She became a heartthrob among internet celebrities.

Jiang Lai washed her hands, dried them with paper, and was about to leave the bathroom when she heard a boy and a girl arguing in the hallway outside.

Why does this kind of thing always happen?! Last time it was Qin Yifan, and who is it this time? Don't you guys even consider finding a private room to argue?! To avoid embarrassment, she decided to go out later.

With a "slap," judging from the sound, the boy must have been slapped.

"I just wanted you to care about me a little more. I casually said we should break up, couldn't you at least try to comfort me? You bastard! You've actually wanted to break up with me for a long time, haven't you?" The girl's voice was a little hysterical. "You bastard! Let go!"

"That's enough. I let you curse me a couple of times, and you even slapped me. Wanting another one is going too far, isn't it?" The boy's voice didn't sound angry, but rather completely indifferent and uncaring.

"When you said you wanted to break up, I agreed. Now you're the one who's still clinging on. There's no need for that. Let's part amicably. When we were together, I bought you whatever you wanted, and I gave you something when we broke up. That's enough."

"Who cares! You don't even understand what love is!"

"Tsk, I've spent a lot of money on you while we're together, isn't that enough?" The boy said impatiently. "If you want more from me, you're mistaken. I never go back to an ex. Don't waste your time on me, huh? Can't you just find someone who treats you better?"

"You—" The two argued for a few more minutes, or rather, it was the girl who was the one arguing.

After a while, Jiang Lai listened carefully again and didn't hear any other sounds. She guessed that there was no one in the corridor outside, so she went out. But after taking only a few steps, she found a boy still standing in the corridor.

He had a butterfly perm, and Jiang Lai could only see his profile. His facial features were clean and sharp, and his nose was high and straight. Even under the not-so-bright light, one could feel that his appearance was extremely outstanding.

At this moment, he was leaning against the wall, one leg standing and the other bent and resting on the wall. In his hand was a freshly lit cigarette. He took a puff, then slowly exhaled a smoke ring, then lowered his hand, tapped his finger lightly, and a spark jumped out and disappeared in mid-air.

Seeing that he had no intention of leaving, Jiang Lai decided not to wait any longer and walked out directly.

"Oh, you're out?" the boy said, his voice a little hoarse.

"Are you talking to me?" Jiang Lai looked around and, not seeing anyone else, spoke up.

"It was you. Weren't you listening for quite a while? You witnessed the whole argument between my ex-girlfriend and me after we broke up."

"Sorry, I didn't want to watch the show, I just felt it would be a bit awkward to go out."

"What's so embarrassing? You weren't the reason my ex-girlfriend and I broke up," the boy said nonchalantly.

"Oh, okay, then please move aside." Jiang Lai replied casually, and then tried to walk away from him.

A hand was placed in front of her. "Add me back on WeChat?"

"Ok?"

"Don't you remember me?" The boy's voice carried a hint of nonchalant laughter. "When I started college, I asked you for your WeChat. It was from the boys' dormitory at the sports school."

"It's you?" Jiang Lai looked at his face carefully and confirmed that he was Ying Yanzhao, the one who deleted her from WeChat.

"But I remember you deleted me, and now you want to add me back? Are you bored? Or am I bored?"

"Oh, that was my ex-girlfriend. She deleted all the girls from my phone." Ying Yanzhao casually brought up his ex-girlfriend. "And just a few minutes ago, I refused to get back together with her, so it's not a problem for me to add you back, is it?"

Jiang Lai sneered, "That won't do. Deleting and then adding again, don't I have any dignity?"

Ying Yanzhao seemed disappointed, letting out a drawn-out "Ah," and said, "That's such a pity. But if we meet a third time, should we add each other back on WeChat?"

"I--"

"Ah Jiang!" Another voice rang out, sounding particularly anxious. It was Tang Li, with Lu Jin beside her.

He rushed to Jiang Lai's side, "Are you alright?"

Tang Li also asked, "Why does it take so long to go to the restroom?"

Jiang Lai shook her head: "It's nothing, something just kept me from getting here."

"Shall we go back?" Tang Li said.

"Ah."

"Then I look forward to our third meeting?" Ying Yanzhao stubbed out his cigarette and quickly walked away.

"Was he talking to you?" Tang Li asked curiously, watching his departing figure.

"I don't know, maybe he's just making things up." Jiang Lai replied casually, no longer looking at Ying Yanzhao, but instead taking Tang Li's hand and the two of them walked towards the front hall together, with Lu Jin silently following behind them.

-

"Oh? You're back!" Zhao Ying said. "Come quick! With three people missing, the meat is being grilled faster than it's being eaten."

"Leave it to me!!" Tang Li happily sat back down in her seat.

Lu Jin sat back down opposite Jiang Lai and used tongs to put slices of grilled meat into her plate.

"It's okay, I can do it myself. You eat too! Don't worry about me." Jiang Lai smiled at Lu Jin.

The six of them ate at the barbecue restaurant for another half hour before finally finishing. Lu Jin and his roommate then suggested taking the four girls for a walk around the vicinity of the university. They walked for another half hour until they were no longer so full, and then suggested it was time to go back.

The eldest brother gave Lu Jin a push and said, "Let Lu Jin take you back! Although Imperial University isn't far, you're girls after all, it's safer to have a boy with you."

My roommates said "Oh—" and then accepted it with smiles.

Jiang Lai remained expressionless throughout, but in her mind she was thinking about how to deal with her roommates when she got back, so that they could cause trouble wherever they went!

It was only a few subway stops away. After exiting the subway, we all walked together towards Imperial University.

The sun had long since set, but the summer night was still bright, with stars twinkling in the twilight. Dusk was falling, but night had not yet fully descended.

"Thank you for bringing us back. You should go back now!" Jiang Lai said to Lu Jin as she turned around.

Lu Jin hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Can I say a few words to you?"

His roommates were very perceptive. "Well then, Ah Jiang, we'll head back to the dorm first!"

"Okay, we're off now!" "Come back soon!"

001: "Oh?"

Jiang Lai: "Shut up."

“Sure, go ahead and say it.” After watching her roommate leave, Jiang Lai turned her attention back to Lu Jin.

He seemed a little nervous at that moment and said, "Then you must listen to me finish."

"What I'm about to say is all from a sober state; I'm not drunk," Lu Jin said earnestly. "I know the timing might not be right, and I know I haven't prepared properly beforehand."

"I've always wanted to be honest with you, but I was worried that you wouldn't understand my feelings, or that you would reject me outright."

Lu Jin looked directly into Jiang Lai's eyes and said, "I'm not usually such a hesitant person, but I always feel extra worried when I'm with you. Today, your roommate told me a lot about you, and I also saw that boy in the hallway outside the bathroom."

“You are an outstanding and radiant person, and there must be many people chasing after you. If I just stay in the same place and do nothing, the distance between us will only grow further and further apart. We are not even in the same school, and you are so busy. Look, you don’t even have to go back with me during the holidays now.”

"So I want to tell you my thoughts frankly."

"I've been trying to win your favor. But now I feel like I haven't done enough. At least, liking and loving someone is much more than just playing games and chatting."

"I know that pursuing and confessing to a girl shouldn't be like this. At the very least, there should be flowers, gifts, milk tea, and dolls."

"But it's too late today, so I've chosen to tell you this first. I know my confession must have been terrible, and failure is to be expected." Lu Jin felt his whole body burning up, especially his palms, which were sweating nervously.

He paused for two seconds, then continued, "I've finished speaking. Don't feel pressured. If you don't like me, I'll keep trying. Next time I confess, I'll remember to bring flowers and a gift."

Jiang Lai hesitated for a moment, then said, "Thank you."

"But I'm sorry, if we're going to start a romantic relationship, we have to really like each other a lot to agree to it! I can't like you the way you like me, so I can't agree to it."

"And I also know that your liking for me may largely stem from the wrong hints I gave you in the past, or even, to put it bluntly, my deliberate seduction. You may not really know me; the me I showed you was only a very superficial part of myself."

"That's not how it is!" Lu Jin said anxiously, "Even if you reject me, there's no need to blame yourself or belittle yourself. No matter how my feelings for you developed, I don't dislike them. In fact, I feel happy every time I think about it."

"If you feel I don't understand you, that's okay. As long as you're willing to give me a chance, I'll try my best to understand you. I'll also make myself better, at least good enough to be worthy of you. But no matter what happens in the future, at least we'll be friends."

After Lu Jin finished speaking, he didn't let Jiang Lai reply, but said, "Then you should go back now! I'm leaving first!" Then he turned and left.

Jiang Lai stood silently in place for a while, then walked back to her dormitory.

001: "What are you thinking about?"

Jiang Lai: "I don't know, let's just take it one step at a time. If I keep myself busy, I won't have so much time to think about these things."

As others have said, relationships are like facing an unpayable debt; there are only two ways to repay it: either by obeying or by changing one's attitude.

001: "Are you going to obey or change your attitude?"

Jiang Lai: "That depends on what Lu Jin plans to do."

To Jiang Lai's surprise, Lu Jin never mentioned what happened that night again. Instead, he approached her with a more open attitude, stating that he wanted to get to know her better. He became more enthusiastic and direct. Because of Lu Jin's harmless personality, Jiang Lai found it hard to dislike his enthusiasm.

001: "Well, it's hard to say what will happen in the future."