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

He took out his phone and opened WeChat.

The pinned profile picture, a cat, remains there, quietly and peacefully.

Li Chen's fingertip hovered over the screen for a moment.

He wanted to ask her what she was doing.

I want to ask her what she ate for lunch.

I want to ask her if she's nervous about meeting her parents.

But in the end, he didn't post anything.

He simply stared at the profile picture and smiled silently.

Then, he put the phone back in his pocket.

"Ring ring—"

The bell rang precisely on time to signal the end of get out of class.

Professor Liu Yidao closed his lesson plan and announced the end of get out of class.

"Holy crap! We're liberated!"

Wang Qiang was the first to jump up from his seat and stretch out in a spectacular yawn.

"Let's go, Lao Li, let's play some games! Today, I, Zhao Xin, will definitely carry you to victory!"

"I'm not going."

Li Chen answered without turning his head as he packed his books.

"Huh?" Wang Qiang was stunned. "Why? I don't have classes this afternoon!"

"We have an appointment," Li Chen said succinctly.

"Damn it!" Wang Qiang groaned. "Another date with your sister-in-law? You can't do this! This is classic case of prioritizing your girlfriend over your friends!"

"To be precise, it's about forgetting righteousness for the sake of beauty."

Chen Mo, standing to the side, adjusted his glasses and calmly offered a more precise definition.

"Brother Chen, what you're doing is wrong."

Zhao Zixuan also patted Li Chen on the shoulder earnestly, "Brothers are like limbs, women are like clothes."

"How could you abandon your siblings for clothes?"

Li Chen stopped packing his things.

He turned his head, looked at Zhao Zixuan, and asked seriously.

"Then tell me, how do you plan to settle the matter of you standing us up three times because of that new female anchor you met?"

Zhao Zixuan's expression froze instantly.

"Well... well, that's a special case," he said with a dry laugh, trying to argue.

"Oh." Li Chen nodded. "Then my situation today is also special."

After saying that, he ignored the wailing and howling of the three clowns.

With her shoulder bag slung over her shoulder, she waved casually amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the entire classroom.

"Let's go, sons."

"Remember to bring those three books back to my dorm for me."

As soon as he finished speaking, he walked out of the classroom.

Only the three people in dormitory 302 were left, bewildered in the wind.

"Holy crap! What did he just call us?" Wang Qiang asked, his face filled with disbelief.

"Sons," Chen Mo repeated expressionlessly.

"He's rebelled! He's rebelled! This kid has completely rebelled!" Wang Qiang was so angry that he pounded his chest and stamped his feet. "He's got a wife and has forgotten his father! What a disgrace to our family!"

Zhao Zixuan watched Li Chen's disappearing figure, stroked his chin, and seemed to be deep in thought.

"I feel like, Brother Chen, he really is different now."

"What's different?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it," Zhao Zixuan shook his head. "It's just that right now, it's like... he's glowing."

……

Li Chen, of course, had no idea how the group of "good kids" behind him were gossiping about him.

He was striding briskly across the campus at that moment.

The autumn sunlight filters through the gaps in the sycamore trees, casting dappled shadows.

The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of osmanthus blossoms.

His mood was as bright as the weather.

He arrived at the west building of the architecture department.

It didn't take long.

That familiar figure walked out from the stairwell.

Today, Yan Xi wore a beige, loose-fitting knitted sweater.

Below is a pair of light blue jeans.

Her long hair was casually draped over her shoulders.

He seemed to have lost some of his usual aloofness and sharpness.

It has gained a touch of languor and gentleness.

She didn't seem surprised to see Li Chen.

However, his steps faltered slightly.

"Why are you here?"

"I'll pick you up after class," Li Chen said with a smile.

Yan Xi raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

She walked to his side, and the two of them walked side by side toward the school gate.

"Where to?" Yan Xi asked.

"Have a meal."

"What do you want to eat?"

"You'll know when we get there," Li Chen said deliberately, keeping everyone in suspense.

Yan Xi glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions.

The two walked on in silence.

The atmosphere was somewhat subtle.

Li Chen could sense that Yan Xi beside him seemed to have returned to that absent-minded state.

She seemed to be thinking about something.

"By the way," Yan Xi suddenly spoke up, "Where... is your home located?"

coming.

Li Chen smiled inwardly.

From this morning until now.

He waited a day, and finally, she couldn't resist and began to subtly probe him.

"From the capital," Li Chen replied.

"Oh, it's not far." Yan Xi nodded, then asked, "What do your parents... do?"

"My dad owns a small company and does some small engineering projects," Li Chen said. "My mom is a university professor."

His answer was half true and half false.

His father's company was indeed a "small company," but it was one of the largest real estate development companies in Beijing.

His mother was indeed a "university teacher," but she was the vice president of Beijing University.

"That sounds good."

Yan Xi's voice was devoid of any discernible emotion.

She paused for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts.

"So...do they have any particular preferences?"

"For example, what kind of tea do you like to drink?"

"Or, how about playing chess? Or cards?"

That's where the question comes from.

Li Chen finally couldn't hold back.

He burst out laughing.

Yan Xi suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She turned her head, her clear, cold eyes filled with a hint of annoyance at being exposed, and glared at him.

"What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing."

Li Chen tried hard to suppress a laugh and waved his hand, "I just feel like you seem quite interested in our family's household registration investigation."

Yan Xi's cheeks quickly and visibly flushed with a thin layer of red.

"I was just asking casually."

She stubbornly insisted.

"Yeah?"

Li Chen leaned closer to her, lowered his voice, and teased her in his usual tone.

"I thought we were invincible, Senior Yan, are you... nervous?"

"roll!"

Enraged, Yan Xi shoved him.

Then, he turned around, quickened his pace, and walked forward.

That figure, no matter how you look at it, exudes an air of fleeing in panic.

Li Chen looked at her, who was unusually disheveled, and the smile on his lips deepened.

He quickened his pace and caught up with him.

Walking side by side with her.

"Hey, don't be angry," he said with a smile, "I haven't finished yet."

"My dad doesn't have any particular hobbies. He just likes to brag and beat me up."

"My mom likes playing mahjong and looking at handsome men."

"So, you don't need to prepare anything."

"All you need to do is go there, that's enough."

"Because you are the kind of handsome guy she likes the most... her girlfriend."

As Yan Xi listened to his unserious introduction, her pace gradually slowed down.

She turned her head and looked at his face, at the warm and radiant smile.

Deep down, there was a strange, slight tension and unease.

It seems that, at this moment, it was quietly soothed.

She gave a soft snort and turned her head away.

"Glib-tongued."

Although that's what they say.

But the slight upturn of her lips completely betrayed her.

The two walked out of the school gate.

I crossed the road and arrived at the familiar snack street outside the north gate of the school.

The air was instantly filled with the enticing aroma of various foods mixed together.

Li Chen stopped in front of an open-air barbecue stall.

"Boss, two servings of grilled cold noodles, five chicken wings, ten skewers of lamb, ten skewers of pork belly..."

He skillfully took the order.

Then, he turned his head and looked at Yan Xi.

"What else would you like to eat?"

Yan Xi looked at the bustling, lively scene before her.

Look at that young stall owner, gesturing and talking to the boss.

Looking at the sizzling, steaming skewers on the stall.

For a moment, I was in a daze.

She remembered, more than a month ago.

It's here too.

A young man, bracing himself against the clamor of the crowd, walked up to her.

Tell her.

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

At that time, she felt that he was like a beautiful and pitiful little animal that had accidentally fallen into a trap.

And now.

It seems that the little animal has quietly grown claws and teeth without her knowing.

I started to learn to test her and tease her in return.

They even control the pace of their interactions.

"What are you thinking about?"

Li Chen's voice pulled her back from her memories.

"It's nothing." Yan Xi snapped out of her reverie and shook her head. "Let's order another grilled eggplant."

"Okay."

Li Chen smiled and said to the boss.

"Boss, another order of grilled eggplant, extra garlic, no spice."

The boss was a cheerful man in his thirties.

He deftly flipped the skewers on the grill while glancing up at the two of them.

"Hey buddy, you brought your girlfriend?"

"Yes," Li Chen replied with a smile.

"You're something else, kid." The boss gave a thumbs-up covered in grease. "Last time I saw you confess your feelings, I thought you were going to get rejected on the spot."

"I never thought it would actually work."

"Your girlfriend is really pretty."

Yan Xi raised her beautiful eyebrows slightly upon hearing this.

She glanced at Li Chen, who was grinning foolishly.

A playful smile curved at the corner of his lips.

She suddenly took a step forward.

She naturally took Li Chen's arm.

Then, she gently rested her head on his shoulder.

Speak softly in a voice that is neither too loud nor too soft, but loud enough for people at the surrounding tables to hear.

"Honey, my legs are sore. Let's find a place to sit down and wait."

Li Chen's body froze instantly.