Would you date someone?

Luo Lianqing heard no answer from him, so she turned to look and met Wen Ce's somewhat complicated gaze.

Luo Lianqing froze, then felt her heart suddenly beat a little faster.

Ding. The elevator had arrived.

Wen Ce looked away. "It's here. Let's get in."

Luo Lianqing said nothing and followed him inside.

The two fell into a brief silence.

"Wen Ce, where are you from?" Luo Lianqing suddenly asked.

"Yue City," Wen Ce said. "My parents are both there."

Luo Lianqing gave an "Oh," sounding a little disappointed.

An absurd thought had actually crossed her mind earlier, because Wen Ce without his glasses had looked so much like the person she was looking for, even if the gender seemed wrong.

But Wen Ce was from Yue City. That was too far away. He couldn't be her.

Luo Lianqing couldn't explain why she felt disappointed. It was just that Wen Ce's gaze a moment ago had left her a little flustered.

"Why do you ask?" Seeing her looking somewhat distracted, Wen Ce couldn't help asking.

"No reason. I was just curious. You don't really look like a northerner." Luo Lianqing smiled.

Wen Ce hummed. "Because of my face?"

He seemed unconcerned. "That's why I wear glasses."

The topic was soon brushed aside, because Luo Lianqing suddenly brought up the confession Wen Ce had received on the basketball court. "The school forum's full of posts about it."

She looked at Wen Ce curiously. "How do you feel? I heard that girl's liked you for three years..."

As she spoke, Luo Lianqing frowned. "But I've seen her walking with Wang Meng before. Isn't she dating Wang Meng? How has she liked you for three years?"

Wen Ce felt a little helpless. The elevator arrived, and he reached out to tug her arm, quickly letting go. "Let's get out. How do you think she's liked me?"

Luo Lianqing only felt that his broad palm made her heart beat a little faster even through her clothes.

Hearing the helplessness in his voice, she found it a little funny. "Being too popular has its troubles too, huh?"

"I'm nowhere near as popular as you." Wen Ce glanced at her and opened a ride-hailing app on his phone. "Risheng Department Store?"

Luo Lianqing nodded. "Yes, that's the place."

She said with some displeasure, "I don't want any rotten peach blossoms."

Thinking of how Zhou Chi had kept messaging her earlier, offering to treat her to a meal, Luo Lianqing felt a headache coming on. People who pestered her relentlessly were the most annoying.

She suddenly understood Wen Ce's helplessness earlier. "We're both so miserable~"

Having booked the ride, Wen Ce saw her pretty little face all scrunched up and found it a little funny. "That troubled?"

"I am. A lot of the time, I feel like maybe I don't like men. I really don't like being pursued." Luo Lianqing poked at her phone and muttered, "But I don't like women either."

Wen Ce's fingers stiffened at those words. Seriously? Seriously? Had someone just met a woman he was interested in, only to run headfirst into a brick wall?

Wen Ce felt rather miserable.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Luo Lianqing let out a breath. "Forget it. No point agonizing over it. I'm not getting married anyway!"

Wen Ce sighed. "The car's here."

Take it slowly. At least I'm still her only male friend.

Besides, maybe it's just because I haven't had much contact with other women. I need to make sure.

When the two arrived, they discovered that the hot pot restaurant already had a very long line.

Even though Luo Lianqing had taken a number in advance through its official account, there were still twenty-six tables ahead of them.

This was hot pot. How long would they have to wait?

Considering that Wen Ce had just finished playing basketball and must be hungry, Luo Lianqing suggested going somewhere else.

Wen Ce was indeed hungry, so he didn't object.

He simply hadn't expected Luo Lianqing to end up choosing a Cantonese restaurant.

"Do you come out for Cantonese food when you miss home?" After they ordered, Luo Lianqing blinked her big eyes and asked curiously.

"No, because I can cook it myself." Wen Ce sounded a little helpless. "I don't miss home that much, either. My relationship with my parents is pretty average."

Luo Lianqing paused. "I don't have a good relationship with my parents either."

She seemed a little happy to have found something they had in common. "Is your cooking good? I've never tried it."

"If you want to try it, I'll cook for you next time," Wen Ce said with a smile, completely forgetting that Zhao Li only got to eat his cooking when he was in a bad mood, and ordinarily could barely even get through his front door.

"Sure~" Luo Lianqing nodded. She felt that Wen Ce was like a treasure trove: the closer she got, the more of his charms she discovered. No wonder so many girls liked him.

Wen Ce held his phone, with a Baidu entry plainly displayed on it: "How do you know if you like a girl?"

"You blush and your heart races when you see her!"

"The most straightforward sign: you want to sleep with her!"

"You want to be good to her..."

Wen Ce read through them and felt that they were far too unreliable.

Forget it.

But as soon as he looked up, he met Luo Lianqing's big eyes, which were fixed on him.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. You seemed pretty busy. Speaking of our major, are you planning to go to grad school after graduation?" This suddenly occurred to Luo Lianqing. Generally, most people studying this major went to work at their own family's company.

Wen Ce was from Yue City. Would he go back?

The thought made Luo Lianqing a little unhappy.

Wen Ce shook his head. "No."

He wanted to, but if he kept studying, Uncle Chou would probably get down on his knees and beg him. Just imagining that scene was terrifying.

"Then will you go back?" Luo Lianqing didn't notice the hint of urgency in her voice or that her expression wasn't looking too good.

The question made Wen Ce pause. Something occurred to him, and rather than answer directly, he asked, "You don't want me to go back?"

"No. If you go back, we'll be too far apart." Luo Lianqing shook her head honestly, sounding unhappy. "When you're far apart, you drift out of touch too."

"Then I won't go back," Wen Ce said with a smile.

Luo Lianqing hadn't expected him to answer so readily, let alone say he wouldn't go back. Her heartbeat suddenly went awry again. "Why wouldn't you go back?"

"Didn't you say you didn't want me to?" Wen Ce glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. "Or were you just lying to me?"

"I really don't want you to!" Luo Lianqing immediately retorted. "I wasn't lying."

She felt as though something was wrong with her. When she heard Wen Ce say he wouldn't go back because of something she'd said, she seemed to feel a little happy?

Luo Lianqing actually had both a fairly high EQ and IQ.

She had always known that she felt differently about Wen Ce, perhaps because of the social death when they first met, or perhaps because Wen Ce looked a lot like an old friend of hers.

But Wen Ce was simply different in her eyes, so she always found herself paying attention to him.

She had even taken the initiative to become friends with him.

To her, being a friend was a very precious position to hold.

A thoughtful look flickered in Luo Lianqing's eyes, but the way Wen Ce made her feel seemed a little different from an ordinary friend too.

She felt a little troubled, and even wanted to hurry up and figure out this strange feeling.

"Wen Ce, would you date someone?" Luo Lianqing suddenly asked.