Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

She tied the knot very tightly.

It was tied tighter than he had tied himself.

He did not reply to the message.

But the corner of his mouth moved.

Chen Mo silently added a line to the notebook next to him.

[14:23 — After receiving Yan Xi's message, the levator palpebrae superioris muscle on the right side of the mouth contracted, with an amplitude of approximately 3mm, lasting for 4 seconds. An unconscious smile occurred; emotional indicators showed a positive peak.]

The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

Li Chen closed the blank notebook and zipped up his backpack.

"I'm gone."

"Have they gone to greet the emperor?"

"Um."

Wang Qiang lay on the table, watching his back.

"Li Chen".

"Um."

"Are you really treating us to Haidilao tonight?"

"Didn't we agree on that?"

"So—is she coming?"

Li Chen paused for a second.

"You'll only know if you ask."

He pushed open the door and went out.

Zhao Zixuan walked around from the back row and sat down next to Wang Qiang.

Why did you ask her if she was coming?

"Because if she comes, the three of us won't be going out for hot pot anymore."

"What are they going to do there?"

Wang Qiang buried his face in his arms.

"Go be the background."

Chen Mo closed his notebook.

"The academic term is the 'contrast effect,' where the presence of the core subject causes the attention given to surrounding individuals to approach zero."

Speak like a human.

"Once she arrives, the three of us are practically invisible."

Zhao Zixuan leaned back in his chair and tapped his finger on the table.

"Should we still go?"

The three people stared at each other for three seconds.

"go."

"Who wouldn't eat free meat?"

"Even as a background, I need to supplement the data with new observation samples."

At the end of the corridor, Li Chen had already disappeared around the corner.

He walked two steps faster than usual.

It wasn't running—it was that my stride length increased by about six centimeters.

It's a twelve-minute walk from the computer lab to the student council building.

It took him ten minutes.

The corridor lights on the fifth floor of the student union building are voice-activated.

Li Chen's footsteps triggered the first lamp.

The white light flashed past in segments.

He stopped at the office door.

The door was closed.

There was the sound of keyboard typing, with a steady rhythm and a slow pace.

He raised his hand and tapped twice.

The keyboard clicks stopped.

"Come in."

Li Chen pushed open the door.

Yan Xi sat behind her desk.

Today I'm wearing that light gray sweater, with the sleeves rolled up to the middle of my forearms.

Her hair was pinned back with a carbon pen—and the phoenix hairpin was placed next to the pen holder.

She looked up at him.

Their gaze lingered on his neck.

"Is your scarf loose?"

"No, you're tying it tight."

"Of course it's tight."

Yan Xi's fingers returned to the keyboard.

"Please sit down, I have ten minutes left."

Li Chen sat down in the chair opposite her.

He didn't take out his phone.

I didn't read any books either.

He looked at her.

She leans her shoulders slightly forward while typing, with her weight on her left arm.

The index and middle fingers of the right hand tap the most frequently, while the ring finger occasionally participates.

The little finger is used for the Enter key.

She pressed Enter harder than the other keys.

Each time you press it, the pen inside the pen holder will shake slightly.

"What are you looking at?"

Yan Xi did not look up.

"You pressed Enter very hard."

"I'm used to it."

"Every time you finish posting a message, you press Enter hard, like you're stamping it."

Yan Xi's fingers hovered above the keyboard.

"You even analyzed my typing habits?"

"Not an analysis."

Li Chen leaned back in his chair.

"Yes, I saw it."

Yan Xi pressed down the corner of her mouth slightly.

She continued typing, but at a slightly slower pace than before.

Li Chen noticed that the area behind her ears was half a shade darker than the one hidden by the neckline of her sweater.

Seven minutes have passed.

She closed her laptop.

Stand up, pick up the phoenix hairpin from beside the pen holder, and pull out the carbon pen and put it into the pen holder.

When she put the phoenix hairpin back in, the angle was off.

"It's crooked."

"Um."

She reached out and adjusted it. It was still crooked.

Li Chen stood up.

I walked up to her.

His fingers touched the end of the phoenix hairpin and gently pushed it.

The phoenix hairpin turned slightly in her hair.

That's correct.

As he withdrew his fingertips, they brushed against the outside of her earlobe.

The contact lasted less than 0.2 seconds.

Yan Xi's breathing paused slightly.

"alright."

Li Chen withdrew his hand and took half a step back.

Yan Xi turned her head to look at him.

The two people were within half a step of each other.

"You're getting more and more skilled."

"What?"

"Insert a hairpin."

"You'll get it with practice."

Yan Xi picked up the canvas bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Walk."

We left the student union building.

The sky was gradually darkening. Evenings come quickly in January.

The streetlights are already on.

Li Chen walked to her left and took the canvas bag off her shoulder.

Yan Xi gave him a look.

"I can carry it."

"The pressure mark on your left shoulder is still there."

Yan Xi looked down and saw that there was indeed a thin, shallow horizontal line on her shoulder.

She didn't argue anymore.

"Where to?"

"Let's eat first."

Li Chen took out his phone.

"I'm going to Haidilao with my roommate tonight, it's on me."

Yan Xi paused for a moment.

"You're treating them to Haidilao hot pot?"

"Yes, I promised."

Why?

Wang Qiang deleted a post on his WeChat Moments.

Yan Xi's gaze swept across his face.

"The one that took a picture of your blank notebook?"

"You saw it?"

"I've sent you a screenshot of Leng Qingge."

Li Chen remained silent for two seconds.

He's already deleted it.

"I know."

Yan Xi continued walking.

"So you bribed him to delete the photos with a meal at Haidilao?"

"It wasn't a bribe, it was a transaction."

"What's the difference?"

"He asked for double the amount of shrimp paste, and I managed to get a discount to one serving, so we settled on one and a half servings."

Yan Xi's shoulders twitched.

"You're haggling with your roommate."

"A necessary game of strategy."

The corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

"Then I'll go too."

Li Chen slowed his pace.

"you go?"

"What? You're not welcome?"

"no."

He thought for a moment.

"If you go, I need to inform them in advance so they can be mentally prepared."

"What are you preparing?"

"Ready to be a backdrop."

Yan Xi glanced at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Wang Qiang's exact words were, 'Where you are, the three of them are like air.'"

Yan Xi didn't respond.

But she walked alongside him, showing no intention of stopping.

Li Chen opened group 302.

[Li Chen: Six o'clock, Haidilao near the school gate. She's going too.]

The group was silent for three seconds.

Wang Qiang: ...

Zhao Zixuan: ...

Chen Mo: ...

[Wang Qiang: Let me organize my thoughts.]

Five more seconds passed.

[Wang Qiang: Aaaaaaaaah, I knew it!!!]

[Zhao Zixuan: Calm down. This is shameful.]

[Wang Qiang: I'm not calm! My double shrimp paste went from one and a half servings to now probably not even a trace of shrimp paste because he's been busy peeling shrimp for Yan Xi the whole time!]

[Chen Mo: Probability assessment: The probability that Li Chen will proactively serve his roommate in Yan Xi's presence is less than 4%. It is recommended that the three of them bring their own snacks in case they get hungry.]

[Zhao Zixuan: Can I quit?]

[Wang Qiang: No way! I have to get my hands on this free meat! Even if I'm just a background character, I'll be the one who gets the most meat!]

Li Chen put his phone away.