“Thea! Oh, thank goodness, you finally—”
The moment the call connected, Ye Wenxuan was so moved he nearly shed tears.
Before he could utter much more, a clear, melodious voice retorted mercilessly.
“Please stop trying to argue your way out of this. I’ve only refrained from blocking and deleting your contact out of politeness, so I kindly ask that you no longer disturb me in the future. Now, I wish you a won! der! ful day. Good! bye!”
The call was promptly disconnected.
“Eh?…”
After a frustrated sigh, Ye Wenxuan could only send a message to the number before dialing the next one.
“Oh dear, it seems the expedition has started poorly.”
Not far away, Li Pengcheng, seated at a stone table, had observed the entire exchange and offered his conclusion.
“A’Cheng, you two are good friends, aren’t you? You shouldn’t kick him while he’s down.”
To his right, Bai Yingwan, clinging tightly to her boyfriend’s arm, spoke these words, yet her wary gaze continuously darted towards a certain quiet and well-behaved girl.
“Oh~ this is quite delicious, Xiaorou. Would you like to try some?”
Cao Xueqi, seated opposite Bai Yingwan, offered a biscuit to Lin Shurou, who was on her right and visibly uncomfortable under the scrutiny, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
“Thank you, Sister Qi.”
Lin Shurou accepted it with a complicated thanks, her pent-up frustration threatening to burst forth.
‘She had wanted to apologize to him, and also…’
‘Ugh~ why did I not only miss my chance, but now I’m here, wasting time with a playboy?’
Lost in her chaotic thoughts, she unconsciously bit into the biscuit, only for her eyes to suddenly light up. In a few quick bites, she devoured the entire thing.
“Mmm! Sister Qi, this is truly delicious.”
“Right? Here, try this one too.”
“Thank you, Sister Qi!~”
As she accepted another flavored biscuit, the second call being made nearby surprisingly connected.
“Xiao Tao! You finally—”
“Who are you? Be careful, I’ll report you for fraud!”
“Eh?…”
Regrettably, the call duration was significantly shorter than the dialing time.
After sending another message, Ye Wenxuan began dialing the third number.
He had mentally prepared himself to make numerous attempts, but the immediate connection shattered his expectations.
“…Xiao Xing?”
Perhaps the other party answered too quickly, for Ye Wenxuan momentarily forgot how to speak.
“Go to hell.”
“…Ugh, eh…”
The excessively cold retort left Ye Wenxuan utterly crestfallen.
After a moment to compose himself, he resumed sending messages and making calls.
This time, the call rang for about five seconds before it connected.
“…”
Ye Wenxuan, however, found himself speechless.
“What’s wrong? Why call if you’re not going to speak?”
“Eh?… Ah! My apologies, Qingqing, I thought you…”
The other party’s usual demeanor sparked a flicker of hope in Ye Wenxuan’s heart.
“Ah? Wait, just a moment, okay?… (Mmm, it’s fine, Mom. What is it?… Oh, I see. Alright, I understand… Eh? With whom? Just Ye Wenxuan… Alright, alright, even if you say that, I’m used to it from before… Mmm~ that’s right, we should pull out ‘●●’, then throw it into ‘■■■’, then use ‘▲▲▲▲▲▲’, and finally be ‘★★★★★★★★★★’, right?)”
‘(((;꒪ꈊ꒪;)))’
‘Surely not?! This is far too terrifying!!’
Because the description was so vivid, Ye Wenxuan merely allowed his imagination to wander for a moment, and instantly felt as though he were tightly bound and gripped by endless black tentacles, then dragged with an utterly irresistible force towards some dim, bottomless abyss.
“Oh~ sorry, I’m done talking with Mom. What were you saying?”
“I’m—I’m terribly sorry, I—I have something urgent to attend to. I’ll contact you later, truly, I’m so sorry!!”
Ye Wenxuan’s metaphorical ship was declared sunk.
He couldn’t even muster the courage to dial the next number.
“Oh dear, this fellow looks like he’s going to be busy for a while.”
Watching his friend slowly sink to the ground, utterly drained, and gaze up at the slivers of sky through the leaves with an expression of utter despair, Li Pengcheng couldn’t help but offer a wry smile.
“Hey~ you look like you’re quite envious, don’t you? Mmm~ so you *were* envious, huh? Yes~ you’re actually very envious…”
Bai Yingwan spoke with a hint of resentment, subtly pinching the soft flesh around her boyfriend’s waist.
“Ack!? No, not at all, Wanwan. As you just said, we’re good friends, so naturally, I can’t help but worry about him.”
“Really? Is it truly real?”
Bai Yingwan asked, deliberately looking at Lin Shurou.
The latter, however, had been fed into a state of blissful oblivion, like a little hamster completely unconcerned with anything else.
Thus, when she met the older sister’s subtly smiling gaze, her heart skipped a beat, and she sheepishly averted her eyes.
“Mhm mhm mhm, truly, truly. Look at him right now; if I don’t go check on him, it might be too late later. Just let me go comfort my friend for a bit, alright?”
“Mhm, go quickly then…”
Li Pengcheng dashed towards Ye Wenxuan as if fleeing.
Bai Yingwan, meanwhile, accepted a perfectly timed biscuit from Cao Xueqi.
“Yo!~ You alright?”
Li Pengcheng clapped Ye Wenxuan’s shoulder and casually sat down beside him.
“Mmm… Ah… How should I even put it…”
“Hahahaha, don’t be so down in the dumps!”
Li Pengcheng clapped Ye Wenxuan’s shoulder twice more, then gazed at the distant scenery.
“Even though A’Qiu walked away with a cold expression, he’s actually very considerate of people. He must have left you with some words, right? If you don’t mind, tell me what he said, and I can help you think it over. Maybe we can find a solution?”
“Is that so?… Mhm, he did say, ‘Only those who haven’t been dumped would cast stones at a defeated heroine.’ Honestly, I think I understand it, yet I don’t quite understand it…”
“Ah~ so that’s it… Mmm, I actually understand it quite well, after all… his words were a reminder to me too.”
Li Pengcheng’s tone became somewhat dejected.
“To be frank, I’m actually quite jealous of him.”
“Huh?”
“Because, look, he’s actually quite handsome, smart, and has a very likable personality. Though he’s a bit lacking in sports, he always presents himself in class as if to say, ‘I’m just a background character, please don’t bother me.’ That’s how he acts, you know.”
Li Pengcheng even quite earnestly mimicked the other’s usual expression, which appeared calm but was in fact extremely distant.
“Eh? Is that really the case? Even when Lan Xinyue, who seems approachable but is actually quite distant, and Nina, the angel who appears to have no distance with anyone but is incredibly perceptive of people’s hearts, plus the truly cold-on-the-outside-warm-on-the-inside, utterly unreserved once she opens up—Su Yuanyi—all actively gather around him?!”
Ye Wenxuan could only feel an overwhelming sense of disbelief regarding this.
The three girls mentioned were not only immensely popular among first-year students but were also undeniable focal points in the eyes of upperclassmen, making them highly sought-after romantic interests within the school.
Nina, in particular, seemed to have a personality that suggested a slightly lower difficulty, so since her enrollment, the number of confession scenes he had personally witnessed already surpassed the total number of his own childhood sweethearts.
In simple terms, it had probably reached a point where she rejected confessions almost every day.
Recently, however, despite his reluctance, he had heard rumors that Nina and a boy from her class had not only suddenly grown quite close but were likely already dating.
Therefore, when he saw Nina and Zhao Wangqiu holding hands today, he was indeed shocked.
What truly stunned him was later, when he realized the two weren’t officially a couple, and that Lan Xinyue and Su Yuanyi also held a deep trust in Zhao Wangqiu. He even found himself unable to resist pinching his own face hard in the restroom, just to confirm he wasn’t dreaming.
As it turned out, that guy, who had already made countless people green with envy and clench their fists in frustration, actually had no romantic intentions whatsoever?
“Right, right! Didn’t you immediately think, ‘This person is completely oblivious, aren’t they?’”
“It really is… Ugh, thinking about it this way, I’ve failed so utterly. It’s truly disheartening…”
‘Doesn’t this just make me look even more like a clown?’
Ye Wenxuan was deeply struck.
“Hahahaha! You look absolutely hilarious right now!”
Watching Ye Wenxuan slump down, holding his head in his hands, Li Pengcheng couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Yet, he soon found himself falling into what seemed like the same mood.
“So, precisely because he has such a clear understanding of his own capabilities, he believes more firmly than anyone else that everyone is the protagonist of their own life.”
“Ah, it really does make one start to feel jealous.”
The sparkle left Ye Wenxuan’s eyes as he stared blankly into the distance.
“Hey!”
Li Pengcheng couldn’t resist slapping his friend’s back forcefully.
“Woah!? That hurts! What was that for?!”
“How dare you ask what I’m doing? After all I’ve said, couldn’t you think of anything?”
Li Pengcheng wore an expression of exasperated disappointment.
“What else is there to think? You know my mother passed away very early. Concerned for my mental and physical well-being, my father not only worked even harder but also made sure to spend time with me, which is why he never considered remarriage. While I’m deeply grateful, I also carry a lot of guilt, leaving me with little sense of security. He was absolutely right: my current predicament stems entirely from these thoughts, leading me to unconsciously adopt a pleasing attitude towards everyone around me. Now I’m reaping what I sowed, and I’ve lost, fair and square…”
“Sigh…”
Seeing Ye Wenxuan ramble on, only to arrive at such a conclusion, Li Pengcheng rolled his eyes in exasperated silence.
“I think I finally understand why A’Qiu said what he did.”
“Is that not right?”
“A’Xuan, I actually noticed just now that you were calling different girls, and I really want to ask, why are you doing that?”
Li Pengcheng placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder, asking with an earnest and heartfelt tone.
“Why else? I just want to apologize to them. But with so many people, I can’t possibly go to each one individually, can I?”
“Sigh… You’re right, you actually do have to go to each one individually.”
“Huh?”
As Ye Wenxuan looked bewildered, Li Pengcheng had already risen, dusting off his pants.
“Didn’t I just say? A’Qiu believes that everyone is the protagonist of their own life. So, your actions just now were still entirely from your own perspective, mercilessly casting stones at those ‘defeated heroines’ who believe they’ve been dumped because of your philandering! Honestly, I’ve wanted to say this for a long time: your attitude towards them has always been half-hearted. You’re not seriously thinking of solving problems with such a despicable and pathetic mindset, are you?”
“…………Ah~~ What exactly have I been doing…”
As soon as Ye Wenxuan realized this, he couldn’t help but cover his face forcefully.
“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t you dare cry here! It’s super embarrassing, seriously! It’ll embarrass all of us!”
“……You’re right. If I keep doing such oblivious, shameful things, I truly might just want to crawl into a hole.”
“Then you’ll probably need to find a very big hole.”
“Hey!? Do you have to pour cold water on me at a time like this?!”
“Hahahaha!”
Li Pengcheng extended his hand.
“Since you’ve understood, I don’t need to tell you what to do, do I?”
“Mhm, does that even need to be said?”
After taking a deep breath, Ye Wenxuan grasped his friend’s hand and stood up.
“Since they are all heroines, they should be treated with the appropriate attitude. It’s a truth that is both simple and difficult.”
“Oh~ I’ll cheer you on.”
“Eh!? You’re not planning to help at all?”
“Of course not. Do you want my Wanwan to go berserk?”
“Tsk, how cheesy.”
“You saw through it, but don’t say it, you scoundrel.”
Ye Wenxuan chuckled twice, then let out a frustrated sigh, looking towards the distant lake.
“Tell me, do you think we still have a chance to become friends with him?”
“Mmm, it’s hard to say. After all, if that guy were in a dating sim, he’d be like the hidden final boss. Forget about a 攻略路线 (TL Note: A ‘route’ in a dating simulation game that leads to a specific character’s ending), it’s even hard to find clues to increase his favorability. What we can confirm for now is that as long as we don’t actively cause him trouble, his favorability won’t continue to drop, at least.”
“Hmph, that sounds incredibly difficult. And… A’Cheng, putting aside the semantic overlap of ‘hidden’ and ‘behind-the-scenes,’ don’t you think using ‘dating sim’ plus ‘conquest’ sounds a bit gross?”
“Mhm, it really is a bit gross.”