Chapter 2: Expectation

“I think Liang Yuanzheng is probably a UFO enthusiast.”

At exactly 9 p.m., inside Dorm 116, Lu Canran lay on her bed, clutching the blanket like Totoro holding a tree branch, both hands gripping the covers tightly as she stared up at the ceiling.

“I looked at his Moments. He’s only ever posted twice, and both were movie posters. The first one was on New Year’s Day two years ago, and it was 《Arrival》. The second was last New Year’s Day, 《Prometheus》,” Lu Canran said. “I’ve seen them. Both are about extraterrestrial life forms. So, putting that together, he must like sci-fi movies. That might be why he chose this username.”

“That’s such a stretch,” Zhu Huaxin said, standing on the first rung of the bunk ladder, her hands clutching the edge of Lu Canran’s bed. “Can’t it just be that he used a Caesar cipher too?”

Lu Canran replied weakly, “How narcissistic would I have to be to think he chose that name because he has a secret crush on me?”

Qin Bing­shuang, who slept on the bed opposite hers, handed over a compact mirror and gestured for Lu Canran to take a look. “Look at yourself more often. Build some confidence.”

Lu Canran quietly pulled the blanket up over her head. “I’m already really happy just to have added him on WeChat today.”

Back in her first year, Lu Canran had a nickname—“Little Black.” She no longer remembered who had come up with it.

During the summer after the college entrance exam, it was the off-season in Sanya, so her parents took her to Hainan for a month-long vacation. With no awareness of sun protection, Lu Canran got tanned to a shiny, dark tone. It took nearly a year for her skin to gradually return to its normal color.

By then, the elective course in cryptography had already ended, and Lu Canran no longer had any classes with Liang Yuanzheng. Even during the brief time they did share a class, he had never said a single word to her.

She was like a little mushroom hiding in a dark corner, secretly watching him for an entire semester. Once autumn arrived, mushroom season was supposed to end.

…

“Today’s already been especially lucky,” Lu Canran poked her head out from under the blanket, smiling as she spoke. “Honestly, I wasn’t expecting any response from him. If he happens to like me, that would be the best; but if he doesn’t, I can still just treat him as a role model to learn from.”

She didn’t want to hold on to unrealistic hopes.

Not every plant that blooms is meant to bear sweet fruit.

Love guru Zhu Huaxin shifted the topic. “So, did you message him on WeChat? You should take the initiative while the iron is hot and make a stronger impression.”

“…Not yet,” Lu Canran said, uncertain. “Should I do it now?”

“Of course. I asked my brother—he’s resting in the dorm today, not on night shift,” Zhu Huaxin urged. “Tomorrow, Liang Yuanzheng is scheduled for hospital duty, so it won’t be the right time to flirt.”

Being on duty was good for the digestion—Zhu Huaxin didn’t say it out loud, but she hoped Lu Canran would get the hint.

After all, even college students felt like death waking up for 8 a.m. classes every day.

Qin Bingshuang said, “Huaxin’s right. Come on, come on, send him a message.”

Xu Qiao also raised her hand. “Seconded.”

The love counseling task force was formed on the spot, and the group chat name was changed from 【Magical Girl Squad (4)】 to 【Magical Girls on a Love Quest (4).】

Lu Canran sat at her desk, flanked by Qin Bingshuang and Zhu Huaxin on either side. Even Xu Qiao, who had been memorizing English vocabulary, scooted over with her phone in hand to keep tabs on the latest development in Lu Canran’s love life.

She took a deep breath.

Opened WeChat.

She tapped open his Moments for the eighteenth time, then quickly switched back to the message screen.

“Sorry,” Lu Canran apologized to her love advisors. “I’m just used to sneaking peeks at his Moments. Muscle memory.”

Zhu Huaxin was so anxious she was practically spitting sparks. She commanded authoritatively, “According to intel from my brother, Liang Yuanzheng hasn’t joined any clubs. If you suddenly ask about the Stray Cat Protection Association, he’ll definitely be confused and reply with a question mark or a ‘What?’”

Lu Canran obediently followed instructions and sent out the message she had prepared.

CBO First Edition: 【Hello, Senior. I wanted to ask, is the public welfare event for the school’s Stray Cat Protection Association starting this Sunday?】

Before any reply came in, Qin Bingshuang began phase two of the operation: “If he replies asking about it, you go right in with an apology—say sorry, wrong person. Then follow up and ask, is it normal for your arm to feel itchy before bed? Don’t give him time to think. Immediately ask which dining hall he’s eating at tomorrow and whether it’s convenient for him to take a quick look for you—see? That’s how you secure a dinner invite.”

Lu Canran’s ears, face, and neck were all flushed bright red. She stammered, “Wha… What? A date?”

“Canran,” Xu Qiao placed a hand on her shoulder, “you’ve got to take control of the pace. Just do it.”

Five minutes later.

Liang Yuanzheng finally replied.

Liang Yuanzheng: 【It’s this Sunday, 2 p.m., at the sunken plaza.】

A response that went entirely beyond the scope of their love training.

Already nervous, Lu Canran immediately panicked. “Help, what should I say back?”

Love advisor Zhu Huaxin was baffled. “Huh? He didn’t join the Stray Cat Protection Association, so how does he know about it…”

Qin Bingshuang stayed calm. “That’s not important. It’s fine. Stick to the original plan and keep going.”

Lu Canran typed each word slowly and carefully.

CBO First Edition: 【By the way, Senior, my arm’s been itchy before bed. Is that normal?】

CBO First Edition: 【Which dining hall are you having breakfast at tomorrow, Senior? Would it be convenient to take a quick look for me?】

Liang Yuanzheng: 【Sorry, I have to get up early for duty.】

Liang Yuanzheng: 【Could you take a photo? I’ll take a look at it now.】

Lu Canran looked at her three advisors with trembling eyes. “What do I do, what do I do? I’ve basically recovered after taking the medicine. There’s not even a trace left on my arm—ahhhh, can I edit something in?”

The practical-minded Xu Qiao offered, “Want me to get you some juniper pollen right now?”

All three of them rejected that idea in unison.

With no way out, Lu Canran braced herself and sent the message to Liang Yuanzheng.

CBO First Edition: “【Sorry, Senior. My roommates are all asleep and the lights are off, so it’s not convenient to take a photo.】

Liang Yuanzheng: 【I’ll still be in the ER (Emergency Room) tomorrow. You can come to the same department. No need to register again if it’s within three days.】

Liang Yuanzheng: 【If it’s not urgent, we could also meet tomorrow evening.】

Lu Canran felt like she was dreaming.

The progress was so rapid it was as if a gibbon had evolved straight into a spacefaring civilization in a single day, fully maxing out the tech tree to join a galactic war.

By the time she finally came back to her senses, under the exhaustive planning and brilliant maneuvering of her three love advisors, she had already arranged to meet Liang Yuanzheng at the dining hall the following evening.

Her three advisors were raring to go, eagerly helping her pick an outfit and choose a makeup look. Lu Canran turned her head and caught sight of her flushed face in the mirror on the desk.

In her hand, the phone screen still showed Liang Yuanzheng’s reply.

【Good night.】

Her slender finger pressed the button on the side of the phone. As the screen gradually dimmed, the small dent in the upper corner and the spiderweb-like cracks became clearly visible.

The graduate dorm 119 was slightly narrower than the undergraduate ones, but since it housed only two people, there was actually more personal space.

The two male students living there didn’t own much, and their desks were clean and orderly. Especially Liang Yuanzheng—on his entire desk, there was only a laptop with its matching mouse, a black-covered notebook, a black ballpoint pen, and a water cup.

Nothing else.

Liang Yuanzheng stood up and took a black sports jacket from the somewhat empty wardrobe. After five years of wear and washing, no matter how clean and carefully maintained it usually was, the scuffed metal zipper and the fraying, pale gray sleeve cuffs with tiny holes still betrayed signs of frugality.

He put on the jacket and zipped it up to the level of his collarbone.

Jiang Si, who had been reading, looked up and smiled, “Weren’t you never interested in club activities? Why are you suddenly asking me about the school’s Stray Cat Protection Association?”

Liang Yuanzheng said, “I’m asking for a junior.”

After a brief pause, he turned slightly to glance at Jiang Si.

The dorm lights had just been repaired and now used brighter bulbs, casting a soft sheen over Jiang Si’s black shirt. On the desk, beside a platinum mechanical watch, the familiar snack packaging was also bathed in a warm, gentle tone.

“That thing you mentioned last time—I can’t help you with it,” Liang Yuanzheng said. “Sorry.”

Jiang Si smiled and said it was fine. It was indeed a difficult request.

Liang Yuanzheng headed out for his nightly solo run.

He was used to it.

Aside from the free gym provided by the hospital, this was practically Liang Yuanzheng’s only form of exercise.

When his parents had just divorced, his life hadn’t yet fallen into true hardship. The turning point came when his father’s second wife became pregnant and gave birth. After that, Liang Yuanzheng’s mother stopped receiving the child support payments that had originally been agreed upon.

When he was twelve, his mother passed away unexpectedly, leaving only him to care for his aging grandmother and younger sister, who was still in elementary school.

The wind outside wasn’t strong. As Liang Yuanzheng ran his second lap around the track, he noticed a familiar figure.

Hair soft and fluffy like a little mushroom, a gray sweater, a pink skirt, and small white sneakers. Her steps carried a unique rhythm—not hurried, not slow—gentle and unhurried, just like her personality.

The very mushroom who just moments ago had said, 【I’m going to sleep now, good night, Senior,】 was now strolling leisurely along the edge of the track, happily chatting with the man walking beside her.

Liang Yuanzheng turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

When he pushed open the dorm door, Jiang Si—who was playing a game with his stepsister—looked up in surprise and asked,

“Back so soon today?”

“The wind’s too strong outside,” Liang Yuanzheng replied curtly. “Not good for running.”

Ten minutes later, the wind really did start picking up.

Lu Canran had just returned to the dorm after getting her allergy medicine from her childhood friend, Chen Wanli, when a video call from her mom came in. Her mother asked all about how she was doing, then ended with a gentle question: Did she want to come home on Saturday? If she did, her parents would drive over immediately to pick her up.

Lu Canran declined.

Tomorrow was Friday, and she was looking forward to happily eating at the dining hall with Liang Yuanzheng. On Saturday, she would carry that same cheerful mood into her Mandarin proficiency exam.

Tonight, she was in high spirits.

But it didn’t last long. The next afternoon, just two hours before their first meal together, Lu Canran received another message from Liang Yuanzheng.

Liang Yuanzheng: 【Sorry.】

Liang Yuanzheng: 【An emergency patient just came in. My supervisor added a surgery to the schedule, and I need to assist. Can we reschedule for tomorrow?】

Lu Canran began typing.

【It’s okay, Senior. I’m free anytime.】

She hesitated for a second, then deleted the words “I’m free anytime” and hit send.

She waited for a minute, but there was no reply from Liang Yuanzheng.

Lu Canran sent another message.

CBO First Edition: 【I’m free anytime.】

After sending that, she turned off her phone screen and put the carefully chosen dress from the day before back into the wardrobe.

Zhu Huaxin, humming a tune while applying a face mask, peeked her head out. “What’s wrong, Canran?”

Lu Canran said, “It’s nothing. Senior had to work overtime last minute, so we can’t have dinner today. Let’s go to the shopping street and have chicken stew with mushrooms instead!”

Zhu Huaxin peeled off her face mask in a swift motion, looking at her in shock. She hesitated, unsure what to say. “Huh? Oh, uh… sure, sure, let’s go eat!”

Lu Canran said, “I’m fine. Really, I’m fine.”

Zhu Huaxin quickly got down from her bed and began pacing. “Let me call Xu Qiao and Bingshuang. The four of us can go stroll around the shopping street together. Hey, did you hear there’s a new haunted house? Supposedly really scary. Want to go check it out?”

Lu Canran turned her back and said, “Sure.”

She took another deep breath, thinking to herself, ah, I shouldn’t have been that happy yesterday.

Maybe it was because she had been too happy yesterday that the date got canceled today.

They didn’t end up having chicken stew with mushrooms for dinner. Zheng Ji had updated their menu today, and the owner cheerfully said that since there’d been a big batch of mushrooms recently, he decided to whip up some new dishes—potatoes with mushrooms, dry-fried shredded mushrooms, mushroom and egg pancakes, mushroom and beef fried rice, mixed stir-fried mushrooms, deep-fried mushrooms, tomato mushroom stew rice…

Everything was mushrooms. All kinds of mushrooms.

The four girls ordered three dishes—mushroom and beef fried rice, dry-fried shredded mushrooms, and steamed pork ribs—they had to save some room for snacks at the night market later.

Lu Canran’s appetite was off today. The mushroom and beef fried rice that her roommates said smelled amazing tasted ordinary to her. She even felt like one of the small mushrooms wasn’t fully cooked. It had a raw, astringent, and strange taste—almost like it wasn’t even a mushroom.

And it was right after eating that mushroom fried rice when the weirdness began.

As Lu Canran went to the counter to pay, she overheard the restaurant owner muttering something strange.

[Heheheheh, jackpot, jackpot. College students really are easy to fool. Got these mushrooms super cheap, and they didn’t notice a thing, hehehe, what a deal, what a deal. College student money is the easiest to make.]

Lu Canran’s phone knocked against the counter with a clatter.

Are shady businessmen this brazen nowadays? Talking like that about college students right in front of one?

She looked up in disbelief at the owner, only to find him completely focused on printing the receipt.

She turned her head—no one else was around—

“Two hundred forty-one. I’ll round it down for you, make it two hundred forty,” the owner said, his expression completely normal. “Check the receipt.”

Lu Canran lowered her head to scan and pay. Then, all of a sudden, she heard the owner’s voice again.

[Such a pretty girl.]

Startled, she looked up sharply.

The owner was just tearing the receipt and jumped a little when she stared at him. “What is it, student?”

Lu Canran shook her head in panic. “Nothing.”

Was she hearing things from stress? That couldn’t be right. The only thing she had tomorrow was the Mandarin proficiency test, and it wasn’t even that stressful.

She steadied herself and handed the receipt to Qin Bingshuang. Xu Qiao and Qin Bingshuang were deep in conversation about which English instructor to choose for graduate exam prep, while Zhu Huaxin stretched lazily, then leaned over and looped her arm through Lu Canran’s, gesturing toward a pair of girls walking by ahead on the left.

“Look,” Zhu Huaxin said. “Their ice cream looks pretty good.”

Pink on top of white, scooped higher than a regular cone, with a piece of dark chocolate and a mint leaf placed neatly on top.

“It really does,” Lu Canran joked out of habit. “I’ll go beat them up and steal the ice cream for you.”

As soon as she said that, one of the girls quickened her pace.

At that exact moment, a strange girl’s voice suddenly rang out clearly in Lu Canran’s mind.

[So scary.]

Lu Canran panicked and instinctively grabbed Zhu Huaxin. “Did you just hear something weird—like a voice—”

Zhu Huaxin asked, “What?”

Lu Canran looked into her friend’s eyes—the other girl was patiently waiting for her to finish speaking.

Zhu Huaxin’s mouth hadn’t moved. If she remembered correctly, Huaxin didn’t know how to throw her voice.

And yet, Lu Canran had unmistakably heard her voice just now.

[Oh no, my sweet, innocent Canran baby is so pitiful. Just because Liang Yuanzheng canceled on her, she’s been down for two whole hours. Boohoo, my poor baby, don’t cry, don’t be sad, don’t look at me with those eyes… Wait, what’s with that look in her eyes right now?]

Lu Canran took a step back.

Zhu Huaxin asked, “What’s wrong?”

And then Lu Canran heard one more line—this time with background music.

[Was that half-step back serious? Such a tiny move, yet it hurts so much~]

—This… this is terrifying!!!

Lu Canran grabbed onto Zhu Huaxin for support and said with difficulty, “I think… I might’ve been poisoned by mushrooms, Huaxin…”

Zhu Huaxin asked excitedly, “You finally decided to take the initiative? You’re actually going to pretend to have food poisoning just to see Liang Yuanzheng?!”