That cold war, sparked by an argument, persisted for an extended period between them. It manifested as complete silence and ignorance of each other’s existence, to the point where they wouldn’t even glance at one another when passing by. Xia Xia was angry because Xie Huai had yelled at her, while Xie Huai himself didn’t even know what he was angry about, but his temper was fierce nonetheless.

Xie Huai was the first to break.

His anger came and went quickly. After calming down and careful reflection, he attributed their argument to his drunkenness that day—being drunk and confused, he had dared to yell at her.

Summer had arrived, and the weather was blazing hot.

Tall palm trees grew outside the dormitory building, their dense leaves reaching up to the fourth floor. The lush vegetation attracted swarms of mosquitoes, which invaded the rooms through ventilation windows, ruling like tyrants.

Two freshman students had moved into Xie Huai’s dormitory last year. These young boys, full of vigor and in their self-important phase, would rather sacrifice their flesh to feed mosquitoes than hang mosquito nets—in these adolescent boys’ eyes, mosquito nets were exclusively for girls, and such things were too delicate for red-blooded men.

Male pride was a strange thing. Xin Pu had secretly bought a mosquito net and hidden it in his closet, but watching his junior classmates enthusiastically embrace life, he felt too embarrassed to hang it. As for Xie Huai, he didn’t even own such a thing as a mosquito net. Whenever he slept in the dormitory, he would wake up covered in mosquito bites the next morning.

The summer night was cool.

Xie Huai slapped dead a mosquito that landed on his face, leaving a red handprint on his cheek.

He used a thread pulled from either his bedsheet or pillowcase to tie the mosquito’s legs into a knot, then hung its corpse at his bedhead as a display of warning and deterrence.

As he did this, he thought maliciously: if only there were two Xia Xias in the world—if there were two Xia Xias, he would kill one to intimidate the other into obedience, ensuring she wouldn’t dare quarrel with Brother Huai again.

Xia Xia, this young girl with her sweet smile, appeared delicate and easily bullied, but when she became stubborn, not even ten horses could pull her back.

Nobody could stop her when she set her mind to something. When she said she wanted an internship, she submitted her resume the very next day. When she said she wanted a cold war with Xie Huai, they didn’t speak for half a month.

No matter how busy Xie Huai was outside, he hadn’t missed a single major course during these two weeks. He would always arrive last to class, just before the bell rang, checking where Xia Xia sat before casually taking the closest seat to her. Sometimes the major courses were two consecutive periods, three, and for several hours straight, he would sit right in front of Xia Xia, yet she managed not to raise her eyes even once.

Xie Huai really couldn’t take it anymore. He no longer cared about male pride—if Xia Xia continued ignoring him, he would truly go mad.

He wanted to end this cold war, but since he was the one who first lost his temper with Xia Xia, and she wouldn’t accept his apology, he felt powerless.

“What else can I do? Should I get down on my knees and beg for her forgiveness?” Xie Huai poked at the mosquito’s corpse. “I was only thinking of her best interests, but now I’m being painted as an overbearing chauvinist. Even snow in June isn’t as wronged as I am.”

Xin Pu said, “You can’t spoil women. The more you spoil them, the more demanding they become.”

“Easy for you to say. If I can’t spoil her, what should I do? Hit her?”

Xin Pu offered poor advice: “Why don’t you make her jealous? Let her feel like you’re not completely dependent on her, and she’ll lose her grip on you. I guarantee she’ll come begging for forgiveness right away.”

Xie Huai scoffed, “How childish is that? Do Xia Xia and I need to resort to such stupid methods to solve our problems? Don’t give me such terrible advice.”

Xin Pu fell silent. After a moment, Xie Huai sheepishly asked, “How do I make her jealous? Give me an idea.”

He emphasized, “Let me be clear—I just want her to pay attention to me again, to understand how important Brother Huai is. We can’t upset her. If she gets truly hurt, my heart would ache.”

Xia Xia’s afternoon elective class was in the C-block teaching building, the furthest from the dormitories.

C-block was close to the South Gate shopping street. Xie Huai returned from the shopping street carrying a large coconut purple rice drink and a piece of Black Forest cake.

The girl following behind him wore a worried expression: “It’s only 100 yuan. I feel like the payment doesn’t match the risk involved.”

“I’ll add another hundred,” Xie Huai said flatly.

The girl couldn’t stop fretting: “Everyone on campus knows Xia Xia is your girlfriend. People will despise me as a homewrecker for doing this…”

Xia Xia’s silhouette appeared at the teaching building’s entrance in the distance. Xie Huai thrust the drink and cake into the girl’s hands: “Just act well. Don’t give it away.”

The afternoon sun hung high, and Xia Xia walked out of the teaching building clutching her textbooks. The brilliant sunlight filtered through the cherry tree branches in the flower bed, casting onto the orange-colored building, filling the summer day with vibrant vitality.

Xia Xia stood by the roadside waiting for the campus shuttle. She heard whispering voices coming from the other side of a row of shrubs in the flower bed behind her.

A female voice dramatically declared:

“I heard you broke up with Xia Xia… Xie Huai, give me a chance. I’m no worse than Xia Xia. I’ve liked you since freshman year. Time will prove my sincerity…”

“…I bought this coconut purple rice drink for you. Please don’t refuse. Even if you can’t accept me, please accept this…”

Xia Xia: “…”

Xie Huai frowned gravely, looking at the blushing girl before him with resignation. He neither refused nor accepted, remaining silent.

The shuttle stopped at the roadside. Xia Xia boarded the bus, and Xie Huai watched her from the corner of his eye. Seeing her leave without the slightest reaction, he became anxious, grabbed the drink and cake from the girl’s hands, and jumped onto the bus after Xia Xia.

The bus started moving.

The campus shuttle required student cards for payment. Xie Huai had neither his card nor change. He naturally stood in front of Xia Xia and held out his hand: “Give me one yuan.”

Xia Xia looked up at him: “‘I heard you broke up with Xia Xia’—if you’ve already broken up with Xia Xia, who are you asking for money from?”

She had heard everything. Though Xie Huai had achieved his goal, it hadn’t produced the desired effect. Not only had Xia Xia not reacted, but he now found himself in an inexplicably awkward position.

Xie Huai held out the items to her: “Give me one yuan, and I’ll sell these to you.”

Looking at her favorite coconut purple rice drink and Black Forest cake, Xia Xia promptly took out one yuan and gave it to him.

Xie Huai: “…”

Xie Huai put the coin in the fare box and sat beside her. With just a slight inhale, he could smell the floral scent of shampoo from her hair, which melted into his breath, mysteriously relieving his long-held fatigue and causing his entire being to relax.

He turned his head to look at Xia Xia’s profile. She gazed straight ahead, her eyes bright and moist, her facial features delicate and beautiful, her skin white with a pink tinge, and light dark circles under her eyes.

Xia Xia still hadn’t listened to Xie Huai’s advice. She had found an internship at the beginning of the month. The work was demanding—whenever she didn’t have classes, she would leave early in the morning and return only under the cover of night.

Xie Huai and Zhu Ziyu had found out where Xia Xia was interning, and when he had free time, he would often sit in the coffee shop across from her company waiting for her to finish work. Sometimes it would be very late at night before he could see her hurriedly rushing out of the company’s main entrance with her bag.

Xie Huai would follow her taxi in his car, only leaving after she boarded the subway.

“Haven’t been sleeping well?”

Xia Xia gave a soft “mm” in response, the gentle nasal sound almost like a spoiled child’s.

Xie Huai’s heart softened, and he unconsciously reached out to hold her, but Xia Xia suddenly stood up with her bag.

The bus stopped at the library entrance, and Xia Xia got off before Xie Huai could react. By the time he came to his senses, the driver had already closed the door.

Xie Huai: “…”

Xie Huai squatted in the bathroom, messaging Xin Pu.

He had just gotten off at the next stop after the library, intending to go after Xia Xia, determined to end the cold war today—he couldn’t bear another day of it. As he was about to head back, he needed to use the bathroom and found one in the nearest teaching building.

Everything went smoothly, except for a small accident when he stood up.

—Xie Huai lost his balance and accidentally dropped the toilet paper into the toilet bowl.

He played with his phone idly, waiting for Xin Pu to bring him the paper.

Xia Xia had just found a seat in the library when Xin Pu rushed past her like a gust of wind. He ran a few meters away, saw Xia Xia sitting there, and turned back.

He tossed her a pack of tissues: “Go take this to Xie Huai. My thesis plagiarism check didn’t pass, and I need to revise it and send it to my advisor right away. I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

“Xie Huai is in the first-floor men’s bathroom of the B-block teaching building. It’s urgent, so hurry!” Xin Pu left with this urgent reminder and rushed away.

Xia Xia’s phone chimed with a message notification from Xie Huai.

He showed no signs of the urgency Xin Pu had described, casually sending her a picture of a pair of sneakers: [Do these shoes look good?]

Xie Huai was browsing JD.com to kill time when he saw a cool pair of shoes. Out of habit, he sent them to Xia Xia for her opinion, only remembering after sending the message that they were in the middle of an intense cold war.

—Xia Xia wasn’t speaking to him, making this action somewhat foolish.

Ten minutes later, Xia Xia replied: [Which stall?]

Xie Huai heard footsteps approaching and was suddenly dumbfounded. He messaged Xin Pu to ask.

Xin Pu replied innocently: [My advisor called me over, sorry I don’t have time. It’s fine if she delivers it—didn’t you want her to pay attention to you?]

[Pay attention my ass.] Xie Huai’s anger practically seeped through the screen into the words. [Is this how I wanted her to pay attention to me?]

Xie Huai gritted his teeth and remained silent. While he wanted to reconcile, if getting Xia Xia’s attention meant squatting here waiting for toilet paper, he’d rather she ignore him. This was too undignified, too embarrassing, and awkward.

Xia Xia called out: “Xie Huai, are you there?”

Xie Huai played dumb, relying on WeChat: [What stall?]

Xia Xia came in and knocked on each door. Xie Huai couldn’t hold back anymore and scolded her: “Xia Xia, are you a pervert? This is the men’s bathroom! You didn’t even ask if anyone was here before coming in. Aren’t you afraid of seeing something you shouldn’t and getting a sty in your eye?”

Xia Xia stood at his door and bent down to pass the tissue under it. Xie Huai was so angry he wanted to grab Xin Pu and dunk his head in the toilet bowl.

When Xie Huai came out, Xia Xia was standing in front of the sink fixing her hair. Xie Huai turned on the faucet to wash his hands.

“They don’t look good,” Xia Xia suddenly said.

Xie Huai replied casually: “Then I won’t buy them.”

He looked up and saw Xia Xia thoughtfully staring at his reflection in the mirror, quickly averting her gaze when their eyes met.

“Hey,” Xie Huai caught this subtle movement, a faint smile playing at his lips, “If you want to look, just look openly. I don’t charge for it—what are you hiding from?”

Xia Xia said: “I wasn’t looking.”

Xie Huai gave an “oh” and cupped her chin with his palm, examining her carefully.

“Look at that face of yours, like a wife who’s forgotten her husband…” he murmured, “Are you that unhappy being with me? Your face is so twisted you could star in a tragedy.”

Xia Xia turned her face away, features scrunching together: “It’s not that I’m unhappy, it’s that your shit stinks.”

Xie Huai: “…”

He pinched Xia Xia’s face, threatening: “If you dare tell anyone about today…”

“Who are you afraid I’ll tell?” Xia Xia raised her eyebrows. “Afraid that the girl who brought the cake will find out that Brother Huai takes a dump without bringing paper, gets trapped in the bathroom, and needs his ex-girlfriend to come to rescue him, ruining your image in her heart?”

Xie Huai’s plan to make her jealous was exposed in just one sentence. He said: “Can’t you tell she was someone I found to make you jealous? Would a girl confessing to me just happen to buy your favorite coconut purple rice drink and Black Forest cake? I bought those for you! Stop playing dumb with me!”

“Couldn’t tell,” Xia Xia said blandly. “Didn’t notice.”

“Was that purple rice drink?” she said deliberately. “Couldn’t taste it.”

Xie Huai was nearly driven mad by her: “You have no conscience.”

Xia Xia slowly pulled out a bottle of anti-itch peppermint oil from her bag and handed it to him, gesturing for him to apply it to his face. Xie Huai touched his cheeks, which were rather comically covered in mosquito bite welts, and asked with a smile: “What’s this? Sister Xia knows how to show concern now?”

“Have you heard? The school is expanding enrollment next semester. There aren’t enough dorm beds, so before the new dormitory is built, they’re planning to move some older students to live in the old dorms in the North Campus,” Zhu Ziyu started chatting as soon as she returned to the dorm and put down her things. “I heard that old dormitory in North Campus was built in the 1970s, with public toilets, no bathrooms, no hot water rooms, cockroaches and rats everywhere and has been abandoned for many years… I just met a senior on the way who said our college will have to move there.”

“Shan Qi,” she said, “The school hasn’t sent out the notice yet. Your uncle is the vice dean, quickly ask him if it’s true.”

Zhao Shan Qi was pestered into making the call, and after hanging up, said helplessly: “Our class does have to move there. My uncle says the conditions in North Campus are even worse than you described. If we move there, I’m going to live at home.”

Zhu Ziyu shuddered: “Then I’ll have to move in with my boyfriend.”

She excitedly went to make a phone call. Zhao Shan Qi asked Xia Xia: “Are you going to move out? I heard Xie Huai rented a place outside.”

Xia Xia shook her head: “No.”

Xie Huai had spent the entire morning in the counselor’s office, and Yi Mei Xian was almost driven to breakdown by him.

“Even if you stay here all day, it’s useless. The dormitory bidding is a school leadership decision, what does it have to do with me? If I could pull strings with just one word, why would I still be working as a counselor?” Yi Mei Xian crossed her arms, her long, slender index finger tapping against her skin, leaving no room for argument in her words.

Her Korean straight eyebrows arched coldly: “I’ll tell you one last time…”

“I’m not asking you to pull strings,” Xie Huai smiled shamelessly. “The fair social bidding process is just to fool others… You just need to tell me which leader is in charge of this, and I’ll leave right away.”

“What do you want with the leaders?”

“The school encourages college students to start businesses,” Xie Huai said innocently. “I’m starting a business, and you’re asking me why?”

Yi Mei Xian drove him out of the office.

Xie Huai didn’t leave. The CET-4 exam was coming up soon, so he sat on the bench outside the office, studying vocabulary while waiting for Yi Mei Xian to finish work.

When Yi Mei Xian came out at dinner time and saw him, she was exasperated: “Can’t you show me some consideration? Haven’t you caused me enough trouble since freshman year? You’re about to graduate and still won’t let me have peace!”

Xie Huai looked at her quietly with bright eyes.

Yi Mei Xian surrendered.

Having achieved his goal, Xie Huai went to the cafeteria in high spirits.

He got a rice bowl with toppings, but when he tried to pay, his meal card beeped to warn him it was empty. Xie Huai took out his phone to scan the code, but there was no money there either. He was a bit tight on cash recently, with money constantly in circulation, and what little he had left was all in cash that couldn’t be used in the cafeteria. For a moment, he actually couldn’t pay for his meal.

He looked around, hoping to find someone he knew to help swipe their card, and turned to see Xia Xia standing behind him.

Xia Xia had been watching him for a while. She silently observed him for a few seconds, then stepped forward to pay for him. She was wearing a light blue top with puff sleeves today, and when she raised her arm, half of her snow-white wrist was exposed before Xie Huai’s eyes, delicate and soft, seemingly fragile enough to break with a gentle grip.

Xie Huai didn’t leave, but stood there with his tray, waiting for Xia Xia to get her food before following her to sit together.

Xia Xia had only gotten two vegetable dishes and a bowl of winter melon soup. She ate quietly, occasionally lifting her bowl to sip the soup. Her expression was peaceful, and even if she did nothing but sit quietly with her, it made Xie Huai feel that all the hardships of the past days meant nothing, and even if things got more difficult, it wouldn’t matter.

Xie Huai picked up the meat from his plate and put it in her bowl: “You’re eating too little.”

He flicked her forehead: “You’ve gotten thinner. Can’t you take care of yourself when Brother Huai isn’t around?”

Xia Xia didn’t respond to his comment, obediently ate the meat, and asked: “Are you short on money?”

Xie Huai made an affirmative sound, speaking unclearly with food in his mouth: “…Mm, recently closed several deals, but the contractors haven’t paid. I advanced the money for factory inventory. I’ll go collect the money next week when their cash flow improves.”

Xia Xia took out a bank card and pushed it in front of him. Xie Huai glanced at it, and his expression immediately darkened: “What do you mean by this? Do you think I would use a woman’s money?”

Xia Xia glanced at his food tray: “Then don’t eat.”

Xie Huai pushed the card back: “Put it away. Don’t blame me if I see it again.”

“Don’t be ungrateful. I’m just lending it to you. You’ll pay me back when you have money.”

“Put it away,” Xie Huai said in a deep voice. “What’s the meaning of using your money?”

Xia Xia lowered her eyes. She put the bank card away, then swapped her meal card with Xie Huai’s on the table, indicating that he should use her meal card to eat.

Xie Huai picked up her card, looking at the fresh-faced, naive photo of Xia Xia from when she first entered university, and couldn’t help but smile: “Still worried I won’t have enough to eat? Is Sister Xia not angry anymore?”

He asked playfully: “Want to make up?”

Before Xia Xia could speak, he tapped her forehead with his chopsticks: “Keep dreaming.”

“When you dumped me, you just walked away without a care. Now you think we can make up just because you want to?” He smiled arrogantly, looking full of mischief. “Our reconciliation is for me to decide. You can want it all you want, but unless you get down on your knees and call me daddy a few times, this isn’t over.”

Xia Xia hit his sore spot: “Who the hell wants to get back together with you? You can’t even afford food. If I got back with you, would I be living on air?”

Xie Huai’s embarrassing situation had been seen by Xia Xia, and his pride took a serious hit. He shouted: “…Xia Xia, say that again if you dare! Who said you’d be living on air?”

He poked her head: “Getting more and more capable now, aren’t you?”

Several girls from the same college at the next table finished eating and came over. One of them smiled at Xie Huai: “Xie Huai, we’re moving dorms after final exams. I have too much luggage to move by myself, could you help me?”

“No,” Xie Huai replied bluntly and coldly without thinking. “Ask someone else.”

The girl clasped her hands together: “All the boys in our class have been asked by others. I really can’t find anyone. Please.”

“Begging me won’t help. I don’t know you well, and even if I did, I still wouldn’t help move. You don’t see my girlfriend…” He pointed at Xia Xia but stopped abruptly.

The girl muttered: “…But I heard you broke up.”

Xie Huai dropped his unwelcoming expression, leaned back against his chair, draped his arm over the backrest, and reclined lazily.

His attitude changed completely as he smiled roguishly: “It’s so hot, moving luggage is too tiring. What’s in it for me?”

The girl said: “I’ll treat you to ice cream.”

Xie Huai pretended to think deeply for a moment, then said flatly: “Alright.”

After the girl left, he raised his eyebrows with a childish expression: “Sister Xia, do you need my help?”

“How childish can you be?” Xia Xia said bluntly. “Is this trick fun? Aren’t you tired of it?”

“Well, you’ve misunderstood me this time. This wasn’t someone I arranged,” Xie Huai said lazily. “Brother Huai’s charm is so great, if you hadn’t been by my side blocking admirers these past few years, the line of people pursuing me would stretch from Chunhe Road to the North Gate. Do you know what a great deal you got?”

Xia Xia cleared her dishes with a blank expression and retorted: “If it weren’t for you getting possessive with your ‘Brother Huai’ every time I spoke more than one sentence to another man these past few years, I would have become Zhao Shan Qi’s stepmother by now.”

“Zhao Jin Song makes several million a month, is gentle and considerate, and most importantly, he’s so much older than me. Maybe one day he’ll kick the bucket and half his assets would be mine.” Xia Xia said coolly. “I gave up tens of millions in assets to drink the northwest wind with you. You’re the one who got the better deal.”

Xie Huai: “…”

Every word Xia Xia said seemed particularly infuriating, but he didn’t know how to refute it. Thinking about it carefully, it seemed to make a lot of sense.

July was as hot as a furnace.

People were packed densely in front of the teaching building, with suitcases and woven bags scattered everywhere, leaving no place to step.

The girls’ dormitory was bustling with people coming and going. Boys filed in one after another, carrying the girls’ luggage downstairs to the campus bus waiting at the entrance.

Cai Yun knew many people through the student union and had early on asked several junior boys to help her and Zhao Shan Qi carry their luggage. Zhu Ziyu had also recruited a boy to help in exchange for a meal of hot pot. Only Xia Xia hadn’t found anyone—during her college years, she had either been working part-time off-campus or on exchange in Hai City, and when she was around, she spent all her time with Xie Huai, so she didn’t know anyone.

She hadn’t planned to ask for help either, dragging her heavy suitcase down from the fourth floor by herself.

Xie Huai had just woken up and was standing in the lobby of the girls’ dormitory drinking an iced cola in his flip-flops. The girl he’d met in the cafeteria lived on the sixth floor. He went upstairs and made four trips to bring down her seven large woven bags plus one suitcase, placing them at the pickup point to queue for the bus.

The girl wore an elegant purple dress and carried an embroidered parasol. The line waiting for the campus bus at the entrance had grown incredibly long. She pouted: “Xie Huai, there are too many people waiting for the bus. Who knows how long we’ll have to wait? Can we not wait for the bus and just move directly?”

The sun was blazing hot enough to roast people alive, with not a hint of wind in the stifling air.

Xie Huai’s T-shirt was already soaked with sweat from climbing the stairs several times. He lifted his T-shirt to wipe his sweat, his eyes inadvertently glancing toward the stairs where he saw Xia Xia struggling to carry her bedding down from upstairs.

Her bedding was still the same set she had bought on installment from him in freshman year. She hadn’t changed it in three years of college. The quilt and mattress were stacked so high they almost blocked her vision.

The girl said: “Xie Huai, can we hurry? It’ll be hard to move things upstairs if there are too many people when we get there. I have things to do this afternoon.”

Her companion advised: “We should still wait for the bus. The weather is hot and moving things is very tiring. You have so much luggage, no one can handle that…”

Xia Xia placed her bedding against the wall and arranged it properly before preparing to go back upstairs. Her fair face was drenched in sweat, her cheeks flushed red from the heat.

Xie Huai hadn’t heard what the girl said. He quickly walked over and grabbed Xia Xia’s wrist: “How many more items do you have?”

Xia Xia hadn’t noticed he was there and was startled for a moment before pulling her hand back: “I can carry them myself.”

“Like hell, you can.” Xie Huai hadn’t intended to help that girl move her things, he just wanted to make Xia Xia jealous, but in the end, his heart ached for her. He said in a deep voice, “Can’t you just give in to me? Do you need me to beg you for a chance to help you move your things before you’ll be satisfied?”

“You sit here and wait.” He pushed Xia Xia to sit by her suitcase and went upstairs to her dormitory to carry down her other two woven bags.

That girl was still waiting for him. Xie Huai dragged Xia Xia’s few pieces of luggage toward the entrance when she ran over: “Xie Huai, you agreed to help me move, where are you going?”

Xie Huai looked back: “Didn’t I already help you move?”

“Haven’t moved into the dorm yet,” the girl said. “You can’t leave when the task is only half done.”

Xie Huai raised his eyebrows: “Everyone else is waiting for the bus, but you insist I carry your things over.”

He asked coldly: “Are you special?”

The girl was speechless.

Xie Huai dragged Xia Xia’s suitcase with the bedroll on top, carrying two other woven bags in his hands, bypassing the long queue of people. He didn’t wait for the bus, walking under the sun toward the path leading to the old dormitory area.

The luggage was heavy. His back was straight from the strain, his arms taut, revealing clear, beautiful muscles.

Xia Xia tried to take one of the woven bags from his hands to help, but Xie Huai turned away, not letting her take it.

She insisted on trying, and Xie Huai said impatiently: “Can’t you be quiet for a moment?”

Xia Xia: “You’re yelling at me again.”

Remembering the half-month cold war from before, Xie Huai didn’t dare yell at her anymore. His voice softened: “I can manage just fine, why do you need to help?”

He stopped to rest, putting things down on the ground. He placed his palm on Xia Xia’s head, wiping away the beads of sweat from her temples: “Be good, hold the umbrella to shade me from the sun.”

The conditions in the old dormitory building were even worse than Zhu Ziyu had described. The iron bunk beds wobbled, creaking constantly as Xia Xia made her bed. The gaps between the wooden planks were wide enough for a train to pass through, making her worry she might fall to the ground if the bedboards broke one day.

The walls were grayish-yellow with peeling paint and mold spots from humidity. The floor didn’t even have tiles, just bare cement. The iron window frames were thick with rust, and the glass was cracked like a spider web.

Zhu Ziyu was shocked when she entered the dorm: “…Is this fit for human habitation?”

She dragged her luggage in front of Xia Xia, wanting to exchange beds: “I heard there are cockroaches here. I’m afraid to sleep on the bottom bunk, can we switch?”

Xia Xia: “You take the top bunk, I’m not afraid of cockroaches.”

Zhu Ziyu frowned as she organized her things, then sat at the decrepit old desk to call Zheng Zhi Ming.

She didn’t talk long before hanging up, listlessly lying down to look at the equally rundown boys’ dormitory outside the window.

“Zhi Ming’s mother came from Beijing to stay at his place, he needs to accompany his mother so we can’t live together, but he can rent me a place near the school,” she said resentfully. “I could rent a place myself, why does he need to rent it? I just want to live together. Living alone is too troublesome, and I’ll have to clean.”

Xia Xia laughed at her: “So in your heart, Zheng Zhi Ming is just a cleaning robot?”

Zhu Ziyu laughed and chatted casually with Xia Xia. After they finished organizing their things, Zhu Ziyu sniffed her sweaty self with disgust and suggested they go take a shower together.

The old dormitory had no bathrooms, so they had to use the public bathhouse across from the dormitory area.

The bathhouse used boilers, and even from far away, you could hear the rushing water and rumbling machinery. The small building was only two stories tall, freshly painted white, standing out starkly against the orange-red teaching building.

Climbing roses covered the gray-brown sandstone wall opposite the bathhouse. The climate in South City was good, and the roses still bloomed vibrantly in July’s weather, appearing rich and passionate against the gray wall backdrop.

Coming out from her shower, Xia Xia stood under the wall looking up at the roses. The flower in front of her was in full bloom, and she couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it, accidentally pricking her finger, which immediately started bleeding.

Zhu Ziyu exclaimed and wanted to take her to the infirmary to bandage it, but Xia Xia casually wrapped it with a tissue, saying softly: “No need to be so delicate.”

Next to the bathhouse was South University’s tennis court, where a couple who had just showered sat on a bench outside the court.

The girl had very long hair, hanging wet to her waist. The boy wore black-framed glasses and smiled shyly as he carefully combed the girl’s hair with a small peach wood comb.

Pale clouds covered the edges of the blazing sun, the sky’s clouds shifted, and the summer breeze turned gentle.

Zhu Ziyu asked: “What are you looking at?”

Xia Xia pointed it out to her, and Zhu Ziyu smirked: “You’re so entranced watching others in love, why don’t you try dating yourself?”

Xia Xia remained silent. Zhu Ziyu suddenly asked: “The thing I bought for you the other day arrived today. Did you get a text from the pickup station?”

Xia Xia shook her head: “No, what did you buy me?”

“That’s strange.” Zhu Ziyu checked the tracking. “It arrived at school this morning. Why haven’t they sent you a message? You should check later, it would be bad if someone else takes it.”

She winked playfully: “It’s something good. Since you’re staying for your summer internship, I was worried you’d be lonely, so I bought you something special. It moves, you know.”

Zhu Ziyu’s mysterious way of speaking piqued Xia Xia’s curiosity.

—Bought because she was worried about her being lonely, and it moves.

Xia Xia thought: Surely Zhu Ziyu hadn’t bought her some kind of live pet?

At noon, the cafeteria was packed. Xie Huai got his food and went to eat with Liang Yuan Tai.

Xia Xia came over to ask: “Is there a package for me?”

Liang Yuan Tai secretly pointed toward Xie Huai, who kicked a square box at his feet: “Yes, I saw your name and kept it.”

“How shameless can you be?” Xia Xia bent down to pick it up, but Xie Huai wouldn’t let her take it.

He picked up the box and shook it: “What did you buy?”

Liang Yuan Tai was very understanding, seeing Xie Huai talking with Xia Xia, he took his bowl and squatted alone at the entrance to eat.

The delivery box was damaged when it arrived, with a hole in the side. Xie Huai shook it around but couldn’t figure out what was inside. He handed it to her: “Check if anything inside is damaged before signing for it.”

Xia Xia took out a small knife to open the box.

She had just showered and was wearing a scarlet spaghetti strap dress, exposing large areas of fair skin. Her hair was half-dry, clinging wetly to her neck, her body emanating an unmistakable sweet scent of body wash.

Xie Huai was very close to her; just by lowering his head, he could see her small nose and rosy lips.

He swallowed and awkwardly averted his gaze, worried that looking any longer would cause trouble.

“Finished checking?” he asked.

Xia Xia pulled out something pink that looked like a whale model from the box. She looked at it for a long time, confused: “What is this? A toy?”

Her hand accidentally pressed something, and the toy suddenly started buzzing and vibrating. Even someone slow would realize what it was now.

Xia Xia froze, her face suddenly burning red.

Xia Xia: “…”

Xie Huai: “……”

What Zhu Ziyu bought her wasn’t a pet, but a genuine adult toy.

“I…” Xia Xia said with a red face, hurriedly explaining, “This isn’t mine, Zhu Ziyu bought it randomly, I’m going to return it to her right now.”

She turned to run, not even taking the toy but was pulled back by Xie Huai at the doorway.

His eyes were dark as ink, so deep you couldn’t tell what he was thinking, yet they held a bloodshot redness. Xia Xia instinctively felt something different about his whole demeanor.

Xie Huai reached back to pull down the pickup station’s rolling door, plunging the once sun-filled room into darkness.

“Why are you running?” his voice was deep, like feathers tickling one’s skin, making one’s heart itch. “I haven’t finished speaking.”

He trapped her between himself and the rolling door, burying his head against her neck without explanation, gently inhaling her scent: “So it was bought by Zhu Ziyu again? Does Zhu Ziyu know you’re using her as an excuse?”

Xia Xia wanted to die from embarrassment.

“If you had needs, you could have told me. I guarantee door-to-door delivery,” Xie Huai laughed softly, both suggestive and flirtatious. “What do you need that thing for? It’s so hard and stiff, is it better than me?”

“Don’t mess around,” Xia Xia pushed his shoulder. “Classes just ended, there are people everywhere outside, they’ll hear.”

Xie Huai’s bright eyes stared at her intensely: “How do you think I’ll mess around? How about I strip you and take you right here? Once I make your legs so weak you can’t walk, you’ll behave and never dare play games with me again.”

His entire body was burning hot, the temperature making him panic. Xia Xia was pressed against the rolling door, heating herself. She could smell the faint mint scent on him, fresh and pleasant. Before he could do anything, her legs were already weak, unable to say any harsh words.

“That’s enough,” Xie Huai’s voice was slightly hoarse as if strongly suppressing his emotions. “How could you bear to ignore me for so long? I’ve been missing you so much…”

He paused, his chin rubbing against her hair, his prominent Adam’s apple pressing and rubbing fiercely against her forehead.

He looked fierce, but his voice was like spoiled whining, his hands around her waist refusing to let go for even a moment:

“…Missing you so much I can barely stand it.”

The finger Xia Xia had resting on his shoulder started bleeding again, soaking through his T-shirt.

Xie Huai loosened his hold slightly, asking: “How did it get cut?”

Xia Xia said softly: “Pricked by a rose thorn.”

Xie Huai smiled: “Are you stupid?”

He took her finger, lowered his head, and gently took her bleeding fingertip into his mouth.

His lips suckled, his tongue wrapping and coiling around it.