Social Death Scene

Xiao He tried ordering from a spicy hotpot place and added the note, "No chili, please." A minute later, the owner called to ask if he was looking for trouble. Xiao He had no choice but to switch to another place, but it was the same there. He got chewed out by the owners of two restaurants for no reason at all, and it left him fuming.

"Are you doing this on purpose?" When Ye Wanqing emerged from the bathroom, Xiao He said irritably, bouncing his leg. "Ordering spicy hotpot with no chili is like going to McDonald's and asking for KFC, isn't it?!"

"I can't eat spicy food! One place has clear-broth spicy hotpot!" Ye Wanqing said with a frown, pulling out her phone. "Forget it, I'll order for myself! It's not like I expected anything from you..."

"What kind of unscientific food is that!?" Xiao He leaned over to look at her phone screen. The scent of the girl after her shower washed over him. Her fragrance was unusual, carrying a faint, fresh botanical scent, a little like grass mixed with mint.

The smell felt familiar, and a little nostalgic. It was very much like a kind of soap he had used as a child.

"Here, Granny Tang Hotpot." Ye Wanqing held up her phone. "They have branches where I'm from too."

"If you can't eat spicy food, why are you ordering spicy hotpot?" Xiao He asked suspiciously, frowning at Ye Wanqing.

"Because it's delicious. You cook a whole bunch of things together, and it has meat, vegetables, and carbs. Why wouldn't it be good?" Ye Wanqing replied matter-of-factly, then shook her head impatiently. "Ugh, enough already. I'm exhausted. I need to rest..."

But then Tuantuan suddenly jumped in front of her and glared at her fiercely.

"Didn't I pour out cat food for you? Why are you glaring at me?" Ye Wanqing said, holding out her hand to Tuantuan.

Tuantuan cautiously sniffed her hand, seemingly checking whether she carried the scent of another cat. Ye Wanqing took the chance to try petting it, but the little thing immediately swiped at her with its paw. She did not get angry and simply pulled her hand back.

"Ha! Ha ha!" Ye Wanqing traded moves with Tuantuan's paws, making cute sound effects as she did. "Wing Chun!"

"Goofball..." Xiao He rolled his eyes, ordered his own takeout, and went to take a shower.

Another day came to an end. Xiao He lay on the bed in the spare room, watching an American drama. He had been looking forward to tomorrow's autumn outing, but now he did not want to go anymore. Still, he decided to go. His college life might be over, but he still had a long life ahead of him. Once he earned this money, he could slowly look for a girl he liked after graduation.

The next morning, Xiao He listlessly prepared to leave, but today, he had to take Ye Wanqing with him.

"What's with that miserable face?" Ye Wanqing glared at him while combing her hair. "Make sure you act convincingly in front of everyone later. Cooperate with me. We haven't even had the contract for a week yet. If we get fired now, we won't earn a cent."

"Yes—" Xiao He dragged out his response.

Still, to be fair, Ye Wanqing had put some effort into dressing up today. The weather was hot, so she wore a loose gray off-shoulder top that revealed part of one fragrant shoulder. To keep it from being too revealing, she wore a light orange fitted camisole underneath, paired with brown casual pants.

It was indeed a cute outfit that suited her style. Too bad her legs were still a little thick...

"Sigh." Xiao He sighed and forced himself out the door. He had originally wanted to use this autumn outing to get closer to Huang Ling. Now, great—he was bringing his girlfriend to face the students from the entire department. It was practically announcing to every girl in the department: Don't even think about dating me from now on.

After all these years, Xiao He had finally met a girl he got along with well and whose looks he really liked...

Life really was full of ups and downs... down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.

"Here." Ye Wanqing handed him a mask. Xiao He took it, confused. "Why do I need this?"

"Don't you know a new flu virus has appeared in our country lately?" Ye Wanqing frowned. "Wear a mask in public places like buses and the subway. Don't you dare infect me."

"Will I be quarantined if I get infected?" Xiao He asked with a trace of anticipation. If he got quarantined, he would not have to live with this girl.

"I'm not sure, but I heard there really are severe cases." Ye Wanqing replied. "They say this flu is especially hard to recover from. Some people have been sick for over a month and still aren't better."

"It's just the flu... What a fuss." Xiao He rolled his eyes. "Let's go. This way."

"Let's hold hands for now." Ye Wanqing held out her hand to him. "We need to make it look convincing outside."

Xiao He sighed and took Ye Wanqing's little hand. She was small, and so were her hands. They felt soft and delicate in his grip, but Xiao He felt nothing at all. He was even thinking about what to eat for breakfast. She was not really his girlfriend, after all. They were only holding hands because of the contract. But even if she really were his girlfriend, Xiao He probably would not be happy about it... right?

With that thought, Xiao He glanced at Ye Wanqing beside him. She adjusted her shoulder bag, and its strap pressed a deep valley across her chest. The "Fists of Justice" he had seen yesterday surfaced in Xiao He's mind again.

"If she were really my girlfriend..." Xiao He frowned, beginning to feel uncertain.

He walked forward in silence while Ye Wanqing followed behind, led by his hand. The two of them soon reached the meeting point.

There were over a hundred and thirty people in their department, but only around thirty had shown up, and most of them were boys. Only a handful were girls. It was nearly time to gather, so it looked like these were the only people going.

The moment Xiao He and Ye Wanqing arrived, everyone's gaze turned toward Ye Wanqing.

"Th-this is..." Xiao He wanted to introduce Ye Wanqing, but he could not get the words out. He was not introducing Ye Wanqing—he was killing off his college life. Once he said it, he would be single for two years. The price was too steep.

"Hello, everyone. I'm his girlfriend." Ye Wanqing looped her arm through Xiao He's and smiled sweetly.

A wave of murderous intent hit him head-on, making Xiao He shudder. He instantly snapped awake as killing intent surrounded him. Only then did he realize why so few people had come to this "autumn outing": these boys were all single dogs desperate to get girlfriends. The others were either out exercising with their girlfriends or did not care about being single.

The boys gave Ye Wanqing a quick once-over, and the power of justice on her immediately conquered them.

Even without activating his ability, Xiao He was stronger than ordinary people in every aspect, including his hearing. The boys gathered together and whispered among themselves, but he could hear them clearly from five meters away. "This guy has a girlfriend with boobs that big, and he still harassed the department beauty... What a scumbag!" "He must rub them every day. He definitely does! Otherwise, they wouldn't be that big!" "They must feel super soft, and he might have even used them for other things..."

"How shallow!" Xiao He thought furiously. Boys these days only know how to think about boobs!

Everyone envied him, but Xiao He's heart was bleeding. He had planned to use the outing to build a better relationship with the people in his department. Great. Not only had he lost all his appeal with the girls, his reputation among the boys had hit rock bottom too. This was a complete social death scene.

Still, although the boys resented him and the girls were somewhat put off by him, one person was different.

Huang Ling looked at him curiously, seeming lost in thought. Then she stepped forward to smooth things over. "All right, all right. Looks like this is everyone who's coming today. Shall we get on the bus first?"