After The Beautiful Woman Moves Into The Jock's Dorm Room - Chapter 98

Chapter 98: “I don’t want any ahem photos…”

Shen Qingyu’s birthday was at the end of March, when the weather had warmed up perfectly. He shed his heavy down jacket and switched to a wool fleece coat.

He had originally planned to have dinner at his aunt’s house that evening, but because his aunt’s mother-in-law had been frequently hospitalized due to poor health, his aunt had to help look after her that night. Not wanting to burden his aunt, Shen Qingyu proactively changed the dinner to lunchtime, giving the excuse that he wanted to go to Happy Valley with friends in the afternoon.

His aunt cooked many of Shen Qingyu’s favorite dishes. He ate two bowls of rice in one go, his belly swelling up. Seeing him eat like a starved person, his aunt even asked if the school cafeteria food was bad.

Shen Qingyu smiled brightly and said, “Auntie’s cooking is just too delicious.”

His aunt was delighted by his flattery. She took out a small cake she had baked that morning from the refrigerator, saying apologetically, “I feel so guilty that I can’t give you a proper birthday celebration.”

The cake was only four inches wide, small and delicate, decorated with blueberries and raspberries on top.

Shen Qingyu lowered his gaze, his voice soft but sincere: “I think this is complete enough.” Being able to eat his favorite food and see his relatives was enough.

His aunt wiped the corner of her eye and found a candle. “No matter what, we must have the ritual. Hurry and make a wish and blow out the candle.”

He took the cake, holding it in his palms, closed his eyes, and very devoutly made a long, long wish in his heart. Then he opened his eyes and smiled as he blew out the candle.

Shen Qingyu knew his wish might be a little greedy, but he only had one birthday a year, so he had to make many wishes. That way, no matter which one came true, it wouldn’t be a loss.

The cake was subtly sweet and not at all cloying. The rich cream instantly melted in his mouth. Shen Qingyu’s eyes lit up, and he praised, “It’s so good! Auntie, when did you learn to bake cakes?”

“Just the last few days. I failed a few times, and your cousin ate them all. I thought I wouldn’t succeed, but the last one turned out perfect.”

No wonder Shen Qingyu’s cousin looked a little reluctant when Shen Qingyu cut him a slice of cake; he must have been tired of eating the test products all week.

The corners of Shen Qingyu’s eyes curved. He suddenly remembered he had forgotten to take a picture and pouted slightly in frustration, but he still took a photo of the sliced cake on the small plate. He happily shared it in the dorm group, using two small bunny-spinning emojis to express his joy:

【Shen Qingyu: My aunt made this for me by hand! [Image]】

Lu Xiao was the first to appear, replying with two thumbs-up emojis. Then he added: 【Our Auntie’s cooking is really good.】

His shamelessness had improved. Shen Qingyu rolled his eyes at the screen, biting his lip and saying with spirit: 【That’s my aunt!】

【Lu Xiao: Your aunt is my aunt. I’ll visit her someday.】

Shen Qingyu felt he couldn’t have a productive conversation with him, so he simply ignored the message. He waited for a while but didn’t receive replies from the other two, which made him feel a little down.

He had added Song Yu back into the group last week. Song Yu hadn’t sent any messages in the group all week. If it weren’t for the number “4” displayed at the top of the chat box, Shen Qingyu would almost think Song Yu hadn’t joined the group at all.

As for Cheng Che…

The thought of him immediately brought down Shen Qingyu’s mood. He shook his head, trying to shake the disappointment out of his body.

At midnight, Cheng Che had sent him a timely birthday greeting. Shen Qingyu reread the short sentence several times, finally replying only with the two words “Thank you.”

After lunch, Shen Qingyu returned home to change clothes before meeting Yang Yu. For today’s trip to Happy Valley, he had bought a few outfits online beforehand, finally settling on a V-neck knitted sweater paired with a shirt, which perfectly showcased Shen Qingyu’s vitality and youthful energy as a college student.

However, Yang Yu was not very satisfied.

“Why aren’t you wearing that shirt from last time? You’re too covered up,” Yang Yu examined him from head to toe, sounding regretful. “I brought several pieces of equipment to take artistic photos of you.”

Shen Qingyu immediately felt uneasy: “Does it look bad?”

Yang Yu denied it: “No, no. It definitely looks good.”

Shen Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief.

“But you just look too innocent,” Yang Yu winked, a mischievous look on his face. “In my imagination, I was going to take several artistic, charming, ahem, photos of you today, but you’re dressed so purely, it’s hard for me to execute!”

“I don’t want any ahem photos.”

“Really? My skill level is quite good, you know,” Yang Yu enthusiastically promoted himself.

Shen Qingyu remained unmoved by the temptation, rejecting him coldly and decisively: “No.”

Yang Yu shrugged, saying regretfully, “What a shame then.”

Happy Valley was quite crowded on the weekend. They waited in line for a while before getting their tickets scanned and entering. The first thing they saw was a magnificent-looking castle. Yang Yu linked his arm with Shen Qingyu’s and headed straight for the Sea Dragon ride entrance closest to them.

Shen Qingyu remembered the last time he was here was probably in high school. The school would organize trips to Happy Valley every spring and autumn. Shen Qingyu used to find it boring to come here, but after such a long time, returning now actually made him feel a bit nostalgic.

While queuing, Yang Yu started looking down at his phone, chatting with someone, a slight smile playing on his lips. Curious, Shen Qingyu leaned in close to Yang Yu’s face and blew a puff of air near his ear, making Yang Yu shiver all over.

“What are you doing? Why are you smiling so weirdly?” Shen Qingyu asked critically.

Yang Yu’s expression was slightly unnatural. He cleared his throat and said, “Nothing, I’m not doing anything.”

Given Shen Qingyu’s understanding of him… “Are you dating someone?” he asserted confidently.

Yang Yu’s expression froze for a moment, as if a crack had appeared. His eyelids twitched hard. “Of course not! Don’t guess wildly!”

“…Alright.” Shen Qingyu hadn’t expected to guess wrong and awkwardly rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Yang Yu took one last glance at his phone, then tucked it into his pocket, a knowing flash in his eyes as he looked at Shen Qingyu.

After queuing for about ten minutes, Shen Qingyu suddenly felt a fiery gaze fixed on him. He instinctively turned his head, only to lock eyes with Lu Xiao, who was a few rows behind them.

Shen Qingyu: “…” He finally knew where that bad premonition came from.

Lu Xiao was also stunned. He had intended to surprise Shen Qingyu by sitting next to him on the Sea Dragon ride but hadn’t expected to be discovered so quickly.

Shen Qingyu’s gaze only lingered on Lu Xiao for a few seconds before swiftly settling on Chen Qiming behind him, and then on Cheng Che behind Chen Qiming.

Wait a minute? How did these two end up together?

No, to be precise, the two weren’t exactly together, as Chen Qiming was between them. Chen Qiming was careful not to neglect anyone. After turning to say a few words to Cheng Che, he would step forward to chat with Lu Xiao for a bit, managing his time perfectly—a master of modern time management.

Chen Qiming quickly spotted Shen Qingyu too. Knowing the complicated relationship between these three was beyond his ability to analyze, he enthusiastically waved at Shen Qingyu and shouted: “What a coincidence! You guys are here too!”

Hearing this, Shen Qingyu immediately glared at Lu Xiao. If he couldn’t guess who Yang Yu was chatting with earlier, he’d be too stupid. He now reasonably suspected Lu Xiao was behind his previous unexpected appearance as well.

Yang Yu immediately feigned innocence: “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Did you tell Lu Xiao we were coming to Happy Valley today?” Shen Qingyu narrowed his eyes, his tone dangerous.

“Of course not,” Yang Yu explained. “He asked me what my plans were with you today, and I didn’t tell him. He guessed it.”

“He could guess that?” Shen Qingyu was skeptical of Lu Xiao. “Even if you didn’t explicitly tell him, you must have given him a hint!”

Yang Yu’s eyes darted around. “I don’t know about that…”

Shen Qingyu pretended to be angry and grabbed his neck to shake him a few times, but couldn’t really do anything about it. He was more curious about why Cheng Che and Lu Xiao were at Happy Valley together. That seemed totally out of place, didn’t it?

Finally, it was Shen Qingyu’s turn in line. He glanced at Lu Xiao and Cheng Che and slowed his steps, allowing Yang Yu to pull him into the last row. As he sat down, he saw two tall, handsome figures swoosh past other onlookers and sit down one on his left and one on his right. Yang Yu and Chen Qiming tactfully moved further away.

Shen Qingyu: “…”

Their seats had a great view. Shen Qingyu took a deep breath. Although he felt awkward and difficult sandwiched between Cheng Che and Lu Xiao, this very situation made him overcome his fear of the Sea Dragon ride, knowing he had these two beside him.

He wondered what Song Yu was doing right now. Shen Qingyu suddenly thought of him. He hadn’t seen him since waking up this morning, and he hadn’t received any messages from him on his phone.

The atmosphere was awkward, so Shen Qingyu took the initiative to speak: “You guys came to play too?”

Cheng Che “Mm-hmm’d.”

Lu Xiao coldly “Hmph’d,” apparently displeased that Cheng Che spoke first.

“Did the three of you come together?” Shen Qingyu asked.

“How could that be?” Lu Xiao said.

“Chen Qiming and I came together,” they said in loud, synchronized voices.

Shen Qingyu: “…” Which one of them was lying?

The ride wasn’t as terrifying as Shen Qingyu had imagined; rather, he spent the short few minutes in a state of chaotic bewilderment.

After the Sea Dragon ride ended, Shen Qingyu felt a sense of reality return as his legs wobbled on the ground. Yang Yu rushed over, excited, asking how he felt. Shen Qingyu said he was fine.

“Did you ask Chen Qiming how those three came together?” Shen Qingyu whispered in his ear.

Yang Yu said, “Chen Qiming said both Lu Xiao and Cheng Che invited him to Happy Valley, and he figured since they were all buddies, he agreed to both. It’s more fun to play together.”

Shen Qingyu: “That actually sounds plausible.”

“I want to ride the Sea Dragon again. Xiao Yu, want to join?” Yang Yu liked exciting rides, but Shen Qingyu was less keen.

He waved his hand and said, “I’ll wait for you down here. No rush. You can ride as many times as you like.”

Yang Yu blew him a kiss and went back to the line.

Sitting in the rest area, Shen Qingyu ordered a drink. Just as he sat down, he saw a plump mascot giving out flyers nearby. Many children were queuing up to take pictures with it.

Just as he raised his phone to take a photo of the heartwarming scene, two figures appeared in front of him, blocking his view.

Silently putting his phone down, Shen Qingyu moved back slightly: “Want to sit together?”