After The Beautiful Woman Moves Into The Jock's Dorm Room - Chapter 32

 Chapter 32: “Just Say I Have Someone I Like.”…

Song Anran said in surprise, “It really is you! We were way over there, and I wasn’t sure if it was you when I first saw you.”

“Just came out to relax after the CET-6 exam.”

“We had the same idea. I also wanted to unwind after the exam.”

The girl next to Song Anran suddenly tugged at her sleeve. Shen Qingyu could tell they had something private to discuss, so he consciously stepped aside and continued talking to Cheng Che and Lu Xiao.

Lu Xiao was still reeling from Shen Qingyu’s criticism of his terrible photography, feeling a bit dejected.

He didn’t know when it started, but everything he was proud of seemed insignificant in Shen Qingyu’s eyes. It was as if no matter what he did, he couldn’t get a positive answer.

This made the always arrogant Lu Xiao experience “hitting a wall” and “insecurity” for the first time.

He finally understood why Cheng Che was willing to humble himself and become an under-the-table “other guy.”

Song Anran whispered to her friend for a while. With her friend’s shy and reserved expression, Song Anran introduced her to Shen Qingyu. “This is my high school classmate and my best friend, Cheng Yao.”

“Yao Yao, this is my university classmate, Shen Qingyu,” Song Anran was outgoing and good at livening up the atmosphere. “What do you think, isn’t he handsome!”

Compared to Song Anran, Cheng Yao was slightly more introverted. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, carefully looked Shen Qingyu up and down, and then nodded.

Shen Qingyu always appreciated kind compliments from girls. “Do you need me to take photos for you?”

“Yes, please! Thank you,” Song Anran playfully hooked her arm around Cheng Yao’s, and the two smiled sweetly.

Shen Qingyu’s photography skills were better than Cheng Che’s and Lu Xiao’s. Not only did he use good composition, but he also guided the two girls on how to pose, making them both very happy.

Getting great pictures (“出圖” – literally “outputting pictures”) is one of the happiest parts of a girls’ outing, and Song Anran and Cheng Yao were extremely satisfied with the photos he took.

“Wow, this one looks great.”

“This one is great too.”

“How are all of them so good…”

“Is this really me? I can’t believe it!”

…

Putting away her phone, Song Anran glanced around and whispered, “Um… can I ask you for a favor?”

“Go ahead.”

“Yao Yao is quite interested in your friend. Does he have a girlfriend right now?” Song Anran pointed in a direction. “If not, could you give her his contact information?”

Shen Qingyu followed the direction of her finger and saw Song Yu leaning his head on one side, staring blankly. Judging by his eyes, he seemed to be staring blankly at Shen Qingyu.

Shen Qingyu was taken aback and said vaguely, “I… I’ll help you ask.”

“Thank you so much!” Song Anran pressed her palms together, bowing several times to Shen Qingyu. “Is he a student at our school too?”

“Yes, he’s also in the College of Physical Education, my roommate.”

Song Anran exclaimed in shock, “No way, what kind of ridiculously good-looking dorm do you guys have!”

She was very good at praising people, but Shen Qingyu wasn’t really in the mood for her compliments. He was distracted, thinking, “How should I ask Song Yu later? If he knows a girl is interested in him, will he agree to give out his contact information?”

Thinking this, Shen Qingyu slowly moved over to Song Yu.

Song Yu’s gaze flickered as Shen Qingyu approached. Shen Qingyu could see fragmented starlight in his eyes.

“That…”

“Hm?”

“Well…”

“Hm?”

Shen Qingyu subconsciously licked his lips. “The girl who just spoke to me is my classmate. Her friend asked me to ask about… your relationship status.”

Song Yu subtly raised an eyebrow, touching his lip corner with his tongue. He keenly sensed a trace of nervousness in Shen Qingyu’s tone.

What is he nervous about?

Song Yu couldn’t help but ponder various possibilities in his mind.

The brief few seconds of silence felt like an eternity to Shen Qingyu.

“Relationship status?”

Song Yu pronounced the words softly. Shen Qingyu’s heart trembled with the pronunciation of those words.

“…Yes.”

“Then I’ll trouble you to pass on a message for me.” He paused, lazily lifted his thin eyelids, and said with a hint of playful amusement, “Just say I have someone I like.”

The trembling in Shen Qingyu’s heart stopped, as if suspended on the edge of a towering cliff, then plummeted sharply.

Shen Qingyu was a little confused. Did he mean “I have someone I like” as just an excuse, or did he genuinely have someone he liked?

Is that why he’s so reserved with everyone? Because he has someone he likes?

Then was his hot-and-cold behavior towards me just my imagination?

Shen Qingyu began to doubt his own judgment.

Then why did he insist on taking a picture with just me just now?

Shen Qingyu felt like his mind was going crazy from the back-and-forth thoughts.

He nodded blankly, and his foot accidentally hit the stool when he stood up.

Song Yu quickly showed concern before Shen Qingyu even registered the pain. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Shen Qingyu relayed Song Yu’s words exactly. To express her gratitude, Song Anran helped take a few group photos of the four of them and gave them some snacks and fruit.

They stayed at the campsite until past ten in the evening before returning to the guesthouse.

The guesthouse was a two-bedroom, one-living room layout, very delicate. A faint aroma permeated the air. Shen Qingyu looked around and found that there was an aromatherapy diffuser on the island counter in the living room.

Smelling the sweet fruity scent cheered Shen Qingyu up a bit.

There was a mahjong table in the living room. Shen Qingyu casually dropped his toiletries, pulled out a chair, and signaled to the others.

Only Lu Xiao didn’t know how to play mahjong, so Shen Qingyu spent some time explaining the basic rules to him. Lu Xiao was too busy staring at Shen Qingyu’s profile to listen to anything.

Shen Qingyu asked him patiently if he had learned. Lu Xiao was too embarrassed to say he hadn’t heard anything, so he could only nod vaguely, checking his phone while touching the mahjong tiles.

“Two Bamboo.”

“Pong, Three Ten Thousand.”

“One Dot.”

“East Wind.”

Shen Qingyu depressedly clicked his tongue, feeling like his hand had almost no chance of winning. He said half-heartedly, “How are we going to divide two double beds for four people?”

At the mention of this, Lu Xiao got excited. He casually threw out a tile and said smugly, “Of course, I’ll share a bed with you, and Cheng Che and Song Yu will share the other.”

Cheng Che was displeased. “Why?”

“We’re all grown men, does it matter who sleeps with whom? Why are you so anxious?” Lu Xiao grinned mischievously.

He hadn’t smoked all day, and his nicotine craving made his mouth and mind uncomfortable, so he roughly unwrapped a lollipop and sucked on it, his voice muffled when he spoke.

Shen Qingyu thought in his heart while drawing a tile: My relationship with Cheng Che is ambiguous, so sleeping on the same bed would seem too immodest. I’ve also kissed Lu Xiao, so I definitely can’t sleep with him…

Considering all options, it seems only Song Yu is left.

Whenever Cheng Che and Lu Xiao argued, Song Yu always remained silent, seemingly indifferent, as if he didn’t care about the final outcome.

This Song Yu made him feel very secure.

Moreover… Song Yu seemed to have someone he liked.

Shen Qingyu wasn’t so narcissistic as to think the person Song Yu liked was him. Putting aside the fact that Song Yu looked like a rigidly straight man, even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be hot and cold towards the person he liked, right?

“Stop arguing.” Shen Qingyu drew a Three Ten Thousand and was surprised to find that his hand suddenly had a chance for a turnaround. A hint of surprise flashed across his face. “Song Yu and I will take one room.”

He even provided a reasonable justification: “It’s based on bed arrangement.”

Lu Xiao was bed number one, Cheng Che was number two, Song Yu was number three, and Shen Qingyu was number four.

It seemed quite logical.

Lu Xiao gritted his teeth and agreed.

Letting Shen Qingyu and Song Yu share a room was definitely safer than letting him and Cheng Che share a room.

Cheng Che: “Okay, let’s divide it as Xiao Yu said.”

Song Yu, who had “benefited” yet again, flinched, his mind instantly becoming a mess. He casually threw out a tile without even seeing what it was.

Shen Qingyu let out a triumphant “Awoo!” and pushed his tiles forward. “Mahjong!” (I win!)

He smiled broadly and made a “Gong Xi Fa Cai” gesture, his voice sweet. “Thank you for dealing me the winning tile.”

It wasn’t until the mahjong table swallowed all the tiles and began shuffling again that Song Yu regained his composure. He simply said, “Impressive.”

Shen Qingyu, having won a few rounds, started to get cocky, boasting, “Are you guys serious? It’s been so many rounds. Can anyone pull me down from the dealer’s position?”

Lu Xiao scoffed. The more he looked at Shen Qingyu’s smugness, the more he cherished it.

…

The four of them played until past midnight. Song Yu, who didn’t usually stay up late, voluntarily left the table to wash up and return to his room. Lu Xiao was a prime example of someone who sleeps early and wakes up late, so enduring until now was practically a miracle.

He didn’t want to leave Cheng Che and Shen Qingyu alone, so he urged Shen Qingyu to go to bed quickly too.

Shen Qingyu let his words go in one ear and out the other, but his verbal agreement was quick. “Okay, okay, I know, you go to sleep now. Good night.”

Hearing the words “Good night,” Lu Xiao hummed contentedly.

The living room instantly quieted down. Shen Qingyu and Cheng Che played Overcooked for a while. Shen Qingyu had played this game with Yang Yu before, but they would always end up arguing and throwing the controller in anger. However, he and Cheng Che worked together very well in the game. No matter what Shen Qingyu said, Cheng Che would obediently agree and follow through.

“Have you played this game before?” Shen Qingyu was full of admiration for his skilled handling.

“Yeah, I played a few times with my younger brother during the winter break.”

“Didn’t you guys argue?” Shen Qingyu said, “Yang Yu and I almost get into a fight every time we play this!” Of course, his words were an exaggeration, but he truly got very angry while playing.

Cheng Che shrugged and said helplessly, “Of course we argued. After all, it’s ‘Argument Kitchen,’ but he couldn’t argue with me.” He sounded a little smug. “Because every time I scolded him, I’d make him go do his homework, so he had no chance to talk back.”

“He’s still a student, though.”

“Yes, he’s in his last year of high school.”

“And your family still lets him play games?” Shen Qingyu asked in surprise.

During his senior year of high school, let alone playing games, he was scrambling for every second, wishing he could use even his bathroom time for studying.

“My aunt and uncle dote on him very much and usually can’t bear to say a harsh word to him. I’m one of the few who can scold him.”

Shen Qingyu turned his head to look at Cheng Che. The shallow yellow glow of the nightlight illuminated his profile, while the large TV screen projected a blue light onto his front.

The combination of bright and dark light made his features more pronounced.

Shen Qingyu was curious about what expression he would have when he spoke harshly.

However, Cheng Che’s looks were inherently sunny, so he probably wouldn’t look too fierce even when angry, right?

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Che put down the controller and waved his hand in front of him. “Why are your eyes glazed over?”

Caught staring, Shen Qingyu smiled shyly, making an excuse. “Maybe I’m sleepy.”

“In that case, let’s stop playing and go to sleep.”