhe had clearly never put any thought into it.
“Ahem, I’ve just been a little busy recently, so I put it aside for now.”
Lin Nuo’er didn’t doubt him. The seal on the folder still looked brand new, clearly untouched since it was placed on there.
She smiled and squinted her eyes, teasing Gu Zhe, “Oh wow, no wonder you’re a top student in our Computer Science Department. You didn’t even care about the project our small department is using to enter the provincial competition. You weren’t even a little interested, were you?”
Gu Zhe coughed awkwardly. Honestly, he really hadn’t been that into it. But now that he knew it was Lin Nuo’er’s project, he figured if he took it seriously and they won a provincial award, maybe they could even attend the national competition on public expenses—he wouldn’t mind a free trip.
He took the folder back from Lin Nuo’er and said helplessly, “So basically, your dormmates all think I’ve been acting extra nice to you lately because I’m trying to live off you?”
Lin Nuo’er wiped the tears from laughing and felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. “Well, you can’t really blame them. You’ve been on this project for a whole week, and you’ve seen us several times, but never said a word. Anyone would overthink it.”
Gu Zhe rubbed his temples. This was indeed a huge misunderstanding. The image of him and Song Yihan being an unbreakable couple was so deeply ingrained that whatever he did, everyone saw it through that lens. No wonder Shu Ya and the others had opinions about him.
“In the end, I really did take advantage of your project. Go back and tell your roommates I’ll treat everyone to hotpot this weekend. Consider it the first official meeting of our project team.”
Lin Nuo’er wasn’t someone who held grudges. As long as the misunderstanding was cleared, it was fine. “OK, this weekend then. Don’t be late!”
…
Song Yihan returned to the dorm looking lost and dejected. Coincidentally, her three roommates were all there. When they saw her wet shoes and socks, two of them turned their heads away and pretended not to notice, continuing with their own tasks.
Earlier, one of the roommates had been in the cafeteria and witnessed everything that happened between Song Yihan and Gu Zhe. She came back immediately and shared all the juicy details with the others. This story is hosted at novelping dot com.
To be honest, all three roommates had some opinions about how Song Yihan handled things. Gu Zhe had a great reputation in the Computer Science Department—skilled, top of the class. Whenever people held events and needed little programs for raffles or drawings, Gu Zhe was always happy to help. And during their first-year final exams, when everyone was struggling with advanced math and modern algebra, Advisor Yang had even coordinated with Gu Zhe to lead a study group for the struggling students.
On top of all that, Gu Zhe was good-looking and well-liked in the department. That time when Duan Mingdong publicly mocked him on social media, Zhao Si had rallied a group of guys from the department to go teach Duan Mingdong a lesson.
Boys stood up for each other directly, but girls often kept such feelings inside. Like Song Yihan’s roommates—they didn’t get her at all. With someone like Gu Zhe as her boyfriend, she should be smiling in her sleep. Why was she still so entangled with a loser like Duan Mingdong? And she even dragged Gu Zhe into that mess, making him look miserable and worn down.
At first, they had tried to gently persuade her. After all, during military training, even Advisor Yang had praised Song Yihan and Gu Zhe as the “golden couple” of the Software Engineering Department. They really did look good together.
But after a year had passed, they were starting to feel… that Song Yihan was seriously out of line.
What Lin Nuo’er had said in the cafeteria earlier really hit the mark. At this point, most girls in the Computer Science Department didn’t want to hang out with Song Yihan anymore.
After washing up in the bathroom, Song Yihan came back to the dorm. Even with three roommates present, she couldn’t find a single person to talk to. After thinking for a while, she climbed into bed and called Duan Mingdong.
Ironically, even though she had just yelled at Duan Mingdong and called him less than a man, the moment she called, he answered eagerly.
“Hello? Yihan, are you okay now? I didn’t eat breakfast this morning, and my hands slipped, I…”
Song Yihan didn’t care at all whether Duan Mingdong had eaten or not. She only cared about one thing—Gu Zhe’s attitude.
“Dongdong, do you think Gu Zhe really wants to break up with me? He’s never treated me like this before.”
Duan Mingdong, who never had any ideas of his own, was even more speechless now that she was crying. “Uh, well… from my point of view… for most guys…”
He stammered for ages, failing to provide anything useful—only making Song Yihan, who was already emotionally on the edge, even more frustrated.
The girl on the bed opposite her finally couldn’t take it anymore. She snatched the phone from Song Yihan’s hand and ended the call.
“Hey, you—”
The girl with the round glasses stared straight into Song Yihan’s eyes and said clearly, “Song Yihan, if you really want to stay with Gu Zhe, the first step is to cut ties with that loser Duan Mingdong.”
“As long as he’s still around, Gu Zhe will only hate you more.”
Song Yihan froze and shook her head. “No, it’s not like that. Dongdong and I are just close friends. Gu Zhe knows that. It’s that Lin Nuo’er—if it weren’t for her, Gu Zhe would never—”
“Enough.” The girl in glasses cut her off.
“How long has Lin Nuo’er even been around Gu Zhe, and you already can’t stand it?”
“Then have you ever thought about how long Gu Zhe endured your so-called guy best friend?”
“Have you ever thought that the reason Gu Zhe became like this is all because of you?”
“He’s already completely heartbroken and utterly disappointed in you.”