Chapter 2: If There’s Nothing Going On Here, I’ll Eat My Keyboard!

The moment Lin Shiyu returned to the dormitory, she was hit by the rich, unmistakable aroma of luosifen.

“Shiyu, you’re back!”

Before she could even finish changing into her slippers, a round figure barreled toward her. It was Jiang Xiaoxiao, one of her roommates and an avid connoisseur of gossip—especially anything involving romance.

“Hey, hey, stay back. You reek. Don’t rub that smell all over Shiyu.”

Another voice drifted down from the top bunk.

Zhou Mo was hanging from the bed frame, doing pull-ups, the muscles in her forearms taut and defined.

Dodging Jiang Xiaoxiao’s bear hug, Lin Shiyu set down her backpack and let out a long sigh.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve left your soul somewhere,” Zhou Mo asked as she jumped down from the bunk, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Lin Shiyu hesitated before deciding to tell them. Keeping this strange feeling bottled up had become too uncomfortable.

“Do either of you think… Su Wan is a little… strange?”

“Su Wan? Which Su Wan? The goddess from the Fine Arts Department?” Jiang Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up instantly, her gossip radar going into overdrive. “What happened? Did she bully you?”

“Not bully me…”

Lin Shiyu searched for the right words.

“It’s just… the way she looks at people. It’s… weird.”

“How weird?” Jiang Xiaoxiao scooted even closer. “Like she’s looking down on everyone? Or like she’s looking at trash?”

“Neither.”

Lin Shiyu shook her head.

“It’s more like… she wants to swallow someone whole.”

Silence filled the room.

For three full seconds.

“Pfft—”

Jiang Xiaoxiao burst out laughing.

“Shiyu, have you fried your brain from staring at code all day? Su Wan is famous for being the campus sweetheart. She’s so kind people joke she wouldn’t even step on an ant. How could she possibly want to eat someone?”

Zhou Mo nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. I ran into her in the cafeteria the other day. She even helped one of the cafeteria ladies clear away the trays. She seemed perfectly normal to me.”

Lin Shiyu frowned.

Had she really just been imagining things?

“But now that you mention it…” Jiang Xiaoxiao suddenly stroked her chin thoughtfully. “I heard from the girls next door that Su Wan turned down the campus heartthrob’s confession. Her reason was, ‘I already have a little kitten I want to take care of.’”

She looked Lin Shiyu up and down before breaking into a meaningful grin.

“So… do you think she meant an actual kitten… or…”

“Stop.”

Lin Shiyu cut off her wild speculation.

“Don’t apply those overbearing-CEO romance novel clichés to real life. I barely know her.”

“Well, strangers become acquaintances, and acquaintances become friends!” Jiang Xiaoxiao said with a mischievous smile, patting her shoulder. “If you think something’s off, just stay away from her. She’s in Fine Arts, you’re in Computer Science. You hardly ever cross paths anyway.”

Lin Shiyu nodded.

That was true.

As long as she didn’t deliberately get close to Su Wan, they probably wouldn’t have much to do with each other.

However, Murphy’s Law had other plans.

The very next morning, Lin Shiyu had barely pushed open the door to the large lecture hall when she spotted a familiar figure sitting in the very first row.

It was Su Wan.

Holding a cup of warm soy milk, Su Wan looked up the instant she saw Lin Shiyu walk in. She immediately raised a hand and waved enthusiastically.

“Shiyu! Over here! I saved you a seat!”

In an instant, dozens of pairs of eyes in the classroom turned toward Lin Shiyu in perfect unison.

She froze in the doorway, caught between advancing and retreating.

Behind her, Jiang Xiaoxiao poked her in the waist and whispered excitedly,

“And you said you barely knew her? The campus goddess is saving seats for you! If there’s nothing going on here, I’ll eat my keyboard!”

Lin Shiyu closed her eyes in despair.

Not only had she failed to keep her distance…

It seemed she had become the target of Su Wan’s attention even more than before.