Loved and abandoned

The night was beautiful, but Ouyang Xuanxuan couldn't see any beauty in it, no matter how she looked.

She wandered alone along the path, a lingering sense of loss in her heart. Yet however hard she searched her memories, she couldn't find an answer.

But every time she stopped, Li Yichen appeared before her eyes.

"Ugh, you pest! Get out of my head." Ouyang Xuanxuan was growing frantic. "Leave me alone. Don't you already have your Tang Ling'er?"

Without her realizing it, a tear slid down to the corner of her mouth, leaving a hint of bitterness.

"Huh? Why am I crying?" As Li Yichen worked, a sudden ache struck his heart, and a tear spilled from the corner of his eye.

"Boss, I'm here to pick up a package," someone called from outside.

"Sure, coming right up." He wiped away the tear. With no time to think about it, he hurried over and asked with a smile, "Could you give me the tracking number?"

Meanwhile, in room 601 of the boys' dormitory, Sun Kai stared tensely at the screen, his mouse constantly moving. Behind him, Yang Weifeng and Zhang Yong seemed even more nervous than he was.

"Start the dragon..."

"Don't engage... look at the minimap..."

"Fall back... oh, come on... run already..."

"Dead, aren't you? That's what you get for not listening to me."

Ever since the three of them had pooled their money to buy a high-end computer, their dorm room had become a battlefield. Their voices were so loud that they carried through the entire hallway.

Knock, knock, knock... Someone knocked on the door.

Yang Weifeng had only just sat down and wasn't about to get up. "Number Two, get the door. Number Four must've forgotten his key card again."

"Number Three, you go." Sun Kai kept his eyes on the screen and waved at Zhang Yong.

"Fine." Zhang Yong could only purse his lips helplessly. What could he do? He was Number Three.

The door creaked open. Without even looking up, Zhang Yong turned to head back inside.

"Excuse me, does Li Yichen live here?" a clear female voice asked.

"Huh?" All three froze. Had they heard wrong? Why was there a girl's voice?

They turned toward the doorway together. A girl about five foot three stood there, looking sweet in a pink T-shirt with her hair in a ponytail, peering inside curiously.

"What a sweet little thing." Their eyes immediately lit up with hunger.

Yang Weifeng abandoned the game and was the first to rush over. Wearing the smile of a big bad wolf, he asked softly, "What can we do for you, beautiful? Why are you looking for him?"

"Oh." The girl blushed and asked shyly, "Is he here right now? I have something I'd like to give him."

"He's not here right now. He probably won't be back until late," Zhang Yong quickly chimed in.

"Oh, I see." The girl was clearly disappointed, the sparkle instantly fading from her big, bright eyes.

The three big bad wolves felt such a pang that they wanted to drag Li Yichen over and beat him up before asking whether he'd seduced this poor girl and then abandoned her.

"Well..." Yang Weifeng scratched his head. "I'm the eldest in his dorm. If you need anything, you can tell me."

"All right, then. Please make sure you give these to him." The girl raised her head and forced a smile. She took a fancy box of chocolates and a pink envelope with a heart drawn on it from her bag and handed them over.

Watching the girl's forlorn figure leave, the three scoundrels felt their hearts break.

After they shut the door, Sun Kai slapped the table and declared loudly, "Number Four must have seduced her, and now she's come looking for him."

"How could he bear to hurt such a lovely girl?" Zhang Yong agreed.

"Number Four is wasting precious opportunities. If he doesn't want her, he could at least leave her to us. If a girl like that liked me, I'd gladly give her my ribs to make soup."

"Yeah... you're absolutely right, Number One." Yang Weifeng's words earned the other two's approval, and they roundly condemned Number Four for squandering such opportunities.

Knock, knock, knock... Just as they were about to brand Li Yichen a modern-day Chen Shimei, the infamous faithless husband, someone knocked on their door again.

"This time it's definitely Number Four." Yang Weifeng rolled up his sleeves. "Watch me teach him a lesson."

The door creaked open. "Number Four, you... hello, beautiful. Who are you looking for?"

"Excuse me, is this Li Yichen's dorm room?"

The door slammed shut. Yang Weifeng casually set another box of chocolates and a cute envelope on the table.

The three looked at one another, too drained even to complain.

"Do you think Number Four has been off saving the galaxy these past few days?" Looking at the chocolates and assorted gifts that nearly overflowed the table, Sun Kai couldn't hold back any longer. "Why are so many beautiful girls bringing him things?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Zhang Yong said helplessly. "Sharing a room with him is crushing my self-esteem. If only even one of these gifts were for me."

"Exactly! He's a traitor to room 601. He's picking up girls without bringing his brothers along," Sun Kai declared.

"He's my idol," Yang Weifeng suddenly said after a long silence.

"Huh?" Sun Kai and Zhang Yong froze and exchanged a glance, then asked in unison, "Number One, has this driven you over the edge?"

"Number Four is the greatest ladies' man I've ever seen. Why shouldn't I admire him?" Yang Weifeng said as though it were obvious. "When he gets back, I'm going to ask him to take me as his apprentice. If I learn even a tiny bit of his secret... hehehe..."

The other two's eyes lit up. "You're right. If he dares refuse to teach us, I'll fight him to the bitter end."

"Hehehe..." Their laughter sounded as though they were squeezing it out of their throats. It was rather creepy.

Knock, knock, knock... Their laughter stopped abruptly. The three exchanged looks and gave rueful smiles.

"Here we go again." Zhang Yong stood up helplessly and dragged his feet toward the door.

As he opened it, he said, "We've already told you, Number Four isn't here. Go look somewhere else."

"Um, sorry for the trouble." An ethereal, lovely voice instantly made him lift his head, and he found himself looking at a breathtakingly beautiful face.

A faint sadness lingered on that exquisite face, enough to make anyone's heart tighten inexplicably at the sight.

"Who is it?" Seeing him standing there in a daze, Yang Weifeng and Sun Kai came over to take a look, then froze as well.

They had seen Ouyang Xuanxuan before, but the way she looked now was very different from her earlier cuteness.

That contrast lent her sorrow a heartbreaking beauty.

"Excuse me," Ouyang Xuanxuan said with a slight frown. "Do you know where Li Yichen is?"

"Oh." Only then did the two snap out of their daze. Somewhat embarrassed, they said, "Sorry, we spaced out just now. Could you say that again?"

Ouyang Xuanxuan wanted to turn around and leave. She didn't even know how she'd ended up here.

Yet, as though compelled by some unseen force, she repeated herself. "I'd like to know where Li Yichen is. Could you tell me?"