"They're here."
Wang Minghui whispered into Lu Bei's ear.
Lu Bei glanced over, though he didn't care in the least.
Back when he was still a simpering doormat, Lu Bei had constantly treated Xu Qingshuang's roommates to meals or bought them all sorts of gifts, begging them to look after Xu Qingshuang in the dorm—and incidentally, to put in a good word for him.
But now that he no longer had feelings for Xu Qingshuang, why should he bother with them?
If they came to pick a fight, he would simply hurl insults right back, trading blows like a common shrew, or report them directly to the school administration.
Heh, did they really think they were heavenly fairies? If they came looking for trouble, was he supposed to coddle them?
"Oh, Xiao Lu, I hear you've offended our Qingshuang. How can someone like you not know how to cherish such a good girl?"
Fei Zhu, Xu Qingshuang's two-hundred-pound fat roommate, was the first to make a move. Before the rest of the roommates could even workshop their lines, she charged right up and slammed her trotters onto Lu Bei's desk.
That stunt made Xu Qingshuang and her other fairy-wannabe roommates frown deeply.
They were indeed here to call him to account, but coming out of the gate with such heavy hostility was hardly a good start. In the eyes of the others, this roommate who had jumped the gun was a total moron.
"Fat corpse, what business is it of yours? Shut your fucking trap. If your mother's dead, you can go wail somewhere else."
Wang Minghui slammed his hand fiercely against the desk and roared without hesitation. This bro straight-up chose to back Lu Bei with absolute force, even if... his opening line was straight out of the old gutter.
"And what business is it of your mother? You barking dog, keep yapping and see if I don't shove you right back up the cunt you crawled out of and give you a fresh birth."
Hearing that particular phrasing, the fat roommate's rolls of flesh twitched. Her facial features seemed to bunch together, like a cut of pork from the butcher's stall suddenly jolting back to life. It was truly the look of Zhu Bajie reincarnated from a sow, with terror as its primary feature.
"Alright, alright, Sister Fei Zhu, calm down. Let Qingshuang talk to Lu Bei."
Xia Qiuzi, unable to bear it any longer, pressed down on the fat roommate's shoulder and pulled her out of the battlefield.
After that roar from her chunky roommate, nearly every student present in the classroom had shifted their attention over. If they let this authentic, oversized sow keep spewing such shameless trash, forget about putting pressure on Lu Bei—people would just think their entire dorm was utterly devoid of basic class.
"Fine, you're up, Shuangshuang." Xia Qiuzi didn't hesitate to step back and give her a hard shove.
"Lu Bei."
Xu Qingshuang hadn't anticipated Xia Qiuzi's move. Under the force of that shove, she stumbled and took a clumsy tumble, making a complete fool of herself.
A delicate girl who hated pain, she let out a whimper, tears welling unbidden in the corners of her eyes.
Yet Lu Bei, sitting close by, didn't get up to help her like Xia Qiuzi might have done, nor did he even lift his head to look at her.
Stunned for a moment, she wiped away her tears, sat down opposite Lu Bei, and wore an expression of having a thousand things left unsaid.
"Is there something you need?"
Lu Bei raised his eyelids, gazing at the childhood friend who had once meant the world to him.
Yesterday's events seemed to have dealt her a heavy blow. Xu Qingshuang's complexion looked rather haggard, as if... she hadn't rested well at all.
And the truth was precisely that.
Encouraged by her roommates, Xu Qingshuang had indeed rallied for a brief moment, but when it came time for another encounter and trying to sleep that night, images of Lu Bei rejecting her kept involuntarily floating through her mind.
As a result, her courage failed her. Her tone of voice softened involuntarily by several notches.
"This Lu Bei is truly no man. Can't he see Qingshuang is hurt? He isn't even showing a shred of concern."
Fei Zhu said with burning indignation, anxious as she watched Xu Qingshuang's performance.
"Just keep your mouth shut, Fei Zhu."
Xia Qiuzi savagely pinched the soft flesh on the fat roommate's back. Then, looking at Xu Qingshuang's timid appearance, a wave of exasperation washed over her.
Couldn't this idiot Xu Qingshuang take a page out of her book and learn some green tea tactics? Sure enough, a country bumpkin was a country bumpkin—even if she learned how to dress up and follow the latest trends, at her core, she was still just some country girl who only knew how to play in the mud.
A trace of unconcealed contempt crept into Xia Qiuzi's eyes.
"Um... Lu Bei, let's make up."
Under Xia Qiuzi's "disappointed-in-her-lack-of-resolve" gaze, Xu Qingshuang finally forced out the words she had come to say.
"Sorry, I don't have any use for a friend who treats me like a tool."
Lu Bei shook his head. After all, they had known each other for so many years; even if the romance was gone, there was no need to become bitter enemies who refused to cross paths. Continuing as ordinary friends wasn't entirely impossible.
Only, Lu Bei knew very well that the other party's goal in seeking a reconciliation went far beyond that.
What Xu Qingshuang wanted wasn't a childhood friend—she just needed an ATM that would obey her every whim.
But... he didn't need that.
Hearing Lu Bei's words, Xu Qingshuang stood frozen, her newly mustered confidence instantly collapsing.
Liars. They were all liars. Her roommates were liars—she had done exactly as they said, yet the result was completely different from what they promised. Big Brother Lu Bei was a liar too, when he had clearly promised to take care of her for the rest of her life.
"If there's nothing else, Miss Xu Qingshuang, please take your seat. Class is about to start."
Lu Bei continued, his tone entirely calm.
Meanwhile, Xu Qingshuang's roommates looked furious. Having arrived with such aggressive momentum, they simply could not accept this outcome.
Yet... they had no grounds to launch an assault either. Both parties involved had been thoroughly polite; if they kicked up a fuss now, it would only expose their own lack of breeding.
"Don't go too far, Lu Bei."
Just as the matter seemed settled, a booming voice rang out from nearby.
With those words, the entire classroom was startled. Lu Bei looked toward the source of the sound.
A guy whose face was covered in acne pits—looking as if he'd been beaten with a spiked club—appeared before him.
Lu Bei was actually quite familiar with this person. His name was Wang Liang, the class's most notorious secondary-tier simpering doormat.
Unlike Lu Bei, however, this fellow wasn't even an acquaintance of Xu Qingshuang's. Forget about being a doormat, delivering meals, lending money, or listening to the goddess vent—Xu Qingshuang hadn't even deigned to add him on QQ. Because of that, he had always regarded Lu Bei as his number one enemy.
Though... even in his past life, Lu Bei had never once given him a second thought.
"Something the matter?"
Lu Bei glanced at Wang Liang, whose expression looked more agonizing than if his own mother had died, and asked directly.