Chapter 111: When Men and Women Pair Up, Work Becomes Easier
Lin Yuejiu told Xu Nianshen about their plan and asked him to help find someone to stir up Du Zhuo’s feelings. This time, she didn’t take matters into her own hands, afraid that Xu Nianshen might get jealous—after all, the corner of her lip he accidentally bit last time still hadn’t fully healed.
Xu Nianshen quickly found someone—a student from the Education Department, who happened to be in the same major as Chen Qianxi. The boy was a friend of Xu Nianshen’s roommate, so Xu asked him for this favor, and the boy agreed.
According to the plan, that boy was now already getting close to Chen Qianxi.
At first, Chen Qianxi thought it strange that someone would approach her out of the blue. Although they were classmates, not everyone had to become close. She was a little guarded at first, but soon realized he only wanted to make friends. Relieved, she let her guard down and befriended him.
They began sitting together during classes. When Chen Qianxi dozed off, if the class content seemed important, he would wake her; if it wasn’t, he would discreetly shield her. Little by little, the two grew closer.
One day, Lin Yuejiu’s scheming side came out. She asked Xu Nianshen to meet, intending to have him secretly record a video of Chen Qianxi being close with the boy to show Du Zhuo. But unexpectedly, Du Zhuo showed up too. When Lin Yuejiu saw him, she was slightly surprised and raised a brow at Xu Nianshen, whispering, “Did you bring him along?”
Xu Nianshen shrugged. “I didn’t tell him anything.”
Du Zhuo came closer, scratching his head in slight embarrassment. “Uh, I couldn’t figure out some problems and wanted to ask Xu Shen. But since you asked him out, I tagged along. If you two have something important, I can go back and wait until he’s free.”
Lin Yuejiu waved her hand. “It’s fine, we’re not on a date today. You can ask him now—I brought him out for studying anyway.”
“Alright then.”
The three of them found a private study room in the library. Xu Nianshen explained the problems to Du Zhuo while Lin Yuejiu sat to the side memorizing vocabulary. As she did, she occasionally glanced out the window. Suddenly spotting a familiar figure, her eyes lit up and she said casually, “Hey, doesn’t that look like Qianxi?”
The two boys paused and looked out the window, where Chen Qianxi and that male classmate were walking out of a teaching building together.
“Who’s that guy with her?”
Du Zhuo glanced over and asked, “Lin Goddess, don’t you know him?”
“I don’t,” Lin Yuejiu shook her head firmly. “I’m not with Qianxi every moment of the day, and she never mentioned him to me. But judging from the look of it… maybe that’s her new boyfriend?”
“New boyfriend? How do you know that?” Xu Nianshen asked.
“Because Qianxi once told me she wanted to date. I even tried introducing someone, but she wasn’t interested, so I thought she had given up on the idea. Who knew she’d be walking with this guy today?”
The three of them continued watching. Chen Qianxi suddenly stumbled, nearly tripping, but the boy quickly caught her—his hand landing on her waist for a moment. Once she steadied herself, he immediately let go. Chen Qianxi bowed to thank him, and he waved it off. As they walked side by side, he said something that made Chen Qianxi smile brightly.
Only after the two disappeared from view did they look away.
Xu Nianshen thought for a moment. “So that guy’s her new boyfriend?”
Lin Yuejiu shook her head. “Not certain, but from the looks of it, very likely.”
“What do you think, Du Zhuo?” Lin Yuejiu tossed the question to him.
Du Zhuo chuckled. “It seems real enough. Didn’t she say she wanted a boyfriend? If she’s serious about dating, we’ll know soon enough. Maybe in a few days, she’ll announce it to us. We can just wait and see.”
Lin Yuejiu nodded knowingly but thought to herself, Keep pretending. Once they really become a couple, let’s see if you panic.
The three stayed in the library until about 4 p.m. Hungry, Du Zhuo left first. Lin Yuejiu waved him goodbye, and once his figure disappeared, she stretched out her hand. Xu Nianshen met it with his own, and they exchanged a high-five, sharing a conspiratorial smile.
“Men and women working together makes the job easier.”
Xu Nianshen nodded in agreement.
Lin Yuejiu instructed, “Teacher Xu, when you’re back at the dorm, find another chance to stir him up a bit.”
Xu Nianshen gave her an “OK” gesture.
Du Zhuo carried his takeaway box back to the dorm. His roommate looked at him curiously and asked, “Weren’t you out with Xu Shen? Why did you come back alone? Didn’t he come with you?”
“Xu Shen’s girlfriend is with him. They’re together now.”
“Oh, oh.” The roommate nodded, as if he could smell the sour scent of love, giving a little shiver. After a while, he looked at Du Zhuo again and asked, “Why aren’t you eating? Isn’t that your favorite?”
Du Zhuo snapped out of it, lowered his head to look at his dinner, and nodded. “Yeah, it’s my favorite. I was just thinking about something.”
“What were you thinking about? Don’t tell me it’s math problems?”
Du Zhuo went along with it and nodded. “I was asking Xu Shen about math problems just now.”
His roommate pulled a horrified face. “You’re scary—thinking about math even while eating.”
Du Zhuo didn’t refute him and lowered his head to eat.
But was he really thinking about math problems just now? Probably not. It felt like… something else was on his mind.
Xu Nianshen only returned to the dorm around 9:30. As he entered, he greeted everyone. Someone asked, “Xu Shen, went on a date with your girlfriend, huh?”
Xu Nianshen shook his head. “No, not a date. She was telling me about her best friend.”
Hearing that, his roommates perked up. “Girl gossip? Can you share it with us?”
Xu Nianshen thought for a moment. “Sure, I can tell you. Her best friend has been getting close to a guy recently. She told my girlfriend that she’s kind of moved, but she’s torn about whether she should confess and start dating him.”
The other two roommates immediately chimed in: “Of course she should confess! When the chance comes, you’ve got to grab it—you can’t let it slip away.”
“I agree,” Xu Nianshen nodded with sincere approval. “Then I’ll tell my girlfriend that.”
Du Zhuo didn’t know what was wrong with him, but suddenly he couldn’t focus on his math problems.
Xu Nianshen sent the message. “Okay, I told her.”
“What did your girlfriend say?”
“She said it makes sense, so she’s planning to tell her best friend soon—to seize the chance.”
“That’s the way to do it.” The two roommates laughed. Du Zhuo, with his back to them, didn’t see the meaningful look they exchanged.
After evening self-study, the other two roommates were busy and didn’t return to the dorm. Only Xu Nianshen and Du Zhuo went back.
Du Zhuo sat at his desk, restless. He glanced at Xu Nianshen, who was reading, hesitated for a long while, then finally spoke up:
“Xu Shen, I’ve got something on my mind. Could you help me analyze it?”
Facing away from Du Zhuo, the corner of Xu Nianshen’s lips curled upward, then quickly relaxed. He put his book down, turned toward him, and said calmly,
“What is it? Go ahead.”
