But they had a crystal-clear view of Lu Jia’s every move and expression.
He was as red as a boiled lobster.
His shoulders were trembling uncontrollably.
His mouth opened and closed, but for the longest time, he couldn’t form a single coherent sentence.
’It’s over.’
Chu Ge squeezed his eyes shut in agony from behind the bushes.
He slapped a hand over his face.
"He’s frozen up. He’s definitely frozen up. I bet his mind is a complete blank right now—he’s probably forgotten his own name."
Dayong was so anxious he started scratching his head.
He wished he could go up there and speak for Lu Jia.
"Why isn’t he saying anything! Argh, this is killing me."
Watching Lu Jia’s face flush that deep shade of red, Dayong couldn’t stay put any longer.
"This isn’t working. He looks like he’s about to crash. How about I go out and pretend to ask for directions? I can draw her friend away and give them some space."
As he spoke, Dayong pushed himself up from the muddy ground, ready to stand.
Chen Zhuo was quick.
He grabbed the hem of Dayong’s shirt and yanked him back down into the bushes.
"Don’t go."
Chen Zhuo remained squatting, his gaze still fixed ahead.
His voice was quiet but carried an undeniable force.
"Wait a moment," Chen Zhuo said softly.
"This is his business. Let him finish what he has to say."
「Up ahead.」
Lu Jia was staring intently at the top button of the senior’s trench coat.
He didn’t dare look her in the eye.
His throat was tight and dry, and his forehead was beaded with sweat.
"S... Senior."
Lu Jia finally managed to make a sound.
But to his dismay, he realized he was actually stuttering, and it was even worse than he’d feared.
"I... I..."
The senior looked at the young man before her, who was so nervous he was practically rigid.
She didn’t back away.
Nor did she show any sign of wariness or disgust.
She just stood there quietly, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, her eyes holding a gentle smile as she patiently waited for him to finish speaking.
"I... I think you’re really great."
Lu Jia finally let out the words he’d been holding in his chest.
The words tumbled out as if he were buzzing in for a game show, his voice even trembling slightly.
"C... Can... Can I get your WhatsApp?"
Having said it all in one breath, Lu Jia squeezed his eyes shut.
He was prepared for a swift and clean rejection.
However, the rejection he’d braced for never came.
A soft giggle sounded by Lu Jia’s ear.
Lu Jia peeked open one eye.
The senior was covering her mouth, her eyes curved into smiling crescents. It wasn’t a laugh of ridicule, but a kind, amused chuckle, as if she found the whole thing cute and endearing.
"Okay."
The senior’s voice was lovely, with the soft, sweet lilt common to girls from the south.
From the top of the stack of books she was holding, she took out a black pen.
"Where should I write it?" she asked with a smile, looking at Lu Jia’s empty hands.
"Ah."
Lu Jia snapped out of his daze.
He had been so focused on being nervous that he hadn’t brought a pen or paper with him.
He frantically fumbled through his pants pockets.
Finally, he managed to pull out a crumpled supermarket receipt that he had no idea when he’d stuffed in there.
His face beet-red, Lu Jia helplessly held out the receipt.
「Back in the bushes.」
Chu Ge watched Lu Jia pull out a receipt and almost choked.
"Holy crap..."
Chu Ge ran his hands through his hair in despair.
"Using a supermarket receipt for her WhatsApp number? Why didn’t he just use a piece of toilet paper?"
Dayong frowned and sighed as well.
But the situation up ahead didn’t devolve into the disaster they had expected.
The senior looked at the crumpled receipt, and far from being put off, her smile widened.
She took the receipt quite naturally.
Placed it on top of her book,
and carefully wrote a string of numbers on the blank back side.
When she finished, she handed the receipt back to Lu Jia.
"My handwriting’s a bit messy, hope you don’t mind."
The senior winked at him.
Then she took her still-giggling friend by the arm, turned, and continued on her way.
After a few steps, the senior turned back around.
"Hey, junior! Remember to add your name when you send the request."
With that, she turned and melted into the crowd on the main path, her figure light and graceful.
Leaving Lu Jia standing there all alone, completely dumbfounded.
「Back in the bushes.」
Silence fell.
A full five seconds passed.
"What the hell..."
Chu Ge gripped a branch, his voice filled with utter disbelief.
"That fucking worked?"
Chu Ge turned to look at Chen Zhuo and Dayong.
He felt as though all his years of studying logic had just completely crumbled in that single moment.
"He stuttered like that, didn’t even have a decent opening line, and then pulled out a receipt for instant noodles—and the girl actually gave him her WhatsApp number?"
Chu Ge hissed, half-crazed.
"Is there any justice in this world?! If I’d known it was this easy, I would’ve gone myself!"
Dayong stood stunned for a moment beside him.
Then, a wide, good-natured grin spread across his face, and he laughed silently.
"That’s great, just great."
Dayong let out a long sigh of relief and patted his chest.
"It just means she’s a kind-hearted girl. She didn’t mind that our little bro is a bit tongue-tied."
Chen Zhuo remained squatting.
He watched Lu Jia, who was still standing frozen under the distant camphor tree.
A warm spring breeze blew past, rustling the leaves of the bushes.
「On the main path ahead.」
Lu Jia stared blankly at the receipt in his hand.
A WhatsApp number was written clearly on it in black ink.
Suddenly, his mouth split into a wide, silent, goofy grin.
He carefully folded the small receipt, placed it in his shirt pocket over his heart, and pressed his hand firmly against it.
He turned, about to run back to his dorm.
But just as he turned and took two steps, Lu Jia froze.
Right in front of him.
Behind the dense row of holly bushes and the bulletin board, Chu Ge and Dayong were getting to their feet, brushing the dirt from their pants after squatting for so long their legs had gone numb.
Chen Zhuo also stood up, casually dusting off his hands.
The four of them were separated by just a few meters.
Their eyes met.
The goofy grin on Lu Jia’s face instantly froze.
The red that had just begun to fade from his face came rushing back with a vengeance, creeping all the way to the tips of his ears.
He subconsciously clutched the hand over his chest even tighter.
Dayong strode right over.
Without any unnecessary chatter,
Dayong threw a thick arm around Lu Jia’s neck and gave his neatly combed hair a vigorous noogie.
"Not bad, Lu Jia."
Dayong’s voice was full of genuine happiness as he ruffled Lu Jia’s hair into a total mess.
"You didn’t embarrass our two dorms. Us guys saw everything from back there. Taking that step forward... that was manly."
Lu Jia was coughing from the chokehold, not yet steady on his feet,
when Chu Ge sidled up from the other side.
"Quick, quick."
Chu Ge, his face a mask of pure gossip, reached out to pry away the hand Lu Jia was using to shield his chest.
"Let me see that supermarket receipt. I want to gaze upon it. I have to see if a WhatsApp number written on a receipt is trimmed with gold."
"No way."
Lu Jia, face flushed, clutched his pocket for dear life, backing away to dodge Chu Ge’s grabbing hands.
「Amid their boisterous roughhousing.」
Chen Zhuo walked at the rear.
He stepped out from the shade of the bushes, into the spring breeze.
Chen Zhuo walked up to Lu Jia.
He smiled and swatted away Chu Ge’s flailing hands.
Then, Chen Zhuo very naturally reached out and straightened the collar of Lu Jia’s white shirt, which Dayong had knocked askew.
He also plucked a stray piece of a holly leaf from Lu Jia’s shoulder.
Chen Zhuo looked at Lu Jia’s beet-red face.
And at the hand clutching his pocket so tightly, as if afraid the receipt might fly away.
A gentle smile surfaced in Chen Zhuo’s eyes.
"Holding on so tight."
Chen Zhuo looked at him, his tone warm and casual, as if they were just chatting.
"It’s just a supermarket receipt for instant noodles. Are you planning on taking it home and framing it?"
Lu Jia froze for a second.
Busted, his face grew even redder.
He touched the receipt in his pocket, which he could feel the warmth of even through the fabric.
The spring breeze blew past again.
Lu Jia looked into Chen Zhuo’s smiling eyes and nodded emphatically.
"Yeah."
Chen Zhuo laughed.
He patted the dust off Lu Jia’s shoulder.
"This just goes to show," Chen Zhuo said with gentle amusement,
"that taking the direct route is indeed a lot less trouble than all that game theory you were calculating."
"Alright, stop grinning like an idiot here. Let’s go back and you can tell us everything."
Dayong slung an arm around Lu Jia’s shoulder, half-dragging him toward the dorm building.
Chu Ge chattered away beside them, relentlessly asking for details about the encounter.
Lu Jia, his face red, refused to say another word.
Chen Zhuo walked alongside them.
A gentle breeze blew past, making a lock of Lu Jia’s messy hair stand on end.
The four of them walked on.
Lu Jia’s hand remained firmly stuffed in his pocket, never once coming out.

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