Hey, Venerable Downer, when did you get here?

Lin Yilin was sneaking glances at Jiang Linyuan when she suddenly heard a voice beside her.

"Hey, is anyone sitting here?"

Lin Yilin jumped. The newcomer was a short-haired girl with a bright smile.

She looked vaguely familiar, like Lin Yilin had seen her somewhere before.

Before Lin Yilin could answer, the girl sat down as if she belonged there and gazed at her with a sunny smile.

"Sorry, someone's sitting here."

How could someone be so rude?

Lin Yilin frowned and glared at the girl in front of her.

"Go sit somewhere else."

The short-haired girl laughed, asking with a playful air, "It's fine, I'll be leaving soon. Why don't we be friends?"

Lin Yilin frowned even more deeply.

"Are you one of those scammers who try to sell pens?"

The short-haired girl paused, then burst into laughter.

"No. Has anyone ever told you how adorable you are?"

Lin Yilin's expression darkened further.

"I'm not interested in you. Stop bothering me."

"But I'm very interested in you."

The girl grinned with amusement, as if she'd found something entertaining.

Just then, Jiang Linyuan returned. When he saw the short-haired girl, he waved her away impatiently.

"Where'd this lesbian come from? Did you catch her scent and come running? Shoo!"

L-Lesbian!?

Lin Yilin stared blankly at the smiling girl in front of her, at a loss.

For a small-town bookworm like her, the sweet scent of girls in love was a bit too advanced.

"Jiang, why are you slandering me out of nowhere? I told you, I like men."

The girl turned to meet Jiang Linyuan's gaze, raised an eyebrow, and smiled.

"If you still don't believe me, you can test my sexual orientation yourself."

As she spoke, she put on a shy expression and lowered her eyes.

Venerable Downer, when did you get here?

The girl was none other than Su Muzhi.

Hearing her say something so cringey, Jiang Linyuan rolled his eyes.

"You think you're worthy?"

"I'm not worthy, but this junior is?"

Su Muzhi's smile didn't fade as she turned the conversation toward Lin Yilin.

By then, Lin Yilin had recovered. Her gaze shifted between the two of them, and she asked hesitantly, "Senior, you know her?"

"Yeah."

Jiang Linyuan answered, then stepped in front of Lin Yilin and lowered his voice.

"Don't tease her."

Seeing him take Lin Yilin's side, Su Muzhi grew even more interested.

"You have a thing for her?"

Can love-brained people just drop dead already?

French Fry Entanglement!

Without another word, Jiang Linyuan put on a glove and, under Lin Yilin's stunned gaze, grabbed a handful of fries and stuffed them at Su Muzhi.

Su Muzhi was startled at first, but she didn't dodge. Instead, she leaned forward and took them, eating the fries slowly as she asked with a smile, "Feeding play?"

"Feeding play? More like shitting play."

Jiang Linyuan's mouth twitched. That woman really had no limits.

Lin Yilin watched the two of them interact, looking uneasy.

From her perspective, they were clearly a couple if they got along that well.

So the reason this girl had come over to talk to me is obvious.

She must think there's something going on between me and Senior, and then Lin Yilin couldn't help remembering Jiang Linyuan saying things like how charming he was.

Her head began to feel hot and fuzzy, and in her panic, the words escaped her.

"Senior and I are completely innocent."

Her sudden declaration left Jiang Linyuan and Su Muzhi both stunned. They turned to stare at Lin Yilin.

Under Su Muzhi's gaze, Lin Yilin grew even more flustered and hurried to add, "I'm the one who asked Senior out for a meal today. It has nothing to do with him!"

At that, Su Muzhi gave her a knowing smile and blinked.

"I haven't even asked you anything yet."

Only then did Lin Yilin realize her words had sounded like an overly emphatic denial. She stood there, blushing as red as a steamed crab.

Binary Sister stood at attention.

"I'm not Jiang's girlfriend yet, so there's no need to be so nervous."

Su Muzhi smiled gently.

"My name's Su Muzhi. What's yours?"

"Lin Yilin! My name is Lin Yilin!"

Hearing this, Binary Sister let out a sigh of relief and immediately introduced herself.

"Junior, don't spend too much time with this weirdo. She'll lead you astray."

Jiang Linyuan stepped between them and spoke to Lin Yilin first, then looked smugly at Su Muzhi.

"What brings you here, Little Su? If you have a matter to report, speak up. If not, court dismissed."

Su Muzhi arched an eyebrow.

"Liu Tingting's been looking for you everywhere lately."

Jiang Linyuan paused.

Ever since he got Liu Tingting's Reward Card, he'd deleted her contact information without a second thought and shut out the world, focusing entirely on the stock market.

He hadn't bothered concerning himself with that past-her-prime green tea.

"I wasn't planning to do anything, but now that I think about it, maybe I'll bring her to see you next time."

Su Muzhi said lightly, her face wreathed in smiles.

"Hahaha, Muzhi, that's ridiculous. We're such good friends. Would you really want to cause me trouble?"

Jiang Linyuan immediately changed his tune, speaking with complete sincerity.

"Heh. Then tell me, what kind of relationship do we have?"

Su Muzhi asked, narrowing her eyes.

"We're like leaves in the sunlight and roots hidden in the dark—inseparable, thriving together."

Jiang Linyuan came up with an answer on the spot, describing their relationship quite fittingly.

But Su Muzhi's expression turned strange when she heard him.

"So you mean I'm desperate to get laid?"

Jiang Linyuan: ...

This Downer Girl was so sexually repressed she'd lost all sense of reality.

Seeing his reaction, Su Muzhi rarely looked a little embarrassed. After spending so much time with Jiang Linyuan, his way of thinking had rubbed off on her without her realizing it.

A moment later, she quickly changed the subject.

"I reckon Liu Tingting will find you soon. If she really wants to, it's pretty easy to find out where you are."

After all, they went to the same school.

Someone as extraordinary as Jiang Linyuan was easy enough to track down with a little asking around.

Su Muzhi's words made Jiang Linyuan tremble with anger.

Damn it, when would men finally have some privacy of their own!

"Liu Tingting? Is she the one who caused such a big stir in the Badminton Club?"

Lin Yilin recalled the story.

Recently, every online platform at school had been full of stories about Liu Tingting dating two people at once.

But what did that have to do with Senior?

Su Muzhi seemed to notice her confusion and smiled.

"Didn't you know? Jiang asked Liu Tingting out."

"Huh?"

Lin Yilin looked at Jiang Linyuan in surprise.

Jiang Linyuan met her gaze and waved a hand grandly.

"Don't look at me with such admiration. It's nothing to be proud of."

Who would admire someone for asking out a girl who was dating two people at once!

Lin Yilin stamped her foot in exasperation.

"Why are you acting so proud of it, Senior? You got tricked by a player!"

"Not necessarily. We don't know who tricked whom yet."

Su Muzhi smiled.

Jiang Linyuan snorted and didn't bother to say anything more.

Just then, a message came through on his WeChat. It was from Shen Wanyu, in the External Relations Department work group.

"This weekend, the Student Union departments are having a get-together. Sign-ups are voluntary. @Jiang Linyuan, you're in charge of keeping track of the numbers. If anyone has questions, ask him."

"So the Student Union's having a get-together this weekend? Senior, is everyone in the Student Union going?"

Lin Yilin had received the message too and looked a little surprised.

Jiang Linyuan nodded.

"More or less. It's mainly to help people from different departments get to know each other. There'll be lots more events like this in the future."

Lin Yilin thought it over, then looked at Jiang Linyuan.

"Are you going, Senior?"

"I don't really have a choice."

"Mm-hmm, I'll go too."

Lin Yilin nodded.

Hearing their conversation, Su Muzhi's eyes sparkled, and her smile grew even brighter.