“Jiang…”
Song Qiuyu pried open the dusty memories, and an image of a boy, a scaled-down version of her former roommate, emerged in her mind.
Even in the summer, he would fasten his white shirt up to the topmost button.
He was meticulous in everything he did—excellent in studies, decent at sports, and with a remarkably easygoing personality that made him quite popular.
His only flaw? He was too gullible!
With just a few flirty messages from a fake female account online, he’d fall hook, line, and sinker, treating you like his light, his electricity, his one and only legend!
So many girls at school had their eyes on him, yet none of them realized that in his eyes, there was only that “online girlfriend.”
And that “online girlfriend”?
It was none other than Song Qiuyu, his roommate for three years in middle school.
Graduation season was breakup season, and among the many couples parting ways, they were one of them.
Now, three years had passed since middle school graduation.
Meeting again at university after so long, Song Qiuyu racked her brain and finally recalled his name, shouting confidently:
“Jiang Xiaobai! What a coincidence! Do you remember me? I’m Song Qiuyu!”
A slight change flickered across Jiang Xiao’s expression.
The name Song Qiuyu seemed vaguely familiar, but only just.
Without pausing his task of making the bed, he merely tilted his head slightly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, his gaze heavy and unreadable.
Under the glow of the incandescent light, the person on the balcony looked small, barely over 1.6 meters tall.
A slender arm extended from the sleeve of a red T-shirt, holding a dark blue towel with hands that still retained a hint of soft pink.
Wet hair was being casually wiped, droplets of water sliding down the strands, swinging like pendulums on her slightly flushed cheeks.
Then the droplets fell, landing on her prominent collarbone, splashing tiny sprays of water.
“Jiang Xiaobai, it’s me, your middle school roommate Song Qiuyu! Three whole years!” Her bright, almond-shaped eyes sparkled with excitement, eagerly awaiting his response.
Jiang Xiao’s gaze froze for a moment.
Only then did he take a closer look at Song Qiuyu’s appearance.
His former roommate was strikingly delicate.
At first glance, one might mistake her for a girl who’d wandered into the boys’ dorm, but that face almost instantly triggered memories of his middle school days.
They did know each other.
So, he corrected her coolly, “Classmate Song, it’s Jiang Xiao, not Jiang Xiaobai.”
The air fell silent.
“Uh.” Song Qiuyu gave an awkward but polite smile, thinking to herself, Oh, right, right, it’s Jiang Xiao, not Jiang Xiaobai! Haha—
In her memory, Jiang Xiao had been so easy to get along with.
Why did he seem like a completely different person now?
Though, to be fair, getting his name wrong was her mistake.
“Oh, right, it’s been only three years, and you’ve grown so tall—must be, what, 1.8 meters? Got any secrets to growing taller? Share them with me!”
Song Qiuyu clutched the towel she was using to dry her hair, trying to change the subject.
Jiang Xiao paused in the middle of making his bed, staying silent for a long moment before squeezing out three syllables like toothpaste:
“Drink milk.”
Song Qiuyu, who had been patiently waiting for a response, was momentarily stunned.
It felt like she’d been brushed off, but not entirely.
She instinctively wanted to keep the conversation going, to catch up with him, but it was clear he wasn’t interested in chatting.
So she shut her mouth, obediently dried her hair, and rummaged through her suitcase for her hairdryer.
After blow-drying her hair halfway, she set the hairdryer aside and started making her own bed.
After a while, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“The rain outside seems to have stopped. Jiang Xiao, I’m heading to the supermarket to buy some stuff. Wanna come along?”
Jiang Xiao remained silent, lost in thought.
Seeing this, Song Qiuyu felt even more awkward, convinced he was determined to stay aloof.
After tidying up her bed, Song Qiuyu gathered her dirty clothes into the laundry basket and carried it to the washing machine in the dorm.
All the dorms in this university were equipped with washing machines, and the ones in the freshman dorms were brand new.
She needed to buy a bag of laundry detergent.
Her family wasn’t well-off, and detergent powder was far more practical than liquid—more cost-effective and longer-lasting.
She turned to head out alone.
“Let’s go together.”
Jiang Xiao suddenly spoke up.
Hearing this, Song Qiuyu’s brows furrowed slightly, a mix of irritation and surprise.
But considering how much his personality seemed to have changed, perhaps there was more to it.
She turned back and flashed him a faint smile.
“Sure. You probably haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll treat you.”
“…”
Jiang Xiao didn’t respond, but he silently followed her, turning off the light and locking the door behind them.
“Let me tell you, I did some research. The supermarkets around this school are total rip-offs. We’ve got to hurry and buy stuff before the prices go up!”
“…”
“Upperclassmen told me all about it. I even asked them a ton of questions!”
“…”
“Did you know there are five cafeterias on campus? But the one closest to the opera house, the Ten Thousand People Cafeteria, is the best bang for your buck!”
Song Qiuyu’s lips curved into a proud smile, clearly waiting for her roommate to praise her resourcefulness.
Jiang Xiao merely glanced at her, his silence unbroken.
“So, what do you think? Aren’t I…”
As they descended the stairs, Song Qiuyu’s enthusiasm fizzled out mid-sentence.
She glanced at her eerily quiet roommate, her lips pressing into a thin line.
Who turned Jiang Xiao into this?
Help.
Talking to herself like this was starting to feel like a one-woman show.
Thank goodness no one else was around, or she might become infamous on campus for being a weirdo on the very first day.
Neither of them spoke again.
Not until they reached the first floor.
Suddenly, bursts of laughter flooded the hallway.
More and more eyes, sparkling with amusement, turned toward them, lighting up as if they’d stumbled upon a treasure trove.
Seeing others from different dorms chatting and laughing, Song Qiuyu tried her best not to look too sour and strode toward the dorm building’s exit.
Outside, the sky was clear after the rain, though it was starting to grow dark.
It was around seven in the evening.
The afternoon breeze was a bit noisy and chilly.
Song Qiuyu zipped up her jacket, pulling the collar up to shield herself.
She stepped down from the dorm’s front stairs.
“Hey, little junior, all alone? Want your senior to show you around?”
A passing third-year guy greeted her warmly.
Song Qiuyu didn’t even bother pointing out that this was the boys’ dorm and there was no “junior sister” here.
She glanced back to make sure her roommate was following and replied smoothly, “Sorry, I’m a guy, and I’m into girls.”
With that, she breezed past him, leading Jiang Xiao straight toward the supermarket.
She didn’t miss the stunned look on the third-year guy’s face after her quip, nor the way everyone around seemed to freeze.
She even suspected…
Someone was probably already snapping a photo of her to post on the university forum!
“Sigh.”
She let out a small sigh as she and Jiang Xiao wandered through the supermarket.
Her mind was busy comparing prices as her hands tossed essential items into the shopping cart.
A moment later, her gaze landed on a shelf stocked with sanitary pads.
Without a second glance, she grabbed a few packs and threw them into the cart.
Jiang Xiao, quietly pushing the cart, was picking out his own items.
When his eyes landed on the sanitary pads, his lips twitched slightly.
Soon, the aisle was packed with other freshmen.
The noise of chatter filled the air.
The cashier auntie scanned each item with a beep, and when she reached the sanitary pads, she noticed the handsome boy turn to the pretty girl beside him and ask in a cool tone, “Why are you buying so many sanitary pads?”
The auntie, clutching the scanner, gave the boy a look of disdain and said, “Oh, come on! What’s strange about a girl buying sanitary pads? You, as her boyfriend, need to do your homework!”
“It’s 2025 already. How do you not know this basic stuff?”
The “boyfriend who didn’t do his homework” could only be Jiang Xiao.