Reunion

"Sigh~"

"Sigh~"

"Sigh~"

Each sigh was more mournful than the last, and louder too, making it impossible to pretend you hadn't heard.

Unable to take it any longer, "Eldest Brother, are you on your period?" Zhuge Yun's forehead veins bulged as he tried to remain calm.

"Yeah, Eldest Brother, why are you sighing like that?" Zhao Luzheng felt goosebumps all over.

Xiao Xiao was flipping through a large volume of Monster Records.

One day, he had actually seen a monster. This naturally sparked his immense curiosity and thirst for knowledge about monsters. So, during this period, he had borrowed many books about monsters from the library and was reading them with great interest.

The sudden mournful sound made his hand tremble, and his finger, which was turning the page, hurt, leaving a bloodstain.

Although it quickly healed, Xiao Xiao looked at Eldest Brother, who was lying on the bed with his legs crossed, and said expressionlessly, "Eldest Brother, do you think you're a shy girl waiting to be married? Or a lonely woman guarding an empty room? Come on, tell me, who is so unlucky that you're thinking about them?"

"Just thinking about it makes all the hairs on my body stand on end."

"Shiver."

"Creepy."

His words were sharp and pierced straight to the heart.

Zhang Bo froze. The mournful sigh he had half-exhaled got stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down.

Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luzheng were also stunned, then burst into laughter.

"Third Brother, amazing!" Zhuge Yun gave a thumbs-up with one hand while clutching his stomach with the other, groaning with laughter. He never expected the gentle Third Brother to be so venomous!

"Third Brother, well said!" Zhao Luzheng looked up in admiration, unable to suppress the laughter bubbling in his throat.

"Alright, Third Brother." Eldest Brother, finally recovering, sat up and crossed his legs on the bed. "I didn't realize you were so sly, kid."

"Third Brother is just hiding his true strength."

"I think his true nature is showing."

After the others had teased for a while, Xiao Xiao brought the conversation back, "Eldest Brother, why were you sighing?"

"Yeah."

"He's lovesick," Zhuge Yun said, hitting the nail on the head.

Huh? Xiao Xiao and the others looked at the silly smile on Eldest Brother's face and nodded in agreement: Yes, he's definitely lovesick.

"Tell us, who have you taken a liking to?"

"Luo Xiaoluan, right?"

"How did you know?" Zhang Bo blurted out, then looked shocked, as if he had seen a ghost.

Zhuge Yun looked smug. How could this be hard to guess? Clearly, among the four girls that night, the one named Luo Xiaoluan was the prettiest, so delicate and soft. She was indeed quite likable, especially to someone tall and strong like Eldest Brother.

After all, people generally desire what they lack. Eldest Brother was so tall and strong, so naturally, he liked petite girls. This would clearly satisfy his machiavellian tendencies.

"Eldest Brother, are you going to stage a real-life Beauty and the Beast?"

"Get lost." Zhang Bo turned away from the person grinning lewdly, looking expectantly at Xiao Xiao and Zhao Luzheng.

"How about we invite them again?"

"Invite them for what? Last time was a thank-you banquet," Zhuge Yun poured cold water on his idea.

Then what should we do? Eldest Brother scratched his ears and cheeks, unable to think of a way to approach his crush after a week had passed since their last meal together.

"Eldest Brother, ask her out alone. Aren't you bothered by so many third wheels?"

"But... alone... how do I ask?" Zhang Bo stammered, his tanned cheeks flushing.

Looking at the "shy" Eldest Brother, Xiao Xiao and the others couldn't help but rub their arms; it was too much to bear.

However, when it came to Eldest Brother's love life, they naturally had to offer their full support.

After exchanging glances for a moment, they began a lively discussion.

Finally, the best plan they came up with was... to invite the other dorm to a meal.

Facing Eldest Brother's scornful and accusatory gaze, Zhuge Yun rubbed his nose, coughed a few times, and naturally turned his head away. Well, he hadn't seen anything.

Besides, with Eldest Brother being such a blockhead, the most foolish method was probably the best choice.

Xiao Xiao was a bit speechless. If that was the case, what were they even discussing before?

With the unanimous encouragement of everyone, Eldest Brother took the lead and called Luo Xiaoluan, explained the situation, and extended the invitation.

Under the shining eyes of Xiao Xiao and the others, Zhang Bo cleared his throat under considerable pressure.

"Hello." A sweet, soft female voice replied.

Zhang Bo's face instantly turned red. "Y-you, hello, I'm Zhang Bo."

After Zhang Bo hung up the phone, he was still a bit dazed.

He did it, he actually did it!

"Well done, Eldest Brother!"

"Heh heh." Zhang Bo let out a somewhat silly laugh.

Saturday, 11 AM.

Everyone successfully met up.

As the weather was gradually getting cooler, Xiao Xiao and the others chose a hot pot restaurant for this gathering.

However, when they arrived at the hot pot restaurant, they unexpectedly found some "acquaintances."

"Huh, isn't this the male and female lead from that melodramatic incident last time?" Zhang Jiajia blurted out, looking bewildered. It was truly fate; this was the second time they'd run into them while eating out.

Xiao Xiao looked at the people pulling and tugging at each other ahead and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It was indeed the same couple from last time.

Xiao Xiao directly ignored the male individual and frowned as he observed the girl beside him.

There was still a strong sense of incongruity.

What was it?

Xiao Xiao felt so uncomfortable he wanted to scratch his ears and scratch his cheeks without regard for his image. It felt like he was just one thin layer of paper away from the answer, but he just couldn't break through. The feeling was incredibly awkward.

Forget it, out of sight, out of mind. Since he couldn't figure it out for now, he'd put it aside.

Even so, he couldn't help but glance at the girl a few more times, still somewhat unwilling to give up...

There were two groups confronting each other at the entrance of the hot pot restaurant.

The leader of one group was the young master they had seen last time, his face full of arrogance, a typical expression of a spoiled rich kid. The other was clearly also a wealthy young master, wearing a pair of silver-rimmed glasses on his nose, which gave him a somewhat refined air.

Unfortunately, the look in his eyes revealed nothing of that refinement.

After observing the two confronting parties for a moment, the group had no intention of standing around and watching the show. They planned to bypass the crowd blocking the entrance of the hot pot restaurant and head straight for the private room.

Right now, nothing was more important than eating.

As Xiao Xiao walked past the girl, his nose twitched. Beneath the rich fragrance of her perfume, there seemed to be a strange scent, faint and lingering.

Entangled with the perfume, it gave the person smelling it a slightly uncomfortable, car-sick feeling.

It was truly an unpleasant association.

"Achoo!" Xiao Xiao rubbed his nose. He had deliberately slowed his steps as he passed the girl, trying his best to smell for a long time. He then thought with some uncertainty: Why does it smell a bit like fishy and gamey?

Was this overly sweet perfume meant to cover up its own fishy, gamey odor?

Xiao Xiao's expression remained unchanged, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly as he naturally brushed past the girl and entered the restaurant. Deep within his eyes, however, a storm was brewing, his thoughts racing.