Chapter 228 Don't go!
Li Chen stared at the four characters "Yan Xi," his finger hovering over the screen.
Don't let him go.
Wang Qiang was still sitting at the table, as if someone had pressed the pause button on his body.
The phone screen is lit up.
Lin Duo's sentence—
Are you going to eat on the second floor again tomorrow at noon?
It's far more effective than a vocabulary book.
Zhao Zixuan peeked out and immediately lowered his voice.
"Isn't this just a dinner invitation?"
Wang Qiang's Adam's apple bobbed.
"Right?"
Chen Mo pushed up his glasses.
"Literally, it means location confirmation. In terms of behavior, it means proactively establishing the next low-pressure contact scenario."
Wang Qiang's eyes lit up instantly.
"Shall I go?"
Li Chen raised his hand and pressed it against his shoulder.
"I'm not going."
Wang Qiang's expression cracked.
"Brother Chen?"
Li Chen handed his phone to him.
Yan Xi's message is still on the list.
Wang Qiang glanced at it once and immediately sat up straight.
"receive."
Zhao Zixuan: "..."
Zhao Zixuan was convinced.
"Your eyes practically lit up when you saw Lin Duo's message. You accepted it just because your sister-in-law said so?"
Wang Qiang is very serious.
"She saved my life."
Li Chen did not refute.
Strictly speaking, Yan Xi did indeed save Wang Qiang.
At least his WeChat chat history saved him.
Li Chen lowered his head and replied to Yan Xi.
Why can't we go?
Yan Xi replied quickly.
It's a good thing she asked me first.
But Wang Qiang has been too obviously influenced by her today.
If I show up immediately tomorrow, it will confirm to her that I can mobilize him with just a word.
Li Chen understood.
This is not Nacho.
The goal is to keep Wang Qiang calm.
Wang Qiang gets too easily impulsive these days.
If Lin Duo takes half a step forward, he can rush five meters.
That would scare people and make you look too low.
Li Chen looked up at Wang Qiang.
"You're not going to the second floor tomorrow at noon."
Wang Qiang's face showed a visible struggle.
He wanted to go.
I really want to.
Li Chen could tell.
That longing wasn't just about wanting to see them; it was about being afraid of missing out.
He was afraid that if Lin Duo took the initiative once and he didn't respond, she wouldn't take the initiative again.
Li Chen had never pursued anyone before, but he understood this kind of psychology.
He couldn't bear to reply to a single message from Yan Xi.
However, Yan Xi is more ruthless than Lin Duo.
She knew from the beginning how he would act.
Li Chen looked at his phone again.
Yan Xi continued posting.
[He replied: I probably won't be able to go tomorrow at noon; I need to help my roommate borrow some documents.]
Don't explain too much.
[Leave her an opening to ask further questions.]
Li Chen relayed the message to Wang Qiang.
Wang Qiang immediately grabbed his phone.
My fingers had only typed two words when they stopped.
"Brother Chen, how can I say it in a way that doesn't sound cold?"
Li Chen glanced at him.
"You go first."
Wang Qiang lowered his head and made revisions.
I might not go to the second floor for lunch tomorrow; I need to borrow some documents for my roommate.
He looked up.
"Is this okay?"
Li Chen looked at Yan Xi.
Yan Xi only replied with two words.
【Can. 】
Wang Qiang, as if receiving an imperial edict, immediately sent it out.
After the message was sent, the dormitory was quiet for three seconds.
Three seconds later, Wang Qiang slammed his phone face down on the table.
"I won't watch it."
Zhao Zixuan sneered.
Your hands are shaking.
Wang Qiang placed his hand on the vocabulary book.
"I'm memorizing vocabulary."
After he finished speaking, he stared at the first page.
"abandon".
Zhao Zixuan: "..."
Chen Mo's notes.
"After strong stimulation, the subjects actively sought to change tasks, and their execution ability improved compared to yesterday."
Li Chen closed the door and sat back down in his seat.
Yan Xi sent another message.
[Take his phone at 9:30.]
Li Chen checked the time.
9:27.
Three minutes left.
[Receive now.]
Li Chen looked up.
"Qiangzi, the cell phone."
Wang Qiang instinctively protected her.
"Isn't it 9:30?"
Li Chen showed him the screen.
When Wang Qiang saw Yan Xi's name, he paused for a second and handed over the phone with both hands.
Zhao Zixuan laughed so hard his shoulders shook.
"You've been completely controlled by your sister-in-law your whole life."
Wang Qiang remained calm.
"Is it my sister-in-law who's manipulating me?"
He pointed to the phone lying face down on the table.
"It's Lin Duo."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zixuan stopped laughing.
Li Chen took Wang Qiang's phone and placed it on his own desk.
He could sense that Wang Qiang was indeed different tonight.
In the past, Wang Qiang would slam his fist on the table when he lost a game, wail when he didn't do his homework, and cling to Li Chen's leg and call him "daddy" when he couldn't do advanced mathematics.
But now he's sitting there, memorizing a professional level 4 vocabulary word that he doesn't even understand.
It's quiet.
No fuss.
It's like wanting to get closer to someone's life.
Li Chen looked down at his phone.
Yan Xi sent a message.
[You too. 11 PM.]
Li Chen replied.
【I know. 】
Yan Xi: [Don't just know.]
Li Chen stared at those four words, unable to suppress the urge to smile.
Wang Qiang suddenly looked up.
"Brother Chen."
"Um?"
"What if she asks me to borrow some documents?"
Before Li Chen could answer, Wang Qiang lowered his head again.
"Can't we ask my sister-in-law?"
Li Chen paused.
This time, Wang Qiang actually realized it himself.
We can't rely on Yan Xi for everything.
Yan Xi once said that it's important to maintain a sense of authenticity.
Wang Qiang wasn't after the script Yan Xi had written.
He needs to learn to think for himself.
Li Chen leaned back in his chair.
"Just say it's for a general education course paper. Don't make up too many details."
Wang Qiang nodded.
"What if she asks about the thesis?"
Zhao Zixuan casually said, "Just say you're researching the dating psychology of contemporary college students."
Wang Qiang glared at him.
"Shut up."
Chen Mo looked up.
"I can provide the data for this question."
Zhao Zixuan: "You shut up too."
Li Chen couldn't help but laugh.
My phone vibrated.
It's not Yan Xi.
Lin Duo replied.
Wang Qiang's phone lit up on Li Chen's desk.
Wang Qiang tensed up, but didn't pounce.
He just stared at Li Chen.
"Brother Chen, look."
Li Chen picked up his phone.
[Lin Duo: Oh, okay, you're busy then.]
A small emoji followed by it.
not cold.
It's not hot either.
Wang Qiang's expression instantly became complicated.
Was she disappointed?
Zhao Zixuan: "You sensed disappointment from those two 'ohs'?"
Chen Mo: "The emoticons offset the cooling effect of the text. The mood is neutral to slightly positive."
Wang Qiang didn't believe Chen Mo, so he looked to Li Chen.
Li Chen sent the screenshot to Yan Xi.
Yan Xi replied quickly.
She didn't withdraw.
Let's not talk about this anymore tonight.
[Make Wang Qiang memorize ten words and then let him sleep.]
Li Chen relayed this.
Wang Qiang nodded immediately.
Ten.
After he finished speaking, he added another sentence.
"I'll carry twenty."
Zhao Zixuan raised an eyebrow.
"Who are you putting on this for?"
Wang Qiang flipped through the book.
"For myself."
Li Chen glanced at him.
This sentence is more reliable than all the previous ones.
After 10 o'clock, the dormitory quieted down.
Wang Qiang is indeed memorizing vocabulary words.
Zhao Zixuan was watching videos with headphones on, but the volume was kept very low.
Chen Mo typed on the computer. There was a table on the screen, and Li Chen knew without looking that it was another activity record.
After washing up, Li Chen sat back down at the table.
He opened his chat window with Yan Xi.
I wanted to post something, but then I remembered she said she would put away her phone at eleven.
It's 10:52 now.
Eight minutes left.
Li Chen is typing.
Wang Qiang has recited the eighteenth one.
Yan Xi: [And you?]
Li Chen looked down at his physics notebook.
I'm organizing the things I'll need for class tomorrow.