So That's How It Is

At Binhe University of Science and Technology, on a small field behind the mountain, behind a row of enormous palm trees.

"Smack!" A loud slap rang out. Then came a voice brimming with fury. "Good, very good. You actually got someone to frame the woman I like! Luckily, this time it didn't blow up into something unmanageable. Otherwise, I never would've let you off lightly!"

Still seething, he kicked a pebble at his feet. It flew more than ten meters away.

Little Fatty looked aggrieved as Peng Jie glared at him. He hurriedly explained, "Brother Peng, I only did it because I had your best interests at heart."

A flicker of surprise crossed Peng Jie's eyes. "My best interests? You had my best interests at heart, so you went and framed the woman I like?"

"No, Brother Peng, you've got it wrong."

Peng Jie waved his hand impatiently. "Tell me exactly what happened. Explain what you were thinking."

Little Fatty covered his sore cheek and hissed before saying, "Brother Peng, I was just trying to reduce the number of people competing with you. Think about it: if Su Yuan—that brat... no, that girl—if she got branded as the Underwear Thief, her reputation would surely take a hit. People would look at her differently, and no other men would compete with you for her."

"So you're saying you did it for my sake?" Peng Jie asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Of course! I, Little Fatty, always consider Brother Peng when I handle things. I don't have an ounce of selfishness!" It was impossible to say he had no personal motive in framing Su Yuan. That ugly label, "Underwear Thief," would be more than enough to make that Su brat suffer.

"You idiot!" Peng Jie raised his hand to hit him again, but Little Fatty flinched and quickly dodged.

"Brother Peng, was I really wrong?"

"Of course you were! Could you have come up with anything more ridiculous? Did you ever consider that she's a girl? You cornered her like this and tried to pin the Underwear Thief accusation on her. What if she decided to go all the way and reveal that she's a girl? Do you think that would help me, or make things worse?"

Little Fatty was dumbfounded. "Brother Peng, did I really mess up?"

"You couldn't have been more wrong!"

From Little Fatty's perspective, Su Yuan was a guy, so he had planned everything on that assumption. With the "Underwear Thief" label pinned on her, she would have no way to defend herself. He'd get revenge and clear the path for Peng Jie at the same time.

But Peng Jie couldn't agree. He believed Su Yuan was a girl, so Little Fatty's actions had been the equivalent of destroying their own defenses. He'd always heard it was better to face an enemy like a god than have an ally like a pig. Now he was beginning to understand what that meant.

"But she's obviously a guy. Why would she admit she's a girl?" Little Fatty wondered, completely at a loss.

"Fortunately, the Underwear Thief business didn't implicate her." Peng Jie glanced at Little Fatty, pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and lit one. "By the way, where did you find that accomplice? Why didn't your 'brilliant' plan work out?"

Putting Little Fatty's pigheadedness aside, Peng Jie had started doubting his ability to get things done.

Little Fatty was just as baffled. He protested innocently, "I found him out in town. It took some effort to track him down. Brother Peng, do you remember the underwear theft in the women's dorm last year?"

Peng Jie took a drag. "You mean this guy was the Underwear Thief back then?"

"That's right!"

"You've got guts, kid!" Peng Jie praised him, though it was hard to tell whether he was complimenting or mocking him.

"Tell me what you instructed him to do."

Little Fatty liked showing off in front of Peng Jie. His tiny eyes narrowed to slits as he chuckled. "It was simple. The day before, I had him sneak into the women's dorm and steal some underwear. After Su Yuan and the others went to class, he was supposed to sneak back in and put it in Su Yuan's wardrobe. Then he'd go back into the women's dorm and steal underwear again. That time, it was to draw the girls' attention and lead them to Building 17."

Peng Jie nodded.

Still concerned, he asked, "He wouldn't get exposed, would he?"

Little Fatty answered confidently, "Don't worry. He's a repeat offender. He knows how to handle something like this."

As they spoke, he suddenly noticed a commotion along the walkway not far away. It was quite a spectacle: a big group of girls seemed to be parading a skinny guy through the area, and some of them were even throwing pebbles at him to vent their anger. If this had been ancient times, they'd probably have been throwing rotten eggs instead.

Peng Jie blew out a smoke ring and asked curiously, "What's going on? Go over and find out."

Little Fatty was staring in astonishment too. But when he got a good look at the "criminal," he grew tense and stammered, "Brother Peng, that... that guy they're dragging along looks like the Underwear Thief we were just talking about."

The cigarette fell from Peng Jie's mouth. He slapped Little Fatty. "Didn't you just confidently guarantee he wouldn't get exposed?"

"Brother Peng, I never thought this would happen!" Little Fatty was close to tears. Never mind whether this would implicate him; he was already miserable at the thought of Peng Jie seeing him as incompetent.

Peng Jie kicked him, furious. "Clean up this mess right now. I don't want this getting traced back to either of us."

"B-Brother Peng, you don't have to worry about that. He's got a sense of loyalty. We paid him, and he'll keep his mouth shut. He won't say anything."

Just then, the skinny man raised his head and spotted Little Fatty behind the palm trees. Little Fatty was short and built like a ball, so he was easy to recognize.

Smack! Another pebble, not too big or too small, hit the man in the forehead. He cried out in pain, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "It was him! He paid me to do it! I didn't go into the women's dorm to steal their underwear of my own accord!"

"Grab those two! They're the masterminds!" the girl leading the group shouted.

"Damn it! This is your idea of loyalty? Run!" Peng Jie shot Little Fatty a furious look and bolted.

"Oh, my God!" Little Fatty knew there was no way this would end well now. Peng Jie might get away, but Little Fatty was so distinctive that there was no way he could escape unscathed.

The girls swarmed around Little Fatty like a flock of furious hens, punching and kicking his round body with all their might.

Su Yuan had been in a good mood ever since leaving the Student Affairs Office. By the time she reached Building 17, she got even better news.

"What? They caught the Underwear Thief?" she asked, eyes bright with excitement.

Gao Jun nodded. "Yeah. Don't forget, there's a camera near the flower bed at the bottom of our dorm building. The dorm search turned up no underwear, and the girls weren't satisfied, so they went to the security office and got the surveillance footage. It was blurry, but you could make out a figure."

"We thought there was no way we could identify him from that footage alone. But sometimes you search everywhere and find nothing, then stumble upon it without even trying. Ye Hao went downstairs just now and spotted a suspicious-looking guy near the dorm. When he got closer, wasn't he the same guy who nearly knocked you over by the stairwell? Ye Hao kicked him and caught him."

"Then the girls came back and took him away with them. Turns out the guy had come back to check on his 'results.' Who knew he'd run into Ye Hao and get exposed?"

Su Yuan nodded repeatedly. She realized there had been too many coincidences involved.

But whatever the case, she had to thank Ji Yehao for this.

"By the way, where's Ye Hao?"

"Oh, Instructor Tan called him over."

Su Yuan paused. She had a feeling that Instructor Tan had called Ji Yehao over because of her. But Teacher Wang and Instructor Tan had promised to keep her secret. Surely they wouldn't betray her right after she'd left?

She knew that now that Instructor Tan and Teacher Wang were aware of her "situation," she wouldn't be able to stay in the men's dorm much longer—or at least, not for long.

The two teachers were worried something might happen. They could let her stay for a while, but they wouldn't allow her to remain in the men's dorm indefinitely. They couldn't shoulder the responsibility.