“I’m someone who values substance. Honestly, I don’t really care that much about looks — as long as they’re pleasant to look at, that’s fine. What matters more is the heart, you know, like I said before, I want my future boyfriend to be understanding and considerate of the bigger picture. What I hate most are guys who are overly possessive, getting jealous over every little thing. That kind of jealousy is just so childish, completely immature.”

“…”

Qian Wei thought for a moment, then added, “And he needs a sweet mouth, good at coaxing me, gentle, can’t be mean to me, and he’s got to be presentable in public but also handy in the kitchen.” She rubbed her chin. “Cooking is a must. My dream is that when I’m feeling down and out, my boyfriend can whip up a whole table of beautifully presented, delicious food for me. Oh, and he’s got to take good photos too, able to make me look amazing at any moment. Ideally he’d be a bit funny too, good at lightening the mood, and he needs to be good at making money, generous, but not overbearing or male-chauvinist…”

“Anything else?” Maybe it was just her imagination, but Lu Xun’s expression didn’t look too great.

“And he absolutely has to pursue me — ideally for a few months, let him yearn without success for a while first.”

Lu Xun seemed genuinely taken aback, his voice rising a notch, his whole expression one of disbelief. “Why does it have to be a few months?? And yearning without success?! Why would you string someone along like that?!”

Qian Wei was a bit confused at first, but after thinking it over, she understood — Lu Xun had probably chased Mo Zixin for months only to have it fall apart, so he probably felt some solidarity against the kind of girl who makes guys chase her for months.

“Can’t I just want to enjoy the feeling of being ardently adored and pursued?” She blinked. “Haven’t you heard? Every girl has a princess fantasy, I imagine myself being pursued and adored by everyone too, I want to experience that feeling of being loved so intensely, like I’m the only one for someone.” Qian Wei thought for a moment, then added, “And besides, don’t you guys have this mindset too — things that come too easily aren’t appreciated, but something you’ve pursued for months, even years, tends to be treasured as your ideal woman. The harder something is to win, the deeper the feelings tend to run.”

“Wait, didn’t you say before that the moment someone confesses and says they like you, you stop liking them? So how would that even work if someone’s supposed to chase you for months???”

“Oh right.” Qian Wei paused. “That’s true too… hmm, what to do, that’s a bit of a contradiction. Does that mean I’m destined to be alone forever?? But then again, maybe not, maybe someone could be the exception, like, they confess and I don’t stop liking them, and then they chase me relentlessly for months, and I finally say yes.”

“…” Lu Xun looked like he was holding back his emotions. “You really like that kind of over-the-top pursuit? Public confessions and all that?”

“No, I don’t actually like public confessions or overly dramatic gestures, I think that’s embarrassing in front of a crowd, relationships should really stay private. I actually prefer that old-fashioned, nostalgic style of romance and courtship, the slow-and-steady, long-lasting kind.”

Lu Xun’s expression turned serious. “So, any other requirements?”

Qian Wei shook her head. “That’s it for now, I’ll add more if I think of anything.” She glanced at Lu Xun curiously. “Why are you asking all this, anyway?”

Lu Xun looked away. “I noticed you’re single again, thought if I come across someone suitable, I could keep an eye out for you.”

“Oh… thanks!” Qian Wei thought, I guess even though the matchmaking with Mo Zixin didn’t work out, Lu Xun still remembers the gesture. Look at that, returning the favor by offering to set me up with someone.

“You…”

“Qian Wei!”

Just as Lu Xun was about to say something else, Liu Shiyun’s booming voice cut through the air out of nowhere. Qian Wei turned toward the sound to see Liu Shiyun rushing toward her at full speed.

She was out of breath from running so hard. “Finally found you. No idea where you all disappeared to after the speech competition ended, I actually need to talk to you about something.”

Qian Wei was puzzled. “What’s up?”

Liu Shiyun shot Lu Xun a pointed glance, wiggling her eyebrows. “Girls’ talk, I’ll tell you once we get back to the dorm.”

Lu Xun, of course, understood the implication behind Liu Shiyun’s words. He nodded at her and prepared to leave.

Qian Wei called after him. “Oh wait, Lu Xun, what were you going to say to me just now?”

Lu Xun merely pressed his lips together. “Nothing.”

Qian Wei followed Liu Shiyun back to the dorm, and before she’d even had a chance to sit down properly, Liu Shiyun had already flashed a fawning smile and poured her a glass of water, acting unusually obsequious.

“Alright, spill it. What do you need my help with?”

This time, rather unusually, Liu Shiyun looked a bit bashful. “So, here’s the thing — tomorrow evening our college is holding a mixer with the architecture department at the neighboring A Institute of Technology, organized by our student union. Apparently a bunch of guys from A Tech’s architecture department are pretty good-looking, and I kind of want to go…”

“You want me to come with you?”

Liu Shiyun nodded. “I already heard — you and Mo Tao aren’t actually dating, right? So you’re single, just like me. This is a really high-quality mixer, you should come with me, who knows, you might actually meet your soulmate there!”

“We’re still in the primary stage of socialism, I have no interest in romance, I need to keep building socialism.”

“That’s exactly where you’re wrong, Qian Wei! Precisely because we’re still in the primary stage of socialism, we should be dating even more! What does building socialism need? Fresh labor power! Haven’t you heard the saying — for the sake of the nation’s next generation, even monks and nuns should date! If nobody dates, our birth rate will tank and we’ll all end up in an aging society!” With that, Liu Shiyun leapt over and threw an arm around Qian Wei’s shoulders. “Of course, if you’re really insisting on staying single, that’s exactly why you should come with me even more! If I go to something like this alone, and no guys pay attention to me, and I’ve got no one with me, how embarrassing would that be? If you come along, even if no one’s interested in me, at least I’ll have you there with me. And since you’ve got no interest in this kind of event, if I do end up liking some guy, you won’t be competing with me for him, so there won’t be any messy drama about best friends turning into enemies!”

Seeing that Qian Wei still wasn’t budging, Liu Shiyun finally pulled out her trump card. “Alright, fine, I’ll bite the bullet — I’ll give you an annual membership card to my family’s hotel chain! You’ll be a VVIP customer of our hotel chain from now on, book any room you want, seventy percent off! Our hotel chain has even acquired several local hotels abroad now, so wherever you travel, you’ll have a place to stay!”

“Deal!”

“Would wearing a pink dress make me look cuter?”

“Or maybe bright red would pop more? Stronger visual impact, leave a deeper impression?”

“Wait, wouldn’t a blue, more refined look be better?”

Liu Shiyun laid out practically her entire wardrobe, trying one thing after another, asking Qian Wei’s opinion over and over, before finally settling on a white long dress.

“What about you? What are you wearing?”

“Me?” Qian Wei pointed at the black crow-like jacket hanging on the rack. “This, obviously.”

“That’s way too ugly!” Liu Shiyun couldn’t accept it. “Come on, come on, let me pick something out for you.”

“What do you know? Only by dressing this ugly can I properly set off your beauty! Make you shine above everyone else!”

“That actually makes sense…”

This mixer turned out to be a lot more fun than Qian Wei had expected. It wasn’t the kind of superficial, going-through-the-motions type event she’d imagined — the organizers had thoughtfully prepared quite a few interactive segments, and both the atmosphere and pacing were handled really well.

Liu Shiyun had specially dressed up for the evening, even put on some light makeup. Tall and fair-skinned, her white long dress showed off her elegance perfectly, and just standing off to the side, she was already drawing plenty of attention — including, of course, from the most eye-catching guy in the room.

“His name is Tang Lü, the looks of the architecture department at A Tech, and he’s on the school swim team too. Inverted triangle build, eight-pack abs, long legs, a body so good it’s basically criminal… he’s in our school’s top ten most handsome guys list, I’ve even researched his hobbies… wait, oh my god, is he walking toward us? He’s walking toward us, right? I’m getting nervous, oh no, I kind of need to pee… I always need to pee when I get nervous…”

Liu Shiyun had just finished muttering under her breath when the guy really did keep walking closer, and eventually stopped right in front of Qian Wei and Liu Shiyun.

The guy named Tang Lü had gentle features, and up close, Qian Wei realized just how tall he actually was — probably about the same height as Qian Chuan, casting a shadow over both her and Liu Shiyun as he stood there.

“I only came to this event because a friend dragged me along, figured it’d probably be boring, but now I think coming here was actually the right call.” He smiled at Liu Shiyun, looking a bit shy. “Forgot to introduce myself, I’m Tang Lü, a third-year student in the architecture school at A Tech.”

Liu Shiyun, who’d been fretting about needing to pee just moments ago, instantly transformed into the picture of elegance. She lightly covered her mouth with her hand, looking reserved and demure, her voice suddenly turning soft and sweet as though run through a voice modulator. “Hi Tang Lü, I’m Liu Shiyun, a second-year student at A University’s law school.” Having said that, she bashfully lowered her head, as if she didn’t dare look directly at him. “Actually, this is my first time coming to something like this too, and funnily enough, I only came because my best friend talked me into accompanying her.” She then glanced at Qian Wei, gentle yet with a hint of helplessness.

Qian Wei: ??? Hey, friend, this plot development doesn’t quite match what we agreed on, does it???

Tang Lü instinctively glanced at Qian Wei, and the two exchanged introductions as well, but Qian Wei could tell that Tang Lü’s attention and gaze were both clearly fixed on Liu Shiyun, his questions all revolving around her.

“So what do you usually do in the evenings when you’re not at events like this?”

Liu Shiyun covered her mouth and gave a light laugh again. “Me? In the evenings I usually practice calligraphy, sometimes I’ll even hand-copy the Diamond Sutra. Every time I write, I feel my mind grow calm, my heart settle into peace, it feels really good for cultivating oneself. When I’m not writing, I like to read, things like Walden, which also really opens up my mind. Occasionally I’ll listen to some music too.”

Qian Wei: ??? But every single night in the dorm you’re clearly watching Korean and Taiwanese variety shows??? And bursting into hysterical laughter constantly??? Where exactly is this calm, peaceful state of mind coming from???

Tang Lü, however, seemed thoroughly delighted with Liu Shiyun’s answer, a faint look of admiration crossing his face. “What kind of music do you like listening to?”

“I like piano and other classical instruments, honestly I don’t really listen to pop music much, I always feel like pop music is a bit too restless.”

Oh, come on! Qian Wei thought. Since when do you like classical music, don’t you only listen to mainstream pop songs?

Tang Lü’s face lit up with undisguised delight. “What a coincidence, I love classical music too. Who’s your favorite composer for piano pieces?”

“My personal favorite is Chopin, though I also quite like Bach and Mozart.”

Hearing this, Qian Wei was too exhausted to even mock it internally anymore — she genuinely doubted whether Liu Shiyun had ever listened to a full piano piece from start to finish in her entire life…

But this seemed to fully break Tang Lü out of his earlier reserve. “I love Chopin too! Oh, by the way, did you know William D.T. is coming to give a solo piano performance in our city next weekend? A lot of his repertoire this time is Chopin! Did you get tickets?”

Liu Shiyun blinked for a moment, then quickly recovered, putting on a look of regret. “Tickets were impossible to get, I didn’t manage to snag any, such a shame.”

“I got tickets! My dad knows someone on the organizing team, I can grab you one too, are you free next weekend? If you are, I’d love to take you!” Perhaps feeling bad about leaving someone out, Tang Lü finally remembered Qian Wei too, turning to her. “Qian Wei, would you be interested in coming along too, if you’re free? Tickets aren’t an issue.”

Qian Wei waved her hands quickly. “No, no, I’m not free, you two go ahead!”

As if! If Qian Wei actually went, she’d fall asleep right there in the concert hall!

Yet Tang Lü and Liu Shiyun continued chatting away enthusiastically about classical music, with Tang Lü thoughtfully trying to include Qian Wei in the conversation from time to time, giving her chances to share her own opinions. But all Qian Wei could think was, please, spare me… I genuinely have zero interest in classical music!

Being cultured and refined is seriously terrifying sometimes!