The next day, the food in the heroine's home had hit rock bottom, and she had no choice but to venture out to scramble for eggs at the supermarket.
Crammed in among a crowd of middle-aged women, she emerged with only two discounted eggs in her hand.
"Damn it, I only managed to snag two. It seems my hands are just too slow. Next time, I am definitely getting five."
"Ha-ha." A strikingly handsome boy covered his mouth and chuckled at her, wearing a fluffy padded cotton jacket. His eyes curved into crescent moons behind gold-rimmed glasses, glowing a mysterious shade of purple. His eyelashes were long, his hair hung obediently over his forehead, and an exquisite sweater chain graced his neck.
He was cradling a head of romaine lettuce in his arms.
Smiling, he said to her, "Junior! You're out shopping for groceries too."
It was Xú Wàngzhōu, a senior from the mystery club.
"Oh, it's Senior Xú. Are you buying lettuce for your fitness meal?"
"Yeah, this lettuce is fresh. I still need to go get some chicken breast in a bit. Oh, by the way," the senior seemed to remember something, "smile, I recall that the girl who was recently murdered lived in your neighborhood, right?"
"That's right."
"In that case, are you carrying any self-defense weapons on you, like pepper spray or chili water?" the senior asked.
"No, but I brought a pocket knife."
"A pocket knife lacks stopping power and risks being snatched away. Why don't I give you a bottle of my homemade chili water? If you see a mugger, just spray him."
You have acquired a bottle of 200ml homemade chili water.
After bidding farewell to her classmate, the heroine clutched her basket and left, returning with a full haul.
The street gradually dyed itself a deep indigo, and a few stars lit up the sky.
"I bought a bit too much stuff. What should I eat tonight?"
"Ah!" With a violent crash, the heroine collapsed to the ground, her groceries scattering everywhere.
A man wrapped in black revealed teeth that looked terrifyingly pale under the moonlight. A baseball bat struck down once more, this time aiming straight for her head.
Bang! A man descended from the skies, his white robes snapping in the wind, and kicked the baseball bat right out of the attacker's hand.
Seeing someone arrive and realizing things were turning south, the man in black turned to flee. The senior grabbed him by the shoulder, determined to take him down.
After a brief struggle, the man in black was pinned to the ground with a grapple hold.
Police sirens wailed. Having called the police early on, the man took custody of the culprit in black.
"How are you? Can you still stand up?" The man extended a hand.
"Thank you, but my legs feel a bit like jelly."
They headed to the hospital.
"The patient only suffered a minor concussion from the impact. After a fifteen-minute observation, if there are no other issues, she can be discharged," the doctor said, holding the medical report.
Sitting on a hospital bench, the man handed a cup of water to the heroine.
"You must have been terrified tonight."
"Yeah, I almost thought I was done for. I don't know my savior's name—how can I ever repay you?" the heroine asked.
"Just live a good life, no repayment needed. My name is Péi Mídù, and I'm an extreme sports athlete."
"I'm smile, a sophomore art major. A repayment is still in order—how about I treat you to a meal?"
"Oh, so you're great at drawing?" The man seemed to develop a bit more interest.
"Not too bad."
"Then can you sketch? Can you draw a portrait of me? Consider that the repayment."
"I might not draw well, please bear with me."
"No worries, it's the thought that counts." Péi Mídù smiled.
The scene shifted. White curtains fluttered in the breeze, framing a wooden easel holding a drawing board, alongside two stools—one piled with paints. The heroine sat on the stool before the easel, picked up a paintbrush, and lowered her gaze to draw.
Péi Mídù faced the easel, propping up half his face with one hand, gazing at the heroine with intense concentration and fondness, his eyes brimming with smiles.
The paintbrush moved swiftly in her hand. With varying depths of shadow, a portrait rapidly took shape.
Like a one-to-one replicated black-and-white photograph, every subtle expression leaped onto the paper.
smile, and you said you couldn't draw?
Liǔ Cháoquè was utterly speechless in his heart.
When Péi Mídù received the character sketch, his eyes widened. He carefully put it away and thanked her: "Thank you, you draw very well."
smile's cheeks flushed red. "It's... it's alright. As long as you like it."
Could the heroine possibly have social anxiety? Liǔ Cháoquè muttered inwardly.
The man who tried to finish off the heroine halfway was actually the murderer. Believing the heroine had seen his face, he had wanted to silence her permanently.
Yet the heroine usually stayed locked inside her home, not even ordering takeout, and didn't dare open the door when strangers knocked.
The murderer had no choice but to wait for her along her inevitable route back when she went out to buy food, eventually staging it as a simple mugging. The plan had seemed foolproof.
Against a frail, helpless young girl, it should have been more than enough, but he never expected someone to intercept him, and so he was caught.
Because the heroine had nearly been killed, the school urgently arranged an off-campus dormitory for her—a place she could move right into with just her bags, complete with a roommate assigned so she wouldn't die at home without anyone noticing.
Her new roommate was named Hú Qiáo, a sweet girl with big eyes. Despite her petite frame, she was the kind of powerhouse who could haul a water jug up ten flights of stairs.
She provided an immense sense of security.
Hú Qiáo was already a senior. Aside from job hunting, her family had set her up on a blind date, with the meeting spot at a cafe right beside the Jinsha River.
She didn't care for such blind-date setups, feeling that entrusting her life's major affairs after meeting just a few times was far too childish. But her mother's phone calls came one after another; no matter how much she refused, she had to save face for her mother.
"There are plenty of fun things around the Jinsha River. If we have time left, let's hang around together. Can you come help me vet that blind date of mine? If he's no good, I'll give you a signal, and you can rescue me from the sea of misery. Please, I'm begging you!" Listening to her bubbly chatter, smile felt dark lines cascade down her forehead.
"What if you end up liking him?" Wouldn't she just become a third wheel?
"No way! No matter how much I like someone, I refuse to step into the graveyard of marriage and waste the rest of my life. This older sister here is going to live a carefree life all by herself." Hú Qiáo flipped her bangs, laughing wildly and uninhibitedly.
"It's just that Mother Dearest is afraid of this and that, otherwise I wouldn't even bother attending this blind-date setup."
After much talking and pleading, smile finally agreed to this nonsensical proposal. Yet looking at how cheerfully the two of them were chatting away now, smile felt that the person who had agreed to this a few hours ago must have had her mind clouded by lard.
How utterly awkward it was to be sitting here as an outsider like this.
"Excuse me, may I sit here?" A gentle, mellow male voice sounded like a cup of summer lemon yogurt, instantly blowing away the restlessness in her heart.
smile smiled. "Sure."
She stirred her coffee, tasting a faint sweetness beneath the slight bitterness.
His fingers casually flipped through the menu, and he ordered a cappuccino.
While waiting for the coffee to be served, the two remained silent. smile opened her phone and messaged Hú Qiáo.
"Hú Qiáo, should I leave first?"
"Hey, hey, smile, wait a bit longer."
smile: "..."
She really wanted to flip the table and walk out! Damn it!
She viciously added a generous amount of sugar cubes to her coffee, repeatedly poking them with her spoon.
"You..." The handsome man hesitated, wanting to speak.
smile put down her spoon, smiled awkwardly at him, and was just about to explain.
Bang!