Yao Yanyan returned to the dorm and gathered her toiletries, preparing to take off her makeup and shower.
According to her original plan, she had indeed intended to come back and rub things in a little more to provoke Xu Ke. But after listening to Tang Yu’s words just now, she suddenly felt somewhat uninspired and even inexplicably irritated.
Therefore, she abandoned her original plan and paid no mind to Xu Ke, who sat stiffly in her chair, glaring at her with a baleful gaze.
However, just because Yao Yanyan wasn't looking for Xu Ke didn't mean Xu Ke wouldn't come looking for her.
"Don't you have anything to say to me?"
Xu Ke's voice was as devoid of emotion as usual, yet Yao Yanyan somehow managed to detect a thick undercurrent of bitter resentment.
Yao Yanyan turned her head to glance at Xu Ke, the corners of her mouth twitching into a joyless, mocking smile as she fired a barbed retort: "You really have terrible taste."
"You had a lot of fun today, didn't you?"
"It was alright."
"Thrilled that you managed to steal Qin Luo away from me?"
As soon as those words left Xu Ke's mouth, Tang Yu covered her forehead and sighed, Chu Sijin's chewing on her potato chips slowed down considerably, and even Chu Liunian, who was busy watching anime, pulled out one of her earbuds.
Yao Yanyan narrowed her eyes at Xu Ke, her voice just as cold as the other girl's as she replied: "He was never yours to begin with, and I didn't steal a damn thing from you."
Xu Ke let out a cold laugh. "That confession, that cup of milk tea, and that song today—they were all supposed to be mine! Aren't they both stolen by you now? You just love taking other people's things, don't you?"
Yao Yanyan arched an eyebrow, a sudden, nameless anger flaring up in her chest. Her tone grew hard and unyielding: "Let me say this again: I never stole anything from you. Who he likes and wants to hang out with is his freedom, and who I choose to make friends with is my freedom. It's none of your business."
As their gazes met, sparks seemed to fly between them. A volatile, hair-trigger atmosphere instantly exploded, sweeping through the entire dormitory in the blink of an eye.
"I don't care about anyone else, but him you can't touch! He likes me!"
"Stop being so narcissistic. He doesn't like you at all anymore."
"What did you say? Say that again!"
"I said he doesn't like you at all anymore! He told me that with his own mouth!"
Their voices grew louder and their speech faster, each trying to drown the other out to prove she wouldn't back down.
Yet the moment Yao Yanyan finished her final sentence, Xu Ke suddenly deflated.
Looking somewhat dazed, she blinked at Yao Yanyan, her lips parting and closing several times before she finally managed to ask in a trembling voice: "You... what did you say?"
Xu Ke's reaction caught Yao Yanyan a bit off guard. Remembering what Tang Yu had said earlier, she hesitated for a moment, but ultimately still sneered: "I said, he doesn't like you anymore. He told me that himself. You can go ask him to confirm it if you want."
Xu Ke had heard those exact words yesterday as well. Back then, her reaction had been skepticism and an instinctive, defensive refutation.
But this time, she didn't throw any more tantrums. She simply sat frozen in her chair, staring blankly ahead just as she had earlier that morning in the dorm.
"He... doesn't like me anymore... How is that possible..."
She muttered to herself, her voice trembling slightly. Hearing it made Yao Yanyan feel a sudden, unbidden wave of regret for saying those things.
Chu Sijin swallowed the potato chip in her mouth and whispered softly, "Yanyan, stop talking already."
Chu Liunian wanted to echo the sentiment, but she couldn't think of anything else to say, so she simply turned into a human tape recorder: "Yanyan, stop talking already."
Yao Yanyan opened her mouth, but looking at Xu Ke's thoroughly devastated state, she ultimately said nothing more. She grabbed her toiletries and headed into the bathroom.
Tang Yu sighed softly. She slowly walked over to sit beside Xu Ke, gently taking her hand and offering a soothing comfort: "Xu Ke, honestly... I think Qin Luo probably still likes you."
That single sentence was like an injection of life-giving water into a parched desert.
The person who had looked utterly shattered just a second ago suddenly grabbed back onto Tang Yu's hands, desperate for validation as she blurted out: "Right? He definitely still likes me, right? I knew Yao Yanyan was lying to me! Qin Luo likes me so much, how could he possibly just give up on me like that..."
"Calm down first," Tang Yu gently patted the back of Xu Ke's hand. Seeing that the other girl had quieted down just a fraction, she continued: "What I'm trying to say is, he might still like you, but he doesn't want to like you the way he used to anymore."
"What do you mean?" Xu Ke asked, looking bewildered.
Tang Yu explained slowly: "It's simple. Because his old way of pursuing you was warped and wrong. It was precisely that kind of blind, fawning flattery and unconditional indulgence that created your attitude toward him."
"When things like that are happening, the people involved might not see it clearly, but outsiders like us can spot it plain as day. That's why so many people called Qin Luo a—well, a simper—cough, why they even gave him all those nicknames."
"And the situation now is that Qin Luo has finally woken up. He realizes the way he pursued you all this time was wrong, so he's trying to change. He's doing it to grab your attention, hoping you'll react and maybe make a few changes of your own for him."
"Like yesterday when he came over with milk tea and gave it to all of us, but deliberately skipped you. Or when he went to find Yanyan for class today—those are just his ways of sending you a signal. Actually, you just have to listen to that song. If he didn't truly love you, how could he write a song like that? And since he loves you that much, how could he ever truly let go just like that?"
Tang Yu spoke at a slow, gentle pace, her voice soft like a trusted confidante whispering right beside your ear.
Xu Ke's initial agitation was easily smoothed away by her words. After listening to the whole explanation, a profound sense of sudden enlightenment washed over her.
That's right... He loves me so much, he even wrote a song like that for me—how could he possibly just give up and walk away?
Just like Tang Yu said, he was just trying to change, which was why he acted that way.
Whether it was bringing milk tea or seeking out Yao Yanyan, it was all just his way of seeking change.
Everything made complete logical sense, and the truth was that he still loved her.
He just wanted her to pay more attention to him... Just like today, when she saw that video and for the very first time noticed how different he was from everyone else...
"He succeeded," Xu Ke said with a complicated tone.
Tang Yu's eyes lit up, and she opened her mouth to keep going, but Xu Ke suddenly let out another cold laugh: "But behavior like that just makes him seem childish to me! It's like a grade-schooler pulling a girl's pigtails. How old is he, playing games like that? He's just so full of himself!"
"Doing all this is only going to make me hate him more! He wants *me* to change for him? Who does he think he is?"
"He's the one who likes me, I don't like him!"
Xu Ke's voice grew louder and louder, as if she were trying to vent every grievance she had suffered over the past two days, or perhaps frantically rebuilding her own untouchable pedestal. Refusing to lower her head no matter what, she remained as cold and hard as a boulder on a snow-capped peak.
Tang Yu was utterly floored by this speech—at that exact moment, she experienced the exact same thought she'd had yesterday.
What kind of universe-defying logic was this?
You were the one who was rattled to the core and nearly broken by his actions just moments ago, and now you're acting all high and mighty?
Tang Yu's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Originally, she had wanted to ask Xu Ke whether she actually liked Qin Luo or not, but looking at Xu Ke right now, she couldn't even be bothered to ask. A wave of deep regret washed over her—she felt like she shouldn't have said any of those things in the first place.
Her original intention in saying all that was to soothe Xu Ke's emotions while also voicing her own hypothesis.
Because, as she'd said, everyone knew who Qin Luo had written that song for, and everyone knew how deeply he used to care for Xu Ke.
Even if he really had been hurt and saddened by Xu Ke's long-term indifference, she simply didn't believe Qin Luo could let go just like that.
That was why she spoke up—hoping to help Xu Ke see Qin Luo's true feelings, and in turn, her own heart.
But looking at it now, it was like trying to patch a lip with putty—a total waste of breath!
"You can't save a ghost determined to die. She's completely brainless, talking to her is just a waste of time."
A light, mocking voice drifted over. Following the sound, the others looked up to see Yao Yanyan gazing at Xu Ke with an expression of utter disdain.
Xu Ke glared right back without yielding an inch: "Who are you calling brainless?"
Yao Yanyan couldn't even be bothered to engage, simply offering a cold sneer.
Just as Xu Ke was about to retort, she noticed her phone light up. The text displayed on the screen made her eyes widen in spite of herself.
The next second, the face that was usually locked in a blank expression suddenly blossomed into a smile, her voice leaking with uncontrollable joy: "Qin Luo just sent me a message!"
She paused abruptly, quickly reigning in her smile. Shooting Yao Yanyan a cold, dismissive glance, she said coolly: "He must be here to apologize... Heh. You said he told you with his own mouth that he doesn't like me anymore? Aren't you embarrassed to tell lies like that?"
Yao Yanyan narrowed her eyes. In the end, she couldn't be bothered to bicker with Xu Ke anymore, tossing out a lazy "Can't be bothered with you" before retreating back into the bathroom.
Tang Yu didn't care to get involved either, silently crawling back onto her own bed while internally kicking herself, vowing to think twice before opening her mouth next time.
As for Xu Ke, she climbed up onto her bed with a pretense of casual indifference that masked her hurried movements. Diving straight under the covers, she clutched her phone tight and stared down at the message Qin Luo had sent her:
*"My bad. Didn't realize it was you earlier, thought you were some insurance spammer, so I blocked you straight away."*
Inside the pitch-black cocoon of the duvet, the cool and distant features of Xu Ke's face caught the glow of the phone screen, revealing the subtle curve of a smile at the corner of her lips.
She just *knew* Qin Luo still liked her. There was no way he could ever give her up!
For some inexplicable reason, Xu Ke felt her customary conviction and self-assurance return. Because of this, she didn't reply to Qin Luo right away; she figured she would leave him hanging for a bit to make him feel the sting of her resentment.
She assumed Qin Luo would send her another message in no time.
Maybe an apology, maybe an explanation, maybe asking her what she wanted to eat tomorrow... Whatever it was, it would definitely be an olive branch.
Yet, the one thing she never expected was that ten whole minutes would pass, and Qin Luo's second message still wouldn't arrive.
This made Xu Ke start to feel a little restless lying there.
Her fingers tapped lightly against the screen, attempting to type out a few words, only to delete them every single time she was about to hit send.
And right at that moment, new content finally popped up in the chat window.