Senior: "Just spit it out."
Little Potato: "Fine. School is starting soon, right?"
Little Potato: "I was thinking of coming back to campus a bit early to check in and get familiar with the school."
Little Potato: "Besides, you said I need to pick up my student ID in person, so..."
Su Yuan: "Right, I do plan to return to campus a bit early."
Su Yuan still hadn't figured out her transformation situation; she needed to get back to school earlier than all her roommates to tidy up and settle into her personal space.
She wasn't mentally prepared to confess the truth to everyone yet. Right now, probably only her older sister knew... right?
Senior: "Anything else? Handing over an ID doesn't take long."
Little Potato: "Well, I'm new in town and don't know my way around, you see. So I was hoping you could show me the campus and the surrounding area."
Su Yuan frowned. Her current situation made it unwise to linger outside the campus. Who knew what kind of entertaining complications might pop up?
Senior: "This... puts me in a bit of a spot, you know. I'm pretty busy."
Little Potato: "Wuwuwu..."
Little Potato: "10,000 RMB."
Senior: "Still quite a tough spot..."
Little Potato: "100,000 RMB."
Senior: "We'll talk when the time comes."
Su Yuan didn't actually care about money; she had always been indifferent to it.
Even though she was still relying on selling cards to scrape together enough cash to buy the Black Horse Building.
That was just a goal she wanted to achieve through her own efforts—to buy it outright on her own!
She hadn't touched the card her parents gave her, hadn't even glanced at it, and had no idea how much was on it.
However, what Su Yuan didn't know was that her parents had actually been sending money to her aunt all along—which served as her living expenses here with her aunt.
In truth, having holed up in her dorm for so long, she did want to go out and take a walk. Since someone was inviting her, it naturally sounded nice.
Her only concerns were the scorching heat of the impending start of semester, plus the fact that she would have to use makeup, wigs, and colored contacts to disguise herself. If too many people gathered around, who knew what might happen?
She didn't want to expose herself just yet.
Looking at the other person's swagger, though, could she possibly be some kind of young lady from a wealthy family?
Senior: "We'll see when the time comes. I might be rather busy."
Little Potato: "Alright, just having your word is enough, Senior."
*Ding—*
QQ chimed with a notification once more.
This time, her childhood friend had come online, and Xiaoxue's avatar lit up.
She had sent an unread message.
Su Yuan exited the chat with Little Potato and opened the chat window with Xiaoxue.
Xiaoxue: "Brother Xiaoyuan, are you there?"
Su Yuan: "I'm here. How come you have time to look for me today?"
Su Yuan actually had a minor urge to complain: why did everyone like to start with "are you there?" Both of these people had done it today.
Did they not know that starting with "are you there" bound you to...
Alright, joking aside, Su Yuan shifted her focus back to the other person's message.
Xiaoxue: "I'm here to let you know something. I might be coming to Rongcheng in a few days. Let's get together! We haven't seen each other in forever."
Xiaoxue: "Besides, during the back-to-school season, isn't there a national idol coming to Rongcheng to hold a university performance tour? We could go check it out together."
Su Yuan: "Okay, you're very welcome."
In all honesty, if the other person hadn't brought it up herself, Su Yuan would have had no idea about this performance.
As for this national idol? Su Yuan wasn't familiar with her at all.
She wasn't the type to chase after stars; her only hobbies usually consisted of playing games with friends and watching anime.
Su Yuan opened a search engine and searched for "national idol."
News articles popped up immediately.
"At the beginning of September, national idol Xia Zhiyun will embark on a tour across universities in Rongcheng... Stay tuned!"
Su Yuan checked the tour list, and sitting right at the very top was none other than the school where the Su sisters studied—Rongda.
"Huh?"
Could the timing be that coincidental? The venue was right on campus.
If that was the case, the school would probably open its doors to outsiders, and things might get chaotic.
The news article came with a picture—none other than the so-called national idol, Xia Zhiyun.
Su Yuan paused. She felt a vague sense of familiarity. The girl had black hair and black eyes, and her expression between her brows carried an inexplicable...
Where had she seen her before? Su Yuan frowned, racking her brain.
She remembered. This idol looked somewhat similar to the childhood friend she remembered from the past.
It had been a long time ago—so long that Su Yuan had forgotten her childhood friend's name; Su Yuan only knew she used to call her Xiaoxue.
Xiaoxue: "Alright, that's all for now. We'll catch up later."
Xiaoxue's message pulled Su Yuan back to reality.
Su Yuan: "Mhm, alright."
However, the other person didn't go offline right away this time, which felt off to Su Yuan.
Su Yuan saw the notification: "The other person is typing."
Xiaoxue: "Brother Xiaoyuan, have you made any girlfriends lately?"
Su Yuan: "Nope. Why do you ask?"
Xiaoxue: "You mentioned last time that a freshman girl took the initiative to add you as a friend. She definitely has feelings for you... I know how this goes."
Su Yuan: "..."
Sigh... My dear girl, do you hear yourself? She never imagined she'd live to see the day the phrase "creepy guy" could be applied to her own childhood friend.
Su Yuan: "Stop letting your imagination run wild. There's nothing between her and me."
Xiaoxue: "Fine, I misunderstood. But... I can help you communicate with girls! Hehe—I know Brother Xiaoyuan has always been terrible at getting along with girls. So, let me—Love Master Xiaoxue—become your strategist!"
Su Yuan: "Let me ask you this, then: have you ever been in a relationship?"
Critical hit!
The other person seemed to instantly deflate.
Xiaoxue: "No... But I still want to help Brother Xiaoyuan!"
Su Yuan didn't want to crush the other girl's confidence, so she decided to play along.
Su Yuan: "Very well, I'll consult you in the future. That 'Potato' person looked for me this morning, so she probably won't bother me anymore."
Xiaoxue: "Really? That's a bit of a pity."
To Su Yuan's shock, Little Potato chose that exact moment to send a message.
Little Potato: "Senior, Senior! Are you there? Are you there? Are you there? Are you there?"
Fine. Su Yuan pressed a hand to her forehead. Let's see how these two girls manage to "magically bombard each other" this time.
She would just play along and act with them.
Su Yuan forwarded Little Potato's message to Xiaoxue word for word.
Xiaoxue: "In that case, you have to act aloof. Don't reply to her right away."
Su Yuan followed instructions and left the little potato hanging for a few minutes.
Yet the other girl sent a few more "Are you there" messages, which started to get slightly annoying.
Little Potato: "Dear Senior, I know you're looking."
Little Potato: "My poor heart is so broken. Wuwuwu..."
Su Yuan forwarded it to her childhood friend once more.
Xiaoxue: "Alright, enough time has passed. Now you should say that you're busy too and can't reply instantly (you might not be able to reply instantly in the future either), and express how distressed you feel."
Su Yuan thought it sounded a bit unreliable, but she followed her childhood friend's advice anyway.
Senior: "Ahem... I've been rather busy every day lately, so I haven't been able to reply in time... I feel terrible about it too."
Little Potato: "Oh, well. I understand."
Little Potato: "Senior, please take care of your health. Don't overdo it, okay?"
Little Potato: [Picture]
It was an emoji of a chibi cat-girl holding a heart. Su Yuan thought it looked quite cute.
However, what baffled Su Yuan even more was: when did this "Eating No Potatoes" person become so easy to talk to? She even knew how to be considerate.
In the past, the girl would definitely have complained to Su Yuan with things like, "Playing games again and no time?" or "Are you deliberately ignoring the freshman?"
The girl knew how to act normal in front of her childhood friend, even though Little Potato had no idea she was chatting with that very friend.
Su Yuan even wondered: could Little Potato already know about this? Was that why she was deliberately putting on such a good-girl act?
Xiaoxue: "Look how much she cares about Brother Xiaoyuan! So you need to give her the corresponding emotional value in return."
Su Yuan: "Huh? Emotional value? What am I supposed to do?"
Xiaoxue: "Brother Xiaoyuan is such a fool. Just say this: 'You are already aware of your physical condition and appreciate this cute freshman's concern. She should take care of her health too; the weather is hot... remember to drink plenty of hot water.'"
Su Yuan followed along, but there was quite a bit to send—altogether it looked almost like a three-hundred-word mini-essay. To save herself some trouble, she simply copied and pasted it.
Senior: "You are already aware of your physical condition and appreciate this cute freshman's concern. She should take care of her health too; the weather is hot... remember to drink plenty of hot water."
Little Potato: "Thank you for caring, Senior. Hehe..."
Su Yuan: "Xiaoxue, she actually knows how to say thank you. This is truly bizarre."
Xiaoxue: "Well, how about that? Now you know the true power of this military strategist, right?"
It was genuinely impressive.
Su Yuan fell into deep thought. Turns out she was the one who didn't know how to care for others in the past; instead, she always bantered and joked around with her, which was why the other person kept doing it too...
Oh no!
Su Yuan only just realized she hadn't changed the pronouns yet. She immediately recalled the mini-essay she had sent.
Fortunately, Little Potato hadn't noticed anything amiss, nor had she said anything weird.
Little Potato: "Thank you so much, Senior!"
Little Potato: "I heard that shortly after the semester starts, that national idol Xia Zhiyun will be coming to our school to perform! Let's go check it out together when the time comes!"
Little Potato: "I've always been a fan of that idol. Can we go together, Senior?"
Su Yuan wanted to refuse on the spot, but thinking that her emotional intelligence might not be high enough, she decided to forward it word for word to her kind-hearted childhood friend strategist for review.
Xiaoxue: "Mhm... It's an invitation from a girl. Why would you turn it down?"
Xiaoxue: "Just say this: I'm very happy about it, and I'll go with her when the time comes."
Su Yuan: "Wait... Are you serious? Did you forget I already promised you?"
Xiaoxue: "Relax, just say it like that. As a gentleman, you shouldn't casually reject a girl's request, you know?"
Xiaoxue: "Actually, she's probably just extending a polite invitation. Whether you two will actually end up going is still up in the air anyway. Who knows, she might come up with some weird excuse to back out when the time comes."
Fine. Su Yuan went along with it.
Senior: "I'm very glad you invited me. Let's go together then!"
Su Yuan felt like the message she sent sounded completely robotic, and she regretted it the moment she hit send.
The other person seemed dead serious and wasn't just being polite.
Little Potato: "Alright, you have to be on time then! Don't break a promise to a girl."
Su Yuan felt trapped on the back of a tiger, unable to dismount. Once again, she consulted her strategist.
Xiaoxue: "It's fine. Since Brother Xiaoyuan made the promise himself, you should go keep your appointment. As for me, I'm not going to force anything."
Su Yuan: "..."
...
Haizhou City, also known as Modu City.
Neon lights flickered through the night, and the bustling, traffic-filled streets wove together into a vibrant urban tapestry.
In a corner of the city sat a cozy, warmly decorated room.
The walls were painted a soft pale pink, and several cute cartoon paintings were scattered artfully across them, adding a playful touch to the space.
By the window stood a minimalist desk, upon which a computer monitor emitted a soft glow. Various game controllers, headphones, and other equipment were neatly arranged.
At this moment, a lithe, black-haired girl sat in the chair before the computer. Having just finished a tense, thrilling online gaming match, she raised a hand to slowly pull off her headphones, and her waterfall of dark hair cascaded down, covering her dainty ears.
The girl stretched her slender limbs, stood up from the chair, and let out a comfortable stretch. Her delicate waist curved slightly, displaying the agility and vitality unique to a youthful girl.
Parting her cherry lips, she murmured softly: "Handling the relationships between multiple girls is something you need to learn, too. Otherwise... I'm afraid you'll get snatched away by someone else."
(If you know, you know. The hints I've dropped are already obvious... This is officially confirmed as a single-heroine pure romance.)