A Love Confession - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Do You Like Him?

At eleven o'clock at night, after finishing her washing up, Xu Sui lay in bed looking at her schedule for the following day. There were only two people in the dorm—her and Liang Shuang—while the third, Bai Yuyue, still hadn't returned.

From the very first day she moved in, Bai Yuyue had delineated her territory, specifically emphasizing that she was a germaphobe and asking them not to place their things near hers or touch her belongings.

Liang Shuang had some reservations about this, but aside from that, Bai Yuyue had no major conflicts with them. After all, they were still classmates, so Liang Shuang had helped out anyway.

When the senior student came by for room checks, Liang Shuang feigned surprise: "Oh, I forgot. Our teacher called her out for something, and she should be back shortly. Senior, how about this—I'll have her come to your room to clear her absence report once she's back."

"Alright, then get to sleep early," the senior said.

After sending off the senior, Liang Shuang sighed: "Bai Yuyue is so bold, going out on a date and not coming back this late."

Xu Sui put her phone down. The image of the two of them being intimate in the evening flashed through her mind, and her heart felt tightly bound by silken threads once more, making it hard to breathe. She lowered her eyelashes: "She should be back soon."

Not wanting to continue discussing this topic, she looked at the empty bed opposite and said, "I heard the new roommate is coming tomorrow."

Xu Sui had registered relatively late back then, which was why they were assigned to this dormitory. There was one empty bed left; she heard that this classmate had taken a month's leave for personal reasons and was only arriving tomorrow.

"I heard she's from the Department of Veterinary Medicine. How wonderful, rescuing little animals! If I'd known, I would've chosen that major too. My brain must have been flooded with water back then to choose this soul-crushing clinical medicine. It's only been a month, and my hair is already starting to fall out. I'm afraid by graduation I'll have to change my name to Liang Three Hairs," Liang Shuang said.

"Then... should I order a bottle of hair-growth essence for you?" Xu Sui asked tentatively.

"Mm-mm, kamsahamnida!" Liang Shuang made a finger-heart gesture at her.

Xu Sui laughed aloud, the stifled feeling from earlier diluting somewhat. As the two of them were chatting, Bai Yuyue pushed the door open and entered. Liang Shuang told her about the attendance check, and Bai Yuyue, who seemed to be in a good mood, thanked Liang Shuang.

The next day, the new roommate made her grand entrance, followed by two people carrying luggage of all sizes. Wearing a pair of sunglasses and dressed head-to-toe in designer brands, the new roommate watched as the two male students prepared to follow her inside.

The new roommate raised her index finger and shook it, her tone serious: "Is a young lady's boudoir a place stinky men like you can just walk into?"

The two male students froze upon hearing this, their luggage-toting postures leaving them neither able to advance nor retreat. Fishing a few red hundred-yuan bills from her bag, the new roommate handed them over and said briskly: "Just leave it at the door."

"Alright, Ms. Hu, we'll be heading out first."

There was only Xu Sui in the dormitory. Just happening to be reading a book, she closed it upon hearing the commotion and walked over: "I'll help you."

After the two of them dragged the luggage inside together, the new roommate took off her sunglasses, instantly breaking the sense of distance as she introduced herself: "Hello there, I'm Hu Xixi from Veterinary Medicine Class Three. You can call me Xixi."

Only then did Xu Sui get a clear look at her appearance: comic-style blunt bangs, large eyes, a baby-faced chubby cheek, and a slightly plump figure, making her look bright and cute.

"Clinical Medicine Class One, Xu Sui. You can call me whatever you like," Xu Sui said.

It was Hu Xixi's first time leaving home to live in a dorm, and she was a bit disorganized when tidying up. When it finally came to putting on the quilt cover, she crawled entirely inside the bedsheet, cursing and swearing while stuffing it, and ultimately failed to get it on.

Unable to whether laugh or cry, Xu Sui patted her: "Let me help you."

Through Xu Sui's hands, the quilt cover instantly became neat and tidy. After tidying up the dorm, Xu Sui accompanied her new roommate to register her campus ID and buy daily necessities.

Throughout the entire process, Xu Sui didn't utter a single word of complaint. Hu Xixi instantly grew fond of this girl who looked obedient on the outside but was exceptionally methodical in everything she did.

From then on, Hu Xixi became an invisible human-shaped attachment by Xu Sui's side, chirping "Suisui this, Suisui that" all day long, and even reluctantly shared nude photos of her idol with her, under the guise of—witnessed by her idol, she had made a good friend.

The corners of Xu Sui's mouth lifted upward; she liked Hu Xixi too, cheerful and cute, and the two of them gradually grew closer day by day.

On Friday, Xu Sui and Liang Shuang were eating at the second cafeteria. Thinking of Hu Xixi, who hadn't eaten yet back at the dorm, she messaged her to ask what she wanted to eat, planning to pack a portion to take back.

After sending the message, Xu Sui put her phone down to focus on eating. In a short while, Liang Shuang excitedly nudged her arm and lowered her voice: "Damn, look quickly, Bai Yuyue's boyfriend has made an appearance."

"Holy shit, Zhou Jingze."

Xu Sui froze, turning her head mechanically to look. The cafeteria was bustling with noise, and she spotted him at a single glance. Bai Yuyue's boyfriend was accompanying her in line. After getting her food, Bai Yuyue turned around holding a silver cafeteria tray.

The male was on her left side, hands buried in his pockets with a nonchalant posture. Bai Yuyue lifted her head from time to time to speak to him, her eyes shining like stars when she looked at him. The male lowered his head, and upon hearing whatever she said, curled the corners of his lips in response.

Suddenly, someone brushing past brushed close enough to almost bump into Bai Yuyue. With lightning speed, the male raised a hand to pull her by the shoulder, frowning as he told her to watch her step.

Xu Sui's stomach began to churn with acid, making her unable to eat. She lowered her gaze, staring down as she chewed her grains of rice, tasting like sawdust.

The two of them found a seat and sat down, right diagonally in front of her, so Xu Sui could only see his profile.

Liang Shuang was still secretly staring at the pair. The male was too striking; sitting there for just a little while, he drew sideways glances from passersby.

Watching while speaking, Liang Shuang sighed: "Look, the corners of Bai Yuyue's mouth are almost reaching the back of her head. But then again, if I found a boyfriend who looks this handsome and is this badass, I'd be ecstatic to death."

"This is my first time seeing Zhou Jingze today. I heard his turnover rate for girlfriends is super fast—no less than a month at the shortest, and no more than three months at the longest. How long do you guess Bai Yuyue can stay by his side this time?" Liang Shuang poked at the green beans on her plate, asking with an air of pure gossip.

"How do you know his name is Zhou Jingze?" Not wanting to guess his girlfriend's expiration date, Xu Sui asked a random question.

"Of course I do! Didn't I say I wanted to find a pilot for a boyfriend? I sneaked into Beihang's forum early on, and I've got first-hand intel on all the famous big handsome guys at their school. Plus, with Bai Yuyue's high-profile personality, who in the class doesn't know she's dating an awesome boyfriend?" Liang Shuang tapped her chopsticks on the table, narrating like a storyteller, "Wanna hear me dish out the gossip in detail?"

Xu Sui smiled and didn't take up the thread.

"Zhou Jingze, prime specimen of a mega-hunk, height 185, freshman in the Flight Technology major at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Do you know where this guy's badassery lies?" Liang Shuang threw out a question to interact with her listener.

Cooperating, Xu Sui shook her head, and Liang Shuang continued: "Word has it his mother is a well-known cellist, and his father seems to be in business. I heard that back in high school, he was actually an art student majoring in cello, getting ready to study abroad in Austria for specialized music after the college entrance exams. And guess what happened?"

"This mega-hunk is full of rebellious bones; he suddenly changed his mind and chose to stay in the country to study flight, doing it as a regular academic track student and getting into Beihang with an impressively high score," Liang Shuang said.

"His maternal grandfather is an engineer in national aircraft manufacturing, though he retired a few years ago, and his maternal grandmother is a university music professor. With that kind of background, it feels like whatever he studies wouldn't be bad," Liang Shuang sighed as she spoke. "I really envy people like this—they're excellent at everything they do, always wearing that unhurried, effortless look."

"You're excellent too, except for having slightly fewer hairs," Xu Sui comforted her.

Liang Shuang burst out laughing. She hadn't expected someone who looked as obedient as Xu Sui to possess such deadpan humor. Remembering another piece of gossip, Liang Shuang lowered her voice and said, "I saw on the tieba forum that before the college entrance exams, Zhou Jingze specifically went and got a tattoo removed just to pass the physical examination. I feel like that's a bit fake, probably just bragging."

"No, it's true," Xu Sui suddenly spoke up, her tone firm.

Liang Shuang froze for two seconds, then batted her eyelashes at her: "How do you know it's true? Don't tell me you've been secretly paying attention to him too—do you like him?"

Having her maiden thoughts accidentally poked at while drinking water, Xu Sui choked at the words, breaking into a violent fit of coughing with her face flushed crimson red. Liang Shuang immediately raised a hand to stroke her back.

Both Xu Sui and Zhou Jingze were alumni of Tianzhong and had been classmates; she really hadn't meant to hide it, but explaining it was troublesome.

Besides, there was no point in her saying it out loud.

Zhou Jingze probably didn't remember her anyway.

Xu Sui glanced at the two people not far away. Bai Yuyue was eating; Zhou Jingze had clearly come over just to accompany her without eating himself, lazily leaning back against his seat while looking down at his phone to play a game.

His other hand was propped on the table, the pale cyan veins on the back of his hand prominent, slender, and clean.

"I guessed it. Look, there's a white patch on the back of his hand, clearly left behind from laser tattoo removal." Xu Sui had a flash of inspiration.

Liang Shuang looked back and saw that there was indeed an abrupt white patch on the back of Zhou Jingze's hand, looking as if a tattoo had just been removed not long ago.

"Master of details." Liang Shuang gave Xu Sui a thumbs-up.

After finishing lunch, Xu Sui returned to the dorm and conveniently packed a portion of fresh shrimp with scrambled eggs for Hu Xixi. Hu Xixi immediately hugged her and cried: "Thank you, my Suisui!"

Xu Sui patted her shoulder and walked over to her desk to grab a book, her expression hesitating slightly. Because she had bumped into him and his intimate romance with another girl on the rooftop a week ago, she hadn't been to the rooftop for days.

Yet deep down, she was ultimately afraid of seeing that scene again, so Xu Sui ultimately chose the library.

In the evening, after completing a few sets of practice problems and memorizing some medical knowledge at the library, Xu Sui returned to the dorm. Hu Xixi was sitting on her bed painting her toenails grape-purple, complete with sparkling glitter dust on top.

"Suisui, do you want me to paint yours?" Hu Xixi waved the bottle of nail polish at her.

"I'll pass," Xu Sui sat down and poured herself a cup of water. "I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from picking at my toes."

"Hahahahahahaha." Hu Xixi couldn't help laughing. What kind of bizarre quirk was this?

With an innocent expression, Xu Sui had obsessive-compulsive tendencies; if she got them painted, she really wouldn't be able to stop herself from picking them off. During New Year's last year, her little cousin had forcibly dragged her to get her nails done, and by the end of the day, Xu Sui had picked them until they looked like a bald old man's head.

"Right, Suisui, are you free tomorrow Saturday?" Hu Xixi closed the cap and asked her, "Can you accompany me to Beihang for a bit? I have some things at my cousin's place and need to head over."

"Yes, I'll go with you."

Over the weekend, Hu Xixi slept until noon, and the two of them got ready and headed out together. Passing by the cafeteria, Xu Sui was about to walk past when Hu Xixi pulled her back and winked: "Don't go that way, someone's going to treat us to food."

Beihang was right next door to theirs, and they reached the school gates after walking for about ten minutes. But their campus was truly massive; they wandered around for half an hour without finding where the flight department was.

Hu Xixi sent a WeChat voice message to vent: [Did your school bury some kind of treasure? It's like the Longling Labyrinth, guarding against who knows what—I've walked myself dizzy.]

Unsure what message was sent back from the other end of the phone, Hu Xixi turned off her phone screen and turned her head to say: "My cousin says he's coming to pick us up and told us to wait."]

In less than ten minutes, looking as if she had discovered a new continent, Hu Xixi waved excitedly at the opposite side with glowing eyes: "Cousin, we're over here!"

Standing to one side reading the Beihang promotional materials, Xu Sui turned her head over upon hearing this, and then she saw Zhou Jingze. He stood right in the center, followed by several male students who treated him like the moon surrounded by stars. Holding a cigarette between his fingers, Zhou Jingze walked at a leisurely and unhurried pace. The few individuals surrounded him laughing and chatting; his expression was relaxed, and a cynical smile hung on his face.

She never imagined it would be him.

She caught sight of the scarlet glow at his fingertips. As Zhou Jingze drew closer, his brow ridge and straight bridge of the nose grew increasingly clear. Her heart beat rapidly, like that spark of scarlet—feeble, yet burning uncontrollably.

Zhou Jingze obviously saw them too, raising the hand holding the cigarette slightly at his companions before walking toward them. Standing next to Zhou Jingze was a male student who, when the two sides drew relatively close, raised an eyebrow and deliberately said: "Yo, isn't this Lady Xixi?"

Xixi, Xixi—it sounded just like she owed him her death. Hu Xixi rushed over in two or three steps, threw a punch at the male, and furrowed her brows: "Sheng Nanzhou, I told you not to call me that. If you don't want to call me by my full name, you can use my English name, Tracy."

"I see you're just itching for a beating," Sheng Nanzhou said with a serious tone.

Seeing that they were two female students, Zhou Jingze pinched out his cigarette and tossed it into a nearby trash can. Walking up in front of them, his voice mixed with a slight huskiness left over from smoking, Zhou Jingze asked: "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet, I was just waiting for these words from you." Remembering something, Hu Xixi linked her arm through Xu Sui's. "Oh right, this is my roommate, her name is Xu Sui."

According to normal social etiquette, this should have been the moment Xu Sui proactively said something, but the two of them were standing too close together, leaving her mind completely blank.

Looking at the girl before him, a sense of familiarity flashed across Zhou Jingze's mind, fleeting and uncatchable. Frowning slightly, he lifted his eyelids to glance at her, his voice carrying the grainy texture of friction—deep and pleasant to the ear.

"Hello, I'm Zhou Jingze."