Serenade

Bo Yan was completely puzzled as to why Jin Xi suddenly disliked him. He searched his conscience but couldn't think of anything he had done to make her dislike him, apart from occasionally "borrowing" the wifi from the dorm room across the hall.

That night, as Bo Yan tossed and turned, unable to sleep, he gave the bundle of blankets containing the restless Jing Chi a kick and asked: "When do girls get angry for no reason?"

Jing Chi replied: "When you've hurt them."

Bo Yan: "..."

"I'm serious," Jing Chi said, poking his head out from under the blankets. "Ask Doudou, I'm not an encyclopedia."

So Bo Yan really did take out his phone and searched: Why do girls get angry for no reason?

Surprisingly, he did find something useful on a webpage full of ads. Bo Yan read the following possibilities:

[She's sulking to get your attention and make you care more about her. Don't always feel so hard done by - it's actually a good sign that she doesn't see you as an outsider.]

He murmured under his breath: "She really likes you and is pretending to be angry on purpose because she wants your affection."

Jing Chi had stopped watching his videos and poked his head out again to tell Bo Yan: "That's enough. What are you fantasizing about in the middle of the night?"

"It's more reliable than anything you've learned from your Japanese porn," Bo Yan said earnestly. "It makes a lot of sense to me."

Jing Chi: "That's nonsense. Let me tell you, there's another reason girls get angry - they're on their periods."

Bo Yan was momentarily lost for words. After thinking about it carefully, he had to admit that Jing Chi's guess seemed more reasonable than anything he had found online.

He quickly searched again: What to do when a girl gets her period?

**

The next morning, a text message popped up on Jin Xi's phone, from Bo Yan.

Four words of straight man wisdom:

"Drink plenty of hot water."

Jin Xi: "..."

In the self-study room, Bo Yan was exceptionally well-behaved. He had put a pink cushion on Jin Xi's seat and prepared a warm hot water bottle. As soon as she sat down, he placed the hot water bottle on her stomach.

Every time Jin Xi got up to go to the bathroom, Bo Yan reacted as if faced with a major crisis, anxious and at a loss. His eyes even kept drifting to her bottom.

Jin Xi couldn't take it anymore. The third time he changed her hot water for her, she grabbed his hand: "Senior Bo Yan, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Bo Yan just repeated earnestly: "Drink plenty of hot water."

Lin Luo couldn't help laughing out loud: "Senior, Xi Xi's 'special days' aren't today. You've got it wrong."

"It's not today?"

"No, her time of the month is at the end of the month, don't forget that."

Jin Xi finally understood what Bo Yan was getting at. The seat cushion, hot water bottle, and solicitous behavior this morning were all because he thought she was on her...

Jin Xi's old face turned bright red and she ran out of the classroom.

How embarrassing! Nothing could undo this level of stupidity!

Bo Yan shot Jing Chi a glare. Jing Chi held up his hands, as if to say I was only guessing.

At lunchtime, everyone was resting with their heads on the desks. Bo Yan moved closer to Jin Xi, propping his chin on the desk edge, and looked at her pitifully with his slender phoenix eyes.

"Little Xi Xi..."

Jin Xi gripped her pen and glanced at him impatiently: "Don't think that just because you're looking at me with Zheng Kai's eyes, I'll forgive you. That's never going to happen, not in this lifetime!"

"What did I do wrong to upset you?"

"Everything about you is wrong." She continued writing, ignoring him.

Bo Yan reached out and poked her little white claws. "Tell me exactly what's wrong with me. I'm listening. If something's really not good, I'll change."

It was hard for a girl to stay mad when a guy acted all cute.

Jin Xi lowered her dense eyelashes, resisting the urge to pet this cute little milk dog, and grumbled: "There's nothing wrong with you. I'm the one who's not good."

Bo Yan: "..."

So sometimes, he really didn't understand girls.

When you humble yourself like this and beg for forgiveness, if you've actually done something wrong, just say sorry and it's case closed. But she wouldn't even give him the chance.

With guys, a bottle of liquor or even a punch-up could solve things.

But with girls, you can't yell at them or hit them. If they're upset with you, all you can do is take it. There's no other recourse.

Bo Yan reached out to grab her little claws, but Jin Xi had clenched her fists and tucked them behind her back so he couldn't touch them.

"Was it because I said you were wearing thermal underwear?" Bo Yan asked. "If so, I apologize. Fair enough?"

Jin Xi's cheeks flushed. "What's there to apologize for? I was wearing them. It's n-not something to be ashamed of."

"It was never a big deal to begin with. What's the harm in a pair of long johns?"

"I only wore one pair today!" Jin Xi insisted. "I didn't wear two pairs!"

"Alright," Bo Yan said, ruffling her hair. "Don't be angry anymore."

Jin Xi lowered her head and complained in an aggrieved tone: "If you like girls who don't wear thermals, then Senior and I can't be friends anymore."

Bo Yan froze for a moment, belatedly catching her meaning. He laughed softly: "When did I ever say I liked girls who don't wear thermals?"

Actually, it was Shen Pingchuan who had said it, but in Jin Xi's mind, it was the truth.

Jing Chi woke up, blinking sleepily. He called out to Jin Xi: "Your Senior loves girls in thermals. One pair drives him crazy, two pairs and this guy gets a h**d-on just looking at you..."

Bo Yan kicked Jing Chi's chair. "Watch your mouth. Keep it clean."

Jin Xi laughed. She didn't stay mad at Bo Yan anymore.

The next day was the weekend. She and her roommates went shopping and bought thin tights and short skirts. Jin Xi wanted to try wearing an outfit like that herself.

The skirt had a cute checkered pattern. Jin Xi even gave herself two charming little braids pinned behind her ears.

After getting ready, she turned in front of the mirror and thought she looked perfect.

That night, she deliberately lingered outside Bo Yan's dorm room, wandering around aimlessly.

However, Bo Yan was listening to music and reading a book, completely oblivious to the drama queen outside his door.

Jing Chi took off his headphones, glanced back, and elbowed Bo Yan: "Your little sister's been out there collecting takeout three times now. At least look at her."

Only then did Bo Yan react and glance towards the door.

Jin Xi was standing there, pretending to rummage in her bag for her keys and open the door, but after feeling around for a while she didn't manage to find them.

To match the skirt, she had also worn heeled martens. Now she looked just like the other cute girls on campus.

Jin Xi felt thrilled inside. She thought eagerly, Bo Yan, look at me! Look at me!

Jing Chi asked Bo Yan: "Notice anything different about her?"

Bo Yan looked Jin Xi up and down, then asked Jing Chi in confusion: "Did she gain weight?"

Jing Chi rolled his eyes. This guy was clearly asking for death, hopeless when it came to girls.

**

For Professor Ma Zhe's last class, they had to hand in a sociological survey report. But the girls in Jin Xi's dorm were the type who only started panicking when their eyebrows were on fire.

They still hadn't even decided on a topic for the report.

"Let's do a survey on male students' views on relationships. That's the topic," the group leader Chu Zhao said, gathering the girls from their dorm for an emergency meeting. "Anyone object? Speak up if you do."

The few girls shook their heads without any opinions of their own, so Chu Zhao finalized it: "It's decided then. I'll arrange the work. Each of you think of five questions and we'll make a questionnaire. Lin Luo, you can distribute the questionnaires around the male dorms. Jin Xi, you start writing the report now. Chu Tang, you're responsible for helping Jin Xi with the report."

Jin Xi raised her hand: "Start writing now?"

Chu Zhao: "Yes."

Jin Xi: "What's the questionnaire for then?"

Chu Zhao: "To show the teacher."

Jin Xi: "..."

Chu Zhao said: "No time! Because the homework is due tomorrow!"

The girls hurriedly came up with some questions, printed dozens of copies of the questionnaire, and handed them out at the male dorms.

Designing a survey on male college students' views on relationships was entirely because it was convenient to access the male dorms. They could finish collecting the questionnaires in the shortest time this way.

As it turned out, this was an extremely wise choice. Because it was a request from girls, the usually fooling around male students treated the survey very solemnly. Each option was carefully considered before making a selection.

The group quickly accomplished their mission, completing the questionnaire collection in half an hour.

"Got them, got them," Lin Luo said, coming back with the last four questionnaires from the dorm next door. "Come see what your seniors think about relationships."

Chu Zhao took the questionnaires from her curiously: "They're anonymous, how do we know who's who?"

Lin Luo smiled and asked back: "Whose questionnaire do you want to see?"

Chu Zhao's old face turned red. "Just pick any one, I don't really...care."

Jin Xi randomly selected one. This questionnaire had very recognizable small regular script, with vigorous and powerful strokes, completely different from the sloppy chicken scratch handwriting on the other three. It could only have been written by Bo Yan.

He was good at both painting and calligraphy, skills he had learned from his family's elder.

"This one is Bo Yan's."

"Read his answers!"

"Hurry up and read it!"

Jin Xi read: "Question one: Have you been in a relationship before? Bo Yan's answer is no. Question two: If you haven't been in a relationship, please state the reason. For this one Bo Yan wrote...I'm ugly."

Chu Zhao looked at the other three people's answers, which were quite consistent: "Too ugly-looking."

Jin Xi continued reading: "Question three: Have you had sex before? When was your first time?"

She looked up and asked: "Whose question was this? It's too dirty!"

The three girls stared at each other, refusing to admit it was theirs. Jin Xi rolled her eyes, knowing one of them had to be acting.

She kept reading: "Question four: What do you think about unprotected sex among college students? Bo Yan's answer is: This is an irresponsible behavior that can harm girls. We should refuse unprotected sex."

After finishing, she commented on her own initiative: "Bo Yan has good moral values!"

Chu Zhao Yang waved the questionnaire in her hand and laughed, "It looks like the standard answers, their three answers are exactly the same, not a word changed!"

Jin Xi pursed her lips and continued reading, "Question 5: If you have a girlfriend during college, would you ask her to have sex with you? Hey, I said, why do you...the questions go round and round on these things?"

Lin Luo said, "Sex-related questions are pretty normal when it comes to college guys' views on love relationships. Quick, let's see how Senior Bo Yan answered."

Jin Xi read on, "Senior Bo Yan's answer is yes."

"Quite frank."

"Very good, not pretentious or fake."

"Next question, if your girlfriend is unwilling to have sex, would you insist? Senior Bo Yan's answer is..."

"How come you're not reading it?"

"Read it, read it, what did the senior say!"

Jin Xi cleared her throat, "Senior Bo Yan said, I won't insist, but I will seduce her."