“Ruowei, Xinyi — quick, quick, come on — there’s a cute guy out here, do something with yourselves.”

The short-haired girl shut the door. Ten seconds later, it swung back open.

She made a sweeping gesture. “Please, come in.”

At a music conservatory, boys were already a scarce commodity. A good-looking boy was rarer still. And Xu Ye, as it happened, was a good-looking boy.

The moment the door opened, he caught a faint, pleasant scent — osmanthus, probably, from some kind of diffuser. Not overwhelming. Just there.

Inside, the other two girls were sitting together on one of the beds. All three roommates were attractive — arts school students tended to come from comfortable families, and it showed in how they dressed.

“Hello, ladies.” Xu Ye greeted them without a trace of awkwardness, then drew Qingqing forward beside him. “This is my girlfriend, Chen Qingqing. She’s on the quieter side, so I’m counting on you all to look after her.”

The short-haired girl went first. “Hi — I’m Jiang Yu.”

The girl on the left side of the bed was dressed boldly — a cream-colored camisole that showed off both her figure and her waist, paired with a black mini skirt. She gave off an energy that was equal parts confident and fun. “I’m Zhang Ruowei. Shanghai local.”

Next to her, a small, slight girl with a gentle look — barely over 160 cm, with a sweet smile. “I’m Shen Xinyi.”

Xu Ye had spent enough time around people to read a room quickly. A few seconds of observation — micro-expressions, the way they spoke — and he had a rough picture.

Jiang Yu: outgoing, energetic, accent placing her somewhere from the northeast. The warm, boisterous type.

Shen Xinyi: quietly refined, probably from Jiangsu or Zhejiang, the kind of girl who seems delicate but isn’t. [TL: 吴侬细语 — literally “Wu-region soft speech,” referring to the gentle, melodic quality of dialects from the Suzhou-Hangzhou region.]

Zhang Ruowei: dangerous. [TL: Xu Ye’s assessment of Zhang Ruowei is expressed in the original as ‘ipx圣体’ — internet slang referencing a specific genre of adult video known for a particular leading actress. In context, it means he’s clocked her as the type who’s fully aware of her own appeal and isn’t shy about it.]

All in all, not a bad draw for Qingqing.

Xu Ye wheeled her suitcases over to the one empty bed and said cheerfully, “I’m Xu Ye — also studying in Shanghai. I’ll probably be around campus pretty often.”

Zhang Ruowei smiled. “I’ve seen parents bring their kids to university. I’ve even seen grandparents. But this is my first time seeing a boyfriend do it. You two must have been together a while.”

Xu Ye spun something without missing a beat. “Guilty as charged. And a face like yours — I’m guessing you’ve had no shortage of experience yourself?”

Zhang Ruowei matched him without flinching. “Plenty of experience. Just never with anyone as good-looking as you.”

“Now you’re flattering me.”

Jiang Yu and Shen Xinyi both burst out laughing.

Qingqing, standing beside him, quietly reached over and tugged at the hem of his shirt. Xu Ye glanced up at the bare mattress above, took the hint, and redirected. “Do you know how to make a bed?”

Qingqing shook her head.

He unzipped the woven bag from the school, pulled out the mattress pad, duvet, and bedding set, climbed up, and made the bed. Then, while he was at it, he came back down and wiped down the desk, chair, and cabinet until they were clean.

Qingqing, feeling slightly useless standing there, opened her suitcase and started hanging her clothes in the wardrobe, lining up her toiletries one by one.

“Why did you bring this?”

Xu Ye spotted the Doraemon plushie nestled in the corner of her suitcase and looked up in surprise. [TL: Xu Ye had gifted Qingqing a Doraemon plush toy earlier in the summer.]

Qingqing immediately went on the defensive. “My mom must have put it in by mistake.”

She zipped the suitcase shut and moved on.

It took the better part of an hour to get everything sorted. The three roommates watched the whole process without saying much, though the look in their eyes said plenty. In their estimation, Xu Ye was almost absurdly attentive — treating Qingqing like something precious, taking care of every detail before she had to ask, leaning in close every time she said something so he wouldn’t miss a word.

It was, they silently agreed, extremely sweet.

By the time it was all done, Xu Ye’s stomach was making its dissatisfaction known. He took a photo of the room, then turned to the three roommates. “We haven’t eaten lunch yet — heading out to find something now. Want to come?”

“We already ate.”

“Next time then. See you around, ladies.”

“Bye bye, handsome~”

Xu Ye walked out holding Qingqing’s hand. The second they were gone, Jiang Yu’s voice carried clearly from inside the room:

“Universe, please send me a boyfriend like that. I am begging.“

“Jiang Yu, have some dignity — they can still hear you.”

“…”

Xu Ye, in excellent spirits, continued down the stairs hand in hand with Qingqing.

Outside the dormitory building, Qingqing stopped. “How long were you planning to keep holding my hand?”

Xu Ye realized, in fact, that he had not let go. He released her hand with an embarrassed grin. “Had to make it convincing.”

“I’ve noticed you’re like that with everyone,” Qingqing said. “Immediately at ease with anyone you meet.”

“Not really.”

“You literally just spent ten minutes trading banter with my roommate.”

“You weren’t saying anything. If I didn’t talk, the whole room would’ve been awkward.”

“Sure.”

“Okay, but seriously — shouldn’t you be buying me lunch?” Xu Ye turned around and presented his back to her. “Look at this. I’m completely soaked through.”

Qingqing gave him a light push. “Fine. I’m buying.”

They found a small restaurant inside the campus grounds. When the owner brought the menu over, Xu Ye went through it with no hesitation, ticked off three dishes and a soup, handed it back, and added: “Could you hurry it up a little? I’m about to pass out from hunger.”

That got a laugh out of the owner’s wife. She disappeared and came back with a small plate of peanuts and a plate of smashed cucumber. “Here — on the house, tide you over.”

“You’re a lifesaver. Seriously, thank you.”

Qingqing, quietly watching, felt something like envy. Xu Ye could walk into a room full of strangers and be laughing with them inside of five minutes. She couldn’t do that. Even though he’d pushed open the door for her today — had done most of the hard social work on her behalf — she was still anxious. She still wasn’t sure she could actually fit in with those three.

Xu Ye demolished several pieces of cucumber, then picked up his phone and sent two photos to Jiang Meilin — one of the dorm room, one from just now.

Xu Ye: Auntie Jiang. Qingqing’s all settled in. We’re getting a late lunch now.

Jiang Meilin had been waiting. She let out a long breath when she saw the message, then sent a voice note back:

“Xiao Xu, you’ve really gone above and beyond.”

Xu Ye: Just doing what I said I would.

Jiang Meilin: Is that her bed? Did you make it for her?

Xu Ye: Yes.

Jiang Meilin: How did she get on with her roommates?

Xu Ye: First meeting, so still early days. They’ve been introduced. I’ll teach her how to handle the roommate thing — don’t worry.

Jiang Meilin: Then I’m trusting you to take care of her for me.

Xu Ye: On it.

He put his phone away. Qingqing waited, then asked, “What were you two talking about?”

“Just giving her an update.”

Xu Ye looked at her. “Do you actually want to get close with those three roommates of yours?”

Qingqing hesitated, then nodded.

“Then listen up,” Xu Ye said, sitting forward. “What follows is a customized university social guide, brought to you exclusively by your boyfriend.”

(End of Chapter)