In the dormitory.
Zhou Duoduo sat on her bed, holding her phone and staring at the screen.
It showed Lin Mo’s WeChat profile picture.
In the message history, the “Wanan” message she had sent him still had no reply.
It had been three hours now.
(;—-;).
She tossed her phone aside.
Lay down.
Sat back up.
Lay down again.
At that moment, Wang Xue pushed the door open and came in.
Seeing Duoduo’s restless state, she paused for a moment.
“Duoduo, what’s wrong with you?” Zhou Duoduo didn’t speak.
Wang Xue walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed.
“Are you still thinking about what happened tonight?”
Zhou Duoduo finally spoke up. “Why??? That Shen Qingyue… what gives her the right?”
Wang Xue looked at her.
Zhou Duoduo continued:
“The meal I brought for Lin Mo, and she just takes it and eats it? Has she no shame, asking Lin Mo for food like that?” She grew angrier as she spoke.
“And that Su Qianqian, what is her problem? Calling the meal I brought a ‘business meal’? Getting a free meal and complaining it’s too business-like???” Wang Xue listened to Duoduo vent.
She remained quiet, just listening.
Zhou Duoduo turned her head to look at her.
“Xue’er, tell me, am I being bullied by those two?”
Wang Xue was silent for a while.
Then she reached out and gently put an arm around Duoduo’s shoulders.
“Duoduo.”
Zhou Duoduo leaned against her shoulder.
“Hmm?”
Wang Xue’s voice was very soft:
“Are you serious this time? Do you really like that Lin Mo that much?” Zhou Duoduo was taken aback.
Did she like him? She needed to think about it properly.
Lin Mo was indeed quite good-looking.
His personality was nice too.
He wasn’t servile or arrogant, not like those pathetic simps.
But… like him??? That’s a joke. She was just…
“I wouldn’t say I like him,” she said.
Wang Xue looked at her.
“Wouldn’t say you like him? Then why are you…?”
Zhou Duoduo sat up straight.
“Xue’er, do you know what I’ve been like since I was little?” Wang Xue didn’t speak.
Zhou Duoduo continued:
“Starting from elementary school, boys would flock around me. They’d give me snacks, do my homework for me, even fight over who got to sit next to me.”
“In middle school, it was even crazier. Every day someone would stuff love letters in my desk. The love letters I received could fill an entire drawer.”
“High school…”
She paused. “You were there in high school. You know.”
Wang Xue nodded.
She knew.
In high school, Zhou Duoduo was the focus of the entire school.
Boys would get jealous over her.
Girls wanted to be her friend too.
She was the kind of person born with a natural halo.
Zhou Duoduo looked at her.
“Xue’er, do you know why?” Wang Xue shook her head.
Zhou Duoduo smiled.
“Because my own charm is just that great, and of course, because I have a Special Ability.” Wang Xue didn’t quite understand.
“A Special Ability?”
“Yes,” Zhou Duoduo said. “I have a B-level Ability. It’s called ‘Charm Aura’.” She stood up and walked to the window.
“The effect of this ability is very simple. Anyone who gets close to me will slowly develop feelings of affection for me, unless their mental fortitude level isn’t lower than mine. Regardless of gender, if they stay around me long enough, they’ll slowly become attracted to me. And that’s just the passive state when I’m not actively using my ability. If I actively use it, the target will fall madly in love with me instantly, but I can only use it once a week, and it lasts for five minutes. After that, that person’s affection for me resets to zero and they can never fall in love with me again.”
Wang Xue was stunned.
“Then… then me…”
Zhou Duoduo turned to look at her.
“You… you probably are too. Back in high school, didn’t you also… towards me…”
She didn’t finish the sentence.
But Wang Xue understood.
Her face flushed slightly.
Zhou Duoduo walked back and sat down next to her.
“Xue’er, I didn’t mean for it to be like this. But this ability… it’s like a passive skill, an instinct. I can’t control it. And only people who are closer to me are affected more deeply, so I have feelings for you too, Xue’er.”
Wang Xue lowered her head.
She was silent for a moment.
Then she said softly:
“I know.” Zhou Duoduo looked at her.
“You know?” Wang Xue looked up.
“I know you don’t do it on purpose. And I like you, so I don’t care if you’re an Ability User or… or… I still…”
She didn’t finish.
But the affection in her eyes needed no further explanation.
Seeing Wang Xue’s expression, Zhou Duoduo smiled a little herself.
She reached out and pinched Wang Xue’s cheek.
“Xue’er, how are you so adorable.” Wang Xue’s face turned even redder.
Zhou Duoduo leaned in a little closer.
“You know, back in high school, I liked you the most.” Wang Xue’s heart raced.
“Really?”
“Really,” Zhou Duoduo said. “Those boys, each and every one of them, were so annoying. Only you, quiet and calm, stayed by my side.”
She leaned in even closer.
Close enough to smell the fragrance on Wang Xue.
“Xue’er, you know, sometimes I think… girls are so much better than boys.” Wang Xue looked at her.
Zhou Duoduo’s eyes were bright, filled with affection.
“Duoduo…”
Zhou Duoduo smiled.
She leaned in and gently touched Wang Xue’s lips with her own.
Wang Xue froze completely.
Zhou Duoduo pulled back a little, looking at her.
“What’s wrong? It’s not the first time.”
Wang Xue’s face was burning.
“But… but…”
“But what?” Zhou Duoduo tilted her head. “You don’t like it?”
Wang Xue shook her head.
“It’s not that… it’s just…”
Zhou Duoduo smiled.
“Then you do like it.” She leaned in again.
This time, it wasn’t gentle.
Face to face, Wang Xue closed her eyes.
A long time passed.
The two separated.
Zhou Duoduo leaned against her shoulder.
“Xue’er, you’re still the best.” Wang Xue’s heart hadn’t calmed down yet.
But she reached out and hugged Zhou Duoduo.
“Duoduo…”
“Hmm?”
“That Lin Mo…” Wang Xue said quietly. “Do you really want him?” Zhou Duoduo thought about it.
“I kind of do.”
Wang Xue was taken aback.
“Kind of?”
“Yeah,” Zhou Duoduo said. “All these years, no boy has been able to resist my charm. He… is a bit special. I have some thoughts about him.”
Wang Xue fell silent.
Zhou Duoduo looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
Wang Xue shook her head.
“Nothing.”
But she was thinking about something else in her heart.
Lin Mo, this guy.
He really was quite good-looking.
His personality was good too. She herself liked guys like that.
If Duoduo really wanted him…
Then…
Then she could accept it too.
Even…
A scene popped into her mind.
Three people.
Together.
(.人.).
Her face flushed red again.
Zhou Duoduo didn’t notice. Wang Xue was still thinking about Lin Mo.
“Xue’er, what kind of girl do you think Lin Mo… actually likes?”
Wang Xue snapped out of her thoughts.
“I don’t know… but it’s definitely not someone like us.”
Zhou Duoduo was taken aback.
“What do you mean?”
Wang Xue said:
“He’s not proactive. If you don’t look for him, he won’t look for you. Even if you look for him, he’s not super enthusiastic like those other boys before.”
Zhou Duoduo fell silent.
It was true.
Lin Mo was different from all the boys she had met before.
He didn’t simp.
He didn’t chase.
He wasn’t proactive.
He even seemed a bit… like he was avoiding her?
(;—-;).
She suddenly felt a bit displeased. Very displeased. It wasn’t because she couldn’t have him. She refused to admit that. She just felt that what you can’t have is what you want most. The more he was like this, the more she wanted to win him over.
“Xue’er,” she spoke up.
“Hmm?”
“Do you think… Lin Mo might not have any feelings for me?”
Wang Xue looked at her.
“That’s impossible. No one can be immune to you. Lin Mo, he’s just… just a bit dense. Duoduo, do you want him to have feelings for you?”
Zhou Duoduo thought about it.
“I do. Because no one has ever been able to resist my charm. If there really is someone like that… then I… I want to win them over even more.”
She didn’t finish.
But Wang Xue understood.
Zhou Duoduo’s halo of being universally adored was the source of her confidence since childhood.
If that halo failed…
Then who was she?
Wang Xue tightened her grip on Duoduo’s hand.
“Duoduo, with or without the halo, you’re still you.”
Zhou Duoduo looked at her. She smiled.
“Xue’er, you’re so good.”
She leaned over and gently nuzzled Wang Xue’s face.
“Goodnight, baby.” Zhou Duoduo closed her eyes.
Wang Xue sat beside her.
Watching her sleeping face.
She watched for a long time.
Then she lay down gently.
Beside her.
Keeping a little distance.
But unable to bear being too far away.
(.人.).
That scene was still playing in her mind.
Three people.
Together.
If Duoduo really won Lin Mo over. Then she could tell Lin Mo:
“I’m Duoduo’s wife too. You’re Duoduo’s boyfriend, so you’re my boyfriend too.” The three of us.
Together forever.
(;—-;).
As she thought about it, her face flushed red again.
She stole a glance at Zhou Duoduo.
She was asleep. Her breathing was steady.
Wang Xue gently reached out.
Touched her face.
And whispered very softly:
“Duoduo… whatever you want… I’ll be with you.”
Moonlight streamed in from the window.
Falling on the two of them.
One asleep.
One awake.
Their fingers lightly touching.