"Follow me!"
Tang Shiying said coldly, taking the lead and walking ahead.
Xu Han snatched his phone off the table and followed behind her.
The rain was still pouring, and puddles were already streaming across the ground.
Tang Shiying opened her umbrella, stood in place, looked at the little fellow who hadn't come over yet, and glanced back.
"Are you planning to walk in the rain?"
"Ah..."
"Get in."
Xu Han stepped forward, slipping under the umbrella, while Tang Shiying instinctively dodged half a step to the side.
Noticing her defensive reaction, Xu Han shifted a bit closer to his own side.
Half of both their shoulders were splashed wet by the rain dripping from the umbrella edge.
"Can you move inward a bit? Your clothes are getting soaked."
Xu Han couldn't help speaking up, though he didn't dare meet her gaze.
Why was he still such a coward? Didn't he promise himself he'd be bolder?
It was only a five-minute walk from the internet cafe to the faculty apartments.
All the way there, Xu Han kept stealing sideways glances at her.
Was she really taking him home?
Faculty Apartment Building 2, Room 1101.
He remembered this was the apartment Tang Shiying rented with his second sister, Xu Ruolan. In his past life, when he came to help his second sister pick up some things, he had been here once.
Feeling the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Xu Han mentally prepared himself and finally spoke up.
"Thanks for today!"
"Mmh."
Still as cold as ever.
"Senior, what year are you in?"
"Graduate school."
Even though Xu Han already knew all this, he was just making small talk.
He couldn't just blurt out the moment they met that he was actually her student...
She'd probably think he was mental.
Tang Shiying felt Xu Han's gaze on her, and a strange, subtle feeling stirred in her heart.
Senior sister Xu Ruolan was the type who instantly warmed up to everyone—so why was her little brother the exact opposite?
Was this what people called a complementary dynamic? Out of a pair of siblings, one was lively and the other was a total mute?
She just didn't know that the two of them weren't actually biological siblings.
If she had known, she probably wouldn't have thought that way.
Back at the apartment, Tang Shiying walked straight into the kitchen and poured Xu Han a cup of hot water.
"We only have noodles at home. I'll go cook some for you."
"No need, thanks, I'm not hungry. I've already caused you enough trouble."
Xu Han quickly stopped her.
He wasn't lying; he really wasn't hungry right now. Maybe he had passed the point of hunger.
"Are you sure?"
Tang Shiying looked at him skeptically.
"Yeah, I'm sure!" Xu Han nodded.
Coming to a girl's room for the first time, the two of them alone together, stirred some unexplainable emotions in him.
"Will you stay in your sister's room?"
Tang Shiying pointed toward Xu Ruolan's room.
"No, I'll just sleep on the couch."
Xu Han glanced at the sofa and thought for a moment.
"If you feel it's inconvenient, I can just lay down a makeshift bed on the floor in your room."
"Fine, then go tidy up!"
With that, Tang Shiying turned, walked into her bedroom, and slammed the door shut.
Xu Han heard the sound of the door being locked from the inside.
He scanned the layout of the apartment—a small two-bedroom, one-living-room unit complete with a balcony and a kitchen. When the sun came streaming in at noon, it must be quite cozy.
Xu Han walked into his second sister's room and checked the time: it was already two in the morning.
Without hesitation, he sent a message to his second sister.
At this hour, it should be daytime over on her end.
Sure enough, Xu Ruolan replied quickly: There are new bedsheets and quilt covers in the wardrobe, just put them on and sleep in the bed. I'm not coming back anytime soon, I don't mind you!
Following his second sister's instructions, Xu Han quickly made the bed and lay down.
After tossing and turning all day, he had thought about taking a shower, but it didn't feel quite appropriate, so he decided to leave it for later.
*Ding...*
Just as Xu Han was about to put his phone down, a message popped up in the forum chatroom.
Yueying Sanren: I'm also at Haicheng University...
Xu Han turned his head to look at the wall. Clearly separated by just a single wall, yet they were acting like strangers.
Han Shan Guying: I got picked up and brought home by a senior.
Next door, Tang Shiying's phone flashed with a reply: I got picked up and brought home by a senior.
She suddenly turned her head to look, as if trying to peer right through the wall, a look of sheer disbelief in her eyes.
No way! No way!
Could it really be such a coincidence?
No, no, no, it definitely wasn't; it had to be a pure coincidence.
She desperately tried to suppress her somewhat wild thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, she replied: Is the senior pretty?
Xu Han lay in bed, staring at the message, all sleepiness instantly vanishing.
He immediately replied: Super-duper, incredibly pretty, practically a fairy. Just living next door to her, I can practically feel her ethereal aura.
Tang Shiying looked at the words "next door" and fell into deep thought for a long time.
Was the world really this small? The script author whose work she voiced was Senior Xu's younger brother, they had run into each other twice today, and in the end, she had even personally brought him back home.
Yet, he really was a bit of a blockhead.
Tang Shiying pictured Xu Han in her mind. Was it really him?
She finally chose to turn off her phone and go to sleep!
***
The next morning!
Xu Han walked out of his bedroom; the living room was empty, and the senior's bedroom door was still shut.
Knocking on her door seemed a bit impolite.
In the end, he left a note and quickly slipped out.
Back at the dorm.
As soon as Xu Han opened the door, a boy followed right behind him.
He was around one meter eighty tall, with delicate facial features and a scholarly aura—definitely campus-crush material.
"Lin..."
Xu Han wore a smile but stopped himself midway. After all, it was their first time meeting; blurting out someone's full name right off the bat would be too strange.
"Hey, new roommate, right? I'm Xu Han, from Qizhou."
"Hello, Lin Jinghao, from Haicheng."
The other guy was also very warm and carried himself with an elegant, composed air. Yet, in just one week, this guy would become his favorite "good son."
After the two of them exchanged a few pleasantries, the other two roommates moved in before noon.
"Wang Ziheng, from Qinggang, sports major."
He was around one-eighty-three, built like a tank, with slightly dark skin probably from long-term outdoor training.
"Zhao Lefan, from Beijing."
He was around one meter seventy-five, spoke very candidly, and was quick-witted and direct.
Don't let them look all serious now; once they got familiar with each other, they'd all turn out to be a bunch of goofballs.
Looking at the three of them, the corners of Xu Han's mouth curled up as if he had just recalled something particularly hilarious—no, make that a "shameful memory"!
The 520 Trident, all members assembled.
After tidying up their things and exchanging contact information, the four of them went out to tour the campus together in the afternoon.
"So many pretty girls..."
Zhao Lefan's eyes were practically glued to passing people.
In his eyes, there was no such thing as an ordinary-looking person.
"Look at that unworldly look on your face."
Wang Ziheng distanced himself from him a bit, terrified that others might know he was associated with this guy.
"Admiring beauties prolongs life. This is what I call pain-free wellness preservation, you get it?"
"Haha... what a talent!"
Zhao Lefan's remark brought a burst of laughter from everyone.
A purebred comic relief, through and through.
"Look, is that girl looking at me?"
"Stop being so narcissistic. She's looking at Jinghao."
That's right, Zhao Lefan was looking at the beauties, but the beauties were all looking at Lin Jinghao.
He was simply too pretty.
Yes, "pretty" was the right word.