Chapter 2: I Like You Even More Now
“Here you go, jasmine milk green tea. I remember this is your favorite,” Qin Luo said to Tang Yu with a smile. It wasn’t the first time he’d bought milk tea for the Goddess Squad; he remembered each of their preferred flavors.
Tang Yu was stunned by this unexpected move and instinctively glanced at Xu Ke beside her.
Xu Ke’s expression was equally startled, then suddenly darkened. Her already cool and distant aura now seemed even colder, like a sheet of ice. She fixed her gaze on Qin Luo, and though she said nothing, the chill brewing in her eyes made it clear that his actions had truly angered her.
The bystanders were just as shocked, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads at the scene before them, as though they’d seen a ghost in broad daylight.
“Huh? What? What’s going on?”
“Damn, what’s Luo Shen doing?”
“He gave it to Tang Yu before Xu Ke? Is he out of his mind?”
“Hiss… Is he changing targets, giving up on Xu Ke and going after Tang Yu now?”
“Nonsense, with how crazy he’s been about Xu Ke before, I’d believe it if it were someone else, but him moving on? If that happens, I’ll stand on my head and have diarrhea!”
“Then how do you explain this? Is he using this as a way to complain about Xu Ke’s attitude toward him before?”
“It’s not impossible, but with his personality… would he really dare?”
“….”
The onlookers all wore conflicted expressions, unable to decipher the true meaning behind Qin Luo’s actions.
But Qin Luo soon showed them that his outrageous performance was far from over.
Seeing that Tang Yu was still frozen, Qin Luo nudged the milk tea toward her again. “Take it.”
Tang Yu, glancing at Xu Ke’s icy expression, hesitated before finally accepting the drink, her voice soft as she murmured, “Thank you.”
She didn’t understand Qin Luo’s motives, but her innate politeness wouldn’t allow her to let things get awkward for him, even if it risked upsetting Xu Ke. So, she chose to accept the milk tea.
“You’re welcome,” Qin Luo replied with a gentle smile, then turned to Chu Sijin and handed over the second cup. “Here, this one’s for you.”
Chu Sijin glanced at Xu Ke, hesitating. “I don’t think I—”
Before she could finish, Qin Luo interrupted, “This is the snow mochi milk tea just released by that dessert shop outside. Are you sure you don’t want to try it?”
At that, Chu Sijin couldn’t help but swallow, and silently reached out to take the milk tea. “…Thank you.”
Qin Luo smiled and turned to Chu Liunian, offering the third cup. “Here’s the Spy Family Anya collaboration milk tea for you.”
Chu Liunian had been about to say something, but at those words, she immediately swallowed her words and eagerly accepted the drink, exclaiming, “Yay! With this cup, I’ve completed the whole Anya family set. Now I can get the free family photo cola cup! Thank you so much!”
Qin Luo responded to her thanks with a smile. In the three months he’d spent fawning over Xu Ke, he hadn’t spoken much with the other members of the Goddess Squad, but he’d long since memorized their personalities and interests.
Tang Yu was gentle and well-mannered, always the epitome of a refined young lady in public. The Chu sisters—one was a foodie, the other a hardcore anime fan. So Qin Luo knew exactly how to cater to each of them.
The people nearby were dumbfounded, especially as they noticed Xu Ke’s expression shifting again and again while Qin Luo neither spoke to nor even looked at her. The disbelief on their faces grew even more vivid.
“What the hell…?”
“Can someone with a brain explain what’s happening? I’m totally lost…”
“Don’t worry, even a genius like me can’t figure it out…”
“This guy is going after the entire Goddess Squad! He even put so much thought into just buying milk tea—unbelievable!”
At first, there weren’t many onlookers; most people at school had long heard of Qin Luo, the infamous simp, and had witnessed his relentless pursuit of Xu Ke all over campus. It was no longer anything new.
But as Qin Luo’s antics escalated, the crowd grew. Their faces were masks of disbelief, and the murmurs grew louder, until they were crowding around, watching intently as if it were a highbrow art film.
Xu Ke, who’d been quietly fuming since her initial shock, finally couldn’t hold back. Just as Qin Luo was about to hand out the fourth cup, she stepped forward, expressionless, and glared at him. “What’s the meaning of this?”
Her voice was as crisp as ice cubes clinking together, perfectly matching her chilly aura. There was little inflection, but her anger was unmistakable.
“What do you mean?” Qin Luo finally spoke to her for the first time that day. Suddenly, as if recalling something, he slapped his forehead. “Oh! You’re in a hurry for your milk tea, right? No need to rush, it’ll be your turn soon. Be good.”
Those simple words made the eyes of everyone around them widen even more.
Xu Ke was utterly incredulous, momentarily wondering if she’d heard wrong.
All the time she’d known Qin Luo, when had he ever spoken to her without walking on eggshells, terrified of upsetting her? When had he ever done anything without painstaking care, desperate to please her?
But now?
Telling her not to rush, that she’d get hers soon, and even calling her “be good”—was this something the school’s most notorious simp would ever say?
Xu Ke was stunned into silence, the corners of her eyes twitching, unable to speak.
As the crowd struggled to process what was happening, Qin Luo handed out the fourth cup of milk tea.
He looked at Yao Yanyan and said, “Here, your favorite—red bean milk tea.”
Yao Yanyan had been enjoying the show from the sidelines. After her initial surprise, her expression had shifted to one of keen interest. Now, seeing it was finally her turn, she accepted the milk tea without hesitation and asked with a smile, “Aren’t you afraid Xu Ke will be angry at you for this?”
Qin Luo shot back, “Why should I be afraid of her getting angry?”
Yao Yanyan replied instinctively, “Because you like her, obviously.”
Qin Luo blinked and asked, “But does she like me?”
“Uh…”
Yao Yanyan fell silent, because everyone knew Xu Ke didn’t like Qin Luo. If she did, she wouldn’t have ignored his feelings for so long.
Seeing this, Qin Luo pressed on, “See? Even you know she doesn’t like me. If she doesn’t like me, then why would she be angry with me?”
Now, not only Yao Yanyan, but even Xu Ke paused, suddenly feeling that perhaps her own reaction was a bit off.
That’s right… I don’t even like him, so why am I angry at him…? Oh, it’s because he deliberately ignored and brushed me off just now, that’s why I was upset. Yes, that must be it!
Xu Ke quickly gave herself a reasonable explanation and was about to lash out when Qin Luo suddenly turned to Yao Yanyan and said, “Honestly, I think I like you more now. Will you be my girlfriend?”
A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples. The moment Qin Luo said this, the entrance to the girls’ dormitory fell into a deathly silence.
The air seemed to freeze, time itself stopped, and everyone’s expressions were frozen in that instant, as if the whole world had been put on pause.
Yao Yanyan, at the center of it all, stared wide-eyed. Her hand trembled and the milk tea she’d just opened slipped from her grasp, crashing to the ground. She didn’t even notice, her smile vanishing without a trace.
The thud of the cup hitting the ground was especially jarring in the stillness, as if it weren’t a drink but a bomb, not falling on the ground but into a deep pool.
Ripples spread out, splashing water everywhere, and the crowd reeled back as if they’d been blasted out of the water. Their eyes and jaws went slack, every pore shouting disbelief, emotions bursting forth uncontrollably.
“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!”
“Did I just hear what I think I heard? Someone tell me I didn’t mishear!”
“Luo Shen just confessed to Yao Yanyan? And not Xu Ke? And Yao Yanyan is Xu Ke’s roommate?!”
“Who said Qin Luo could never move on? Stand up, I want to see you stand on your head and have diarrhea!”
“He must be possessed by the protagonist of some novel—there’s no other explanation!”
“What are you waiting for? Go get the Buddha from the West!”
The crowd erupted like waves, staring at Qin Luo in utter disbelief, unable to reconcile this Qin Luo with the one who’d spent a hundred days chasing after Xu Ke.
If even the bystanders were so shocked, Xu Ke, at the center of it all, was even more so.
Her incredulous expression was tinged with betrayal and anger, her eyes locked on Qin Luo, emotions churning inside her until she was rendered speechless, unable to utter a single word.
Tang Yu, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizing Qin Luo with a gaze that, aside from surprise, contained a deeply hidden hint of admiration.
The Chu sisters, on the other hand, were clearly oblivious—despite their shock, they sucked on their straws nonstop, like moviegoers munching popcorn, their faces all but shouting, “Fight! Fight!”
As for Yao Yanyan…
She stood frozen for a long time, only snapping out of it to ask awkwardly, “What did you say?”
Qin Luo repeated, “I said, will you be my girlfriend?”
Yao Yanyan’s mouth twitched. She seemed to want to laugh, but couldn’t quite manage it, so she forced a dry chuckle and replied, “You… you spring this on me when I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet…”
With that, she bent to pick up the milk tea she’d dropped, as if trying to calm her nerves.
Qin Luo just shrugged, unconcerned by her reaction. He glanced at the remaining milk tea in his bag before turning to the silent Xu Ke and saying with a smile, “Sorry, that’s all I have. I’ll bring you one next time.”