Just as Wang Zeqi was being stared at by Yuhua and Liu Shuxing, stuttering and not knowing where to begin, the dormitory door pushed open with a click.
Lin Ling had just returned to the dormitory, carrying a large jug of bottled water.
He looked at the scene in the room where Wang Zeqi was about to say something, while Yuhua and Liu Shuxing stood on either side of him with expressions of people ready to gossip.
“?”
Lin Ling tilted his head slightly, a puzzled look in his eyes as he silently walked to his desk to put his things down.
“You’re back at just the right time, Lin Ling,” Yuhua immediately called out to him.
“Come quickly and listen to Xiao Wang’s love story.”
“Oh? Tell us, Xiao Wang. I’d like to learn a thing or two myself,” Lin Ling joined in on the fun.
Wang Zeqi became even more nervous seeing Lin Ling join the fray, but under the pressure of the three pairs of eyes, he took a deep breath and made up his mind, starting his story.
“My childhood friend’s name is Gu Yanzhen. She is one year older than me and lived next door to my house since we were little.”
Wang Zeqi’s gaze drifted toward the window, seemingly lost in memory.
“She always took care of me like an older sister. She’d take me out to play, help me with my homework, and whenever I got into trouble, she was always the first one to protect me.”
“Wow, so it’s the older sister type,” Liu Shuxing commented with a meaningful sigh.
“I don’t know when it started… probably middle school. My feelings for her became… different.”
Recalling those innocent youthful memories, Wang Zeqi’s cheeks couldn’t help but turn slightly red.
“Back then, I just thought she was especially wonderful and wanted to be with her all the time. So, I would always follow her around and, every few days, I’d foolishly say things like, ‘Big Sis, I’ll marry you when I grow up.'”
“Not bad, Xiao Wang. Starting the conquest from a young age, huh?”
Yuhua commented.
“But every time, she would just smile, rub my head, and say, ‘Sure, Little Wang. Then wait until you’re a bit older before you come to marry your sister.'”
Wang Zeqi sighed.
“It was obviously just talk to coax a child, right? But I really believed it back then. I kept waiting and kept it in my heart.”
“And then? And then? You’re an adult now, so there should be a chance, right?”
Liu Shuxing asked impatiently, wanting to know the sequel.
“On the day I turned 18, I confessed to her again very formally, but she still rejected me. She said she had always seen me as a younger brother and didn’t have those kinds of feelings. After that, I pretty much gave up, thinking my affection was just one-sided.”
“Then what’s happening now? Since you asked me for help, it means there’s a turning point, right?”
“Yes, exactly…”
Wang Zeqi’s expression became extremely complex, a mix of various emotions.
“Yesterday, she suddenly sent me a very long message. She said… that she has actually always liked me, too.”
Yuhua and the other two remained silent in a tacit understanding, continuing to listen to Wang Zeqi’s monologue.
“She said she rejected me before because she thought I was too young to distinguish between dependency and love. Then, when I became an adult, she was actually very wavered, but she felt that I had just started university and should have a broader world ahead of me; she didn’t want to hold me back.”
“She was also working hard in silence and quietly took the postgraduate entrance exam—specifically, she got into our Shuicheng University of Technology. She said that now that we are both more mature, it’s time to confirm our feelings, so she wants to ask me out to meet and have a proper talk.”
Originally, this should have been the perfect reunion ending, but…
Wang Zeqi suddenly lost his energy, resting his chin on his hands as he sighed incessantly.
“So, what should I do? With me like this… how am I supposed to go see her?”
“Hmm…”
Yuhua rubbed his chin, looking him up and down.
“Actually, your current appearance is quite delicate. If you dye all your hair back to black, put on some sharp makeup, wear men’s clothes, and keep a straight face without talking, you could probably be mistaken for a boy.”
“But she grew up with me.”
Wang Zeqi looked up with a face full of despair.
“No matter how much makeup I wear, in her eyes, I’ll just look like a boy, not the same Xiao Wang from before.”
“Then just tell her the truth,” Liu Shuxing chimed in with a bizarre line of thought.
“Tell her you became so lovesick for her that you grew haggard, and in your desperation, you accidentally believed a shady online remedy and took several boxes of estradiol, turning into a little girl. Then, take the opportunity to act pathetic and make her take responsibility for you. Wouldn’t that work?”
Yuhua looked at Liu Shuxing, not expecting her to come up with such an outrageous angle.
But on second thought, it actually made some sense.
“It seems… like a possibility?”
“What kind of plan is that?”
Wang Zeqi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“No matter what, the truth will come out eventually. Besides, in this state, I’m not even considered a normal human anymore, and I’m a girl. How can I give her a normal future and happiness?”
“So, what I was actually thinking was how to reject her decently without making her too sad. Can you guys give me some advice on that?”
His voice grew quieter.
“Don’t be so quick to decide on a tragic ending for yourself,” Yuhua patted his shoulder.
“What if your Sister Gu Yanzhen happens to like this tomboy style? Anyway, go talk to her first and confirm what she’s thinking.”
“Exactly, exactly,” Liu Shuxing got excited again.
“Anyway, we of the Bloodline don’t just have to rely on sexual reproduction. If it comes down to it, just give her a bite, and grant her a First Embrace. When you both become vampires, you can be immortal and fly off together.”
Wang Zeqi was left speechless by their increasingly ridiculous suggestions, but even amidst such nonsense, he was considering the feasibility of these plans.
Seeing Wang Zeqi fall silent, Yuhua dropped his joking tone and became a bit more serious.
“In short, my advice is to go meet her first. Once you meet, see her reaction, and hear what she’s really thinking. Relationships are between two people; it’s not something you can decide just by acting out an internal monologue here. Just like in a Galgame, you have to see the other person’s options before you can advance the plot, right?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Wang Zeqi gained a bit of confidence, and his tone returned to its usual state.
“Regarding my Awakening and my current appearance… I should just tell her everything honestly. Yeah, there’s nothing weird about it; this is just who I am.”
Even as he spoke, he stood up, yet his steps involuntarily moved toward the mirror on the dormitory balcony.
He walked over, turned sideways, and then turned back, frowning slightly as he examined his delicate, somewhat soft features in the mirror.
Then, as if he had made a certain decision, he suddenly turned and walked toward the door.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
Liu Shuxing shouted from behind.
“I’ll be right back,” Wang Zeqi rushed out without looking back.
About 30 minutes later, the dormitory door was pushed open again.
Wang Zeqi walked in.
The conspicuous pink highlight on the left side of his hair had been dyed back to pure black, making him look more like a young man with a somewhat frail temperament.
“How is it?”
He uncomfortably touched the tips of the newly dyed hair.
“I should look okay like this, right?”
“Weren’t you going to be honest with her? Why did you run off to dye your hair at the last second?”
Yuhua couldn’t help but tease him at the sight.
“I am going to be honest… but I still hope that, at least when we reunite, the image I leave her with is a handsome one.”