Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 26

Xu Zhizhi’s eyes were as wide as copper bells, radiating the clear, harmless innocence unique to college students.

She raised three fingers and swore with utmost sincerity, “I swear! I didn’t!”

Ling Shuang gave her a detective-like scrutinizing look, pinching Xu Zhizhi’s chin. “Do you even know how you got back last night?”

Xu Zhizhi glanced at Song Jia. “I went with Jiajia, so theoretically, it should’ve been Jiajia who…”

Her memory was hazy.

Her head was pounding.

The last image in her mind was Shen Yu arrogantly stepping on the love letter.

She remembered bits and pieces, but not much.

“Not me,” Song Jia quickly waved her hands, whining in despair. “God knows, I was running around like a wild monkey from Mount Emei last night, searching everywhere for you. I couldn’t find you at all, and only later did I learn you’d already returned to the dorm.”

“It was Zhou Xuci!” Ling Shuang, as an eyewitness, exclaimed excitedly. “Zhou Xuci carried you back, all the way!”

Xu Zhizhi froze as if struck by lightning. “…”

Ling Shuang continued honestly, “Oh, Zhizhi, you even clung to him and refused to let go. I had to pry you off!”

Xu Zhizhi was already spiraling into despair. She looked at Cheng Xiaoxin with pleading eyes, stammering, “R-really?”

Acting coquettishly?

Theoretically, she wouldn’t…

Cheng Xiaoxin nodded in confirmation. “Yes.”

Her hanging heart finally dropped, straight into the grave.

Xu Zhizhi covered her face in utter despair. Outwardly, she looked alive, but inwardly, she had already been dead for a while.

Meanwhile, Song Jia and Ling Shuang had entered full celebration mode.

“Ahhh! It’s Zhou Xuci!!!” Song Jia was so excited she nearly took flight.

Ling Shuang grabbed Song Jia and asked, confused, “Jiajia, don’t you like Zhou Xuci? Why are you so hyped?”

Song Jia shrugged nonchalantly. “Pfft, if I can’t have him, I’d rather my bestie get a taste! Better my girl than some random stranger!”

A taste.

She really went there.

Xu Zhizhi wanted to dig a hole right then and there and bury herself alive.

Ling Shuang gave Song Jia a thumbs-up. “Damn! That’s my girl Jia, always thinking big!”

But then came an even bigger bombshell!

When Zhou Xuci carried Xu Zhizhi past the school’s food street, some nosy onlooker snapped a photo and posted it to the campus forum.

The campus forum was brand new!

#Zhou Xuci Has a Girlfriend#

The trending topic instantly set the entire school ablaze!

Accompanying the post was a high-definition photo, capturing only Zhou Xuci’s profile. The girl in his arms was curled up like a shy little kitten.

Thus, the entire school began playing the guessing game.

Fortunately, the lighting had been dim, and the photo wasn’t crystal clear.

When Xu Zhizhi saw the picture, her eyes glazed over in horror, her soul nearly leaving her body.

Carried all the way.

A full twenty minutes.

Zhou Xuci… had impressive arm strength.

Song Jia, however, wasn’t about to let go of the juicy details. Her eyes sparkled as she asked, “Zhizhi, when you were in Zhou Xuci’s arms, could you feel his pecs? How’s his physique? Is he the lean-but-ripped type?”

Xu Zhizhi: “…”

I’m starting to miss the awkwardness and boundaries we had when we first met. QAQ

Half an hour later, the brand-new campus forum crashed again.

The system was still in its early stages, and the data infrastructure wasn’t stable. The overwhelming traffic and discussions overloaded the servers, sending the site straight into a 404 error!

A blood-curdling scream erupted from the boys’ dormitory, shaking the heavens and earth. “Damn it! Messing with me again?!”

It sounded utterly miserable.

Fang Cheng was still the campus forum’s administrator. With the forum down, he was once again stuck with the thankless task of fixing it.

While debugging, he took the opportunity to grill the person involved.

Lin Jin was subjecting Zhou Xuci to a brutal interrogation!

“Zhou Xuci, you little rascal, sneaking ahead of us and dazzling everyone?” Lin Jin couldn’t wrap his head around it. “What kind of celestial beauty could make our lone king fall head over heels?”

Fang Cheng’s fingers were practically smoking from typing code, yet Zhou Xuci remained tight-lipped. “Zhou Xuci, we had a deal when we’re old, we’d live in the same nursing home. You promised that if the nurses slapped me when I’m old and frail, you’d slap them back. You’re inhuman! Betraying our pact utterly unforgivable by heaven and earth!”

“Spill it already!” Lin Jin still refused to believe his own eyes. “I’d rather believe that girl was glued to your chest with 502 adhesive than accept that you’d actually…”

“It’s the little campus belle from the Art School,” Zhou Xuci finally admitted, a tender smile playing at the corners of his eyes. “I really, really like her.”

The entire dormitory plunged into an eerie silence!

Three seconds later,

“Holy shit!”

“Damn damn damn!”

“What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck!”

The three roommates erupted into a chorus of expletives, crowding around Zhou Xuci, all staring at him wide-eyed.

Zhou Xuci remained unfazed. “What? Got a problem?”

Fang Cheng shook his head. “Xu, have you been possessed?”

Zhou Xuci rolled his eyes at Fang Cheng.

Fang Cheng nearly beat his chest in despair. “Heavens! So that’s why you suddenly became a hypocrite, turning me into Swiss cheese during the match, all because you had your eye on some girl!”

All the suffering I endured was because I was blind!

Zhou Xuci ignored Fang Cheng, glancing sideways at Gu Sen. “Keep it quiet for me.”

Gu Sen’s girlfriend was Ling Shuang.

Gu Sen squinted, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. “No way, Zhou Xuci, you haven’t won her over yet? o.O”

You’re Zhou Xuci, for crying out loud!

Don’t make me lose respect for you!

Zhou Xuci lowered his gaze, a shadow of gloom flickering in his eyes. He gave a soft hum. “She’s hard to chase.”

The three roommates’ jaws practically dislocated from shock!

Zhou Xuci struck out?!

Damn!

What kind of earth-shattering news is this?!

Unbelievable!

Xu Zhizhi spent the entire morning painting before she finally calmed down a little.

She placed all the paint-covered brushes into a bucket of water, cleaning them one by one.

After washing them, Xu Zhizhi busied herself tidying up her things.

On her desk lay a soft, high-quality men’s scarf.

Xu Zhizhi paused, her fingertips lightly tracing the scarf’s neat stitches.

Zhou Xuci’s scarf had practically become her personal belonging.

She picked it up, hugging it to her chest, and took a gentle sniff. The faint, fresh scent of cedar filled her senses.

Xu Zhizhi lowered her head, lost in brief contemplation, softly murmuring his name. “Zhou Xuci.”

The gossip about Zhou Xuci having a girlfriend spread to the Sports School’s group chat.

Hu Chen was the first to stir the pot.

“Zhou Xuci?” Hu Chen clicked into the post and sneered. “Pfft, even nerds get all coy when they date. This girl must be really something to hide.”

Shen Yu was smoking, glancing sideways at the enlarged photo Hu Chen had pulled up,

With a loud “bang,” the wine bottle hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

“Brother Yu!”

Shen Yu snatched Hu Chen’s phone and took a clear look at the photo.

The little bear hair tie around the wrist.

It was Xu Zhizhi’s.

Those black boots.

Also Xu Zhizhi’s.

With another “bang,” Shen Yu hurled the phone to the ground and grabbed Hu Chen by the collar, his voice seething with frustration. “Didn’t you say that as long as I got a new girlfriend, I wouldn’t be hung up on that woman anymore?”

Why!

Why does it hurt so much to see Zhou Xuci holding her?!

It hurts like a knife stabbing through my heart!

I must be sick!

…