Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jiang Tingyu froze, looking up at me blankly.

Then, she explained with a hint of embarrassment, “These were grown at my home. There won’t be any more after today… Senior Lu, if you don’t think they taste good…”

“No,” I interrupted her awkward words, “they’re delicious.”

There was nothing wrong with the oranges, of course. They were bursting with juice and had a sweet, mellow flavor.

They were a gift she had specially brought for her boyfriend.

Unfortunately, he had tossed them all aside, leaving them to rot in the fly-infested trash heap downstairs.

While Cheng Yuming was mocking her in the dorm for not knowing what high-quality things looked like, I had my back turned to him, peeling this gift-a gift I cherished only because of the giver.

I didn’t even look up as I ate them, segment by segment.

One a day. By the time I finished them, white blisters had broken out on my tongue. The slightest movement brought a sharp sting that made it hard to focus.

Jiang Tingyu clearly brightened up again because of that one short sentence.

“Then I’ll tell my parents when I go back. It’s not just Ah Yu-everyone thinks they’re delicious.”

My expression didn’t change much. I put on my headphones and said I was leaving.

Jiang Tingyu smiled at me again. “Senior Lu, goodbye.”

Her figure stood gracefully beneath the men’s dormitory, like a small tree that had just been planted.

She was clearly out of place on this patch of land, yet she seemed so full of life.

At that moment, a thought surfaced in my mind once more.

…If it were me.

If it were changed to me…

It would be better if it were me.

I have a cold relationship with my roommate, Cheng Yuming.

There’s no specific reason; perhaps some people just have incompatible temperaments.

Only occasionally does he take the initiative to talk to me.

Like five minutes ago.

He had just finished a video call in the dorm with his childhood friend.

The girl was dressed in revealing clothes, smiling brightly as she asked him, “Brother Yu, I called you ‘hubby’ while we were gaming just now. You don’t mind, do you?”

He gave a tut. “What do you think?”

The other two roommates nearby started teasing him. “He was so anxious in the game that he was shouting ‘don’t touch my wife.’ What do you think, Miaomiao?”

Cheng Yuming laughed too. “Stop messing around. Miaomiao is just like a sister to me.”

“Oh, right. We can’t let Sister Tingyu find out about this, or she’ll get the wrong idea.” Before hanging up, Su Miao winked.

Cheng Yuming froze for a second. One moment he was playing ‘husband and wife,’ and the next he opened his phone to send a voice message to Jiang Tingyu: “Babe, I just fell asleep. I’m coming down now.”

Putting down his phone, his tone became irritable. “Jiang Tingyu is obedient, but she’s just too conservative. She dresses so strictly, and after all this time, she won’t even let me touch her…”

The two roommates didn’t comment, only exchanging meaningful glances.

Cheng Yuming’s interest was piqued, and he suddenly turned to ask me, “Lu Guanlan, what do you think?”

I looked up, giving him an emotionless glance.

He continued to press, “I never see you dating, and you don’t even watch porn. You saw my ‘sister’ just now-she’s pretty enough, right? What kind of girls do you like? Pure or hot?”

There was a subtle sense of showing off and a condescending desire for competition in his eyes.

I pulled back my chair and spoke succinctly: “Why should I tell you?”

“Huh?” Cheng Yuming’s expression stiffened, and his gaze slowly changed.

He probably thought I was being too rude, as if I were looking for trouble.

Actually, there was no need to doubt it.

I was looking for trouble with him.

The two roommates also looked at each other, awkwardly trying to smooth things over for me. “Uh… Brother Lu might just not be interested in women…”

Just as the atmosphere in the dorm reached a breaking point, I spoke in a flat tone, “It’s a secret. You have to trade something for it.”

The oppressive tension vanished instantly.

Cheng Yuming laughed. “So you’re a closet pervert after all.”

The two roommates quickly added, “Then you have to come to Brother Cheng’s birthday party next week, Brother Lu! We’ll play Truth or Dare and force the answer out of you!”

I had no interest in Cheng Yuming’s birthday party.

Even though I already knew his childhood friend was coming to celebrate with him and would be staying at his family’s villa.

None of it was my business.

But after a few seconds of silence, I nodded. “Fine.”