[He's so handsome.]
[How can he be this handsome?]
[He's just a little too popular!]
[Boohoo, why are there so many guys and girls around him every day?]
[With so many people crowding around him and talking to him, why can't there be room for me too?]
[Hey!]
[Is there a spell in this world that can suddenly mutate He Zhen's genes and make him desperately in love with me?]
[I'll take one!]
[Boohoo, I like him so much.]
[Damn it!]
[Why can't I be Fu Xin? Since I'm already here, I wish I could've been her.]
[Second male leads have always had to play both dad and mom. If someone has to be their daughter, can it be me?]
[Boohoo, I want that too!]
"He Zhen, we're counting on you to model for us next Wednesday!" The girls were all delighted.
"I'll be there on time." This wasn't the first time He Zhen had heard Yao Tao's voice in his ears when she clearly hadn't opened her mouth.
"Thank you!" The girls clustered together excitedly, still reluctant to disperse.
"Hey, hey, that's going too far!" The guy beside He Zhen slung an arm around his shoulders. "Are the two of us not handsome? Is Zhen the only option you girls can see?"
[Damn it, Wei Fang, where do you think you're putting that hand?!]
[Could you watch how much force you're using?!]
[Boohoo, I want to put my arm around him too!]
"We wouldn't turn you down if you wanted to come too, Wei Fang."
"Exactly, but you can never sit still for even ten minutes."
"Last time, you lasted fifteen minutes before leaving. Our teacher said not to invite models who can't keep their butts in their seats next time."
"Damn it!" Wei Fang's shoulders drooped. "Who wouldn't want to be surrounded by girls drawing them? How do you do it, Zhen?"
"You're too restless." The corners of He Zhen's lips lifted, his smile as gentle as water.
"You look so handsome when you smile!" The girls were generous with their praise.
"So he's the only handsome one? Am I not handsome?" Wei Fang showed the girls the defined muscles in his arms.
[Drool, drool, drool. All I'm saying is, I wouldn't necessarily say no to a six-foot-three athlete.]
[But on second thought, apart from being five centimeters taller, he doesn't have anything He Zhen doesn't!]
[Oh my!]
[What is the world coming to? What is the world coming to?!]
[Wei Fang, you're absolutely shameless!]
[What are you doing in broad daylight?!]
He Zhen paused for a second. Wasn't Yao Tao the shameless one here?
"It's lunchtime. If you're not leaving, I am." Tang Zhao kept checking his phone. "She's waiting for me."
Tang Zhao certainly knew how to kill the mood.
"Hey, hey, you've got a girlfriend, but I don't!" Wei Fang wailed instantly. "Bro, you're downright ruthless. You don't care whether the rest of us live or die!"
"Go get lunch first." He Zhen addressed one of the girls. "Just message me on WeChat about the rest later."
He Zhen's phone rang. He glanced at the screen, and his brow, which should have relaxed, creased almost imperceptibly instead.
It should have relaxed because Fu Xin was calling. It creased because Yao Tao's inner voice was everywhere.
[Boohoo, don't go! Fu Xin isn't inviting you to lunch. She's inviting you to watch her flaunt her romance.]
[Just go eat with that big lug Wei Fang.]
[You'll only be unhappy if you go.]
[He Zhen, He Zhen, are there no other girls in the world?]
[Why do you have to pin all your hopes on Fu Xin?!]
He Zhen hesitated, but still answered the call.
"Ah, in the end, I'm the only lonely soul left." Wei Fang leaned his weight against Tang Zhao and sighed.
Tang Zhao shoved him away. "You're heavy."
Realizing the call was from Fu Xin, the girls could only wave goodbye and leave in disappointment.
[Damn it!]
[Jealousy has turned me into a monster!]
He Zhen found it a little funny. He wasn't sure whether he ought to commend Yao Tao for her honesty.
Only after He Zhen hung up did Wei Fang whisper, "When are you two going to get together? I'm going to be the lone bachelor either way. Can you just put me out of my misery?"
"Unlikely." Tang Zhao offered that single word, then looked at He Zhen. "I suggest you find someone else to like."
Before He Zhen could answer, Yao Tao's voice nearly deafened him.
[Aaaaaah, Tang Zhao! You! Are! My! God!]
[Boohoo, if you're this good with words, keep talking!]
[If all else fails, just beat him up!]
[Please knock some sense into him!]
He Zhen's head hurt.
The fact that he hadn't immediately contradicted Tang Zhao surprised the latter. "Had a change of heart?"
"You really have!" Wei Fang's surprise was much more obvious. "Zhen, you actually didn't argue with Zhao right away!"
He Zhen exhaled, his expression quite serious. "Do you really think Xin Xin and I don't stand a chance?"
[It's not about whether you stand a chance. You're raising her like your future wife, but she genuinely sees you as her parents, sweetheart!]
[Please wake up already. Open your eyes!]
[Boohoo, don't go down that same old path of being the eternal runner-up, devoted until death!]
[To put it nicely, you're the devoted second male lead.]
[If you were even a little uglier, they'd call you a simp.]
[Boohoo!]
Wei Fang and Tang Zhao exchanged a glance, both weighing their words.
He Zhen lifted the corners of his lips. "Go ahead. I won't get angry."
"You mean that?" Tang Zhao finished typing a message and put his phone away. "I don't think you two are right for each other."
"Zhao's said it, so I won't." Wei Fang scratched his head.
Tang Zhao glanced at the big guy, then said, "Can you really not feel it yourself?"
He patted He Zhen's shoulder. "There's a movie quote I really like. I'll share it with you."
"What quote?" He Zhen asked.
"When there's trouble, it's Zhong Wuyan. When there isn't, it's Xia Yingchun," Tang Zhao said.
[*!*]
[Lord Tang, you really know what to say!]
[He Zhen is absolutely Zhong Wuyan!]
[A pretty version of Zhong Wuyan!]
[Listen to your friends, He Zhen. You three have been friends since childhood!]
[Could you really bear to give that up? Boohoo!]
He Zhen froze at those words, his footsteps coming to a halt.
What did she mean by that?
"Are you upset?"
"Then does that make me King Xuan of Qi?" He Zhen smiled as though nothing was wrong.
"Oh, please. You're not the sort to have a woman on each arm." Wei Fang raised his eyebrows, draping an arm over each of his buddies' shoulders. "This king business should be decided by height!"
"Like me!" Wei Fang sounded rather proud.
"Get lost. You're heavy." Tang Zhao knocked Wei Fang's hand away without ceremony.
"Since when did you get so weak, Zhao? You used to carry me on your back when we were kids!"
"You said it yourself-when we were kids. Have you checked how much you weigh now?"
"Zhen's never said that about me." Wei Fang even sounded aggrieved.
"He likes keeping things to himself. I don't. Ease up."
Watching his two childhood friends roughhouse, He Zhen sank into thought.
He understood what Tang Zhao meant, but he didn't understand what Yao Tao meant.
Could Fu Xin and his childhood friends not coexist?
Yao Tao and He Zhen were in the same major and the same class.
She sat behind him to his left. Ordinarily, she was very quiet, keeping silently to her seat. All He Zhen had to do was turn his head to see her.
In truth, she had very little presence, and he never saw her with any friends.
So when He Zhen, then a sophomore, first heard Yao Tao's inner voice, it took him a while to figure out whose voice it was:
[He Zhen, could you please stop liking Fu Xin?]
The three walked toward the campus cafeteria with their arms around one another's shoulders, while Yao Tao trailed them furtively like a stalker fan.
[I really am a creep, boohoo.]
[But that's okay!]
[There's a song lyric I really like too!]
[I say, if you can't control it, let it run free!]
He Zhen: ...
Before you continue