The dejected coach

"I don't believe it."

After listening to his three roommates, Li Haoyang said incredulously, "Bingxin is so pretty. How could she be a player?"

"You don't believe us?"

Wang Dachui flashed a sleazy grin, glanced at Shen Qiao, and said to Li Haoyang, "Remember when we went to the mall, and Bingxin said to bring Shen Qiao next time? Why not have our movie star test her?"

Li Haoyang looked at Shen Qiao too. Then, without a word, he took out his phone and messaged Liu Bingxin, asking whether she wanted to take a walk around the track later.

She replied that she was sleepy.

Then Li Haoyang added that Shen Qiao was going too.

Before long, Liu Bingxin said Tang Enqi was interested, and the two of them were already getting ready to head out.

Seeing the message, Li Haoyang looked at Luo Ye and asked, "Luo Ye, you know Tang Enqi. Do you think she'd be interested in Shen Qiao?"

Luo Ye thought for a moment before answering, "Maybe... But she wouldn't show it so openly, so..."

So this was most likely Liu Bingxin's own idea.

Li Haoyang gritted his teeth. "Let's go."

The four of them put on their best-looking outfits and headed straight for the track, strutting as though they were on a runway.

The sports field was bustling with club activities that evening. There was singing and dancing, some clubs were playing games, and plenty of guys and girls were running laps to lose weight.

Some students had also set up stalls selling handmade crafts to help cover their living expenses.

Dressed in incredibly stylish black outfits and wearing sunglasses, Luo Ye and the others walked side by side around the track, making quite a striking sight.

"So handsome!"

"He's gorgeous!"

"Oh my god, is that the freshman heartthrob?"

A group of girls rushed over and surrounded Shen Qiao, soon crowding him away from the others.

Only Luo Ye and the other two remained, standing forlornly where they were. Watching Shen Qiao bask in all that attention a short distance away, all three wore speechless expressions.

Their movie star certainly lived up to the name. He was the center of attention wherever he went.

The three took off their sunglasses. Without their movie star to carry the look, they just looked like blind men.

Luo Ye was handsome too, but not as stunning as Shen Qiao. His looks were the kind that caught your eye immediately in a crowd.

Li Haoyang, meanwhile, was muscular. The sunglasses gave him a distinctive look, making him seem reassuringly dependable.

Wang Dachui just looked sleazy.

Soon, two familiar figures approached the sports field.

The petite, long-legged Liu Bingxin and Tang Enqi, the freshman campus beauty.

Their arrival attracted plenty of attention too. The boys running laps, in particular, suddenly picked up their pace.

But surprisingly, there was a boy accompanying Tang Enqi and Liu Bingxin.

He was also well known among Jiangda's freshmen. His name was Gao Yuming, the rich kid who flaunted his wealth in the freshman group chat. A Jiangcheng local with a villa downtown, he had more money than sense and a blunt personality.

Now all three of the most talked-about freshmen were gathered in one place.

Shen Qiao, Tang Enqi, and Gao Yuming.

Luo Ye and the other two had become small fry, barely noticeable in the crowd.

Li Haoyang waved to Liu Bingxin. When she came over, she asked in confusion, "Haoyang, where's Shen Qiao?"

"Over there."

Li Haoyang pointed a short distance away.

Shen Qiao was surrounded by seven or eight girls asking for his WeChat.

Standing beside Tang Enqi, Gao Yuming glanced at the three boys without saying anything. His eyes were fixed entirely on Tang Enqi.

"He really is the campus heartthrob. Look how popular he is," Liu Bingxin marveled.

Li Haoyang felt awful. Whenever he remembered what Luo Ye had said back in the dorm, his girlfriend seemed like a complete stranger.

Though, to begin with, he had never really known her that well.

They had gotten together less than a month after meeting. Even now, they had only known each other for a little over a month.

Thinking about it carefully, did Li Haoyang really like Liu Bingxin?

She was pretty and had a great figure, while Li Haoyang had never dated before and was hopelessly dense when it came to relationships.

When a woman whose looks scored over ninety out of a hundred approached him and showed interest, how could he possibly turn her down?

Even so, it still hurt a little.

After all, Liu Bingxin was his first love.

"Haoyang, what's wrong?" Liu Bingxin asked curiously.

"Nothing."

Li Haoyang was in low spirits. He sighed and said to Wang Dachui and Luo Ye, "I'm heading back to sleep."

The two fell silent as they watched their coach's dejected figure leave.

"What was that about?" Liu Bingxin frowned slightly.

"Maybe he's in a bad mood," Tang Enqi said beside her.

Luo Ye and Wang Dachui shared an unspoken understanding, but neither exposed Liu Bingxin.

Nearby, Shen Qiao finally escaped the girls surrounding him. He joined the others, looking annoyed. "We came here together, and you didn't even help me."

"What's wrong with being popular?" Wang Dachui said, pursing his lips.

When Shen Qiao noticed the two girls beside them, his expression became neutral, and his whole manner turned polite.

"Shen Qiao, let's introduce ourselves. We're in your class. I'm Liu Bingxin, and she's Tang Enqi." Liu Bingxin held out her hand.

"I'm Shen Qiao."

Shen Qiao shook Liu Bingxin's hand politely, without lingering.

Other people always felt compelled to stroke that delicate, smooth, fair hand for a moment when they held it. Shen Qiao merely touched it before immediately withdrawing his own.

That only seemed to make Liu Bingxin more interested in him.

And with Li Haoyang gone, she was a little less restrained.

But before she could say anything, Shen Qiao had already turned around and left with Luo Ye.

Wang Dachui was the only one left. Although he would have happily walked around the track with two beautiful girls, when it came to choosing between beauties and his roommates, he chose the latter without hesitation.

Once everyone from Dorm 515 had left, Tang Enqi asked in confusion, "Bingxin, isn't Li Haoyang your boyfriend? Why are you still interested in Shen Qiao?"

"Isn't it normal to like handsome guys? Haoyang might be my boyfriend now, but that doesn't mean he always will be."

Tang Enqi stumbled over her words, unsure how to argue with that.

Behind them, Gao Yuming's eyes widened. In the end, all he could manage was, "Damn."

After a moment, Tang Enqi merely sighed and said helplessly, "Bingxin, you really do live without a care."

"Qiqi, in this day and age, loving someone sincerely can leave you losing everything."

A nostalgic look crossed Liu Bingxin's face.

Li Haoyang wasn't her first boyfriend. She had once loved another boy deeply, only for him to toy with her feelings.

Ever since then, love had become the cheapest thing in her eyes.

"Qiqi, how about I treat you to dinner?" Gao Yuming suddenly asked.

"It's so late..." Tang Enqi hesitated.

But she was also tempted. After all, whenever Gao Yuming treated them, the food was beyond what ordinary people could afford.

It was already eight in the evening, the final day of their seven-day break. Although they had returned to campus and checked in, classes hadn't officially resumed, so there was no curfew.

"Come on. Why turn down a free feast?"

Liu Bingxin took Tang Enqi's hand. The two walked ahead, with Gao Yuming following behind, grinning.