Jiang Yuan: "..."
Chi Xu can't take a joke. Well, now she's really shot herself in the foot.
Jiang Yuan gritted her teeth in anger. She opened her memo and added a note under the line "Step one of flirting: online chatting tricks": "A stingy guy who drinks cold water. Can't take a joke. Good-for-nothing."
Step two of flirting: create an encounter.
The problem was, she had no idea when Chi Xu had classes or which dormitory he lived in.
Jiang Yuan squinted her eyes and searched for relevant information on the school forum. She only knew which major he was in and which dormitory building he lived in. But she couldn't just go and wait for him downstairs in his dormitory. That would be so creepy.
"You're going to Duxing Building, right? We're from the same school, and Duxing Building is for our school's use."
Chi Xu's words from the morning popped into her mind. Suddenly, Jiang Yuan thought that there was a schedule of classes posted outside each classroom in Duxing Building.
Chi Xu had been having class next door to her. She had seen it with her own eyes. So she could follow this clue to find out which class he was in.
Duxing Building wasn't very big. If she checked each classroom one by one, she would surely find out his class schedule for the week. Or, if she knew his class, she could just ask the seniors for a copy of the schedule.
Jiang Yuan let out a little giggle. She was such a little minx.
Without further ado, it was time to act.
Jiang Yuan didn't have any classes in the first session of the afternoon. Her class was in the second session. This was the perfect time to go and look for information.
The other three roommates in the dormitory were taking a nap. Jiang Yuan quietly grabbed her books, closed the door, and slipped out.
The afternoon class bell rang on time. The school was empty. Jiang Yuan quickly made her way to Duxing Building and walked to the classroom next to the one where she had had class in the morning.
It was Monday. Chi Xu's class had been in the same classroom all morning. She felt the piece of paper posted on the wall and stood on tiptoe to take a look.
"Monday, 8:10 - 9:50, Advanced Language Programming (C++) for Class X, Class One of Computer Science and Technology"
"Monday, 10:10 - 11:50, Advanced Language Programming (C++), Class One of Computer Science and Technology for Class X"
So he was from Class One of Computer Science and Technology.
Jiang Yuan stroked her chin and continued looking. To her delight, she found that his class would also be in this classroom on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
That saved her the trouble of running around looking for him.
There were seven or eight other classrooms on this floor. Since she was already here, Jiang Yuan decided to check out the rest of the classrooms on this floor and then go up to the next floor.
Generally, schools arranged classrooms in a certain pattern. For example, freshmen were on the second and third floors, sophomores on the third and fourth floors, and juniors on the fourth and fifth floors.
Jiang Yuan took a quick look around and only found that his class would be on this floor on Friday afternoon. She didn't find any other information.
She went up to the next floor. The class schedule for the classroom near the stairwell was posted very high. Jiang Yuan decided to skip it for now and checked out the other classrooms.
She had basically figured out most of Chi Xu's class schedule. Jiang Yuan was overjoyed and hummed a little tune as she walked towards the last classroom.
She stood on tiptoe, craned her neck, propped her hands against the wall, and stared up with wide eyes.
"Chi Xu, Chi Xu, I'm being so good to you. Who else in this world would be this good to you? You should be content. Be careful or you won't be able to find a girlfriend..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Jiang Yuan felt a familiar presence approaching from behind. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned around.
Sure enough, Chi Xu was standing right behind her, looking at her with a half - smile.
Jiang Yuan's face instantly flushed red to the tips of her ears. She nervously dropped her hands from the wall and stammered, "Y - you... When did you come?"
Something wasn't right. The class bell hadn't rung yet. How could Chi Xu suddenly appear here? Could he have skipped class?
Thinking of this, Jiang Yuan seemed to gain some confidence. Her face stopped blushing, her heart stopped pounding, and she stopped stuttering. She put her hands on her hips, raised her head, and let out a proud snort.
She took a step forward. "The class bell hasn't rung yet. How did you end up here? Did you skip class?"
Before Chi Xu could answer, Jiang Yuan, feeling nervous and guilty, took a step forward and accidentally stepped heavily on Chi Xu's shoe.
Chi Xu: "..."
Jiang Yuan stared at the black footprint in disbelief. Her heart was about to break.
She was trying to chase a guy, but people might think she was chasing an enemy.
Wuwuwu. How could she be so unlucky? She wondered if Chi Xu had heard her self - talk earlier. If he had, it would be even more embarrassing.
Her confidence evaporated.
The air instantly turned tense.
Jiang Yuan looked at his shoe, her heart pounding wildly. Her brain was working at full speed as she struggled to think of something to make up for her mistake.
Then she heard her own voice floating into the air: "Your shoes look really good - quality. I like them."
Chi Xu: "?"
Good - quality? What did that mean?
She saw the boy frown, his eyes fixed on her, as if he wanted an explanation.
What?
What on earth had she said?
She had originally wanted to compliment Chi Xu on how nice his shoes were and how good - quality they were. Why did it sound so off?
It was easy to misunderstand that they were fake shoes.
Jiang Yuan's brain went blank. Just as she met Chi Xu's inquisitive gaze, the words blurted out: "Where did you buy these fake shoes? I want a pair too."
Jiang Yuan: "..."
Where did you buy these fake shoes?
Look at what she had said. It was outrageous.
Jiang Yuan wanted to cry.
In the midst of this awkward moment, she noticed that Chi Xu's hanging hand had distinct knuckles, was long, slender, and fair. It was the type of hand she liked.
So, Jiang Yuan silently swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
No, Jiang Yuan. What are you thinking about at a time like this?
Once you've chased him, he'll be yours. There's no need to drool over him like this.
Jiang Yuan closed her eyes and then opened them again. She took a deep breath and calmly said, "I'm sorry. I accidentally stepped on your shoe."
"Or how about this? Give me your shoes. I'll take them to the dry - cleaner and return them to you after they're clean."
This was a great idea. After cleaning them, she could return them to him, creating another meeting opportunity and also saving her image.
She was so smart.
Chi Xu looked at Jiang Yuan with great interest, his voice trailing off with a hint of playfulness. "No need. Do you still want to buy these shoes?"
"No, no. I just realized that there might not be my size." Jiang Yuan quickly shook her head, her head bobbing like a rattle.
"How did you end up here? I even heard you talking to yourself about being careful not to end up without a girlfriend?"
Chi Xu wasn't going to let her off the hook. He took a few slow steps forward, forcing Jiang Yuan against the wall.
Jiang Yuan knew she was in the wrong. Her face turned red again. She guiltily averted her gaze, not daring to look into Chi Xu's eyes, and mumbled softly, "I... I was just talking to myself. You heard wrong."