—

After sending the photos, Ji Su waited a long time without receiving a new reply.

A flicker of unease — he must have slipped somewhere. For the first time, he really looked at the photos he'd sent.

Every shot cut off just below the chest; the sliver of waist showing was impossibly slim, and the legs sheathed in white stockings ran long and straight. Had he not known the person in the photos was himself, he would have sworn without question it was a pretty girl in a sailor uniform.

Just as he was about to break the silence with something of his own, two new replies popped up in the chat.

G: [Nice legs.]

G: [The skirt's too short.]

Ji Su: "..."

If I hadn't worn such a short skirt, would you have messaged Mengmeng first?

This was the second time the other side had praised his legs — Ji Su was now certain: the scoundrel senior was a full-blown leg man.

Mengmeng: [Got it, senior~]

Mengmeng: [I'll wear long pants tomorrow.]

G: [Really?]

Mengmeng: [Really really! Mengmeng wouldn't lie to senior!]

Ji Su typed as he thought it: since the identity of Mengmeng was fake to begin with, anything Mengmeng said naturally didn't count.

The next morning, Ji Su deliberately picked out a pair of light blue slim-fit jeans from his wardrobe — the cut ambiguous enough that the wearer's gender was impossible to tell.

If G asked to "take a look" again, at least he wouldn't be caught off guard.

Sure enough, halfway through the morning class, the phone in Ji Su's pocket buzzed.

The WeChat account logged in was his secondary one — no one but G would be reaching out.

Ji Su drew the phone from his pocket with studied nonchalance, set it on his thigh, and looked down at the message.

G: [Do you have class this morning?]

Mengmeng: [Yes, I'm in class right now.]

G: [Playing on your phone in class?]

Ji Su was a little speechless — how else was he supposed to reply without the phone?

Mengmeng: [I was listening carefully just now! I only replied because I saw it was senior's message.]

Mengmeng: [pouty cat.jpg]

G: [Mm.]

G: [We'll talk after class.]

When class ended, Ji Su stayed in his seat and kept messaging.

Mengmeng: [Senior, class is over~]

G: [What are you wearing today?]

Mengmeng: [Jeans.]

G: [Let me see.]

Ji Su curved his lips, adjusted his posture, used his notebook to cover any tell-tale bulge, and snapped a photo of his own legs.

Whether the scoundrel wanted to look at his legs or to verify he wasn't lying — both possibilities were within Ji Su's calculations.

Qiao Jin, who had been playing with her phone, caught the movement from the corner of her eye and turned to ask: "Su Su, what are you photographing?"

Ji Su gestured: "This."

Qiao Jin let out a knowing laugh: "Su Su, you're getting pretty practiced at leg photos now!"

Ji Su: "Keep your voice down…"

Since he was wearing jeans today, there was no awkwardness to the shot — after a quick check, he sent the photo straight to G.

A pair of slender, straight legs, wrapped in pale denim — not an ounce of excess. An inch more and they'd run to plump; an inch less and they'd be too thin. Perfect, as though Nüwa had shaped them with particular care.

Though every inch was covered, anyone who'd seen those long legs bare would have no trouble imagining how exquisite it would be to peel that layer of fabric away by hand.

G: [Long legs.]

Mengmeng: [shy cat.jpg]

G: [Mengmeng's very good.]

Ji Su stared at the words in the chat, and a faint flush crept over his snow-pale cheeks.

Volunteering leg photos for a guy to look at, and then accepting his "very good" — why did it all feel so strange…

Ji Su pressed his cool palms to his face, exhaled, and looked down to type.

Mengmeng: [Studying is so hard… I barely understood anything the teacher just said…]

G: [What class?]

Mengmeng: [The most headache-inducing one — English.]

Mengmeng: [But a senior said he could tutor me privately, so I probably don't need to worry~]

Ji Su hit send just as the class bell rang, and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

Not until his last class ended did he open WeChat again and see G's reply.

G: [You don't need anyone else.]

G: [I'll teach you.]

Ji Su knew — the scoundrel was already circling the edges of his trap.

*

Wednesday afternoon — another Music Society regular meeting.

After the meeting, Lin Yan pulled Ji Su aside and blinked her big eyes: "Little Su Su, how's it going?"

"Pretty smooth so far." Ji Su thought for a moment and answered honestly. "But no big progress yet."

He'd been keeping up a steady stream of warm concern toward the scoundrel these past days, making his presence felt — it was only typing on a phone, after all, and at worst it cost him some study time.

G seemed to enjoy Mengmeng's companionship and the occasional leg-photo perks; at his most enthusiastic, he still praised her legs, but he didn't seem particularly obsessed.

Beyond the fact that he was a law student, the scoundrel hadn't given up a single other piece of real information about himself.

Lin Yan looked suspicious: "Something's off — that doesn't match a dog-man's usual pace."

"Maybe it's because he thinks I know him," Ji Su guessed. "I added him as a junior from the Music Academy next door."

A girl met online — you can just block her after you've had your fun. But a junior from a real, nearby school might actually storm over to their campus.

"Got it — the dog-man's on his guard." Lin Yan scoffed, then added, "How about you show me your chat logs?"

"Sure." Ji Su unlocked his phone — and the instant before he tapped into WeChat, the cross-dressing photos he'd sent G flashed through his mind.

"Senior, maybe skip the chat logs — save yourself the anger." Ji Su casually pressed the screen dark. "The moment I get the scoundrel's private photos, I'll send them to you first thing."

"Right — I really don't want to see that disgusting piece of trash again." Lin Yan patted his shoulder, encouraging: "The revolution isn't over yet, comrade — keep up the fight!"

Ji Su agreed: "I'll do my best."

"Oh right — senior has some good news for you." Lin Yan broke into a mysterious smile. "I met a new crush — tall, handsome, voice to die for, and he even looks a bit like Gu Zhao!"

Too much information in one sentence — Ji Su couldn't process it for a moment: "What?"

Lin Yan: "Gu Zhao — same year as you. You don't know him?"

"I…" Ji Su hesitated. "Probably not, no."

After all, they'd only crossed paths twice — and never exchanged a single word.

He didn't know why, but the way Gu Zhao looked at him was so cold — as though he found him thoroughly distasteful…

"Knowing him or not doesn't matter — just know he's a super-handsome guy, that's all." Lin Yan didn't fuss over the details. "My new crush looks a bit like him — so you get it, right?"

Ji Su didn't get it: "Then why don't you just go like Gu Zhao directly?"

"Ha? Have I lost my mind?" Lin Yan waved her hands rapidly. "If I lost my mind and went for Gu Zhao, that great iceberg — would I ever find a partner in this lifetime?"

Ji Su asked, puzzled: "Why?"

"School heartthrob Gu is famously asexual — you know what asexual means? Doesn't like men, doesn't like women." Lin Yan made an exaggerated gesture. "Ever since he entered A University, all the men and women he's rejected — if you threw them all together, you could fill up the entire Lover's Lake!"

Ji Su: "I see."

Lin Yan concluded: "I suspect he just doesn't like humans."

Hearing this, Ji Su felt a small release — perhaps Gu Zhao didn't dislike him; he'd simply never been worth noticing.

"Of course, Little Su Su, your popularity isn't bad either." Lin Yan added. "And you're way cuter than Gu Zhao — senior's favorite is still you!"

Ji Su: "Thanks for the compliment, senior…"

"Got off track, got off track." Lin Yan clenched her fist. "Anyway — the best way to forget one scumbag is to start a new romance."

"That's wonderful." Ji Su was genuinely happy for her. "Senior, being able to think it through this fast — that's really impressive."

"Thanks, didi~" Lin Yan gave a sweet smile, then her tone shifted abruptly. "But your mission still stands — I couldn't swallow this anger even in death, not until that scumbag pays!"

*

Back at the Dormitory that evening, Ji Su turned it over in his mind and decided to push things forward another step.

After his shower, he sat at his desk, composing an opening line in his head.

Mengmeng: [Senior, are you there?]

Mengmeng: [Can I ask senior a question?]

G: [Ask.]

Mengmeng: [If I like someone, how do I make them like me back?]

The other side was silent for a moment, then a reply popped up.

G: [Who do you like?]

Mengmeng: [Senior answer my question first~]

G: [Don't bother trying to please someone who doesn't like you.]

Ji Su held the phone in both hands, stunned for a moment.

Don't bother trying to please someone who doesn't like him...?

G: [Who do you like?]

Ji Su came back to himself, his brow furrowing without his noticing.

Mengmeng: [Then what if senior likes someone who doesn't like him? What would senior do?]

G: [Won't happen.]

Won't what?

In that instant, Ji Su seemed to catch a faint glimpse of the real person hidden behind the screen — but the image was too blurred, too hard to make out.

Mengmeng: [Won't like someone who doesn't like you, or won't do anything to please others?]

G: [Your turn to answer my question.]

Mengmeng: [Who I like — does senior really not know?]

G: [Don't know.]

Mengmeng: [crying cat.jpg]

G: [You tell me.]

Mengmeng: [Then senior should know another thing.]

Mengmeng: [Mengmeng's greatest virtue is perseverance — once I like someone, I'll keep liking them forever. Even if I hit a wall, I won't turn back.]

This time, the silence stretched even longer — long enough that Ji Su almost thought he'd fallen asleep.

G: [Is that so?]

Ji Su stared at those two bland words, an inexplicable frustration welling up in his chest — he decided to ignore him.

But the moment he opened his computer, his phone buzzed again.

G: [What are you doing?]

Ji Su dug out his freshman English textbook, opened it to a page, snapped a photo, and sent it over.

Mengmeng: [Studying~]

G: [Your handwriting is nice.]

Only then did Ji Su notice the page he'd photographed had his own class notes on it — the scumbag really did look closely.

Mengmeng: [Of course! I practiced it specially!]

Mengmeng: [cat puffing chest.jpg]

G: [How's the studying going?]

Mengmeng: [So hard...]

Mengmeng: [But senior doesn't want me finding other tutors, so I've been working really hard studying on my own!]

G: [Why didn't you come ask me?]

Mengmeng: [Senior's been a bit busy lately, haven't you~]

G: [Not that busy.]

Since that was the case, Ji Su didn't hold back — he pulled out an English test paper, found a particularly tricky reading comprehension question, circled it with his pen, and sent a photo.

A minute later, G sent two long voice messages.

Ji Su tapped one open at random — the moment the voice reached his ear, a tingling numbness bloomed at the base of his ear.

The male voice through the receiver was low and magnetic, carrying a cold metallic edge — but through the current, it came across as unbearably attractive.

Ji Su suddenly understood why his senior, a true voice-control enthusiast, couldn't tear herself away from online romance — this kind of effortless bass, not put on, was hard even for a guy like him to withstand.

The other person's English pronunciation was impeccable; they explained the question with economy — precise language, clear logic, well-organized and easy to grasp, not a single wasted word.

After listening to both voice messages in full, Ji Su finally believed he was a law student.

But why would a law student do something like that? Did he study law just to break it knowingly?

Mengmeng: [Wow~ senior's so amazing!]

Mengmeng: [When I read the answer explanation I was completely lost, but the way senior explained it, I understood right away!]

G: [I'm free tonight — any other questions?]

Fearing he'd have nothing to do, Ji Su tossed out another question at random.

G: [Is a voice call convenient?]

Ji Su saw the reply and panicked a little: "Xiao Qiao, come here quick."

Qiao Jin was in the middle of a game and called back: "Wait... hold on, coming!"

A few seconds later, he yanked off his headset and bounded over: "What is it, baby!"

"Look." Ji Su held up his phone screen. "He wants to voice call me — what do I do?"

"Hiss... why's he suddenly thinking of voice calling?" Qiao Jin's brain spun fast. "Just say your roommate's asleep and it's not convenient — stall him first, we'll figure something out later."

Mengmeng: [Can't, senior — one of my roommates is already asleep, I don't want to wake them.]

Mengmeng: [Next time we can voice call, okay?]

G: [Okay.]

G: [You should sleep early too.]

Luckily the other side didn't get suspicious — Ji Su secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Mengmeng: [Mm, goodnight senior~]

G: [Goodnight.]

Ji Su set down his phone, ready to get back to his drawing.

After finishing a round, Qiao Jin remembered what had just happened: "Su Su, the scumbag won't give up once he can't hear your voice."

"I think so too." Ji Su sighed softly. "Online romance is really troublesome."

Qiao Jin's gaze swept around the computer, then he slapped his thigh: "I know — just buy a voice changer."

"Voice changer?" Ji Su considered briefly. "Okay, I'll order one right now."

"No—" Qiao Jin started, then felt it wasn't right. "Voice changers are way too common now, and a lot of the female voices sound super fake — if the scumbag notices and thinks you're some kind of trap, it's over!"

Ji Su's hand paused: "Trap?"

Qiao Jin explained: "There are tons of guys online using voice changers now — some for gaming to scam points and gear, some for online romance to scam money."

Ji Su: "Good thing my online romance isn't for scamming money..."

Right — his online romance was for justice, to help senior get back what was hers.

"Actually, I think your voice is already clear and nice — using your own voice isn't out of the question." Qiao Jin got more excited as he spoke. "Su Su, try doing the Clamp Tone for me?"

Ji Su was baffled: "What do you mean, do the clamp?"

"Clamp Tone!" Qiao Jin pulled out his phone, fiddled with it for a bit, then handed it over. "Here — Clamp Tone tutorial."

Ji Su lowered his eyes to the phone screen; the video title came into view.

[Clamp Tone Tutorial] Essential for online romance — guaranteed to make you yue.

Ji Su: "..."

Someone please save him.