Lin Xiaoyu’s little head was spinning; she had never experienced being treated so gently after making a mistake.
In front of others, she had never made a mistake, because she didn’t have any close friends to even give her the chance.
But in front of her parents, she often messed up.
Her past experiences told her she would definitely be harshly disliked, and maybe this rare friend would even break off their friendship because of it.
But all she received was acceptance—this person completely forgave her mistake.
She felt like she was floating on clouds, and every question sent her way to ask for help became another fluffy cloud of cotton candy.
Her heart was filled with sweetness.
That sentence, “We’re friends, aren’t we,” echoed in her ears like a sacred chant, washing away the grime in her heart.
She couldn’t figure out why, after making such a big mistake—all her fault—the other person didn’t blame her at all.
Why, after she had already messed up, would the other person still trust her so much?
She couldn’t make sense of it, but her heart itched with a strange feeling.
The things that person said gave her such a sense of security, she felt herself about to fall deeper and deeper.
When this chat ended, she didn’t hurriedly wrap things up like usual. Instead, with a nervous heart, she asked:
“Should we meet up sometime? How about tomorrow, I’ll buy you bubble tea.”
Seeing the reply on her phone, [Sure~], she felt so happy she wanted to jump up and down.
She didn’t even know why she was so happy.
*****
“Pei Xingyan, oh Pei Xingyan, you’re really a scumbag…”
Pei Xingyan scolded himself—for using such tricks on an innocent girl.
But in the end, things went as he wished. He was a bit closer to Lin Xiaoyu’s heart, and a bit closer to solving her problem.
Actually, sometimes the scumbag’s methods are the best, as long as they stick to their words. But usually, they work hard, paint a beautiful dream for the girls, and then run away after getting what they want.
It’s not that they don’t know how to cherish, it’s just that the dreams they draw could never come true.
But he wasn’t after the girls’ bodies or money—he only cared about their mental health. As long as he kept his boundaries and didn’t lead things that way, there wouldn’t be a problem!
“Scumbag? What scumbag?” Fan Jian, as always, couldn’t help but tease, “Lao Pei calling someone else a scumbag, that’s the thief crying ‘stop thief,’ isn’t it?”
“Get lost…”
Pei Xingyan called out weakly. Even though he’d been lying in bed without moving, the psychological tug-of-war was no easy task.
He was exhausted.
As luck would have it, another job landed on his lap at just the right moment.
Su Shanshan’s messages started coming in again.
He frowned as he looked at them, feeling his mind grow even more chaotic.
She didn’t say anything extreme, nor did she insult him again.
On the contrary, she was now frighteningly gentle, patient, sincere, and tirelessly concerned about her “baby.”
Pei Xingyan distinctly remembered—she had promised not to call him “baby” anymore…
“Baby, did you eat breakfast this morning? Do you want me to bring you breakfast?”
“Baby, did you sleep well last night? I had a bit of insomnia~”
“Why aren’t you replying? Still not up? Are you feeling unwell?”
“Baby, I bought you a little gift, but I have to see you before I can give it to you.”
“Come find me at the classroom, okay?”
“Baby, why aren’t you replying?”
“Why aren’t you replying?”
“Why aren’t you replying?”
“Reply to me”
“Reply to me”
“Reply to me”
“Do you hate me now?”
“You can’t hate me!”
“Please don’t hate me.”
“Don’t ignore me”
“Don’t ignore me”
“Don’t ignore me”
…
She started spamming him again. Bombarding someone with repeated messages is already creepy, but she did it in a gentle tone, sending voice messages over and over, never getting tired of it.
If anyone said she didn’t have psychological issues, Pei Xingyan would never believe it.
But even though he was a little scared, he had to reply.
[Just woke up.]
With just those three words, her extreme behavior stopped instantly.
Su Shanshan acted like nothing had happened and cheerfully greeted him:
“Baby, why did you just get up? Sleeping in is fine, but it’s not good for your health if your routine is off~”
[A bit tired.]
“Then you haven’t eaten yet, right? Let me bring you breakfast, okay?”
“Which dorm are you in? I’ll come find you now, okay?”
“What do you want to eat?”
She kept talking to herself.
Pei Xingyan shook his head vigorously, thinking how tough it was to work two jobs at once.
He rolled out of bed again, brushed his teeth, washed up, and got himself presentable.
Amidst all kinds of sarcastic comments from his roommates, he jogged downstairs.
No matter what, he couldn’t let Su Shanshan show up at his dorm building. There were too many classmates who knew him here. Each extra person who saw him with another girl meant one more risk of exposing himself to Ye Ziwei.
[Let’s just meet at the cafeteria. I happen to have something to ask you.]
He sent the message.
Then Su Shanshan suddenly stopped messaging, falling silent like a child who knew she’d done something wrong.
Pei Xingyan also had a lingering question in his heart: Did Su Shanshan not mention her crazy behavior before because she was thick-skinned enough to pretend nothing happened, or did she really not remember?
*****
Su Shanshan was standing elegantly in front of the cafeteria entrance. Today, her style was completely different from before. She wasn’t wearing flashy clothes or heavy makeup—just a simple top, loose pants, and an ordinary pair of white sneakers. Around her ankles were skin-toned white socks. It was an utterly plain look.
But even dressed so simply, she couldn’t hide her beauty. Standing at the busy cafeteria entrance, it only took a moment for several boys to approach, either to chat her up or try to get her contact information.
She ignored them all, just craning her neck to look around. When she spotted Pei Xingyan, her eyes widened in delight and she ran toward him, pushing aside a boy who was trying a cheesy pickup line he’d learned online. The boy stumbled and almost fell into the bushes.
But in Su Shanshan’s eyes, it was as if no one else existed but Pei Xingyan. All she cared about was running to him, all she wanted was to throw herself into his arms.
She nuzzled against him hard, but suddenly remembered the agreement she had with Pei Xingyan. So she reluctantly stepped back two paces, looking downcast as she apologized.
Pei Xingyan was an easygoing person, but he definitely wasn’t going to say “It’s fine” at this moment. With a girl who could call him “baby” without realizing it, who knew how many days it would take before she tried to coax him into a hotel—or maybe just the little motel across from the school.
And Su Shanshan’s probing never stopped. If he let his guard down even once, she’d immediately use the opportunity to cross the line.
He wouldn’t dare risk it.
“What do you want to eat?” she asked eagerly. “I’ll line up!”
“I’ll go. What do you want to eat?” Pei Xingyan countered.
Such a small gesture, but Su Shanshan was so moved she nearly burst into tears. It was as if he’d offered to die for her, not just stand in line to buy breakfast.
“Just to be clear,” Pei Xingyan sighed, “you pay for your own meal with your own meal card.”
She shook her head furiously, rummaged in the little bag hanging on her right, pulled out her meal card, and solemnly but anxiously handed it to Pei Xingyan.
“Use mine! For you, baby, from now on all your meals will be on my card!”
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