He couldn’t understand what Bai Yao was thinking.
On one hand, he claimed he didn’t want to date, but then used playfulness as an excuse to hold hands.
When they saw others kissing, he even seemed to be eyeing his lips.
Although Qiu Ye was quite handsome, he had never actually been in a relationship due to his strict upbringing and high standards.
He was completely clueless about a woman’s subtle thoughts.
‘Then again, Bai Yao hangs out with guys every day, so his personality and way of thinking are probably more like a man’s, right?’
Even though Qiu Ye usually had a strong personality—he could force Bai Yao to go hiking or shopping and put pressure on him while gaming—he was hesitant and unsure of what to do when it came to romantic matters.
‘If I’m too proactive, what if I scare Bai Yao off?’
“Up so late and not playing games? Are you out on the balcony being all emo?”
Qiu Ye looked up to see Lin Mingxin approaching the balcony.
He lit a cigarette and leaned against the railing beside him.
“Want one?”
“I don’t smoke.”
Qiu Ye waved him off.
Lin Mingxin didn’t push the issue; he took a drag and exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke.
Lin Mingxin made a point of turning his head toward the empty space when he exhaled so as not to make the non-smoking Qiu Ye uncomfortable.
Then, he asked gossipy, “Do you like someone?”
“Uh… I wouldn’t really say that,” Qiu Ye replied awkwardly.
Lin Mingxin’s eyes instantly lit up, and his desire for gossip surged.
“You’ve just had too little experience with romance. If you like her, then pursue her! A handsome guy chasing a girl is as easy as piercing a thin layer of gauze, okay? Generally, when I see a girl I like and ask her out for a confession, we end up dating.”
“Isn’t it usually said that a girl chasing a guy is as easy as piercing gauze?”
“No, no, no. You clearly haven’t taken advantage of the Appearance Dividend much!”
Lin Mingxin spoke with the air of an expert.
“It’s probably because you look a bit unapproachable. Anyway, when a woman gets proactive, she can be downright ferocious!”
Qiu Ye really hadn’t taken much advantage of the Appearance Dividend.
From childhood to adulthood, he simply felt that his friends and elders were easy to talk to.
It seemed as if there wasn’t a single bad person around him; everyone was kind and amiable.
Although he had received many love letters in junior high and high school, he hadn’t “awakened” back then.
High school was strictly managed, and on the rare occasions when he felt adolescent restlessness, it was suppressed by his parents’ discipline.
“Tell me, who is it?”
No matter what, Qiu Ye couldn’t say it was Bai Yao.
His roommates still didn’t know about Bai Yao’s situation, and since Bai Yao didn’t want him to tell, there was no need to create more competition for himself.
He turned and leaned over the railing, gazing at the starry night sky beyond the balcony.
“You don’t know her,” he dodged.
“I’ve dated a lot. Just tell me what kind of personality the girl has. I guarantee I’ll give you a 100% successful plan!”
“She’s… quite introverted? And very gentle?”
“Introverted personalities are troublesome… I personally don’t like looking for that type. I like lively and cheerful older sisters who can take me out to play,” Lin Mingxin commented before continuing his inquiry.
“And then? How did you meet?”
“We met in class, I guess? I suppose I was the one who initiated the conversation.”
“In the same class? Hmm, and then what?”
“…”
Qiu Ye and Lin Mingxin turned their heads and saw Bai Yao leaning against the balcony doorframe.
He was holding a laundry basin with both hands.
His face was indifferent, but his eyes were burning with the intense fire of curiosity.
Although Bai Yao rarely showed much expression, he always seemed to wear his emotions on his face.
“We met in a general lecture before.”
Qiu Ye instinctively became nervous.
Would Bai Yao get jealous or angry if he talked nonsense like this?
However, Bai Yao didn’t seem jealous at all.
“Really? I’ve never seen you talk to any girls.”
“We added each other as friends after we met and talked online,” Qiu Ye lied.
Lin Mingxin chimed in with a suggestion: “Normally, introverted girls only open up when chatting online. You shouldn’t hang out with Bai Yao all day on the weekends. Why don’t you ask her out for a movie or a meal first?”
“Exactly.”
Bai Yao nodded his head rapidly.
“I’m also too lazy to go out with you. I’d rather stay in the dormitory and play games.”
‘Wait! At least show some jealousy!’
Qiu Ye found it even harder to read Bai Yao’s mind.
Earlier that day, he had bashfully taken the initiative to hold hands, yet now he was actively pushing him toward a nonexistent girl.
Qiu Ye’s eyelid flickered.
He wondered if Bai Yao was the type who would flirt and then run away without taking any responsibility.
“No wonder you’ve started caring about your hairstyle lately.”
Lin Mingxin nudged Qiu Ye teasingly with his elbow.
“Tell me when you’re going on a date. I can definitely help you clean up into a real hunk!”
“There’s no need for that. It’s a huge pain.”
“How can you be afraid of trouble when pursuing a girl? Even if you were Hu Ge, you’d still look like a slob if you didn’t tidy yourself up!”
Listening to their conversation, Bai Yao nodded along continuously.
There was only one point he didn’t quite agree with: Hu Ge would still be handsome even if he didn’t tidy up.
Seeing Bai Yao nodding there as if the matter had nothing to do with him, Qiu Ye felt a surge of inexplicable anger.
He rolled his eyes and walked back into the dormitory.
“Pian Ge, let me play your *Street Fighter* for a bit.”
“Pian Ge again! Pian Ge again! Do you not download films too?”
Lin Mingxin immediately reacted to the nickname, swearing as he threw away his cigarette butt and followed him inside.
“Even if I download them, no one will see. That kind of thing should be done behind closed doors. Who does it as openly as you?”
—
Watching the two of them return to the room, Bai Yao finally carried his basin to the laundry sink.
He turned on the water, added laundry detergent, and let the clothes soak.
The cold tap water splashed onto his hands, and his brow furrowed slightly.
He was worried that if he eventually experienced menstruation, he might suffer from cramps, so he was a bit afraid of touching cold water.
‘It should be fine, right?’
‘I can’t exactly go to the bathroom to get hot water. That’s too much trouble.’
Bai Yao waited for the basin to fill, then opened Douying.
He randomly found a video explaining a movie and set his phone aside to play while he began scrubbing the clothes one by one.
As he idly listened to the audio and washed his clothes, a strange thought suddenly popped into his head.
If Qiu Ye really started dating, he would definitely have to find a new Task Target later, wouldn’t he?
Never mind a kissing Task—he couldn’t even go to Qiu Ye for the hand-holding Task from earlier today.
Otherwise, his girlfriend would definitely misunderstand.
He might even have to keep some distance from Qiu Ye.
Even if Bai Yao wasn’t necessarily that beautiful, no one would be happy about their partner having a close “male bestie” or “female bro” around.
A moment ago, he had been enjoying the gossip, but now Bai Yao felt a flicker of a different emotion.
It wasn’t just a logical consideration.
Emotionally, he belatedly felt a burning, stomach-churning sourness, as if a friend of his was about to be snatched away.
Bai Yao shook his head vigorously to clear his thoughts.
As a man—at least in terms of his current physical characteristics—his possessiveness over most things was quite strong.
He felt uncomfortable whenever someone sat in his chair or on his bed.
However, being possessive over a friend really wasn’t right.
“I feel like I’m getting weirder and weirder…”
Bai Yao let out a soft sigh and poked his head into the dormitory.
“Is anyone free? Help me wring out this jacket.”
The dormitory air conditioning was off today, so he had taken out the cross-dressing jacket he bought previously, planning to wash it and let it dry so he could wear it.
In any case, a jacket didn’t necessarily need to be categorized by gender, and others wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
Qiu Ye was busy gaming and was still a little upset, so he didn’t bother to acknowledge him.
Instead, it was Wang Zuhao who got up from his computer and walked out onto the balcony mockingly.
“Is your strength as low as a girl’s too?”
“…”
“Give it to me.”
Wang Zuhao reached out and took the water-soaked jacket.
He wrung it dry with significant force, shook it open, and hung it on a hanger.
“Calling for help over something this small,” he grumbled as he headed back into the room.
Bai Yao continued washing the rest of the clothes, fuming.
Even though he had been helped, he was still very annoyed! Was there something wrong with that guy Wang Zuhao?
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