New fish?
The words came out of the honest Qiao Liuyue’s mouth.
Dong Jiaoyan was about to drop her jaw in shock.
She looked Qiao Liuyue up and down, her gaze appraising.
Meeting her eyes, Qiao Liuyue seemed completely unfazed.
She even curled her lips into a bright smile.
“What’s wrong, Jiaojiao?”
“I’m learning from you. You always used to say my personality was too dull and that no guys were chasing me. I think you were right.”
“So I’ve decided to get to know more guys.”
Dong Jiaoyan forced a stiff smile.
“That’s, uh, good.”
Anyway, who good options could Qiao Liuyue possibly get? At best, it’d be Monitor Chu Xubai… and he was just so-so!
As for the neighbor’s older brother, he’d gone bankrupt; following him would just be suffering.
She wasn’t some lovesick fool.
Dong Jiaoyan thought this over, composed herself, and broke into a cheerful grin again.
After applying her lipstick, she pursed her lips at the mirror, satisfied, then stood up to check her reflection.
Qiao Liuyue said, “Jiaojiao, you’re heading out so early?”
Dong Jiaoyan nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got something going on.”
She didn’t go into detail, but Qiao Liuyue already knew from Zheng Qingyuan’s intel that she’d likely hooked up with a senior at yet another mixer.
The dorm fell quiet.
Qiao Liuyue grabbed a jacket and stepped out, barefaced.
At the back gate of the school, a silver business van was parked discreetly.
As Qiao Liuyue approached, the window rolled down a crack.
“Password.”
Qiao Liuyue couldn’t help but twitch her lips helplessly.
She’d thought he was a rich guy, but he turned out to be a Red Envelope Bro.
Thought he was a CEO, but he was actually a goofball.
She said, “My shield.”
Zheng Qingyuan replied, “Bibble blab.”
Password correct.
The van’s automatic door slid open slowly.
Zheng Qingyuan was still wearing a pair of black sunglasses, with an extra blue baseball cap on his head.
Seeing her bend down to get in, he quickly waved his hand.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry!”
The two of them were like underground agents meeting in secret.
In the front passenger seat, Sui Feng, the assistant, took it all in stride without even a twitch of a smile—he was long used to his boss being such a goof.
As soon as Qiao Liuyue sat down, the door closed.
Her eyes fell on her own clothes.
Dong Jiaoyan thought she’d bought knockoffs from a reseller, but they were actually real.
All thanks to this Red Envelope Bro, who had taken her to a beauty salon for a full makeover—hair, skincare, styling—and even had luxury SA’s bring clothes to her door to choose from.
“What’s the transformation today?” she asked.
Zheng Qingyuan waved his hand with exaggerated seriousness, quickly glancing over her.
He said, extremely satisfied, “Your makeover is in great shape now. The next step is to steal Xie Linchuan away!”
Qiao Liuyue said, “Xie Linchuan?”
Zheng Qingyuan handed over a whole stack of investigation files.
The first page was basic personal info.
Dong Jiaoyan’s online boyfriend—Thanks, Goodbye.
Xie Linchuan from Northern Institute of Technology, majoring in Integrated Circuit Design and Integrated Systems.
He was twenty-two this year, a sophomore.
A year younger than Qiao Liuyue and Dong Jiaoyan.
As she flipped through the file, she muttered absentmindedly, “So he’s a younger guy after all.”
Zheng Qingyuan’s lips twitched.
“What does age matter? He’s still dumb enough to get played.”
Qiao Liuyue didn’t respond.
She just stared straight at him.
Her gaze seemed to say, As if you haven’t been tricked before?
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Zheng Qingyuan’s face.
But he quickly changed the subject.
“According to my findings, Xie Linchuan is arrogant, has a bad temper, but he’s still loyal—good to his friends and family alike.”
In short, he’s protective.
“So, we need to find a way to let him find out what Dong Jiaoyan has been doing behind his back.”
Qiao Liuyue flipped through a few more pages, showing little interest.
She handed the file back.
In a light tone, she said, “Is that necessary?”
Zheng Qingyuan looked confused. “To make him like you, first you have to show him Dong Jiaoyan’s true colors!”
Qiao Liuyue shook her head. “No need.”
Zheng Qingyuan still didn’t get it.
Qiao Liuyue didn’t bother explaining further. Instead, she asked,
“Since you sent someone to investigate, did you find out why he’s been lying to Dong Jiaoyan, saying he has schoolwork while actually going to play games?”
Zheng Qingyuan let out a soft sigh, hesitating as if he had something to say but couldn’t.
Qiao Liuyue was surprised. “What? Is he some kind of fish pond owner too?”
Zheng Qingyuan wore an expression of shared suffering.
“Jiaojiao—I mean, Dong Jiaoyan’s birthday is next month. So Xie Linchuan, to prepare a surprise for her, wanted to spend a fortune on a gift.”
“Lately, he joined a gaming guild as a booster, charging dirt cheap—only ten bucks a match.”
“Come on, at that rate, how long will it take to save up?”
Ten bucks.
Oh, so that’s why he immediately agreed when she offered fifty a match.
Either way, he was boosting for some boss. Here, he’d make in one match what it’d take him five games to earn.
That afternoon, after their specialized course ended.
Qiao Liuyue was about to pack up and leave when suddenly Chu Xubai’s voice came from behind.
“Liuyue,” he said gently.
Before Qiao Liuyue could react, Dong Jiaoyan beside her put on a teasing look.
Her voice was exaggerated, deliberately loud.
“Ooh! Our Monitor Chu, calling out to Liuyue—what’s up?”
Her gaze flickered between the two of them, seizing the moment when plenty of people were still in the classroom.
She deliberately said, “Could it be you want to chase after her?”
At that, everyone else shot over curious, gossip-hungry stares.
People loved juicy drama.
But… where was Qiao Liuyue?
Everyone’s eyes roamed around, finally landing on the girl by Dong Jiaoyan’s side with glossy black hair, holding books, whose presence was cool and languid.
Wait?!
You’re saying this beauty is Qiao Liuyue?
The guys in the class exchanged bewildered looks.
The girls whispered too.
“Wasn’t Qiao Liuyue wearing black-rimmed glasses?”
“She must have switched to contacts.”
“Her fashion sense was always hard to judge, but today’s outfit actually looks decent.”
“She probably learned some styling—what’s the big deal.”
A lot of girls came from high school with no clue about fashion or what style suited them, just wearing whatever they had without makeup.
It was only during college that they gradually changed.
Maybe Qiao Liuyue had finally clicked.
One girl nodded quietly, her gaze lingering as she complimented, “Hey, you know, Qiao Liuyue is actually quite pretty. She’s no worse than Dong Jiaoyan!”
The words drifted to Dong Jiaoyan’s ears on the breeze.
Her expression instantly darkened.
She peered at Qiao Liuyue again.
Realizing she was becoming prettier and prettier—most importantly, that heavy, dull aura was fading away.
Like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon.
Seeing Chu Xubai stay silent, Dong Jiaoyan raised her voice again.
“Monitor Chu, our Liuyue is a good kid. She’s never dated anyone in her whole life.”
“If you really want to chase my best friend, then I’ll have to keep a close eye on you!”
