Chapter 9

Song Zhen lay on her bed, utterly perplexed. When she played solo ranked matches before, although she sometimes went on losing streaks, she would always bounce back with wins afterward. But ever since meeting Pei Jiyin, she had been losing nonstop—her match history was a sea of red with only a pitiful speck of blue.  

Staring at her King’s Camp stats, Song Zhen sighed and glanced at her visitor list, noticing that Pei Jiyin had checked her profile not long ago.  

Narrowing her eyes, she had a hunch that this person was definitely laughing at her. After a moment’s thought, Song Zhen closed her match history.  

“Song Zhen, how many matches did you lose today?” someone asked.  

“Too many to count. I’m almost back to Platinum,” Song Zhen replied, rubbing her neck.  

“Our school has plenty of skilled players. Why not ask someone to carry you?”  

“No,” Song Zhen refused outright. “You have to believe in yourself.”  

“What’s your ID? Let’s play together.”  

“Ah, forget it. I’ll manage on my own,” Song Zhen sighed. “I play games every day just to relax, but somehow, it just makes me feel worse.”  

Her roommates laughed.  

“You always go up to the rooftop to play. Are you secretly talking to someone online about stuff we can’t hear?” another asked.  

Song Zhen: “…”  

“What are you thinking? I just don’t want to disturb you guys,” Song Zhen said.  

*They guessed pretty accurately—it really is something you can’t hear.*  

“Let’s sleep. We have to wake up early tomorrow,” Song Zhen yawned.  

On weekends, she always studied in the library. The school library opened at six, with seat reservations starting at five. Song Zhen would open her eyes at 4:59, grab a seat, then go back to sleep until 5:30 before arriving at the library entrance by six.  

By around 6:30, the study rooms would be completely full.  

At 6:30, Pei Jiyin hurried in with her bag and froze when she saw the person sitting across from her spot. She double-checked her phone to confirm she wasn’t mistaken before walking over with perfect composure, her expression flawlessly controlled.  

“Senior,” Pei Jiyin whispered.  

Song Zhen blinked before looking up and smiling at her. “Morning.”  

“Morning. What a coincidence.”  

“Yeah.”  

Since the library wasn’t the place for conversation, they exchanged greetings and fell silent.  

Pei Jiyin had originally planned to stay only for the morning, but with Song Zhen here, she decided to linger longer.  

The library was quiet, filled only with the sounds of flipping pages and writing, occasionally punctuated by mouse clicks or keyboard taps from some corner.  

Every now and then, Pei Jiyin would glance up at Song Zhen, absorbed in her books, and feel an instant surge of motivation.  

**[Pei Jiyin: Do you know how lucky I am today?]**  

**[Cheng Yu: What, did your confession succeed?]**  

**[Pei Jiyin: I’m at the library, and my senior is sitting right across from me!]**  

**[Cheng Yu: Oh.]**  

**[Pei Jiyin: Last time, she was in this same spot too. Does that mean she likes this seat?]**  

**[Cheng Yu: Maybe.]**  

**[Pei Jiyin: This is great.]**  

**[Cheng Yu: Good luck. I’m going back to sleep. Don’t text me early in the morning unless it’s urgent, thanks.]**  

**[Pei Jiyin: …]**  

**[Pei Jiyin: Get up and study, classmate.]**  

**[Pei Jiyin: If you don’t work hard when you’re young, Boss will lament in vain.]**

【Cheng Yu: If you message me again, I’ll block you directly.】  

Pei Jiyin sighed and put away her phone. That temper was truly something.  

Truly, her senior was better—gentle and kind-hearted.  

Pei Jiyin watched as Song Zhen picked up her water bottle and headed out to refill it. She grabbed her own bottle and followed.  

“Senior, do you usually come this early to study?” Pei Jiyin asked with a well-behaved smile.  

“Usually on Saturdays and Sundays. Other days, I have other things to do,” Song Zhen replied, pausing to think. “Tuesdays depend on the situation.”  

“You’re amazing, Senior. I can never get up—I always sit up and then lie back down. Waking up early is just too hard,” Pei Jiyin lamented. “Do you usually sit in that same spot, Senior?”  

“Mhm, pretty much. If I can grab it, that is.” Song Zhen filled her bottle and stepped aside to make room for Pei Jiyin.  

Pei Jiyin nodded and glanced at Song Zhen. “Having someone to study with really gives me motivation. Senior, can we have lunch together?”  

“Sure.”  

“That’s great! I really hate sitting alone in the cafeteria, watching everyone else in pairs,” Pei Jiyin said.  

For some reason, Song Zhen was reminded of someone’s teasing voice: “Everyone else is paired up, while I’m all alone and pitiful.”  

“Senior? Senior?” Pei Jiyin called out twice.  

Song Zhen snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Pei Jiyin. “Sorry, I got lost in my head for a moment.”  

“It’s fine,” Pei Jiyin said with a smile.  

The two left the break room together, but Song Zhen was still deep in thought, her brows slightly furrowed. *Is this what they call mental contamination?*  

At noon, the two each had a bowl of rice noodles in the cafeteria. Song Zhen paid, saying it was to return the favor for the milk tea last time.  

Both ate elegantly and gracefully, yet without slowing down.  

*Confirmed with a glance—she’s a fellow foodie.*  

“This is really good,” Pei Jiyin remarked.  

“You’ve never had it before?” Song Zhen wiped her lips. “This place is famous in our school. It’s always packed. We came early today—later, there’d be a line.”  

“This area’s a bit out of the way, so I don’t come often. Plus, there are so many cafeterias on campus. I haven’t even tried them all yet.”  

“True. No rush—take your time,” Song Zhen mused. “You’ll get to try them all in four years. If we have dinner together later, we can go to the cafeteria near West Garden. Their single-serving hot pot is delicious.”  

“I was planning to head back after dinner,” Pei Jiyin said, having already made her evening plans.  

“Alright.” Song Zhen smiled.  

Pei Jiyin noticed that when it came to food, Song Zhen became much more talkative. After lunch, the two even stopped by the convenience store to buy ice cream before returning.  

The afternoon passed quietly, with no conversation between them. At five, Pei Jiyin checked out of her seat, and the two each rented a shared bike, leisurely riding to the cafeteria before settling down.  

“Senior, how late do you usually stay in the library?” Pei Jiyin asked, resting her chin on her hand.  

“After dinner, another hour and a half or so is enough,” Song Zhen replied.  

Pei Jiyin nodded. “Senior, do you play games? I saw you liked my post the other day.”  

Song Zhen: “…”  

*Why bring up such a painful topic?*  

“I play Kings of Glory occasionally, but not much,” Song Zhen said with a faint smile.

“Senior, what’s your name? Are you on QQ or WeChat? We can play together. I’m really good at Kings of Glory,” Pei Jiyin said.