The next day, Jianghai University was bathed in a warm orange twilight. The basketball courts were still bustling with noise, and the evening glow traced Ye Zhou’s silhouette in gold.
Almost at that exact moment, the Daily Intelligence in his mind began to refresh:
[Today’s Intel: Chen Yuhe is passing by the basketball court and is being chased by a “dog.” She wanted to call you for help, but she thought you might still be in class or have already gone home. Fearing she would disturb you, she didn’t call, and she’s absolutely annoyed by it!]
Ye Zhou was momentarily stunned.
‘What’s going on? I remember the Dog Senior was quite gentle. No matter how much you teased it, it would just roll over like a salted fish and show its belly at most.’
‘If Senior Chen is at the basketball court, I happen to be right here as well…’
Ye Zhou looked around. The basketball court was vast and crowded. Searching for a specific person was no easy task.
Fortunately, Chen Yuhe was the kind of person who could be spotted in a crowd at a single glance.
Sure enough, after walking only a few steps along the outer perimeter, Ye Zhou found her nearby.
However…
Chen Yuhe was wearing a vintage patterned top with patchwork plush sleeves and a giant plush teddy bear backpack. Paired with a dark brown short skirt that revealed her long, fair legs, white socks, and white boots, her overall look was both sweet and cool—bursting with energy.
With her hands on her hips, she stood facing a young man not far away with a face full of impatience.
The young man wore a blue basketball jersey, white socks, and sneakers. Sweat hung from his forehead, clearly from just playing on the court. He was just over 1.7 meters tall with clean, stylish short hair and a tall, upright posture. He gave off the standard vibe of a composed, transparent Senior.
However, his words and actions made it clear that he was fervently pursuing the girl he liked—Chen Yuhe.
‘Uh… okay, fine. In a broad sense, a licking dog is also a breed of dog. Is that what this means?’ Ye Zhou couldn’t help but complain internally.
Following that, he quietly made his way through the noisy crowd, stopping about one meter behind Chen Yuhe and the Senior. He finally managed to hear exactly what the two were talking about.
“Junior Chen, I’ve gradually fallen for you ever since I saw the first stage play you starred in at Moonview Hall last year. Your soft singing on that stage is something I can’t forget even now.”
“Oh, and then?”
“So, I like you, Junior Chen. Will you be my girlfriend?”
“Sigh… I’ve told you many times already. Have you even been listening? I don’t have the slightest bit of interest in you. Plus, I already have a boyfriend. Do you understand now?”
“Junior Chen, you… fine. I admit my past secret crush has officially failed now that it’s out in the open, but there’s no way you have a boyfriend. I’ve never seen a single man by your side.”
“Senior Li, I find your words very bizarre. Do I look like the kind of girl who keeps a fishing pond full of guys?”
“Of course not!”
“Then that’s that! I only need my boyfriend. Why would I need other men around me? I’d rather keep my boyfriend at home like a precious treasure. Why should I show him to you? Senior Li, you’re being completely unreasonable. Anyway, now that I’ve said my piece, let’s just go our separate ways.”
Chen Yuhe waved her hand, clearly done wasting her breath. She turned to leave and immediately spotted Ye Zhou, who was pretending to be busy nearby.
Her eyes lit up instantly, and she ran straight toward him with her arms wide open.
“Oh! Little Ye Zhou!”
“Ah, haha… I was just passing by the basketball court when I saw Senior Chen’s figure from afar. It was quite a surprise. At first, I thought it wasn’t you, but it turns out it really is.”
Having been caught eavesdropping, Ye Zhou stopped staring at the twilight sky and ceased his logically contradictory remarks about the morning weather. Instead, he awkwardly opened his arms to accept Chen Yuhe’s attack.
Ye Zhou thought she would just give him a symbolic hug, but he didn’t expect her to hang onto his neck like a sloth. Her long, snow-white legs even wrapped around his waist with the strength of a pair of pincers.
Ye Zhou had to place his hands against her thighs to keep her from falling.
Once he stabilized her with one hand, he used his free hand to give her a gentle pat. The soft flesh of her thighs felt like freshly kneaded glutinous rice—soft, chewy, and resilient to the touch.
“Alright, Senior Chen, come down. There are so many people watching. It’s ruining your public image.”
“What do I need a public image for? It’s not like I can eat it.”
Chen Yuhe ignored all sense of ladylike decorum and pressed her nose against Ye Zhou’s neck, sniffing deeply. “Oh! Little Ye Zhou, why do you always smell so good? What brand of body wash do you use? It’s full of lime scent. I almost want to take a bite of you.”
Ye Zhou dodged slightly, looking embarrassed.
“Senior, is there something wrong with your nose? I just finished exercising. I’m covered in sweat and probably stink. How could I smell good? Stop sniffing, Senior, and come down. More and more people are starting to look at us.”
“Hehe, I’m not coming down unless you give me a carousel ride!”
Chen Yuhe tilted her head back with a mischievous grin and spread her arms wide.
Ye Zhou knew what she meant. He just had to hold her and spin rapidly like a pair of drafting compasses on paper.
He lifted her slightly higher. “Then hold on tight. Don’t fall off.”
Chen Yuhe felt the world start to spin as her long, crimson hair fluttered in the wind.
She shouted at the top of her lungs, excitement evident in her voice, “Oh! So fast! So fast! Little Ye Zhou, you’re amazing!”
Unexpectedly, only a short while later —
Chen Yuhe stood with her hands on her hips, looking like a strict teacher instructing a student. “Little Ye Zhou, it’s not right for you to finish so quickly, you know? Senior will give you some proper guidance on how to increase your durability in this area.”
Ye Zhou sat on a bench by the court, clutching his head. It took a while for his dizzy vision to clear.
“Fine, I admit I get motion sickness after just a few turns. But why does a perfectly normal sentence sound so strange coming out of your mouth?”
“Hehe! Does it?”
Just then, the male Senior approached them with an unopened bottle of mineral water.
“Junior, are you okay? Want some water? I’m Li Wei, a Senior in the Civil Engineering Major.”
Ye Zhou looked up at Li Wei, who didn’t seem to harbor any ill will, and instinctively introduced himself in return.
“Uh… I’m Ye Zhou, from the Department of Computer Science. Thanks, Senior Li.”
“You must be a freshman, right? I don’t think I’ve seen you around in previous years,” Li Wei added.
Ye Zhou nodded without hesitation.
“Then how about we add each other on Green Bubble and get to know each other?”
Li Wei’s words immediately triggered Chen Yuhe’s sense of crisis. She quickly shielded Ye Zhou behind her chest, acting like a mother hen protecting her chick.
“Hey, Senior Li, what are you doing? My boyfriend isn’t gay. His orientation is perfectly normal, and he usually likes to play—”
Sensing something was wrong, Ye Zhou hurriedly covered Chen Yuhe’s mouth.
Thankfully, the last part of her habitually crude and lying sentence didn’t make it out. Otherwise, wouldn’t that just cause a massive misunderstanding?
Li Wei also waved his hands in a panic, his face full of apology.
“Sorry, sorry, Junior Chen. It’s my fault for speaking without thinking. I’ve caused a misunderstanding.”
“My only hobby in private is playing basketball.”
“So, seeing that your boyfriend has a 1.8-meter frame, I thought he looked like good basketball material. I just wanted to add his Green Bubble so we could set up team matches or one-on-ones.”
Ye Zhou could see it now—this Senior Li Wei was the type of person who was straightforward and lacked any hidden agendas.
He pulled out his phone and smiled.
“Senior Li, adding your Green Bubble for some basketball games is definitely no problem. But I haven’t played in a while, so my skills are a bit rusty. I’ll have to ask for your patience when the time comes.”
“Man, my girlfriend is great in every way, but she’s just too prone to getting jealous.”
“Is that so? A regular Yuhe-brand vinegar jar?”
Realizing her mistake, Chen Yuhe let out a soft “Hmph.” She slowly slid her arms under Ye Zhou’s armpits and pulled him into a full embrace.
With her face burning, she buried her head into Ye Zhou’s solid back, her teeth lightly nipping at his clothes.
‘Chen Yuhe, oh Chen Yuhe, how could you act so unlike a lady?’
‘If Little Ye Zhou hadn’t stopped you just now, wouldn’t you have said those two words in broad daylight…’
‘Wait, what were those two words again?’
***