Shen Yanlang had admitted it himself on the forum, and more and more people had started shipping the two of them. Some had even begun offering Shen Yanlang advice.
If he thought it was good, Shen Yanlang took it. If not, he skipped it outright.
As the weather grew colder and December arrived, Shen Yanlang still had not won over Duan Xu. The people in the thread were getting anxious on his behalf, asking every day: Had the campus heartthrob won him over today?
Duan Xu had also been caught up in all sorts of confusion and torment over the past month. He blushed more and more often whenever he faced Shen Yanlang.
Shen Yanlang saw it all, but he did not pressure him.
By the end of the month, classes had mostly been suspended. Finals were at the beginning of January, so the four roommates went to the library every day to grab seats and study, not returning until nine at night.
Zhou Zhou loved browsing the forums the most. He had originally planned to check out Shen Yanlang and Duan Xu's CP thread first, but when he opened it, he found a new trending, explosive thread.
#The Student Council president finally has a president's spouse!#
Zhou Zhou drew in a quiet breath. As he opened the thread, he said to his roommates, "Guys, President Xue has a president's spouse now!"
"Hm?" Shen Yanlang thought he had misheard.
Xiao Xu always agreed with Zhou Zhou unconditionally. "Really? From the thread? Let's look at it together."
Zhou Zhou handed over his phone, and the two of them, one sitting and one standing, began reading the thread.
Duan Xu glanced at Shen Yanlang. "Why don't you take a look too?"
Shen Yanlang and Xue Jingshu came from families that had been friends for generations. They had known each other since childhood and were closer than ordinary friends. If the other had started dating, it was only right to show some concern.
But Shen Yanlang did not read the thread. Instead, he directly sent Xue Jingshu a message.
Shen Yanlang: [You're dating?]
Xue Jingshu: [You're only checking in on me now? Busy chasing someone, huh?]
Shen Yanlang: [Are you dating or not?]
Xue Jingshu: [I am. Han Xi. I'll treat you guys to dinner another day.]
Xue Jingshu: [Little Yan, you're really hopeless. You've been chasing him for so long and still haven't caught him. Of course, I wouldn't mind sharing some of my experience in pursuing someone.]
Shen Yanlang: [Get lost!]
Shen Yanlang put away his phone and said to Duan Xu, who was opening the forum, "They're dating. Han Xi."
"Who?" Duan Xu froze mid-motion, his eyes widening as he went completely blank.
Shen Yanlang could not help but smile. "What kind of expression is that? Are you that surprised they got together?"
Duan Xu looked dazed. There was only one thought in his mind.
The bottom protagonist ran off with another alpha?!
"N-No, I'm not surprised." Duan Xu had no idea what he was saying. He glanced at the top of Shen Yanlang's head again.
But halfway through looking, he realized something was wrong. Shen Yanlang did not like Han Xi either, so it could no longer count as being cuckolded.
Could Xuxu still have feelings for Han Xi?
Duan Xu: "..."
"Let me see the thread." Duan Xu felt that he needed to look through the history of their relationship.
The thread was lively. The original poster had directly uploaded photos of Xue Jingshu confessing to Han Xi, as well as photos of the two embracing after the confession.
[Um... how should I put it? I'm not surprised at all that they got together.]
[Same, and wishing them 99 years!]
[Yeah, when has President Xue ever kept someone by his side like this? Them getting together was only a matter of time.]
[They're such a perfect match! An elite senior alpha and a cold, aloof junior omega—what a pairing!]
[By the way, President Xue has already won over Han Xi. When will the campus heartthrob finally win over Duan Xu?]
[Hahaha... doesn't the campus heartthrob have any pride?]
Seeing this, Duan Xu could not help but smile. The ticking time bomb that had been weighing on his heart seemed to have vanished, leaving him much more relaxed.
Han Xi was already with another alpha, so he could consider himself now, right?
Shen Yanlang caught Duan Xu's smile. His eyes were bright too, making Shen Yanlang's heart itch.
When he turned and saw Zhou Zhou and Xiao Xu reading intently with their backs to them, he leaned close to Duan Xu and whispered in his ear, "Xuxu, I want to kiss you."
Duan Xu's ear twitched. He turned his head and said, "You can't."
They had to confirm their relationship before they could kiss.
"Without your permission, I won't kiss you." Shen Yanlang's gaze fell on his earlobe.
When will I get to take a bite?
Duan Xu's ears heated up. He pushed Shen Yanlang with his hand. "Stay away from me."
"Okay." Shen Yanlang smiled and backed away. Just as he was about to say something else, his phone rang with a voice call.
He picked it up and saw that it was Xue Jingshu. "What is it?"
"Put it on speaker," Xue Jingshu said.
Shen Yanlang turned on the speaker, and Xue Jingshu's voice filled the dorm room. "Hello, is everyone there?"
The other three turned toward him at once, all looking confused.
Shen Yanlang shrugged. "We're all here. If you've got something to say, say it."
"New Year's Day is coming up. There's a three-day break. Anyone interested in hiking up a mountain to see snow and watch the sunrise?" Xue Jingshu asked everyone.
The moment he finished speaking, all four fell silent. Then Zhou Zhou said, "Finals are right after we get back from New Year's. Aren't you afraid of failing if you go out to have fun?"
"I'm not." Xue Jingshu had excellent grades, so he was not worried about finals at all.
The four roommates: "..."
Their silence made Xue Jingshu realize that he needed to win them over one by one, so he called out to Shen Yanlang, "Little Yan, I know your grades. Finals won't be a problem for you. It's a rare holiday—don't you want to go out and relax?"
"Winter break starts after finals," Shen Yanlang said flatly.
Xue Jingshu: "..."
"Is that so? Looks like you don't want a boyfriend, then. Fine by me," Xue Jingshu said in an indifferent tone.
Shen Yanlang paused and looked up at Duan Xu. Zhou Zhou and Xiao Xu looked over as well.
Duan Xu: "..."
No, don't look at me! I'm very shy!
"Xuxu, do you want to go?" Shen Yanlang looked as if he would follow Duan Xu's lead in everything, but in reality—
We have to go. Staying at a hotel, one room.
Duan Xu: "!!!"
"I-I think... finals... are more important," Duan Xu replied weakly.
Xiao Xu scratched his head awkwardly. "I think so too. My academic courses are a little shaky, so I need to study harder."
Seeing this, Zhou Zhou said, "Then let's study first."
Shen Yanlang looked regretful, but said, "Then we won't go."
Xue Jingshu pondered for a moment. "In that case, we'll go after finals instead. That should be fine, right?"
This time, no one objected. Duan Xu could not find a reason to refuse, so he could only agree through tears.
"Then it's settled for now. After finals, we won't go home—we'll leave directly," Xue Jingshu said. "Oh, right. Let's invite Du Shen and Xiaoyu too."
Shen Yanlang gave a soft acknowledgment and hung up.
"Who are Du Shen and Xiaoyu?" Xiao Xu asked.
Shen Yanlang said, "My childhood friend and my cousin."
Duan Xu's eyes shifted slightly. Were they the two people he had seen at the amusement park during his National Day part-time job?
Counting it up, there would be eight people going mountain climbing. That was quite a crowd.
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