Du Yu, at that moment, only wanted to watch the drama unfold. His heart was filled with shock, so much so that he completely forgot there was still a breathing, living Jiang Yan in the dorm room.

Jiang Yan’s entire body was shrouded in a layer of frost.

Wang Jiangfeng sensed the atmosphere in the dorm—it was like a powder keg ready to explode at the slightest touch. He hastily cut off Du Yu, who was courting disaster. “Hey, youngest, come on, let’s go to the cafeteria and get some noodles. Didn’t you say you wanted noodles? If we wait any longer, the fried dough sticks and savory soy milk will be sold out too.”

With Wang Jiangfeng’s reminder, Du Yu had just been about to blurt out, “What noodles, what fried dough sticks? How can any of that compare to this juicy drama?” But then he suddenly caught sight of Jiang Yan’s ice-cold expression, and it finally dawned on him: oh right, Boss Jiang is in the dorm room…

Du Yu wasn’t entirely without social awareness.

He had a very good reputation at A’Da.

He slapped his forehead. “Look at me, I almost forgot. Come on, Lao Wang, my treat!”

Wang Jiangfeng tried to ease the tension. “Give it a rest. Do you even have money on your meal card? Didn’t you say you never top it up?”

Du Yu: “……”

He could only grin and bear it.

The two of them picked up their phones and dorm keys as if nothing had happened and headed out the door. The moment the dorm room door clicked shut behind them, Du Yu grabbed Wang Jiangfeng. “Damn, so it’s actually true. But do you think there might be some kind of misunderstanding here?”

Wang Jiangfeng hadn’t even had a chance to say anything.

The two had just reached the stairwell when they ran into a few guys from another dorm room who were notorious gossips.

A guy wearing black-framed glasses rubbed his hands together, barely able to contain his curiosity and excitement. “Lao Wang, Xiao Du, is what’s going on in your dorm actually true? I heard that Jiang Ruoqiao and Jiang Yan broke up??”

Du Yu: “……”

Why was he suddenly “Xiao Du”?

Wang Jiangfeng wore an expression of serene indifference. “Don’t know.”

The guy said, “How is it possible that you two don’t know? You’re in the same dorm!”

Another guy chimed in, “Right? You’re all so close, how could you not know? Come on, share the gossip! I’m really sorry, it’s just that my girlfriend is way too interested in this and insisted I come ask around.”

Wang Jiangfeng: “……”

“Don’t know.” Wang Jiangfeng’s answer was completely non-committal. “We don’t know.”

Another guy then asked, “I’m just curious—why did Jiang Ruoqiao dump Jiang Yan? It had to have been her who dumped him.”

Du Yu, expressionless, said, “What’s it to you?”

“Alright, last question, truly the last one—is Lu Yicheng really pursuing Jiang Ruoqiao? That’s what we’re most interested in!”

Wang Jiangfeng, for once, let loose a crude expletive.

The two of them quickly shook off those guys and headed downstairs, leaving the boys’ dormitory building.

Of course, along the way they also ran into quite a few other classmates, whose gazes were all rather peculiar—

Curious, puzzled, disdainful… excited?

Du Yu pulled out his phone. “I can’t take this anymore. I need to ask Lu about what exactly is going on. Why do I get the feeling that outsiders know more than we do?”

This world was truly terrifying.

How had even the news of Jiang Yan and Jiang Ruoqiao’s breakup gotten out?

Wang Jiangfeng stopped him. “Let’s hold off for now. Don’t you know what kind of person Lu Yicheng is? When he wants to talk, he’ll talk on his own. When he doesn’t want to talk, you could talk your mouth off and it won’t do any good.”

Only then did Du Yu put away his phone. “This whole thing… why do I find it so strange? I just have this feeling that Lu would never do something like this.”

And rightly so.

Who was Lu Yicheng? If he truly wanted to date someone, he could have done so in a heartbeat—but he’d never put his mind to it at all.

A person who had absolutely no time and no interest in dating—even if the thought did cross his mind, would he really go after a girl who would bring him so much trouble?

Wang Jiangfeng had thought the same thing, and was just about to nod when he suddenly remembered a few things that had happened at the farmhouse resort, and his expression grew serious.

It wasn’t entirely impossible.

For instance, at noon that day, Jiang Ruoqiao had wanted to draw water from the well to rinse her sandals.

Lu Yicheng had clearly been inside talking with him at the time, yet the moment he noticed she was about to draw water, he left mid-sentence to go out and draw it for her.

Then there was the matter of why, during the Truth or Dare game, Lu Yicheng had chosen to drink.

Who was the last person of the opposite sex he had contacted?

Was that really such a hard question to answer?

And then there was the moment when Jiang Ruoqiao had witnessed Jiang Yan and Lin Kexing together and had turned to leave without a word. None of them had stepped forward to restrain Jiang Yan—not because they wanted to help Jiang Yan, but because when a couple was in the middle of breaking up, how could outsiders reasonably get involved? Yet Lu Yicheng—why had he rushed forward right then?

That alone had been suspicious, but because the situation at the time had been so chaotic, no one had stopped to think it through.

Someone like Lu Yicheng generally wouldn’t easily meddle in other people’s personal affairs… unless, unless he had a reason that left him no choice.

But what reason could that be? He couldn’t figure it out.

“Let’s wait a bit longer.” Wang Jiangfeng’s expression was grave. “Wait for Lu Yicheng to tell us himself.”

In truth, the dynamic in their dorm room seemed simple on the surface, but it wasn’t quite that simple.

If he truly had to choose, Du Yu preferred Lu Yicheng, because Lu Yicheng was reliable. As for Jiang Yan… it wasn’t that he was bad, and he was quite loyal by nature, but there was always a feeling that something was missing. If something happened right now and either Du Yu or Wang Jiangfeng needed help, the first person either of them would turn to would definitely be Lu Yicheng, not Jiang Yan.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ruoqiao was also keeping a close eye on the whole situation from all angles.

Unsurprisingly, some anonymous replies accused her of stringing two men along, saying she had no shame for playing both sides. But those kinds of comments were quickly shut down by others. Among the flood of responses, those few were jarring, but not quite enough to feel like a bone stuck in her throat. No matter where you went, even for news involving life and death, as long as the victim was anything less than perfect, someone would always say they deserved it. This situation of hers… was barely even a drizzle by comparison.

What was surprising, however, was that… because Lu Yicheng had always maintained such an upstanding image in everyday life, not a single person believed that he was responsible for her breakup with Jiang Yan, or that he had come between them.

This…

Jiang Ruoqiao: “?”

Was this not some unconventional real-world proof that good people get good rewards? Everyone had great faith in his character. Unfriendly comments weren’t plentiful, but they did exist—some directed at Jiang Yan, some directed at her—but absolutely none directed at Lu Yicheng. Jiang Ruoqiao found herself somewhere between laughter and tears. Well, that was fine. In this whole affair, Lu Yicheng could genuinely be called the most innocent party. She had no wish for his reputation to be damaged because of her.

No matter how big the event, it was only ever a few days’ worth of trending interest.

Even the most explosive entertainment world scandal wouldn’t stay hot for more than three or four days. Let alone something that happened on their campus.

Most students at A’Da were far more concerned with their own lives and academics, and very few would pay excessive attention to someone else’s private life. Jiang Ruoqiao had experience with these things. No matter how messy or dramatic this incident was, by the morning after next at the very latest, nobody would be bumping the thread anymore.

After exiting the forum, Jiang Ruoqiao habitually opened the backend of her social media accounts.

Ever since she’d come to realize how expensive raising a child was, she’d grown especially attentive to her earnings and finances. Every day she’d check her revenue in the backend, or she’d start feeling like she needed an oxygen mask.

The “nostalgic” video she had uploaded a few days ago had performed staggeringly well.

The view count was higher than any previous video she’d ever posted, and the shares, comments, and likes were too.

She put genuine care into every video, so her output wasn’t large—but her audience had always been steady, and so had her popularity. This time, the platform had apparently judged her video to be worth promoting and had pushed her to the front page. This meant even more people were seeing her video, and even she was a little taken aback: was this actually her moment to blow up?

Still, it was a bit of a shame—that wasn’t her goal.

After finding out how the original story went, she had even less interest in becoming a social media influencer.

In the late afternoon, Lu Yicheng’s thesis advisor needed to meet with him, so he asked Jiang Ruoqiao to take Lu Siyan out to get his ID photos taken.

The kindergarten teachers had requested them—ten one-inch blue-background ID photos.

Jiang Ruoqiao happily agreed.

That afternoon, she took Lu Siyan’s hand from Lu Yicheng. Lu Yicheng had specifically reminded her, “There’s a photo studio called Yuanmeng Photography across the street. They do ID photos there, and the price is quite reasonable. You can get the photos on the spot—nine photos per set, twenty yuan a set.”

Jiang Ruoqiao appeared to listen. But in reality, the moment Lu Yicheng left, she hailed a cab and took Lu Siyan to the photography studio she had gone to before.

That so-called Yuanmeng Photography with its twenty-yuan-per-set photos—could it fully capture her son’s dashing, adorable features from every angle?

It absolutely could not!

The photography studio Jiang Ruoqiao went to was quite well-known, and the ID photos they produced were far better looking than anywhere else. Of course, the prices were correspondingly less affordable.

Even the photographer couldn’t help complimenting Lu Siyan. “This child is so handsome and cute. Even better-looking than the little stars you see on TV.”

Lu Siyan stood in front of the blue backdrop and quietly straightened his back. “That’s because my dad is the most handsome, and my mom is the most beautiful.”

“Is that so?” The photographer teased. “Once you grow up, your dad won’t be the most handsome anymore.”

Lu Siyan asked, “Why?”

Jiang Ruoqiao stood behind the photographer and burst out laughing. “Because you’ll be the most handsome.”

Lu Siyan looked a little shy. “That’s something I can’t let my dad hear.”

The photographer’s skill was excellent.

Lu Siyan also looked wonderful, so naturally the finished photos turned out beautifully.

The kindergarten needed ten photos, and originally Jiang Ruoqiao had planned to order two sets, but she went ahead and asked the shop owner to print three sets.

Lu Siyan asked, “Why do we need so many?”

Jiang Ruoqiao rubbed her chin. “Probably because I want to keep some as a keepsake.” She took one out and slipped it into the inner sleeve of her wallet. “Like this.”

Lu Siyan broke into a delighted grin.

With that done, it was still early, so Jiang Ruoqiao simply took Lu Siyan along to browse the supermarket. Lu Siyan absolutely refused to sit in the shopping cart like other little children. He said, very seriously and solemnly, “I’m five years old. How can I act like a baby?”

Nearby, a mother pushing her six-year-old son in a shopping cart: “……”

The mother laughed and teased her own son, “Look at this little guy—so sensible.”

The mother’s son was clearly very carefree and unbothered, and decided to just lean into it. “Maybe my legs are just shorter.”

The mother: “……”

Jiang Ruoqiao laughed too, and exchanged mutual compliments with this mother. “Your son is really adorable.”

This mother had been about to say “your son is very handsome too,” but when she took in Jiang Ruoqiao’s appearance and estimated her age at around twenty, she figured she must still be a student, so she said instead, “Your little brother is very handsome too.”

Lu Siyan: “?”

He’s not a little brother!

Auntie, stop right there!!

Lu Siyan, puffing out his cheeks, pushed the shopping cart with great effort. He refused to let Jiang Ruoqiao push it, and he had a very convincing reason for this: “Dad always does it this way.”

Dad wasn’t here, so of course it fell to him.

Jiang Ruoqiao: “……Okay, you do it.”

The supermarket was large, and the mother and son browsed for over half an hour. In addition to buying snacks and necessities for Lu Siyan, Jiang Ruoqiao also made a special trip to the personal care section. There were sales associates there too, and when one saw that Jiang Ruoqiao was genuinely interested in buying, she launched into a long, effusive pitch, then added, “Miss, if you buy two sets right now, there are gifts included!”

In the end, Jiang Ruoqiao bought two sets.

The sales associate then produced a tube of men’s facial cleanser from a box with an air of mystery and handed it to her. “Normally the gift is a toothbrush, but I can see you’re a decisive buyer, miss, so I’m making a special exception just for you—I’m giving you the facial cleanser!”

Isn’t that so exciting? Doesn’t it just warm your heart?

Jiang Ruoqiao: “……”

Because Jiang Ruoqiao had genuinely bought a lot of things, piling the shopping cart high, Lu Siyan had anticipated this outcome and called Lu Yicheng in advance.

The moment Lu Yicheng finished his meeting, he hurried over.

Of course, what greeted him when he arrived was this scene—

Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Siyan standing to one side, two very large shopping bags at their feet, both bags stuffed full.

Lu Yicheng suddenly felt a headache coming on.

“Do you still have the receipt?” Lu Yicheng asked.

Jiang Ruoqiao said, “I think so, let me look.” She crouched down and rummaged through one of the shopping bags, finding the receipt. It was very, very long—more than enough to show just how much she’d bought.

Lu Yicheng: “Do you want it?”

“No.” What would she do with it? She realized Lu Yicheng wouldn’t have asked for no reason, so she held the receipt out to him. “You want it? Here.”

Lu Yicheng took it. “Wait here for a moment.”

With that, he took the receipt and walked off.

Lu Yicheng made his way to the rewards redemption counter.

He’d been to this supermarket before and knew about this promotion—once you’d spent a certain amount, you could bring your receipt to redeem various items.

Lu Yicheng handed the receipt to the staff member, an enthusiastic older woman. “Young man, go ahead and pick what you want. See what you’d like.”

Lu Yicheng glanced at the shelf behind her.

There were small-packaged bags of rice, small bottles of cooking oil, trays of eggs, dish soap, tissue paper, and all sorts of household goods.

His gaze moved along one by one, and landed on a pink item.

“Auntie, what’s that?”

The older woman turned around and picked up the pink item. “You mean this? It’s a hair-drying turban. Do you want it? I think there’s a grey one too, let me swap it out for you?”

“No need.” Lu Yicheng said. “I’ll take the pink one.”

The older woman handed him the hair-drying turban.

Lu Yicheng looked down at it for a moment. It seemed quite nice. He took the turban and jogged back to where Lu Siyan and Jiang Ruoqiao were. He hesitated for a second, then held the turban out to her. “This is for you.”

Jiang Ruoqiao’s gaze shifted to the hair-drying turban: “?”

—