Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

The "Old Zhang's Barbecue" near the north gate of Linjiang University was bustling with people. The aroma of cumin from the charcoal fire mixed with the malty smell of cheap beer, fermenting freely in the early autumn night.

The air seemed to freeze beside a greasy folding table.

Li Chen stared intently at the newly revealed "Ace of Spades" on the table, his fingertips turning white.

"Hahaha! It's you again! Old Li, are you cursed with bad luck tonight?"

Sitting across from him, Wang Qiang grinned, his fleshy face jiggling. He clutched a handful of juicy lamb skewers, and before he could even swallow, he shouted, "A bet's a bet! This is the 'ultimate punishment,' don't even think about backing out!"

The girls from the surrounding dormitories covered their mouths and chuckled, their eyes lingering on Li Chen's angular face, which was handsome enough to make him an instant star.

This face is a regular feature on the confession wall at Linjiang University.

After my freshman year started, I received several love confession letters right after the military training that lasted for more than half a month ended.

But tonight, he was the laughingstock of the whole table.

He lost three games in a row, and it was him every single one of them!

"I need to have my license checked!!"

Li Chen's face darkened, and he pointed at the card table, gritting his teeth.

"There's nothing wrong with the cards!"

His roommate, Zhao Zixuan, waved his hand, interrupting him.

"You little punk, don't think you can get away with this!"

"Tell me, what is it this time?"

Li Chen grabbed the ice-cold beer in front of him and took a swig, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to suppress the ominous premonition in his heart.

Wang Qiang chuckled, his beady green eyes darting around before finally settling on the corner of the shop entrance.

He raised his greasy finger and pointed in that direction.

"Did you see that beautiful woman who just came in?"

Everyone at the table looked in the direction of the finger.

The noisy food stalls seemed to have been muted in that corner.

It was a table near the air vent, and a girl was sitting there.

She wore a minimalist white shirt with the cuffs casually rolled up, revealing half of her smooth, alabaster forearms.

In this place filled with the sounds of cooking and drinking games, she was holding a thick original book in her hands, quietly flipping through it.

The dim light shone on her profile, outlining her high nose bridge and cool jawline.

She's like a snow lotus growing in a volcano, possessing an aura of absolute zero that says "keep away strangers and get lost acquaintances."

The boys at the surrounding tables were itching to make a move, but none of them dared to approach and strike up a conversation.

"Holy crap...it's Yan Xi?"

Chen Mo, his roommate, pushed up his glasses and gasped, "That 'fearless' senior from the architecture department?"

Li Chen's heart skipped a beat.

Yan Xi.

The president of the student union at Linjiang University is a name known to everyone.

Not only because of her face that made all the girls in the school jealous, but also because of her aloofness that drove everyone to despair.

It is said that last semester, a rich second-generation who drove a Ferrari placed 999 roses downstairs in the dormitory. When Yan Xi came downstairs, she glanced at them, said only, "You're blocking the way, please move aside," and then stepped on the petals to go to class.

"Wang Qiang, are you fucking crazy?"

Li Chen lowered his voice, "Change to another one."

"No way! Can't you handle this?"

Wang Qiang slammed his fist on the table, his voice so loud it seemed like it would blow the roof off, "Rules are rules!"

"Listen carefully, your punishment is—to confess your feelings to Yan Xi in the future."

"hiss--"

A collective gasp filled the air.

"It must be loud, it must be heartfelt!"

Wang Qiang, always eager for drama, added a condition: "And you must stay for a full minute before you can come back!"

"If you get told to 'get lost,' then you've completed your mission."

Li Chen felt a chill run down his spine.

This isn't a great adventure; it's a death trap.

Go and provoke Yan Xi?

What's the difference between this and touching a tiger's butt with bare hands?

"Can I pay with alcohol?"

Li Chen tried to struggle, his hand already reaching for the wine bottle.

"No!"

The people at the table all spoke in unison, and even the few girls who were originally reserved joined in the commotion, clearly wanting to see this "pure and innocent school heartthrob" get his comeuppance.

It's hard to ride a tiger.

Li Chen closed his eyes, countless ways to die flashing through his mind, finally settling on Yan Xi's eyes that seemed capable of freezing people to death.

"OK."

He gritted his teeth and forced out a single word before abruptly standing up.

The chair legs scraped against the ground, making a screeching sound.

At that moment, Li Chen felt like a brave warrior about to be executed.

From this table to the corner, it's only a short distance of ten meters.

With every step he took, Li Chen could feel the gazes directed at him from all around—some gloating, some pitying, and most looking at him as a fool.

One step, two steps.

The noise from the barbecue stalls seemed to have faded away, leaving only the pounding of my own heart.

As the distance closed, the invisible sense of oppression grew stronger.

Yan Xi seemed completely absorbed in the book, not even lifting her eyelids, as if all the noise around her had nothing to do with her.

Li Chen stopped in front of her desk.

Up close, she is even more striking than rumored.

Her black hair fell casually over her shoulders, with a few strands hanging down beside her ears, and her skin glowed white under the light.

She didn't smell like cheap perfume; instead, she had a faint, crisp scent, similar to fir wood, which instantly dispelled the surrounding smell of cooking oil.

Li Chen felt his throat was dry and his palms were sweaty.

He'd never even held a girl's hand much in his life, yet now he was going to confess his feelings to the most aloof goddess in the entire school.

"that……"

Li Chen's voice was a little strained as soon as he opened his mouth.

Yan Xi paused slightly as she turned the pages, but did not look up.

This attitude of being ignored is even more unbearable than being insulted.

Li Chen glanced back and saw Wang Qiang holding up his phone and winking at him, signaling him to be more "affectionate".

Die or die!

Li Chen steeled himself and summoned all the acting skills he had ever possessed, trying his best to make his voice sound less like that of a fraudster.

"Senior."

His voice was clear and bright, with a youthful quality that cut through the surrounding noise.

Yan Xi finally reacted.

She slowly raised her head.

Those were extremely beautiful eyes, with slightly upturned corners and a deep, dark pupil, like a bottomless, icy pool.

At this moment, those eyes were calmly staring at Li Chen, without any emotional fluctuation, as if they were looking at a tree or a stone.

Li Chen felt uneasy under their gaze, but he had no way out.

He stared into Yan Xi's eyes, forcing himself not to look away, and said in a very fast voice:

"It may be abrupt, but... I've actually been following you for a long time."

"I've seen all of your designs, and I think you're exceptionally talented."

"Senior, I like you. Can you... be my girlfriend?"

After uttering the last word, Li Chen felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body.

The entire room fell silent.

The once bustling food stalls were now so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The hand reaching for food at the next table froze in mid-air, the cumin bottle in the owner's hand stiffened, and everyone held their breath, waiting for the expected "Get out," or perhaps an even more ruthless mockery.

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

Time seemed to stretch out countless times. Li Chen could even count the number of Yan Xi's eyelashes.

Just as he braced himself for the storm and then slunk away—

Yan Xi closed the book in her hand.

A soft "snap" sounded particularly clear in the silent air.

She leaned back slightly in her chair, and a hint of amusement, which was hard to decipher, suddenly flashed in her usually icy eyes.

Then, the corners of her mouth curved up in an extremely slow, almost imperceptible arc.

In that instant, it was as if the ice and snow melted away, and spring arrived with blooming flowers.

"OK."

The cold voice wasn't loud, but it struck Li Chen like a thunderbolt, hitting him hard on the top of the head.

Li Chen: "...?"

Li Chen: "...Huh?"

His brain went blank for a moment, his expression froze on his face, and he even wondered if he was hallucinating because he was too nervous.

"What...did you say?"

Li Chen asked mechanically, his voice barely audible.

Yan Xi did not repeat.

She slowly and deliberately placed the book into the canvas bag beside her, her movements as elegant as if she were performing some kind of ritual.

Then, under the gaze of dozens of blank stares, she slowly stood up.

She is very tall.

When she stood up, her gaze was almost level with Li Chen's brow bone.

That sense of oppression instantly transformed into something more concrete, carrying an aggressive aura.

Yan Xi took a step and walked up to Li Chen.

The distance between the two instantly closed to only half an arm's length.

Li Chen could even feel the warm air from her breath brushing against his neck.

He instinctively tried to step back, but found that his feet seemed to be rooted to the spot and he couldn't move.

Yan Xi tilted her head slightly, and her eyes, which were no longer cold but instead shimmering with light, locked onto Li Chen's flustered gaze.

"Now that you're my boyfriend..."

She reached out and, as naturally as if she had rehearsed it a thousand times, slung the heavy canvas bag containing the books onto Li Chen's stiff shoulder.

Her fingertips accidentally brushed against Li Chen's earlobe, sending a tingling electric current through her.

Yan Xi leaned close to his ear, her breath sweet as orchids, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Then don't just stand there like an idiot, take me back to my dorm, Li Chen."

Li Chen's pupils dilated.

She...she knows my name?

Before he could react, Yan Xi had already turned around and walked towards the store entrance.

She took two steps, then stopped, glanced back at Li Chen who was still frozen in shock, and raised an eyebrow slightly:

"Aren't you leaving yet? Want to stay and pay the bill?"

Li Chen snapped back to reality, glanced at the bewildered students in dormitory 302 who didn't know what had happened, and then looked at Yan Xi, who stood in the night with a smile on her lips.

It’s over.

It seems like... things went too far.