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

Li Chen felt that the canvas bag in his arms was ridiculously heavy.

The weight is less like it's carrying books and more like it's carrying two red bricks that were smuggled from a construction site.

Do architecture students carry these kinds of weapons to class?

He mechanically took steps, following half a step behind Yan Xi.

The walk from the barbecue stall to the girls' dormitory area usually takes only ten minutes, but today it felt like running a marathon.

The commotion behind them had faded into the distance, and the surroundings became quiet, with only the streetlights casting long shadows of the two men.

Yan Xi walked slowly, her high-heeled sandals making a rhythmic "tap, tap" sound on the asphalt.

With each sound, Li Chen's temple throbbed.

No, we can't just get away with this.

who am I?

Li Chen.

Although he has never been in a relationship, he is still a good young man who is upright and honest.

He had no choice but to do that to save his life. If he were to take advantage of the situation now, wouldn't he become a scumbag?

Moreover, the other party is Yan Xi.

Yan Xi, the legendary girl who could verbally abuse her suitors to the point of transferring schools.

If she knew that she had been used as a prop in a dare just for a few skewers of lamb...

Li Chen shivered, imagining himself being sealed in cement inside an architecture model.

"Um... senior."

Li Chen cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

Yan Xi didn't turn around, but just turned her head slightly to indicate that she was listening.

"Just now at the barbecue stand..."

Li Chen organized his thoughts, trying to approach the topic in a tactful yet sincere way, "Actually, there's a reason."

"Yes, I know."

Yan Xi's voice was flat and emotionless.

Li Chen was taken aback, his steps faltering slightly: "You know?"

"Old Zhang's lamb skewers are really hard to eat if they're not spicy."

Yan Xi suddenly stopped and turned to look at him. "Were you not full just now?"

"ha?"

Li Chen was caught off guard by this abrupt change in logic.

Yan Xi looked him up and down, her gaze lingering for a moment on his slightly stiff arm: "I see you just drank a bottle of beer. Drinking on an empty stomach is bad for your stomach."

"Next time I'll take you to that clay pot porridge place near the South Gate."

next time?

There will be a next time?

Li Chen felt himself sliding step by step into the abyss.

This script isn't right. Shouldn't the normal procedure be that she questions me, "What did you mean just now?", then I apologize, and finally we go our separate ways?

What's with this familiar "girlfriend" tone?

"No, senior, the point isn't the lamb skewers."

Li Chen grew anxious and stopped, lifting his canvas bag slightly. "I meant the confession earlier, actually it was..."

"arrive."

Yan Xi's voice floated down, precisely cutting off the second half of his sentence.

Li Chen looked up and realized that he was standing in front of Building 7 of the girls' dormitory without realizing it.

It was a little past nine o'clock at night, and people were coming and going downstairs in the dormitory building.

Couples cuddled together under the shade of trees, while delivery drivers weaved through the crowd on their electric scooters.

Yan Xi stood there, and she had a spotlight effect, instantly drawing all eyes to her.

"Is that Senior Yan Xi?"

"Who's that boy next to me? He looks familiar..."

"Wow, isn't that Li Chen from the Computer Science department? What are they doing together?"

Whispers drifted into my ears.

Li Chen felt like a grasshopper being roasted over a fire.

If we don't say anything now, the whole school will know tomorrow that he and Yan Xi are "together".

If we try to explain later, it will be like jumping into the Yellow River and still not being able to clear our name.

"Senior, listen to me."

Li Chen steeled himself, took a step forward, closed the distance between them, and lowered his voice, "That was a dare. I lost the game, and my friends made me come."

"I didn't want to lie to you, I'm sorry."

After saying all that in one breath, Li Chen felt as if a huge weight had finally been lifted from his chest.

He shut his mouth and awaited judgment.

anger?

A slap?

Or just a cold "Boring"?

However, the expected storm did not materialize.

Yan Xi stood on the steps, and because of the height difference, her line of sight changed from looking down to looking straight ahead.

She looked at Li Chen's face, which was filled with the words "I am a sinner," and a fleeting smile crossed her eyes, so quick that it was impossible to catch.

She raised her hand.

Li Chen subconsciously closed his eyes and shrank his neck.

No slap landed.

A slightly cool hand gently rested on the back of his hand, its fingertips lightly touching the knuckles of his fingers that were tightly gripping the strap of the canvas bag.

"cell phone."

She opened her other palm.

Li Chen opened his eyes, his brain short-circuiting again: "What?"

Give me your phone.

Yan Xi's tone left no room for argument.

Like a primary school student whose toys have been confiscated by the teacher, Li Chen obediently took out his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and handed it over.

Yan Xi took the phone and quickly tapped the screen a few times with her slender fingers.

"bite."

A crisp notification sound rang out.

She shoved the phone back into Li Chen's hand and took the heavy canvas bag off his shoulder.

"It's been added."

Yan Xi tidied her long hair, which had been ruffled by the night wind, and said in a casual tone as if she were discussing tomorrow's weather, "Since it's a dare, then you have to accept the consequences."

"Do the rules of the game say that you can't actually date someone after confessing your feelings?"

Li Chen opened his mouth, but was speechless.

It seems... there really isn't such a rule?

wrong!

This is a complete fallacy of misrepresentation!

"But I..."

"Shhh."

Yan Xi raised an index finger and put it to her lips, making a shushing gesture.

That gesture was incredibly alluring, and paired with her aloof and ascetic face, it created an absurdly striking contrast.

The words that Li Chen was about to say were swallowed back down his throat.

"Li Chen".

She called him by his full name.

There were no superfluous emotions, only a confident composure, as if one had already seen through everything.

"I'll save the explanation for later."

"It's too late now, I'm going upstairs to take a shower and go to bed."

She turned and stepped onto the stairs.

After taking a couple of steps, she seemed to remember something and turned back to look at Li Chen, who was still standing there in a daze.

"Also, don't call me 'senior sister' anymore."

Yan Xi tilted her head slightly, and the halo of the streetlight spread out behind her, outlining her beautiful figure.

"Call me by my name."

"Or...you could try calling me something else."

After saying that, she didn't give Li Chen any chance to react. She swiped her card, pushed open the door, and disappeared behind the glass door of the dormitory building.

Leaving behind a mess, and a bewildered Li Chen standing in the wind.

Li Chen stood there for a full three minutes.

It wasn't until a couple nearby gave him disapproving looks because he was blocking their way that he snapped out of his daze and stiffly moved back.

What is this?

Not angry?

not give a damn about?

Or perhaps... she didn't take that "dare" seriously at all, and thought I was playing hard to get?

Li Chen scratched his hair, feeling so frustrated he wanted to bang his head against the wall.

This is completely different from the script he had envisioned!

According to his plan, after telling the truth, he would get scolded and then slink away in disgrace. Although it would be shameful, at least he could live with himself.

Now, not only have they not broken up, but it seems like they're even more tightly bound together?

He picked up his phone; the screen was still lit.

A new friend has appeared on the WeChat interface.

The profile picture is of a black cat perched on a windowsill, looking aloofly at the camera.

The nickname is very simple, just one character: 曦 (Xi).

Just then, my phone vibrated.

[曦]: Image.jpg

Li Chen clicked on it.

It's an emoji.

The black cat stretched out its paw and pinned down the tail of a little mouse that was trying to escape.

The caption was just two words: "Caught."

Immediately afterwards, a second message popped up.

[Xi]: Goodnight, boyfriend.

Li Chen's hand trembled, and the phone almost fell on his foot.

The light from the screen shone on his face, revealing a face so red it looked like it was about to bleed, and a look of utter despair in his eyes.

It’s over.

This time, we really hit a brick wall.

The group chat for dormitory 302 was still flashing wildly; Wang Qiang was tagging him to ask how the battle was going.

[Wang Qiang]: Lao Li! Are you still alive? Did your senior dismember you? Do you need any brothers to bring shovels to collect the body?

Li Chen stared at the screen for a long time, and finally only replied with one word.

[Li Chen]: Get lost.

He put away his phone and looked up at the lights on the third floor of Building 7.

The night breeze was cool, but he felt hot all over.

The faint scent of fir trees seemed to linger on the tip of my nose, impossible to shake off.

Li Chen sighed and resignedly walked back.

But my heart was beating faster and faster; I didn't know if it was from fear or excitement.