Chapter 223 I'm not even playing games anymore!
"Qiangzi."
Zhao Zixuan lay on the edge of the upper bunk, staring at the bed below.
"Are you dead?"
Wang Qiang did not respond.
He lay on the bed with his legs crossed, holding his phone in front of his face, his thumb tapping slowly on the screen.
It wasn't the kind of intensity you feel when playing games, like you want to punch the screen through.
It means tap once, then pause for two seconds.
Delete it again.
Knock again.
Li Chen was sitting at his desk, organizing Yan Xi's study plan for the evening. Hearing Zhao Zixuan's words, he turned around and glanced back.
Wang Qiang's ears turned red.
That goes without saying.
"He's not dead." Chen Mo pushed up his glasses. "He's experiencing high-frequency emotional feedback."
Zhao Zixuan peered even lower from the top bunk.
Speak like a human.
Chen Mo looked at the computer screen.
"I'm really into chatting."
Wang Qiang suddenly sat up.
"I don't."
He said that too hastily.
He seemed so anxious, as if he were defending himself.
Li Chen didn't expose him and looked down at his phone.
[Li Chen: He's not in a good state right now.]
Yan Xi replied quickly.
[Yan Xi: Screenshot.]
Li Chen looked up.
"Wang Qiang."
"What are you doing?"
Send me a screenshot of the chat.
Wang Qiang shrank back slightly while holding his phone, as if someone was trying to steal his food.
"Isn't this inappropriate? It's about privacy."
Zhao Zixuan burst out laughing.
"When you showed us the cat emoji that Lin Duo sent eight times yesterday, didn't you feel any sense of privacy?"
Wang Qiang's face turned even redder.
"That's different."
Li Chen looked at him.
"It's fine if you don't send it. You can judge for yourself. You've been staring at your phone for more than an hour straight, only ate two bowls of rice for dinner, and haven't even started playing games, which means your judgment has declined."
Wang Qiang opened his mouth.
Two bowls.
He usually drinks at least three and a half bowls of rice.
This is indeed serious.
He hesitated for half a minute, but finally handed over the phone.
"Brother Chen, don't laugh."
Li Chen took the phone.
The chat interface is currently showing Lin Duo's profile picture.
Wang Qiang's last message was: "I'll let you know as soon as the book arrives."
Lin Duo replied: 【Okay, thank you.】
Then, three minutes later, Wang Qiang sent another message: "Didn't you finish your pork rib hot pot today?"
Lin Duo replied: [Yeah, that's a lot.]
Wang Qiang: [Next time you can order a smaller portion.]
Lin Duo: [Small portions are not available at the window.]
Wang Qiang: [Then you can share some with me.]
Li Chen stopped pointing when he saw this.
Zhao Zixuan leaned over for a look and gasped.
"Qiangzi, what you just said..."
Wang Qiang was so nervous that his fingers clenched tightly.
"What's wrong? Am I too oily?"
Li Chen didn't speak immediately.
He sent the screenshot to Yan Xi.
three seconds.
[Yan Xi: Did you delete it?]
Li Chen looked at Wang Qiang.
"Has it been withdrawn?"
Wang Qiang looked utterly hopeless.
"It's past the allotted time."
Li Chen remained silent.
Zhao Zixuan covered his face.
Chen Mo wrote in his notebook: "This is the first time the subject has attempted to cross the line; the risk level is medium."
Wang Qiang almost jumped off the bed.
"Old Chen, stop writing. Your writing is driving me crazy."
My phone vibrated.
[Yan Xi: Did she reply?]
Li Chen glanced at the screen.
Lin Duo hasn't returned yet.
[Li Chen: No.]
[Yan Xi: Don't try to fix it now. The more you try, the worse it will get.]
Li Chen returned the phone to Wang Qiang.
"Stop sending it."
"what?"
"Wait for her to come back."
Wang Qiang, holding his phone, looked completely dejected.
"What if she doesn't reply?"
"Then let's meet and agree tomorrow. No need for explanations."
"I can't control myself."
"If you can't control yourself, give me your phone."
Wang Qiang immediately clutched his phone tightly.
"Then I'll take control."
Li Chen turned back to his desk.
He had just put his hands on the keyboard when Yan Xi's message came again.
[Yan Xi: Is he trying to ease the tension with emojis right now?]
Li Chen turned around.
Wang Qiang was opening the emoji section.
Li Chen: "Wang Qiang."
Wang Qiang's hand trembled.
"I'll just take a look."
Li Chen reached out his hand.
Wang Qiang obediently handed over the phone.
Zhao Zixuan was laughing so hard that the bed creaked from the top bunk.
"That's it, Qiangzi. You haven't even started dating yet, and your sister-in-law has already taken over remotely."
Chen Mo calmly delivered the finishing blow.
"It's not a takeover. It's a trusteeship."
Wang Qiang lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
"I used to think that Brother Chen was very mistreated by his wife."
Li Chen paused for a moment.
"And now?"
Wang Qiang closed his eyes.
"Now I want to ask my sister-in-law to take care of me."
The dormitory was silent for a second.
Zhao Zixuan patted the bed.
"You're hopeless."
Li Chen looked down at his phone and sent Wang Qiang's message to Yan Xi.
Yan Xi replied with a period.
Li Chen stared at the period for two seconds.
This period is not a sign of passing.
It means disdain.
He could picture Yan Xi sitting in her dorm room, eyes downcast, tapping her fingers on the screen.
She would probably say: You're useless.
Sure enough, the next one came.
[Yan Xi: Tell him to put his phone on your desk before 10 PM tonight.]
Li Chen raised an eyebrow.
[Li Chen: Isn't it too early?]
[Yan Xi: His mind isn't suited for free expression right now.]
Li Chen read the sentence aloud verbatim.
Wang Qiang rolled over, still clutching his pillow.
"My sister-in-law is right."
Zhao Zixuan was stunned.
"No, why don't you resist?"
Wang Qiang said in a muffled voice, "I'm not worthy."
Li Chen almost burst out laughing.
My phone vibrated again.
Lin Duo replied to the message.
Wang Qiang sprang out of bed like a spring.
"I'm back!"
Li Chen handed him the phone.
Wang Qiang looked down.
Lin Duo: [Haha, can you finish it all?]
Wang Qiang froze.
The next second, he looked up at Li Chen.
"Brother Chen, she laughed."
Zhao Zixuan jumped down from the top bunk.
What does "haha" mean?
Chen Mo had already opened the loose-leaf notebook.
"'Haha' is a low-risk buffer. It's not just a perfunctory response, because it's followed by a question. The target didn't close the conversation; instead, they subtly pushed the conversation along with the context."
Wang Qiang's eyes lit up.
"So I didn't die?"
Li Chen felt a little relieved after seeing the message.
Yan Xi's judgment was correct.
Lin Duo did not object.
But this doesn't mean Wang Qiang can act recklessly.
He picked up his phone.
[Li Chen: She replied and asked him if he could finish the food.]
[Yan Xi: Reply: I can finish it, but you don't need to share with me. You eat your fill first.]
Li Chen read the message to Wang Qiang.
Wang Qiang typed it out word by word.
After sending the message, he pressed his phone to his chest.
"That's a good sentence."
"Where is it good?" Zhao Zixuan asked.
Wang Qiang thought for a long time.
"I don't know. It doesn't sound like what I said."
Li Chen leaned back in his chair.
This is the problem.
Wang Qiang is too quick to empty himself out.
We've only known each other for two days, and I already want to send him all my information, including his appetite, gaming rank, dorm room number, and how many people are in his family.
This is a pressure for Lin Duo's slow-to-warm-up personality.
Yan Xi's strategy was simple.
Give.
But do not demand anything.
Appear.
But not close.
Wang Qiang needs to learn this.
He lowered his head and continued organizing the documents.
Yan Xi sent me a photo.
It was the cup on her table.
The name Li Chen was engraved on the bottom of the cup holder, with a small portion of it showing.
[Yan Xi: The cup holder wasn't lost.]
Li Chen subconsciously touched the bottom of his cup.
The silver cup holder has subtle ridges and indentations under the palm.
Her name is also there.