Xie Linchuan was still feeling completely dazed.
What was going on?
Why did Qiao Liuyue just claim he was her boyfriend?
And wasn't that neighbor guy into her? Not to mention his own best friend Chu Xubai liked her too.
Why would she say that?
Could it be... she liked him?
The thought had barely crossed his mind when his heart slammed against his ribcage, like someone had set off a tiny firework inside his chest—bang—and it exploded.
A sweet, honeyed sensation spread from the tip of his heart.
The tips of his ears quietly flushed an unnatural shade of pink, and he nearly failed to hold back a smile.
But then the doubt crept in again. He'd been so awful to Qiao Liuyue before—every time sneering and picking fights with her. How could she possibly like him?
At that thought, a pang of disappointment shot through him.
So maybe she'd said it intentionally, just to fool Dong Jiaoyan, or to get under her skin.
After all, the two of them didn't exactly get along.
Xie Linchuan stood there, frozen, not answering.
Dong Jiaoyan couldn't help but give him another glance, thinking: This guy is handsome, sure, but he's kind of slow, isn't he? Not the sharpest tool in the shed.
She spoke again: "Hey, handsome, do you play Honor of Kings too?"
Xie Linchuan snapped back to attention.
Looking at Dong Jiaoyan, who kept calling him "handsome" with that burning gaze, he felt a swirl of complicated emotions.
She had no idea that he was Thanks, Goodbye—the same Xie Linchuan she'd been in an online relationship with.
What a cliché train wreck this was!
Xie Linchuan replied flatly: "Yeah."
Dong Jiaoyan, like she was filling out a census, pressed on: "So how long have you two been together?"
She shot a playfully reproachful glance at Qiao Liuyue and added: "Liuyue, seriously, why didn't you tell me?"
That drawn-out, sugary "why" at the end made Xie Linchuan's back break out in goosebumps.
Qiao Liuyue replied without missing a beat: "We got together yesterday. He confessed to me."
She turned her head slightly, and without being obvious about it, reached out and gave Xie Linchuan's sleeve a subtle tug.
Lifting her eyelids just a fraction, she shot him a look loaded with warning.
Play along. Don't blow it.
Xie Linchuan's gaze flickered, and he gave a faint nod.
Dong Jiaoyan stared at his sharp, angular face for two seconds, and the sour feeling churning inside her surged even harder.
A guy this handsome... and he's Qiao Liuyue's boyfriend?
Qiao Liuyue?
What has she ever done to deserve this?
Dong Jiaoyan's stomach twisted with envy, even as a brighter smile bloomed across her face.
"Oh, right—I should introduce myself. I'm Dong Jiaoyan, Liuyue's good friend. You can call me Jiaojiao."
She paused, tilting her head just slightly to the side.
Letting her chestnut hair slide off her shoulder, revealing the length of her neck.
It was the angle she'd practiced in the mirror countless times—the one that made her profile look best.
"Since you're Liuyue's boyfriend, how about we swap WeChat? I play Honor of Kings too—we could team up sometime."
Her enthusiasm was perfectly measured—not too forward, not too cold.
But underneath, her mind was already spinning. Sure, this guy seemed a bit slow, a little dumb.
But he was good-looking.
That face hit every single one of her aesthetic buttons—high-bridged nose, deep-set eyes, sharp jawline.
And besides...
A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
If she could steal Qiao Liuyue's boyfriend away, wouldn't that just prove how much more charming she was?
All their lives, Qiao Liuyue had been beneath her—a foil to make her shine. When did she ever get to outpace her?
At the thought, a shadow darkened Dong Jiaoyan's eyes.
Qiao Liuyue tilted her head, her expression full of feigned intimacy as she addressed Xie Linchuan:
"Babe, should you give Dong Jiaoyan your WeChat or not?"
Xie Linchuan's ears turned crimson in an instant.
The flush spread from the shell of his ear all the way to his earlobes, almost bleeding red.
He felt an inexplicable surge of embarrassment.
The way she said it, that pet name—she was deliberately mimicking Dong Jiaoyan.
Dong Jiaoyan had called Xie Linchuan "babe" over text before, nonstop.
But somehow, when Qiao Liuyue said it, there was a teasing, mocking lilt to it, the final syllable curling upward.
He took a deep breath, forcing his expression to stay neutral.
Then, turning his gaze to Dong Jiaoyan, all traces of his fluster and panic were wiped clean.
What replaced it was ice.
"Sorry, I practice male virtue. I don't add random women on WeChat."
Dong Jiaoyan furrowed her brow slightly at those words.
Something about that phrasing felt oddly familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she'd heard it before.
While she was still racking her brain, Qiao Liuyue was already hooking her arm through Xie Linchuan's, ready to leave.
The motion was natural, her fingers resting on his forearm through the thin fabric of his sleeve, her warmth seeping through.
It made Xie Linchuan's back stiffen just a little more.
Qiao Liuyue glanced back over her shoulder at Dong Jiaoyan, flashing her a bright, cheery smile as she said in a light tone:
"We'll be off then—my boyfriend's taking me out to dinner."
"Okay," Dong Jiaoyan mumbled on reflex, rooted to the spot as she watched the two walk away side by side.
Qiao Liuyue's skirt swayed gently in the breeze, and her boyfriend's tall, upright silhouette made for a strangely perfect picture next to hers.
From behind, they almost looked meant to be.
How infuriating!
She'd only taken a couple of steps back when something clicked.
Male virtue?
Wait—the only guy she knew who talked like that was her online boyfriend, Thanks, Goodbye.
Then she remembered: Qiao Liuyue had said they just got together yesterday, on Valentine's Day.
After her date with that sports major yesterday, she'd texted Thanks, Goodbye over a dozen messages—not a single one had been answered.
A bad feeling slithered into Dong Jiaoyan's gut.
With that, she spun around and hurried after them.
Luckily, Qiao Liuyue and Xie Linchuan hadn't gone far.
"Wait—!"
Dong Jiaoyan's voice cut through the air behind them, urgent and barely restrained.
The smile on her face was long gone, replaced by a look of complicated tension.
Qiao Liuyue turned around with a sweet smile, utterly composed.
She leaned casually against Xie Linchuan, her posture relaxed, as if she'd known all along that Dong Jiaoyan would come chasing after them.
"What's wrong?"
Beside her, Xie Linchuan had already snapped out of his earlier stupor. He had a sneaking suspicion that Qiao Liuyue was doing this on purpose—to get back at Dong Jiaoyan.
She was going to snatch away the thing Dong Jiaoyan cared about most, right in front of her.
And honestly? He had pent-up anger of his own to spare.
Dong Jiaoyan pulled up that side-profile photo from her camera roll, then lifted her head and stared hard at the man in front of her.
She asked, out of nowhere: "What's his name?"
Qiao Liuyue curved her eyes into crescents, smiling like a sly little fox, pure mischief.
She tilted her head and cooed sweetly at Xie Linchuan:
"Babe, what's your name?"
Xie Linchuan's dark eyes turned heavy.
A smile curved at the corner of his lips as he gave Dong Jiaoyan a slight nod.
Then, unhurriedly: "Xie Linchuan."
Those three words dropped like a bomb.
The color drained from Dong Jiaoyan's face in an instant!
