Chapter Forty-Five: At Last, Lin Yuexin Appears

The girl, seeing her in such a state, no longer expected her to think straight. She turned to Wen Hao with gratitude and said, "Thank you so much for today, Senior Wen!"

Wen Hao, hearing her, withdrew his gaze from Yu Qian and looked at the girl named Jiujiu beside him. She was stunningly beautiful, even surpassing Mu Tiantian, who claimed to be the campus belle. Mu Tiantian's beauty was artificial, traces of enhancements everywhere, while this girl’s beauty was fresh and natural, reserved without being showy. Even if temperament was disregarded, Mu Tiantian had already lost, and lost miserably, in terms of appearance alone.

Yet, although this girl was more beautiful, Wen Hao felt no ripple in his heart. Instead, the little wildcat beside him—every gesture, every movement—felt like a kitten scratching at his heart.

"You're too polite," he replied, his tone lacking the warmth he'd shown when speaking to Yu Qian.

Though the difference was subtle, the girl noticed it and was further convinced of her suspicions: Wen Hao was interested in Yu Qian. He seemed a good man, one who knew to show favoritism to the girl he liked.

The three chatted and laughed along the way, quickly arriving at the dormitory building.

"Senior Wen, thank you so much for today," Yu Qian said, her cheeks flushed, unable to meet his eyes.

After the walk and conversation, she found herself liking this senior more and more. Her heart was beating fast, and she felt as if she was falling for him.

"You're welcome," Wen Hao replied gently, then added, "Will you consider inviting me to dinner sometime?"

Yu Qian was startled by the unexpected question and looked up at him with wide, dazed eyes.

The girl beside her watched Yu Qian helplessly. In her previous life, she hadn’t been close to her, and never realized that beneath Yu Qian’s carefree, unrestrained exterior, lay such shyness—far surpassing her own. She quietly nudged Yu Qian, urging her to snap out of it; if she stayed in a daze any longer, she'd be ridiculed by the senior.

Flustered, Yu Qian glanced at the girl and quickly nodded. "Yes, yes!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to bite her tongue. Why was she so excited? Would Senior Wen think she was too forward?

Wen Hao kept his sunny smile. "Take out your phone."

Yu Qian, entranced, did as she was told and handed him her phone obediently.

"Unlock it," Wen Hao said, touching his forehead in mild exasperation at her cluelessness.

"Oh, right," she replied, quickly unlocking it and handing it over again.

Wen Hao calmly found his own WeChat account on her phone, sent a friend request, then used his phone to accept.

When he handed her phone back, Yu Qian was still a little bewildered.

Senior Wen just added her on WeChat?

"I’ll get in touch when I have time."

"Ah, yes, yes."

"Bye!" He left her with a gentle smile, turned handsomely, and walked away.

Yu Qian was left staring at his smile, unable to gather her thoughts. The girl didn’t rush her, quietly watching while recalling memories of her past life. Back then, Yu Qian had been with someone else… The name escaped her, but it wasn’t Wen Hao, otherwise she would have remembered. The ending wasn’t good—she remembered catching Yu Qian secretly crying in the dormitory late in their sophomore year, asking, "What’s wrong?" Yu Qian said she’d broken up; the boy had fallen for someone else...

"Jiujiu, Senior Wen is so handsome!" Yu Qian finally snapped out of it, pulling at the girl in excitement, her expression full of youthful longing.

The girl looked at her smiling face in a daze, then smiled herself. "If you like him, you should go for it, or someone else will snatch him away."

Since Yu Qian would eventually meet a scumbag, she might as well try with Wen Hao. Anyone who could be close friends with Cheng Yanran couldn’t be too bad. She hoped Yu Qian would find a beautiful love this time.

Yu Qian seemed to have similar thoughts, her face even redder. "Oh, let’s just let things run their course… Besides, I don’t even know what he thinks. What if I’m just imagining things?" Her voice grew softer and less confident, uncertain whether she doubted herself or Wen Hao.

The girl swallowed the words she was about to say, smiled, and said nothing more.

She was confident in her own beauty—she was surely one of the top beauties at school—yet Wen Hao didn’t look at her, only at Yu Qian. What did that mean?

Never mind, even if she explained, Yu Qian wouldn’t believe her. It was better to let her discover Senior Wen’s favoritism for herself; only what is felt with the heart is truly real.

Yu Qian, seeing the girl tease her with another smile, quickly changed the subject. "Come on, let’s go pack. Stop blocking the doorway," she said, picking up her things and dragging the girl along.

Back in the dormitory, Yu Qian’s face was still a bit red, but she was much calmer. The girl didn’t tease her, because at that moment, she finally saw her “best friend” from her previous life—Lin Yuexin.

Hearing laughter in the corridor growing closer, Lin Yuexin turned and saw two pretty girls enter the dorm. Especially the one on the right—her face stiffened for a moment, then she quickly smiled and stepped forward.

"Hello, I’m Lin Yuexin. From now on, we’re roommates."

Hearing her, Yu Qian stopped her playful banter with the girl and looked up to size Lin Yuexin up. She wore a pure white dress, her hair loose on her shoulders, sweet and elegant, but somehow a bit artificial—especially when she looked at Jiujiu, her gaze carried a hint of hostility.

This Lin Yuexin was not a good person!

From the first meeting, Yu Qian had already labeled her as trouble. Still, since it was their first meeting, she responded politely, "Hello, I’m Yu Qian."

No sooner had she spoken than the hand wrapped around her arm was withdrawn. Surprised, she looked to see the girl warmly grabbing Lin Yuexin’s hand, exclaiming, "So you’re Xinxin! I finally get to meet you today. We’re really lucky to be roommates!"

Lin Yuexin was stunned by the sudden intimacy and asked in confusion, "You… are?"

"I’m Jiujiu! We’ve chatted privately before, don’t you remember?"

Her words landed like a bomb in Lin Yuexin’s heart, and she stared at Jiujiu in disbelief.

No wonder she seemed familiar—she was that exceptionally beautiful girl… And now, they were roommates.

Trying to maintain her smile, Lin Yuexin said, "Jiujiu, it’s you! I didn’t recognize you at first. I was wondering where this beauty came from, and now I’m lucky enough to share a room with her."

Hearing the insincere words and seeing the forced smile, the girl scoffed inwardly. So she couldn’t hold back now—what happened to her acting skills from the previous life?

Her own smile grew more genuine. "Haha, Xinxin, don’t tease me. You just got here, take your time unpacking. We can talk later."

Lin Yuexin was eager for that—her jealousy was barely concealed. "Alright."

And so, each went about unpacking, all with their own thoughts.