Chapter Summaries

Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing grew more comfortable as friends, though her unusual gift and messages left him flustered. At the basketball game, Wen Ce saw Zhou Chi speaking attentively to Luo Lianqing while she remained expressionless.

• Wen Ce received Luo Lianqing’s box of adult toys and read her messages explaining that she had inspected them and wanted to complete a questionnaire about his size.
• Wen Ce told Luo Lianqing not to fill out the questionnaire with anyone else, then reflected on the loneliness he had glimpsed when she explained why she avoided male friends.
• Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing hardly met over the next few days, but they chatted frequently, and Wen Ce helped look after her cat twice.
• Lin Fan warned Wen Ce that people were saying Wang Meng’s girlfriend had dumped him because of Wen Ce, and that Wang Meng had not returned to the dorm.
• At the basketball game, Wen Ce saw Zhou Chi talking to Luo Lianqing with a bright smile while she stood before him with little expression.

Luo Lianqing was annoyed by Zhou Chi’s unwanted advances until Wen Ce stepped in, then encouraged Wen Ce before his basketball game. As the game began, Qin Yanran watched Luo Lianqing with growing discomfort.

• Zhou Chi asked Luo Lianqing to date him if his team won, and she rejected his advances.
• Wen Ce approached after seeing Luo Lianqing’s plea for help and interrupted Zhou Chi’s suggestive remarks.
• Zhou Chi left after telling Luo Lianqing to wait for him to win, while Wen Ce asked if she was all right.
• Luo Lianqing told Wen Ce she felt sexually harassed and promised him a meal whether he won or lost.
• Wen Ce joined the game, and Luo Lianqing sat beside Qin Yanran and two other girls as the whistle sounded.

Wen Ce helped his class win a basketball game with a series of three-pointers, drawing attention from his classmates and Luo Lianqing. After Luo Lianqing offered to treat him to a meal, Wang Meng’s ex-girlfriend approached Wen Ce and asked if she still had a chance with him.

• Wen Ce scored several three-pointers after his classmates finally passed him the ball, helping his team build a twenty-five-point halftime lead.
• Zhou Chi praised Wen Ce’s basketball skills and privately warned him that he intended to pursue Luo Lianqing.
• Wang Meng made a snide remark about Wen Ce, who reminded him that Wang Meng had previously stopped him from playing.
• Wen Ce and his teammates won by twenty-three points, and Luo Lianqing messaged him to offer a celebratory meal before leaving.
• Wang Meng’s ex-girlfriend told Wen Ce she had broken up with Wang Meng and asked whether she still had a chance because she had heard he liked long legs.

Wen Ce rejected Fang Wen’s renewed confession and left to meet Luo Lianqing for dinner. As they headed out for hot pot, their teasing and close moments left Wen Ce wondering whether he liked her.

• Wen Ce told Fang Wen he had never liked her and urged her not to disregard Wang Meng’s feelings.
• Wen Ce returned to his apartment and replied to Luo Lianqing, who had arrived to go out with him.
• Luo Lianqing saw Wen Ce shirtless after his shower, blushed, and complimented his appearance without his glasses.
• Luo Lianqing suggested an internet-famous hot pot restaurant, and Wen Ce agreed to go with her.
• While they waited for the elevator, Luo Lianqing teased Wen Ce about his physique and mentioned her own abs, prompting him to wonder whether he liked her type.

Luo Lianqing and Wen Ce grew closer during an outing, and Luo Lianqing began questioning whether her feelings for him went beyond friendship. The chapter ended with her asking Wen Ce whether he would date someone.

• Luo Lianqing asked Wen Ce where he was from and felt disappointed when he said his parents were in Yue City.
• Luo Lianqing and Wen Ce discussed unwanted romantic attention and went to Risheng Department Store, where they switched from a crowded hot pot restaurant to a Cantonese restaurant.
• Wen Ce offered to cook for Luo Lianqing, and she felt pleased to discover more about him.
• Luo Lianqing asked whether Wen Ce planned to return to Yue City, and he said he would stay because she did not want him to go.
• Luo Lianqing reflected on her unusual feelings for Wen Ce and asked him whether he would date someone.

After dinner, Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing watched a romance movie together, where repeated touches and Wen Ce’s gentle closeness stirred feelings between them. Luo Lianqing realized that the answer to what she wanted to confirm was already clear, but the chapter ended before either of them spoke about it.

• Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing finished dinner, and Luo Lianqing paid with her basketball tournament prize money.
• Wen Ce asked Luo Lianqing to watch a movie, and she agreed; they chose a romance film and sat in the middle of a sparsely occupied theater.
• As they watched, Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing touched hands while reaching for the cola, and their hands brushed several more times.
• When Luo Lianqing turned toward suggestive sounds from behind them, Wen Ce covered her face and gently turned her back toward the screen.
• Wen Ce stroked Luo Lianqing’s hair as he let go, and she felt her heart pound and realized she had confirmed something about her feelings.
• After the movie ended, Wen Ce stood and told Luo Lianqing they should leave, while neither of them moved at first.

After Wen Ce denied that he and Luo Lianqing were dating, Luo Lianqing grew upset while Wen Ce worried she liked Zhou Chi. Back home, both struggled with their feelings, and Luo Lianqing called Miaomiao to admit she had fallen for someone who did not like her.

• Wen Ce pulled Luo Lianqing out of the way of a child, and she noticed his hand holding hers.
• Luo Lianqing and Wen Ce ran into Zhou Chi at the cinema, where he accused them of being a couple while accompanied by another girl.
• Luo Lianqing told Zhou Chi to stop pestering her, but Wen Ce clarified that he was not her boyfriend and that they had no intimate relationship.
• Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing rode home in silence, and Luo Lianqing denied they were dating when the driver called her Wen Ce's girlfriend.
• Wen Ce went home and lamented that the woman he liked did not like him, while Luo Lianqing wondered whether she was attractive enough for him.
• Luo Lianqing called Miaomiao and confessed that she thought she had fallen for someone who did not like her.

Luo Lianqing told Miaomiao she had developed feelings for Wen Ce, and Miaomiao advised her to test whether he liked her. The next morning, Luo Lianqing visited Wen Ce for breakfast, encouraged by his warm welcome, and the story left them about to eat together.

• Luo Lianqing told Miaomiao she liked Wen Ce but feared he preferred busty lolis, and Miaomiao urged her to test the waters rather than assume he was uninterested.
• Wen Ce searched online for porn, disliked what he found, and went to bed after wondering about Zhou Chi's tastes.
• Zhou Chi's phone suddenly played explicit videos at full volume in his dorm, and it kept playing until its battery died the next morning.
• Wen Ce felt better after sleeping and reconsidered how to save Luo Lianqing from her supposed bad taste in men.
• Luo Lianqing arrived at Wen Ce's home with Egg Yolk and asked to share breakfast, and Wen Ce invited her in and made noodles with two eggs.
• Wen Ce told Luo Lianqing to put Egg Yolk down before eating, but she worried the cat might disturb his things.

Luo Lianqing spent the morning with Wen Ce, shared breakfast, and went grocery shopping with him for lunch. Their increasingly flirtatious conversation left Wen Ce wondering whether she had begun to like him, and he asked how he compared to Zhou Chi.

• Luo Lianqing offered Wen Ce an egg and invited him to lunch, but he offered to cook for her instead.
• Luo Lianqing followed Wen Ce into the kitchen, told him she had gone to school abroad with her mother after her parents divorced, and said she was free to make her own choices.
• Luo Lianqing and Wen Ce went to the supermarket together, where she asked whether he wanted to keep her fed.
• Wen Ce picked out vegetables, beef, fish, and chicken for their meal, while Luo Lianqing praised him as handsome, gentle, and good at cooking.
• Wen Ce asked Luo Lianqing how he compared to Zhou Chi.

Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing went shopping together, where her deliberate touches and casual purchase of condoms left him awkward while she tried to gauge his feelings. As they headed home, Luo Lianqing asked whether he thought she was strange or had been embarrassed by her behavior.

• Luo Lianqing grew jealous when Wen Ce brought up Zhou Chi and questioned whether he liked big-breasted lolis.
• Luo Lianqing worried she was getting fat, and Wen Ce reassured her after briefly touching her waist.
• Wen Ce noticed Luo Lianqing repeatedly making deliberate physical contact with him as they shopped.
• Luo Lianqing paid for their groceries and picked up a box of condoms, prompting an onlooker to post about seeing her with a man on the university forum.
• Wen Ce carried the shopping bags home while Luo Lianqing explained her unfamiliarity with local attitudes toward buying condoms and asked if he thought she was strange.

Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing spent time together at his apartment, where their teasing over Egg Yolk and a rumored relationship exposed their mutual misunderstandings. The chapter left Luo Lianqing explaining that she had been upset because she thought Wen Ce wanted nothing to do with her, while he pressed her to finish what she was saying.

• Wen Ce invited Luo Lianqing into his apartment, and they exchanged warm water while he fetched a cat teaser for Egg Yolk.
• Wen Ce grew flustered when Luo Lianqing teased him about whether she or Egg Yolk was cuter, and he told her she was the prettiest before retreating to the kitchen.
• Luo Lianqing showed Wen Ce a popular post speculating about her boyfriend after someone saw them shopping, and Wen Ce explained he had worried about the effect rumors might have on her work.
• Wen Ce asked why Luo Lianqing had seemed upset after seeing Zhou Chi with another girl, and Luo Lianqing insisted she did not like Zhou Chi.
• Luo Lianqing admitted she had been upset because Wen Ce had denied being involved with her, making her think he wanted nothing to do with her, and Wen Ce asked what else she had wanted to say.

Luo Lianqing and Wen Ce grew closer as Miaomiao encouraged Luo Lianqing to pursue him, while Wen Ce privately worried that sharing her glass counted as an indirect kiss. Their interrupted lunch plans gave way to an urgent call about a database breach, just as Luo Lianqing invited Wen Ce to dinner.

• Wen Ce drank from Luo Lianqing's glass, and both privately wondered whether it counted as a kiss.
• Miaomiao visited Luo Lianqing, declared that Wen Ce liked her, and encouraged her to pursue him; Luo Lianqing asked whether she should try.
• Wen Ce put away the lunch ingredients and received a grave call from Uncle Chou about an intrusion.
• Zhao Li picked Wen Ce up and explained that the breached database section concerned bioengineering files previously handed to the Special Management Department.
• Luo Lianqing messaged Wen Ce to ask whether they could have dinner together that night.

Wen Ce left for a week to help Wang Qiang investigate a breach of their internal system, leaving Luo Lianqing anxious when he stopped replying. Zhou Chi mistakenly assumed Luo Lianqing and Wen Ce had broken up and tried to pursue her.

• Wen Ce asked Luo Lianqing for a week of leave to travel out of province, and promised to cook for her when he returned.
• Luo Lianqing approved Wen Ce's leave and sent him messages offering help, but received no reply.
• Wen Ce arrived at Wang Qiang's office and began investigating a breach that had entered through their internal system.
• After a week passed without hearing from Wen Ce, Luo Lianqing worried about his return and asked when he would be back.
• Zhou Chi delivered employment preference surveys and asked whether Luo Lianqing had broken up with Wen Ce.
• Luo Lianqing denied having a teacher-student romance with Wen Ce and rejected Zhou Chi, who insisted he liked her.

Luo Lianqing rejected Zhou Chi’s advances while worrying about Wen Ce, who had been away investigating a case. After learning that Luo Cheng had been arrested as a traitor, Wen Ce realized how strongly he felt about Luo Lianqing and decided he wanted to date her.

• Luo Lianqing told Zhou Chi he was not her type, and Zhou Chi pointed out that she had never denied liking Wen Ce.
• Qin Yanran arrived at the office after Zhou Chi left and went in to see Luo Lianqing.
• Wen Ce saw Luo Lianqing’s messages two days later while Zhao Li told him that Luo Cheng had been arrested and that the investigation had disrupted Zhao Li’s work.
• Wen Ce told Zhao Li that he liked someone and was considering pursuing her, then arranged to return the next day and cook for Luo Lianqing.
• Wen Ce reflected on how often he thought about Luo Lianqing and decided he wanted to tell her, “I want to date you.”

Wen Ce questioned whether Luo Lianqing’s friendly behavior meant she liked him, while Zhao Li’s painful story made him doubt his assumptions. Meanwhile, Luo Lianqing heard seniors discussing a professor’s sudden resignation and was asked about the boyfriend mentioned on the school forum.

• Wen Ce asked Zhao Li how to test whether Luo Lianqing liked him, then wondered if she only treated him as a friend because she had said she had never liked anyone and opposed marriage.
• Wen Ce rejected Zhou Chi’s friend requests, including one explaining that Zhou Chi had stopped pursuing Teacher Luo, while Zhou Chi wanted him to join a basketball team.
• Wen Ce concluded that Luo Lianqing might only see him as an ordinary friend and told Zhao Li to stop talking.
• Luo Lianqing attended a class meeting and heard senior students discussing an elderly biology professor’s sudden resignation.
• A female senior asked Luo Lianqing who the boyfriend mentioned on the school forum was.

At a class meeting, Luo Lianqing and Wen Ce reunited after nine days apart, and Wen Ce realized how much he had missed her. After the meeting, Zhou Chi tried to recruit Wen Ce for a paid ball game and hinted that Luo Lianqing liked him, while Wang Meng challenged Wen Ce to talk outside.

• Luo Lianqing denied having a boyfriend and told her senior that buying condoms did not mean she had to use them with someone else.
• Wen Ce attended the class meeting after Lin Fan told him about it, rejected Zhou Chi’s friend request again, and crumpled Zhou Chi’s flyer without reading it.
• Qin Yanran asked Wen Ce whether anything had happened at home, but he said nothing had; when Luo Lianqing entered, Wen Ce and Luo Lianqing exchanged delighted looks.
• Luo Lianqing quickly finished the class meeting, while classmates discussed Zhou Chi’s failed confession to her.
• Zhou Chi again asked Wen Ce to join the paid ball game and hinted that Luo Lianqing liked him; Wang Meng then interrupted and challenged Wen Ce to talk outside.

Wen Ce confronted Wang Meng about his jealousy and rejected attempts to make him responsible for Qin Yanran’s injury. Luo Lianqing overheard Wen Ce say that one-sided feelings could burden others and wondered whether her own feelings would become a burden to him.

• Wen Ce agreed to speak with Wang Meng after Qin Yanran intervened, then followed him out of the classroom.
• Wen Ce stopped Wang Meng from heading to the rooftop and insisted he say what he wanted there.
• When Wang Meng raised his hand, Qin Yanran ran over to intervene and twisted her ankle.
• Wen Ce refused to take Qin Yanran to the campus clinic and told Wang Meng that Qin Yanran’s earlier behavior had also unfairly made him seem responsible.
• Wen Ce said self-serving feelings only burdened and annoyed the person they targeted, and Luo Lianqing overheard him and worried her feelings might burden him too.

Wen Ce refused to take Qin Yanran to the infirmary after she twisted her ankle, while Luo Lianqing intervened and later brought Wen Ce and Wang Meng to her office. The chapter left Wen Ce alone with Luo Lianqing as she handed him a leave slip to fill out.

• Wen Ce refused Qin Yanran's request to escort her to the infirmary, and Luo Lianqing arrived and advised her to remove her heels and get checked.
• Wen Ce rebuked Qin Yanran's roommate for blaming him, and Lin Fan took Qin Yanran to the infirmary with her roommate following.
• Luo Lianqing asked Wen Ce and Wang Meng to accompany her to the office, where Wang Meng admitted he had misunderstood Wen Ce.
• Wen Ce told Luo Lianqing he was innocent, and both he and Wang Meng promised to avoid a repeat of the incident.
• After Wang Meng left the office, Luo Lianqing gave Wen Ce a leave slip to fill out.

Wen Ce wondered whether Luo Lianqing liked him and sought Zhou Chi’s advice while waiting for her. Seeing her again, he realized he must truly be in love.

• Wen Ce touched Luo Lianqing’s fingers while pressing her to accept his leave slip, and she agreed to go to the supermarket with him.
• After finishing the slip, Wen Ce waited outside and asked Zhou Chi why he thought Luo Lianqing liked him.
• Zhou Chi told Wen Ce that Luo Lianqing had not denied liking him when Zhou Chi had asked her out.
• Wen Ce asked Zhou Chi how to tell whether a girl liked him, but Zhou Chi’s advice turned into boasts about his dating experience and questions about the basketball tournament.
• Luo Lianqing came downstairs after speaking with Teacher Wu, and Wen Ce concluded that he must really be in love.

Wen Ce reassured Luo Lianqing that he had no interest in checking on Qin Yanran and told her how he would treat someone he loved. As they prepared to go to the market, he helped Luo Lianqing change into flats and asked if she minded him helping with her other shoe.

• Wen Ce caught Luo Lianqing's hand and suggested they visit the market, then asked her to change shoes because the roads might be difficult to walk on.
• Luo Lianqing asked whether Wen Ce would check on Qin Yanran, and he said he did not want to go.
• Wen Ce told Luo Lianqing that he would give someone he loved his whole heart and treat her well, adding that he wanted to prevent a misunderstanding.
• Luo Lianqing said she had brought flats, explaining that teachers had urged her to wear heels and appear more authoritative.
• At a milk tea shop, Wen Ce tied the laces on Luo Lianqing's canvas shoe and asked if she minded him helping her change the other one.