Qing Ye returned to the dormitory just before curfew. She rushed straight into the bathroom and emerged completely covered up, wearing long sleeves and pants—quite unusual.
The other three roommates silently watched her. Qu Bing had already heard from Qu Xing that Qing Ye had gone with Xing Wu to get glasses fitted, which explained why she disappeared right after class ended.
Unable to hold back, Qu Bing asked, "Did everything go smoothly tonight?"
Qing Ye froze for a moment, then guiltily retorted, "What do you mean, smoothly?"
"Did you get the glasses fitted?"
Qing Ye avoided looking at her, simply nodded, and climbed into bed without another word. Qu Bing found her behavior increasingly odd and pressed further, "What did you two eat for dinner?"
Qing Ye uttered two words: "Noodles."
After she spoke, the other three exchanged uneasy glances. Recalling Xing Wu's actions at noon, they all agreed he seemed somewhat interested in Qing Ye. Getting glasses fitted in the evening was a perfect opportunity—under normal circumstances, a guy would seize the chance to take a girl to a romantic spot for a meal, leaving a good impression after some back-and-forth. Yet, on such a hot day, they just ate noodles? Suddenly, the young man seemed a bit clueless—undoubtedly a straightforward type.
Sun Wanjing quietly remarked, "You ate noodles until 11 p.m.?"
"..." Qing Ye slowly, very slowly, slid down under her blanket.
Qu Bing abruptly sat up and exclaimed, "Don't tell me you two had a..."
Qing Ye's heart leaped into her throat, nearly choking her, only to hear the rest: "...disagreement, didn't you?"
For a moment, she thought they had seen right through her. The emotional rollercoaster left her breathless. Noticing her silence, Qu Bing asked again, "Did you actually take him to get the glasses fitted or not?"
"Yes, I did. You'll see for yourselves tomorrow. I'm going to sleep." With that, she turned away, shutting out the three of them. The dorm fell silent again as everyone went about their own business, and no one brought it up further.
Meanwhile, the boys' dormitory was far less harmonious. Xing Wu returned, took another shower, and came out shirtless. He walked to his bed with his back to the others to grab a T-shirt.
Zhuang Sixian accidentally glanced at Xing Wu and immediately froze. He nudged Qu Xing, and the other roommate, Yang Wenbo, also turned to look. All three simultaneously spotted three distinct bite marks on Xing Wu's left and right shoulders and the back of his neck.
They collectively gasped. They all knew Xing Wu had gone with Senior Qing Ye to get glasses fitted that evening, but why did he come back covered in bite marks? It was hard not to let their minds wander!
But Qu Xing was deeply puzzled. He had just spoken to his older sister on the phone earlier; she mentioned that Qing Ye held quite a prejudice against Xing Wu. Qu Bing even told him not to bring Xing Wu over for meals anymore to avoid making Qing Ye uncomfortable. So... how did he end up covered in bite marks? It couldn't be what he was thinking, right? How was that possible?
When Xing Wu quickly pulled on his shirt and turned around, he was met with six stunned pairs of eyes. He asked, bewildered, "What?"
Qu Xing swallowed hard and asked, "What happened to you?"
Xing Wu looked down at himself. "What about me?"
Zhuang Sixian adjusted his glasses and said shrewdly, "That's quite a few bite marks.""..." Xing Wu immediately caught on, lowering his head with a faint smile as he lazily ruffled his hair and replied, "A little dog bit me."
Qu Xing chuckled, "Heh heh heh, the bite marks are quite symmetrical. Did you get a rabies shot?"
Xing Wu answered him seriously, "Not yet. Come with me to Cafeteria Five at noon tomorrow to get one."
Yang Wenbo, who was out of the loop, suddenly asked, "Really? Our school cafeteria actually offers vaccinations?"
"..." The other three silently averted their gazes.
So the next day at noon, when the sisters from Dorm 319 arrived at Cafeteria Five, Qu Xing and the others had already ordered the food and were waiting for them.
Qu Xing wore a meaningful expression when he saw Qing Ye, enthusiastically gesturing for her to sit beside Xing Wu. After Qing Ye sat down, she glanced sideways at him, and he happened to look back at her, a faint curve at the corner of his lips. Under the public gaze, his intense eyes suddenly made Qing Ye's cheeks flush with heat.
She decisively averted her gaze and lowered her head. Xing Wu handed her a tray and chopsticks. Qu Bing glanced at the glasses on his nose bridge and remarked, "Nice glasses. They look good."
Xing Wu adjusted the frame. "Mainly because Qing Ye has good taste."
Qu Bing smiled without saying anything, thinking this junior was being even more obvious with his hints today.
However, the harmonious atmosphere came to an abrupt end after the meal. As they stood up, a girl suddenly called out, "Hey, Xing Wu, what a coincidence! You're eating here too?"
Qing Ye and the others turned to look. Three girls walked toward Xing Wu with smiles, and Qing Ye clearly noticed an unusual, predatory glint in their eyes as they looked at him.
Xing Wu nodded at them. One of the girls, with bangs and a cute appearance, leaned close to him and asked with a beaming smile, "Are you going again tonight?"
Qing Ye shot them a sidelong glance and suddenly remembered Xing Wu's "fun English" from the previous night. Impressive—he'd already managed to attract a group of girls on the second day of school. If this continued for a semester, wouldn't he be surrounded on all sides?
The key point was, in last night's situation, he had actually left her alone to attend some ridiculous team-building event? An inexplicable anger suddenly flared up in Qing Ye's heart. Without a word, she turned and walked straight out of the cafeteria.
Seeing Qing Ye leave, Qu Bing and the others decided to head out as well. But just as Qing Ye stepped out of the cafeteria, she felt her right foot catch on something. By the time she looked down, Xing Wu had already swept past her from behind, crouching in front of her to tie her shoelace.
Qing Ye coldly stared down at him. As soon as he finished tying, she turned and walked around him, not intending to acknowledge him at all. At that moment, the book she was holding suddenly fell. Xing Wu caught it from behind her and moved in front of her again. Qing Ye reached out to snatch it back, but he swayed to the left. As she stretched her hand left, he curled his lips and swung his arm to the right, perfectly evading her grasp.
Qing Ye was completely furious, glaring at him as she demanded, "Give it to me.""
Xing Wu held the book behind his back, lowering his gaze to her. "Do me a favor."
Qing Ye turned her head away stubbornly. "No."
With fellow students passing by all around, Xing Wu suddenly leaned in, lowering his head to whisper by her ear, "If you don't help, I'll have to go to fun English again tonight."
After saying this, he straightened up and gave her a meaningful smile. Qing Ye furrowed her brows in confusion and asked, "What do you want me to do?"Xing Wu lowered his gaze and rubbed his nose: "Could you... find some time to help me with English?"
Qing Ye was suddenly taken aback: "Huh?"
He coughed dryly, somewhat awkwardly: "Many of the courses in our program are taught entirely in English. If this continues, I'm going to fail."
English was truly a disaster for Xing Wu. Back in his hometown, there was no language environment to speak of. He relied solely on his good memory to cram vocabulary and grammar by rote. While he could manage writing exercises passably, his listening comprehension was another story altogether. After all, even Miss Yu's spoken English—considered top-notch at Anzhong High—hadn't prepared him for this. During his college entrance exams, English had been his lowest scoring subject. Now that he was in Class Y, some courses being fully taught in English was bad enough, but what was even more insane was how everyone sometimes communicated entirely in English. When specialized vocabulary got thrown into the mix, he was completely lost. From the very start of the semester, he'd felt a strong sense of crisis.
Qing Ye looked at his somewhat aggrieved expression behind his glasses and couldn't hold back—she immediately burst out laughing: "So that's why you went to join the English event?"
"Otherwise? Do I look like I have nothing better to do?Qing Ye's eyes suddenly curved into crescents, inexplicably finding Xing's helpless appearance utterly adorable.
As she was laughing, she turned her head and saw Qu Bing, Sun Wanjing, and Xie Qianqian standing opposite them, staring in their direction with incredulous expressions.
Qing Ye's smile suddenly froze. She turned to Xing Wu and said, "I need to check my schedule. Go ask around the Foreign Languages Department about my reputation—I'm quite busy too, you know?"
With that, she tossed her long hair and waved at him. Xing Wu watched her proud retreating back and smiled, adjusting his glasses.
As soon as the group turned the corner, Qu Bing immediately said earnestly, "Qing Ye, we might have wronged you before. Your judgment of people is actually quite accurate—Xing Wu might not be as honest as he seems."
"???" Qing Ye looked at them bewildered.
Then the three of them recounted the scene they had just witnessed to Qing Ye.
Right after Qing Ye left the cafeteria, Xing Wu had strode out after her. First, he skillfully stepped on her shoelaces to untie them, then blocked her path to retie them. The moment she turned around, he lifted her book from behind and caught it steadily, blocking her path again. This smooth series of flirting moves left the three onlookers stunned—who knew you could operate like this?
Their conclusion was that Xing Wu was truly a wolf in sheep's clothing—not as honest as he appeared on the surface. They completely agreed with Qing Ye's previous assessment and advised her to stay away from him to avoid having her feelings played with.
Qing Ye couldn't tolerate this on the spot: "How has he played with me? How is he dishonest? You're judging people too superficially—you need to see the essence beyond the appearance."
"..." The others felt this statement sounded strangely familiar—so familiar that it seemed to have come from someone's mouth just a couple days ago. But why had the tone suddenly changed?
Thus, Qing Ye's attitude toward Xing Wu consistently puzzled those around her. Until a few days later, when Qu Xing sent Qu Bing a photo. The person in the picture was Qing Ye, standing next to a snowman making peace signs at the camera with a sweet, warm smile.
Although the Qing Ye in the photo didn't look much different from now, her clear eyes and brows still revealed that this was an old photo from her past.
When Qu Bing asked where he got the photo, Qu Xing told her this picture was Xing Wu's phone wallpaper.Recalling Qing Ye's series of unusual emotions toward Xing Wu, Qu Bing glanced back at the dandelion portrait Qing Ye had framed on her desk. Thinking of Xing Wu's background and the dandelion necklace from last New Year's Eve, Qu Bing suddenly pieced everything together, feeling unexpectedly moved.
Thus, the unresolved mystery was solved through this photograph. But everyone involved was perceptive—after Qu Bing's inadvertent hints, they all saw the truth without voicing it.
Over the weekend, Qing Ye went shopping at a home furnishing mall with Xing Wu. Originally intending to buy small items, Qing Ye ended up purchasing piles of cute and novel trinkets that caught her eye.
Exhausted, she collapsed into the pile of purchases upon returning to the apartment. Xing Wu pulled her out and said, "Go take a shower."
Qing Ye blinked at him. "Why now?"
"I'm having dinner with Pang Hu tonight. Haven't you two not seen each other for a while?"
Excited at the prospect of dining with Pang Hu—whom she hadn't seen in ages—Qing Ye decided to ask him how he passed his art school entrance exams. After checking her disheveled reflection in the mirror, she promptly headed to the bathroom.
When she emerged, Xing Wu leisurely unbuttoned his shirt and undressed completely in front of her without hesitation. His well-defined physique gradually revealed itself, making her gaze drift restlessly. The air grew thick with tension, tightening throats.
As expected, she knew his shower suggestion wasn't innocent. He carried Qing Ye straight to the bedroom, keeping her occupied until evening. When he finally pulled her up to leave, Qing Ye was utterly spent, protesting with teary eyes, "I'm exhausted from the day—I can't go out."
She stubbornly stayed in bed, but Xing Wu chuckled and lifted her. "I'll carry you."
Thinking he was joking, Qing Ye was surprised when he actually hoisted her onto his back before locking up and entering the elevator. Embarrassed, she quickly jumped down after exiting.
They met Pang Hu at a hot pot restaurant, where Qing Ye discovered Shi Min had also been invited. But Qing Ye was stunned by Pang Hu's appearance—he claimed to have lost nearly 20 pounds during his gap year and another 30 pounds through strict dieting and exercise over the summer. His revamped style made him almost unrecognizable.
She deeply resonated with the saying: never underestimate any overweight person around you—you never know when they might transform into a heartthrob.
The reunion felt warmly familiar, though Qing Ye sensed subtle chemistry between Pang Hu and Shi Min.
On their way back, she asked Xing Wu, "Are Pang Hu and Shi Min together?"
Xing Wu stared at her with a look of disbelief. "You just noticed?"
"..."
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