“Bird!” A knock came from outside the door. “Little Bird! Get up quickly!”
The loud call was unmistakably from Yang Shuli in the next room.
Maybe because his figure was close to that of a child, Yang Shuli’s energy also seemed somewhat childlike.
For a college student, managing to get out of bed smoothly in the morning was already the limit, especially on a holiday morning like this.
Gou Yu sat up from the bed holding his phone and glanced toward the bathroom.
Just now, Little Bird had gone to the bathroom and said she was going to change clothes, but she still hadn’t come out.
Looks like it was his turn to open the door.
He tidied up his nearly bird’s-nest hair a bit before opening the door.
Then a stream of water splashed right onto his face.
Startled, he stepped back, stunned for a moment. After wiping the water droplets off his face, he saw Yang Shuli and Xu Nian standing at the door looking equally dazed.
Both were wearing loose beach shirts as outerwear, each holding a small water gun in hand.
That attack that just soaked Gou Yu’s face came from these two weapons.
Xu Nian’s expression seemed a bit helpless; it looked like he had already anticipated this situation and probably tried to stop Yang Shuli before the prank.
But it was obvious—the dorm leader’s desire to catch Zhu Niao off guard won over Xu Nian’s concerns.
“Uh, um…” Yang Shuli immediately tossed his water gun to Xu Nian, his reaction to getting caught was still very childish.
“No worries.” Gou Yu waved it off. This kind of thing wasn’t a big deal to him, even less so than the punch Little Bird had landed on his waist first thing this morning.
“We came to look for Little Bird.” Yang Shuli was obedient when necessary, explaining their purpose to the male occupant of the room.
“Little Bird’s changing.” Gou Yu turned toward the bathroom and shouted, “Little Bird, didn’t fall into the toilet, did you?”
After a moment, Zhu Niao’s voice came from inside: “Are your kidneys itching or something?”
Gou Yu suddenly felt a phantom pain.
Before he could reply, Zhu Niao stepped out of the bathroom.
Gou Yu’s pupils contracted slightly.
Zhu Niao had changed into a loose white shirt with tight sleeves.
Her lower half was a black long skirt patched together, and as she moved, her ankles wrapped in white socks peeked out.
This added a quiet grace to the usually chattering Little Bird in Gou Yu’s mind, and her instinctive move to lean closer to him made her seem even more delicate and dependent.
Yang Shuli reacted late; only two seconds after Zhu Niao appeared in sight did he take the water gun from Xu Nian’s hand and shoot it at her.
Unavoidably, a few droplets of water splashed onto Zhu Niao, adding some dark stains to her white shirt.
Seeing the dark spot, Zhu Niao froze, as if suddenly remembering something, and immediately shrank behind Gou Yu.
She grabbed the corner of his shirt, looking carefully at Yang Shuli holding the water gun outside the door.
Everyone present was stunned in place.
Especially Gou Yu, who was acting as Zhu Niao’s human shield; his expression was as if he had seen a ghost. He turned to look at the soft, fragile girl hiding behind him.
“Wait, did you eat something bad in the bathroom and get food poisoning? Why are you being such a girl about this?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Gou Yu suddenly realized that Zhu Niao really seemed like a girl right now.
“No, I can’t touch water today.” Zhu Niao glared fiercely at Gou Yu. “If I weren’t wearing white today, I’d already have gone upstairs and taught her to call me ‘Father’.”
Gou Yu paused and looked at the spot where water had splashed onto Zhu Niao’s shirt—the white fabric was already becoming somewhat translucent.
But something about it still felt strange to him.
Not dwelling on it, Gou Yu turned to Yang Shuli and Xu Nian.
“Forget the water guns. Her clothes aren’t suitable for this today.”
With Gou Yu’s words, Yang Shuli reluctantly put away his water gun.
“Alright then.” The tiny dorm leader quickly adjusted his mood. “So, what’s the plan for today? Where are we eating?”
Though she had already eaten, the water guns were something they bought at the little shop next door on their way out for breakfast.
After confirming Yang Shuli wouldn’t attack him with the water gun again, Zhu Niao stepped out from behind Gou Yu.
“How would I know the plan? Just ask Number Two, right?” Zhu Niao said as she walked out of the room, leading Yang Shuli toward Liu Xie’s room.
As the guide for this trip, Liu Xie was very important to the group.
Gou Yu and Xu Nian exchanged a glance and followed behind.
“Hey, do you think Number Two might have already been taken away by her brother last night? Since she was drunk, it wouldn’t be safe to let her keep hanging out with us.” Yang Shuli suddenly spoke from behind Zhu Niao.
“I don’t know. All we can do is pray her brother didn’t take her away.”
After all, a guide in a boys’ trip group was crucial and needed time to establish.
“How did Number Three find out that Number Two’s brother came yesterday? And even after knowing, why didn’t he tell the others or warn Number Two to drink less?” Yang Shuli grumbled.
But Zhu Niao clearly remembered it was exactly because of Number Three’s snide, ghost-like teasing that made Liu Xie down a whole bottle and pass out on the spot.
“Little Bird, you too. Didn’t you ask Number Three what exactly happened?”
Zhu Niao raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think about it. That guy confessed after drinking last night, and when he came back, I didn’t dare say a word.”
She was even afraid that a single word might upset Ye Qingchang, who would probably twist her head off.
After all, Ye Qingchang did confess last night and even left her first kiss.
Though no one really understood Ye Qingchang’s situation or mood, it was best to just stay quiet in this unexplored territory.
The two of them chattered as they reached Liu Xie’s door.
Before they could knock, the door opened from the inside.
It was still the same cold-faced boy who had taken Liu Xie back to the hotel from the barbecue place last night, the one still wearing a black neck gaiter.
Liu Anran’s bloodshot eyes scanned the two standing at the doorway, scaring Zhu Niao and Yang Shuli so much they clung to each other.
He sighed suddenly, glanced once inside the room, handed the room card to Zhu Niao, and left without another word.
Only Zhu Niao and Yang Shuli were left holding the card, looking at each other awkwardly.
“Don’t tell her I came.” Just as he was a few steps away, Liu Anran turned back and said to Zhu Niao and Yang Shuli, “I’ll cover the costs for this trip.”
The crisp sound of footsteps faded with the boy’s figure.
Zhu Niao and Yang Shuli exchanged a glance.
“I think waking up the sleeping Number Two is more important right now.”
“True, let’s go.”