Chapter 4 — The Ice-Cold Senior and the Fated Nickname

I stared at the incoming message, overwhelmed by a wave of profound regret. Why on earth had I still not blocked that absolute idiot? He single-handedly dragged down the average IQ of all my WeChat contacts and actively polluted my digital environment. I glanced lazily at his text: "Chu Doanh, how could you lower yourself to be with that kind of person?" My fingers flew across the screen. "Forgot to clean out my digital trash, which accidentally gave you a chance to speak. Don't bother thanking me." I blocked him instantly without a second thought.

The notorious campus rebel handed me another cold beverage. It was a lychee and peach concoction, sweet, cool, and instantly refreshing to the soul. He stood right in front of me, his expression suddenly tinged with a hint of awkwardness as he let out a soft cough. Before I could even ask what was the matter, he stepped closer and gently took my hand. "I am holding your hand so it is easier to navigate the crowd. You just focus on drinking your beverage." His face flushed slightly. It was merely a grip around my wrist, yet he handled it with the utmost care, as if he were holding something exceedingly fragile, not daring to use an ounce of force. "Why are girls' wrists always so tiny? It feels like it might snap if I squeeze just a little..." he muttered quietly from above.

Zhang Yueyue always called me an idiot. Clearly, this domineering guy was far more foolish than I could ever hope to be. I lowered my head and took a sip of the icy sweet drink, unable to suppress the upward curve of my lips. My mood was genuinely wonderful. Curious, I asked, "Where are we actually heading?"

He instantly reverted to his usual carefree, devil-may-care demeanor. "I am taking you to meet a few of my brothers. They have been dying to meet you for ages."

Ah, right. When people were in a relationship, it was customary to introduce their significant other to their close friends. In the past, Gu Rui had never once taken me to meet his roommates or his circle of friends. Whenever I suggested introducing him to my roommates, he always found ways to refuse. After we finally broke up, Zhang Yueyue had sighed and told me, "Chu Doanh, back then I honestly thought... if I hadn't seen the two of you walking together with my own eyes, I would have assumed you had entirely hallucinated having a boyfriend."

Thinking of this, a sudden wave of resolve washed over me. "Shen Titing, in that case, let me invite my roommates to join us as well."

I half-expected him to hesitate. To my utter surprise, his face lit up with radiant joy. "Really? Awesome! Then I am booking a massive private dining room right now!"

I looked up and chuckled. "No problem at all. I am sure they will be thrilled."

I quickly tapped out a message in our roommate group chat: "Get over here immediately, the campus overlord is treating us to dinner!"

The chat instantly exploded with activity. "A free meal tonight? I am coming right this second, and I will be here to protect our goddess Chu Doanh!" "Zhang Yueyue, can you even take on the campus rebel in a fight? It is fine, I am a ranged mage and I can provide healing buffs." "You guys go ahead and form the frontline shield, I will research our emergency escape routes just in case."

I giggled softly to myself. "Don't worry, the guy in those photos is genuinely not him. I am sure the misunderstanding will be cleared up very soon." I could tell from Shen Titing's calm demeanor and his cryptic hints. Despite having known him for only a short while, I somehow harbored complete trust in my intuition regarding him. I paused for a moment and added another line: "He said he is bringing along a few of his brothers—I hear they are all extremely handsome."

Zhang Yueyue instantly fired back a sticker of someone grinding their teeth in frustration: "Damn it, you hit right where it hurts!"

My prediction proved entirely correct. Before dinner even commenced, Shen Titing personally went onto the campus forum to clear his name and set the record straight.

Although Liu Lingling did possess a few minor character flaws, her fundamental nature was not entirely malicious. Furthermore, she had always been somewhat proud, meaning she would never stoop to fabricating stories or maliciously slandering others. Her fury was entirely genuine. She uploaded dozens of screenshots of her chat logs to the forum; that sheer volume was not something one could fake effortlessly. If Shen Titing refused to admit to it, she was fully prepared to bring the evidence to the head teacher for verification.

And yet, the true campus overlord flat-out refused to claim ownership of it. The entire student body was gathered on the forum, eagerly watching the drama unfold. I hid at the very bottom of the threads, silently monitoring the chaos.

The big boss finally appeared to issue his response, his tone casual yet utterly resolute: "I have no idea who was out there tricking you, but I can guarantee it definitely was not me."

He attached a screen recording showing his actual, verified account. "This is my genuine personal account. I have been using this exact account for three whole years."

That was not all. His closest brothers successively logged on to corroborate his statement: "I can personally vouch that this is Shen Titing's real account." "Absolutely true, we have never once seen him use any other account."

The account Liu Lingling had exposed earlier matched his name and profile picture identically, with the sole exception of a single character in the registration letters. The big boss's real account was qitingchuying, whereas the one Liu Lingling had added swapped out "ying" for "ylng." It was a textbook forgery.

The onlookers quickly realized the truth and grew immensely excited. "Whoa, so Liu Lingling was actually scammed by someone impersonating the boss!" "And she spent over two months chatting away with an imposter..." "I am dying of laughter, no wonder she was acting so unusually enthusiastic toward the boss lately." "If it were a long-distance relationship, it might be understandable, but we all go to the same school, you run into each other everywhere." "Did you not see how sweetly the fraudster was coaxing her in the chat logs? One moment whining that he was in a bad mood, the next acting indifferent, and then offering endless apologies." "Who would have thought Liu Lingling could be duped so easily!"

The forum discussion was utterly chaotic and lively. Once her mistake was exposed, Liu Lingling did not utter another word. To be fair, this whole fiasco could not entirely be blamed on her. Who could have possibly anticipated that even the campus overlord would attract impersonators? Although she had deliberately chosen today to stir up trouble with ill intentions, she had still been thoroughly deceived and ultimately remained a victim. I could not be bothered to hold a grudge against Liu Lingling.

However, what truly occupied my thoughts was the substring "Chuying" embedded within the boss's genuine account ID. Was I simply overthinking things? We had exchanged phone numbers to add each other initially, so I had never paid attention to such minute details. I could not help pulling out my phone to double-check. But... Shen Titing had claimed that account was created three years ago. Users were only permitted to change their display names once a year. Yet, he and I had only known each other for... a mere two weeks...

I lifted my gaze to study the campus overlord intently. He lowered his head, a warm smile playing on his lips. "What is wrong?"

I hurriedly manufactured an excuse. "Are your friends... actually handsome?"

He let out a couple of low scoffs. "They are passable, but once you have laid eyes on me, I doubt you will ever spare a glance for anyone else."

He rattled off the names of a few companions. Upon hearing them, my expression turned rather complicated. "Just hearing their names tells me they are no angels." They were notorious troublemakers around campus; word had it that merely hearing their names gave the disciplinary office a headache.

He chuckled smugly. "Well, you are officially part of the 'birds of a feather flock together' crowd now, there is no escaping!"

Fair enough. After all, my name, the campus boss, Liu Lingling, and Gu Rui—the four of us—had been completely dug up by the gossiping masses, dissected and discussed as if people were studying a sprawling field of ripe melons.

I let out an arrogant, villainous laugh. "Hahaha, I suppose nobody in this school will ever dare cross paths with me again!"

Right at that moment, a chorus of whistles echoed from the distance. "Is this our sister-in-law?" "We have heard about you for ages, finally getting to see the real person!" "Our boss has finally 'stood firm through the mist to witness the clear moon'..." "Oh look at him, actually quoting classical poetry~"

The three guys called out as they sauntered over. Listening to their banter, a deep sense of suspicion welled up inside me. The campus boss immediately shot them a sharp elbow jab. "Stop talking nonsense."

The other three exchanged knowing, flirtatious glances before breaking into synchronized, deeply meaningful grins. To be completely honest... I seriously doubted that friends of mine like Zhang Yueyue would ever develop any fondness for this unruly bunch...

I was currently deep in thought, wondering how best to apologize to my girls... Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear. Zhang Yueyue's phone call cut through my reverie. On the other end of the line, her voice was so hyperactive it sounded as though she were about to leap right out of the earpiece. "Where on earth are you, Chu Doanh? We have been wandering around forever and cannot find the place!"

The four occupants of our dormitory shared one very distinct, genetically inherited trait—we were all pathologically directionless. I immediately volunteered to go retrieve my sisters. The moment I took a step forward, my wrist was ensnared by the campus boss's grip. "I am coming with you."

Behind us, the three guys immediately erupted into a chorus of loud, teasing wolf-whistles. Shen Titing spun around and casually tossed a crumpled napkin straight at their heads. Then he turned back to me, offering a gentle, reassuring smile. "Pay them no mind, they are just running their mouths for fun."

I raised my head and laughed. "It is fine, they might look a bit rough around the edges, but they seem to have good hearts."

Shen Titing replied with absolute solemnity, "Seriously, I am the only decent and proper guy in the entire group."

Is that so? I would have to be an absolute fool to believe him!

Before long, Zhang Yueyue and the rest of the girls hove into view. She waved her arms enthusiastically in our direction.