"Chen Ming, you complain about my small breasts, but I also complain about your small… thing!"
Under the dim streetlights, the girl's face was deathly pale, without a trace of color. Rain mixed with tears, sliding down her delicate jawline, her voice shattered by the sound of the rain.
Chen Ming held an umbrella, most of it tilted towards her, his left shoulder already soaked through by the rain.
He watched Xiao Qingyue, crying like a pear blossom bathed in rain, his heart tightening little by little, aching so much he could barely breathe…
"Hiss—"
A fiery sting came from the tip of his tongue. Chen Ming snapped back to reality, shaking that dark, rain-soaked memory from his mind.
The cafeteria was bustling with noise, the scent of food mixed with the aroma of youthful hormones, full of vibrant human life.
He had just burned his tongue with a spoonful of Mapo Tofu drizzled with red oil.
Not far away, a table was surrounded by several girls, one of whom, wearing a white dress, was covering her mouth, her eyes curving into a smile, her dark long hair gleaming softly under the light.
That smiling face slowly overlapped with the crying face from the rainy night in his memory.
"Brother Ming, look, look, nine o'clock direction!" Zhou Ye, the chubby guy beside him, elbowed Chen Ming, his mouth full of rice, saying indistinctly, "That's our Jiang University's new campus belle this year, Xiao Qingyue from the Law Department! Holy crap, she's even better in person than in photos, she looks so pure!"
Chen Ming glanced in the direction he indicated, showed no reaction, and continued to eat his rice.
Pure?
He scoffed inwardly.
A few months ago, when this girl was nestled in his arms, blushing and softly asking him, "Will kissing get me pregnant?", she was indeed quite pure.
"Hey, Chen Ming, I noticed you don't seem interested in our new campus belle?" Li Mo, another dormmate, pushed up his glasses, keenly sensing his indifference.
Logically, with Chen Ming's personality of wanting to conquer any beautiful woman he saw, he should have already been figuring out how to get her contact information by now.
Chen Ming swallowed his food, took a big gulp of coke, burped, and then lazily spoke.
"It's a dish I'm already tired of eating, what kind of appetite do you expect me to have?"
Zhou Ye, Li Mo, and Su Zhe, the three show-offs, simultaneously stopped their chopsticks and looked at him in unison.
A few seconds later, Zhou Ye was the first to burst into earth-shattering laughter: "Hahahaha! Brother Ming, can you at least draft your bragging? Tired of eating? Do you know that the line of people pursuing Xiao Qingyue from Jiang University's south gate could stretch to the north gate?"
Li Mo also couldn't help but laugh: "Chen Ming, I know you're popular with women, and you confessed your rich dating history to us on the first day of school, but everything has its limits. Bragging about the campus belle, that's a bit much."
Su Zhe was more reserved and didn't speak, but the disbelief in his eyes was more hurtful than saying it directly.
Chen Ming shrugged indifferently.
What was there to explain to this bunch of virgins?
He felt a gaze fall on him, and instinctively looked up, meeting a pair of cool yet complex almond eyes.
Xiao Qingyue seemed to have noticed him a while ago, discreetly observing this side out of the corner of her eye.
Caught red-handed at this moment, a flicker of panic crossed her beautiful eyes, like a small animal caught in the act. Her cheeks visibly flushed, and she hastily turned her head away, pretending to listen to her friends beside her.
Only her slightly reddened earlobes betrayed her feigned composure.
Chen Ming withdrew his gaze, feeling no ripple in his heart, and even found it a little amusing.
What was this?
Even after breaking up, he could still enjoy a scene of "pure campus belle blushing because of me"?
"Holy crap! Look!" Zhou Ye's exclamation rang out again. He lowered his voice, his face red with excitement, "A girl is walking towards us! She's from the campus belle's table!"
Li Mo and Su Zhe immediately sat up straight, subtly straightening their backs and adjusting their collars.
The eyes of the three show-offs all sparkled with the same light: Is my spring coming?
Chen Ming looked up. A girl in a goose-yellow top with a baby face was indeed walking towards their table, a friendly smile on her face.
"Hello, classmates." The girl walked up to the table, her gaze sweeping over the four faces, finally landing on Li Mo, who looked the most normal. "I'm Xiao Qingyue's roommate, my name is Lin Fei. So, our dorm would like to have a get-together with your dorm. Are you interested?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Ye almost drooled.
"Interested! Extremely interested!" He slapped his thigh, eagerly answering, afraid that if he was a second late, this great opportunity would fly away. "Beautiful lady, don't worry, all four of us in our dorm are exceptionally talented and excel in both character and academics!"
Chen Ming silently rolled his eyes beside him.
Does "exceptionally talented" refer to your ability to play games for three days and three nights without getting off the computer?
Li Mo and Su Zhe also nodded repeatedly, their faces showing undisguised excitement.
Lin Fei was amused by Zhou Ye's demeanor: "That's great, let's add each other on WeChat, and I'll create a group later."
After exchanging contact information, Lin Fei waved her hand and returned to her seat.
The three of them, Zhou Ye, immediately huddled together, like three weasels who had stolen chickens, excitedly discussing.
"The campus belle's roommate came to invite us, what does that mean? It means the campus belle definitely has a thing for someone in our dorm!"
"I think she's interested in me, she looked at me a couple more times just now!"
"Oh, come on, with your perverted look…"
Chen Ming didn't participate in their discussion. He felt something was a bit off.
He looked at the table in the distance again. Xiao Qingyue wasn't looking their way, she was lowering her head, sipping soup, her profile soft and quiet.
Lin Fei beside her was leaning in, saying something to her, making her lips curve slightly upwards, revealing a faint, shallow smile.
Everything seemed so natural.
But Chen Ming knew her too well.
This girl, who appeared cold on the outside, was actually more timid and more stubborn than anyone.
In high school, to catch another glimpse of him, she would take a detour past his classroom, pretending to go to the restroom.
Today's "chance encounter" and this "get-together invitation" were probably also a carefully planned "pretense" of hers.
Chen Ming suddenly felt a bit annoyed. He threw his chopsticks into the tray and stood up: "I'm full. You guys keep chatting, I'm heading back first."
"Hey, Brother Ming, don't go! Let's discuss the details of the get-together!" Zhou Ye called from behind.
Chen Ming waved his hand without looking back.
Leaving the cafeteria, the evening breeze carried a hint of coolness, dispelling the heat on his body.
Chen Ming walked slowly towards the dorm building, his hands in his pockets.
Zhou Ye, Li Mo, and Su Zhe quickly caught up, still excited about what had just happened.
"Brother Ming, do you think the campus belle really likes me? I feel like my life's peak is about to arrive!" Zhou Ye was still daydreaming.
"Alright, you should lose some weight first." Li Mo mercilessly struck him down.
They bickered all the way back to the dorm. Only Su Zhe had been mostly silent, seemingly lost in thought.
Downstairs, he suddenly called out to Chen Ming, who was walking ahead.
"Brother Ming."
"Hmm?" Chen Ming turned around.
Su Zhe looked a bit hesitant, but still asked: "You… you've had so many relationships, you have more experience than us. I have a question, can you help me answer it?"
Zhou Ye and Li Mo also looked over curiously.
Chen Ming raised an eyebrow: "Tell me."
"If…" Su Zhe took a deep breath, as if mustering great courage, "If I have someone I like very, very much, but I know she doesn't like me, what should I do?"
The air fell silent. Zhou Ye and Li Mo also stopped their antics.
This was a dilemma that weighed on the hearts of many young people.
Chen Ming looked at Su Zhe's face, which seemed a bit naive due to nervousness. In a trance, he seemed to see his younger self from many years ago.
He, too, had once tossed and turned, unable to sleep, for an unattainable girl.
He was silent for a moment, the afterglow of the setting sun stretching his shadow long.
"Take a gamble." He uttered three words.
Su Zhe was stunned for a moment, then pressed: "Gamble that she… likes me too?"
There was a hint of imperceptible hope in his voice.
Chen Ming shook his head, his gaze directed towards the distant horizon, where a spectacular sunset was burning, breathtakingly beautiful, yet also fleeting enough to cause unease.
His voice was very soft, as if he was speaking to Su Zhe, and also as if he was speaking to himself.
"No."
"Gamble that you won't regret it."