Chapter 4 is 1
Lin Yi had just stepped out of Deer Island Cafe when the afternoon sun became somewhat dazzling.
He was about to leave when he bumped into a familiar figure.
"Lin Yi?" Li Rui, holding several iced Americanos he had just bought, looked surprised. "When did you arrive? Why didn't you tell me?"
Lin Yi never expected to run into Li Rui here.
He blocked Li Rui's view into the store with his body and put his arm around his friend's neck: "I missed you, so I came to see you. Come on, let's talk."
Li Rui's gaze, however, went past Lin Yi's shoulder and landed on Xie Chun, who was walking out of the store.
He had met Lin Yi a few times when he went to Lin Yi's house to do his homework during high school, and they knew each other.
Just as he was about to greet them, Lin Yi pulled him close and turned him around, whispering, "Ignore them."
This intimate gesture made Li Rui's ears burn slightly.
They walked about two hundred meters before Lin Yi let go of her hand. "Where are you going?"
Then, she naturally took the coffee packaged in a paper bag from Li Rui's hand, "Buying so much? Are you running errands for your classmate?"
"No, my mentor asked me to buy them for the staff who were helping out. There was a lecture by a German artist today, and I was asked to volunteer."
"A lecture?" Lin Yi took out his phone and looked at the chat history sent by Shen Beidao. "Is it a lecture in Hall One?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
Lin Yi thought for a moment before saying, "I saw it forwarded on WeChat Moments. Lead the way, I'll go take a look too."
"good……"
The two walked side by side on the tree-lined path, dappled sunlight dancing on them.
Li Rui secretly glanced at Lin Yi's profile out of the corner of his eye; his loving peach blossom eyes seemed somewhat absent-minded at the moment.
Li Rui took the initiative to start a conversation, saying, "Now, for us German majors, we have to volunteer for any activity related to German, and it's even linked to academic credits. If we don't accumulate enough volunteer credits, we fail the course."
He wore a pained expression and sighed dramatically.
Lin Yi absentmindedly hummed in agreement, his finger swiping across the phone screen.
Eiland WeChat chat page:
Last message:
[I'm almost at the lecture venue, where are you?]
There is no further news.
Lin Yi was a little disappointed.
"Then your mentor is indeed a bit of a pervert." Lin Yi echoed, trying to suppress his displeasure, and sent another message:
[Sorry, something came up and I was held up. Hope you don't mind?]
“My advisor is actually a very nice person,” Li Rui said, his tone unconsciously carrying a hint of admiration. “It’s the college’s arrangement, and he can’t do anything about it.”
"Moreover, he is really amazing. He speaks eight languages and became a professor at our school at the age of 28, which is the age of many doctoral students."
"The key thing is, he's incredibly handsome! Let me show you his picture..." Li Rui said excitedly, taking out his phone and starting to search through his photo album. He remembered that he had saved several photos of his professor during class.
"I don't want to see it." Lin Yi casually refused, his gaze still fixed on the phone screen, hoping that a red number would pop up in the chat box [1].
But there was nothing, absolutely nothing.
Shenbei Island vanished like a bird that disappeared into thin air.
Li Rui paused in flipping through the photos, the excitement on his face dimmed, and he replied softly with a hint of disappointment, "Oh..."
A few seconds later, Lin Yi's phone finally vibrated, and he almost immediately opened it.
Eiland doesn't mind.
There are only three characters, without even a single extra punctuation mark.
Lin Yi's heart sank; this was completely different from the response he had expected.
He thought the other party would at least tell him the exact location or express their anxiety while waiting.
This distant tone made him feel like an insignificant stranger.
Lin Yi did not reply.
Lin Yi suddenly remembered something, turned to Li Rui, and asked, "By the way, do you know a classmate surnamed Chen? One with three characters in his name?"
“Shen?” Li Rui was taken aback. The first person he thought of was his mentor, Shen Beidao, but Lin Yi asked about “classmate”.
"I don't have any classmates, but my advisor's surname is Chen, which has three characters."
"Not a teacher, but a student."
Li Rui shook his head: "I don't know them. Do you have any friends in our college?" Li Rui asked in return, as he had never heard Lin Yi mention knowing anyone from the School of Foreign Languages.
Lin Yi waved his hand: "No, I was just asking."
As the two were talking, they had already reached the entrance of Lecture Hall No. 1.
The faint sound of microphones being adjusted could be heard from inside the hall, and a crowd began to gather.
"I need to take this coffee to my advisor first, so I might not have time to talk to you until after the lecture."
Li Rui shook the coffee in his hand and said apologetically.
"It's okay, you go ahead and do your work, I'll wait for you."
Lin Yi watched as Li Rui hurriedly squeezed into the crowd.
He stood alone in a corner next to the lecture hall, watching the students around him enthusiastically discussing things he couldn't understand, and a sense of loneliness and alienation welled up within him.
He had no interest in these lectures; he came here purely for the man named Shen Beidao.
But now, the main character is gone, and he is like a forgotten audience member, appearing superfluous and ridiculous.
He opened his phone again, but Shen Beidao still hadn't replied to his previous message, "[...Where are you?]".
When his patience ran out, he dialed the number directly.
"Beep...beep..."
The phone kept ringing, and Lin Yi thought no one would answer. Just as he was about to hang up, the call was connected.
"Lin Yi, what's up?" Shen Beidao's familiar voice came from the other end of the phone, but his tone was lower than usual, and seemed a little cold.
Lin Yi's prepared words of coquetry got stuck in his throat.
He pursed his lips, trying to make his voice sound natural: "Where are you? I'm in Lecture Hall Number One..."
"Sorry, something came up and I'm not at school." Shen Beidao's answer was concise and straightforward. "You can go in and listen to the lecture. The content should be pretty good. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me afterward."
Not at school? Something came up? Is that right?
His carefully prepared "playing hard to get" strategy didn't elicit anxious waiting and questioning from the other party, but rather a nonchalant "not at school."
"Oh, then you go ahead and get busy." Lin Yi's voice turned cold, and he hung up the phone before the other party could say anything more.
A nameless anger mixed with a strong sense of loss welled up in my heart.
They stood me up—
He had originally planned to be a little late to see if the seemingly composed man would send him a message first.
Unexpectedly, not only did Shen Beidao leave, but he also stopped replying to messages and even answered the phone so perfunctorily!
Lin Yi twitched the corner of his mouth, turned around, and left the lecture hall.
I sent Li Rui a WeChat message: [Li Rui, I have to leave early because of an urgent matter. Let's get together again next time.]
Walking through the tree-lined campus of Jiangzhou University, the early autumn breeze was not only not cool, but also carried a hint of warmth, yet it could not dispel the gloom in Lin Yi's heart.
He was determined to have Shen Beidao, feeling that this man was somewhat special.
But just like his previous "romantic partners," they will definitely be attracted to him and conquered by him.
But now, the situation seems to be out of his control.
Shen Beidao's attitude made him feel frustrated for the first time.
And then... an even stronger interest.
No, we can't just let it go like this.
Lin Yi found a bench under the shade of a tree and sat down, deciding to turn to the all-powerful internet for help.
He opened his favorite social media platform and clicked on the popular post titled "[How to win over your crush?]".
Start editing the post.
He wants to present this difficult problem to the vast number of netizens.
His slender, pale fingers flew across the screen:
[Anonymous User 08] I am a 22-year-old male. I recently fell for this crush: mature, taciturn, 190+ cm tall, with well-developed pectoral muscles. I can feel his strength even through his shirt. He is exactly my type. I sincerely ask for advice on how to win him over.
The post had barely been published when the number of comments in the comment section skyrocketed.
[1st Floor] A man falls in love with another man? @I love shipping gay women, this is your favorite double male lead!
[2nd Floor] Holy crap! Key point: Huge pecs! OP, elaborate, how big? (laughs)
Lin Yi couldn't help but laugh when he saw the reply; there really was someone who focused on the key points just like him.
The original poster replied to the second floor:
I don't know his exact size, but when we first met, he was wearing a black shirt that fit him perfectly, the fabric was stretched a little tight, and his silhouette was very defined...
[3rd Floor] This iceberg style is extremely difficult, OP, take care!
[4th Floor] Mature, taciturn, this is the ascetic type! OP, this kind of man has a thick inner wall, it's extremely difficult for him to open up to the outside world, are you sure you want to challenge him?
The original poster replied to the fourth floor: Thank you for your concern! I just enjoy challenges; the harder the task, the more rewarding it is.
[5th Floor] OP, run!
[6th Floor] Does the original poster have any photos? (The person they're pursuing seems a bit overweight/attractive.)
Lin Yi scrolled through his WeChat Moments and posted a photo of himself wearing a mask, with only his eyebrows and eyes showing.
Original Poster: [Image]
[7th Floor] Holy crap! You're not some internet celebrity, are you?
[8th Floor] Holy crap!! Are those eyebrows and eyes even real?!
[9th Floor] Sisters, I'm speechless!!! These eyelashes are longer than my life plan!
[10th Floor] Just looking at half of her face, I've already imagined a 100,000-word novel...
Original Poster: Not an internet celebrity, just an ordinary art student
[11th Floor] You call this normal? ???
[12th Floor] OP, do you know how good-looking you are?
[13th Floor] A muscular, abstinent man with huge pecs x a beautiful art student! I'm totally shipping them!!!
[14th Floor] May I ask how big is Crush?
The original poster replied to comment #14: Seems like... something similar to mine? We just met, and I haven't had the nerve to check their family history yet...
[15th Floor] Take my advice! Next time you meet someone, make sure to ask their age! Twenty-four or twenty-five and thirty-six or thirty-seven are completely different people; the approach to winning them over is worlds apart!!!
The original poster replied to comment #14: OK, I'll definitely ask next time.
[16th Floor] Let's analyze this from a psychological perspective. Generally speaking, the more silent and calm someone appears on the outside, the richer their inner world might be; they're probably quite "secretly passionate."
The original poster replied to post #16: Explain in detail?
[17th Floor] This type of person is not easily moved, but once they become interested in someone, they are prone to getting caught up in internal struggles and self-manipulation!
[18th Floor] Agreed! Self-strategy is the first step to getting hooked!
[19th Floor] When dealing with an unattainable beauty, relentless pursuit is the worst strategy! "Intermittent reinforcement" is recommended!
The original poster replied to the 19th floor: How so?
[20th Floor] It's about being enthusiastic and proactive one moment, and suddenly cold and indifferent the next, making your behavior unpredictable, and then waiting for him to take the bait before completely ignoring him.
[Post #21] The abandoned cat effect, right? Master!
[22nd Floor] Those tricks upstairs are too complicated! The poster is so alluring!!! Just take off your clothes and go for it! The ascetic type is most susceptible to that!
[Post #23] OP, you can't rush things with this kind of guy. You need patience, like boiling a frog in lukewarm water – you have to simmer it slowly to get a good broth.
[24th Floor] Boiling a frog in lukewarm water +1, let him get used to having you around.
[Post #25] Waiting for the follow-up! OP, remember to come back and fulfill your promise once you catch up!
[Post #26] Just a quick aside! So, is the original poster a 1 or a 0? That's important (eating popcorn).
The original poster replied to post #24: 1
[27th Floor] Huh?? (The melon in my hand suddenly isn't sweet anymore)
[28th Floor] Are you sure? (Pupil-like earthquake)
[Post #29] Looking for a plot twist where "actually I'm a bottom"
[Post #30] OP, please think twice! This configuration looks like...
[Post #31] I'm so anxious! OP, please tell me you're joking!
[Post #32] At this moment, I need @ILoveGayTeacher for professional analysis.
[33rd Floor] Waiting for a "It's so good!" moment.
[34th Floor] I'm squatting, squatting, squatting!!!
[Post #35] OP, remember to come back and give feedback! I'll be online waiting...
A note from the author:
----------------------
Li Rui handed the coffee to Shen Beidao: "Teacher Shen, is there anything else I can do for you?"
Shen Beidao: "No need. I just remembered that I have an important meeting to attend. Please arrange for everyone to gather in the classroom at five o'clock."
Li Rui: "...Okay."
Just as Li Rui was about to message Lin Yi, realizing he might miss dinner, he saw Lin Yi's message: [Li Rui, I have something urgent to attend to and have to go first. See you next time!]
Li Rui: [Okay, I'll come see you in a couple of days]
——
The coffee shop owner, a friend of Shen Beidao, sent him several messages:
[Is this supposed to be an introduction to a boyfriend? I saw that the kid you mentioned added the person on the other end of the line on WeChat.]
[When I delivered coffee to him before, he said he liked this one the most.]
[Bei Dao, is that your student sitting alone on one side?]
Shenbei Island [Not]
Shen Beidao [If you see him at a coffee shop next time, please let me know immediately. Thank you.]
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