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Qin Zhiwei felt a bit excited.
Since the college entrance exam, this was the first time a girl had actively started a conversation with him.
No one knew how Qin Zhiwei had spent these eighteen years. Forget about dating—he hadn’t even held a girl’s hand.
You all probably understand this feeling.
The socially awkward guy: “???”
The socially awkward guy: “What’s up?”
The Rose Girl: “Do you have time this afternoon? I want to talk to you.”
The socially awkward guy: “You want to talk to me? Are you sure?”
The Rose Girl: “Yes.”
The socially awkward guy: “Are you sure you’re not asking me to call Xu Ye?”
The Rose Girl: “I’ll wait for you at the milk tea shop by the school gate at three in the afternoon.”
The socially awkward guy: “Alright then.”
Seeing that Gu Mengyao didn’t reply again, Qin Zhiwei hesitated over whether he should tell Xu Ye about it. But in the end, he chose to keep it to himself for now.
He figured Gu Mengyao suddenly reaching out to him definitely had something to do with Xu Ye.
As for what exactly she wanted to talk about, he’d find out in the afternoon.
There was still plenty of time—he might as well play another round.
He tapped the screen to start matchmaking.
Once he entered the hero selection screen, Qin Zhiwei instantly locked in Yasuo again. He had a feeling this newly released hero was made just for him.
Teammate on second pick: “You jerk, you stole my Yasuo.”
Qin Zhiwei: “Quit whining. I’ll carry you.”
Thirty minutes later—
Teammate 1: “Trash.”
Teammate 2: “Stupid troll Yasuo.”
Teammate 3: “0-10-6? How is that even humanly possible?”
Teammate 4: “Useless piece of crap. Go play against bots.”
Qin Zhiwei quickly exited the game, as if none of it had anything to do with him.
…
Xu Ye didn’t wake up until ten in the morning.
After brushing his teeth and washing up, he saw that Zhang Hong had already stir-fried a few dishes before leaving earlier. He cooked some rice himself and had a late breakfast-turned-lunch around eleven.
By mid-June, the temperature was already soaring. Xu Ye sprawled out on the sofa, turned the fan to its highest setting, and let it blow straight at him.
But after lying there for just a short while, he felt his underwear sticking to his butt again. He lifted his hips, tugged at his underwear, then shifted into a side-lying position.
He took two Driving Test Part One practice exams.
First attempt: 93 points.
Second attempt: 96 points.
Xu Ye figured he’d have no problem passing Driving Test Part One now. He planned to ask Old Xu for some money after he got off work so he could enroll in a driving school.
After finishing two Driving Test Part One practice exams, Xu Ye found himself at a loss for what to do next. He had deleted all the games on his phone, and short videos hadn’t gone viral yet—Douyin hadn’t even launched. He opened QQ but felt no desire to chat.
What is she doing?
The question suddenly popped into Xu Ye’s mind. Curious, he opened WeChat and checked his Moments first. Yesterday’s group photo was still there—Chen Qingqing hadn’t deleted it. He then opened their chat window and typed a message: “Thanks for the cake last night.”
At that moment, Chen Qingqing, who was also at home bored and passing time by reading manga, heard her phone chime. She picked it up and glanced at the screen.
After thinking for a moment, she typed back: “We couldn’t finish it. I was going to toss it, but thought it was a waste, so I had Aunt Wang drop it off on her way.”
Xu Ye replied, “Chen Qingqing, do you not have any friends?”
Chen Qingqing: “What’s it to you?”
Xu Ye: “Looks like I hit the mark.”
When Chen Qingqing didn’t respond for a while, Xu Ye typed again: “Honestly, for the sake of last night’s cake, I was willing to make the noble sacrifice of being your friend.”
Chen Qingqing: “Thanks, but no thanks.”
Xu Ye: “Suit yourself. What are you doing right now?”
Chen Qingqing: “?”
Xu Ye: “No hidden agenda, I’m just curious how rich people kill time. I’m bored out of my mind over here.”
Chen Qingqing: “Reading manga.”
Xu Ye: “You like manga too?”
Reading that, Chen Qingqing grew a bit interested and asked, “You do too?”
“Of course.”
Xu Ye typed: “I love manga. But the ones I read, you’ve probably never even heard of.”
Chen Qingqing: “What do you read?”
Xu Ye: “Beautiful New World, Secret Class.”
…
3:00 p.m.
Qin Zhiwei arrived at the milk tea shop by the school gate right on time.
He had assumed it would be just Gu Mengyao, but to his surprise, the annoying Liu Qian was there too.
Back in class, Liu Qian was a total chatterbox. She looked plain but somehow always had something to say to everyone and spent all day gossiping in the girls’ circle.
“Did you hear who from Class 7 confessed to whom?”
“Someone from Class 11 got a room with so-and-so yesterday.”
“Guess who got picked up by a BMW after school yesterday…”
Even within the same class, there were always little cliques. The top students formed one group, the gamers had another, and the romance novel readers had their own circle.
Liu Qian tried to squeeze into any group she could. If she couldn’t fit in, she forced her way anyway. Because Gu Mengyao was pretty and got a lot of attention, Liu Qian often clung to her—following her to the restroom, the snack shop, or the cafeteria.
Whenever they walked together and people stared at Gu Mengyao, Liu Qian felt especially proud. She was convinced that some of those eyes were secretly on her too.
“Qin Zhiwei, over here.”
When Qin Zhiwei saw Liu Qian, he reluctantly made his way over.
He was certain Gu Mengyao had asked him out because of Xu Ye. He got straight to the point. “Why’d you call me out?”
“Have a seat first.”
Qin Zhiwei didn’t sit down right away. Instead, he walked over to the counter and ordered a drink. Noticing that Gu Mengyao and Liu Qian hadn’t ordered anything, he added, “Forget it, make that three drinks. I’ll take extra ice in mine.”
Once he sat down, Gu Mengyao finally spoke.
“Qin Zhiwei, do you know what Xu Ye’s been up to lately?”
“He’s working a summer job.”
“Summer job?”
No sooner had Qin Zhiwei finished speaking than Liu Qian suddenly exclaimed, all excited, “Oh, I get it now! He probably doesn’t have any money, that’s why he hasn’t been talking to you lately. After all, hanging out costs money.”
Qin Zhiwei frowned at her comment, clearly annoyed. “You’re reading too much into it.”
Gu Mengyao’s gaze sharpened as she pressed further. “Then why is he working a summer job?”
“How should I know? He’s changed a lot since the college entrance exams. Doesn’t game with us anymore, barely chats. The day after the exams ended, he found a summer job. And lately, he’s been studying for the Driving Test Part One.”
“This…”
Qin Zhiwei took the juice from the waiter, took a sip, and said, “You called me out today just to ask about this?”
“Mm, mainly because he hasn’t reached out to me in several days.”
Qin Zhiwei replied bluntly, “When Xu Ye was hanging around you every day before, I didn’t see you doing anything for him.”
Gu Mengyao was left speechless.
Liu Qian immediately jumped in to defend her. “What, are you saying that just because a guy chases a girl and treats her well, we’re obligated to accept him?”
Qin Zhiwei said, “If you like someone, be with them. If you don’t, reject them. If you didn’t like Xu Ye, then why did you keep accepting the breakfast he bought for you every few days?”
Liu Qian said righteously, “Accepting ≠ agreeing!”