Chapter 8: Which Part Offended You?

"Mm, it's me." Wen Tingxia spread her hands, her expression inexplicably cute.

"How is that possible? How can you be so pretty?"

The girl stared at Wen Tingxia's face, jealousy practically sparking from her eyes. If she didn't know Wen Tingxia was a pauper, she would've suspected she'd gone under the knife.

"Sorry to disappoint you. I'm just this pretty." Wen Tingxia sounded genuinely sincere.

[Hahaha, Xia Xia, didn't expect your mouth to be so sharp—killing without drawing blood!] QQ doubled over laughing.

This girl was Shen Lingyao's best friend, Xu Qian.

She was also the fourth roommate in Wen Tingxia's dorm. She'd taken leave a few days ago to attend Shen Lingyao's violin tour and had just gotten back today.

"What good is being pretty when you're still a broke bum?"

Xu Qian's gaze lingered on Wen Tingxia's small face. Strange—she couldn't shake the feeling that she looked a bit like her best friend, Shen Lingyao.

Must be her imagination.

Lingyao was the only daughter of the prestigious Shen family—wealthy, noble, doted on by everyone. How could a country bumpkin like Wen Tingxia possibly compare?

"I'm asking you—some classmates said they saw Senior Brother He eating in the cafeteria with a pretty girl. Did you see them?" Xu Qian's tone dripped with disdain, as if gracing Wen Tingxia with her attention was an act of charity.

Wen Tingxia said nothing, quietly playing with her phone.

[What the hell is her problem? So rude. Xia Xia, you did the right thing ignoring her. Bleh bleh bleh.]

QQ felt quite gratified. Its host might be a bit timid, usually non-confrontational and easygoing, but that didn't mean she had no temper or would let people walk all over her.

The female lead was impressive, sure, but that had nothing to do with QQ. Its host was Wen Tingxia.

Besides, the person in front of them was merely the female lead's best friend. What was she acting so high and mighty for?

"You—"

Xu Qian was about to say more when she spotted a handsome man walking over, carrying a cup of milk tea and a bottle of purified water.

Her arrogance vanished instantly, her eyes lighting up.

How could this man be so perfect? His proportions, his facial contours, his knowledge, talent, refinement, and family background—all top-tier.

[Oh ho~ She actually likes the male lead? Coveting her best friend's man? Shameless!] QQ announced, as if it had just uncovered a scandal of the century.

"Huh? This plot point wasn't in the book, was it?"

QQ: [Nope. For cannon fodder among cannon fodder among cannon fodder, writing even one extra sentence is padding. You don't need it spelled out—just look at the way she's staring at the male lead. She's about one second away from pouncing on him and having her way right there.]

Wen Tingxia: (⊙o⊙)

Her system seemed a bit off. It kept blurting out outrageous things, flirting with the edge of propriety.

"Hello, Senior Brother He."

As He Xulin approached, Xu Qian straightened up and greeted him.

He Xulin glanced over. He didn't recognize this girl, but out of basic classmate courtesy, he gave her a slight nod.

That tiny gesture, that one glance—it exploded like fireworks in Xu Qian's heart. She was still buzzing with excitement when she watched, helpless, as He Xulin gracefully sat down across from Wen Tingxia and slid a cup of milk tea toward her.

Wen Tingxia took it, her voice soft. "What took you so long? Was the line for milk tea that bad?"

From what she remembered, the cafeteria's milk tea wasn't exactly popular.

"No, there were some people queuing at the recharge counter." He Xulin picked up his chopsticks and ate a few leisurely bites.

"Recharge?" Wen Tingxia looked up. "You didn't bring your card. How'd you recharge?"

She'd just seen his balance earlier—it was pretty high.

"For you."

He Xulin held out the meal card in his palm toward Wen Tingxia.

[Ahhh! The male lead deliberately grabbed the wrong card earlier, didn't he? He knew you were out of money, so he used buying drinks as an excuse to go recharge your card. So sweet, so doting, so ship-worthy!]

Pink bubbles floated through QQ's mind.

Wen Tingxia froze for a few seconds before numbly taking her meal card, disbelief in her voice. "W-why did you recharge it for me?"

"Silly. You're my girlfriend. Doing this for you is only natural." He Xulin answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

QQ twisted itself into a pretzel: [Xia Xia, don't speak. Kiss him!]

Wen Tingxia: "..."

Standing nearby, Xu Qian heard their exchange and felt like she'd been struck by lightning.

Only then did it register—the usually frugal Wen Tingxia had ordered several extra dishes today.

The girl who came to the cafeteria with He Xulin was actually Wen Tingxia, that country bumpkin!

Girlfriend?!

Wen Tingxia and Senior Brother He were dating?

How could they!

Senior Brother He could dislike her—she had enough self-awareness to know she wasn't worthy of him. But he should at least find someone like Shen Lingyao: beautiful, accomplished, from a good family.

What was Wen Tingxia, anyway?

"Senior Brother He, please don't let Wen Tingxia fool you. She doesn't normally look like this. In the dorm she's sloppy, ugly, dirty. Today she dressed up just to suck up to you. This isn't the real her."

Having greeted him earlier, Xu Qian convinced herself she had some rapport with He Xulin and tried to talk him around.

Wen Tingxia heard every word and just kept her head down, eating, saying nothing.

[Xia Xia, someone's trying to sow discord and steal your man! Stand up and bite her!] QQ was frantic, even slipping into dialect.

"A man who can be stolen that easily isn't worth much. I wouldn't want him anyway." Wen Tingxia was unmoved.

[Fair point. Let's see how the male lead handles it.]

A piece of pork rib landed in her tray. Wen Tingxia followed the chopsticks up and met He Xulin's handsome face, those captivating deep black eyes.

Gulp~

Wen Tingxia swallowed lightly, nervously grabbing her milk tea and taking a big sip. Her small cheeks puffed out immediately.

No ice, thirty percent sugar.

Her standard order from when she'd bought milk tea at Qingyu Zhai yesterday. She'd mentioned it once—never expected He Xulin to remember.

Her lashes fluttered. This man was really attentive.

He Xulin took in all of Wen Tingxia's little movements, unable to hold back a smile. He reached out and patted her head. "Drink slowly. Don't choke."

With her mouth full, Wen Tingxia couldn't speak—she just nodded like a little hamster.

Left out in the cold, Xu Qian watched their exchange, her eyes reddening. As she turned to leave, she pulled out her phone and texted Shen Lingyao, who was still on tour:

[The rumor about Senior Brother He having a girlfriend is true. That girl is tacky and ugly, a stingy country bumpkin. She's completely unworthy of Senior Brother He.]

-

He Xulin really was busy. He'd only been with Wen Tingxia for about ten minutes when his phone rang five times.

When the sixth call came in, he set down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth unhurriedly. "I'm done. I have things to handle this afternoon—can't stay with you."

"It's fine. Go do what you need to, Senior Brother."

Out the cafeteria doors, He Xulin's eyes went dark. He pressed answer on the still-ringing phone and bit out one cold word: "Speak."

"Ungrateful brat! What kind of attitude is that? Is that how you talk to your father!" A middle-aged man's furious roar erupted from the other end.

He Xulin said nothing.

The line went quiet for a moment. He Zhenhua reined in his temper, his tone turning interrogative. "I heard you got yourself a girlfriend?"