The entire day—
Xu Jin was unbearable.
He sighed once.
Then again.
Then checked his phone.
No new messages.
Five minutes later—
He checked again.
The owner lady behind the counter watched all of this with sharp, experienced eyes.
Another sigh.
Another glance at the phone.
Another restless shift in his seat.
She finally walked over and flicked her fingers against his forehead.
Tap.
"Snap out of your thoughts," she said bluntly. "And help me with my work."
Xu Jin blinked, slightly offended. "I am helping."
"You are sulking," she corrected.
He stood up reluctantly and turned to grab a rolled banner from the side shelf.
Still distracted.
Still thinking about—
Senior Xiao.
Zhou Kai.
Campus.
Whole day together.
He didn't notice the low hanging display frame above him.
Thud.
He walked straight into the banner pole.
The owner lady stared.
"You've lost your eyes too?"
Xu Jin rubbed his forehead silently.
She crossed her arms and examined him for a long second.
Then she said it directly—
"Don't be a lovesick child."
Xu Jin stiffened.
"I'm not."
She scoffed. "If he doesn't like you, that doesn't mean he likes those two."
Xu Jin's jaw tightened slightly.
"And even if he doesn't like you now," she continued, "you have your whole life ahead of you."
She leaned forward a little.
"So don't act like a loser. Or some dead warrior who already lost a battle that didn't even happen."
Xu Jin didn't respond.
She flicked his forehead again—harder this time.
"Come on. Cheer up."
He looked away, annoyed—but not at her.At himself.
The owner lady handed him the cleaning cloth. "Wipe the shelves."
He took it quietly.
After a few seconds, he muttered, "I'm not a dead warrior."
She smirked. "Then stop looking like one."
Xu Jin stood there for a moment after the old lady's lecture.
Dead warrior?
Please.
He straightened slowly.
Right.
He hadn't lost anything.
No confession had happened.
No rejection.
No rival had won.
If they took Chen out today—
He could take Chen out tomorrow.
Simple.
His expression gradually shifted from gloomy to determined.
The old lady watched the change with satisfaction.
"That's better," she muttered.
Xu Jin suddenly turned toward her.
"Today is my day off tomorrow, right?"
She blinked. "Yes. Why?"
He nodded slowly, already calculating.
Tomorrow.
Full day.
Perfect timing.
He would invite Chen out.
Not just casually.
Properly.
Somewhere nice.
Somewhere fun.
Not a dusty construction corner behind campus.
The old lady narrowed her eyes. "You're planning something."
Xu Jin didn't deny it.
"I'll take him out," he said calmly.
She snorted. "Finally."
A small smile tugged at his lips.
He grabbed the cleaning cloth and started wiping the shelves with unusual enthusiasm.
Boxes were aligned perfectly.
Banners straightened.
Even the floor seemed shinier than usual.
The old lady raised an eyebrow. "Look at you. Suddenly hardworking."
Xu Jin shrugged. "Motivation."
Before returning to work, he paused and looked at her seriously.
"Thank you."
She waved her hand dismissively. "I only pushed you. The brain was always there. You just weren't using it."
He chuckled faintly.
Tomorrow.
He would take Chen out.
Properly.
And this time—
He wouldn't act like a sulking loser.
He would act like someone who still had every chance.
Xu Jin lasted exactly seven minutes.
Then—
He checked his phone again.
No new messages.
No pictures.
No "look at the kittens."
Nothing.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Chen…
This is unfair.
Didn't you say you'd send me pictures?
He opened the chat.
Scrolled.
Still nothing.
Then—
A notification popped up.
Not from Chen.
From Senior Xiao's story.
Xu Jin's eyes narrowed.
He opened it.
Photo.
Campus garden.
The wooden shelter in the background.
Chen crouching near it.
Zhou Kai in the corner making some ridiculous pose.
Juri holding Yun Hu.
Everyone present.
Xu Jin's eyebrow twitched.
"…Huhhhh."
Zoom in.
Zoom out.
Zoom in again.
Wait.
Who took the photo?
All four of them were visible.
The new employee who took leave today.
The "another student."
Xu Jin's eyes slowly sharpened.
"Oh."
So that's why he suddenly took the day off.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
A slow, dangerous grin spread across Xu Jin's face.
"I got the spy."
He leaned back in his chair, looking almost pleased with himself.
But then—
His gaze dropped back to his own chat screen.
Still empty.
The grin faded.
But this is still unfair.
Chen didn't send him anything.
No updates.
No pictures.
Not even a "we finished."
His imagination immediately spiraled again.
Were they laughing?
Were they eating together?
Was Chen smiling like that in the photo the whole time?
Then—
From somewhere inside his brain—
A tiny devil version of himself appeared.
Arms crossed.
Smirking.
"You were the one who told him not to send pictures."
Xu Jin froze.
"…Shut up."
"You said it yourself. 'You don't have to.' Very cool. Very calm. Very mature."
Real Xu Jin glared at the imaginary version of himself.
"I didn't mean it like that."
"Oh really? What did you mean, then?"
Xu Jin clenched his jaw.
The devil version leaned closer.
"Dead warrior behavior."
"Shut up."
"You rejected the pictures yourself and now you're crying internally."
Xu Jin grabbed his phone tighter.
"I'm not crying."
The devil version grinned. "Pathetic."
Xu Jin mentally kicked him away.
"Disappear."
The devil dissolved dramatically, still laughing.
Xu Jin exhaled sharply and leaned back again.
Fine.