Right after getting dumped, He suddenly learned that his best buddy was the legendary cold-as-ice school beauty. - Chapter 53

After showering, Lu Yibei saw a message from the heroine.

[Qingqian]: Your clothes and hat are here.
[Lu Yibei]: I just remembered too.
[Lu Yibei]: Let’s leave them there for now.
[Qingqian]: You’re not in a rush to use them, right?
[Lu Yibei]: Nah.

Lu Yibei thought to himself—what’s the rush for clothes anyway? It’s not like it’s the only set.

[Qingqian]: Oh, just leave them with me. If it gets cold later, I can wear them.

Lu Yibei: …

Heroine, seriously? You’ve got money, but you’re trying to embezzle a shirt?

[Lu Yibei]: Fine.
[Qingqian]: And the hat?
[Lu Yibei]: Not urgent, I bought two of the same.
[Qingqian]: Then leave it here too. The sun’s strong—I can wear it.

Lu Yibei: …

[Lu Yibei]: Fine.

After typing, he glanced at the aqua-blue hair tie on his wrist.

She really knew how to trade things… The heroine was a master of bartering.

“Yibei!”

Liu Jie shouted from under the bed. “We’re one short! You coming?”

You might be ignored, but when it comes to games, you’re still included.

This was the purest form of brotherhood in the male dorm.

“Coming,” Lu Yibei said.

…………

Lights out in the dorm.

Ji Qingqian spread the shirt over the thin air-conditioning blanket.

She crawled under the covers and closed her eyes.

Rain tapped softly outside, mingling with distant croaking frogs—hardly quiet.

Yet the faint, pleasant scent from the shirt made her unusually calm.

Soon, she drifted into deep sleep.

She dreamed.

In her dream, she sat side by side with a boy on a public wooden bench.

Before them was a crystal-clear lotus pond.

A tiny green frog hopped from one leaf to another, sending ripples across the water.

She watched the ripples spread.

Her head grew heavier and heavier.

Finally, she leaned on the boy’s shoulder.

At the same time, she smelled a soothing, comforting fragrance.

……

Rain fell all night.

By the next morning, it showed no signs of stopping.

Raindrops fell in strings, dripping incessantly.

The 404 male squad had morning classes. They dashed to the classroom under umbrellas.

Returning to the dorm was only after lunch.

Zhao Sun stared at the rain, his face gloomy:

“With rain this heavy, what’s the point of making a sunny-day doll?”

In this weather, military training had to be paused.

Lu Yibei heard from the heroine that their class’s training had moved indoors.

Inside, standing at attention was impossible, so the whole morning was spent on patriotic education, including a red-themed movie.

They’d still have to report to class in the afternoon.

But apparently, the afternoon would be more relaxed, with the instructor preparing some commercial entertainment films.

Lu Yibei hadn’t experienced this last year, so he didn’t know what kind of movies “Monkey Brother” liked.

“I’m lying down,” Lu Yibei said, stretching on the bed in a “太” shape.

Last night’s operation hadn’t gone smoothly.

Their four-person squad had only managed to eat one chicken at 2 a.m. Today was an 8 a.m. professional class—they couldn’t afford to slack off.

“Same here,” Liu Jie said.
“+1,” Fatty Hao said.
“+,” Zhao Sun added.

Rain was annoying for those who had to go out.

But if you just wanted to stay in bed… there was no better weather than an endless rainy day.

The dorm grew quiet.

Soon, soft breathing filled the room.

When Lu Yibei opened his eyes again, over two hours had passed without his noticing.

Wasn’t this also a form of time travel?

Thinking this, he fished his phone out from under his pillow.

Though he had told the heroine he’d take a nap, he still received a few messages from her while “offline.”

[Qingqian]: Heading out.
[Qingqian]: At the classroom.
[Qingqian]: Waiting for the instructor.
[Qingqian]: Bored.

Rigid and formal, it was more like a report than sharing.

But… very cute.

This was also a kind of charm.

He was about to reply when another message arrived.

[Qingqian]: The instructor’s movie is… a war hero anti-Japanese flick.
[Lu Yibei]: Didn’t you say afternoon would be entertainment films?
[Qingqian]: Awake?
[Lu Yibei]: Not really, communicating telepathically.
[Qingqian]: Try connecting to my brainwaves, then we can watch together.
[Lu Yibei]: Connecting… Level too low. Connection failed.
[Qingqian]: Useless.
[Lu Yibei]: What’s the movie called?
[Qingqian]: You’ll love it.
[Qingqian]: Anti-Japanese Superhero Kayako.
[Lu Yibei]: …

Anti-Japanese superhero…

Ah, thinking about it, that fits.

But what was Monkey Brother thinking? Showing The Grudge during daylight hours in front of students?

Trying to see their scared faces? What kind of sadistic fun is that?

Lu Yibei had seen The Grudge.

But only a little.

Also with the heroine. He had only watched the beginning before feeling completely off.

“Damn it, the cabinet moved!”—and he cut the movie.

Later, the heroine apparently finished the whole series alone, expression unchanged.

…This woman was infuriatingly reassuring.

[Qingqian]: Want to watch?
[Qingqian]: I’ll record a clip for you.
[Lu Yibei]: No.
[Qingqian]: You want it whether you like it or not.
[Lu Yibei]: How can you force a decent man!?

But the heroine said nothing and immediately sent:

[Qingqian]: video.avi
[Qingqian]: Don’t click if you don’t want to.
[Lu Yibei]: …

Who could resist clicking?

He retracted his previous words.

Where’s the sense of security?

This woman… so bad.

He stared at the screen, the circular play button with a triangle in the center.

Looking around—his three roommates were still sound asleep.

He wasn’t alone.

Come on!

He clicked the screen hard—after muting the volume.

The camera wobbled, but didn’t switch to the back.

All he saw was the front camera—the heroine’s elegant, expressionless face.

Lu Yibei met her gaze on the screen for three seconds.

Ji Qingqian didn’t move, making him wonder if the video had frozen.

Then, in the next frame, she lifted her hand in a “V” near her face.

Her right eye blinked lightly, giving him a playful wink.

Cold expression, playful gesture—the contrast hit him instantly.

All he could think: Cute…

But he quickly refocused, suspecting the heroine was setting him up.

The main event was coming.

Then…

The video ended.

Lu Yibei: …

[Qingqian]: Watched it, right?
[Qingqian]: Knew you couldn’t resist.
[Qingqian]: Both weak and playful.
[Qingqian]: But courageous, so here’s your reward.