Huh?
What are all these?
Jiang Xiao stared at the shopping cart page on Song Qiuyu’s phone screen, completely stunned, unable to snap back to reality for a long time.
While he didn’t recognize most of the items, the few he could identify from the text and product images alone were enough to make his head spin.
These should all be… private items for girls, right?
Xi’er did this on purpose, didn’t she…
And wait, why is there a blue pill mixed in there? Could it be!
Is Jia’er hinting at something?
It wasn’t until Xie Zhuran’s voice suddenly drew near with a “Hey, Lao Jiang, what’s wrong? What are you looking at?” that he jolted back to his senses and hurriedly covered the phone screen.
“Nothing.”
Jiang Xiao forced himself to appear calm.
“Really?”
Xie Zhuran eyed Jiang Xiao’s clearly flustered state with suspicion.
He glanced down at the phone in the other’s hand, then paused, a look of sudden understanding dawning on his face. This isn’t Lao Song’s phone, right? Could there be something… naughty on it?
Like a selfie of Lao Song in the shower?
As expected of Lao Song, she really knows how to handle Lao Jiang, keeping him wrapped around her finger.
Alright, alright, I’ll let them off the hook.
“Lao Xie, aren’t you going to change your hairstyle?”
At that moment, the completely oblivious Song Qiuyu chose to fiercely defend her man.
“Why should I change it? It’s pretty cool, isn’t it? I just have to get up early every morning to style it, otherwise it’ll go flat.”
Xie Zhuran touched his own orange-colored spiky hair, glanced at Song Qiuyu who also seemed a bit off, confirmed his suspicions, but just went along with the new topic without exposing anything.
“Lao Xie, I don’t mean to discourage you, I’m just curious. Are you sure you can get up that early on your 8 AM class days?”
Song Qiuyu narrowed her eyes and said.
Xie Zhuran froze.
Jiang Xiao only remembered that when both he and Xi’er were still in the dorm, Xie Zhuran’s wake-up time could only be described as neither early nor late. What happened after that, he wasn’t too sure about.
“Lao Xie, just give up.”
Lin An sighed with his eyes closed, absolutely certain that Xie Zhuran wouldn’t be able to get up.
Xie Zhuran’s expression twisted in pain.
This feeling of wanting to stand up and refute everyone, but knowing deep down they’re right… it’s so frustrating.
But if he can’t get up, he just can’t get up. Unless he suddenly mutates one day.
The topic was successfully diverted. Song Qiuyu moved next to Jiang Xiao as if seeking praise and gently nudged him with her small left shoulder: “Finished looking?”
After saying that, she turned her face, looked at his reddening earlobes, and a triumphant smile curled at the corner of her lips, her heartbeat quickening along with it.
“Nope, I’ve only finished the first page.”
Jiang Xiao glanced at her, held the phone, and walked straight ahead.
Huh?
Song Qiuyu’s eyes widened. Was this Haki Xiao guy planning to look through her entire shopping cart from start to finish? That absolutely cannot happen!
What else was in the later parts of her shopping cart? Even she couldn’t remember. There probably… probably wasn’t anything even more… unsightly, right?
She puffed out her cheeks angrily and followed, looking for a chance to snatch her phone back. However, Lin An and Xia Qi’s gazes immediately landed on her, making her instantly behave.
Darn it, my phone…
It wasn’t that she couldn’t live without her phone, but not having it on her just made her feel like ants were crawling all over her body.
She only had time to shoot a secret, reproachful glance at Jiang Xiao before being swiftly pulled by Xia Qi into a conversation about preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam.
Many students preparing for the exam start as early as their freshman year, truly embodying the nine-word mantra: “Live until old, learn until old, grind until old.”
Song Qiuyu also planned to start preparing this semester, then allocate her free time reasonably, using as much as possible to film short videos.
By sophomore year, they would start working with production crews, potentially participating in filming dramas, and would become even busier. The time for filming short videos might have to be brutally squeezed out of their rest time.
But by then, they could probably try expanding their video styles, adding some behind-the-scenes footage from before and after filming dramas!
If they met any big stars, they could also act as the eyes of the fans and get a few extra looks!
Many seniors liked to do it this way.
Thinking of this, she shared her thoughts with Xia Qi and the others.
Unlike her, Xia Qi had actually started preparing last semester.
As for the other three in Dorm 602, Xie Zhuran and Jiang Xiao were honest, but Lin An was secretly ahead, having started preparing alone last semester.
His three roommates were quite displeased about this, staring at Lin An for a good while until he admitted defeat before letting it go.
Everyone was daydreaming about the future within the topic of the postgraduate exam. After the chat wound down, Xia Qi continued talking with Lin An, while Xie Zhuran searched on his phone for high-end barbershops nearby, ready to change his hairstyle.
As for Jiang Xiao, taking advantage of the fact that the other three’s attention wasn’t on him and his girlfriend, he turned around and fumbled in his pocket.
“Catch.”
With a whoosh, Jiang Xiao’s phone flew through the air. Song Qiuyu was startled for a moment before her sharp eyes recognized it and she hurriedly grabbed for it.
Fortunately, she caught the phone just in time and firmly. But even so, she was so flustered that small beads of sweat broke out on her forehead, which she quickly wiped away with her sleeve.
“You really dared to throw it.”
Song Qiuyu muttered quietly.
“Because I believed you’d catch it.”
After saying that, Jiang Xiao turned back and continued browsing her shopping cart.
“Then I’ll take a look at yours too.”
Song Qiuyu pursed her lips, biting them lightly, and let out a soft, delicate snort through her nose.
She stared at his back for a moment, and seeing he didn’t object, she didn’t stand on ceremony. She simply picked up his phone and opened his shopping cart.
But she didn’t look immediately. First, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath to mentally prepare herself, then opened her eyes and looked at the shopping cart.
The things in Jiang Xiao’s shopping cart were mostly items she was all too familiar with…
Except for n pieces of women’s lingerie!!
Her pretty face flushed red, she gripped the phone, her breathing became rapid, and she stole an incredulous glance at the person walking ahead.
Could it be!
These were all meant for her?
Even though they just agreed not to do anything for the next six months, he was already preparing in advance for their future “happy” life?
Or maybe Jiang Xiao added these after seeing her shopping cart?
No!
There’s a prompt to re-select product specifications! This was premeditated!
She bit her lip anxiously, looked around to confirm no one was watching, swallowed hard, and then, blushing with shame, clicked on the top item’s details page.
The model on the product page had an extremely good figure. The semi-transparent milky-white gauze top was half-concealing, half-revealing, very exposing, and the pose was incredibly suggestive—even more so than explicit images.
Truly, product photos are the most powerful explicit images!
As if seeking validation, she scrutinized the model on the details page back and forth, then lowered her gaze to look at her own elementary-school-student-like figure, suddenly feeling displeased.
But, actually, kids these days develop quite well because they eat well.
So her current figure wasn’t even as good as an elementary school student’s.
It was fine when she didn’t have such a direct comparison before, but looking at it now, if she wore it, it would be pretty boring.
Song Qiuyu silently exited the product details page.
Then opened the next one.
Hmm, a pink sheer sweater? So this is the style Jiang Xiao likes, huh? Hmph, what a pervert…
But this model’s body is too well-endowed. Not looking, not looking, completely unrepresentative!
She silently exited, opened the next one, and as she looked, envy and jealousy threatened to overflow from her eyes.
Right at that moment, the two syllables “Wo kao!” (“Holy crap!”) drifted eerily and without warning from beside her.
“DE!”
Song Qiuyu’s heart skipped a beat.
She was so startled she almost threw Jiang Xiao’s phone.
Turning her head, she found herself face-to-face with Xia Qi, wide-eyed. In that moment, her pupils trembled, she could barely breathe, as if she’d seen a ghost in broad daylight.
How did this person walk without making any sound?
Looking further ahead, Xie Zhuran and Lin An, and even Jiang Xiao, had all stopped and turned to look back because of this.
“Mmm.”
Song Qiuyu tightly pressed her lips together, at a loss.
Jiang Xiao saw her embarrassed state and instantly understood the situation.
So, he decisively pushed his luggage over, directly swapped the phones back, offered no further explanation, just coughed twice with red ears: “Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Song Qiuyu stared blankly at Jiang Xiao. For some reason, she suddenly really wanted a hug.
Jiang Xiao continued walking ahead.
Xie Zhuran’s face was full of question marks. Lin An’s eyes were smiling into slits, vaguely sensing something but not saying it out loud. Xia Qi covered her mouth, looking at the couple who had just swapped phones with a face full of astonishment, not knowing what to say.
Even without looking at Xia Qi’s face, Song Qiuyu could already imagine what Xia Qi was thinking. Unconsciously gripping her phone tighter, she pushed her suitcase with the same hand and foot, her body stiff as she followed Jiang Xiao.
That was so careless.
I must never look at Jiang Xiao’s shopping cart on the street again!
Only when they arrived at Jiang Xiao’s rental apartment did Song Qiuyu finally relax a little.
With a creak, Jiang Xiao opened the door.
Everyone immediately carried their luggage inside.
After putting the luggage down and taking just a brief rest, they immediately headed to the restaurant booked by the Drama Club president.
As soon as they met, the Drama Club president’s gaze landed on Xie Zhuran’s weathered face and that orange spiky hair, gradually becoming sharp.
It was as if glued on with strong adhesive, unable to look away.
“Junior, what’s with this…?”
The Drama Club president’s expression grew complex, then he sighed with the air of someone who’s been through it all, patting Xie Zhuran’s shoulder.
“You got your heart broken, right? There are plenty of fish in the sea, why cling to just one flower? Look on the bright side, don’t give up on yourself.” Hearing this, Xie Zhuran was momentarily speechless, but still seriously denied it: “No way, I’ve never had a girlfriend. How could I get my heart broken?”
The Drama Club president was just ushering everyone to sit down. Hearing this, he froze awkwardly for a moment, then patted Xie Zhuran’s shoulder twice more.
“It’s fine, you’ll find one. Finding a girlfriend is like finding a blade of grass. As long as you look carefully, you’ll find that blade of grass sooner or later. The hardest part is keeping the grass.”
He signaled the waiter to start serving the dishes.
Xie Zhuran secretly memorized the president’s words, clenching his hands.
Not just Xie Zhuran, four other people at the table also silently committed this sentence to heart.
Finding a partner might be hard, dating them might be even harder, but the hardest part is keeping them!
This is the so-called “expiration date” of a relationship!
Jiang Xiao suddenly thought of the couple they met at the hot spring hotel, remembered the woman’s warning to his girlfriend, and instinctively glanced at the person beside him.
If the honeymoon phase really has an expiration date, how long would the expiration date of their relationship be?
Although whenever Xi’er feels insecure, he promptly reassures her, and when he feels insecure, Jia’er is also the first to comfort him.
The two of them seem like they’ll always be fine.
But occasionally, he would question his own thoughts, worry if he was thinking too highly of himself, being overconfident, believing he had completely secured Xi’er.
But even if he faces all storms with Xi’er, she might still choose to leave because of mistreatment from his family.
Because people get tired.
Just as he was thinking this, a fair, delicate, small girl’s hand quietly approached his hand and suddenly grabbed it.
Jiang Xiao was startled.
“Jiang Xiao, eat a chicken leg!”
Song Qiuyu used her other small hand to hold chopsticks, picked up a spicy chicken leg, and steadily placed it in Jiang Xiao’s bowl.
“Okay, I’ll eat it!”
Jiang Xiao stared at the chicken wing in his bowl for a moment, then broke into a bright smile.
“And this shrimp! The president is treating today, eat more! I need to diet, so I can’t eat too much. So you eat more for me!”
Song Qiuyu kept putting food into Jiang Xiao’s bowl.
Jiang Xiao looked at her tenderly.
“Hah…”
The Drama Club president rubbed the goosebumps that suddenly appeared on his arms.
What’s going on? It feels like after one winter break, these two juniors have become even more… lovey-dovey?
It must be an illusion, definitely an illusion.
He tried his best to take off his strange metaphorical glasses and, with the hope of finding a fellow sufferer, looked at the other three.
He saw Xie Zhuran, appearing to pay no attention to his roommates’ affairs, single-mindedly focused on taking advantage of the president’s treat, devouring the food with great vigor, clearly very hungry.
Lin An ate elegantly while occasionally putting food into Xia Qi’s bowl.
Xia Qi ate the food in her bowl while watching the two juniors, as if using them as a side dish, with an expression that seemed to find the scene delicious.
The Drama Club president pressed his temples, the gears in his brain slowly turning.
Has the world finally become something I can’t comprehend?
I’m getting old.
“Oh, President!”
After piling Jiang Xiao’s bowl full of meat, Song Qiuyu turned to put a piece of dried tofu into her own bowl, then looked up at the president with his indescribable expression.
“Um, about the money for filming the club recruitment short video…”
“Talking about money hurts feelings.”
The Drama Club president immediately sighed and said.
“Hah, but…”
Song Qiuyu paused mid-chew on the dried tofu.
“How about this, let’s tentatively set it at five hundred. If the recruitment effect is good, we’ll add more based on the situation!”
The Drama Club president took a sip of chicken soup and said: “Don’t worry, as your senior, I won’t make you adorable juniors work like slaves.” After these words, all five of them looked at the dishes on the table with a shared understanding. One look was all it took: today’s lunch had to be the most lavish meal possible!
And so, the Drama Club Head spent the rest of the meal clutching his wallet in phantom pain. With wide eyes and a face that screamed, ‘Are their stomachs bottomless pits?’, he watched the five of them order another five or six dishes—all of them the most expensive items on the menu.
After the meal, they discussed the style of the recruitment video. They eventually decided to use the classic, “revolting” play Little Red Riding Hood as a foundation and expand it into a new story.
The video didn’t need to be long; thirty seconds was plenty. The key was that it had to be an absolute eye-catcher.
Once they hammered out the specific filming details, the recruitment video plan was finalized. Filming would begin today at four in the afternoon.
However, before filming, Song Qiuyu had an even more important task to handle: terminating the lease on the 6,000-yuan-a-month apartment!
The Club Head took the others back to school to prepare, while she and Jiang Xiao headed straight for the apartment.
A short while later, they successfully completed the move-out process.
However, because the security deposit was non-refundable, Song Qiuyu walked out of the building clutching her heart the entire way while wheeling her suitcase.
“Alright, alright! You can earn that bit of money back later if you work hard enough!”
Jiang Xiao rubbed her head, caught between laughter and tears. As he spoke, he reached into his coat pocket with one hand and rummaged around for a moment.
At the sight of this, Song Qiuyu’s beautiful almond eyes instantly lit up.
It had to be…
Candy?