The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

"Damn it, who said going to college guarantees a girlfriend? It's all a fucking lie!"

In the dormitory, Zhang Xiaoqiang lay sprawled on the bed, his phone upside down against his chest, letting out a grief-stricken cry.

Wang Yu, lying on the opposite bed, didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, remaining in a corpse-like position, and weakly replied:

"Qiangzi, haven't you figured out that all the good girls are someone else's? Look at me, I believe in letting things take their course. When the time is right, the girl will come naturally."

"You're just bragging. You're just throwing caution to the wind."

Zhang Xiaoqiang punched the wall next to him.

On the lower bunk, Han Yang and Ye Shu were wearing headphones and typing away on their computers, their battle raging.

As Han Yang's computer screen went white, followed by gray, the battle, which lasted for three minutes and fifteen seconds, ended with Ye Shu's precise headshot.

Ye Shu took off her headphones, a smug look on her face, and kicked the leg of Han Yang's chair next to her:

"Go, go buy some popsicles."

Han Yang was still a little unconvinced:

"Let's play one more time. I made a mistake earlier. I'll buy the same thing next time."

"Are you a sore loser?"

Ye Shu raised an eyebrow smugly:

"Hurry up, run forward!"

Han Yang got up grumbling and went out the door wearing flip-flops, cursing under his breath.

Ye Shu then leaned back comfortably in the not-so-comfortable chair, picked up the rather old-fashioned enamel mug on the table, which had a large red five-pointed star printed on it and the words "Serve the People" written below.

They bought these online together. By the way, the other three bought "Learn from Lei Feng," "Labor is the most glorious," and "Study hard and make progress every day."

Ye Shu, like an old cadre, blew on non-existent tea leaves, took a satisfied sip of peach juice from his teacup, and then said to Zhang Xiaoqiang, who was still sitting on the bed stealing light through a hole in the wall:

"I'm telling you, you just lie around in your little dorm room all day, waiting for a beautiful girl to fall from the sky and land right on your bed, right?"

Zhang Xiaoqiang sat up abruptly, and the sudden movement caused the bed frame, which seemed older than them, to creak and groan.

He seemed quite unconvinced, and asked Ye Shu with a stiff neck:

"So I'm off! Playing basketball, going to class, the cafeteria, the library—where haven't I been? It's so weird, why haven't I ever had one of those romantic encounters like those in novels where a female student stops you on the street to ask for directions and her WeChat, you sit across from each other in the library studying and sparks fly, or even you hand her a bottle of water at the basketball court and a romantic meeting begins?"

"nonsense."

Ye Shu closed the lid of the teacup, scoffing at Zhang Xiaoqiang's words:

"You said it's from a novel, so how can you take it seriously? In reality, there aren't that many love at first sight moments. Go to sleep, anything can happen in dreams."

Despite his eloquent words and air of worldly wisdom and detachment, he was actually quite skeptical.

After all, who hasn't secretly fantasized about a pink, strawberry-flavored campus romance at that age?

However, the pragmatism, or rather timidity, honed by life made him more accustomed to nipping these unrealistic fantasies in the bud, and then continuing to squander his excess youth in games and drinking with his brothers.

Just as Zhang Xiaoqiang was using probability and metaphysics to argue with Ye Shu that he was just unlucky, the dormitory door was kicked open.

Han Yang walked in carrying a bag of popsicles, looking excited and panting heavily, clearly having run back.

"Hurry up, come with me!"

"Kill Silang, seize the fortified tower?"

Wang Yu, who had been listening to Ye Shu and Zhang Xiaoqiang's debate, opened one eye and chimed in.

"What a load of rubbish!"

Han Yang caught his breath and looked excited:

"Someone's going to confess their love in public in the square, let's go watch the excitement!"

Watching people confess their love, especially in public, is a long-standing and always profitable form of entertainment for these guys during their boring college life.

If they succeed, they can join in the merriment, bask in the sweetness emanating from others, and fantasize about their own future moments of glory.

If they fail, it provides at least a week's worth of talking about, and a source of gleeful schadenfreude like, "Hahaha, look at that guy, he looks like..."

"Let's go!"

"Wait for me to put on my shoes!"

The two people on the bed jumped off in one fluid motion, and Ye Shu also turned off the computer.

They each took an ice pop from the plastic bag in Han Yang's hand, put it in their mouths, and headed towards the small square, laughing and joking.

The setting sun painted the whole world orange-yellow, and a large crowd had already gathered in the small square. They were all onlookers who, like the others, were hoping to make a sure profit.

I don't know why, but after watching so many confessions over the years, the vast majority of people choose to confess when the sun is setting.

Ye Shu had indeed thought about this matter and analyzed it carefully, and there were probably two reasons:

Firstly, everyone has to attend classes during the day, which is usually when both sides are free.

Secondly, the warm sunset has a hazy, dreamlike filter that greatly increases the success rate.

The four seasoned onlookers didn't squeeze into the crowd. Having watched the excitement for so many years, they had long since figured out the surroundings of all the popular confession spots on campus.

They climbed up to the edge of the flower bed next to the square, which was about waist-high, so they could see far from there.

The four people squatted in a row by the flower bed, like sparrows on a power line, each with an ice pop in their mouth, squinting, and wearing the lewd expression of professional judges.

A handsome young man in a suit, with his hair styled like an adult, was scattering flower petals on the ground in the crowd with his head down, while holding a guitar in his arms.

"Wow, they're even putting on a talent show. They can't be going to sing 'Unavoidable Love' again, can they? I've been listening to that song nonstop lately."

Han Yang muttered to himself while chewing on an ice pop.

"Then go and request a song. Requesting a song is so prestigious."

Ye Shushun chimed in, and the group let out a series of lewd laughs before waiting for the performance to begin.

Soon, a girl in a white dress, her face flushed, was half-pushed and half-shoved into the middle of the crowd by several close friends.

The boy holding the guitar took a deep breath, strummed the strings, and sang a little love song.

The girl kept her head down, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt with her fingers, so her expression was obscured, but her neck and ears were bright red.

Over at the flowerbed, Han Yang listened intently, nodding at the end, and commented with the air of a seasoned music critic:

"Hmm, he hits the high notes really well, and his low notes are incredibly steady. He's got some skills. I think this kid has a chance today."

Zhang Xiaoqiang had long since finished his popsicle and was now chewing on the stick, complaining:

"Damn! If I'd known having a talent was this useful, I would have learned a musical instrument when my mom made me!"

"Come on, Qiangzi."

Wang Yu, standing nearby, undermined them:

"Didn't you say your mom made you learn the erhu? I don't think you can necessarily attract young girls by playing the erhu. You might end up attracting a bunch of old men."

The group burst into carefree laughter again, teasing each other as they looked at the main couple in the middle of the crowd.

Ye Shu laughed along, the popsicle in his mouth melting down to just a small piece, which he crunched loudly as he bit into it.

His gaze casually swept over the people around him who had joined in the commotion, and then stopped under a ginkgo tree far away from the crowd.

There stood a girl, who didn't squeeze in like the others to join the fun, but just watched from a distance.

The evening breeze swept across the square, ruffling her light blue skirt and long hair.

Ye Shu saw her shoulders swaying in the setting sun. Then, the girl raised her hand and wiped her face with her sleeve.

The movement was quick, but Ye Shu could tell that she was wiping away tears.

Then, the girl turned around, without looking at the two people confessing their love in the middle of the field, and hurriedly left.

Ye Shu finished his popsicle and looked away. The sense of relief he had felt from watching the spectacle faded inexplicably.

However, he didn't pay much attention to it, assuming it was just some melodramatic love triangle plot, which is all too common.