What to do if you're forced into love by a powerful man?!

Ah Gui parked the car at the school gate, turned off the engine, and turned to look at the back seat.

Xie Zhizhou unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. He was still in a semi-conscious state, not fully free of his reverie. One foot was on the ground, and the other was still in the car. He paused, then turned around and nodded to A Gui.

"Thank you for bringing me back. Take care on your way."

Ah Gui looked at him—his eyes were no longer red, but he still looked preoccupied, as if he had been drenched in a storm and hadn't dried yet.

He sighed inwardly, but smiled and said, "Mr. Xie, you're too kind. Get some rest."

Xie Zhizhou got out of the car, closed the door, and waved to A Gui from the roadside.

The SUV restarted, gave a low roar, and then merged into the sparse traffic in the night.

He stood there for a few seconds. The night breeze was a little chilly, so he shrank his neck and turned to walk towards the school gate.

The campus was much quieter than in the evening. The streetlights illuminated the main road brightly. Most of the freshmen had probably returned to their dormitories, and there were only a few people on the road. Xie Zhizhou walked quickly with his head down.

When Xie Zhizhou opened the dormitory door, Lin Zhiyuan was curled up in a chair, legs crossed, eating potato chips and scrolling through his phone. The screen light reflected off his glasses. When he saw Xie Zhizhou come in, he put the potato chips on the table and pushed up his glasses.

Zhou Yan was leaning out of the upper bunk, holding a bottle of soda in his hand.

"You're back! You're back!" Lin Zhiyuan said, as if announcing major news. "We thought you'd been kidnapped."

"No." Xie Zhizhou forced a smile.

Zhou Yan, resting his chin on his hand, joked from the top bunk, "Who did you have dinner with tonight? Something's up. Could our school heartthrob have a girlfriend?"

Lin Zhiyuan handed the bag of potato chips towards Xie Zhizhou, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with gossip: "I think so too. You were being so secretive on the phone, and you didn't even eat with us. If you really have a girlfriend, that's going to be a big deal—do you know how many people were asking about you today?"

"How many people?" Zhou Yan asked.

"No less than twenty." Lin Zhiyuan patted the potato chip crumbs off his hands. "Both men and women were included."

"So what did you say?"

I said, "I'm sorry, we just met today, so it's not convenient for me to reveal my roommate's personal information."

Zhou Yan leaned down from the top bunk: "Really, you haven't talked about it? If you haven't, then it's still everyone's property."

Xie Zhizhou shook his head and chuckled softly, "No, it was just an acquaintance who treated me to a meal."

Lin Zhiyuan stared at him for two seconds, pushed up his glasses, then looked away and popped a potato chip into his mouth: "Fine, we'll talk about it when you're ready."

Zhou Yan rolled over on his back from the top bunk, raised his soda bottle and lightly touched the ceiling without saying anything more.

Xie Zhizhou took his toiletries to the bathroom to wash up. Standing in front of the mirror, he looked at his face and suddenly felt a little unfamiliar.

He lowered his head, turned on the tap, and washed his face with cold water. The icy touch finally calmed the tangled mess in his mind a little. He wiped his face with a towel, took a deep breath in front of the mirror, and then exhaled.

After washing up, he climbed into bed and wrapped himself in the blanket. Lin Zhiyuan turned off the main light and left only a table lamp on. Xie Zhizhou stared at the light and shadow, his mind a mess. Zong Ran's voice still echoed in his ears, and the image of that person kneeling motionless on one knee was still swaying in his mind.

He thought he would have insomnia, but perhaps the aftereffects of the fruit wine were still there, and his nerves, which had been taut all night, finally snapped, and his consciousness began to sink little by little.

The next morning, Xie Zhizhou was woken up by Lin Zhiyuan's phone alarm.

He groggily peeked out from under the covers, his hair sticking up in a mess. Before he could even fully open his eyes, he heard Zhou Yan let out a painful groan from the upper bunk and shove the pillow down on his face.

"Lin Zhiyuan, could you please change your alarm clock to a gentler sound?"

"That's called efficiency." Lin Zhiyuan was already dressed and sitting at the table drinking coffee, not at all like someone who had just woken up. He gestured with his chin toward Xie Zhizhou's bed, "Weren't you supposed to give a speech on behalf of the freshmen today? If you don't get up now, it'll be too late."

Xie Zhizhou sat up abruptly, hurriedly put on a shirt and pants, and prepared to wash up. At this moment, Zhou Yan jumped down from the upper bunk, barefoot on the floor, and pressed down on his shoulder with one hand.

"etc."

"……what?"

"You're really going to go like this?" Zhou Yan looked him up and down. "Freshman representative, all the freshmen are watching you, and you're going to wear this?"

Lin Zhiyuan put the coffee on the table, pushed up his glasses, and the lenses reflected a white light that seemed to have no meaning: "Zhou Yan, take out that white shirt from my closet, the new one, the one with the tag still on."

"Yes, ma'am." Zhou Yan turned around and went to rummage through the wardrobe.

Before Xie Zhizhou could protest, Lin Zhiyuan pushed him into the bathroom: "Wash up first, and don't rush to fix your hair after you're done. We'll help you tidy up when you come out."

With his mouth full of foam and a toothbrush, Xie Zhizhou mumbled something, probably something like "No need," but Lin Zhiyuan had already turned around and started rummaging through his drawers, giving him no chance to refuse.

When Xie Zhizhou finished washing up and came out, Lin Zhiyuan had already laid out his entire set of equipment on the table—a small bottle of hairspray, a comb, a box of matte styling wax, and a bottle of styling spray that Xie Zhizhou couldn't name, which looked like it had been taken directly from the toolbox of some professional stylist.

Zhou Yan hung two white shirts side by side on the wardrobe door handle, carefully comparing which one suited Xie Zhizhou better.

"Sit down." Lin Zhiyuan turned the chair around and patted the back of the chair.

Xie Zhizhou was a little confused by his display, but he still sat down obediently.

Lin Zhiyuan stood behind him, holding a comb in his hand. He first ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times, examined himself in the mirror for a few seconds, and then began to comb his hair section by section with an almost meticulous attitude.

His technique was surprisingly skillful—first, he used a comb to brush the stray hairs on his forehead back, then he used his fingertips to apply a little hair wax to the roots and gently rubbed it in, then pulled the hair on the top of his head back strand by strand to create a fluffy curve.

His fingers were very gentle; when he encountered knots, he didn't pull hard, but instead used a comb to smooth the hair from the ends upwards little by little.

Xie Zhizhou had his eyes closed, and his scalp was being gently tugged by him, the force just right.

"You've studied this?" Xie Zhizhou couldn't help but ask.

"Because of my sister," Lin Zhiyuan said succinctly. "She's made me a model since I was little, I can't escape it."

"Your skill is considered a core technique in our dormitory," Zhou Yan commented from the side.

"Show your forehead," Lin Zhiyuan said, supporting Xie Zhizhou's chin with his fingers and adjusting the angle slightly in front of the mirror. "Your brow bone proportions are excellent; it's a waste to cover it up."

Zhou Yan stood to the side with his arms crossed, offering advice from time to time: "Yes, this curve—showing the forehead definitely looks better. Yesterday's hairstyle was too cutesy, today's has more presence. Trust me, the audience will go crazy."

Xie Zhizhou's ears burned from the praise, and he stared blankly at himself in the mirror.

The stray hairs on her forehead were all combed up and fixed with hair wax, revealing a smooth and full forehead. The arch of her brow bone was fully displayed, and the contour of her face changed from a youthful and delicate look to a more aggressive kind of attractiveness.

He turned his head slightly, the lines of his profile were particularly clear in the mirror, the projection of his nose fell on his cheek, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously pursed.

"Alright, stop taking pictures. You'll start to love yourself if you keep looking at yourself." Zhou Yan took the white shirt she had chosen off the hanger and threw it to him, then handed him a pair of crisply ironed black trousers. "These are new too."

"I have one too, I'll go look for it," Xie Zhizhou said a little embarrassed.

"Stop looking, time is running out, hurry up and put it on." Zhou Yan patted Xie Zhizhou's shoulder casually.

When Xie Zhizhou took it, he found that the price tags on the pants were still hanging on.

"I'll treat you to a meal later."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Don't be so polite. The freshman representative is the face of our dormitory."

Lin Zhiyuan nodded beside him, took a pair of unopened black socks from his desk and handed them over: "And these, new socks, sweat-absorbent and non-slip. When I first went on stage to speak, my palms and soles were sweaty with nervousness. Trust me, details determine success or failure."

Xie Zhizhou, holding his shirt and pants, looked at his two roommates whom he had only known for a little over a day—Lin Zhiyuan had already sat back down at the table and continued drinking his coffee as if nothing had happened, while Zhou Yan was also changing clothes, humming an off-key song.

He was very happy to have such a good roommate.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and change your clothes," Zhou Yan urged without turning his head. "If you dawdle any longer, you'll really be late."

Xie Zhizhou stood in front of the dressing mirror after changing his clothes. His white shirt was neatly ironed by Zhou Yan, and the creases of his black trousers were perfectly straight. He looked as clean as a newly sprouted poplar tree. Lin Zhiyuan walked around him once, then took a pack of tissues from his desk and stuffed it into Xie Zhizhou's pocket.

"You can wipe it off if you sweat from nervousness."

"I don't think he's the type to get nervous," Zhou Yan said.

"What if?"

Xie Zhizhou was pushed out of the dormitory door by them, one on each side. In the corridor, he could still hear Zhou Yan shouting "Go for it, school heartthrob!" behind him.

He walked quickly toward the lecture hall, his ears red, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.