Right after getting dumped, He suddenly learned that his best buddy was the legendary cold-as-ice school beauty. - Chapter 44

After a full day of military training, Ma Jiaojiao had barely sat down in the dorm room before she started tapping away on her phone.

Chu Chu knew exactly what she was doing:

“All you do is chat with your senior, and somehow you have endless things to say!”

Ma Jiaojiao shot her a sidelong glance:

“The highest form of romance is the desire to share. And you—don’t even know that, yet dare to claim you’ve been in a relationship?”

Chu Chu turned her face away, scoffing:

“Oh really? The highest form of romance~~ Hmph. I can share too! Juejue, I had little fried chicken legs for dinner~ They were so good~ What did you eat?”

“I had fried chicken legs too,” Wang Jue replied.

“What a coincidence~~ Juejue~”

“Yeah,” Wang Jue suppressed a laugh.

Ma Jiaojiao rolled her eyes.

“Dumbasses, drama queens… coincidence my foot! You two went to the cafeteria together and ordered the same food!”

“Only Wang Jue is willing to play along with you,” Ma Jiaojiao said.

“Juejue’s way cuter than your senior. You could never compete~” Chu Chu whined.

—The highest form of romance is the desire to share.

Ji Qingqian, already lying flat on her bed, heard that sentence.

She considered herself rather indifferent when it came to emotions—romance and fluff were things she barely understood.

Yet after hearing Ma Jiaojiao’s words, she suddenly wanted to share something with Lu Yibei.

But when she pulled out her phone, she got stuck at the first step.

What should she share?

There didn’t seem to be anything interesting enough.

She actually envied personalities like Chu Chu and Ma Jiaojiao—people who never ran out of things to say.

“…Ma Jiaojiao,” she finally spoke.

“Hmm?”

After spending a few days together, Ma Jiaojiao could now converse calmly with this icy figure, no longer instinctively sitting upright at the first sound of her voice. This time, she didn’t even glance up from her screen as she answered.

“What do you usually talk about with your boyfriend?”

“Anything and everything~”

“Too broad. Give me an example.”

“Well, for example…”

Ma Jiaojiao looked up at the seriously questioning, serene goddess before her. “Ji Qingqian… why are you asking?”

Ji Qingqian couldn’t answer.

“You’re not struggling to find topics to chat with someone, are you?”

“…No.”

Her cheeks warmed slightly, like a little secret had been discovered, and she lay back down.

“The senior, huh??”

Ma Jiaojiao’s excitement instantly spiked, tossing aside her own boyfriend in her phone: “I knew it! You treat that senior differently! Wait, you guys added each other on WeChat?”

“No,” Ji Qingqian replied.

WeChat? No way. They used QQ.

Ma Jiaojiao didn’t believe it.

“Of course it’s Ji Qingqian. Look at Chu Chu, talking big, and yet she got overtaken around the curve.”

Chu Chu pouted like a puffed-up pufferfish:

“Ma Jiaojiao, you!”

Ma Jiaojiao understood perfectly—Chu Chu’s feelings for Senior Lu were really no different from hers. He was just handsome, nothing more. She had no real intention, not a single word exchanged—so teasing him so freely was safe.

“See?”

Ma Jiaojiao patted Chu Chu’s back. “Losing to Ji Qingqian isn’t shameful.”

Not shameful, maybe.

But frustrating? Absolutely.

Chu Chu grumbled, then shouted: “Ji Qingqian!”

“…Huh?”

Chu Chu stomped over to Ji Qingqian’s bed, grabbed the railing, and stared intently at her face.

Ji Qingqian: ?

After a long, hard look, Chu Chu finally relaxed.

Yeah, seeing this face, a lot of the frustration melted away. Losing to someone like this? Not shameful at all.

“How far have you two chatted?” Ma Jiaojiao asked.

“…Not at all,” Ji Qingqian replied, still feeling a bit shy.

“Don’t ask,” Wang Jue stepped in to cover for her. As the only one who had even glimpsed the truth of Ji Qingqian and Lu Yibei’s relationship, she’d been protecting her friend.

Ma Jiaojiao wisely didn’t press and even gave Ji Qingqian some advice:

“Just chat about anything. When you meet someone you like, even a simple ‘hi’ can feel sweet.”

“…Oh.” Ji Qingqian said softly. “Thanks.”

She mimicked the method.

[Ji Qingqian: Hi.]

But after sending it, she stared at the two words, feeling incredibly silly…

She hadn’t just met Lu Yibei yesterday. Even if she didn’t know what to share, no need to be this dumb…

She wanted to retract it.

But Lu Yibei had already replied, three messages in a row:

[YibeiNorth: Hi.]
[YibeiNorth: Hello everyone.]
[YibeiNorth: Now that’s really hello.]

Ji Qingqian suppressed a smile that threatened to escape.

She felt silly—but luckily, he was an idiot too.

[YibeiNorth: Have you eaten, heroine?]
[Ji Qingqian: I have.]
[Ji Qingqian: Even if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t punch you~]
[YibeiNorth: With your roommates?]
[Ji Qingqian: Yes.]
[YibeiNorth: What did you eat?]
[Ji Qingqian: Fried chicken drumsticks and tomato scrambled eggs.]
[YibeiNorth: Next time, send me a photo so I can eat virtually.]
[Ji Qingqian: Okay.]

Ji Qingqian realized that Lu Yibei knew she didn’t know what to share, and was gently guiding her…

It was a bit like being coaxed as a child, but very tender.

She liked this way of communicating very much.

[Ji Qingqian: Did you eat?]
[YibeiNorth: Just got served.]
[YibeiNorth: Photo.jpg]

She opened it.

A hotpot with a yin-yang broth, freshly served red beef on the side, dry ice swirling with smoke.

[YibeiNorth: Heroine, you eat first.]
[Ji Qingqian: You’re eating alone!!]

At the Haidilao restaurant.

“Slurp~ Slurp~~”

Liu Jie licked his lips voraciously, Zhao Sun and Hao Zhangwen ate fruit while waiting for the spicy pot.

Lu Yibei, however, stared at the two exclamation points on the screen.

Ji Qingqian’s way of expressing herself was interesting—honest, and each exclamation showed how excited she was. Normally, one exclamation was rare. Now she sent two.

Lu Yibei considered it, feeling a little embarrassed.

The first day he met Ji Qingqian, he’d promised to take her out for hotpot.

Yet he ate first without her. No wonder she added two exclamation points.

[YibeiNorth: Such a jerk, Lu Yibei.]
[YibeiNorth: I’ll scold myself first, heroine, don’t be mad.]
[Ji Qingqian: Hmph.]
[YibeiNorth: This time, it’s the roommates who earned the money, so they treated the whole dorm.]
[YibeiNorth: Pick a time, I’ll bring you right away.]
[Ji Qingqian: Tomorrow.]
[YibeiNorth: Okay, I’ll find you tomorrow.]
[Ji Qingqian: Mm.]
[Ji Qingqian: You eat first, don’t starve.]
[YibeiNorth: Okay.]

Ji Qingqian put her phone down, satisfied.

Lu Yibei was really something—he calmed her down before she even got angry.

She thought he’d be too absorbed in his meal, but then her phone buzzed again.

[YibeiNorth: Video.avi]
[YibeiNorth: What a cringe birthday celebration at Haidilao… Should I do the same for you someday?]
[Ji Qingqian: …No.]
[YibeiNorth: Someone cosplayed Tifa outside, cosplayers in Hangzhou are everywhere…]
[YibeiNorth: Full! Today’s watermelon was good, just a bit too much beef…]
[YibeiNorth: Heading home~ grabbed some snacks, want some?]
[YibeiNorth: Whoa, why is the subway so crowded at this hour!]
[YibeiNorth: Home, just need to work a bit…]

Messages filled Ji Qingqian’s eyes, and her face couldn’t hide the smile.

She replied to each one carefully, short words but sincere.

Ji Qingqian thought to herself: If the desire to share is the highest form of romance, then YibeiNorth is the most romantic person of all.