Hotpot Lover

Luo Ye stretched and checked the time, realizing he had already spent two hours in the library.

His writing quota for the day was done.

When he walked out of the library, a light rain had started again.

Was this what the weather was like down south? If only it rained every day like this during military training.

Ready to head back to his dorm, Luo Ye reached the library entrance with his umbrella in hand.

Behind him, the pretty senior who had helped him get in with her facial recognition came out as well.

Qin Yuwen glanced at Su Baizhou, then looked outside.

For some reason, the drizzle seemed to be getting heavier.

"Zhouzhou, why don't we stay in the library for a bit and wait for the rain to stop?"

"No, there's something involving the freshmen that I need to check in person."

Su Baizhou looked at the drizzle outside and decided it wasn't a problem.

"Yuwen, keep an eye on my laptop for me."

"Hey, Zhouzhou, you're really going?"

Qin Yuwen followed her to the library entrance, watching Su Baizhou walk away.

Just then, Luo Ye, who had already left the library, heard movement behind him and turned around.

He saw that senior hurrying along.

The light rain grew heavier and heavier, turning into a downpour.

The weather in Jiangcheng really was unpredictable. Heavy rain could arrive without warning.

Su Baizhou shielded her head with both hands, but they were useless against rain this heavy.

Rain drenched her clothes, making them cling to her body and reveal every curve.

That figure was practically cheating.

No, that wasn't the point.

Luo Ye hurried after her.

"Excuse me!"

Luo Ye held his umbrella over Su Baizhou's head.

"Thank you." Su Baizhou was rather aloof. She hadn't even looked at Luo Ye's face.

Suddenly.

A thunderclap rang out.

Su Baizhou, who had been hurrying along, froze on the spot.

"H-hey...?"

Noticing that she had stopped moving, Luo Ye looked at her in confusion.

So this pretty senior was afraid of thunder.

"Sorry."

Su Baizhou's face remained expressionless.

Boom!

Another thunderclap rang out.

Su Baizhou froze again.

The rain grew heavier, lightning flashing and thunder rumbling overhead. Luo Ye's umbrella wasn't large, and with her keeping her distance from him, half of her body remained exposed to the rain.

Luo Ye glanced at the nearest classroom building and asked, "Should we take shelter over there?"

Su Baizhou nodded silently and followed Luo Ye beneath the umbrella.

The two stood in the ground-floor corridor of the classroom building.

A long silence passed.

Should I say something?

Luo Ye thought for a moment, then asked, "What year are you in?"

"Third year."

"Oh."

"What's your major?"

"Computer science."

"Oh."

"Um..."

"..."

"Well..."

Luo Ye pointed at a large tree nearby.

"That tree looks really sturdy, hahaha..."

Awkwardness hung in the air.

Luo Ye really wasn't good at dealing with girls. In all eighteen years of his life, he had never been in a relationship.

Luo Ye stole a glance at the senior beside him.

Her face was cold and indifferent.

Su Baizhou felt awkward too.

So she chose to say nothing.

As for her student council work, at a time like this, she had no room to think about any of that.

She should have stayed in the library with Qin Yuwen and waited for the rain to stop.

She was afraid of thunder, but she hadn't expected any this time. After all, the weather forecast hadn't mentioned thunderstorms.

Out of habit, Luo Ye picked up his phone. He looked at his chat with his dream girl, hesitated for a moment, then backed out and opened someone else's chat.

"Hotpot Lover"

This person was one of two friends his older brother, Gu Mingxuan, had invited to join them when they used to play games together. Gu Mingxuan had said they were really good.

Later, Luo Ye discovered that this person really was good, so he added them himself. They played games and chatted about their daily lives whenever they had time. They were gaming buddies, more or less.

Since Gu Mingxuan had invited them, they were probably his friend.

They were only online friends anyway, so Luo Ye didn't care about their identity. Their name didn't matter either. Having someone to chat with was enough; he had no plans to meet them.

Luo Ye brought up his keyboard. "Listen, I'm sheltering from the rain with a senior who looks like a fairy right now."

The next moment.

Su Baizhou's phone chimed.

She picked it up and looked.

Falling Leaves: Listen, I'm sheltering from the rain with a senior who looks like a fairy right now.

Su Baizhou: ...

She turned to look at Luo Ye.

Then she silently put her phone on mute and replied: How pretty? Send me a picture.

Ding!

Luo Ye's phone chimed, and he checked the message.

Falling Leaves: Isn't secretly taking her picture kind of wrong?

Hotpot Lover: Find your chance. It's fine as long as she doesn't notice, right?

Luo Ye didn't reply.

Su Baizhou obligingly turned her head, pretending to admire the scenery outside.

Soon.

Falling Leaves: [Image]

Falling Leaves: Pretty, right? (Animated emoji)

Su Baizhou stared at the photo, deep in thought.

Anything really could happen in this world.

She knew the boy who often played games with her was Professor Gu's younger brother. Before leaving the country, Professor Gu had also asked her to help look after his brother when she could.

But she truly hadn't expected her first meeting with Professor Gu's younger brother to happen like this...

She wasn't ready yet.

Su Baizhou found the situation a little tricky.

The rain kept falling.

Thunder rumbled on, and the sky grew darker.

A cold gust swept through, making Luo Ye shiver.

Suddenly.

As if realizing something, he turned to look at the senior.

She was still standing in the same position, only now her body was trembling slightly.

Such a beauty could move even heaven to pity.

Luo Ye thought he really ought to slap himself once he got back.

It was so cold, and she had been drenched, yet he had just let her stand there freezing.

Without a second thought, Luo Ye took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

"Thank you."

After an unknown stretch of time, the thunder faded into the distance, and the rain eased into a lingering drizzle.

The downpour had lasted only twenty minutes. In Jiangcheng, heavy rain left as quickly as it came.

Visible threads of drizzle danced in the wind.

Going outside wouldn't be much of a problem now.

Without another word, Su Baizhou left, her expression calm.

Watching her retreating figure, Luo Ye couldn't help becoming captivated.

She was around 167 centimeters tall, while Luo Ye stood at 178 centimeters. His jacket was only slightly large on her and actually fit her rather well.

She had a great figure and a beautiful face. It was just her personality that was a little cold.

Someone that pretty probably already had a boyfriend.

Luo Ye sighed.

He had never been in a relationship.

He had spent three years crushing on someone, and during those three years, he had rarely spoken to any girl other than his dream girl.

As he recalled the senior's face, something stirred in Luo Ye's heart, but he quickly shook his head.

It was just physical attraction.

If he liked someone simply because she was pretty after a single chance encounter, wouldn't that just make him a creep?

Carrying his umbrella, Luo Ye left the classroom building.

He returned to his dorm.

And discovered that someone else had arrived.

A sturdy boy around 175 centimeters tall, with a buzz cut and slightly tanned skin, immediately sat up when he saw someone enter.

"Are you my roommate? Hi, I'm Li Haoyang, born and raised in Jiangcheng."

"Hi, I'm Luo Ye. I'm from Beijing."

"Beijing? Man, you're from the big city."

The two exchanged contact information and started chatting.

"Don't local students start tomorrow? Why'd you come today?"

"Ah, I live nearby. I had nothing to do, so I figured I'd move my luggage into the dorm first. Didn't expect it to rain."

Luo Ye looked at his slightly wet clothes with an odd expression.

Was the drenched look all the rage around here...?

Noticing Luo Ye's gaze, Li Haoyang laughed. "I did bring an umbrella, but I saw a little girl getting rained on near the campus gate, so I lent it to her."

Then Li Haoyang added, "And guess what? I thought she was a little girl because she was barely over 150 centimeters tall, but then she carried her luggage right into our university."

"I even helped carry her bags the whole way."

"Hahaha, you really can't judge by appearances."

"I always thought southerners were on the smaller side. Didn't expect you to be so muscular, Haoyang."

Li Haoyang held out his arm to show off his muscles. "I work out every day."

The two chatted and laughed. With someone to keep him company in the dorm, Luo Ye's mood improved.

Early the next morning.

There was a knock at the door.

Luo Ye got up to open it.

"Hello!"

An incredibly handsome young man, about the same height as Luo Ye, appeared in the doorway.

This guy... was ridiculously handsome. Insanely handsome.

Luo Ye even had the impression that he was as handsome as himself...

An illusion. It had to be an illusion.

"Are you a celebrity?"

Luo Ye asked instinctively.

The young man laughed.

He had seen this sort of thing plenty of times.

"I'm not a celebrity. I'm your roommate. My name's Shen Qiao."

Behind Shen Qiao, a sleazy-looking guy about 170 centimeters tall followed him in.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Wang Dachui."

Just hearing that name made him seem approachable.

Luo Ye threw an arm around Wang Dachui's shoulders and pulled him inside.

Meanwhile, Li Haoyang was still fast asleep, one bare size-44 foot sticking out over the edge of his bed, giving off a delightful aroma.

Once Li Haoyang woke up, Luo Ye and the other three went to the shop to buy a trash can, a broom, and other supplies, then headed to Dining Hall Three.

Jiangcheng University had three dining halls in total. Dining Hall One was closest to the men's dorms, so why go to Dining Hall Three?

Because Dining Hall Three was closest to the women's dorms. Plenty of girls, plenty to admire.

"Military training starts tomorrow."

Wang Dachui wore a miserable expression.

"What's there to be scared of? Isn't military training good exercise?"

Li Haoyang flexed his muscles, leaving the other three speechless as the four of them sat in a corner of Dining Hall Three.