After Xu Sui gave the things to Zhou Jingze, she hurried back to class. The entire afternoon felt surreal, like a dream. The person she had secretly loved for so long, whom she had stolen glances at for so many years, had actually become her boyfriend.

That evening, after returning to the dorm and showering, Xu Sui sat at her desk. She turned on her phone screen to check the time, paused for a moment, then wrote in her diary:

Day One.

June 28, 2011.

After writing, Xu Sui propped her chin on her elbow and stared into space. Zhou Jingze still hadn’t sent her any messages, and a strange, awkward pride was acting up, so she didn’t take the initiative to message him either.

Hu Qianxi sat on her bed painting her nails when she suddenly tossed several rainbow candy strips to Xu Sui, grinning: “The ones you gave me last time were so delicious, I bought a whole box!”

“Sweet and sour, I like them too.” Xu Sui smiled as she responded.

Xu Sui unwrapped the candy paper, chewing rainbow candies while continuing to daydream. Hu Qianxi went to the bathroom, and when she came back, the young miss patted her shoulder with admiring eyes:

“Wow, Sui Sui, you’re amazing!”

“Huh?” Xu Sui looked puzzled.

“Check your social media feed—I just found out too.” Hu Qianxi winked at her.

Xu Sui picked up her phone and opened her social media feed. Zhou Jingze, who never posted anything, had actually posted a status update—no text, just a photo.

The rock sugar stewed pear she had given Zhou Jingze that afternoon was now sitting on his dorm desk. The pale yellow desk, sunlight slanting across the transparent glass, casting small geometric shadows, with half the sweet soup remaining.

He had actually drunk it.

Below were comments from everyone joining the excitement. Sheng Nanzhou: 【Nice, is this an indirect public announcement? Master Zhou, you’re so sly.】

Da Liu: 【What’s going on? I just got drunk and woke up to find Old Zhou had already won over little sister Xu like a cabbage.】

Hu Qianxi: 【Hehe, my good friend became my little aunt-in-law.】

Xu Sui stared in a daze, belatedly feeling her heart coated in sugar frosting, sweet and tingly, but still with an sense of disbelief.

“How about it, little aunt-in-law? Shouldn’t you show some appreciation?” Hu Qianxi teased.

Hu Qianxi was just joking, but Xu Sui took it seriously, her tone earnest as she wrinkled her nose: “Xixi, I really need to thank you for your encouragement. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have had the courage.”

“Hehe, I don’t care—you’re the first in our dorm to get a boyfriend. Sui Bao, you have to treat us to dinner!” Hu Qianxi seized the opportunity to make demands.

“Of course!” Xu Sui smiled.

“Who’s treating to dinner? What dinner? I heard about food!” Liang Shuang came in carrying a food container, having packed some late-night snacks from the cafeteria. Hearing about food, she burst in energetically.

“Of course it’s our Sui Sui—she got together with your male god.” Hu Qianxi winked at her.

Male god? Zhou Jingze?! The steamed bun in Liang Shuang’s mouth nearly fell out, and suddenly it didn’t taste good anymore. That was Zhou Jingze—the hardest man to win over. Xu Sui was incredible.

Seeing Liang Shuang’s expression change, Xu Sui thought she was upset and instinctively stepped back. But Liang Shuang still pounced on her, licking her lips: “Are there any other single handsome guys in Zhou Jingze’s dorm?”

“…” Hu Qianxi.

Xu Sui breathed a sigh of relief: “Yes, their class is basically all boys.”

Xu Sui scheduled the treat for the weekend. The dorm girls slept until noon, while Xu Sui had already been to the library and back.

The girls quickly got dressed and prepared to put on makeup. They planned to go shopping in the afternoon and eat in the evening. Girls’ outings were never less elaborate than mixed-gender dates. After the three carefully dressed up, they attracted many gazes when they went out.

The afternoon shopping trip basically became Hu Qianxi’s personal show. The young miss put on her sunglasses, carried her crocodile leather bag, and bought from every major counter.

Xu Sui and Liang Shuang were like two straight men, finding chairs to sit down and saying weakly: “Xixi, I can’t shop anymore. You go ahead, we’ll wait here.”

Hu Qianxi looked at them with disappointment, her fine diamond-studded pink nails pointing at them: “Look at you two—such weak fighting spirit! How will you ever make men willingly swipe their cards for you in the future!”

After speaking, the young miss turned and entered a perfume shop again. She held a test strip to her nose—it was the California laurel scent she liked.

“Hello, I want this one.” Hu Qianxi waved to a nearby counter staff member.

The person wore a black suit with a straight back. When he turned around, a pale, refined face appeared before her, and he wore a headset.

Hu Qianxi was stunned—it was Lu Wenbai. How many part-time jobs was he working?

Lu Wenbai’s voice was clear and cold, his tone indifferent: “What do you need?”

“Ah, this one.” Hu Qianxi pointed to the perfume in front of her.

But Lu Wenbai directly called over a colleague to serve her. Hu Qianxi had to be led by the friendly sales associate to the front counter to pay. After paying, Hu Qianxi stood at the door and looked back at Lu Wenbai. Even though he ignored her, she still wanted to say something to him.

But ever since Lu Wenbai had given her the cold shoulder last time, Hu Qianxi had become somewhat cautious. She walked over: “Lu Wenbai, I—”

Before she could finish saying “I will lose weight properly,” Lu Wenbai suddenly interrupted her, his tone ice-cold: “Are. We. Very. Close?”

Hu Qianxi froze in place. Lu Wenbai indifferently withdrew his gaze from her, and even that hint of disgust in his narrow eyes was unconcealed.

…

That evening, the group had originally planned to eat Cantonese food, but passing by a barbecue stall, the aroma of grilled food wafted out through the exhaust fan, and the girls couldn’t walk away.

Under the red canopy, they sat on light blue plastic stools while the server quickly brought menus and utensils. Liang Shuang held the laminated menu to order while Xu Sui sat beside her, scalding everyone’s utensils with hot water.

“Boss, one serving of chicken wings, six servings of chicken feet, six servings of chicken gizzards, two skewers of chicken, and one grilled eggplant.” After Liang Shuang finished ordering, she handed the menu to Xu Sui.

After Xu Sui ordered a few things she liked, she was about to ask Hu Qianxi when she looked up and found her looking completely lost in thought, not knowing what she was thinking about. Xu Sui waved her finger in front of her, her voice gentle: “Xixi, what are you thinking about? Do you want to order something?”

Hu Qianxi snapped back to reality, putting a smile back on her face: “I don’t really want anything. Let’s get a case of beer!”

Xu Sui had never seen Hu Qianxi drink before, so she looked hesitant: “Are you sure you can handle it?”

This reminded Hu Qianxi of something, and she felt a bit guilty: “Yes! I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.”

But after the barbecue and alcohol arrived, Hu Qianxi had only drunk half a can before her eyes showed signs of intoxication. She propped her chin up, smiling as she looked at the beer can: “Let me perform ‘monkey fishing for the moon’ for you.”

“…”

Seeing no one paying attention to her, the young miss suddenly slammed the table, slurring her words: “You… don’t believe me, right!”

Before they could answer, Hu Qianxi tilted her head toward the beer can, looking like she was about to demonstrate through practice.

“Hey—hey—we believe you, we believe you!” Xu Sui quickly grabbed her while Liang Shuang struggled to pull Hu Qianxi back. The three girls created a commotion, drawing sideways glances from people around them.

Three energetic college students sitting there were indeed eye-catching. Hu Qianxi wore a black navy-style dress with white knee-high socks, looking sweet and cute, though somewhat crazy at the moment.

Liang Shuang’s outfit was more androgynous but equally attention-grabbing. As for Xu Sui, she wore a cloud-white shirt tucked into blue jeans with shoulder-length hair, looking pure and well-behaved.

A group of male students at a nearby table, who also looked like college students, kept glancing toward Xu Sui.

Just as Xu Sui was about to take away Hu Qianxi’s drink to stop her from drinking more, someone knocked on their table. She looked up to see a male student standing in front of them, his voice stuttering from nervousness:

“Can… can I add you on WeChat?”

Xu Sui shook her head and softly said “sorry.” The guy left looking disappointed. After he left, Hu Qianxi sat there tilting her head to look at Xu Sui: “Baby.”

“Mm?”

“You have a boyfriend now! When rejecting people, you should mention your man,” Hu Qianxi said, pulling out her phone and winking at her. “I’ll call uncle to see his reaction.”

“Xixi, don’t—” Xu Sui reached out to grab her phone.

But Hu Qianxi had already dialed, shushing her: “Uncle.”

At that moment, Zhou Jingze’s class had just finished a round of punishment exercises on the field and was taking a break. His voice was a bit hoarse: “Got into trouble again?”

“No, it’s about Sui Sui. Let me tell you, just now a guy came to ask for her WeChat, and he wasn’t any less handsome than you. If you don’t come over, your wife will be—”

Before she could say “stolen away,” there was a commotion on the other end, along with Xu Sui’s very soft voice saying “Xixi, stop talking.” Zhou Jingze raised an eyebrow hearing this:

“Let her take the phone.”

“Hello.” A soft, sweet voice came through the phone.

“Eating out?” Zhou Jingze asked.

“Mm, went shopping with my roommates this afternoon.” Xu Sui proactively reported her activities, hearing the sound of a formation team running and shouting slogans powerfully in the background.

“What are you eating?” Zhou Jingze bit a cigarette between his teeth, his voice muffled.

“Barbecue.” Xu Sui answered.

“I’ll come pick you all up later.” Zhou Jingze stood up, extinguished his cigarette, and walked toward the formation on the field, a trace of red disappearing at his fingertips.

Throughout the entire conversation, Zhou Jingze never mentioned the incident about another guy asking for Xu Sui’s WeChat, showing no concern. Xu Sui felt a moment of disappointment after hanging up.

“How was it? Did my uncle get jealous? Is he coming to beat up that guy?” Hu Qianxi leaned over excitedly.

“He’s not that childish,” Xu Sui lifted the corners of her lips in a smile to cover her disappointment, changing the subject. “You drank alcohol, so he said he’ll come get you later.”

Hu Qianxi dismissively pursed her lips. When they weren’t paying attention, she finished the remaining half can of beer while Liang Shuang tried to stop her.

Hu Qianxi held on tightly, refusing to let go. Liang Shuang flicked her forehead and laughed: “Girl, why are you acting so strange today? Did you fall out of love?”

It was meant as a joke, but Hu Qianxi suddenly burst into tears with a “wah,” tears falling like golden beans. Xu Sui was scared and quickly found tissues for her, asking: “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

Hu Qianxi wiped her tears while speaking intermittently: “Sui Sui, I’m so envious of you, waiting until the clouds part to see the moonlight.”

“But I also waited for a long time.” Xu Sui said silently in her heart.

No one knew she had secretly loved Zhou Jingze since high school until now.

Hu Qianxi cried with teary eyes, and halfway through crying, she hiccupped: “Am… am I very fat?”

“No way! Fat my ass! Who said that? I’ll beat them up!” Liang Shuang was furious.

Xu Sui reached out to wipe her tears, her tone sincere and gentle: “Xixi, you’re not fat at all.”

Hu Qianxi had a manga-like face with big eyes and some baby fat on her cheeks. Her figure was well-proportioned, just not the skinny type. Where was she fat?

Hearing her friends comfort her this way, Hu Qianxi cried even harder, her eyes red: “But Lu Wenbai thinks I’m fat.”

“Liking someone who doesn’t like you back is really… too exhausting.”

After Hu Qianxi said this, everyone felt sorry for her. Xu Sui didn’t dare tell her to stop drinking and kept comforting her softly. Liang Shuang began drinking with her to drown their sorrows. By the end, Hu Qianxi’s consciousness began to blur.

Just as Xu Sui was worrying, her phone screen lit up showing an incoming call from “zjz.” She answered, and Zhou Jingze’s slightly breathless, laughing voice came through: “The coach made us do punishment exercises—a group of us hung on the horizontal bars for half an hour. It’s over now. Are you still there?”

“Yes,” Xu Sui turned to look at Hu Qianxi, “Xixi is very drunk.”

“Wait there.”

After hanging up, Liang Shuang was getting tipsy. She said with a thick tongue: “Sui Sui, is your boyfriend coming later? My friend happens to be nearby, so I’ll leave first. I’m afraid seeing you two together will make me too heartbroken!”

“Keep an eye on Xixi.”

“Okay.” Xu Sui smiled helplessly.

After Liang Shuang left, Xu Sui supported the swaying Hu Qianxi and waited about twenty minutes. She was looking down at her phone when a tall shadow fell over her.

Xu Sui looked up to find Zhou Jingze casually chewing mint gum, looking at her with a half-smile, pointing at the beer cans scattered on the ground and table:

“You all drank these?”

“I didn’t, it was Xixi and another roommate who drank…” Under Zhou Jingze’s gaze, Xu Sui’s voice grew weaker, “Of course, I also drank a little bit.”

Sheng Nanzhou, standing nearby, sighed. Only then did Xu Sui notice he had come too. Sheng Nanzhou frowned: “She’s not in good health and can’t drink this much alcohol.”

“I’ll take her home first since it’s the weekend anyway.”

After speaking, Sheng Nanzhou hung Hu Qianxi’s bag around his neck, crouched down, and lifted her onto his back in one motion, then walked out to hail a taxi.

Xu Sui watched their retreating figures with hesitation. Zhou Jingze put his hands in his pockets and smiled: “It’s fine.”

Xu Sui withdrew her gaze from them and turned around, nearly bumping into Zhou Jingze’s chest. Zhou Jingze raised his hand to steady her arm, squinted as he scanned the area, and asked lazily: “Where?”

“What?” Xu Sui didn’t quite understand.

Zhou Jingze chuckled, his voice hoarse: “Didn’t someone ask for your WeChat?”

So that’s what he meant. Xu Sui hurriedly denied: “I didn’t give it.”

Zhou Jingze pulled out a cigarette, the lighter making a “click” as it lit. He took a drag and looked at her: “Next time someone asks, just give them my WeChat.”

“Okay.” Xu Sui suspected she couldn’t control the upward curve of her lips, feeling sweet inside, happy about his possessiveness.

Though this feeling made her feel somewhat unreal, like stepping on clouds.

Sheng Nanzhou carried Hu Qianxi intending to go out and hail a taxi, but the drunk Hu Qianxi was not cooperative at all. On his back, she flailed her arms wildly, occasionally smacking the back of his head while providing sound effects: “Scumbag! Big bad guy!”

“Are you so great? Put down your pride.”

This behavior from Hu Qianxi drew sharp looks from passersby, who nearly took him for a human trafficker kidnapping young girls. Sheng Nanzhou couldn’t take it anymore and used one hand to grab her arm, his tone not pleasant:

“Shut up.”

The person on his back quieted for a second. Sheng Nanzhou carried her forward, just thinking she had become obedient when a drop of scalding tears fell on his neck. The boy suddenly froze and stopped walking.

Hu Qianxi cried while beating his back: “Wuwuwu, Lu Wenbai, are you so great? Even in dreams you’re mean to me.”

Sheng Nanzhou stood there carrying her, not saying a word as he let Hu Qianxi vent. The streetlight stretched his shadow long, lonely and silent.

After Hu Qianxi finished venting, she started waving her arms trying to take off her socks, saying: “So hot.”

Sheng Nanzhou, still carrying her, set her down on a bench, half-crouched to help her remove her socks, his tone not gentle: “Lift your foot.”

Hu Qianxi obediently lifted her foot. Sheng Nanzhou removed her white knee-high socks and, not finding them dirty, stuffed them directly into his pocket.

As he half-crouched there, Hu Qianxi suddenly leaned down, their noses almost touching, her big black eyes reflecting his image: “Handsome guy, I noticed you’re quite good-looking.”

“How long have you been blind?” Sheng Nanzhou smirked coldly.

Too lazy to chat with a drunk person, Sheng Nanzhou hoisted her back up and continued walking. The cicadas chirped in the grass, evening breeze blew by, and steady, even breathing came from behind him—Hu Qianxi seemed to have fallen asleep.

Sheng Nanzhou began talking to himself: “What’s so good about that guy? Skinny as a rail, skin so pale like a sickly vampire.”

“If he’s not good enough, are you any better?” Hu Qianxi, leaning on his back, murmured very softly in her sleep.

Sheng Nanzhou was silent for a while, then tugged at the corner of his mouth: “I’m not good enough either. Our Princess Xixi deserves the best.”

—

After they left, Xu Sui went to pay at the barbecue stall, but the owner’s wife smiled and waved her hand: “That handsome young man already paid!”

Xu Sui turned around to find Zhou Jingze with his hands in his pockets, walking up beside her, still holding a cigarette in his mouth, smiling lazily: “Let’s go.”

“How do we get back?” Xu Sui asked.

“Either way is fine.” Zhou Jingze’s voice was muffled.

Xu Sui checked the time and decided: “Let’s take the bus. There’s one last trip—if we hurry, we should make it.”

After speaking, Xu Sui started running forward. Suddenly, a clear, magnetic voice called out to her: “Xu Sui.”

Xu Sui stopped and turned around. Zhou Jingze walked slowly up to her, leaned down so their breaths mingled, his invasive presence overwhelming her entire being. A pair of pitch-black eyes pinned her in place as Xu Sui nervously tensed up.

Zhou Jingze’s lips curved in a lazy smile as he spoke deliberately:

“Your boyfriend wants to hold your hand, but you won’t even give him a chance.”