After The Beautiful Woman Moves Into The Jock's Dorm Room - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Text Message【Cheng Che: [Little Rabbit Kisses.jpg]…】

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

Lu Xiao squeezed out a single sentence from between his teeth, “Don’t mess with me,” then glared ferociously at Shen Qingyu, and slammed the door shut with a “CLANG.”

After he left, Shen Qingyu felt like the air finally started flowing again.

Cheng Che stepped forward to steady Shen Qingyu, lowering his head to ask, “Are you okay? Did he scare you?”

“I’m fine.” Shen Qingyu’s hands, which were hanging at his sides, clenched slightly. “Is he gone?”

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t you say they were coming to check the dorms? Is it okay for him to go out now?” Shen Qingyu was a little worried that Lu Xiao’s absence would cause the entire dorm to lose points.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about him.” Cheng Che saw Shen Qingyu, who looked like a startled little rabbit—eyes red-rimmed, pupils moist and shimmering. The feeling of pity in his heart peaked, and he couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke his head again. It was smooth and soft, an incredibly pleasant touch.

Shen Qingyu returned to his bed distracted.

A knock sounded at the door. Shen Qingyu listlessly pulled back his curtain and saw a guy with dark skin and small eyes standing at the entrance.

The guy said, “Chezi, where’s Xiao Ge (Brother Xiao)? I don’t see him.”

When Lu Xiao was mentioned, Cheng Che’s attitude was cold and expressionless: “Don’t know.”

Chen Qiming scratched his head: “Oh, well, I’ll just assume he went to the bathroom then.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem, we’re all friends. Besides, Director Yuan didn’t follow us today, it’s just a formality.” Chen Qiming noticed the unfamiliar face in the room and his eyes squinted into a slit as he smiled. “Hello, little classmate.”

Shen Qingyu raised his hand and waved like a lucky cat: “Hello.”

Chen Qiming was a chatterbox; he could talk about anything with an eighty-year-old grandmother next door. This entire floor of the Sports Academy was usually full of muscular men who smelled of sweat. The sudden appearance of a fair, delicate-looking pretty boy caused Chen Qiming’s “Social Butterfly” attribute to explode.

“What’s your name? Are you a freshman too? Why did you suddenly change dorms? Did someone bully you in your old room?”

“My name is Shen Qingyu, Qing from Qing Song (relaxed) and Yu from Yuyan (language). No one bullied me, we just had some irreconcilable conflicts,” Shen Qingyu answered seriously.

Chen Qiming dragged out an “Oh,” then patted his chest and guaranteed: “The brothers will look out for you from now on!”

Shen Qingyu didn’t take that promise to heart but was amused by his “Big Brother” demeanor.

Chen Qiming grinned sheepishly: “I’m leaving now, Chezi. Tell Xiao Ge I’ll be waiting for him in the King’s Canyon (Honor of Kings)!”

Cheng Che ignored him.

Chen Qiming closed the door, humming Good Luck Comes to add some superstition to his Canyon journey tonight. He passed Lu Xiao on his way to check the next room.

“Hey, Xiao Ge, we were just talking about you. Where did you go?”

Lu Xiao’s nonchalant voice filtered into room 917, clear enough for Shen Qingyu to hear: “Went downstairs for a smoke.”

“Rain or shine, the Canyon awaits you,” Chen Qiming tried to flatter him.

Lu Xiao: “Not in the mood today. Maybe tomorrow.”

Chen Qiming’s wish to climb the ranks was dashed. He pouted and muttered softly, “What’s wrong today? Everyone’s so worked up. Spring is in the air~”

The dorm door opened again. The time interval was so short that Shen Qingyu was still in the same position as before, and his eyes briefly met Lu Xiao’s.

A “sizzling” electric current seemed to flash in the air. Lu Xiao sneered, his expression icy, and began to take off his shirt and pants right in front of Shen Qingyu. He was left only in his underwear, wandering around the room.

Shen Qingyu abruptly pulled his curtain shut, afraid he would get a sty if he looked any longer.

Yet, Lu Xiao’s full, firm, well-exercised muscles seemed to be etched into his mind, impossible to shake off.

Shen Qingyu hammered the pillow, pretending it was Lu Xiao, venting his frustration.

Is he an exhibitionist?! If he didn’t have such a good body, I’d report him to the police sooner or later!

…

After lights-out, Shen Qingyu received a message from Cheng Che.

They had added each other as friends during dinner.

Cheng Che’s profile picture was a photo of his back, striking in a red-and-white jersey, with a basketball tucked under his right arm. The number on the jersey was “18.” An intense, unrestrained vibe radiated from the image.

His “Moments” (social media feed) were mostly reposts of sports events, rarely containing personal content. Shen Qingyu briefly scrolled through and exited, but accidentally tapped his profile picture twice.

—You poked Cheng Che.

Fortunately, Cheng Che hadn’t set any strange custom “poke” responses.

【Cheng Che: [Little Rabbit Peeking Out.jpg]】

Such a cute emoji! Shen Qingyu quietly saved it to his collection.

【Cheng Che: What’s up?】

【Shen Qingyu: Accidentally tapped it [Crying]】

【Cheng Che: [Little Rabbit Patting Head.jpg]】

【Cheng Che: [Little Rabbit Lifted Up.jpg]】

【Cheng Che: [Little Rabbit Kisses.jpg]】

The barrage of emojis made Shen Qingyu feel dizzy. He bit his lip, staring at the final kissing emoji, thinking, “Did he accidentally send the wrong one? Where did he save so many cute emojis…”

Without waiting for Cheng Che to retract the message, Shen Qingyu tentatively poked his screen.

【Shen Qingyu: [Spinning in Circles]】

【Cheng Che: Happy now?】

【Shen Qingyu: Mhm mhm (Yes yes)】

【Cheng Che: Don’t take today’s incident to heart. If you have any conflict with Lu Xiao again, tell me. I’ll protect you.】

Reading these words, Shen Qingyu found it hard not to be moved.

His parents had passed away when he was very young. He grew up living with his aunt, and after getting into university, he moved out to live alone so as not to burden his aunt’s family. It had been a long time since anyone had said the words “I’ll protect you” to him.

Shen Qingyu quietly sniffled, burying his face into his bear plushie and rubbing it.

…

Not receiving a message back from Shen Qingyu, Cheng Che tossed and turned, wondering if his words had been too direct and scared him.

Shen Qingyu’s profile picture was a West Highland White Terrier sitting very obediently for the camera, like an ID photo. This reminded Cheng Che of their dinner together. Shen Qingyu sat across from him, ordering a zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste). While waiting for the food, he sat meekly on the stool, his arms folded on the table, his round eyes fixed on the food stall, looking exactly like a small animal waiting to be fed.

【Cheng Che: Did you fall asleep? [Little Rabbit Peeking Out.jpg]】

Still no reply.

Cheng Che sat up and located Shen Qingyu’s bed in the dark room.

Looks like he’s asleep.

Cheng Che crawled back under his covers and silently said “Goodnight” to his phone.

…

—

A good night’s sleep.

When his alarm rang, Shen Qingyu pushed back his curtain, his hair messy, and sat blankly on the bed with empty eyes.

It took him a while to wake up. He mentally dismantled the concept of early morning classes before slowly heading to the bathroom to wash up.

Passing Bunk 3, Song Yu was already gone. His quilt was neatly folded, and the bedsheet didn’t have a single crease.

Is this the self-discipline of a straight-A student? Shen Qingyu genuinely admired people who could maintain such discipline even in college.

Not long after Shen Qingyu got out of bed, Cheng Che woke up too. The moment he saw Shen Qingyu’s back, he was wide awake, his body stiffening as he awkwardly glanced down at his lower half.

When Shen Qingyu finished getting ready for class, Lu Xiao was still snoring deeply under his quilt.

Cheng Che noticed Shen Qingyu’s hesitation and proactively said, “It’s fine, don’t worry about him.”

Shen Qingyu then remembered that he had fallen asleep mid-conversation last night and said apologetically, “I fell asleep yesterday and forgot to reply to your message.”

“Does that mean talking to me is pretty hypnotic?” Cheng Che teased with a laugh.

“Talking to you… is very relaxing,” Shen Qingyu admitted honestly.

Cheng Che’s expression froze for a few seconds, then he chuckled softly, his eyes and brows dancing with a hard-to-miss joy. “Then if you have insomnia, just chat with me. I guarantee it will put you right to sleep.”

Shen Qingyu saw the twinkle in his eyes, and his cheeks suddenly started to warm up.

“Let’s go, Chezi, let’s get breakfast.” Chen Qiming, leaning on the door with one hand, interrupted their conversation. “Little Pretty Boy, you come too.”

Shen Qingyu found the nickname “Little Pretty Boy” difficult to accept and protested: “It’s too weird to call me that. Just call me by my name.”

Chen Qiming wagged his index finger in front of him and said, “No. I think calling you that is very endearing.”

I can do without this kind of endearment!

Shen Qingyu had no choice but to accept it with resignation.

Through their conversation, Shen Qingyu learned that Chen Qiming and Lu Xiao were high school classmates, and Chen Qiming and Cheng Che were college classmates. Then Cheng Che and Lu Xiao were also roommates, which made him sigh about how small the world truly was.

“Yeah, according to this ‘Rule of Six Degrees,’ does that mean I can meet ‘Meng Xiaoguai Guai’?” Chen Qiming smiled lewdly, even sucking on his tongue as if anticipating drool.

“‘Meng Xiaoguai Guai’?”

“He’s an influencer who posts suggestive content that he likes,” Cheng Che explained.

“Nonsense, why call it suggestive! Xiaoguai Guai is clearly just giving benefits to her fans! She’s my goddess! Don’t talk rubbish if you don’t understand, or I’ll sue you for defamation.”

Cheng Che shrugged helplessly.

Shen Qingyu, of course, knew “Meng Xiaoguai Guai”.

That was because he himself was a video blogger who “gave benefits to fans,” and “Meng Xiaoguai Guai” was the first influencer with millions of followers to follow him after he started using the short-video app.

He even had “Meng Xiaoguai Guai’s” contact information on his work WeChat. At the time, “Meng Xiaoguai Guai” had actively sought him out to shoot a collaborative video, but he had refused.

Shen Qingyu’s face was complex. If he let Chen Qiming know that his goddess was married and even a mother, he wondered if Chen Qiming would break down.

Shen Qingyu decided to protect Chen Qiming’s “innocent” teenage heart.

…

The early-morning class (8 AM) was spent in a boring reading lecture. Shen Qingyu was supporting his head, feeling drowsy, when his phone screen lit up. He woke up, tapped on it, and saw it was another harassment text.

【My dear Yu-baby, hubby couldn’t sleep last night thinking of you. [Image]】

The image clearly appeared in Shen Qingyu’s sight.

—The photo was dark, only vaguely showing a pair of grey sweatpants significantly tented, suggesting a startling size.

Shen Qingyu looked only once, nearly throwing his phone away.

Rage surfaced on the face beneath the mask, which looked as if it had been meticulously carved. He clenched his fists tightly, his neatly trimmed fingernails digging into his skin.

【Who are you! Stop harassing me!】

Shen Qingyu had considered calling the police. He had collected these unbearable text messages, but he found that the numbers were all virtual and couldn’t be traced at all.

【I really want to see my baby angry. You must be beautiful when you’re angry.】

【Is your real life unsatisfying, which is why you seek attention online?!】

【Be good, baby. I will come find you one day. But not now, because I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop myself from f-u-c-k-i-n-g you to death.】