What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Friends

A major reason why mechas are so fascinating lies in the unique aesthetic of man-made objects. They exude the cold, metallic texture of machinery, yet during combat, they amplify human physical strength through technology. This is enough to make every mecha fan fanatical.

Shu Qiong looked at the colorful mecha-printed body pillow in front of her… it wasn’t exactly ugly, but it had nothing to do with beauty or cuteness. If she put this on her dorm bed, her already limited sleeping space would shrink by at least half. If she woke up in the middle of the night and saw this weird, cotton-stuffed mecha face that deformed when pressed, she’d be scared half to death even without a nightmare.

“Do you like it?” Jin Yan asked expectantly. “I placed an expedited order for it!”

“I love it,” Shu Qiong stuffed the life-sized pillow into her arms. “I’ll tie it to your headboard tonight.”

Jin Yan poked the head of the mecha pillow. “It does… look a bit weird.”

Fortunately, the rest of the process was normal. Looking at the exquisite and normal cake, Shu Qiong breathed a sigh of relief. After she blew out the candles and made a wish, Gu Tiantian, who was holding a camera, shouted with a smile: “Look here!” Everyone turned toward the sound, and Gu Tiantian pressed the shutter.

Shu Qiong leaned in to look at the photo.

She was sitting in the center, having just blown out the candles. Her hands were still clasped together, and she was looking at the lens with a surprised, upward gaze, her eyes shining bright. To her left, Jin Yan was sitting backward on her chair, arms crossed over the backrest, flashing a quick peace sign. Next to her was Chang Xichun, who was hooking her arm around He Xuchou’s shoulder to pull him into the frame. He Xuchou was indulging her while talking to Su He’yi behind him. The twin sisters had identical expressions, both smiling at the camera.

Qin Liang was standing on the other side, seemingly about to help Shu Qiong pull out the candles, holding a small cake knife. Catching sight of the camera, Qin Liang couldn’t decide on a pose and ended up nervously raising the knife in her hand.

Only Yan Xiangyu wasn’t looking at the camera. She sat on Shu Qiong’s right, her gaze fixed on a stray flower petal stuck in Shu Qiong’s hair. Her raised fingertip was slightly curled, as if wanting to pick it off, a soft smile in her eyes.

Gu Tiantian controlled her expression and commented calmly, “Candid shots always have a better sense of story.”

Shu Qiong agreed and nodded with satisfaction. “You join us too, let’s take a group photo.”

They all crowded into the middle behind Shu Qiong’s seat. Shu Qiong rested her chin on one hand and sat obediently for the camera. Gu Tiantian set the timer and dashed over to the spot they left for her, standing on her tiptoes with a sweet smile.

This group of mecha students was far too tall; even Chang Xichun, an Omega, was nearly 1.7 meters. The petite Gu Tiantian looked like a rabbit that had wandered into a wolf’s den. The camera captured the moment perfectly.

When Shu Qiong saw the final product, she was speechless. “Did you guys plan this?”

Taking advantage of the fact that Shu Qiong couldn’t see them, several pairs of hands were making “V” signs over her head. It was impossible to tell whose hands they were, but everyone’s expressions looked perfectly normal.

“Two V-signs make a rabbit. What do a whole circle of V-signs make?” Shu Qiong complained. “An Elizabethan collar?”

Jin Yan chimed in, “Exactly, exactly.”

Shu Qiong punched her in the stomach. “I bet you started it. This curved finger definitely belongs to you.”

Jin Yan protested immediately, “I saw Yan—”

Yan Xiangyu led them away. “Time to cut the cake.”

Qin Liang immediately presented the knife with both hands. “Please.”

Distracted, Shu Qiong dropped the subject and began distributing the cake. Currently, the birthday girl wore a paper crown and a pink flower petal she hadn’t noticed. Her pale knuckles gripped the cake knife firmly; her posture was as precise as if she were cutting mecha materials in the workshop. Every slice was as uniform as if measured by a ruler.

Surrounded by the balloons and bouquets her friends had arranged—which were frankly a bit tacky and not very original—Shu Qiong felt an inexplicable warmth in her heart. Though she grumbled, the smile on her lips never wavered.

Chang Xichun raised her cake slightly. “Happy birthday, Junior Shu.”

Shu Qiong’s expression relaxed. “To friends.”

The others raised their paper plates in unison. “To friends!”

Jin Yan thought about it. “Do we say ‘bottoms up’ for cake? Anyway, I’ll finish mine first!” The young miss ate like a hungry tiger, completely unafraid of the heavy cream; half the plate was gone in one bite.

Shu Qiong gave her a disgusted look but didn’t have time to speak before Yan Xiangyu reached over. This time, Yan Xiangyu finally managed to pick off the petal from Shu Qiong’s head. She squeezed it slightly, staining her fingertip with a bit of red flower juice.

“Is it pretty?” Shu Qiong’s voice came from beside her ear.

Yan Xiangyu looked up from the crushed petal. “It’s pretty,” she blurted out.

Shu Qiong gave a faint smile. “You could make it look even better.”

“…Hmm?”

Yan Xiangyu finally looked at the light screen in front of Shu Qiong and realized she was asking about the latest mecha design draft. On the screen was the exterior design for Starlight 2.0—a beautiful silver-blue color scheme that seemed to have a strange sense of fluid motion. Even the outlines were smoother than the previous version.

Shu Qiong met Yan Xiangyu’s eyes, her lips curving up. “I want to invite you to be my test pilot. What do you think, Pilot Yan?”

Her eyes were bright as she waited for an answer. Yan Xiangyu lowered her gaze, hiding the crushed petal in her palm. “You know what my answer is.”

Shu Qiong arched an eyebrow. “I’m asking out of politeness.”

Yan Xiangyu pointed at herself and looked up at Shu Qiong. Her long lashes brushed slowly, like a butterfly fluttering against someone’s heart, setting it on fire. She reaffirmed solemnly, “Whether it’s being your test pilot or anything else, I am the most suitable one.”

Shu Qiong’s heart drummed wildly. “I kno—”

“Which one?” Jin Yan’s head suddenly popped between them. She asked suspiciously, “What are you ‘most suitable’ for? I’m quite suitable too, you know.”

“…Go away.” Shu Qiong pushed the head trying to insert itself into their conversation. “Go eat your cake.”

Jin Yan looked incredulous. “You actually told me to get lost! Fine, Shu Qiong, you don’t even—”

Seeing that the word “love” was about to come out of Jin Yan’s mouth, Shu Qiong grabbed an untouched piece of cake and stuffed it into her friend’s mouth. “Go, go get some juice to wash it down.”

Watching Jin Yan leave in a daze, Shu Qiong rubbed her temples. The atmosphere was completely ruined. she aggressively shoved a piece of fruit from the cream into her mouth, explaining to Yan Xiangyu, “That’s just how Jin Yan is. She has to be involved in everything. Ignore her.”

Yan Xiangyu watched the cream on the corner of Shu Qiong’s lips and nodded slightly. “She… cares about you a lot.”

“We grew up together, she’s like family.” Fearing that Yan Xiangyu might be jealous, Shu Qiong added, “She’ll be your friend and family too in the future.”

Yan Xiangyu smiled faintly. “Okay.”

They messed around until after nine o’clock, cleaned up the trash, and left the cafeteria in small groups. Shu Qiong ended up carrying that massive mecha pillow back to Dorm 406. Because of its size, it was quite eye-catching on the campus paths. She was just glad it was dark and there weren’t many students around, otherwise she’d definitely end up on the university forum again. The headline would probably be: Breaking! That woman has gone crazy from mecha studies.

Jin Yan slipped away halfway, terrified that Shu Qiong would actually stuff the pillow into her room.

Back at the dorm, Shu Qiong wanted to shove the pillow into the closet, but her wardrobe wasn’t big enough for both the pillow and her clothes. Fortunately, her other roommates were understanding and suggested she leave it on the sofa in the small living room as a backrest.

Shu Qiong imagined the scene. “Won’t it scare people coming to visit?” The sofa faced the door directly; a stranger walking in would see a twisted mecha figure standing there. That wasn’t the Dorm 406 way of hospitality.

Finally, Gu Tiantian had an idea. She took out her newly bought floral bedsheet and wrapped it around the pillow, laying it horizontally on the sofa. Shu Qiong felt the view was much cleaner. She touched it; the texture wasn’t bad. All three gave Gu Tiantian a thumbs-up.

The holidays were over. Before they could miss their free time, the mecha department’s mid-term exams arrived. Shu Qiong checked the schedule; she had exams for the next two days.

Yan Xiangyu looked at the exam hall assignments. “It’s not bad. There isn’t much theory this time.”

Shu Qiong agreed, sounding relieved. “As for the practicals, we had the training on Base Star, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” For top students, exam week was just busy, not overwhelming.

The first day for Mecha Design and Manufacturing was all theory—two subjects in the morning and two in the afternoon. When Shu Qiong finished and left the exam hall, she saw the pilot students pouring out of the training hall after their non-mecha combat exam. Some were grimacing and limping, while others looked dejected. Yan Xiangyu looked exceptionally calm among them.

Seeing Shu Qiong, Yan Xiangyu picked up her pace and ran through the crowd. “How did it feel?”

Shu Qiong held her pencil case and admit card, looking relaxed. “It was all from the textbook, very basic. How about you? Non-mecha combat makes it easy to get hurt.”

Yan Xiangyu’s expression didn’t change. “The opponent I was assigned wasn’t very strong.”

As they walked toward the cafeteria, they found one downside to exam week: the crowds at mealtime. Shu Qiong looked at the sea of people and immediately thought about retreating.

Yan Xiangyu looked a bit worried. “There are too many people. Go back to the dorm first, I’ll bring food back later.”

Shu Qiong didn’t refuse. She waved with a smile. “Then I’m off!”

Since the start of the semester, Shu Qiong hadn’t spent much time on campus. The focus on her as Shu Ci’s daughter had faded. She walked the campus paths like any other student; aside from being a bit more beautiful and having a more upright posture, there was no difference.

“Student Shu?”

A voice called out from behind. Shu Qiong turned to see Song Lianqiao. Seeing Shu Qiong turn, Song Lianqiao said happily, “It really is you! Were you away for training? I haven’t seen you in class.”

Shu Qiong nodded with a smile. “Yes, long time no see.” She looked at the girls with Song Lianqiao and realized with embarrassment that she didn’t recognize any of them.

Song Lianqiao giggled and introduced them. “These are all classmates.”

Shu Qiong greeted them seriously. “Hello, classmates.” The girls looked at this “legendary” classmate who rarely attended class with great curiosity. After some polite small talk, they parted ways, the girls kindly wishing Shu Qiong luck on her exams.

Shu Qiong returned to the dorm in a good mood. But when she opened the door to 406, she saw Jin Yan wailing while hugging the floral-wrapped pillow.

“What’s wrong with her?” Shu Qiong sat down and asked Gu Tiantian.

Gu Tiantian pushed up her glasses. “She says she failed her exam.”

Shu Qiong’s eyebrow moved. She kicked Jin Yan’s shoe. “Did you really fail?”

Jin Yan lifted her face from the pillow. “It’s that ‘Theoretical Basis of Coupling Components’! I couldn’t understand a single question!” Jin Yan—the engineering failure—had frozen the moment she saw the paper. During the 90-minute exam, she spent only twenty minutes answering before leaving the hall with a flourish.

“Do you know the look the others gave me as I left early?!” Jin Yan wiped invisible tears.

Shu Qiong thought for a moment and patted her shoulder. “Probably shock mixed with admiration.”

Jin Yan turned her anger on her childhood friend. “It’s your fault for not replying to my messages when I was picking classes! I—”

The sound of the door unlocking interrupted her; it was likely Yan Xiangyu returning with food. Shu Qiong immediately started shooing her guest away, speaking as fast as a machine gun. “It’s just one failed exam, Young Miss. I’m sure you’ll pull the grade back up tomorrow! Go back to your own dorm, don’t interrupt my romance.”

Clatter!

Gu Tiantian nearly dropped her cup. When they looked over, she covered her mouth with the cup and ran back to her room. Perhaps she spilled water and was in a hurry to change.

Jin Yan turned back and complained loudly, “Shu Qiong, you have no heart!”

Shu Qiong hummed perfunctorily as she pushed Jin Yan toward the door. “You’re choosing love over friends! Is that Yan Bking feeding you bewitching soup—”

Click.

Yan Xiangyu pushed the door open, coming eye-to-eye with the two inside.

“Soup… lie down! I need to go back and lie down to rest… haha, Yan Xiangyu, you’re back?” Jin Yan stood at attention, pretending she hadn’t said anything. Just treat it as a dream; wake up and forget it.

Yan Xiangyu kept one hand on the door handle and the other holding food containers. She didn’t look at Jin Yan, but past her at Shu Qiong.

She gave a low laugh and said clearly, “Mhm, I’m back. And I brought Xiao Qiong’s favorite ‘Bewitching Soup’.”

“…”

Shu Qiong slowly lowered her head and gave Jin Yan a hard pinch on the back. As for Jin Yan, she secretly raised a middle finger in her heart.

…This damn nightmare was probably never going to end.