From the first class in the morning onward, Chen Yusheng had been messaging Su Bai.
Stupid memes, interesting videos, the latest gaming news...
Yet Su Bai hadn't replied to a single one. Who knew what he was busy with?
Then Chen Yusheng suddenly realized that she'd sent so many messages in a row in their private chat. Didn't that make her look weird?
So she didn't dare send any more.
But she still wanted to talk to Su Bai.
It felt so relaxing, such a stress reliever.
Clearly, he was the client who'd hired her as a gaming companion. How strange—Chen Yusheng had never felt this way when taking other jobs.
Even by lunchtime, Su Bai still hadn't responded.
Actually, Su Bai's roommates were at the table, and Chen Yusheng could have simply asked them what he was doing.
But she had social anxiety.
That's right. Most of the time, it was just plain social anxiety, not the "deliberate aloofness" so many girls assumed she had.
Chen Yusheng agonized over it for a while before her little brain suddenly came up with an idea.
Hey, since I can't figure it out myself and don't dare ask Su Bai's roommates, why not ask the invincible AI?
As a genius girl from the Computer Science Department, Chen Yusheng was very familiar with the concept of Large Models.
Many small problems she encountered in daily life could be answered by AI in great detail.
So Chen Yusheng opened a recently popular AI Q&A website.
She entered the prompt:
I'm a gaming companion, and I have a good impression of one of my clients. He ignored me all morning. What could be the reason?
After waiting over ten seconds, an answer began scrolling across the screen:
There may be many reasons why he hasn't contacted you all morning. Here are several common possibilities and suggestions:
1. Objective reasons: sudden busyness; technical issues;...
Chen Yusheng widened her eyes and read with utmost seriousness.
When she saw one particular point, her heart suddenly tightened.
Differences in how the relationship is defined: He may only see you as an ordinary gaming companion and may not be aware of your affection. Therefore, he may not have the habit of maintaining frequent contact.
Hiss~
So that was it!
Maybe chatting simply wasn't that important to Su Bai. Chen Yusheng was the only one who liked it so much.
At the end of the day, this was just business.
Su Bai had said so himself. He didn't mean anything else by it; he simply wanted to buy emotional value from Chen Yusheng—meaning gaming companion services.
Actually, that was perfectly normal. On any other gaming companion job, Chen Yusheng would have appreciated such a strong sense of boundaries.
One thing was one thing. There was no need to make things unclear.
But why did she feel so disappointed?
She actually wanted to be friends with Su Bai. She wanted things to be unclear between them!
Even though there was a huge gap between their objective circumstances, their souls were so close.
What exactly did Su Bai think of her...? They'd clearly had such a great time chatting yesterday at the café, and again after returning to their dorms that night... Ugh!
As she stewed in her own thoughts, Chen Yusheng radiated an intense aura of resentment.
Her roommate Liu Yuanyuan gave her a strange look but didn't think much of it. Maybe she was reading a novel?
She remembered that this aloof freshman junior sometimes read novels. Getting immersed in one was perfectly normal these days—some tragic romance with a domineering CEO, some overbearing prince falling in love with me. Liu Yuanyuan read that stuff occasionally too.
Wang Haoran said nothing and simply kept grinding dailies for someone else.
Only Chu Mingzhe paid particular attention to Chen Yusheng's unusual state and let his imagination run wild.
When the meal was over and the three from Room 510 headed back to the dorm, the silent Chu Mingzhe suddenly said:
"Guys, don't you think Chen Yusheng was really strange today?"
"Didn't notice. How was she strange?" Wang Haoran temporarily logged out of his gacha game and plugged in his phone to charge, asking casually.
"I'm not sure either, but based on my many years of studying relationship psychology, Chen Yusheng was probably being neglected by someone she cared about deeply."
Wang Haoran: "..."
Xue Tao was stunned. "Wait, your Shanghai elite high schools teach relationship psychology?"
Chu Mingzhe shook his head. "No! I studied it myself in my spare time."
Wang Haoran, who also came from a province with hellishly difficult college entrance exams, was stunned too. "Wait, your Shanghai elite high schools have spare time? And enough energy to use it learning extra knowledge?"
"Damn it, that's not the point!" Chu Mingzhe waved a hand, his face filled with irritation and pain. "The point is, who is that person?"
"Her boyfriend, obviously. She had a fight with her boyfriend," Xue Tao guessed.
"No!!!" Chu Mingzhe covered his face. "Impossible, this is impossible... How could a pure and flawless goddess like Chen Yusheng possibly date a man?"
"The goddesses in Greek mythology not only dated, they had kids too. What's so strange about that?" Xue Tao gloated. "I've told you before, don't put the Goddess Dormitory on such a pedestal. Chen Yusheng is a person too. It's perfectly normal for her to have emotional needs and date someone, isn't it?"
"A local speaks the truth!" Wang Haoran agreed. This bastard Xue Tao had actually said something sensible for once.
But Chu Mingzhe obviously couldn't accept that answer at all.
He clutched a copy of The Complete Guide to Relationship Psychology (English Edition), ran to his bed, pulled shut the bed curtains, and began studying it furtively.
"This kid's gone crazy. Sigh, that's what happens when your standards are too high but your abilities fall short. Better to be like me—within my capabilities, pursue someone suitable. Haha, I'm taking Yuanyuan out for a drive again this weekend. Will I get to hold her hand this time?"
Watching Chu Mingzhe act like an idiot, Xue Tao found that the frustration caused by his insufficient Japanese food budget seemed to lessen somewhat.
At a high-end Japanese restaurant in IKC Plaza.
Su Bai ate to his heart's content.
It had to be said, high-end seafood sashimi really did taste good. That distinctive fresh sweetness truly couldn't compare to cheap ingredients.
And it was highly nutritious and good for one's health, perfectly suitable as a staple food for an athlete in training... Of course, the cost might be an issue, but cost was the last thing Su Bai needed to worry about.
While senior Zhou Jialu was in the restroom, Su Bai played on his phone for a while and finally saw the string of messages Chen Yusheng had sent that morning.
Hiss.
His morning schedule had been packed, so he hadn't had time to check his phone... Well, he'd actually checked it a few times, but Chen Yusheng's messages had probably been buried beneath other things.
Only natural.
Although he'd hit it off with Chen Yusheng while chatting yesterday, Su Bai wasn't the type to have nothing but a pretty girl on his mind just because they'd had a good conversation.
He had always been rather indifferent by nature.
He generally did whatever felt right and let fate take its course.
Crispy Big White Goose: [Big White Goose_scratching head]
Crispy Big White Goose: Was busy this morning, didn't see it.
The moment he sent it, Chen Yusheng replied almost instantly:
Yu Xie: What were you busy with?
Yu Xie retracted a message.
Crispy Big White Goose: Picked up a car.
Yu Xie: [Shocked cat]
Yu Xie: It must be a very expensive car, right?
Crispy Big White Goose: It was alright. More than eight hundred thousand.
Yu Xie: I knew it!
Crispy Big White Goose: I'll look at the things you sent when I have time.
Yu Xie: No rush, it wasn't anything important anyway...
Yu Xie: Are we gaming today?
Crispy Big White Goose: Sure. Probably this afternoon or tonight. I'll let you know in advance.
Yu Xie: Okay.
"Oh? Junior, who are you chatting with so enthusiastically?"
Zhou Jialu, returning from the restroom, saw Su Bai tapping away at his phone and asked.
"A roommate."
"Looks like you get along quite well with your dormmates. Tsk, tsk, that isn't easy."
"Why isn't it easy? Dorm relationships aren't international relations. What's so complicated about them?"
"Hard to say. Especially for someone with such excellent conditions as you. There will always be people who envy you."
"Let them envy me. They can envy all they want; I'll live my own life. To each their own."
"Then what if someone secretly did something to harm you?"
Zhou Jialu's beautiful eyes flickered, as if she had fallen into some unpleasant memories.
Su Bai said indifferently, "Then I'll find a way to get revenge. I'm not some magnanimous person."
"Mm, true. Besides, you have the means."
Zhou Jialu nodded slightly, and the look in her eyes as she gazed at him grew increasingly infatuated.
Even Su Bai's personality suited her tastes perfectly.
Oh my, how exactly could she make this junior blush?
Su Bai, however, had no such complicated thoughts. Seeing that they had both nearly finished eating, he asked seriously:
"Senior, are you familiar with the rental housing market?"
Before you continue