The person on the other end was clearly online and soon replied to Li Xian:
"Who are you?"
Li Xian typed his fabricated identity into the chat window, claiming to be a freshman who still wasn't familiar with how things worked at the university. After asking a few more questions, the other person seemed to believe him, and the two began exchanging empty pleasantries:
Lead 1: "Everyone has a little trouble adjusting when they first start university. You'll get used to it."
Li Xian: "Yeah, I'm just a little homesick."
Lead 1: "Are you from out of town?"
They had only exchanged a few messages when notifications appeared that more friend requests had been accepted. Li Xian labeled them "Lead 2" and "Lead 3," greeted them, then quickly switched back to the first person's chat window.
Li Xian: "I'm local, but we can't leave campus right now."
Lead 1: "You're homesick after just a few days?"
Lead 1: "Looks like you're a good little girl smirking emoji"
Looking at the blatantly flirtatious reply, Li Xian took a deep breath and patiently continued:
"I've never been away from home for very long. Did something happen at the university for them to make that rule?"
If he didn't get to the point soon, the conversation was going to veer off track.
But the other person seemed not to have noticed the second half of Li Xian's message and simply continued:
"Send me a selfie?"
Li Xian frowned. After replying, "I don't usually take pictures," he repeated his question.
This time, the other person finally responded, but all he said was:
"Oh, that. I'm not sure either."
He even followed it up with:
"If you don't have a selfie, just take one for me now."
Unable to stand it any longer, Li Xian