Chapter 43: Things Fall into Place

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Things Fall into Place

Thanks to the little incident with the freshman in jeans, tonight’s mixer ended rather abruptly.

The guys and girls went their separate ways, heading back to their dorms.

As they were leaving, Huang Xiaoyue clasped her hands behind her back and, with a light, cheerful gait, walked right up to Gu Qing.

She tilted up her cherubic face, a sweet smile gracing her lips as she looked at him.

"Senior, it’s still pretty early. Want to go for a walk?"

Gu Qing pulled out his phone to check the time. Seeing it wasn’t even ten o’clock, he readily agreed.

"Sure, let’s walk for a bit."

He was incredibly curious about the [Feces] tag above Huang Xiaoyue’s head.

’He wanted to see what kind of Attribute he could acquire from this tag once they got to know each other better.’

「For a while」

The two of them wandered aimlessly around campus, making small talk.

"So, Senior, you’re so handsome. Your family must be really good-looking too, right?"

Huang Xiaoyue asked, tilting her head cutely.

Gu Qing chuckled. "They’re okay. We all look pretty similar."

"Do you have any pictures? I’d love to see."

"I have a family photo pinned to the top of my Friends Circle. You can check it out."

"Oh, let me take a look."

Huang Xiaoyue took out her phone and, full of anticipation, opened Gu Qing’s WeChat Friends Circle.

The moment she saw it, her big, round eyes lit up.

A flicker of barely concealed excitement flashed in their depths.

"Senior, everyone in your family is so good-looking."

"Especially your sister. I think she’s even prettier than I am."

"Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved being friends with good-looking people."

"When school’s out, I’m definitely going to have to visit your parents at your home."

Finished, she looked up at Gu Qing, her large eyes glistening as she asked, "Senior, when are you going home for the break? If it’s convenient, could you take me with you?"

Gu Qing smiled faintly. "We’ll see. Maybe some other time."

’It was just a polite dismissal. He had no intention of taking this pigttailed freshman home.’

’He’d been with Bai Ningyu for two and a half years and had never even introduced her to his family.’

’So how could he possibly bring home this freshman in pigtails and white stockings whom he’d just met tonight?’

’Honestly, if it weren’t for that ridiculously absurd [Feces] tag floating over her head, he wouldn’t have even bothered to give her a second look. He’d have stayed as far away as possible.’

’After all, what kind of decent girl tells dirty jokes to a guy she just met?’

’For all he knew, she was a walking biohazard—a "Poison King."’

’And even if she wasn’t a Poison King now, her promiscuity would probably turn her into one eventually.’

’It was the classic case of—’

’"Oops, got some *Aids*? Whatever, it’s fine. So what if it’s *syphilis*? It’s just a little *herpes*, what’s the big deal? Just a *wart*. The chance of catching *gonorrhea* is basically zero. Why worry? Just be more careful next time, duh."’

"It’s getting late."

Gu Qing glanced at his phone. It was already past eleven. "Maybe we should call it a night?" he said to Huang Xiaoyue.

Huang Xiaoyue checked her phone too. "You’re right, it is getting late. I guess that’s it for tonight, then."

With that, she tilted her head up at Gu Qing and said with a cloyingly sweet smile, "Senior, in that case, I’ll have to trouble you to walk me back to the girls’ dorm."

"It’s so late and dark out. It would be too dangerous for a girl to walk back all by herself."

"Especially a girl as pretty, cute, and helpless as me. I could easily be targeted by some creep."

As she said the word "creep," she feigned fear and scooted closer to Gu Qing, her expression both playful and provocative.

Gu Qing replied, "You’re exaggerating. There are security cameras all over campus. It’s perfectly safe."

Huang Xiaoyue shook her head. "The campus isn’t safe at all, Senior. Haven’t you heard that two people went missing recently?"

Gu Qing was slightly surprised.

’She knew about that, too?’

’Didn’t Gao Fei say the university was keeping a tight lid on it?’

’Oh, right. I almost forgot. This pigttailed freshman is in the External Relations Department of the School of Foreign Languages, and the department head is none other than Gao Fei’s girlfriend, Xu Xinyi.’

’Most of the campus gossip Gao Fei knew came from her.’

’As a member of that department, this girl had probably heard plenty from Xu Xinyi as well.’

"I heard my roommate mention something about it."

Gu Qing remained calm. "I think as long as we don’t go looking for trouble in some remote, deserted corner of campus, we’ll be fine."

Huang Xiaoyue’s voice grew faint. "You’re so brave, Senior. I’m a total scaredy-cat. Just hearing about things like that terrifies me. I’d never dare to walk alone at night."

"But..."

"If you’re with me, Senior, I won’t be scared at all."

As she spoke, Huang Xiaoyue leaned toward Gu Qing, her tone and movements overtly suggestive.

Gu Qing just smiled, subtly creating a little distance between them to evade her advances.

「Before long」

They arrived at the entrance to the women’s dormitory.

Huang Xiaoyue’s voice was sugary sweet. "Thanks for walking me back, Senior. As a thank you, let me treat you to a movie next weekend."

As she spoke, she rose onto her tiptoes and leaned close to Gu Qing’s ear, her warm, fragrant breath tickling his skin as she whispered:

"It’s a private screening room, Senior... the kind where you can do... *anything* you want."

Her words sent a jolt of arousal through Gu Qing.

’This pigttailed girl was seriously thirsty. He wondered how many poor guys she’d already led astray.’

’Although he felt a flicker of physical desire, his rational mind ultimately won out.’

Gu Qing steadied himself and gave a noncommittal reply:

"We’ll see."

He turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

He was determined to keep a safe distance from this brazen, pigttailed girl who was throwing herself at him.

...

「At the same time.」

In a women’s dormitory across the way.

Xia Shuran was on her balcony, chatting with her roommate.

Her body ached all over, so she hadn’t left her room all day. Feeling stir-crazy, she had come out onto the balcony with her roommate for some fresh air.

"Hey, Shuran."

Her roommate suddenly nudged her. "Look! Down there, in front of the other dorm. Isn’t that the handsome senior from the School of Foreign Languages you’re always practicing with?"

Xia Shuran followed her roommate’s gaze and instantly recognized the familiar figure.

’It really is him.’

’But what is he doing in front of a women’s dorm?’

’Is he walking that girl home?’

Xia Shuran’s gaze fell on Huang Xiaoyue.

Seeing how pretty the other girl was, her heart sank, and an inexplicable wave of misery washed over her.

Her roommate clicked her tongue beside her.

"Shuran, that handsome senior of yours is a real piece of work, isn’t he?"

"He asks you to practice with him every day, flirts with you, gets your hopes up..."

"...and then the one day you’re not with him, he turns around and finds someone else."

"That’s just awful."

"..."

"It’s nothing."

Xia Shuran forced a nonchalant expression. "We’re just friends. He’s free to see other girls."

"Shuran, if you really like him, you should confess your feelings and make it official," her roommate advised kindly. "Otherwise, by the time he gets with someone else, it’ll be too late for tears."

Xia Shuran pressed her lips together at her roommate’s words.

After a moment of internal conflict, she decided to take her roommate’s advice.

She pulled out her phone.

She opened her WeChat conversation with Gu Qing.

After a moment’s thought, she sent him a message.

...