83: Girl in love

When the two separated, the bright moonlight illuminated half of her face. Du Xixi could no longer hold it back and threw herself into Shen Qian's arms, crying loudly.

She had suffered a lot of grievances during this period, not only from Shen Qian but also in her dormitory.

Clearly, she was just as jealous of Xie Wan as the other two girls in her dorm, but once she spoke her mind, those two began to distance themselves from her as if she were some kind of sinner.

In fact, this was just human nature. Everyone was jealous, but once you voiced it, you became the 'bad person,' and everyone wanted to distance themselves from the bad person.

Shen Qian listened silently, holding the girl and gently patting her back, showing his most tender side—even though he was the culprit behind everything she was facing now.

When the girl had finished most of her venting, Shen Qian stroked her head and said softly,

"Senior, I can't accept your confession yet. I need you to go back to being yourself. Once your emotions have stabilized and your difficulties have passed, the love you feel then will be true love."

"Right now, perhaps you just want someone to rely on because you've been hurt."

"I'm not..."

She wanted to argue, but a finger was gently pressed against her lips.

"I know you want to say you're sincere, and I believe in your sincerity, but the timing isn't right."

"Senior, loving someone requires a sense of security. Previously, you made me feel a bit insecure, and now there are quite a few girls chasing me, which will make you feel insecure too."

"Only when you ensure your own emotional stability can we possibly move forward."

Du Xixi understood. She had understood since the day they went running. There were many girls around Shen Qian; while they might not be as good-looking as her, there would always be one or two who used special tactics. Shen Qian was a man, and sometimes men have no defense against women, especially proactive ones.

"I understand. I understand all of this. A person like you will definitely face many temptations."

Du Xixi suddenly grabbed Shen Qian's hand. The next moment, his hand touched a soft mass, and he quickly pulled it back.

"Senior, what are you doing!"

"Shen Qian, if you need it, I can... tonight is fine."

At this moment, Shen Qian felt somewhat lucky. Fortunately, he had taken a cold shower at that hotel before coming back, otherwise he would have definitely broken his resolve. Although Du Xixi wasn't as good as Xie Wan, she was still a verified beauty. She surely had no shortage of simps around her, yet she was being so proactive now; an average person might not be able to handle it.

But Shen Qian was no average person. He could even withstand Xie Wan, let alone her current state.

Shen Qian stood up, his voice turning somewhat cold.

"You think I'm that kind of person?"

Hearing this, Du Xixi panicked. Her heart and soul were now entirely on Shen Qian, so his every move tugged at her nerves.

"I know you're not that kind of person. I just thought, you're a boy after all, you have needs, I wanted to..."

"Enough! I don't want to hear you say things like that again!"

"I admit, when school first started, I had a bad reputation. They called me a humanoid teddy, and I also admit you're very beautiful. I've thought about something happening between us more than once."

"But absolutely not now, and absolutely not in this way. If I wanted to have you, you would have been mine that night. Why would I wait until now?"

Du Xixi thought back to that night. She had played games all night while Shen Qian slept beside her. But what Shen Qian didn't know was that she had stopped midway to watch him sleep intently, and almost reached out to touch him.

Perhaps the seeds of love were planted that very night.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong."

The girl apologized again.

Shen Qian nodded.

"It's good that you know you're wrong. Come here."

"Huh?"

"Just a verbal apology? Nothing practical?"

Shen Qian spoke with a hint of complaint, pulling her by the waist and kissing her again. As they kissed, he felt the desire he had suppressed with the cold shower being stirred up once more.

It seemed a cold shower alone was useless. If the fire in his heart wasn't extinguished, any attempt to suppress it was futile.

At the intersection where they parted, Shen Qian looked at her.

"Alright, go back to your dorm."

"Okay," she replied softly, turning and disappearing into the night.

When Shen Qian returned to his dormitory and looked down, that girl was still standing below the building for a while before leaving.

"As expected, a woman in love is crazy. Even if told to go back to the dorm, she'll still sneak a look."

After confirming she had left, Shen Qian sent a message to Ni Zixin. She happened to be returning to school today.

"Come out."

He sent just those two words, followed by a hotel location. Then, he changed his pants and prepared to leave the dorm.

"Old Third, you're going out again?"

"Yeah, I'm not staying in the dorm tonight."

"No way, which senior is it?"

Shen Qian looked at Chang Heng with a smile.

"Why don't you take a guess?"

"No, it couldn't be... Senior Xie, right? I asked around when I got back, and Senior Xie is one of the school's four golden flowers! You... you... you didn't actually land her, did you!?"

Originally, they were already quite envious when Shen Qian started seeing Tan Xinxin. Then, besides Tan Xinxin, there was Senior Female Student Du who also came to confess. If that wasn't enough, while they were eating, the top-tier beauty Xie Wan showed up. Now they really couldn't stay calm; they were about to explode with jealousy.

"Why do I have to be going out to stay with a woman? Can't I stay out by myself?"

The others chuckled.

"If you were single, we'd believe you. But based on your performance today—adding over 20 girls, getting confessions, and that top-tier beauty senior—I don't believe for a second you're staying alone."

"Fine, fine, I'm done bickering with you guys. I'm off."

"Old Third, come back early tomorrow. I'm planning to confess."

"Huh!?" Shen Qian, who was about to leave, stopped in his tracks immediately.

"Didn't you say you'd wait until the break was over?"

"After observing you today, I'm convinced. A man should be brave. You're brave, so you could add over 20 girls. I should be a bit braver too."

Shen Qian was utterly speechless. He was diligently playing the scumbag, yet this guy had learned *this* from it? Shouldn't a normal person learn to expand their numbers first? Instead, he was choosing to hang himself from a single tree.

"You don't need Tan Xinxin to test the waters anymore?"

"No need, I have confidence!"

Seeing the smile on Chang Heng's face, Shen Qian chuckled. Indeed, people laugh when they are speechless. Confidence? Confidence my foot. But fine, sometimes you have to hit a brick wall before you turn back.

"Alright, then I'll be back early tomorrow morning."

Since it had come to this, what else could he say? As the saying goes, respect the fate of others.

At the hotel, Shen Qian saw Ni Zixin in the lobby. After not seeing her for a few days, the girl had changed quite a bit.

[Due to your intervention, a 4-point girl has been upgraded to a 5-point girl. Behavior matches scumbag standards. Reward being issued...]

[scumbag behavior recorded]

"Oh?" Shen Qian looked at Ni Zixin running toward him. The speechlessness Chang Heng had caused was swept away, replaced by the excitement of cultivation.