“Qian Wei, your tricks are seriously amazing!” First thing in the morning, Mo Tao couldn’t wait to send Qian Wei the good news. “This weekend I invited the neighbor girl next door to watch a horror movie. She always acted so superior around me before, but the moment the horror film started, all that composure vanished — she nearly threw herself into my arms crying from fright. Then, following your advice from yesterday, I bought her a bracelet and just delivered it to her. She kept saying I was wasting money, but I could tell she was thrilled — she put it on right away!”

“The moment I, Qian Wei, take action, you know it’s going to work, haha, I told you, trust me and you’d win over your girl for sure.”

After Qian Wei and Lu Xun had returned to school over the weekend, she’d gotten a call from Mo Tao asking for help — his crush, the girl next door, was starting her first official day of work, and Mo Tao wanted to get her a gift. Qian Wei had suggested the same bracelet idea, and now, here she was, receiving his good news.

Qian Wei felt quite pleased with herself. If the same tactic worked so well for Mo Tao, it definitely wouldn’t fail with Lu Xun either.

But of course, man proposes, heaven disposes. Just as Qian Wei was reveling in her own matchmaking prowess, Lu Xun showed up at her door.

“She won’t take the bracelet.”

“What???”

“She said it’s too expensive, she can’t accept such an extravagant gift.”

Qian Wei was utterly baffled. “That doesn’t make sense.” In her previous life, she clearly remembered that before Mo Zixin had agreed to Qian Chuan’s pursuit, he’d splurged on a set of makeup worth over three thousand yuan for her, and Mo Zixin hadn’t refused it on grounds of being “too expensive.” So why would Lu Xun get rejected over a bracelet costing less than two thousand?

“Anyway, she won’t take it.” Lu Xun pressed his lips together, his expression unhappy.

Following the failed movie date, now even gift-giving had run into a wall — just imagining it, Qian Wei could practically feel the anguish in Lu Xun’s heart… this really was a case of pouring your heart into the moon, only for the moon to shine on a gutter instead!

“Here, it’s yours.”

Just as Qian Wei was feeling sorry for Lu Xun, a small box came flying toward her. She caught it instinctively, and looking down, she realized it was the very bracelet they’d bought together over the weekend.

Though she was genuinely quite tempted by it, simply accepting it like this felt a bit inappropriate.

“This is too expensive, I can’t accept it either!” Qian Wei said earnestly. “I’m a person with principles! No merit, no reward!”

Lu Xun snorted. “And where were your principles when you let me copy off you during exams?”

“…”

“Anyway, it’s yours now. If you don’t want it, throw it away.” With that, Lu Xun stuffed his hands into his pockets, striking the pose of “once given, never taken back,” and sauntered off with an air of finality.

Qian Wei looked down at the bracelet in her hand, then back at Lu Xun’s retreating figure, utterly dumbfounded.

Lu Xun, oh Lu Xun, why couldn’t you have been this domineering with Mo Zixin as you are with me? If only you’d pushed a little harder, chances are she was just putting up a token show of refusal, and would have caved after a bit of back-and-forth! Even if she still didn’t want it, with an attitude like “take it or I’ll throw it away,” anyone would eventually accept it! Qian Wei felt like screaming inside — Lu Xun, if you could just show Mo Zixin even a tenth of the domineering attitude you show me on a regular basis, you wouldn’t have hit a wall trying to give her a gift. Why is it that you can be so tyrannical with me without a shred of hesitation, but you can’t bring yourself to do the same with Mo Zixin?! Qian Wei thought, how infuriating!

Perhaps because of this first crushing defeat, Lu Xun finally started to grow anxious. Over the next few days, Qian Wei noticed that he was reaching out more and more frequently to discuss strategy with her.

She was in the middle of strategizing with Mo Tao at a café about how to step up the pursuit of his crush when Lu Xun called.

“Can we meet in an hour? I’ve got something going on right now.”

Lu Xun, for once, was quite understanding. He replied simply, “Okay, sure.”

Just as Qian Wei was about to hang up, the waiter at the café happened to approach their table. “Would you two like to order anything?”

“I’ll have a hot latte.” Mo Tao glanced at Qian Wei. “What do you want?”

“Me? I’ll have a hot latte too.” Qian Wei said, then said goodbye to Lu Xun and was about to hang up.

“Wait.” Lu Xun stopped her again. “I want to see you right now.”

Qian Wei: ???

“I don’t think I can wait even one more minute,” Lu Xun coughed, his voice sounding a bit unnatural. “I want to discuss our strategy with you immediately, I’m worried the longer we wait, the more things could change — what if someone else swoops in and takes Mo Zixin?” Perhaps genuinely anxious that Qian Wei might refuse, he added, “And didn’t you say — even if you’re on a date, I still come first?”

“No problem, no problem!” You’re my future boss, of course whatever you say goes!

Without another word, Qian Wei said a quick goodbye to Mo Tao and hung up, rushing straight to the meeting spot Lu Xun had suggested.

Thinking about how the usually unflappable Lu Xun could get so anxious he couldn’t wait even a single minute for fear of Mo Zixin being swept away by someone else, Qian Wei thought, heh, look at you now! How the tables have turned — Mo Zixin really was heaven’s way of punishing you!

Qian Wei and Lu Xun had arranged to meet at a Western restaurant just outside campus. After a few blows to his confidence, Qian Wei felt like Lu Xun had become noticeably more down-to-earth lately — at the very least, he now knew to butter up his own strategic advisor properly. The Western restaurant he’d picked today wasn’t some fast-food-style Western chain, but a genuinely upscale, established establishment. Just from the décor alone, you could tell this place wasn’t cheap. Qian Wei was quite satisfied with the choice.

Usually, Lu Xun relied on his natural good looks and never put much effort into his clothing, but ever since he’d started pursuing Mo Zixin, he’d clearly become more mindful of his appearance. Today he wasn’t wearing his usual casual shirt and pants — instead, he’d added a touch of deliberate formality without going overboard.

A nineteen-year-old boy, even if not particularly handsome, could still turn heads in a semi-formal blazer — let alone someone with Lu Xun’s devastating looks.

Qian Wei said sincerely, “Lu Xun, I’ve noticed love really has opened your eyes. Look at you, dressing with such thoughtful intention now — you really should wear this more often around Mo Zixin, anyone would find it hard not to steal a second glance at you, this look really packs a punch.”

Surprisingly, Lu Xun showed a hint of shyness. He coughed to cover it up, then looked away. “Is that so.”

Qian Wei thought, so this guy could actually get shy — such a rare moment. In this instant, Lu Xun looked like an actual nineteen-year-old boy, a bit green around the edges, and Qian Wei couldn’t resist the urge to tease him a little.

“Mm-hm, quite the sight for sore eyes, absolutely delectable.” She nodded exaggeratedly, then cupped her face and openly stared at him without restraint.

Being stared at like this, Lu Xun — who usually stayed cool and collected even surrounded by thousands of admiring girls — still managed to keep his face reasonably composed, but the ears that were rapidly turning red at the speed of light gave away his true feelings.

Qian Wei found herself thinking, in this moment, Lu Xun actually seemed just a little bit adorable…

Ah, the reeking sourness of love! It had even managed to change Lu Xun this much!

Today Lu Xun seemed to have something on his mind, and he was rather quiet, not saying much, until the food arrived and he finally spoke up, feigning nonchalance.

“Besides seeing each other more often and gradually working my way into her life, once she starts developing feelings for me, when the timing is right, do I need to confess?”

“No!! Absolutely not!!”

Lu Xun looked a bit stunned. “Why not? Didn’t you keep telling me to be proactive?”

Qian Wei set down her knife and fork, speaking earnestly. “Lu Xun, this is exactly where you’re missing the point. Being proactive doesn’t mean rushing to confess! Don’t underestimate romance — it’s a game, it even involves elements of marketing. Making someone fall for you is basically selling yourself to them, right? It’s just like selling a product — you need to let people understand your product’s features, its selling points, its value for money. If you just rush up to someone shouting ‘buy me, buy me,’ ‘I want you to buy me,’ do you think they’d actually go for it?”

“…”

“There’s truth to the saying that things gained too easily aren’t cherished. A truly great product doesn’t need to be hawked on every street corner, does it? No! A product’s excellence gets absorbed gradually into people’s lives until they naturally accept it — the same goes for romance,” Qian Wei explained with conviction. “If it’s too easy to win someone over, neither men nor women will truly value it. You need to make Mo Zixin feel like you’re genuinely amazing, so much so that she’s the one who actively wants to be with you — not the other way around, where she seems great and you’re the one chasing after her.”

Lu Xun fell silent.

Qian Wei patted him on the shoulder, encouraging him. “Don’t worry, I’ve done plenty of research on female psychology, just listen to me on this. What I mean by ‘proactive’ is really about strategy — it’s about letting your natural charm draw her attention first, letting her gradually discover your good qualities, getting her used to having you around. Once you sense she’s starting to depend on you, that’s when you pull back a little — disappear for a couple of days with some excuse, don’t reach out during that time. She’ll start to realize, oh, I really can’t do without him, feeling restless without you around. Then you reappear at just the right moment, and the two of you will naturally fall into place together!”

Lu Xun finally looked up, studying her for a moment before speaking. “Is this how all you women operate?” His tone made it clear he wasn’t buying it.

“Women are from Mars, men are from Venus — you’ve heard that saying, right? Men and women think in completely different ways. Take me, for example — I have this strange quirk where the moment I find out a guy likes me, I immediately stop liking him.” Qian Wei took a sip of her fresh orange juice. “I know deep down you probably think love should be built on sincerity, that a genuine heart is enough. But reality often doesn’t work that way. If you just lay your bleeding heart bare in front of someone with no buildup whatsoever, all you’ll do is scare them, not move them.”

This time, Lu Xun finally seemed convinced. He glanced at Qian Wei without pushing back further, only asking, “Why do you stop liking someone the moment they like you?”

Qian Wei rubbed her chin. “Honestly, I don’t really know either. Maybe it’s just some kind of contrarian streak in me… anyway, forget about me, let’s hurry up and figure out our next move. I can’t just eat this expensive meal without earning my keep!”