Cookies

Wen Ce went straight back to his apartment. Before going inside, he glanced at the door opposite, but naturally saw nothing.

Once inside, he sat on the sofa and opened the university forum. Sure enough, the first thread was the campus beauty and department beauty voting thread Lin Fan and the others had mentioned.

He clicked into it, and a voting link loaded.

Luo Lianqing was listed first.

She was almost two thousand votes ahead of second place.

Wen Ce scrolled down and saw the photo. It really was blurry, but he opened it anyway.

In the photo, Luo Lianqing wore a white blouse, a formal skirt, and black stockings, standing in front of a multimedia setup.

Judging by the angle, it was probably a candid shot. Whoever took it likely wasn't very skilled, either; it looked more like a shot from below.

Luckily, Luo Lianqing was beautiful, and her legs really were well-proportioned. Even a photo taken like this looked good.

There were several more photos of her below, but most were candid shots, all blurry.

Wen Ce clicked his tongue. Anyone else photographed like this really wouldn't have looked good.

There were plenty of comments below, and Wen Ce skimmed through them.

He learned that Luo Lianqing really was only two years older than him. She had studied art and design abroad as an undergraduate, but for some reason, she had suddenly returned home for graduate school, studying business administration instead.

There wasn't much information about her. Most people just said she was very good-tempered.

She had plenty of admirers, but no one had succeeded yet.

Quite a few people in the thread even called her "Goddess Luo."

After reading for a while, Wen Ce lost interest.

He cast his vote before leaving the page.

He had been considering what to do next.

Classes really were much lighter in their third year. Some of his classmates had even started applying to leave campus for internships.

Generally, their counselor would approve.

Wen Ce's excuse for moving out had also been that he'd found an internship. Wang Meng had even asked what kind of work he did.

But Wen Ce had kept his answer vague, only saying that the hours were very relaxed, so it wouldn't interfere with coming back to campus.

Wen Ce quite enjoyed being at university. After all, once he graduated, he'd be a corporate slave for decades. Just thinking about it was enough to make him fall apart.

Wen Ce sighed and opened Moments.

The very first post was Luo Lianqing's.

For some reason, she still hadn't hidden her posts from him.

Maybe his presence was just too unremarkable?

Luo Lianqing had posted two photos, one extremely blurry and one in high definition.

The caption read: [I really want to know who took this and managed to make me look so ugly! Hmph-hmph.jip]

Wen Ce opened the familiar blurry photo. Sure enough, it was the one from the forum.

He swiped to the next one. The high-definition photo showed her in the same outfit, and those beautiful long legs shot straight into his field of vision.

In the photo, Luo Lianqing was bending over, one hand braced on a desk and the other on a mouse. The person taking the photo had probably called out to her, and she had turned her head slightly, her eyes still holding a smile.

Because of her blouse and skirt, her legs were held very straight, making her waist look slender, her legs long, and her bottom pert.

Wen Ce blinked. Very nice. A slight twitch paid its respects.

In the end, he closed the photo. Seeing no likes or comments from his classmates under Luo Lianqing's post, he remembered what Lin Fan had said: she had hidden her posts from their class.

For a moment, Wen Ce hesitated. Should he give it a like or not?

As he hesitated, his finger tapped the screen out of habit, and then he saw a bright red little heart.

Great. No need to hesitate anymore.

Expressionlessly, Wen Ce moved his finger away. A second later, he tapped back in and removed the like.

Then he put down his phone and went into the kitchen.

At that moment, two doors and a hallway away from Wen Ce, Luo Lianqing had just tapped in, only to discover that the like had disappeared.

She reached up to hold the sheet mask against her face, getting essence all over her hand.

Refusing to believe it, she backed out and tapped in again. It really wasn't there.

So Wen Ce had liked her post and then unliked it?

What was that supposed to mean?

Luo Lianqing was a little speechless. She had indeed hidden her posts from most people, because she wasn't someone who liked exposing her private life.

As for Wen Ce, they had barely chatted since adding each other. At first, she had genuinely forgotten.

But just as Wen Ce liked her post, she happened to be replying to a friend's comment in Moments, so she saw it.

For a moment, she hadn't even remembered who he was. Only after tapping in and seeing his plain profile picture and the single W he used as his display name did she remember.

Yet by the time she had tapped in and back out, he'd removed his like?

Didn't he like long legs?

Weren't her legs long?

Luo Lianqing opened her two photos. They were clearly very long!

"Hmph, no eye for quality!" Luo Lianqing huffed and poked Wen Ce's pitch-black profile picture.

Just as dull as he was.

Then she couldn't resist poking it a few more times.

Her phone vibrated. "You nudged w."

Luo Lianqing: ...???

With trembling hands, she quickly opened her browser. "Can you undo an accidental nudge on WeChat?"

Then she despaired.

Stupid WeChat. She'd be better off without it!

"Why do I suffer social death every single time I run into Wen Ce?!!!!"

Luo Lianqing tossed her phone aside, covered her sheet-masked face, and walked into the bathroom in despair.

Out of sight, out of mind. Maybe he was blind?

As it turned out, Wen Ce wasn't blind.

When he came out holding a yogurt, he felt his phone vibrate a few times.

He picked it up and opened it. The first thing he saw was a message from Wang Meng. Sure enough, he was canvassing votes for his girlfriend.

Wen Ce had just checked. His girlfriend hadn't even made the top ten, but he really was persistent.

He kept calling him bro and promising to treat him to a meal later.

Without much expression, Wen Ce typed out his reply one character at a time, then sent it. [Sorry, I've already voted.]

Wang Meng replied quickly. [Huh? Who did you vote for? Qin Yanran?]

Wen Ce didn't reply. He and Wang Meng weren't particularly close to begin with. They were graduating soon anyway, and he felt they probably wouldn't have much to do with each other afterward.

Wen Ce noticed the sender of the message below. That cat profile picture looked familiar; he'd just seen it in Moments.

Wen Ce opened the chat and found that she had nudged him three minutes ago, with nothing after that.

So?

Wen Ce raised an eyebrow and sent a question mark.

This time, the reply came quickly. [Do you eat cookies? I baked some and gave a few to the other neighbors this afternoon. Since we live across from each other, I thought I'd ask if you wanted any?]

It seemed like a perfectly reasonable explanation, but looking at that long message, why did Wen Ce feel as though she was a little nervous?

[Sure. Is it convenient if I come over to get them now?]

Wen Ce asked.

[Yes, come over. I've packed them up for you.]

Luo Lianqing replied very quickly.

When she saw the OK sticker Wen Ce sent back, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at the cookies she had just packed, she sighed in relief. Thank goodness she'd baked some that afternoon.

It was just that...

She glanced guiltily at the lazy cat basking in the sun on the balcony.

Hopefully, Wen Ce wouldn't realize these were cookies she'd baked for Egg Yolk (the cat's name).

The ingredients were absolutely fresh, and imported, too!

Besides, she'd just tried one, and it tasted really good!

Mostly, she really couldn't think of any other way to ease the awkwardness! Help!