Chapter 219 Messed up!

Lin Duo's companion pulled her outside.

Wang Qiang became anxious.

He remembered that the last step required WeChat.

"Hey, classmate!" Wang Qiang shouted.

The sound was so loud that most of the people in the classroom turned their heads.

Lin Duo was startled and huddled by the door, watching him.

Wang Qiang slapped his thigh hard.

"I...can I buy you a milk tea? As an apology for your hat."

Lin Duo glanced at him for two seconds.

She didn't take out her phone to scan the QR code. Instead, she pulled out a cafeteria meal card from her pocket.

"No need for milk tea," Lin Duo said gently. "Just don't throw pens next time. Bye-bye."

She pulled her companion out the back door.

Wang Qiang stood still.

He clutched the pen in his hand. His expression was inscrutable, a mixture of joy and despair.

The three roommates came up.

"Brother, not bad." Zhao Zixuan patted Wang Qiang on the shoulder. "I thought you were going to be in jail for half a month."

Wang Qiang wanted to cry but had no tears.

"Brother Chen, I messed up. She won't even give me her WeChat."

Li Chen looked out the door. He shook his head. "I didn't mess it up."

"Still haven't messed things up? They've run away!"

"She didn't use her phone to refuse you, but instead took out her meal card and said she didn't need it, and added, 'Don't throw pens again next time.' If she does, it means she didn't develop a defensive rejection."

Li Chen turned and walked out.

"Yan Xi's deduction is correct. Your stupidity negates your aggression. She thinks you're a harmless simpleton."

Although the term "fool" sounds unpleasant, Wang Qiang sensed a glimmer of hope in it.

"Really? What should I do next time? Throw an eraser into her hat again?"

"Don't throw it away." Li Chen clipped the old thermos to the side of his backpack. "From now on, all you need to do is continue playing your clumsy self within her sight every day."

Lunchtime in the cafeteria.

Li Chen was carrying his tray and looking for a seat when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He placed the plate on the table and took out his phone.

[Yan Xi: What's going on?]

Li Chen typed with one hand, briefly describing the entire process of Wang Qiang throwing the ballpoint pen, including Lin Duo's reaction at the end.

Yan Xi replied instantly.

Yan Xi: He's lucky to be alive.

[Yan Xi: Lin Duo's bag wasn't zipped up properly because she felt insecure; the sticker on her thermos was because she cared about keeping her belongings intact. Wang Qiang threw the pen into her hat, physically invading her personal boundaries. But because his apparent embarrassment and helplessness were genuinely sincere, it transformed into a test of obedience.]

[Li Chen: What test?]

[Yan Xi: He used his enormous size to display extreme vulnerability. This is an endearing contrast. It triggers a girl's maternal protective instincts.]

Li Chen looked at the words on the screen.

He looked up and glanced at Wang Qiang across from him, who was shoveling rice into his mouth and had added a large chicken leg because he was in a good mood.

To make a girl feel a maternal protective instinct towards Wang Qiang is nothing short of a biological miracle.

[Li Chen: So, the first step was successful?]

[Yan Xi: Passed. Have your roommate go to the library tomorrow; they can't borrow that book, *Modern Linguistics Theory*.]

[Li Chen: How did you know she wanted to borrow that book?]

After sending the message, Li Chen suddenly realized he had asked a stupid question.

really.

[Yan Xi: She's a freshman in the Foreign Languages ​​Department of the School of Humanities. This week's course has just reached this chapter. I checked the reference list for this course in the academic affairs system, and the library only has two copies available. It's midterms now, so they've probably already checked them all.]

Li Chen remained silent.

Academic Affairs System. Bibliography. Number of Books Available.

She wasn't even there, but she knew Lin Duo's academic activities better than Lin Duo herself.

[Yan Xi: Let her see that Wang Qiang also went to borrow this book, and couldn't find it.]

[Li Chen: It's normal for a liberal arts girl to borrow this book. But why would Wang Qiang, a rough-around-the-edges computer science student, borrow "Modern Linguistics Theory"?]

There was silence on the other end of the phone for ten seconds.

Typing suggestions appear.

[Yan Xi: Because he's borrowing it for you. Your general education elective paper, due next week, is about the logical evolution of language. You need this book.]

Li Chen tightened his grip on his phone.

He does indeed have to submit a paper for a general education elective course next week. The topic is the logical evolution of language.

He mentioned this matter casually when he was on the phone with Yan Xi last night.

A complaint.

She actually used it here, and it perfectly closed the loop of Wang Qiang's behavioral logic.

This is what it feels like to be taken over.

From lifestyle habits to her roommate's romantic relationship, she used a net to silently cover up every detail.

Li Chen typed a few words.

[Li Chen: Tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM, second floor, humanities section of the library.]

[Yan Xi: Received. Remember to eat plenty of green vegetables for lunch. You didn't eat pumpkin today.]

Li Chen glanced at the untouched stir-fried vegetables on his plate.

When he was getting his food, he only lined up at the vegetable window. He didn't mention it. But Yan Xi knew.

He did not reply.

I picked up my chopsticks and ate the stir-fried vegetables clean.

Wang Qiang finished his chicken leg and looked at him expectantly. "Brother Chen, could you teach me a couple more moves this afternoon?"

Li Chen glanced at him.

"This afternoon won't work. Let's go to the library tomorrow." Li Chen wiped his mouth. "Remember to bring my student ID. Help me deliver a crushing blow to Yan Xi."

1:50 PM. In front of the teaching building.

Li Chen was wearing that navy blue coat, with the silver cup holder on his wrist inside the pocket.

He was getting ready to go to class.

At the corner, the edge of a camel-colored coat flashed by.

Yan Xi stood in the windy spot.

She saw him, but didn't come over; she just pointed at his collar from a distance.

Li Chen lowered his head. The first loop of his scarf had loosened a little from walking.

He reached out and tightened his grip.

Yan Xi turned and left.

My phone vibrated.

[Yan Xi: When you threw out the trash today, your left pinky finger got dusty. Wipe it clean.]

Li Chen looked at the message.

He pulled out a tissue.

Wipe away the very fine ash mark on your left little finger.

I crumpled the tissue into a ball and threw it into the nearby trash can.

He put his phone back in his pocket.

I walked towards the teaching building, facing the wind.