The cost of living in Hai City was high, with a meal at the cafeteria costing thirteen or fourteen yuan.

During her exchange period, Xia Xia rarely ate at the cafeteria. Instead, she bought a pot and hid it under her dormitory bed, cooking her meals every day.

Upon first returning to South City, Xia Xia wasn’t quite used to the cheap meals at South University’s cafeteria. Her tray had three meat dishes and two vegetable dishes but only cost ten yuan. She happily took out her meal card to pay. Just as she was about to tap the card reader, a hand reached from behind and swiped their card to pay for her.

Xia Xia didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. She remained silent, carrying her tray to find a table to sit at.

Xie Huai sat down across from her, eagerly helping her get chopsticks and a spoon.

Xia Xia accepted them and quietly ate her meal.

“The broadcasting station people won’t let me use their studio. They say South University has never had such a practice since its founding,” Xie Huai’s handsome face was full of regret. “If they make an exception for me, then everyone would want to use the broadcasting studio to confess to their girlfriends, and the broadcasting station wouldn’t be able to do anything else.”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Xia Xia said indifferently. “Confess to your girlfriend? Who’s your girlfriend?”

Xie Huai: “…”

“Xia Xia, don’t push it. You haven’t spoken to me for three days already. I think you should be over it by now.”

“Push it?” Xia Xia used her chopsticks to poke her rice into a honeycomb pattern. “You know what? Zhu Ziyu chatted with me last night.”

Zhu Ziyu appeared to be a beautiful and aloof woman whose biggest hobby was following celebrity gossip and browsing Weibo. Xie Huai was most afraid of Xia Xia chatting with Zhu Ziyu. Such an innocent girl would always come back with strange ideas in her head after talking with Zhu Ziyu.

“She said all men are scoundrels. They don’t cherish what comes easily, only yearning for what they can’t have.”

“Zhu Ziyu talks nonsense,” Xie Huai said. “I’m not like that.”

“But I think she makes sense,” Xia Xia said calmly. “When you were pursuing Chen Manxi, you put in so much effort without getting impatient. I’ve only ignored you for three days, and you’re already saying I’m pushing it. We’re not even together yet, but once we are, whenever we fight you’ll think—”

“—You’ll think Xia Xia was the one who confessed to you first, getting together with her didn’t waste your time or energy, so it’s no big deal if you don’t coax her, no big deal if you break up, just find the next one.”

Xie Huai: “…”

“You horrible man,” Xia Xia said. “You’ll think that way.”

“Zhu Ziyu also said your words are just excuses. If you liked me, how could you bear not being with me? Zhu Ziyu’s new boyfriend is very clingy, whining if he doesn’t see her for a few days, and never lets her sleep in the dorm when they go out together.”

“And look at all the useless things you’ve done.”

Xie Huai protested innocently: “What have I done?”

“Spent a whole night with me without touching me once. Are you impotent or something?”

Xie Huai: “……”

“I’m begging you,” his voice was weak. “Can you please stop chatting with Zhu Ziyu?”

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

“It’s bad enough that you’re dragging your feet about confessing to me, but you even swear at me. Did you swear like this when you were pursuing Chen Manxi?”

Xie Huai wanted to kneel before her. He had thought Xia Xia was intelligent, understanding, and adorable, but hadn’t realized that all women consumed by jealousy were equally terrifying, seizing upon every flaw in his words to attack him.

Xie Huai had only eaten a few bites, but her words made him feel full. He picked up his tray and left.

Xia Xia, however, had a good appetite. She had five dishes, ate four and a half, and finished two servings of rice.

Yi Meixian was just getting off work for lunch when she opened her door to find Xie Huai waiting outside.

“Teacher Yi.” Xie Huai greeted her and slipped into her office.

The dispute over the school rules exam that began when he entered as a freshman still wasn’t resolved. Previously, the cardboard box in the corner of the office had been full of his used exam papers. A few days ago, Yi Meixian had called a recycler who paid ten yuan for all of them.

Xie Huai sat properly at the desk. Yi Meixian, who had failed to win the Outstanding Counselor title for two consecutive years because of him, frowned at the sight of him, feeling he must be up to no good, like a weasel paying New Year’s respect to chickens.

“Teacher, I’m sorry,” After careful consideration, Xie Huai said sincerely. “I was too immature before. I apologize to you. Please don’t hold it against someone as thoughtless as me. It wouldn’t be good for you to get upset.”

Yi Meixian: “…”

“I’m willing to seriously answer the questions and pass the school rules exam. Please give me a chance to make amends,” Xie Huai changed his tone. “I know there are broadcast speakers in every dormitory. I’m willing to apologize for my previous immature behavior in front of all teachers and students.”

Yi Meixian: “……”

She had been grinding her teeth in hatred of Xie Huai for quite some time. This problem student always managed to challenge her patience limits with various incomprehensible behaviors. Setting aside his skipping classes to do business, setting up stalls at school, and delivering takeout for students, school leaders had called her in for talks about Xie Huai several times, and eventually even the school rules were changed because of him.

—Strictly prohibit students from setting up stalls on campus.

—Strictly prohibit students from delivering takeout on campus.

His sudden display of understanding before her made Yi Meixian unable to trust her ears. She felt either she was hallucinating or Xie Huai had gone mad.

Xie Huai was very sincere. Without waiting for Yi Meixian to speak, he took out a test paper and began answering questions seriously.

After seeing him complete the school rules test perfectly without errors, Yi Meixian became more magnanimous.

“Forget about the broadcast apology,” Yi Meixian said. “I’m tired too. You can go now.”

Xie Huai wouldn’t leave: “No, I must make the apology. Teacher Yi, I’ve wronged you!”

Yi Meixian didn’t want to make a big deal of it, as it wouldn’t be good for her if the school leaders found out.

She frowned: “I said no apology is needed, and besides, the dormitory broadcast speakers haven’t been used for years. Even if you wanted to apologize, they wouldn’t work?”

Xie Huai was particularly insistent about the apology: “Then how about using the broadcasting station’s speakers? I’d need you to write me a note, so I can talk to the broadcasting station staff.”

Yi Meixian: “…So you want to make such an embarrassing thing known to the whole school?”

She said: “Get out of here, I need to go eat.”

In the sweltering summer, Xie Huai sat under an elm tree’s shade in front of the office building, eating a lollipop.

Jiang Zhizhou came out of the building and sat beside him: “Did you take the wrong medicine? Taking the initiative to make peace with Teacher Yi?”

Xie Huai lazily raised his eyes: “No choice. My sweetheart is angry and won’t be satisfied unless I confess to her in front of the whole school. What can I do?”

“Do you know any other way to get the key to the school broadcasting station?” Xie Huai bit the candy, chewing it fiercely. “Because of that mess with Chen Manxi, Xia Xia has been giving me the cold shoulder for days. We haven’t seen each other for over half a year, I just want to have a meal and talk with her, but she either spreads rumors about me being impotent or calls me a horrible man.”

“I have a friend at the broadcasting station,” Jiang Zhizhou said. “I’ll ask for you. You don’t have to do exactly what Xia Xia says. Girls love to say one thing and mean another. She probably doesn’t want you to confess publicly, she just wants you to show that you care about and love her.”

“You seem to understand a lot?” Xie Huai glanced at Jiang Zhizhou from the corner of his eye, persisting. “Why do you understand Xia Xia so well?”

Jiang Zhizhou: “…”

“What right do you have to complain about Xia Xia giving you the cold shoulder?” he said. “Xia Xia is jealous because of what you did for Chen Manxi before. I just said one thing, and your jealousy is almost suffocating me.”

Jiang Zhizhou: “Don’t think everyone is as dense as you just because you’re dense.”

Xie Huai asked: “How should I show that I care about her? Am I not caring enough already?”

“The simplest way is to give gifts.”

“Forget it,” Xie Huai said. “Xia Xia is as clever as a ghost. In our current situation, if I ask her what she likes or wants, trying to bribe her with material things, she’ll either point at my nose and curse me out, or I’ll have to spell her name backward.”

“You don’t have to ask her directly.”

“It’s the same if you guys ask,” Xie Huai frowned troubledly. “She knows you’re all on my side.”

Jiang Zhizhou said: “The Wishing Gallery will be set up soon. Xia Xia will make a wish there. As long as you can recognize her handwriting, secretly fulfilling her wish would be a very thoughtful and romantic gesture.”

The Wishing Gallery was a long-standing activity of the School of Management. Every late June, management students would set up a temporary pavilion in front of the cafeteria. The pavilion was long, and people at school called it the Wishing Gallery.

During its operation, every student could take a card and string from the table in front of the gallery, write their wish, and tie it to the top of the pavilion. Each person who made a wish would also become someone who fulfilled others’ wishes.

The wish cards usually included contact information. If you could fulfill someone’s wish, you could take down their card and contact them.

Xie Huai’s eyes lit up at these words.

He took out his phone to call Liang Yuantai, asking him to keep an eye on Xia Xia.

“Brother Huai, Xia Xia went to the Wishing Gallery.”

Liang Yuantai had been helping Xie Huai manage the delivery kiosk for the past year. His life had stabilized, and he had matured somewhat. Although he still occasionally spoke foolishly, he had learned what he could and couldn’t do through more social interactions outside his home.

He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, with an endearingly simple face.

The female students all quite liked him, treating him like a child and occasionally sharing snacks with him.

Upon hearing this, Xie Huai immediately put down what he was doing and headed to the Wishing Gallery.

At 9:30 PM, it was peak time as students left their evening study session.

Xie Huai squeezed through the crowd, looking for Xia Xia’s handwriting among the wish cards.

The wishes on the cards were varied and strange.

Some wanted milk tea, some wanted a parasol, some wanted a Politics textbook, and some even wanted a cage of white mice for experiments.

More extreme cases included someone needing help writing their graduation thesis.

Xie Huai found a card that asked for a limited edition YSL lipstick set, thinking this woman had quite an appetite.

Looking at the contact information, he felt he’d seen that phone number before. He checked his phone book and found it was Zhu Ziyu’s.

If Zhu Ziyu’s was here, Xia Xia’s must be nearby.

Xie Huai turned over the card next to it, which had elegant handwriting that read: [I hope the person I like can like me back, but more than that, I hope he can stay by his love’s side.]

This card had no contact information, only a name at the bottom.

—Zhao Shanqi.

Xie Huai paused for a moment.

Liang Yuantai said: “Brother Huai, this looks like Xia Xia’s.”

Xie Huai’s attention was immediately drawn. He turned his head to look and found it was indeed Xia Xia’s handwriting.

[I hope next semester’s thesis goes smoothly, and I hope my application for the summer research project gets approved.]

Her wishes weren’t for material things and had nothing to do with Xie Huai.

Xie Huai’s face darkened, saying: “This isn’t Xia Xia’s.”

“But this is Xia Xia’s handwriting.”

“If I say it’s not, it’s not,” Xie Huai said authoritatively.

He walked to a table on the side, took a wish card, and wrote: [Want a handsome boyfriend.]

Finding this unsatisfactory, he crossed it out and rewrote: [Want to French kiss Xie Huai, the thirty-minute kind.]

Finally, he signed it with Xia Xia’s name.

He held up the card, waving it at Liang Yuantai: “Look carefully, this is Xia Xia’s.”

“This little girl is getting bolder and bolder, actually daring to think about me like this. I need to go settle accounts with her today.”

He seriously tucked the card away, preparing to go “settle accounts” with Xia Xia.

Liang Yuantai was speechless for a long time. Having hung around these students for a while, he had picked up some of their slang.

He said: “Brother Huai, you’re too flirty.”