Transmigrating Into a Book: After My Online Dating Identity Was Exposed, I Was Ruthlessly Retaliated Against by the Male Lead - Chapter 8

A full week had passed since that day he wore the little skirt, and with the long-awaited weekend finally arriving, Lin Qing’an planned to head out and enjoy himself to the fullest. He had arranged a barbecue outing with Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi, and booked a B&B for a two-day-one-night getaway.

That entire week had been overwhelmingly frantic group projects, group projects, and more group projects! Who even came up with the idea of group assignments anyway!

Especially when it came to finalizing the PowerPoint presentation, Lin Qing’an felt a strong urge to look up at the sky and howl in despair. What kind of decent human being still had to write homework in college?

Hair: OK! Outfit: OK! Sunglasses: OK! Change of clothes in the backpack: OK!

“Let’s roll!”

Stepping out of his front door, Lin Qing’s brisk footsteps halted right by the elevator lobby.

The indicator showed that the elevator was currently on the fifth floor, and Lin Qing’an’s eyes lit up.

The fifth floor that belonged to his handsome neighbor.

The guy’s cold, callous rejection of his attempt to make friends surfaced in his mind, and Lin Qing’an couldn’t help curling his lips in a sneer. What’s with the high-and-mighty attitude? Just because he’s a little handsome?

As if nobody else is a handsome guy!

Pulling out his phone, Lin Qing’an scrutinized his own handsome face from various angles: those phoenix-like eyes, the high bridge of the nose, the well-defined facial contours, those lips truly radiating peak masculine energy… my foot!

Lin Qing’an put his phone away with a look of utter defeat.

Having inherited his mother’s superior genes, he possessed an ambiguous, gender-neutral face! Whether smiling or maintaining a deadpan expression, it carried an inherent gentleness that made everyone assume Lin Qing’an had a great temper.

Even back when he was a kid, his peers used to call him “little sister,” and whenever they played house, he never got to play the prince he was forever cast as Sleeping Beauty or Snow White.

Ding. The elevator doors slid open, and a stern, sharp-featured face entered his field of vision. Lin Qing’an’s eyes lit up as he strode quickly inside.

His gaze couldn’t help darting toward Xie Tingchuan’s face. That’s the kind of face I’ve always wanted! And that height—so envious!

Though his own height of 1.85 meters wasn’t bad at all, standing in front of this guy simply wasn’t enough; he was still a good half-head shorter.

By Lin Qing’an’s estimation, this guy had to be at least 1.90 meters tall.

Suddenly colliding with a pair of cold, piercing eyes, Lin Qing’an instinctively flashed a smile. “Classmate, hello! What a coincidence, we bumped into each other again.”

Lin Qing’an felt like the other person was looking at him as if he were an idiot, tinged with a hint of disdain.

Disdain me?

What kind of terrible taste does this guy have?!

“Two households per two elevators.” Xie Tingchuan’s gaze lingered for a fleeting second on the small mole at the outer corner of Lin Qing’an’s eye, Xiao Qinggan had that exact same mole at the corner of her eye.

“This building only has nine floors with nine households total. During non-peak hours, the chances of us running into each other are extremely slim…”

“That’s why I said it’s fate.” Lin Qing’an cut him off enthusiastically, posing the question once more: “So, do you want to be friends with me?”

Gazing expectantly at Xie Tingchuan, Lin Qing’an caught a flash of hesitation in Xie Tingchuan’s eyes as their eyes locked, prompting him to press further.

“Third time’s the charm this is already the third time I’ve asked to be friends with you. Just say yes already.”

Ding. The elevator reached the ground floor directly. Xie Tingchuan glanced down at his wristwatch he was running out of time.

Then, looking at Lin Qing’an’s eager, expectant expression… Third time’s the charm. He was right.

“Yeah. I’ve got things to do, gotta go.” With that, Xie Tingchuan strode away in a hurry.

Lin Qing’an pouted smugly. “Told you, nobody can resist wanting to be friends with me, Lin Qing’an.”

Then, assuming a melancholy posture, he gazed up at the sky and sighed dramatically, “What kind of charm do even cold, aloof handsome guys find impossible to refuse?”

“Love you, love you, it really is you…”

The ringtone chimed it was a call from Duan Xuan.

The moment he answered, Duan Xuan’s deafening roar blasted through the speaker.

Duan Xuan: “Qing’an, where are you?”

Lin Qing’an strolled outward as he spoke, “Just stepped out of the building, will be out of the residential complex in five minutes.”

Duan Xuan: “Fine, hurry it up. Zhiyi and I are waiting at the main gate. We still need to meet up with Zhang Yang and the others; they’ve already headed over ahead of us.”

Lin Qing’an nodded, then remembered the other person couldn’t see his physical gesture, so he added, “Got it.”

Qin Zhiyi: “Qing’an, no rush, we just got to the main gate ourselves. You and I can take our car and kick Duan Xuan out.”

“Qin Zhiyi!” Duan Xuan, feeling aggrieved, leaned sideways to hook his arm around Qin Zhiyi’s neck, dragging the other person from the passenger seat toward himself.

“What are you plotting?”

“Qing’an, save me!” Qin Zhiyi’s cry for help was muffled by a large hand clamped over his mouth, transmitting a muffled, whimpering sound straight to Lin Qing’an’s ear.

Stepping out of the residential compound, Lin Qing’an spotted Duan Xuan’s car immediately—a G300, a black off-road vehicle that stood out conspicuously among the sedans.

Thud. Lin Qing’an climbed straight into the car, while upfront, the space belonging to the driver and front passenger was still locked in an ongoing battle.

Clearly, Qin Zhiyi had already lost the upper hand, his upper body securely pinned across Duan Xuan’s lap while his entire face was pinched red.

Meanwhile, the front of Duan Xuan’s shirt was soaked wet, though who knew how that had happened.

Ding-dong. Lin Qing’an’s phone chimed, snapping him out of his spectator mode and rousing Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi from their wrestling match.

Opening his phone, Lin Qing’an saw a message from Xie Tingchuan?

Xie Tingchuan: “Baby, it’s the weekend today. Can you chat with me now?”

Lin Qing’an scratched his head apologetically. He had been tortured half to death by group projects all week, and during those tiny slivers of free time, Lin Qing’an just wanted to get some proper rest and play a video game to unwind.

Besides, Lin Qing’an felt he had already done a pretty good job.

Whenever Xie Tingchuan sent a message, he replied; his morning and evening greetings had never been forgotten once.

As for why Xie Tingchuan hadn’t initiated conversations with him well, Xie Tingchuan must have been busy! Since he was busy, how could Lin Qing’an have the face to go bother him!

Back and forth like this, the two of them hadn’t managed to have a proper conversation all week, leaving Xie Tingchuan feeling deeply aggrieved.

Lifting his head, Lin Qing’an glanced at Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi up front. Seeing that they were chatting and hadn’t noticed him, he let out an unconscious sigh of relief and lowered his head to reply to Xie Tingchuan’s message.

Xiao Qinggan: “We chat every day though.”

Chat every day? Xie Tingchuan scrolled up through their chat history. What Xiao Qinggan called “chatting every day” meant Xie Tingchuan blabbering on for paragraphs while he replied with just an “Yeah” or an “Ah”?

Or did he mean those “Good mornings” at 5:00 AM and “Good nights” at some ungodly hour of the night?

Without a word, Xie Tingchuan simply screenshotted the chat and sent it to Xiao Qinggan.

Looking at the screenshots, Lin Qing’an felt a twinge of guilt. Okay, maybe he hadn’t been doing the best job after all.

Xiao Qinggan: “I was just caught up with group assignments earlier. What does Ah-Chuan want to chat about? I’ll keep you company right now.”