Chapter 4: You'll Pay for the Button

Cough, cough!

Wen Tingxia nearly choked to death mid-bite. Thank god QQ had no physical form—its voice was for her ears only.

"Little Penguin, what kind of garbage is stuffed in that head of yours? Can you not just randomly drop lines like that?"

Cough, cough, cough~

She was really choking now.

"Slow down."

He Xulin glanced at the girl covering her mouth, coughing, her pretty face flushed crimson. He picked up the teapot, poured water into a clean cup, and set it in front of her. "Drink something."

"Thanks." Wen Tingxia took the cup and sipped, soothing her throat.

[He's your boyfriend. What's not allowed about it? It fits your whole love-brained, clingy persona perfectly.]

"Let's skip the kiss. How about something else?" Wen Tingxia lowered her head and went back to eating in small bites, haggling with QQ in her mind.

Just then, He Xulin's phone buzzed.

A message from his buddy Pei Jinghuai: [Brother Lin, what're you up to? Come out, let's grab a meal, the guys are all here.]

He Xulin declined: [No.]

Pei Jinghuai wasn't giving up: [I know you're busy, but you gotta eat, right? One person eats, two people eat—might as well all eat together.]

He Xulin: [Eating. Two people.]

Pei Jinghuai: [!!!]

Pei Jinghuai: [shocked whale.jpg]

Pei Jinghuai: [Two people? With who? Who're you eating with? Holy shit, since when do you have a girl behind my back? You bastard!]

He Xulin looked up at Wen Tingxia. The girl was quiet and demure, head down, working through her spicy chicken. He paused, then picked up the serving chopsticks and placed a piece of fish on her plate.

Wen Tingxia's head snapped up.

The male lead just served her food?

[See? The male lead doesn't even love you and he's still more proactive than you. As a love-brain, shouldn't you be doing more than him? Come on, you two are dating. Give him a peck to say thanks.] QQ seized the moment.

"Th-thanks." Wen Tingxia's thanks came out awkward. "You should eat more too."

"Okay."

On his phone, Pei Jinghuai's messages kept coming, one after another. He Xulin couldn't ignore them if he tried. He typed back a single word: [Her.]

The phone went dead silent.

One second. Two seconds. Three...

Less than five seconds later, Pei Jinghuai's messages exploded again:

[Her?! The female 'her'?!]

[Who who who]

[Shen Lingyao? No no, the little Shen princess is on violin tour out of town, no way she's having dinner with you. Then who?]

[Holy shit! Don't tell me it's that ugly duckling from last night!]

[Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck]

[Bro, don't scare me, I'm a coward]

He Xulin's brow furrowed. "Ugly duckling"—those two words didn't fit the girl in front of him at all.

With Wen Tingxia's looks, if she were even a little more high-profile at school, she could run for Tsinghua's campus beauty.

He Xulin: [Watch your wording. She has a name.]

It really was her!

And he was defending her now?

Pei Jinghuai panicked. His fingers flew across the screen, fast enough to leave afterimages:

[Wahhh, no way, it's really her.]

[Bro, my dear bro, I'm begging you, I was wrong, I was just joking with you last night, please don't take it seriously]

[You and that little junior aren't from the same world, she's not right for you]

[Bro, I'm on my knees here, let's call off the bet, if Grandpa He finds out I set him up with some tasteless ugly girl, he'll break my legs]

Everyone in the Beijing circle knew the He family were all hopeless face-judgers.

Messages kept pouring in. He Xulin didn't reply.

"Senior Brother, do you have something to take care of?" The so-called tasteless ugly girl set down her chopsticks, pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth, and took a sip of tea to rinse.

"Nothing important." He Xulin was brief. He lifted his eyes to meet Wen Tingxia's clear apricot gaze, his voice warm. "Done eating?"

"Mm."

"Let's go, then." He Xulin pulled back his chair.

"Senior Brother, we haven't paid yet, should we—"

[If you dare say 'split the bill,' I'm disowning you!] QQ cut her off, guessing exactly what she was about to say.

"—isn't it a bit rude to let the guy pay on the first date?"

"No need to pay. Let's go." He Xulin led Wen Tingxia out of the private room.

[Nothing rude about it. Blind date or regular date, if you're not into him and don't want a follow-up, sure, split the bill. But you're a love-brain—you're dying for excuses to spend more time with him, to cling to him.]

[All you have to do is thank him for the meal, say you'd like to treat him next time, and use that to lock in the next date. That's how you build reciprocity.]

Wen Tingxia's eyes lit up. "Not bad, Little Penguin. You actually know your stuff."

[Hehe, 'course I do. I've got more than a few tricks up my sleeve.] Suddenly praised by the pretty lady, QQ went giddy.

Qingyu Zhai was close to Tsinghua. He Xulin had a car—less than ten minutes and they were back on campus, pulling into the parking lot.

After getting out, He Xulin walked Wen Tingxia back to her dorm. They strolled side by side through campus, the gap between them wide enough to fit two more people.

Wen Tingxia stole several glances at the hand hanging by He Xulin's side.

Right—after all that haggling with QQ, she'd decided a "peck" was moving too fast.

First physical contact should start with the basics: holding hands. Romance needs to progress step by step.

QQ agreed.

Consensus reached. Only action remained.

Wen Tingxia crabbed sideways toward He Xulin—a tiny bit closer, then a tiny bit more. Thankfully, He Xulin was cooperating nicely, his pace unhurried.

It's just holding hands. She was going to sleep with him eventually anyway.

To survive, be brave.

Wen Tingxia kept hyping herself up. She reached out, her cool fingertips about to brush that big hand—when a voice exploded in her ear.

"Brother Lin, heading to the library this late?" A male classmate walked up, greeting He Xulin warmly.

Wen Tingxia shot several meters away like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, glancing around guiltily.

Don't see me, don't see me. I didn't do anything. I'm just admiring the campus scenery. I have absolutely nothing to do with Campus Prince He.

"No, heading back to the dorm." He Xulin replied evenly.

Luckily, the classmate didn't pry. A few casual words and he was on his way.

Once again, only Wen Tingxia and He Xulin were left on the path. Not even a random passerby in sight.

A dark, windy night—perfect for some sneaky business.

Wen Tingxia quietly edged toward Campus Prince He again, pumping herself up.

Come on!

You can do this!

She was so focused she didn't notice the bicycle speeding up behind her. "Watch out, student!"

"Huh?"

Wen Tingxia had no idea what was happening. She started to turn—and a strong arm landed on her waist. The man gave a light tug, and she tumbled into a solid, springy embrace.

Her head knocked right into his chest.

Through the thin shirt, she could feel his scorching body heat—and his erratic heartbeat.