Ruan Ruan had a keen sense for these things. When Zheng Xiyu and Tang Tianman left, she didn’t follow.
Everyone knew how close she was to Tang Tianman. The moment the two disappeared from sight, the girls at the table erupted in chatter, turning to her with eager questions.
“What’s the deal?”
“Did they know each other before?”
“Does Senior Sister Tang actually… like girls?”
Even Ruan Ruan had been stunned by Tang Tianman’s parting words.
Based on everything she knew about Tang Tianman, there was a ninety-nine percent chance it was just nonsense. But that slim one percent was enough to upend her entire understanding of her roommate.
They were dormmates, inseparable since their first day on campus—like glue and ink, stuck together for a whole year now. It was downright negligent of her not to have figured out Tang Tianman’s preferences by this point.
Her mind churned with turmoil, but Ruan Ruan kept her tone light and casual.
“In this day and age, what’s so strange about it? True love wins out—does it matter if it’s a guy or a girl?”
“Not at all, not at all,” the girls at the table chimed in. “Someone like Senior Sister Tang? Count me in!”
“Exactly.” Ruan Ruan took a swig of her drink and raised her voice a notch. “We’re students at a top-tier double first-class university. Anyone who tries to attack someone over this is just pathetically low-class.”
An odd silence fell over the central table. No one spoke. No one even touched their glasses.
The atmosphere grew awkward—awkward enough to give Ruan Ruan goosebumps—but she didn’t budge from her seat.
She’d scarfed down plenty of Tang Tianman’s snacks over the months. It was time to repay the favor.
As long as she was sitting there, no one could gossip freely about Tang Tianman.
Every minute she could stall was a victory. Once the dinner broke up and everyone scattered, the topic might fizzle out.
Ruan Ruan was racking her brain. She pulled out her phone and fired off a message to Tang Tianman:
—Little Baby, fly free without a care. Big Baby’s got your back forever.
Her phone buzzed. Tang Tianman, waiting at a red light, fished it out and swiped the screen open. She couldn’t hold back a laugh.
Zheng Xiyu glanced sideways at her.
Tang Tianman instinctively pressed the screen to her chest, then realized that was silly. She looked up, her voice a little unsteady. “Uh, it was just a message from my roommate.”
On second thought, that explanation was even worse.
What did it matter to Zheng Xiyu who was messaging her?
“Ahem.” Tang Tianman cleared her throat, avoided the other woman’s gaze, and pocketed her phone.
She trailed after Zheng Xiyu as they left the mall, the air between them thick with unspoken tension.
Zheng Xiyu didn’t initiate conversation, but she watched Tang Tianman’s every move, slowing her long strides whenever Tang Tianman’s shorter legs lagged behind.
It was blatantly deliberate—a towering woman ambling along like a snail.
“Green light,” Zheng Xiyu said suddenly.
“Oh, right.” Tang Tianman’s eyes met the glowing walk signal, and she reached out to tug at Zheng Xiyu’s sleeve.
It was a habit of hers, always looking out for whoever was crossing with her.
This time was different, though, thanks to their height difference. Her fingers caught only the cuff.
If she’d reached down just a bit farther, she’d have brushed Zheng Xiyu’s wrist.
Alarms blared in Tang Tianman’s head. She’d just confessed to the woman—taking advantage like that wasn’t what a senior sister should do.
She quickened her pace two steps ahead and let go, staring fixedly at the zebra crossing as she strode across in big steps.
It was a massive intersection, the city’s night lights dazzling. Cars turned at the far end of the crosswalk.
Tang Tianman hurried forward when suddenly a hand seized her shoulder and gently pulled her back.
“Careful,” Zheng Xiyu said, her fingertips rubbing a small patch of fabric on Tang Tianman’s shirt.
“Ah, it’s fine, really.” Tang Tianman waved it off. “Lots of cars right now. Gotta cross steady, quick, and ruthless.”
Zheng Xiyu raised a hand to shield her as she rubbed that bit of cloth, then guided her safely to the other side.
Tang Tianman decided “weird” was the word for this vibe.
She was never one to beat around the bush. Anything that needed clarifying got clarified—no room for misunderstandings to fester. This was the perfect moment.
But blurting out, “That thing I said about liking you? Total fake,” would make her sound like she farted words for fun.
She needed some buildup first.
So Tang Tianman put a little distance between them, tilting her head up at a less neck-straining angle.
“Um, Zheng Xiyu, right?”
Zheng Xiyu turned to her, a faint smile playing at her lips. “Yeah.”
“Over six foot three?”
“Six-two.”
“Freshman in the Sports Institute’s training program.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“School volleyball team’s main attacker.”
“Right.”
“About to represent us at CUVA.”
“Yes.”
“Not just killer at volleyball—you crush big balls, small balls, track events, everything!” Tang Tianman was impressed with her own recall, her voice rising with enthusiasm. “You’re N University’s pride and joy!”
This time, Zheng Xiyu didn’t reply. She just looked at her, the city lights sparkling in her eyes.
Tang Tianman met her gaze, her excitement catching in her throat and swallowing itself back down.
She turned her head and fake-coughed twice to gather her thoughts.
Zheng Xiyu reached up and unzipped her jacket. In one fluid motion, Tang Tianman’s view dimmed, then brightened again.
A jacket settled over her shoulders, carrying the scent of laundry detergent and solid warmth.
“It’s a bit chilly tonight,” Zheng Xiyu said. “Don’t catch a cold.”
Tang Tianman wore a long-sleeved sundress, the fabric on the thinner side. But now Zheng Xiyu was down to a short-sleeved shirt, her sleek, long arms bare.
“Won’t you be colder like that?” Tang Tianman eyed those elegant lines.
“I don’t get cold. Athlete’s constitution.”
“Really?” Tang Tianman was intrigued. “Like, superhuman immune system? Never get sick year-round?”
“Yeah, it’s been…” Zheng Xiyu paused. “Over two years since my last cold, I think.”
The conversation flowed from there. Tang Tianman, who always came down with something at the change of seasons, clutched the jacket tighter. “How do you pull that off? Just exercise?”
“Mm. Try five kilometers morning and evening.”
“No way! I’d drop dead!”
“Then twice-a-week swims.”
“Too cold this time of year!”
“Jump rope at Statue Square?”
“Hahaha, the ones leading are all those Sports Institute hotties—one killer body after another. Oh man, those legs…”
Dormitory Building 9 wasn’t far. They hadn’t exhausted the topic when they reached the entrance.
Tang Tianman spotted the familiar doors and blinked in a daze. She halted. “How’d you know this was my dorm?”
Zheng Xiyu answered plainly, “I didn’t.”
“Huh?”
“I just followed you.”
“Oh, yeah.” Tang Tianman laughed, feeling a bit slow on the uptake tonight.
It wasn’t too late, but girls were trickling in by twos and threes—some hugging books, others carrying thermoses.
The two of them lingering at that not-too-close, not-too-far distance looked for all the world like a pair of reluctant lovers.
Tang Tianman hadn’t forgotten her mission. She licked her lips and looked up at Zheng Xiyu earnestly, her senior-sister gaze full of encouragement and concern.
“Look, everything I said boils down to one thing: you’re amazing.”
“You’re seriously incredible—not a single N University student holds a candle to you. Especially after those jerks provoked you on the court and tried to get you drunk at dinner. You’re a hundred times better than them!”
Tang Tianman clenched her fists, locking eyes with Zheng Xiyu, waiting for her response.
Zheng Xiyu looked down at her, smile fading into matching solemnity. “Got it.”
Tang Tianman nodded, pleased, and pressed on. “Someone as outstanding as you must have tons of admirers. So don’t sweat what irrelevant people say.”
“Got it,” Zheng Xiyu agreed again.
The next part made Tang Tianman nervous; her gaze darted away. “And don’t… take my words too seriously either. What I said today? Mostly just to shut down the idiots.”
Zheng Xiyu went quiet.
Tang Tianman’s eyes went full wobble. She couldn’t bear to look at Zheng Xiyu anymore. The brightly lit dorm entrance shone like a lifeline.
She gripped the jacket sleeve and waved. “Anyway, thrilled to meet you today. It’s late—see ya!”
As she bolted off, she heard Zheng Xiyu call after her, “See you.”
The words weren’t loud or soft, but they lingered in Tang Tianman’s ears, spurring her feet faster. She didn’t stop once, charging straight up to the fourth floor.
A sedentary type like her was panting by the time she shoved open the dorm door, clutching the handle for two full minutes to catch her breath.
Her roommate Li Tong was sleeping. She yanked back her curtain at the noise, squinting. “Tianman, you being chased by a ghost or what? Those stomping footsteps—I heard ’em in my dream.”
“Probably sleep paralysis then.” Tang Tianman evened out her breathing, slammed the door shut, and was once more her bold, unflappable self.
Li Tong jolted upright, grabbed her glasses from the bedside, and slid them on. “Why are you wearing a freshman uniform?”
Tang Tianman blinked, then looked down at the jacket. “Shit.”
She’d forgotten to give it back.
Li Tong fiddled with her glasses frames, speculating wildly. “Such a big freshman jacket—guy’s, right? Weren’t you at the Student Union dinner with Ruan Ruan? You’re the only one back, huh? Yo, your face is kinda red.”
Li Tong clapped her hands, a spark of excitement in her eyes. “There’s only one explanation—you’ve been chased by some cute junior guy, right? Come on, spill the beans. What’s the romantic tale this time?”
“You’re the one blushing!” Tang Tianman shot her a glare. “You woke up with pillow creases all over your face—you look like a little red-skinned suckling pig!”
“Hey, now it’s personal attacks? Talk about embarrassed and snapping back.”
“You’re the embarrassed one. Junior guy my ass. Screw that.”
“Who are you screwing?” Li Tong leaned over the bed rail.
Tang Tianman plopped down onto her pink little chair, her emotions a tangled mess. “Screwing myself.”
Li Tong was at a loss for words. It wasn’t until Ruan Ruan returned and gave a dramatic retelling, full of rises and falls, that she pieced together what had happened.
“You really like her?” Li Tong couldn’t hold back an exclamation. “Screw me!”
“No.” Tang Tianman fiddled with the school uniform, her mood settling into calm. “I’m just stressing over how to give these clothes back.”
“Didn’t you two exchange contacts when she brought you home?” Ruan Ruan pulled out her phone. “Let me look her up. She’s in the Sports Institute Student Union—should be in the directory.”
Tang Tianman’s phone chimed once. She snatched it up and swiped a couple of times. “No need to look.”
Ruan Ruan blinked. “Huh?”
Tang Tianman stared at the name on her screen. “She added me as a friend.”
Li Tong let out a whoop. “Yooooooo~~~~~~~”
