Don't be So Proud

Chapter 2.3 — “Guan guan!” Cry the Ospreys, On an Islet in the River

Someone needs to learn about the anatomical and physiological differences between boys and girls. HAHAHA!

Because the meal card only had 0.30 yuan on it, He Zhi Zhou’s irritation instantly flared up, and he stood motionless in front of the food window. The auntie working in the dining hall saw that this girl was so pretty, and out of kindness, suggested, “How about you ask some other students to swipe their card for you?”

He Zhi Zhou tossed out a single phrase of “no need,” but as he turned and was about leave, an unadorned hand was already handing a meal card over to him. “Swipe mine.” He turned and saw a pretty girl standing nearby in front of him.

After saying thank you, he carried his tray and found a spot to sit down.

Chen Han also took a seat across from He Zhi Zhou and asked offhandedly, “A’Xi, how was your time in Qingdao?”

He Zhi Zhou lifted his eyes. He knew this girl before him. Her name was Chen Han. He had seen her at Xia Wei Ye’s birthday party, so that meant she was also one of Shen Xi’s roommates. At the time, he could not muster up any interest in the birthday party, but he still could vaguely detect that Chen Han and Xia Wei Ye had some issues with Shen Xi.

Women could turn the smallest god*mn thing into a huge deal! He Zhi Zhou held his silence.

Chen Han’s lips twitched a couple of times, and then she began speaking about Xia Wei Ye. After listening to a few sentences, He Zhi Zhou felt as if it was simply noise by his ear. But, this Chen Han was very capable of expressing herself in speech, and each sentence was full of implied meanings that could fan some flames and stir up discord.

He Zhi Zhou did not have much of an appetite and arbitrarily ate a few things before leaving the dining hall. He did not want to return to that so-called girl’s dormitory. His brain was so vexed right now it was about to explode. After finding a computer room, his mood was so bad that for the first time, he had the desire to take his revenge out on society.

He turned on the first computer in that room. Ten minutes later, he left.

And five minutes after that, all the computers in the normal college were completely paralyzed.

He Zhi Zhou had returned to dorm room 636 just in time before the building was locked. Outside, he very courteously knocked on the door two times, but after doing so, he cursed himself for being sick with stupidity. Pushing open the door and walking straight in, he saw that the other three people were all there, though none of them were at their own desks. There was one washing clothes, one practicing the splits, and one sitting on the bed munching on an apple.

Which was his desk? His eyes swept over the four desks.

Desk #1 was messy, hanging on its chair was a bag of snack foods, and there were even cookie crumbs on it. He looked over at the girl sitting on the bed eating the apple: Dou Dou.

Desk #2’s desktop and chair were clean and neat and very few items were on it, but several sticky notes were stuck on the bookshelf. It should belong to Chen Han, who was washing clothes at the moment.

Desk #3’s desktop and chair were clean and tidy, but there were many items on it. All sorts of cosmetic jars were lined up and arranged neatly, and on top of that, the brands and logos were all facing outward in a showy display … This one should belong to Xia Wei Ye.

He Zhi Zhou finally turned his eyes to desk #4. What a mess! But though it was messy, it at least was not dirty. The items on the desk were piled haphazardly on top of each other, and besides that, on the very top of everything, there was a pet fish.

Lin Yu Tang’s desk also kept a pet fish on it. So, desk #4 unquestionably was Shen Xi’s. He Zhi Zhou walked over to desk #4 and sat down. The rest of them did not pay him any attention. It would appear that he had chosen correctly.

He turned on Shen Xi’s computer but discovered she had set a password on it. Out of utter boredom, he began to crack the password. And then, he stared at the password he had cracked and laughed wryly. The password consisted of four digits: 1234.

This was the only time he did not feel any sense of accomplishment from cracking a password.

It was not known where Lin Yu Tang had gone. Nine o’clock at night and he still had not yet returned. Shen Xi was somewhat bored staying there in the dormitory, and Monkey and Brawny were playing video games the entire time.

Shen Xi turned on the computer to watch the latest popular idol dramas, and to avoid disturbing Monkey and Brawny, she even deliberately put in her earbuds. Right when she was fully immersed in her watching, Monkey pounded away on the keyboard, controlling his game while simultaneously yelling at her, “Leader, hurry and come in to save us here! Brawny and I are about to die! Hurry!

Shen Xi pulled out her earbuds and shut off the video screen of the idol drama. The situation seemed very dire, ah. But how the heck could she possibly save them? Standing up, she told Monkey and Brawny, “I’ll go buy two cold drinks for you guys to give your minds a lift. Add oil, guys, yeah!” After saying this, Shen Xi grabbed her meal card and dashed out the door.

Monkey and Brawny exchanged a look and both fumingly cussed, “Cr*p!” He Zhi Zhou, you heartless b*stard! Callous and selfish!

Shen Xi went downstairs to the small snack shop outside the men’s dormitory building and bought four chilled drinks. While she was bringing them back upstairs, she coincidentally ran into Lin Yu Tang, who was just returning. Enthusiastically, she greeted him, but Lin Yu Tang merely gave her an indifferent response before walking alone ahead of her.

Dejectedly, Shen Xi followed behind him.

Lin Yu Tang had returned from the library. His mood was somewhat sour, and even after spending an entire night in the library, he began searching for information on the Internet once he got back.

When Shen Xi was back in the dormitory, she handed out the drinks straight into each of her male roommates’ hands, like she was dividing up candy. Monkey and Brawny thanked her and keenly began drinking theirs. Only Lin Yu Tang, although he had also thanked her for it, did not seem to appreciate the gesture and set the drink off to the side.

Oh, sigh. Was her Tang Tang making a display of bad temper?

Shen Xi began appraising her own bed. He Zhi Zhou had told her that he slept on the bunk above Lin Yu Tang. With several thump, thump, thump-s, she climbed up onto it. Very nice. The bed was tidy and clean. Leaning down over it, she took a sniff. The covers smelled fresh, passable for her to sleep on.

At the head of the bed, there was a book, one that was completely written in English. She tossed it aside.

After finishing the bed inspection, Shen Xi sat at the edge, kicking her long pair of legs back and forth as she called to her roommates down below, “Are you guys going to sleep yet?”

Monkey answered her, “You’re not serious, Leader? It’s only ten o’clock.”

Shen Xi asked, “It’s ten and you guys still aren’t going to sleep?”

Brawny said, “Leader, you’ve forgotten we all don’t sleep until two.”

Shen Xi addressed Lin Yu Tang, “Tang Tang, what about you?”

Lin Yu Tang was facing his computer and typing away, and when he heard the two words, “Tang Tang,” he nearly spewed a mouthful of blood on his keyboard. He replied, “Not for a little while.”

Monkey and Brawny both broke out into cackles, thinking that “Leader” was copying the way Beautiful Maiden Shen spoke. Likely finding that “Tang Tang” as a form of address was simply hilarious, they began calling Lin Yu Tang “Tang Tang” as well.

Sitting up on her bed, Shen Xi was laughing merrily.

Lin Yu Tang was not able to stand it any longer and rose, heading into the bathroom to take a shower.

Boys’ showers were much fast than girls’. While Shen Xi was lying on her pillow, letting her imagination run free for a moment, Lin Yu Tang had already come back out.

Sprawling on the bed, Shen Xi stared at him. This clean, handsome man was dressed in a patterned pair of shorts on bottom and a white tank top on top. She had a near and dear feeling while watching him because she had bought that pair of shorts for him.

Gazing down on his slender back for some time, Shen Xi climbed back down from her bed and came up behind him. Beaming, she suggested, “Hey Third, I’ll give you a back massage?”

Lin Yu Tang swiftly threw on a button-up shirt. “No-… no thanks.”

Monkey shamelessly interrupted them, “Leader, massage me.”

Shen Xi ignored Monkey and sat down in her own chair, contemplating seriously about an important question: should she take a shower?

She sniffed at her own scent and felt that there was no need to take one. But then, Monkey piped up to urge her, “Leader, you shower first. After you’re done, Brawny and I will take ours.”

With no choice but to go into the bathroom, Shen Xi shut the door and took a deep breath, her entire being feeling guiltier than if she was actually a thief. So much pressure! Should she keep her clothes on, rinse down in the water, and let it be? In the end, she tossed out her scruples and stripped off her top.

Inside the men’s dormitories, the bathing area and the sink and countertop were connected, and over the washroom counter was a large mirror. In the instant Shen Xi removed her top, her heart skipped two beats and she unconsciously gave a cry of “Wowee!”

Oh gee! He Zhi Zhou’s body actually had some nice assets! Shen Xi suppressed her heartbeat that was nearly hammering its way out of her chest and stared at that upper body in the mirror. Her gaze traveled from the shoulder to the contours of the waist to, finally, those narrow hipbones …

Seriously … too nosebleed-inducing! Shen Xi covered her eyes with her hands, and eventually, steeled her heart and shut off the lights inside the washroom. Except those slightly protruding collarbones, that narrow but strong waist, those clearly defined abs … had all already been taken in by her eyes and etched into her brain. Shen Xi thought to herself, she could not let Lin Yu Tang know about this, that she had looked at another man’s body, and not just looked; she had touched it, and rubbed it, and squeezed it …

When Shen Xi finished her shower and stepped back out, she noted regretfully that not a single jar of skincare product could be found on He Zhi Zhou’s desk, not even toner. Coincidentally, Brawny happened to be applying product to his own face right then, so she told him, “Here, give me some.”

Brawny squeezed some Dabao [brand of cosmetic products in China] into her palm. Even though Shen Xi disliked this brand, she still applied some onto her face. Facing the mirror, she spread it out evenly first, then patted it to allow it to be absorbed better, and finally, out of habit, began to massage her face.

Brawny gawked astoundedly at her. “Leader, I never knew you were so particular about those types of details.”

Shen Xi replied, “If you’re going to put it on, then you have to make sure it’s actually absorbed; otherwise, it’ll just stay on the surface of the skin and have no effect. And plus, massaging the face helps promote blood circulation and even slims out the face …”

Brawny: “……”

Shen Xi stretched out her hand and pointed at a spot below his cheekbone. “There are lymph nodes here. Remember to massage this spot a bit more.”

Brawny froze blankly for a little while. Then he, too, began massaging away at his own face …

Late into the night, the men’s dormitory building in S University had grown quiet, and the residents in the girls’ dormitory in the normal college had basically all gone to sleep. He Zhi Zhou, however, was still lying with his hands clasped behind his head, his eyes unable to close.

After thinking about it for a while, he ended up still sending Shen Xi a text: How are you doing on that end?

His message was not returned because Shen Xi had long since gone to sleep, hugging her blanket to her, and in that time, had even kicked off her covers twice.

Monkey had risen once in the middle of the night to use the washroom, and as a good roomie of China, he kindly helped Leader pick the blanket up off the floor and covered him again with it. Die, you, from the heat!

The next day, Shen Xi automatically woke up early to do her dance practice, but after opening her eyes and contemplating for a bit, she felt at ease and went back to sleep. When she awoke again, she glanced down at Lin Yu Tang sleeping on the bunk below her. Tang Tang was still asleep.

Shen Xi had went to bed early and hence had also arisen early. Right now, her new roommates were still sleeping, but she was already lying in boredom on her back and stretching her legs. Right as she was about to do some “midair splits,” her hand suddenly flew to cover her mouth. Oh my god, what did she just see? Her pajama pants were propped up very high such that a “little tent” was pitched in her pants.

Why did this happen? Shen Xi wanted to cry. Covering her mouth with her left hand, she reached her right one down and pressed down on that “little tent,” but she could not push down that “little friend” that had just awoken …

Sob sob … So appalling she was! Shen Xi could not handle it. Her legs kicked madly at her bed, trying to release the complex emotions she was feeling inside …

Lin Yu Tang was sleeping in the lower bunk. Up above, the bed was being kicked incessantly until finally, he got out of bed with a sullen face. Standing up, he knocked on the side of the upper bunk and, suppressing his temper, reminded, “He Zhi Zhou, I’m still sleeping.”

Shen Xi glanced with misty eyes over at Lin Yu Tang, and then, rolling away with her blankets, she turned her back to him and quieted down.

She did not want to face Tang Tang when she was like this either …

He Zhi Zhou had not slept the entire night, and in the morning, he leaned back into his beige, lace pillow with an expressionless face that seemed particularly indifferent. At quarter past seven, he received a message.

It was a photo that Shen Xi had sent over. From the angle, it was taken while lying down. She had taken a picture of the “little tent” that appeared every morning and sent it to him. Beneath the photograph was a row of words that clearly showed she was having an emotional breakdown: Sob sob sob sob sob sob sob … I can’t shove it back down …

He Zhi Zhou went insane!