106.

Mianmian had gone out for an event hosted by the Hanfu Society, while Qian Qian slept quietly in her bed.

Brother Nan put on a common pair of sweatpants with three white stripes on the side, slipped on her sports shoes, and bent down to tie the laces.

Baozi lay on the upper bunk, head poked out, secretly watching her.

She tied the laces tightly to prevent them from coming undone, then pinched her T-shirt and rubbed the material, feeling it wasn't very soft.

Time to change into another one!

Baozi remained quiet on the upper bunk, blinking twice, her eyelashes fluttering slightly.

Brother Nan had taken off her clothes. Her waist was lean, without an ounce of excess fat, and her abs were clearly defined. She wore a black sports bra. It wasn't too revealing—some girls who liked to show off would only wear a sports crop top like that to the gym.

As if sensing something, Brother Nan paused and looked up, her gaze meeting Baozi's.

Baozi symbolically averted her eyes.

Brother Nan, however, simply turned her back to Baozi.

Baozi blinked twice again.

Seen the front, now for the back.

Brother Nan's back was also attractive. Her skin was smooth and so delicate it seemed to shimmer, but she didn't look boneless and fragile like some other girls.

She put on the T-shirt.

It was a gray sports T-shirt.

Baozi slightly retracted her head, now only poking out half of it from the edge of the bed, just her eyes visible. Stealthy observation in progress...

THUD. THUD.

Brother Nan stomped her feet on the floor a couple of times to settle her shoes, then turned her head to look at Baozi. "Aren't you getting up? I remember you have first period too! Oh, right, why is this one still sleeping?" she gestured towards Qian Qian. "What period does she have?"

"I-I don't know..."

"Why do you look like you're up to no good?" Brother Nan asked Baozi, puzzled. "Did you do something to wrong me again?"

"..."

Baozi just watched her quietly.

Brother Nan frowned slightly but didn't seem to care much. She wasn't afraid of being taken advantage of—she'd experienced that far too often. So, she continued, "Aren't you getting up for PE class!"

Baozi retracted her head even further until even her eyes were hidden. "You go ahead..."

"So secretive!" Brother Nan muttered as she left the room.

A girl from the base class greeted her, "Hello, Brother Nan!"

"Hello!"

"Where are you off to, Brother Nan?"

"For PE class!"

"Huh?" The girl suddenly stopped. "Isn't military training going on right now?"

"?"

"There are no PE classes during military training! The grounds aren't even available!"

"??"

Brother Nan felt like a complete fool.

She spun around and stormed back to the dorm, only to see Baozi's head quickly disappear from the edge of the bed. As she stepped onto the ladder of Baozi's bunk, she found Baozi had pressed herself against the wall, wrapped in her blanket, her back turned to her.

Children often have the illusion that turning their back on someone effectively reduces the chance of being noticed or attacked.

Some people still do that even after growing up.

At that moment, Brother Nan suddenly remembered something else.

So, she temporarily spared Baozi, quickly hopped off the ladder, and took out her phone to start a voice call with Zhou Li.

Hearing the commotion, Baozi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Zhou Li, have you left yet?"

"About to."

"If you haven't left yet..."

Brother Nan was about to tell Zhou Li that there were no PE classes during military training. Suddenly, she realized something wasn't right. Zhou Li lived on the fifth floor while she was on the first. If they had agreed to meet at the gate, Zhou Li should have been the one to leave first. The thought flashed through her mind in an instant.

Brother Nan quickly changed her tone, "Well, hurry up, class is about to start. We'll gather downstairs."

Zhou Li, however, asked back, "Are you ready?"

Brother Nan immediately put on a smile, a sight that sent a chill down Baozi's spine as she observed quietly from the upper bunk.

She switched to a video call.

BING. BING. BING.

It took at least a few seconds before Zhou Li answered.

Zhou Li's face filled most of the phone screen, with his dorm's bunk bed in the background. Brother Nan said, "Lower the camera, let me see your shoes."

"What's wrong?"

"You're quite the actor!"

"What do you mean?"

"Come downstairs now. I'm watching you come down."

"..." Zhou Li was silent for a moment. "What's wrong? Oh, is there no PE class today? Thankfully, Brother Nan, you haven't left yet!"

"Come down. I have something to say to you."

"Just say it here."

"Come down!"

"Climbing stairs is tiring."

"Hurry up."

"I'm going to read. Goodbye, Brother Nan."

"You just wait..."

Before she could finish speaking, the video call ended, leaving Brother Nan seething with frustration.

This feeling of wanting to hit someone but not having a target was unbearable. It was like facing an enemy with a sliver of health left; you're desperately trying to land the final blow, but you're just out of range. No matter how hard you mash the keys, the skill just won't activate.

In the end, you die without securing the kill.

Wait a minute...

Brother Nan suddenly looked up at Baozi on the upper bunk. After pondering for a few seconds, she started up the ladder. "I swear I'm going to break your legs today!"

Qian Qian was startled awake.

「Evening.」

The hot pot restaurant was right next to Polytechnic University. Zhou Li, Huai Xu, and Brother Nan had been there before; the food was quite good.

They sat by the window and had just settled in when they saw Huai Xu arrive on a shared bicycle from the direction of Polytechnic University, wearing a pair of glasses—Old monster paid close attention to the details.

After locking the bike and walking into the restaurant, he glanced around before finding their table.

Only after sitting down did he take off his glasses and greet everyone. "I came straight from class. Am I late?"

"We just sat down too; we haven't even ordered yet!" Mianmian gushed over Huai Xu the moment she saw him. "Handsome Huai, you look so good with glasses! That scholarly vibe is just so attractive, it makes me want to hit on you!" she cooed.

"We're all from the same club, so let's look out for each other in the future," Huai Xu said with a gentle smile. "Next time, I'll bring you all milk tea."

"..." Zhou Li shivered.

"By the way, aren't you from the polytechnic next door? How did you join our club?" Qian Qian asked. Her question seemed innocent, but it was really just another way of flirting with him.

"I mainly wanted to hang out with Zhou Li and Brother Nan," Huai Xu explained openly. "Of course, since I'm not from your school, I'm not on the club roster, and my position as vice president is fake too. But it's all for fun."

"That makes sense..." Qian Qian nodded. After a moment's thought, she asked, "So, you didn't join any clubs at your school?"

"They wouldn't have me. They're all jealous of my good looks and don't want to hang out with me," Huai Xu said without blinking. "So, I can only come over here to hang out with Zhou Li and Brother Nan. Relatively speaking, the difference in our level of attractiveness is a bit smaller with them."

Zhou Li and Brother Nan exchanged silent glances.

Then Old monster sighed lightly, adding with feigned relief, "Luckily, our schools are close by."

Qian Qian, completely convinced, said, "That's true..."

She even came up with a reason for him. "Polytechnic University has fewer girls to begin with. If I were a guy there, I'd also be afraid you'd snatch all the girls away."

"I don't know why either," Huai Xu replied modestly.

"Let's order," Zhou Li said, unable to stand it any longer. He took the menu, trying to interrupt their conversation.

"You all go ahead and order," Huai Xu said politely.

"What kind of soup base do you want?" Zhou Li asked, trying to get things moving.

"Can you handle spicy food?" Qian Qian, however, turned to ask Huai Xu.

"Sure."

"Oh, right! You're from Yi Province like Brother Nan, so you can definitely handle spicy!" Qian Qian nodded, then pretended to suddenly remember. "Ah, by the way, don't you have a dance class tonight? What about your dance class?"

"It can't be helped; I'll have to skip it," Huai Xu replied, feigning reluctance, as if making a great sacrifice to attend the club gathering.

"You take dance lessons?" Qian Qian asked.

"No, but I love to sit in on them," Huai Xu said humbly, looking down. "I often sit in on music and art classes too. The teachers all know me, and I've made quite an impression, so it feels a bit wrong not to go..."

"You seem so talented!" Mianmian interjected.

"We've picked a few things," Zhou Li said, passing the menu. "Take another look and see if you want to add anything." He was, once again, trying to interrupt them.

"I'm good with anything," Mianmian said, clearly wanting to keep chatting with Huai Xu.

"Huai Xu, do you want to look at the menu? Let's look together," Qian Qian said, taking the menu and leaning in towards Huai Xu. "What do you usually like to eat?"

"I like meat."

"What kind of dances do you learn? I've actually taken dance classes too, in middle and high school. I've been thinking about picking it up again."

"Oh, quite a few different kinds..."

Zhou Li was by now at his wit's end, frustrated both by the fawning of the two starstruck girls and by Old monster's affectedness. He worried that at this rate, the girls might not even make it through dinner before becoming utterly mesmerized by Old monster's good looks and the sham persona he was projecting.

Of course, even his good looks were an illusion.

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