In the girls' dormitory, Xie Shu watched Ruan Nianxi enter before turning to leave, not departing until she was completely out of sight.
On his way back to his own dorm, he took out his phone and checked his class schedule.
They were both busy over the weekend, only having time to spend together in the evenings without any prior plans, so they could only do something ordinary like shopping.
He hadn't confessed his feelings yet, not even daring to hold her hand…
Hmm… There were fewer classes in his junior year, so if he didn't take any part-time jobs during the week, he'd have to plan his confession.
He wondered how busy Ruan Nianxi's schedule was and when they both might be free.
Contemplating this, Xie Shu slowly made his way to the bottom of his dorm building.
He looked back and forth between his class schedule and calendar several times, occasionally glancing at the path.
Just as he was about to step up to the dorm's entrance, someone called out to him.
"Xie Shu."
Hearing the voice, Xie Shu instinctively stopped, and in the split second before he could turn his head, he guessed who it was.
So he continued up the steps without turning around, as if he hadn't heard.
His obvious pause and almost-turning-around indicated he had indeed heard.
"Xie Shu!!"
Su Qianyi, seeing him deliberately ignoring her, stepped forward in anger, attempting to grab him.
She had spotted him from afar before he reached the gate but didn't call out. Instead, she got up from her seat and waited for him at the bottom of the stairs next to his dorm entrance, which was why she was not far from him and caught up in a few steps.
Xie Shu shook off Su Qianyi's hand as if electrocuted, then turned around with an expressionless face, looking at her with a distant gaze.
He remained silent, just staring at Su Qianyi.
The message was clear: Spit it out if you have something to say.
Seeing Xie Shu looking at her with such an expression, Su Qianyi's initial annoyance at being deliberately ignored vanished, replaced by a sense of grievance.
She had been waiting for him all day… She really wanted to talk to him.
Don't treat her like that… She couldn't stand it.
Her heart ached… Even more so than before.
She could endure a whole day of waiting, it was just a bit hot during the day, and she could hide under the shade of trees or have An Tian bring her an umbrella and water. But…
Just before dusk, after seeing Xie Shu's new post on his Moments, her heart felt like it had been stabbed, leaving her unable to react for a long time.
Hours passed, and she had just managed to calm herself a bit and finally saw him, but he was… so cold.
She had so many questions for him.
Didn't Liu Ping say at noon that he was off to a part-time job? Why was he then seen with another girl?
Who was that girl?
What was their relationship?
But faced with his cold demeanor, all her words died on her lips.
Because she remembered what he had once said—what right did she have to question him.
Even if she did ask, she'd probably get the same response…
After reaching the peak of heartbreak, Su Qianyi miraculously calmed down.
She took a deep breath, then thrust the milk tea she had been holding into Xie Shu's hand, adding, "It was supposed to be iced, but… too much time has passed, and it's not cold anymore. Don't hold it against me."
Her tone was unusually calm, as if she was having a normal conversation.
Without waiting for Xie Shu's response, she turned and left.
She knew she had to leave quickly, or Xie Shu would definitely give it back to her.
So, she left as fast as she could.
Not giving Xie Shu any chance to refuse.
Xie Shu didn't say a word the whole time.
He was momentarily confused by the sudden gift of milk tea.
Su Qianyi quickly disappeared around the corner, likely beyond recall.
In the end, Xie Shu went upstairs as if nothing had happened, unaffected.
However, after he left, a sealed cup of milk tea appeared atop a trash can outside the dorm.
***
A few minutes later, Xie Shu returned to his dorm.
"Kids, daddy's home."
As he opened the door, Xie Shu greeted his 'sons' warmly.
Several "affectionate" greetings followed in response.
Xie Shu sat down at his spot, and Liu Ping asked him, "Did you see her when you came up?"
"See who?"
"Su Qianyi. The two who came back earlier saw her. She seemed to be waiting for you about an hour or half an hour ago. Did you see her when you got back? Is she still there? She's been waiting for you all day."
"…Why do you keep bringing her up? Got nothing better to do? If you're bored, help me with CAD?"
Not wanting to talk about Su Qianyi, Liu Ping coughed lightly and tactfully changed the subject, mentioning the post Xie Shu had made earlier.
"Speaking of which, that girl in the photo on your Moments is Ruan Nianxi, right?"
"Yeah."
"Why did you blur her face? Did you win her over or not?" The other two joined the conversation with enthusiasm.
Xie Shu shrugged helplessly: "I'm not sure about the blurring, she requested it, so I did it. As for pursuing her, I haven't confessed yet. I'm still thinking about the right time. Plus, I want to prepare a special gift. I have fewer classes during the week and no part-time job, so I'm planning to do it in the next few days. Also…"
Once the topic shifted to Ruan Nianxi, Xie Shu shared a barrage of his thoughts.
His three 'sons,' despite having zero experience in love, eagerly offered their advice.
After discussing for a while, they each went back to their own activities, while Xie Shu continued to ponder his plans.
Unconsciously, he opened Taobao and began browsing for gifts.
As he browsed, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Speaking of which, if he successfully confessed and they got together, would Uncle Ruan and Aunt Jian, both business elites, agree to their relationship?
Considering this possibility, he realized he needed to prepare in advance.
Now in his junior year and with an internship in senior year, he had about a year and a half to do something.
Being a designer was a tough job; clients often had many demands, and he would have to revise designs repeatedly. After several versions, they'd want the original one, and at those times, he felt like hitting someone.
In short, the early stages of career development were tough, and relying solely on this job wouldn't work.
"Hey, with internships coming up, how do you guys plan to develop your careers?" Thinking back to his past life as a designer, Xie Shu sighed.
"Why worry about that now? It's still early."
"What plans could we have? Just find a job that pays a few thousand to ten thousand and get by. We'll develop slowly after that."
"+1+1"
Hearing their responses, Xie Shu chuckled, reminded of a saying—
Before graduation: I won't accept less than ten thousand.
After graduation: 3000 it is then.
After all, the number of fresh graduates was overwhelming, and even students pursuing master's degrees were getting twisted up in competition.
Obvious challenges are easy to dodge, but hidden competition is hard to guard against.
"Hey, Xie Shu, are you done? Wanna play games? It's game time!" someone asked.
Checking the time and seeing it was still early, Xie Shu didn't refuse: "Wait for me, I'll send a message to Ruan Nianxi and ask if she's joining."
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan