Chapter 08

Bai Zining sat dumbfounded on the bed, unable to believe that these words came from Zhu Shizhou. Had he been possessed?

How could someone ask a girl about her legs right off the bat? Of course, such men do exist, there are quite a few of them in real life, but he couldn’t believe that Zhu Shizhou would be one of them.

It wasn’t that he was particularly virtuous, but in their usual interactions, Zhu Shizhou, despite his many flaws and bad temper, had never shown any interest in girls. He never leered at or made inappropriate comments about any of them. In fact, Xie Cheng had mentioned several times that Zhu Shizhou had rejected invitations or confessions from female classmates. So how did he turn into such a desperate person the moment he got online?

As expected, you can never truly know someone. After calming down for a moment, Bai Zining shook his head and clicked his tongue. Zhu Shizhou, oh Zhu Shizhou, now that I’ve uncovered your true colors, you’re finished.

At this moment, the photos in his phone album were all ones he had taken previously. Both skirts had already been worn and posted on Moments, so he couldn’t find a suitable picture for now.

He had no choice but to stall.

Hawthorn Porridge: 【So shy~ [pitiful.jpg]】

Hawthorn Porridge: 【But there are people in the dorm right now, so it’s not very convenient. I’ll take a photo for you tomorrow, senior.】

The other party gave a brief 【hmm】 and quickly changed the subject. 【The Xuanyue Lake at your school is quite famous.】

Xuanyue Lake? What was that? Bai Zining had no idea. He wasn’t a local. Although he knew of University B, he didn’t know much about it. Now, he could only go along with the other person’s words.

Hawthorn Porridge: 【Yes, that’s right. Tourists visit every week.】

He recalled that Cai Yu had mentioned before that University B was the only university in the province open to the public. People could visit on weekends and holidays.

Ferry: 【Not bad.】

After that, they exchanged only a few more words before Zhu Shizhou stopped replying again.

Remembering the promise he made to Zhu Shizhou yesterday, Bai Zining found an excuse after class to avoid Cai Yu and took a taxi to a women’s clothing store.

The store was filled almost entirely with women. Wearing a mask and a hat, he skulked around for a long time, acting suspiciously, until a sales assistant approached and asked if he was shopping for his girlfriend.

He nodded hastily and pointed to one of the dresses. “That dress. I need one in size XL.”

The sales assistant asked, “Sir, how tall is your girlfriend? What’s her weight?”

Bai Zining pinched the metal strip on his mask tighter over his nose and lowered his voice to reply, “178. No—just give me this one. Let’s check out now.”

After getting out of the taxi, Bai Zining sprinted all the way back to his dorm. By the time he took off his hat, he was already drenched in sweat.

It was early May, and the weather was hot. Zhu Shizhou and Zuo Xingwei had gone to class, while Cai Yu was taking a nap. Bai Zining moved quietly, taking a spare bedsheet from the closet. He climbed onto his bed, drew the curtains, and turned on the small night lamp above him.

After changing into the dress, he realized it was a bit short. He flipped over the tag and saw that it was size L.

There was no other option. He stretched out his legs and tried his best to pull the hem of the dress downward, positioning the edge at the middle of his thighs. Unfortunately, the size didn’t fit, and no matter how hard he tugged, the hem remained at the upper part of his thighs.

Bai Zining stared at his legs for a long time before making up his mind. Fine, this will do. Isn’t Zhu Shizhou into long, slender legs? You can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb.

He stretched out his legs on the bed, the pink bedsheet making his skin look even paler.

After going through all this trouble, he had to make sure to take plenty of photos to make it worthwhile. He went online to search for a comprehensive guide on leg pose references and ended up taking dozens of pictures.

Taking advantage of the fact that Cai Yu was still asleep, Bai Zining quickly changed back into his regular clothes, sneaked off the bed, and stuffed the dress deep into the wardrobe. Then, he threw the bag with the women’s clothing store logo into the garbage bin downstairs to destroy the evidence.

Feeling nervous and on edge, he returned to the dorm and opened Meitu Xiuxiu (Photo editing App) to edit the photos. Staring at the small mole on the inner side of his right thigh, he hesitated for a moment but decided not to use the blemish-removal tool to erase it.

He sent the photos to Zhu Shizhou, along with a shy emoji.

Zhu Shizhou was likely still in class and didn’t reply.

No rush. Bai Zining waited patiently.

Sure enough, at 5:30, after class ended, Bai Zining’s phone vibrated twice.

Ferry: 【Very pretty.】

Pervert, Bai Zining cursed under his breath, typing back: 【Does senior like it?】

Ferry: 【I like it.】

Heh, I knew it. Forget you, I like it myself. Bai Zining opened the photos he had sent again to admire them. His photo-editing skills were truly becoming more advanced.

Ever since sending the leg photos, Bai Zining’s interactions with Zhu Shizhou had become much more frequent.

No matter what questions Bai Zining asked, Zhu Shizhou would always reply.

To deepen his presence in Zhu Shizhou’s life, Bai Zining frequently shared his daily life with him. He talked about the name of his favorite fruit tea, the variety show he was currently watching, or pictures of adorable animals he came across. Every message received a response.

Although Zhu Shizhou never sent photos or initiated conversations, compared to his previous attitude, Bai Zining felt he had made remarkable progress.

Hawthorn Porridge: 【Senior, could you send me your class schedule?】

Hawthorn Porridge: 【I’ll only message you when you’re not busy, that way I won’t disturb you, senior.】

Ferry: 【It’s okay. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.】

Ferry: 【[Image]】

Looking at the message from the other side, Bai Zining let out a scoff. So Zhu Shizhou really did like this type of girl. One leg photo, and he was hooked? Seriously, what was all that pretense before?

Bai Zining was in such a good mood that everything seemed pleasant to him.

The sky looked bluer, the flowers prettier, the songs more melodious, even Zhu Shizhou seemed much more agreeable.

Zhu Shizhou was no longer just someone Bai Zining disliked; he had become the key figure in Bai Zining’s flawless plan. When Bai Zining looked at him now, it was as if he were staring at a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

There was even one time when Bai Zining unconsciously smiled at him. Perhaps Zhu Shizhou was a bit thrown off, because he actually returned the smile.