Watching Xu Shuai put on an act, $2ong Aotian shot him a disdainful glance. "Cut the act, kid. I saw you and Wang Lijuan taking the subway together. Where’d you go?"
At those words, Xu Shuai seemed to recall something wonderful.
He couldn’t help but break into a smile—a blissful one at that.
Huang Fei and Li Longlong exchanged glances. They noticed everything, yet for some reason, it felt oddly grating.
Before Xu Shuai could finish, Huang Fei and Li Longlong waved him off. "Stop. We don’t wanna know anymore."
Xu Shuai paused, then turned to Long Aotian. "Hey, Aotian, where’d you and that aloof campus beauty from next door go today?"
Leaning in with a sly grin, he added, "I even saw you holding hands."
Seeing Xu Shuai’s unmistakable gossipy expression, Long Aotian chuckled. "Take a guess."
Long Aotian suddenly stood up. "Did you get it on recording?"
"Huh?" Xu Shuai stared blankly. "Get what?"
"Hold on, quiet." Huang Fei made a shushing gesture, and the dorm fell silent.
With a tap on his phone, Huang Fei played back Xu Shuai’s voice, dripping with mischief: ["Heh heh, I saw you holding hands..."]
"Damn it, you bastards!" Xu Shuai lunged like a tiger, tackling Long Aotian. "I treat you like sworn brothers, and you pull this crap on me!"
"Serves you right for showing off. I’m sending this to Shen Mengjie so she can show Wang Lijuan."
"Three cups of fruit tea. Extra ice."
"Fine, I’ll get them right now."
Watching Xu Shuai flip them off from the balcony, Long Aotian and the others burst out laughing.
Amid the laughter, Li Longlong suddenly sighed. Turning serious, he looked at Huang Fei and Long Aotian. "Honestly, I kinda envy Xu Shuai."
Huang Fei patted his shoulder. "Pursuing a girl takes persistence. You’re giving up way too soon."
"What’s going on?" Long Aotian asked, curiosity piqued.
"After you guys left, we got bored in the dorm and tried chatting up Shen Mengjie and Han Xiaojing, maybe even arranging a meetup." Huang Fei gestured for Li Longlong to continue.
"No luck," Li Longlong muttered, exhaling heavily. "She’s just... cold toward me."
"Cold? Maybe she’s just shy?" Long Aotian said. His impression of Han Xiaojing was of a quiet girl—hardly the type to come off as distant.
"I knew you wouldn’t believe me, but it’s the truth."
Li Longlong pulled out his phone and showed Long Aotian the chat log.
His messages were at least two lines long each.
Han Xiaojing’s replies, however, were mostly: ["Mhm"], ["Okay"], ["Got it"].
The longest one? ["Who else is going?"]
Just glancing at the screen, it did seem a bit frosty.
Noticing Long Aotian’s expression, Li Longlong turned to Huang Fei. "Show him your chat log."
"How many times do I have to say it? Stop calling me 'Old Huang.'" He pulled out his phone. "Our convo’s simple too, but at least there’s some emotional feedback."
He opened the chat, and Long Aotian’s eyebrows rose slightly. "Yeah, I guess there’s... some emotional value here."
["Mhm (playful emoji)"], ["Okay (winking happy emoji)"], ["Thanks (adorable emoji)"], ["Can’t, I’m busy (sad emoji)"]
"See, Longlong? Once you learn to read girls like I do, you’ll get that emotional payoff from Han Xiaojing too." Huang Fei grinned confidently.
"Uh..." Long Aotian sucked in a breath, at a loss for words.
Huang Fei was clearly enjoying this. In this state, anything he said would fall on deaf ears—or worse, strain their friendship.
"Honestly, Shen Mengjie seems nice, but I’m not sure if—"
"Right?" Huang Fei beamed. "You think so too, Aotian? I knew it—"
Long Aotian opened his mouth but didn’t finish. Some lessons had to be learned firsthand. And who knew? Maybe Huang Fei was onto something.
"Ugh..." Li Longlong sighed again, taking his phone back. "At first, I just thought Han Xiaojing was pretty. But the more we talked, the more I liked her personality too."
"But at this rate, I’ve got no shot."
"Early on, even a single ['Mhm'] from her would make my day. But over time, I got greedy. She never changed."
"I think I just got dumped... without even dating."
Long Aotian patted his shoulder. "Look at it this way—no start, no breakup. The campus is full of youth and possibilities."
"And how long have you known her? Really known her? How many times have you met or eaten together? Don’t compare yourself to Xu Shuai. Not every girl is Wang Lijuan."
"Thanks, Aotian. That makes me feel even worse." Li Longlong let out a half-laugh, half-groan.
Long Aotian didn’t know what else to say. From his perspective, it was all too rushed. This wasn’t the fast-paced dating scene of a decade later. Taking things slow was more sincere.
"Your glorious sworn father has returned!" Xu Shuai kicked the dorm door open, arms laden with four cups of fruit tea, two six-packs of beer, and a bag of skewered snacks.
Spotting the beer, Long Aotian nudged Huang Fei. "Let’s drink."
Between sips and bites, Xu Shuai caught up on the situation.
"No big deal. I’ll talk to Lijuan, and we’ll set up another dorm hangout. Worst case, we stay friends."
"Exactly! Maybe Han Xiaojing’s just a slow burn," Huang Fei added, hiccuping mid-sentence.
"Whatever. I’m over it. I’ll play it by ear. I’m not some Adonis, but I’m not ugly either. There’s no way I won’t find a girlfriend!"
"But... thanks, guys."
Li Longlong said it with a rare kind of coolness—not the superficial kind, but a liberated one.
Long Aotian raised his can and clinked it against Li Longlong’s. "Don’t get emotional. As your sworn brother and one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Dorm 147, it’s our duty." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵
"Hahaha..." Huang Fei and Xu Shuai both nodded with laughter, showing their approval.
Li Longlong rolled his eyes but still downed the drink in the end...