The Second Encounter

"Ah~"

"Ah~"

"Ah~"

Each sigh was more plaintive than the last, and louder too. It was impossible to pretend not to hear.

At last, Zhuge Yun couldn't take it anymore. The veins on his forehead bulged as he tried to keep his voice calm. "Eldest Brother, are you on your period?"

"Seriously, Eldest Brother, what are you sighing about?" Zhao Luzheng said, covered in goosebumps.

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

One day, he'd suddenly seen a real monster. Naturally, that had sparked a deep curiosity and thirst for knowledge about them. So lately, he'd borrowed a whole stack of monster-related books from the library, and he'd been engrossed in them.

The sudden, mournful sigh made his hand jerk. His finger hurt as he turned the page, and a thin line of blood appeared.

It healed almost at once, but Xiao Xiao looked at Eldest Brother, who was sprawled on his bed with one leg crossed over the other, and said flatly, "Eldest Brother, do you think you're some shy maiden waiting to be married? Or a lonely woman keeping house by herself? Come on, tell me—who's the poor soul you can't stop thinking about?"

"Just thinking about it makes every hair on my body stand on end."

"It gives me the chills."

"It makes my skin crawl."

His words were cutting, every one striking home.

Zhang Bo froze. The mournful sigh he'd started to let out caught in his throat, unable to rise or fall.

Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luzheng froze too, then burst out laughing.

"Third Brother, that was amazing!" Zhuge Yun gave him a thumbs-up with one hand and clutched his stomach with the other. Oh, he was dying laughing. He'd never expected such a mild-mannered guy to be so vicious with his words.

"Third Brother, well said!" Zhao Luzheng looked at him with admiration, but the laughter bubbling up in his throat was impossible to suppress.

"Very good, Third Brother." Eldest Brother finally came back to himself and sat up, cross-legged on the bed. "Who knew you had such a nasty streak?"

"Third Brother's been hiding his true talent."

"I think he's just showing his true colors."

After everyone had joked around for a while, Xiao Xiao brought them back to the point. "Eldest Brother, what are you sighing about?"

"Yeah."

"He's lovesick," Zhuge Yun said, getting straight to the point.

Huh? Xiao Xiao and the others looked at the silly smile on Eldest Brother's face, then nodded one after another. Yeah, no doubt about it. He was lovesick.

"Come on, who's the girl?"

"Luo Xiaoluan, right?"

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

Zhuge Yun looked smug. What was there to guess? Among the four girls that night, Luo Xiaoluan was clearly the prettiest. She was delicate and sweet, the sort of girl anyone would like—especially someone as tall and burly as Eldest Brother.

People tended to long for what they lacked. A big, strapping guy like Eldest Brother would naturally like a petite, dependent girl. It would satisfy his masculinity to no end.

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

"Get lost." Zhang Bo glanced away with distaste at the guy grinning lecherously, then looked at Xiao Xiao and Zhao Luzheng with some hope.

"How about we invite them out this time?"

"Invite them out for what? Last time, they treated us to thank us." Zhuge Yun poured cold water on the idea.

What was he supposed to do, then? Eldest Brother scratched his head. It had been a week since their dinner, and he still hadn't figured out how to get closer to the girl he'd fallen for.

"Eldest Brother, ask her out alone. Don't you think all these third wheels will get in the way?"

"But... alone... how do I ask her?" Zhang Bo stammered, a blush spreading over his wheat-colored cheeks.

Watching Eldest Brother act all "shy," Xiao Xiao and the others rubbed their arms. It was almost painful to look at.

Still, they had to do everything they could to help Eldest Brother with his love life.

They exchanged glances for a while, then launched into a lively discussion.

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

Under Eldest Brother's scornful, accusatory stare, Zhuge Yun rubbed his nose, coughed a few times, then casually turned away. Yep, he hadn't seen a thing.

Besides, with a blockhead like Eldest Brother, the simplest approach was probably best.

Xiao Xiao was a little speechless. If that was the plan, why had they even spent all that time discussing it?

After everyone urged him on, Eldest Brother called Luo Xiaoluan himself, explained the situation, and invited her.

Under the bright, expectant gazes of Xiao Xiao and the others, Zhang Bo cleared his throat, feeling the pressure.

"Hello?" a sweet, soft voice came through.

Zhang Bo's face turned bright red. "H-hello. I'm Zhang Bo."

After Zhang Bo hung up, he was still a little dazed.

It... it worked!

"Nice job, Eldest Brother!"

"Heh heh." Zhang Bo gave a silly grin.

Saturday, 11 a.m.

Everyone met up without a hitch.

The weather was growing colder, so Xiao Xiao and the others had chosen a hot pot restaurant for their meal.

But when they arrived, they unexpectedly spotted some "familiar faces."

"Hey, aren't those the leading man and woman from that ridiculous drama last time?" Zhang Jiajia blurted out, looking baffled. What a coincidence—they'd run into them both times they'd gone out to eat.

Xiao Xiao looked at the pair tugging at each other up ahead and raised an eyebrow. Sure enough, it was the same couple as last time.

Xiao Xiao ignored the male and frowned as he studied the girl beside him.

There was still something deeply incongruous about her.

What was it?

Xiao Xiao was so frustrated that he wanted to scratch his head like a madman, heedless of appearances. The answer seemed just a thin sheet of paper away, yet he couldn't pierce through. It was an incredibly irritating feeling.

Forget it. Out of sight, out of mind. If he couldn't figure it out now, he'd set it aside for the moment.

That was what he told himself, but he still couldn't help glancing at the girl again and again...

Two groups were facing off at the hot pot restaurant's entrance.

One of the men leading them was the young rich guy they'd seen last time, his face wearing the arrogant look of a typical spoiled playboy. The other was clearly a wealthy young man too. His silver-rimmed glasses gave him an air of refinement.

Unfortunately, there was nothing refined about what shone in his eyes.

After watching the two sides face off for a little while, no one felt like standing around to gawk. They decided to avoid the group nearly blocking the restaurant entrance and head straight for their private room.

Right now, food came before everything else.

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

It mingled with the perfume, making anyone who smelled it feel a little carsick.

Not a pleasant association.

"Ah-choo!" Xiao Xiao rubbed his nose. He'd slowed his steps as he passed the girl, trying hard to get a good sniff. After a while, he'd thought, uncertainly: Could that be a fishy, rank smell?

Was she wearing such sweet, cloying perfume to cover up that foul odor?

Xiao Xiao's expression didn't change. He turned the corner of his mouth up slightly and walked past the girl into the restaurant. Deep in his eyes, however, waves churned and thoughts raced.