Chapter 38: Oh, This Damned Love

Lu Yiqi reviewed the question once more before clicking send.

The waiting felt interminable; even though she had only waited a few minutes, it seemed as if a century had passed.

After several more minutes, someone finally replied.

First floor: Neighbor? Deskmate? What a curious twist of fate! Just to clarify, is the neighbor you mentioned the same person as your deskmate? And is he good-looking?

From the corner of her eye, Lu Yiqi stole a glance at Xie Xu. Today, he wasn’t dozing off or lost in thought as usual, but was instead absorbed in his phone, head lowered and Bluetooth earpiece in, apparently playing a game.

Is he good-looking? Undoubtedly.

Gulu Gulu replied to first floor: Yes, same person. And yes, he’s really handsome. Incredibly so!

First floor quickly replied: Then, girl, you must be quite attractive too. So be confident and drop the “maybe.”

Drop the “maybe”? Wouldn’t that turn the question into, “What should I do if the new neighbor and deskmate I just met is in love with me?”

Lu Yiqi: “…”

All these responses, and not a single piece of advice.

Lu Yiqi decided not to reply to the first floor anymore and continued to wait for other responses.

Perhaps the thread title was intriguing enough, because after the first reply, more soon followed.

Second floor: May I ask, between your incredibly handsome neighbor/deskmate and Xie Xu from First High, who would win? If he’s even more attractive than Xie Xu, that would be legendary!

Lu Yiqi thought to herself, is that even a comparison? The neighbor and deskmate she spoke of was Xie Xu himself.

But since she was seeking advice, Lu Yiqi decided to reply.

Gulu Gulu replied to second floor: They’re about equally handsome.

Third floor: ……

Lu Yiqi replied patiently to the first few comments, but grew weary and soon stopped, simply scrolling through the thread to read more replies.

Nineteenth floor: So what you mean is, you suspect he likes you? Then he must have done something to make you suspect it! So, what exactly did he do?

What exactly? Lu Yiqi paused to recall, then began typing.

Gulu Gulu replied to nineteenth floor: Well, supposedly he’s cold and aloof to others, but in my eyes, he bullies me every day? But since we’re neighbors, we walk to and from school together; every morning he buys me breakfast. A few days ago, we had a disagreement and didn’t speak, and that just happened to be the day we became deskmates. He drew a line on the desk and told me not to cross it. That whole day, he was nothing like his usual self—normally he sleeps through class, but that day he didn’t sleep at all. He did nothing except watch me to see if I’d cross the line. Oh, and my friend told me it was probably him who asked the homeroom teacher to move my seat next to his? I’m not entirely sure. Then, yesterday, after our argument, I was in a hurry to get home, and he gave me a ride on his bike. That’s about it.

Two minutes later, nineteenth floor replied: Oh, this damn thing called love.

Gulu Gulu replied: ???

Nineteenth floor responded: Trust me, there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance your neighbor/deskmate likes you. If you don’t believe me, you can test him and see for yourself.

That made sense—Lu Yiqi thought the advice from nineteenth floor was worth trying.

So she asked directly: Then, how should I test him?

Nineteenth floor replied: You could find another guy and see how he reacts—see if he gets jealous or anything.