“Huh?”
Song Qiuyu was suddenly hit hard by a forgotten memory.
“Uh, the person I liked since junior high?”
Although many people pursued Jiang Xiao and showed him affection in junior high, Jiang Xiao never gave them a chance from beginning to end.
She had been his roommate for three years, and no one knew better than her that Jiang Xiao only liked one person during his three years of junior high…
Her expression turned ugly.
That person was the female online friend, Shen Xi, who was her alt account.
She didn’t want to believe it but couldn’t deny it.
Her hands tightened, and pretending she had just remembered, she cautiously asked, “Could it be… Xi Xi?”
Jiang Xiao’s expression changed slightly, but he didn’t speak.
However, Song Qiuyu had already seen through everything; he had admitted it.
But they had clearly broken up, and three years had passed.
How could Jiang Xiao still be thinking about her, that female online friend… They hadn’t contacted each other even once in those three years.
Since they broke up, she had never logged into that alt account again.
She pursed her lips, suddenly feeling as if she was sitting on pins and needles, extremely awkward.
Her white jade toes, curled and pressed tightly inside her white canvas shoes, were so embarrassed they could “dig out a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment.”
She was about to explode on the spot!
Seeing Lin An and Xie Zhuran’s curious gazes sweep over her, she immediately felt guilty and sat up straight obediently.
If they found out that the person Jiang Xiao was talking about was right in front of them, things would be too troublesome!
Looking back at Jiang Xiao, their already hesitant expressions turned even worse.
They had once again understood everything!
That girl named Xi Xi must be the person Jiang Xiao liked! Their expressions suddenly became serious.
Jiang Xiao must have been heartbroken and dumped in junior high, or rather, had unrequited love, right?
Absolutely, right? It turns out even someone as good-looking as Jiang Xiao can have a rough time with relationships…
But Song Qiuyu’s reaction also seemed a little strange.
Perhaps it was because their relationship in junior high was too good?
The atmosphere at the dinner table grew increasingly tense.
“Oh, what are you all doing? So much meat in this pot and you’re not eating. You’re all just stunned, hurry up and eat!” Xie Zhuran was the first to not be able to sit still.
“Yeah, we have military training tomorrow morning too. You don’t want to be punished with standing at attention by the drill sergeant for being late and looking sluggish, do you?” Lin An said with a smile.
“Indeed!” Song Qiuyu took the hint and quickly nodded, picking up her chopsticks. She grabbed a perfectly cooked piece of spicy beef from the pot, then thought for a moment and placed it in Jiang Xiao’s bowl.
“Eat quickly, eat quickly. This meat is just right to eat now, not tough.”
She finished putting the beef in but felt it wasn’t enough, so she immediately picked up several pieces of the fattiest fish meat from the pot, muttering that these were also perfectly cooked, and continued to pile them in Jiang Xiao’s bowl.
Jiang Xiao stared at the pile of meat in his bowl, slightly stunned.
Seeing her about to add more meat, his brows slightly furrowed.
The words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat for a long time, and he could only squeeze out three words: “Don’t add any more.”
“Oh. Okay.” Song Qiuyu, somewhat absentmindedly, turned her chopsticks, dipped the meat in the oil dish twice without thinking, and brought it directly to her lips.
Jiang Xiao was stunned again.
There was no time to stop her as he watched her put the piping hot meat into her mouth.
In less than half a second, she opened her mouth.
“Ah, hot, hot, hot!” She stuck out her tongue, scalded.
“…”
Jiang Xiao didn’t know what to say.
“Spit it out quickly, don’t burn yourself!”
Xie Zhuran anxiously stood up from his seat and proactively helped her pour a glass of milk, handing it to her.
“Mmm…”
After spitting out the fish, Song Qiuyu took the cold milk.
She then lowered her head, extending her scalded, reddish tongue into the milk to cool it down.
The topic of Jiang Xiao didn’t continue after that, but he, who would occasionally say a few words, completely clammed up and said nothing.
They finished their hotpot and then set off on their way back to campus.
The night deepened.
At eleven o’clock at night, the streets were still brightly lit and noisy.
Once they returned to the university, the sounds quieted down a bit.
The night wind rustled the ginkgo leaves as they fell, just like three years ago during middle school graduation, when the whole class stood together for their graduation photo.
A ginkgo leaf drifted into Song Qiuyu’s hand.
Twirling its stem, she slowed her pace and secretly glanced at Jiang Xiao beside her, who was also watching the falling ginkgo leaves.
His expression was particularly forlorn, and his retreating figure seemed incredibly desolate.
She didn’t know what he was thinking, but the guilt in her heart grew heavier, almost suffocating her. How could she tell him? That the female online friend from junior high, Shen Xi, was actually his good brother, Song Qiuyu, his roommate for three years in junior high, and would unexpectedly be his roommate for three more years in university.
No… There was no way she could tell him! She couldn’t tell him when she was a boy, and now that she was a girl, she certainly couldn’t.
Recalling his behavior at the dinner table, she felt even more guilty.
She wished she could find a time machine and go back to slap her ignorant junior high self twice.
Why did she have to play with her roommate of all people? She became the “white moonlight” he couldn’t forget! Why did she inexplicably turn into a girl? Maybe it was retribution for all the bad things she’d done!
They say the best way to get over a breakup is to start a new relationship.
She pursed her lips and opened her mouth, but the words just wouldn’t come out.
This guy hadn’t gotten over it in three years. How could a few words from her about “plenty of fish in the sea” or “why obsess over one flower” help him?
She was even starting to suspect that she was the culprit behind Jiang Xiao’s drastic change in personality and his plummeting grades. Jiang Xiao was too stubborn.
Did he really have to “hang himself on the tree” of Shen Xi?
“Qiuyu, is your tongue really okay?” Lin An asked with concern.
“I’m fine, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable now,” Song Qiuyu replied, shaking her head, her mind a mess.
Jiang Xiao slightly frowned, turned his head, and glanced at the faint pink tip of her tongue between her lips, saying nothing.
Seeing her look over, he quickly averted his gaze, trying hard to act nonchalant, no longer looking at the fallen leaves, and quietly picked up his pace a little.
Xie Zhuran watched Jiang Xiao walk away, then seized the opportunity to quietly ask his good junior high roommate, Song Qiuyu, “What exactly is going on between Jiang Xiao and that girl named Xi Xi?”
“Hmm…” The “good roommate’s” face held an unreadable expression. “It’s hard to say. If you’re really curious, you should ask him yourself. It’s getting late, let’s go.” With that, she walked ahead.
Xie Zhuran rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
Lin An adjusted his glasses, patted his shoulder, urged him to hurry up, and also walked ahead. Detective Xie Zhuran pondered on the spot.
By the time they all returned to the dormitory, it was nearly midnight.
On the day of freshman registration, the dorm lights stayed on, but after that day, the lights would turn off promptly at 10:30 PM.
They quickly washed up, then proactively turned off the lights and swiftly climbed into their respective beds.
If sharing a dorm was already a hellish start, then Song Qiuyu’s bed being next to Jiang Xiao’s was hell within hell.
She climbed the middle ladder, wasted no time pulling back the bed curtain, and crawled under the covers.
Then, facing the wall, she uneasily closed her eyes and pondered for a while before pulling out her phone to retrieve the QQ alt account she hadn’t used in three years.
After so many years, she no longer remembered the password for the alt account and could only retrieve it through the security questions.
The first question: “What was your junior high homeroom teacher’s name?”