The person was gone?

Grabbing another bag of lime-flavored chips, Ji Ranyou finally followed the voices to another aisle. As she turned the corner, she saw the two girls from before—along with Qin Dai.

Qin Dai was casually opening a freezer while speaking to herself:
“Never seen this before… Who would’ve thought I’d run into green tea yogurt today? Truly fascinating!”

“Green tea yogurt? Where? I don’t see it!” The first girl leaned in curiously. “Han Han, do you see it?”

Pei Menghan glanced at the yogurt in her hand and shook her head. “Never even heard of it.”

With a click, the freezer door shut.

A fleeting hint of mockery flashed through Qin Dai’s eyes, reflecting off the metal surface of the milkshake can. She stepped toward Pei Menghan and pointed. “You’re drinking it right now. How do you not know?”

Pei Menghan frowned. “But this isn’t—?”

“If a green tea b*tch drinks yogurt, how could it not be green tea yogurt?”  Qin Dai let out a small “heh”, mimicking Pei Menghan’s earlier tone. Then, shaking her head, she added, “Wait, I might’ve phrased that wrong.”

“Getting rejected in public after asking for the school male god’s WeChat, then turning around and acting like an insider while slandering our little Yuzu? I don’t care how well you do your makeup or how many people chase after you. Whether it’s green tea or scheming, just looking at that face of yours…”

Narrowing her eyes, Qin Dai smiled. “Honestly, I can only think of one word: cheap. But I wonder… should I say it out loud?”

Qin Dai was well-known in the Finance department’s student council, and her arms-crossed stance carried undeniable authority. Passersby slowed down, intrigued, as curious gazes drifted toward them.

With a whoosh, Pei Menghan’s face turned pale. “Who are you talking about?”

Qin Dai shrugged. “Who do you think I’m talking about?”

“You are talking about me, aren’t you?!”

“Well, if you think I am, then sure, I’m talking about you,” Qin Dai said, pausing briefly before continuing, “If you assume I meant you, then go ahead and take it that way.”

A rapid-fire string of logic, crisp and clear. As Qin Dai finished speaking, silence fell over the area. The only sound was the low, constant “whirr” of the supermarket’s freezers.

Ji Ranyou, who had initially worried that her friend might suffer for defending her, stood there, watching the scene unfold with an indescribable feeling.

Calmly, she called out, “Dai Bi, let’s go.”

“Mhm.”

Qin Dai linked arms with Ji Ranyou, and as they passed by the two girls, she didn’t spare them a single glance. “If they weren’t talking about you, I wouldn’t have even bothered wasting my time.”

“You know,” Ji Ranyou said, handing her the bag of lime chips with a small smile, “For people whose mental age multiplied by a hundred and divided by their biological age is less than zero… is it really worth it?”

“You have a point.”

Qin Dai nodded in agreement. “If someone at that level can win a national award, I feel like I should start working harder. Who knows? Maybe my name will be on the next Nobel Prize list.”

“If they add a category for laziness and love of food, I might make the shortlist too.”

Qin Dai smiled. “…”

#Applaud for Self-Awareness#

As their banter faded into the night, their figures dissolved into the dim glow beyond the glass doors.

Meanwhile, Pei Menghan remained frozen in place, surrounded by passersby suppressing their laughter. Staring at the phone screen her companion held up, her face flushed red, then pale, then red again—until she clenched her teeth so hard she nearly ground them to dust.

The search bar displayed Ji Ranyou’s earlier words.

The first related term on the encyclopaedia page?

“IQ.”

Truly, insulting without using a single curse word is truly an art.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

“Old Four, are you there? Old Four, are you there? I say ‘Old Four,’ you say ‘Here!’”

Xu Wei tossed his keys onto the dorm table as he entered, his excitement making him sound like a broken record on steroids.

“He’s in the shower,” Zhou Ze paused the video on his tablet and looked up. “Why are you so worked up?”

“How could I not be worked up?!”

Xu Wei took a sip of water to moisten his throat, crossed one leg over the other, and launched into storytelling mode like an old-time storyteller. “You went back to the dorm first, right? Crazy and I went to the supermarket. And guess who I ran into…”

Whether it was NBA or LPL, Xu Wei loved getting worked up along with the commentators.

With animated gestures, he reenacted the scene at the supermarket. After a few tsk tsk sounds, he first admitted that Qin Dai was insanely cool, then shifted his focus. “Zhou Ze, you should’ve seen Old Four’s girl! She was something else… Just a few light words, one sentence, one b*tch down—gone without a trace.”

Zhou Ze had just finished reading a detailed explanation of “IQ” on the encyclopaedia. He nodded in agreement, “How did I not notice before? Now that I think about it, that girl is really interesting.”

“What are you planning?” Hearing the water stop in the bathroom, Xu Wei switched out his socks for slippers. “That’s Old Four’s girl—don’t even think about it.”

“Let me use the bathroom first,” Yi Tingfeng didn’t even look up from his mobile game. “Xu Wei is making sense. I second that.”

Zhou Ze was one of the first to see the video, and he had even shared it in the dorm group chat.

Now, hearing their comments, he refused to back down. “You guys seriously believe those rumours? The camera angle can easily be misleading. And tell me—when have you ever heard Old Four confirm anything himself—”

Click.

A crisp click rang out as the bathroom door unlocked and swung open.

Years of consistent training had sculpted a lean, well-defined physique. Droplets of water clung to strands of black hair, refracting the sharp lines of his handsome features. Emerging from the misty steam, Gu Chen wore a simple set of soft, grey-velvet pyjamas, his whole figure enveloped in a hazy, dreamlike aura.

While towelling his hair dry, Gu Chen walked straight up to Zhou Ze and stopped.

“Did you eat the oranges I brought back last time?”

“Huh?” Zhou Ze was momentarily thrown off. Then, realizing what he meant, he nodded. “Yeah… why?”

Gu Chen gave a slight nod, flipping his towel to the other side. “So… are you going to take back what you just said, or spit out the oranges?”

Zhou Ze: “……”
Yi Tingfeng: “……”

Xu Wei—who had been the first to notice Gu Chen’s rare seriousness—immediately dropped his usual joking demeanour and sat up straight.  “Old Four, you…”

Gu Chen acknowledged the latter half of his sentence with a nod. Then, he looked at Zhou Ze. Looked at him again. And again.

It wasn’t until Zhou Ze, still dazed, muttered a reluctant “I take it back” that Gu Chen finally shifted his gaze away. With an expression as calm as ever, he returned to his seat, placed the towel down, and picked up his cup of water—leaving his three roommates behind, their faces frozen in expressions of horror, as if they had just watched their stock holdings turn entirely red.

Ever since freshman year, whether it was assignments, exams, or even everyday dorm chores like making his bed and brushing his teeth, Gu Chen would joke around, join in on activities, and participate in casual banter.

But he was always polite and composed, maintaining an unshakable distance from everyone.

He was neither too close nor too far from anyone.

There was a quiet detachment in his bones, a serene indifference—as if there was nothing in the world that could ever shake his composure.

Until—

He came back to the dorm, drenched in milk tea, looking utterly defeated.

Until they saw that girl bump her teeth and laugh along with them in class.

Until he silently sulked after being stood up.

Until he very purposefully treated them all to a meal.

It really did seem like…

Ever since meeting Ji Ranyou, Gu Chen had started feeling more…  human.

While changing his clothes, Xu Wei couldn’t help but ask, “Since this semester? That soon?”

Gu Chen nodded. Then shook his head.

Most guys in the dorm didn’t drink hot water, so once Gu Chen was done brewing his drink, there was no one else in line.

Yi Tingfeng, having forgotten all about the bathroom, eagerly followed him to the water dispenser and turned off the switch for him. “Wait, could it have been back in freshman year? I think I vaguely remember… Didn’t your girl say she liked Gu Chen the most, and then you…”

Holy crap!! Acting all reserved, but secretly such a shameless flirt!

A thousand horses, covered in mud and grass, galloped wildly in Yi Tingfeng’s mind— A voice suddenly cut in  

“Probably…Even earlier.”

The rhythmic splash of water hitting the cup holder filled the air, covering the nearly imperceptible tremor in Gu Chen’s voice.

Had the water’s ripples been clearer, or had Yi Tingfeng observed just a little more closely, he might have noticed the faint blush creeping onto Gu Chen’s cheeks at that moment.

Taking a slow sip of water, Gu Chen suddenly asked, “Have you ever imagined me with a buzz cut? You know, when you’re young and reckless, and everything your parents say just annoys you… that kind of rebellious phase?”

The usual stock analysis was done. The night’s assignments and planned tasks were all crossed off.

That night was the first time Gu Chen ever joined in on the infamous 616 dorm late-night talks.

It was also the first time he ever spoke to his roommates about his past.

That fleeting moment of youth—so vivid, yet it felt like only yesterday.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

She had been pestering Chu Binghe for several days.

Friday night.

Following the principles of “Waiting a bit before asking makes me seem less eager” and “Where you fall, you must get back up”, Ji Ranyou finally knocked on that blankly saved contact and confirmed—same time, same place, next Monday.

After receiving a simple “Okay” in response, she hesitated for a moment before finally asking what had been on her mind for the past few days.

[A]: By the way… did you see that video? =￣ω￣=
[Gu Chen]: Which video? =￣ω￣=
[A]: Can you stop copying my emojis? … The one on Moments.

At the same time—

[Gu Chen]: You mean the one where we’re standing together?
[Gu Chen]: No!

No means no, why are you adding an exclamation mark?! Hmph!!

Ji Ranyou didn’t actually care about Pei Menghan’s words. She had only asked out of consideration for Gu Chen’s feelings.

[A]: I mean, do you want to post something to clarify?
[A]: In case people misunderstand that there’s something between us… Would it cause you any trouble?

From 23:20 to 23:23.

The screen remained silent—one second, two seconds, three seconds… one minute, two minutes, three minutes.

She was the one who brought it up, yet now that Gu Chen was actually taking time to consider, Ji Ranyou found herself feeling… strangely unsettled?!

It was like an itch on her back—she wanted to scratch it, but couldn’t reach.

Just as the chat displayed “Previous messages”, she hesitated about logging off to get some writing done—

[Gu Chen]: Hmm… we don’t actually have anything going on right now.
[A]: So?

So, you’re going to post a status about being single and let all your admirers keep drooling over you?!
So, I mean absolutely nothing to you, and you won’t bother addressing it because that would make it seem like we have something to hide?!

Even though she knew Gu Chen wasn’t that kind of person, Ji Ranyou still couldn’t stop overthinking it.

Her mind spun through a thousand possibilities, looping back on itself—her finger hovered over the chat window’s close button. But before she could click— a voice message came…

The first one—
[Gu Chen]: “Good night.”

The second one—
[Gu Chen]: “I’ll try to be more efficient.”

His deep voice carried the husky laziness of someone about to fall asleep, mixed with the faint sound of his breathing. It scratched at the same itch that had been spreading through Ji Ranyou’s chest.

She listened once, twice… over and over again.

Finally yanking off her headphones, Ji Ranyou slapped her burning cheeks, jumped on Weibo to take a break from writing, and then quickly got ready for bed.

Wrapped up in her blanket, she tossed and turned—

Ahhhhhh!!

Was he talking about econometrics, or…