He tricked the female lead into becoming his boyfriend, but then went on to criticize the male lead.

Since it was the beginning of the semester and formal classes hadn't started yet, the two had a quick lunch at a food street outside the school and then strolled around for a while.

Wen Zhaoci did not escort Sang Jiuning back to the girls' dormitory. Instead, he familiarly and naturally took her wrist and walked towards his apartment, which was not far from the school.

The boy was tall and slender, with the sleeves of his white shirt casually rolled up to his forearms, revealing a section of his fair and bony wrists. His pace was unhurried, and he subconsciously slowed down throughout to accommodate the light steps of the girl beside him.

Upon arriving at the apartment door, Wen Zhaoci unlocked it with her fingerprint, and with a soft click, the door opened.

Sang Jiuning released his hand, bent down to change into slippers, her movements natural and relaxed, as if she had returned to her own little world.

Wen Zhaoci followed closely behind and entered the room, closing the door behind him. He quickly changed into slippers, his gaze unconsciously falling on the girl on the sofa who was taking out her phone. His eyes softened a bit, and then he turned and walked towards the open refrigerator.

The refrigerator was neatly and cleanly arranged, mostly containing Sang Jiuning's favorite drinks and snacks.

He pulled out two bottles of chilled fruit drinks from his fingertips, loosened the caps, and then walked over to Sang Jiuning and handed them to her.

"Here you are."

A clear, deep voice fell into my ear, carrying just the right amount of gentleness.

Sang Jiuning looked up at him, reached out and took the slightly cool drink. Her fingertips touched the coolness of the bottle, and she comfortably squinted her eyes.

She shook the bottle, looked up at the boy in front of her, and casually asked, "You're a first-year graduate student now, so you're not going to live in the dorms anymore?"

Wen Zhaoci lowered his eyes to look into her clear and clean eyes, a hint of cunning and selfishness flashing across his dark and deep eyes.

How could he tell her that from the moment he was confirmed to be admitted to the same university for postgraduate studies, he immediately contacted the school's dormitory management office and voluntarily applied to give up his postgraduate dormitory spot?

He remained outwardly calm and spoke in a flat tone, finding a flawless excuse: "Well, there are a lot of people applying for graduate school this year through both guaranteed admission and the national entrance examination. The graduate student dormitories are already full, and there are no spare beds."

Upon hearing this, Sang Jiuning nodded in realization, completely unaware of his lie. She echoed his words, "That's true. More and more people are pursuing postgraduate studies these days. Undergraduates are everywhere, and without a higher degree after graduation, it's indeed difficult to find a satisfactory job. Studying for a few more years always provides more options."

Her eyes crinkled as she spoke, her tone carrying a youthful clarity and sentimentality, earnest yet endearing.

Wen Zhaoci quietly looked at her vibrant appearance, her heart softening. She didn't reply, but her gaze suddenly fixed on the phone in her hand.

In just a few days, she changed her phone case.

They met a week before school started, and she was still using her old phone case then.

His gaze paused slightly, and he spoke softly, his tone casually probing: "You changed your phone case?"

Upon hearing his words, Sang Jiuning immediately raised her phone and waved it at him, her fingertips gently stroking the soft casing, her eyes filled with a little joy: "Isn't it pretty? It's a back-to-school gift from my new roommate."

Wen Zhaoci's eyes flickered with emotion, and he uttered two words indifferently: "Not bad."

Not stunning, not ugly, but it's Totoro, which she likes... It's a decent match for her.

But only he knew that the moment his gaze fell on the phone case, a secret flutter arose in his heart.

The phrase "Let's have a love that never ends" says: Couple items, matching items, are a bond that belongs exclusively to those who are close to each other.

If he uses this one too...

Once this thought arises, it spreads wildly through my mind and I can't shake it off.

Sang Jiuning didn't see through his deep thoughts. Hearing this perfunctory evaluation, her face immediately fell, and she pretended to be disappointed, pouting, "I was thinking that if you liked it, I would buy one for you too. Since you only said it's okay, then you don't like it. Never mind."

Her tone was sweet and charming, with a hint of temper, soft and adorable.

Wen Zhaoci's heart tightened, and his deep eyes darkened instantly. He quickly suppressed his anxiety and dared not say another word that might spoil the mood.

He liked it, he liked it so much.

Watching the little girl curl up on the soft sofa, her slender body shrunk, she looked down and opened a short video, her fingertips deftly swiping the screen. She quickly became immersed in the interesting video, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

Wen Zhaoci walked over slowly and sat down on the sofa opposite her.

He casually took out his phone, but his eyes didn't fall on his own screen at all; all his attention was glued to the phone case in the girl's hand.

Taking advantage of Sang Jiuning's engrossed gaze and lack of vigilance, he quickly opened the QR code scanning app and lightly scanned the phone case.

The match was successful in one second, and the same phone case immediately appeared on the page.

His fingers moved incredibly fast, without the slightest hesitation, and he placed the order and made payment immediately.

After doing all this, he quietly locked the screen, placed the phone beside him, and looked up at the little girl on the sofa.

Sunlight streamed through the French windows, illuminating the top of her hair with a gentle golden edge. She smiled, her eyes crinkling, filled with twinkling starlight, vibrant and dazzling, crashing straight into his heart, filling it completely.

More than twenty minutes passed quietly.

Sang Jiuning was completely immersed in the joy of short videos, laughing so hard her shoulders trembled slightly, completely forgetting the passage of time.

Wen Zhaoci had seen enough of her adorable appearance and could no longer bear to look at her from a distance. He simply got up, took long strides, walked straight to the sofa, and sat down steadily beside her.

The next second, he slightly pulled his arm in and naturally drew the soft, warm girl into his arms, letting her rest firmly against his strong chest.

"What are you looking at that makes you so happy?"

Wen Zhaoci lowered his head, his warm breath gently brushing against the top of her head, his voice tender and affectionate, tinged with a hint of doting.

Sang Jiuning looked up at him, her eyes still brimming with laughter, her eyebrows curving, and her tone light: "I'm watching funny everyday videos, they're so hilarious! Some people's bad luck is so absurd yet coincidental, I can't stop watching."

"Really?" Wen Zhaoci leaned closer to her, his gaze falling on her phone screen. He tightened his arms, completely encircling her in his embrace, his posture intimate and tender. "Then I'll watch it with you."

He didn't actually care what the video content was.

He just wanted to use watching videos as an excuse to openly hold her, snuggle up to her, and enjoy this quiet and tender time alone with her.

Sang Jiuning nestled in the soft fabric sofa, curled up into a small ball, her head drooping slightly. The more she looked, the more relaxed she became, her eyelids began to droop, and drowsiness slowly washed over her like a tide.

My mind was hazy, my thoughts drifted away, and I didn't even have the strength to swipe my finger across the screen. Finally, unable to resist the overwhelming drowsiness, I fell into a deep sleep without any warning.