CS - 75

There were only two or three people queuing behind them, heads down playing with their phones.

Lin Zhexia’s ears suddenly turned red.

“You...”

She stuttered for a while.

Finally, she decided to close her eyes and steel herself to go get it.

Chi Yao reached out again and grabbed her wrist: “I’m kidding. How could I possibly let you buy such things.”

At the mention of this, Lin Zhexia realized she had overlooked a detail: “You actually prepared this in advance.”

Chi Yao didn’t think much of it.

Lin Zhexia: “You’re shameless, have ill intentions, and harbor ulterior motives.”

Chi Yao scanned the payment code and pulled her out through the exit, expressing some acknowledgment of her choice of words: “Well-used idioms.”

Lin Zhexia stayed at Chi Yao’s house for nearly half a month.

Everywhere in the house bore traces of both of them, from the bedroom to the sofa, to the bathroom, and even... the floor-to-ceiling window that Lin Zhexia liked when she first saw the house hadn’t escaped unscathed. Although the curtains were tightly closed at night, she still felt like she was being “spied on,” fearing that Chi Yao would intentionally pull back the curtains to tease her.

In the end, because she couldn’t stand steadily, he lifted her up entirely, and her whole body trembled.

She heard the voice by her ear whispering: “...so timid.”

“The curtains are closed; no one will see.”

“What if... what if...”

“What ‘what if’?”

Lin Zhexia shivered as she said: “It might accidentally be seen.”

“Then let’s change places,” Chi Yao deliberately paused, “Where do you want to go?”

...

She didn’t want to go anywhere.

She wanted to return to school.

Lin Zhexia practically counted the days, staying at Chi Yao’s house for nearly half a month, and finally waited for the day to return to school.

During this half-month, they had already figured out a clear division of household chores.

Today, she was cooking breakfast in the kitchen, frying bread slices when Chi Yao walked into the kitchen without her noticing and hugged her from behind: “Returning to school today?”

Lin Zhexia hadn’t slept well last night and drowsily replied: “Mm.”

Chi Yao called her: “Lin Zhexia.”

Lin Zhexia responded briefly: “What.”

Chi Yao: “Apply for commuting.”

“...”

Lin Zhexia weakly replied: “Forget about eating breakfast; starve to death.”

Midway through the meal, Chi Yao still tried to persuade her to apply for commuting, reminding her: “They turn off the lights in the dormitory.”

Lin Zhexia: “No trouble. It helps me go to bed at ten every night, early to bed and early to rise. I love the lights-out rule.”

“Room checks are quite annoying too.”

“I think,” Lin Zhexia said while biting her bread slice, “...students should respect school rules and experience college life.”

“...”

At this moment, Lan Xiaoxue happened to call her: “Xiaxia, when are you coming to school? I forgot my keys and am locked outside the dormitory. The dorm supervisor is so fierce, I don’t dare go down to borrow the keys.”

Lin Zhexia glanced at Chi Yao and quickly said: “I’ll be there soon, just wait for me.”

After hanging up the phone, Lin Zhexia waved her phone at Chi Yao: “I need to go back after eating; my roommate misses me.”

Chi Yao coolly said: “What about when I miss you?”

Lin Zhexia thought for a moment: “Then I... reluctantly allow you to miss me a little.”

After a vacation apart, the roommates greeted each other with particular warmth.

“Did you gain weight?” Qin Lei asked Lan Xiaoxue.

Lan Xiaoxue looked in the mirror: “I ate too much during the holidays, gained four pounds. Is it very noticeable?”

“Four pounds is alright, but you’re not tall...”

“Who are you calling short? Let me say it again; I’m five feet six inches.”

The two argued back and forth.

Lan Xiaoxue turned to Lin Zhexia: “Did you just arrive? You should have told me earlier; maybe we could have shared a taxi from the station.”

Lin Zhexia vaguely responded, not mentioning that she came from Chi Yao’s house: “Just arrived.”

Soon, the topic shifted from overeating during the holidays to another subject.

“In a couple of days, the club recruitment starts. Should we join the same club?”

Lan Xiaoxue was more informed about campus activities: “I know which clubs have more handsome guys; we can go together then.”

Lin Zhexia wasn’t very interested in these, but she also leaned towards group activities, not wanting to be left alone, so she agreed.

Before going to bed, she reported to Chi Yao: I’m going to participate in club recruitment.

• Which club?

Lin Zhexia deliberately replied: A club with many handsome guys.

Chi Yao was probably busy; after a while, he sent back a question mark.

• ?

But Lin Zhexia was already sleepy and didn’t continue chatting with him. Her hand relaxed, and her phone fell beside her pillow.

On the day of club recruitment, several rows of simple sunshades were set up around the school.

Even in the dead of winter, the sun was still blinding. These flat-roofed sheds looked like small tents from afar. Each shed had a long table and a few chairs. On the tables were introductions and names of various clubs, dazzlingly displayed.

Lan Xiaoxue led the way, taking them to the skateboarding club.

Qin Lei was skeptical: “Are you sure there are many handsome guys in the skateboarding club…?”

Lan Xiaoxue: “I’m sure. I stake my personality on it.”

Before her words faded, she added: “Though looking like someone’s brother might be impossible. After all, someone like her brother, there’s no second one in the entire school—”

The group walked and chatted.

Actually, they rarely inquired about Lin Zhexia and Chi Yao’s affairs. Unlike high school, college students’ social interactions were more restrained.

Qin Lei found the opportunity to ask her now: “You and Chi Yao grew up together. What’s it like looking at his face every day since childhood?”

Lin Zhexia felt this question was somewhat familiar.

It seemed Chen Lin had asked her this question before.

“Honestly,” since Chi Yao wasn’t here, she deliberately said, “I’m a bit tired of seeing it.”

Lan Xiaoxue: “Then come with us and take a look.”

Although she said this, she had no interest in checking out others; purely for the fun of it.

Around her neck was the scarf she brought from Chi Yao’s house. During the half-month she stayed there, the scarf had imperceptibly changed ownership. She was afraid of the cold, so she honestly wrapped most of her face, leaving only her eyes exposed.

When the dorm mates reached the skateboarding club, they were a bit stunned.

There was no other reason; the boys sitting in the skateboarding club’s tent were all wheat-colored skin and appeared muscular. Several robust boys sat there, making others reluctant to approach.

Qin Lei was the first to stop: “...”

Lin Zhexia also stopped.

Only Lan Xiaoxue excitedly continued forward.

Qin Lei pulled her back: “Wait, are you sure?”

Lan Xiaoxue: “Sure about what?”

Qin Lei: “Are you sure your friend said there were many handsome guys in the skateboarding club?”

Lan Xiaoxue: “Isn’t it clearly written on the sign? Skateboarding club, yes.”

Finally, she blinked earnestly and looked at them, “Aren’t these guys handsome? I love healthy, tanned muscular men like these.”

……

“Not that they’re not handsome,” Qin Lei struggled to say, “...just that their handsomeness might be different. It’s our problem. We forgot to study your aesthetics before leaving.”

A misunderstanding.

Lin Zhexia listened to their conversation and laughed heartily.

She noticed her phone vibrating in her pocket and lowered her head to take it out. It was a message from Chi Yao.

• Where are you.

Lin Zhexia typed with one finger: Near the skateboarding club. Are you also participating in the recruitment?

Chi Yao quickly replied.

Boyfriend: No

Boyfriend: Here to catch my girlfriend

Because they lingered around the skateboarding club for a while, Qin Lei was caught by a burly club president who spoke in a very deep voice: “Junior, would you like to fill out a form?”

Qin Lei was too scared to refuse and cast a pleading glance at them.

The muscular club president caught whoever he could: “Are you all together? Fill out the forms together.”

Each of them was assigned someone. Lin Zhexia squeezed into the corner to fill out the form, and another wheat-colored boy introduced the club content to her.

However, this boy’s personality was completely opposite to his appearance. When handing her a pen, he smiled at her and gently said: “Sorry, did our president scare you just now?”

Lin Zhexia was looking down at the form, and upon hearing this, her lashes fluttered.

She realized this boy was looking at her. Although only half of her face was visible, the girl burying her chin into the scarf looked adorable, exuding a fluffy softness. Her revealed pair of eyes were clear, bright, and sparkling.

The boy glanced at the registration form and read her name: “Lin... Lin Zhe...”

Lin Zhexia hadn’t finished writing the character “夏” when the pen in her hand was suddenly snatched away.

Lin Zhexia was taken aback.

Before she could look up, she heard a familiar voice from above: “Sorry, I have something to discuss with my girlfriend.”

Then, before she realized it, she was already being led out of the recruitment line by Chi Yao. After moving away from the crowd, she asked: “Why are you here?”

“To take you to eat.”

“But I haven’t...”

Chi Yao’s voice, for some reason, turned a bit cold: “Is eating important or filling out the form important?”

Lin Zhexia kept looking back, worried about her unfinished form: “But it won’t take long to fill out, and I promised to participate with them...”

As she spoke, she keenly sensed that Chi Yao was in a bad mood.

When he was in a bad mood, it was obvious; his eyebrows would slightly droop, and his speech would speed up.

Having known him for so many years, these subtle traits were too easy to recognize.

But she didn’t know why Chi Yao was angry.

The cafeteria was almost empty at this time. Even as she and Chi Yao sat facing each other eating, she still hadn’t figured it out.

Lin Zhexia poked at the rice in her bowl, thinking, could it be the message she sent him last night?

Saying she was going to a club with many handsome guys.

But he should have seen it by now... That club wasn’t what she described.

After ruling out this only possible reason, Lin Zhexia was completely stumped.

Finally, with a very unique train of thought, she went in circles and approached the issue from an odd angle: “Are you worried that skateboarding is too dangerous?”

Chi Yao didn’t speak.

Lin Zhexia: “Actually, I think skateboarding is pretty good. It’s good for fitness, very cool, and beneficial for my personal development.”

“Or perhaps, you want me to join the same club as you? But due to pride, you’re too embarrassed to tell me,” Lin Zhexia thought of another possibility and marveled at her ability to dig out details. “Which club do you want to join? Tell me, I’ll consider it.”

Chi Yao finally put down his chopsticks.

After putting down his chopsticks, he swapped the bowl of soup next to Lin Zhexia’s plate with his own.

After swapping, Lin Zhexia discovered that all the chopped green onions had been carefully picked out of the swapped-over soup.

“How do you feel about that guy just now?” Chi Yao suddenly asked.

Lin Zhexia had completely forgotten: “What guy?”

Chi Yao clicked his tongue and tapped his fingers on the table: “The one who helped you fill out the form.”

Lin Zhexia: “Oh, he’s alright. He seems to enjoy exercising, and surprisingly, he speaks very softly...”

As Lin Zhexia spoke, she realized that what Chi Yao cared about was indeed the reason she initially excluded.

...

But surely it wasn’t to this extent.

Is this jealousy?

“Is he,” Chi Yao seemingly casually mentioned, “quite in line with your standards for choosing a partner?”

Lin Zhexia was even more confused: “When did I have standards for choosing a partner?”

Chi Yao looked cold and awkward. He seemed reluctant to mention it but still averted his eyes and mimicked her childhood tone, pulling out a statement buried in her memory: “If I were to find a boyfriend in the future, I’d choose someone with a wheat-colored complexion, muscles, and a gentle personality.”

“...”

It seemed there was such a thing.

Lin Zhexia remembered.

Initially, Shen Shanshan asked her if she knew what type of girl Chi Yao liked. Her first reaction was that she didn’t know what Chi Yao liked, but she had deliberately said some strange criteria for choosing a partner in front of Chi Yao.

But she didn’t expect Chi Yao to remember so clearly.

Chi Yao repeated word-for-word the nonsense she had spouted during their argument, jumping around in anger: “Anyway, he has to be better than you in every way.”

“...”