As the second hand of the classroom clock aligned with the twelve once again—who knows how many times now—the students began to stir with varying degrees of impatience.
Ye Qingchang closed her book with a snap.
Dorm leader Yang Shuli let out a huge sigh of relief like she’d just escaped death.
Zhu Niao slapped Gou Yu hard on the back of his head.
Meanwhile, Liu Xie was typing rapidly, telling her online teammates, “Class is over. I’m logging off.”
So many ways to finish class—each more dramatic than the last.
“Do we have to hand in homework?”
Gou Yu sat up with a blank look, his dazed eyes staring at Zhu Niao who was already standing in front of him.
“This isn’t high school,” she shot him a look of disdain.
“What’s the difference? Either way, you’re the one doing it for me.”
“Fuck off.”
From behind her, Liu Xie gave the two of them a long, meaningful look.
There was something weird in her gaze that gave Zhu Niao a chill down her spine.
Then, with a mischievous grin, Liu Xie shoved the clueless Yang Shuli and Ye Qingchang forward, seemingly determined to be the first back to the dorm.
“Go, go, go! Otherwise, we’ll be the third wheel.”
“Huh?”
Ye Qingchang and Yang Shuli were both baffled but ended up getting pushed into the mass of students leaving the classroom.
Soon, they vanished from Zhu Niao’s view.
Zhu Niao had no idea which girls’ dorm her roommates were staying in.
She’d need them to lead the way.
But there were just too many people, and with her height, she couldn’t tell which exit they had taken from the lecture hall.
“What’s up?” Gou Yu seemed more awake now, rubbing his eyes.
“I can’t find my roommates,” Zhu Niao said anxiously, genuinely distressed.
“That’s it?”
A wicked grin crept up Gou Yu’s face.
“Don’t worry—I’ve got a plan.”
Zhu Niao’s instincts screamed danger, but it was too late.
Gou Yu hooked his hands under her arms and lifted her clean off the ground.
Just as she was struggling to process the sudden weightlessness, he started shouting:
“Roommates of Zhu Niao! Roommates of Zhu Niao! Your poor little chick has been abandoned and is waiting here to be claimed! Please come forward as soon as possible upon hearing this message!”
The students exiting the classroom and even the teacher who was still packing up all froze in place.
Their eyes all locked onto Zhu Niao, suspended in the air—her stunningly beautiful face rapidly flushing into a shade of liver red.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!”
“To help a lost child find her parents,” Gou Yu replied matter-of-factly.
“Put me down! Now!” Zhu Niao struggled.
“But what if your parents can’t find you?” he countered.
Zhu Niao took a deep breath, eyes sharp with murderous intent.
“I don’t know where my parents are, but if you don’t put me down this instant, your mom’s gonna go missing real fast.”
“Xiao Niao,” Gou Yu suddenly put on a serious face.
“You can’t keep acting like such a delinquent now that you look like this.”
“I’ve always treated people how they treat me.”
She timed it perfectly and landed a precise kick to Gou Yu’s knee.
He buckled slightly, and she landed on her feet like a cat.
Her eyes swept across the crowd that had gathered, but as soon as she landed, the onlookers quickly averted their eyes and began flowing out of the classroom again like nothing had happened.
“Hey, Xiao Niao—your dad didn’t see you earlier and thought you got lost, so he left first,” Liu Xie said, squeezing back through the dispersing crowd and reaching out like she was about to give Zhu Niao a hug.
“No worries. I’m not lost yet. But give it a minute, and your mom might be.”
Zhu Niao turned her attention to Ye Qingchang behind her.
“I was thinking of borrowing a couple outfits from Third. I barely have anything decent to wear.”
Liu Xie glanced at Zhu Niao, then at Ye Qingchang—specifically at her chest.
“Aren’t you worried it’ll be… tight in the chest?”
“Even though it sounds like you’re trying to insult me,” Ye Qingchang shot her a look, “I know you’re just being pervy again. Say what you want.”
Then she nodded at Zhu Niao.
“Our closets are all full, probably more clothes than we could wear in a lifetime. Take whatever you like.”
Behind her, the dorm leader Yang Shuli raised a hand.
“I can lend you clothes too!”
Zhu Niao looked her over.
“I don’t wear toddler sizes.”
With the arrangements settled, Zhu Niao tugged on the sleepy-eyed Gou Yu beside her and followed her three roommates out of the classroom.
The girls’ dorm was something most boys only dreamed of entering—but standing at its entrance in reality, Gou Yu suddenly felt a bit lost.
Zhu Niao left him downstairs and headed up the building with her three roommates.
She didn’t even know where to look anymore.
“Stop sneaking around like that—you’re gonna make people suspicious,” Liu Xie said as she saw Zhu Niao hesitating at every step.
“Don’t tell me you weren’t like this the first time you came here,” Zhu Niao shot back.
“So am I not trying to tell you what to do?” Liu Xie sighed. “Our little bird is still too innocent—so shy she doesn’t even dare look around.”
“No, it’s more like I want to look everywhere. There’s too much to take in.”
“Ah! I know that feeling. Me too,” Yang Shuli said, raising a finger with a bright grin.
Liu Xie was momentarily speechless and quietly opened the dorm room door.
Zhu Niao wasn’t sure if this was a special case, but her roommates’ dorm didn’t feel anything like the dark, damp rooms she had imagined. Instead, it was dreamy—and smelled faintly sweet.
“Third, go help Little Bird pick out a few outfits. I’ve got something to ask her,” Liu Xie said, closing the door behind them.
Ye Qingchang simply nodded silently, naturally accepting Liu Xie’s direction.
“Xiao Niao, I need to ask you something,” Liu Xie said as she pulled Zhu Niao onto the dorm balcony. Standing there under the sunlight, she looked her in the eye. “Have you started going after him yet?”
Zhu Niao naturally knew exactly who she meant.
“Not yet.”
“Are you really planning to?” Liu Xie continued, “You two get along really well right now. But what you’re aiming for… it’ll destroy what you currently have. Are you really willing to go that far?”
Zhu Niao suddenly felt a dry tightness in her throat. “I… I’m not ready yet.”
That disturbing dream from before had, at the very least, forced her to face some harsh truths.
Liu Xie’s usually flirtatious phoenix eyes didn’t waver as she gazed steadily at Zhu Niao.
“I get it. You haven’t had many close friends, and the bond between us probably can’t compare to what you share with him. Losing that kind of connection would hurt like hell.”
“But if you’ve made your decision, then go for it. At least we’ll still be here for you. Our bond won’t break.”
A warm rush of emotion swelled in Zhu Niao’s chest.
Then she turned her head—just in time to see Liu Xie pointing and barking at Ye Qingchang by the wardrobe:
“That skirt goes all the way to her knees! What are you doing picking that one? Get something shorter!”
“This is the shortest one in my wardrobe!” Ye Qingchang shot back.
“You know,” Zhu Niao offered, “you could just hand me a couple pairs of pants.”