"If I said... I am, what would you do, Senior?"
Xiao Wanting put down her chopsticks and cast a sneaky glance to the side.
Making sure there was no one around, she finally took a deep breath and mustered the courage to ask.
"Classmate Xiaoxiao, that question puts me in a very tough spot."
A wry smile appeared on Lu Bei's face.
He looked at the girl in front of him, momentarily unsure of how to phrase his reply.
"Well then, Senior, won't you give it some serious thought?"
Xiao Wanting cupped her face in her hands, gazing at Lu Bei with eager eyes.
He had thought this kid was the low-offense, low-defense type, but... after being provoked, she seemed to throw straight-line attacks with quite some initiative.
"I won't agree for now, because high school romances are basically considered puppy love."
"Besides, we've only known each other for half a day."
Lu Bei gave his answer without hesitation.
And what he said wasn't wrong.
Puppy love... was no good thing.
At least, all parents and high school teachers thought so.
Open, publicly acknowledged romances that received the blessings of elders could only happen after reaching university.
That was an unspoken rule.
"It hasn't been just half a day."
Xiao Wanting paused, her voice dropping to a whisper.
If you weren't leaning in close, you wouldn't have been able to hear her at all.
As for herself...
She had actually started paying attention to Senior two years ago; it was just that Senior had never noticed her.
Because in the past, his eyes only held that hateful Xu Qingshuang, and he couldn't see any other girls who wanted to get close to him.
"I see. But you've also seen the mess between Xu Qingshuang and me. I'm sorry, but I probably don't have any thoughts of romance right now."
Lu Bei laughed self-deprecatingly. Instead of answering the question directly, he took a roundabout approach, hoping to make the girl drop the idea.
When all was said and done, they had only known each other officially for half a day, and he didn't know this loli well enough yet.
Giving her a definite commitment right now would be an irresponsible thing to do.
"That Xu Qingshuang again."
"Clearly just someone who doesn't know how to cherish Senior, and now she's left Senior with psychological trauma."
"A person like that should be killed... kept far away. Only by making her completely quiet will she stop coming to taint Senior."
Xiao Wanting looked extremely agitated.
As she spoke those last words, her eyes seemed to flash with a reddish glow.
Still, she maintained some reason and didn't let those terrible emotions take over entirely.
The moment she realized what kind of dreadful remarks she had just uttered, Xiao Wanting slumped back against the table, burying her head in her hands, looking terrified of being hated and desperate to escape reality.
"That was... quite some statement," Lu Bei said.
"Ugh."
Xiao Wanting let out a miserable moan.
She knew the impression she had just given could only be described by one word: yandere.
Despite the upbringing she'd received since childhood, Xiao Wanting didn't like the way she had just acted either.
Yet, she could vaguely sense that this was her truest self.
The side hidden beneath the mask of gentleness—the future virtuous wife and good mother in the eyes of others—that would only ever be exposed to the person she loved.
"Let's talk about it after you graduate. The gaokao is more important than romance."
Lu Bei took the initiative to break the silence.
Unable to sort through what she wanted to say for the moment, Xiao Wanting cautiously poked her head out with a heavy heart and nodded gently.
"Senior, after the gaokao is over, can we discuss this topic again?"
Xiao Wanting lowered her head, not daring to meet Lu Bei's gaze at all.
"What if I still reject you when that time comes?" Lu Bei asked another question.
"Then... I suppose I'd be very sad."
Xiao Wanting replied with a vacant look in her eyes.
No, that wouldn't do. She couldn't survive without Senior.
Even though she could barely hold back for now, if Senior still refused, there would come a day when she couldn't contain herself anymore and would end up imprisoning him.
"Don't overthink it, Classmate Xiaoxiao. As a free agent of society who is no longer a high schooler and has chosen to retake the exams, your most important task right now is the gaokao."
"No matter what thoughts you have, you have to get past this hurdle first before you can consider anything else."
Lu Bei weighed his words carefully before speaking.
Judging by this kid's attitude, a direct refusal that left her feeling dejected might end up affecting her performance on the gaokao.
Besides that... Lu Bei had a lingering illusion that rejecting her would lead to bad consequences.
"Then can I make one request of Senior? Before my gaokao is over, please don't find a girlfriend, okay?"
Xiao Wanting suddenly grabbed Lu Bei's sleeve, her eyes practically pleading.
"I can agree to that."
Lu Bei looked seriously into the girl's eyes in front of him. After confirming that her gaze held shyness but didn't shy away at all, he let out a sigh and nodded.
"Then... pinky swear?"
Hope flickered in Xiao Wanting's eyes.
Lu Bei chuckled softly and agreed to the girl's request. As their fingers hooked together, their thumbs pressed against each other.
Xiao Wanting's heart grew calm.
She relaxed her tense nerves, slowly eating the rest of her noodles while swinging her white-stockinged calves.
If it was like this... then it was enough. For now, there was no need to actually go to that extreme.
She was very good at accompanying someone, and she was used to waiting.
***
Girls' Dormitory.
"Qingshuang, did your interview go successfully? I called you this afternoon, but you didn't pick up."
The moment Xu Qingshuang stepped back into the dorm, her roommates, who hadn't gone out, all noticed her current state.
The young, glamorous girl currently looked utterly dejected.
Compared to her previous self—whose every movement resembled a proud white swan—the current Xu Qingshuang was like a duck beaten down by the frost.
"What's wrong with you? Didn't you say that after the interview, you were going to make Lu Bei pay for a huge meal?" asked a chubby female roommate with a curious look.
"Don't mention it... That jerk, what kind of madness has Lu Bei gotten into?"
Xu Qingshuang gnashed her teeth with hatred.
Thinking about what happened that afternoon made her blood boil.
What the hell was wrong with Lu Bei? She had already said all that, and yet he still wouldn't apologize to her.
"Qingshuang, is this about your little lapdog again? Pfft, seriously? Your dog-taming skills are so pathetic that you can't even get a single one to dance around you?"
A roommate with a distinctly bitchy tone let out a mocking laugh.