Chapter 15
October 7th, the last day of the holiday. Su Louzhi and Ji Kailan finished dinner, and as usual, he walked her to the dormitory building. She waved, turned around, and went upstairs. The moment she pushed open the door to Room 302—
"Zhizhi!"
A figure flew at her, slamming into her arms like a cannonball.
Su Louzhi stumbled back two steps and quickly reached out to catch her. Once she steadied herself, she looked down. Jiang Yi was clinging to her, grinning so wide her eyes curved into crescent moons.
"Zhizhi! I'm back!" Jiang Yi announced loudly. "Come on, come on, how was your holiday?"
Before Su Louzhi could pull out her phone, a lazy voice drifted over from the side.
"Oh, it must have been great."
Liu Mengting leaned against the edge of her bed, a book in hand, her gaze slanting over the top of the page.
"Spending a wonderful seven-day holiday with our school's legendary heartthrob, Senior Ji," she said, her tone dripping with meaning. "How could it not be good?"
Su Louzhi froze. How did they know?
Jiang Yi immediately broke into a mischievous grin and released her, stepping back with her arms crossed. "That's right, that's right! We saw everything! Your photos have spread all over the forum! We've known for ages! If we weren't afraid of interrupting your little dates, we would've blown up your phone with messages!" She wiggled her eyebrows and leaned in. "Now fess up! Are you two hiding something?"
Su Louzhi was completely baffled. What photos? What forum? She looked helplessly at Qin Qingyan.
Qin Qingyan was sitting on her own bed. When their eyes met, she gave an apologetic smile. "Zhizhi, it's the school forum," she explained. "Photos of you and Ji Kailan walking around near campus were taken by a student who stayed behind during the holiday, and they posted them."
Jiang Yi nodded frantically beside her. "Right, right! And some other students who didn't go home saw you two shopping around the area too! They all said you were on a date!"
Liu Mengting added, "So, Zhizhi, since when did you get so close to Senior Ji?"
Su Louzhi blinked, then quickly lowered her head to type: 【Senior Ji said he was alone during the holiday too, so he asked me to be his holiday buddy.】
She held up her phone. Jiang Yi squeezed in to read it, then was the first to object. "Holiday buddy?" She widened her eyes. "But isn't Senior Ji famous for being cold and aloof? He's been at this school for three years, and aside from Shen Boyang, there's been no one else around him!"
Liu Mengting nodded. "Exactly. His fan club at school has been stalking him for three years, and the only person they've ever caught him with is Shen Boyang. You're the first girl to appear by his side."
Su Louzhi was stunned. Senior Ji... cold and aloof? She thought back over the past seven days—his gentle tone, his patient tutoring, the way he naturally drew closer, and those eyes that always seemed to hold a smile. Where exactly was the coldness?
Qin Qingyan watched her bewildered expression and gave a soft laugh. "Sorry, Zhizhi. I didn't get the chance to tell you in detail that day." She said warmly, "Senior Ji is the only son of Ji Feng, the head of the Ji Group. Shen Boyang is the young master of the Shen Group, and the two families have some connections, so they grew up together."
Liu Mengting chimed in, "So in the three years Senior Ji's been here, the best anyone could catch was an occasional photo of him with Shen Boyang. Other than that, he's always alone." She paused, giving Su Louzhi a meaningful look. "So, Zhizhi, you've really made a name for yourself this time."
Su Louzhi stood there, phone in hand, not knowing what to say.
Only after Jiang Yi and Liu Mengting had finally gotten their fill of gossip and let Su Louzhi off the hook did Qin Qingyan get down from her bed and walk over to her.
"Zhizhi," she said softly, her gaze carrying a hint of concern. "I haven't spent much time with Senior Ji, so I don't know him that well. Did he give you a hard time during the holiday?"
Su Louzhi snapped back to reality and shook her head, typing: 【No. Senior Ji was very kind to me. He was gentle.】
Qin Qingyan read the line, and the worry in her expression faded, replaced by a relieved smile.
"That's good." She gently patted Su Louzhi's shoulder. "Otherwise, I'd really blame myself for thinking you might've been taken advantage of."
Su Louzhi felt a warmth in her chest and typed with a smile: 【Qingyan, you're overthinking it. I'll take good care of myself.】
Qin Qingyan nodded with a smile and went back to her own bed.
——
The balcony.
Su Louzhi finished washing up, changed into her pajamas, and lay down on her small bed. With the bed curtain drawn, it became her own little private world.
She pulled out her phone and opened WeChat, looking at the pinned chat at the top. She thought for a moment, then began to type: 【Silent Little Tail: Senior Ji, I'm back in the dorm now. I just finished chatting with my roommates, that's why I'm telling you now. I've arrived.】
Within ten seconds, a reply came.
【J: Good. I figured as much. Since it's the last day of the holiday, I guessed Zhizhi would be held up by her roommates.】
【J: Now that you're safely back, I can rest easy. Get a good night's sleep.】
【J: Goodnight, Zhizhi.】
Su Louzhi looked at those three messages, and the corners of her mouth curved up unconsciously. She obediently replied: 【Silent Little Tail: Goodnight, Senior Ji.】
With the conversation with Ji Kailan wrapped up, Su Louzhi placed her phone on her chest and stared blankly at the top of the bed curtain. Then, a thought struck her, and she picked up the phone again.
The forum.
The one Jiang Yi and the others had mentioned.
She knew the school had a forum. Qin Qingyan had mentioned it at the start of the semester, saying she could check it if anything came up. But Su Louzhi had never really paid it much attention. After being reborn, she preferred spending her time experiencing reality—watching the flowers, the grass, the wind, the people. Her phone was just for a casual scroll before bed, watching videos, reading the news. She never went out of her way to browse the forum.
But tonight was different.
She took a deep breath and tapped into the school forum. After a few seconds of loading, the homepage popped up, and Su Louzhi froze. The entire screen was filled with nearly identical headlines.
【Shock! Has our school's aloof heartthrob fallen in love?】
【Oh my god! For the first time in three years, a girl has appeared by Senior Ji's side!】
【Wahhh, who is the goddess who captured our heartthrob? Pics pls! Spill the tea!】
【Breaking! During the seven-day holiday, someone spotted Senior Ji and a mystery girl on a date the whole time!】
Su Louzhi's face slowly grew hot. She bit her lip, her finger hovering over the screen. After a moment's hesitation, she tapped on the first post.
【Shock! Has our school's aloof heartthrob fallen in love?】
OP: As the title says. First day of the National Day holiday. This broke student stayed on campus because the flight home was too expensive, and while getting dinner, I suddenly saw our school's legendary top-tier heartthrob, Senior Ji, walking into the cafeteria side by side with a girl. The moment they walked in, it was like a light switched on—Senior Ji tall and handsome, the girl bright and petite, standing together like a match made in heaven. I couldn't help but sneak a few more glances, but Senior Ji was sharp. He noticed us staring at the girl and immediately blocked her with his body, shooting us a warning look. That protectiveness. That possessiveness. Is Senior Ji in a relationship or what?
2F: Nooo, don't tell me! I thought Senior Ji staying single was just for everyone's eye candy. Someone actually managed to snag him?
3F: No pics, no proof. I refuse to believe Senior Ji is off the market.
4F: Re 3F, the pics you want are in another post. A brave soul managed to snap photos of Senior Ji and that girl, and they're so sweet. Link: 【Oh my god! For the first time in nearly three years, our school's famous heartthrob finally has a girl by his side other than Shen Boyang!】
Su Louzhi followed the link from 4F and tapped into the second post.
【Oh my god! For the first time in nearly three years, our school's famous heartthrob finally has a girl by his side other than Shen Boyang!】
OP: 【Pic】【Pic】【Pic】【Pic】
A feast of Senior Ji's gorgeous face. Breaking exclusive! First time in three years, Senior Ji has been caught with a girl by his side. Everyone, come dig—who is this beauty?
2F: Isn't it kind of rude to dig into someone's personal life like this?
3F: 2F, don't be so uptight. Everyone just wants to know who this goddess is who managed to tame Senior Ji.
4F: This is blowing up. I see another post has already dug up who the girl is.
5F: Link, link, give us the link!
6F: Here you go: 【Wahhh, who is the goddess who managed to snag our heartthrob?】
Su Louzhi's finger paused.
A third post.
She bit her lip again, but tapped in anyway.
【Wahhh, who is the goddess who managed to snag our heartthrob?】
OP: I saw the photos of Senior Ji and that girl. She's so beautiful. Who is she? I've never seen her before.
2F: You don't know her? She's the famous mute girl from the finance department.
3F: Yeah, yeah. She actually caused a stir on the very first day of classes, but she seemed really introverted and didn't socialize much, so people didn't see her around often. But she's incredibly pure and gorgeous. I'm her classmate, I can vouch for that. And she's a really nice person too. Sweet and kind.
4F: Same here. I've crossed paths with her once. We didn't talk, but I saw our school's cat Mimi approach her, rubbing against her feet and meowing. She crouched down with a soft smile and petted the cat, and it just melted my heart. Only a girl like that could capture our Senior Ji.
5F: You guys have only seen her from a distance, haven't you? I'm telling you, I've been close to her! She smells amazing. I talked to her once. She looked at me with those serious eyes, and I caught a whiff of her scent. I couldn't control myself—I wanted to tackle her, hug her, bite her, and just inhale her!
6F: Dammit! 5F! You're not allowed to do that to our Zhizhi!
7F: Oh ho! So her name is Zhizhi!
8F: Wahhh! My Zhizhi has been discovered! I want to hide her away! Damn it, Ji Kailan hunted my Zhizhi with such precision! It's only been a month since school started?!
Su Louzhi's face flushed so red it felt like it might catch fire. What was all this? She had no idea she was so popular! What did they mean, "wanted to tackle her"? "Hug her, bite her, and inhale her"? And "MY Zhizhi"—what the hell was that?!
She couldn't read any more. Flustered, she scrambled to exit the forum, tossed her phone by the pillow, and curled up under the covers, her cheeks so hot she could've fried an egg on them.
If Su Louzhi hadn't been so embarrassed, if she hadn't been in such a hurry to close the forum, if she'd waited just a little longer, she would have noticed a post rising at rocket speed, its popularity climbing by the second.
【Serious Discussion: Can our finance department's famous mute girl really handle Senior Ji?】
OP: As the title says. Anyone who's seen the mute girl in person probably knows she's a special-gender individual, right? As we all know, among special genders, aside from enigmas, everyone else is weaker than the last. And Senior Ji is the only enigma in the world. Can the mute girl really handle an enigma's affection?
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Author's note:
[Short Extra Scene]
One day, after Su Louzhi and Ji Kailan got together.
Jiang Yi was scrolling through the internet with fervor when, suddenly, that long-buried viral post got resurrected by someone.
Jiang Yi's expression turned serious. She suddenly remembered the content of that post from before. Back then, she thought that with Zhizhi's obliviousness, the two of them wouldn't get together that fast. But she never expected Ji Kailan to go the direct route and just sweep Zhizhi off her feet. The question in that post had made her worry that it might come true sooner than expected, and she felt that, as Zhizhi's roommate + bodyguard + mother hen, it was very necessary for her to make some plans for Zhizhi...