In the girls’ dormitory.
In a four-person dorm, everyone has their own upper bunk and desk below, which is a huge improvement over the boys’ dorms from before.
The bright white moon climbed higher and higher, and the dorm room gradually quieted down.
Liu Xie lounged on her bed, leaning against her pillow, legs crossed as she scrolled through mindless short videos, though she didn’t seem particularly interested.
She kept thinking about her good little brother—what exactly was his deal, how could he change so much, so suddenly, without any warning?
Was it really just because she had turned into a girl?
She couldn’t figure it out, and then Liu Anran always spoke in riddles she couldn’t understand.
Or maybe he did it on purpose, not wanting her to understand.
Not that he was treating her badly now, but she just wasn’t used to this sudden, straightforward concern.
She’d felt it from Liu Anran before, but never this intense; before, it was always a bit roundabout and awkward.
Now, Liu Anran gave her the feeling of someone who’d just brought a stray home and was going through that early period while the stray was adjusting.
Back then, Liu Anran would even pick up pretty stones from the roadside just to give them to her.
But after she made it clear she didn’t want to take over the family business, and the family matters had to be handed off to him, Liu Anran started to speak harshly to her.
That couldn’t be helped.
She couldn’t let this good little brother she’d “picked up” be left out of the family.
Even though their parents didn’t favor either of them, what about everyone else? What would they say?
She wasn’t the adopted one, so if she slacked off a bit or wasn’t fit to take on big responsibilities, it didn’t matter.
And it was true—she couldn’t handle those things. Liu Xie would admit it outright: if you’re not good at something, you’re just not.
So she completely understood Liu Anran’s harsh words.
If she suddenly had all those troublesome things dumped on her, she’d be unhappy too. But later, Liu Anran would surely understand her good intentions.
Oh?
Liu Xie’s expression changed, as if she’d just had a sudden revelation.
So, is her good little brother Liu Anran starting to understand her good intentions now?
If that’s the case, then Liu Xie could accept it.
She pinched her chin, and a proud smile crept onto her lips.
Across from her, Ye Qingchang didn’t look nearly as relaxed. She held her phone, eyes flicking over every message.
Her computer in front of her was logged into another account, double-threaded multitasking.
She couldn’t quite figure out Xiao Yi’an’s way of thinking. He’d just asked her how to chat with girls, and then immediately copied her replies into his own main chat window.
Every reply from Ye Qingchang would end up in her own chat box, making her feel like she was talking to herself in the mirror.
But Xiao Yi’an wasn’t completely heartless. He still showed a bit of concern for Ye Qingchang in their chats.
After all, today’s exercise was a bit much for Ye Qingchang.
She guessed she’d wake up tomorrow morning sore all over, complaining endlessly.
Ye Qingchang felt she’d done pretty well, since Xiao Yi’an was obviously paying more attention to her and caring more than before.
If things kept going like this, she believed it wouldn’t be long before she could win over her digital pet and loyal club member in real life.
Suddenly, a loud bang sounded—it was Yang Shuli, who had just closed the door, her arms full of snacks.
She even had a small dried fish in her mouth.
“Where’d you go? Why are you back so late?” Liu Xie propped herself up on her bed and looked at Yang Shuli, who was panting and putting down her bag of snacks.
None of the three in the dorm had installed bed curtains, a tradition that had carried over even after moving to the girls’ dorm.
Back when they’d first started school and thought about getting curtains, the youngest, Zhu Niao, had said: “Isn’t secretly putting up a bed curtain between girls just so you can do XX things by yourself?”
So, in the end, no one bothered with bed curtains.
“Oh, I went out for dinner with Xu Nian.” Yang Shuli swallowed the dried fish in her mouth. “Then we passed by a snack wholesaler, and I got a little hungry again.”
“You bought way too much, didn’t you?”
Liu Xie looked at the huge bag of snacks on the floor. As the Dorm Leader and a little loli, it must’ve been tough for her to carry all that back.
“Xu Nian said it wouldn’t be right to come back empty-handed, so he told me to bring some back for my roommates.” Yang Shuli rummaged through the bag for a while and found another pack of dried fish.
“I think Xu Nian is a good guy, someone you can be friends with.” Ye Qingchang didn’t know when she’d climbed down from her bunk, but she was already sucking on a piece of jelly.
Liu Xie nodded in agreement when she heard this: “I’ve thought Xu Nian was a good kid since he was little.”
Ye Qingchang even reached out and patted Yang Shuli on the shoulder: “Don’t just stay in the dorm all the time, go out with people like Xu Nian more often.”
Yang Shuli scratched her head.
Honestly, she felt there wasn’t much to do outside except during mealtimes.
“By the way, what are your plans for National Day?” Liu Xie dragged her chair over to sit down, tossing the rest of the snacks into the empty cabinet.
That spot used to belong to Zhu Niao, but unfortunately, Zhu Niao only stayed for one semester before moving out to live with Gou Yu.
Who knows how ambiguous things have gotten with those two lovebirds living under the same roof.
“I don’t really want to go home. I haven’t figured out how to face my parents yet.” Ye Qingchang frowned and rubbed her temples.
Her parents already knew about her situation.
And they really wanted her to come home so they could finally experience what it’s like to have a daughter.
“Same here.” Yang Shuli raised her hand as well.
“I’ll probably have to go home for two days.” Liu Xie’s tone was a bit helpless. “My family understands everything now, but…”
She still wasn’t used to Liu Anran’s way of interacting.
“Speaking of which, Xu Nian said he’s not going home either.” Yang Shuli grinned. “Looks like we won’t have to worry about food during National Day.”
Ye Qingchang pinched her chin: “Xiao Yi’an…has no home to go back to, so he’ll probably stay at school too.”
Her digital pet was pitiful enough—lost his parents, pretty much lost all family ties, being raised by his aunt, and it didn’t seem like they were very close. Now he was even being emotionally manipulated by someone like her.
If everything went according to plan, she’d end up deceiving Xiao Yi’an’s feelings twice.
“Who asked you?” Liu Xie shot back.
“The Dorm Leader can mention Xu Nian but I can’t mention Xiao Yi’an?” Ye Qingchang paused, then retorted.
“She’s just a big foodie, are you hungry too?” Liu Xie paused, “Let me remind you, you said from the start you were just playing with his feelings and would cut things off cleanly. Don’t forget, don’t get yourself caught up in it.”
Ye Qingchang’s eyes widened as she argued back, “Where do you see me getting caught up in it?”
“Because you look like you’re enjoying it.” Liu Xie poked Ye Qingchang’s cheek, right where her lips curved up.
The room seemed to go quiet for a moment.
Ye Qingchang snapped back to herself and put on a cocky grin.
“That’s because I’m bad to the bone. Seeing someone following my plan just makes me happy.”
Ye Qingchang raised a middle finger: “Just wait for me to return triumphant, I’m a master at this.”
And yet, her heart was beating in chaos for no reason.