Guide on How to Fail at Online Dating

Edited by Divetus

On the night after eating with Xiang Huaizhi, Lu Wenhao once again shared a BBS post in the group chat.

They had been photographed again.

Maybe it was because he was mentally prepared, but when Jing Huan saw the post, he wasn't as surprised as the first time.

Seeing the number of comments on the post climb to triple digits, Jing Huan couldn't help but tut.

Today's college students spend every day not diligently studying, what was going on in all of their heads?

This time, there were several pictures. The two of them walking on the road, sitting in the restaurant, and lining up to buy milk tea… All of it had been photographed.

Xiao Jing ya: Why don't these people go to a media university?

Gao Zixiang: It's no use, two men being together is popular these days.

Xiao Jing ya: …

Jing Huan looked at the photo again.

Xiao Jing ya: Is my Ge that much taller than me? Did they photoshop him taller but didn't do it for me ah.

Gao Zixiang: No, Senior Xiang really is a bit taller than you.

Lu Wenhao: Why is calling him Ge, Ge, Ge so easy for you? I'm also older than you, call me Ge too.

Xiao Jing ya: Scram.

On Saturday, Jing Huan reluctantly went to the sports field.

The desks and chairs in the classroom couldn't be moved, and there was no room for them to rehearse, so they had to change to another place.

When the counselor saw him, he raised his chin and asked, "You came?"

Jing Huan originally wanted to go to Lu Wenhao's side, but after hearing this, he could only turn around.

He smiled honestly. "Here, teacher."

As soon as Jing Huan arrived, the girls around him immediately began to pay attention to their clothes and kept stealing glances at him.

"It's alright, you didn't come late." The counselor seemed to think of something strange. His expression was complicated, and he gave him a meaningful glance. "Come with me for a second."

The two of them walked to the side of the goal.

Jing Huan stopped chewing his gum. "Teacher, if we keep walking, we're going to leave the sports field."

The counselor stopped and glanced around, making sure their conversation couldn't be overheard.

"You…" It was the first time the counselor had encountered this kind of situation, so for awhile he didn't know what to say. "You've been dating?"

Jing Huan frowned. Why was it this question again?

"Teacher, I'm already 20. Even if I was dating, it wouldn't count as too early, would it?"

The counselor simply asked, "You and Xiang Huaizhi… Is it true?"

Jing Huan almost swallowed his gum.

"No… How could that be possible? What are you thinking?"

"Whether or not it's true, since you're in my class, I have to remind you." The counselor said firmly, "It's okay to date, but we must pay attention to health and safety… In all aspects, understood?"

Seeing Jing Huan come back, Lu Wenhao asked curiously, "Huanhuan, what did the counselor say to you?"

Jing Huan said vaguely, "Told me to… perform well. "

It's impossible for him to tell Lu Wenhao that the counselor really thought he was with Xiang Huaizhi and even wanted them to pay attention to safety.

Tch.

He subconsciously reached out and rubbed the back of his neck.

What's up with everyone…

Jing Huan's role was soon decided, and when the counselor said he just had to show his face, he really did just have to show his face.

He was going to play a bodyguard, an extra, with almost no lines, who just needed to stand around at the corner of the stage.

Lu Wenhao nodded and mocked him. "It's a very difficult role to perform. No wonder the counselor specifically had to have a private meeting with you."

At the beginning of the rehearsal, everyone else had a job. Even Lu Wenhao and them all went to prepare props. Jing Huan was the only one who was idle and bored, sitting in front of the stands and playing on his cellphone.

Carrying his newly purchased broom, Xiang Huaizhi was heading back towards the dorms when the cellphone in his hand started vibrating nonstop.

Xiao Jing ya: Gege ~ [probe]

Xiao Jing ya: It's ten o'clock, if Gege still doesn't get up, he'll turn into a [pig's head].

Xiao Jing ya: [Today I also put my smol heart where Gege is.jpg]

This person's emoticons kept increasing and increasing.

Xiang: Here.

Xiao Jing ya: What you doing >o<

Xiang: Just had breakfast, heading back to the dorms.

Xiao Jing ya: Oh.

Xiao Jing ya: [Photo] I'm watching my classmates rehearse.

Xiang Huaizhi clicked open the picture, and it was of the school’s sports field.

Xiang: You’re not rehearsing?

Xiao Jing ya: I don't have any lines, I'm just going to be up there as a mascot. The counselor actually still won't let me leave, it's boring just sitting here ah.

Xiao Jing ya: As soon as I'm bored, I think of Gege.

Jing Huan couldn’t help laughing when he finished this sentence.

Fuck, it's too tooth-rotting, too cloying, what man could stand it ah.

I’m so shameless.

Sure enough, Yearning For sent over a series of ellipses.

Hearing the girls in front of him chatting, he copied over what they were saying into his texts.

Xiao Jing ya: And the playground is very sunny. I haven't put on any sunscreen, I'm going to get dark TVT….

After that, Yearning For didn't reply.

Jing Huan played a game on his phone while thinking. Had he gone overboard with the cutesiness again?

"Jing Huan."

Hearing his name, Jing Huan instinctively raised his eyes and saw Xiang Huaizhi standing in front of the railing of the stands, still carrying a broom in his hand.

He was stunned at first, then he closed the game he was about to clear. He stepped forward three steps and looked at Xiang Huaizhi across the railing.

"Ge," Jing Huan leaned against the railing. "Why are you here?"

"Buying a broom, the one in the dorms broke." Xiang Huaizhi asked while already knowing the answer, "What about you?"

"I'm watching the rehearsal. It's our class over there."

Xiang Huaizhi nodded. "Sitting here, isn't there too much sun?"

Jing Huan said indifferently, "It's okay. Real men aren't afraid of the sun."

Xiang Huaizhi: "…"

Jing Huan didn't decipher the mysterious expression of the person in front of him. He asked, "Ge, what program is your class doing?"

"Not doing anything, we're the audience."

Jing Huan immediately gave him an envious glance.

He could feel a piercing gaze behind him, so Xiang Huaizhi looked back and just managed to catch the gaze of another young man.

Jing Huan had also noticed. He made a "hai" sound then said, "That's our counselor."

Xiang Huaizhi looked away. "He seems to be staring at me."

"En," Jing Huan said lazily with his elbow on the railing and chin propped on one hand, "He suspects that we're dating."

Xiang Huaizhi: "…"

"I don't know who it is, having nothing to do all day but take pictures of other people. If I could find them, I would pummel them until they're half-dead." Jing Huan finished, then looked at the broom in his hand. "Although Ge, why did you bring this all the way over to the sport's field? Isn't your dormitory on the other side?"

"I," Xiang Huaizhi paused, "Stopped by to find my tutor."

After only chatting for a bit, they heard the counselor call out, telling Jing Huan to head back.

After saying goodbye to his underclassman, Xiang Huaizhi left the sports field carrying his broom, and then turned back to the dorms from the path around the sports field.

Just as he left, his cellphone rang, and the caller ID showed Xiang Yu, his cousin.

"Ge!" Xiang Yu rushed out eagerly, "I heard that next weekend is your school's celebration!"

Xiang Huaizhi didn't even blink. "It's not."

"I'm going!" Xiang Yu said, "Take me around with youuuu."

Xiang Huaizhi was about to refuse when Xiang Yu began to act pitiful. "You know, I always had Man University as my goal, but I still didn't test into it… I want to go take a look at it now! Stroll around a bit, touch things! Why can't I do that!!"

"It's because you didn't study hard in high school," Xiang Huaizhi said coldly.

"Wuwuwu Gege, take me with you la, muamua!"

Xiang Huaizhi's eyes twitched. "… Who taught you to talk like this? "

"Lu Hang ah, he said to learn from Xiao Tianjing."

"Since you two are so close, let Lu Hang take you."

After he finished saying that, Xiang Huaizhi directly hung up.

—

He had said that, but on the day of the school celebration, Xiang Yu still came.

Lu Hang's club had a performance, so he naturally had no time to accompany her. Even though Xiang Huaizhi had said all that, he still took her strolling around the school and had a meal on the way.

Xiang Yu's personality was more noisy, and she couldn't stop talking while skipping and leaping down the road.

Xiang Yu came out of the supermarket, holding a popsicle and said, "Xiang Huaizhi, I heard that there's a performance in the auditorium in the evening. Take me there to have a look."

"Let's talk about it later." Xiang Huaizhi glanced at the popsicle in her hand. "Don't come crying to me later when you finish eating that and feel cold."

Lu Hang knew that Xiang Yu was coming, and he had given Xiang Huaizhi two tickets to the auditorium early on.

After eating dessert, the two walked towards the auditorium. Halfway there, Xiang Huaizhi's cellphone in his pocket started vibrating incessantly.

He took out his cell phone to check his messages.

Xiang Yu glanced at the screen. "Xiao Tianjing?"

"En," Xiang Huaizhi said while typing.

Xiang Yu licked her popsicle and muttered, "You actually like this type…"

Xiang Huaizhi put away his mobile phone and looked back at her. "What type do you think she is?"

"Just…" Xiang Yu had always been very straightforward. "Green tea? Fake? Likes to play cutesy?"

Saying that, she immediately followed up with, "I meant on the surface. After interacting with her for a while, she doesn't seem too bad… But she doesn't give anyone a good first impression. No wonder a lot of female players in the server don't like her."

"A lot of female players?" Xiang Huaizhi's eyes narrowed. "Which female players are making complaints to you?"

"Quite a lot actually…You don't know, when others see me forming a team with her, they often privately come to me to badmouth Xiao Tianjing, and most of the people coming to find me are all using side accounts."

Xiang Huaizhi responded, "In the future, disable private chat with strangers."

When they arrived at the auditorium, Xiang Yu said she needed to go to the restroom. Xiang Huaizhi stood in the hall outside the auditorium and waited for her.

"Shit, Huanhuan, you're really too damn exciting now."

"How much wax did you need for this hair?"

"Don't worry about it. Just praise me for being handsome."

A clatter of footsteps came from outside the gate. Hearing a familiar sound, Xiang Huaizhi looked back.

Lu Wenhao and Gao Zixiang were holding a wooden plank and were talking to a boy between them.

Jing Huan was wearing a black suit today.

The slim suit outlined the figure that was usually covered in loose clothes and pants, especially his legs, which were long and straight.

The boy who usually looked so sunny and cheerful had a more mature look today, but it still suited him.

"I prepared these clothes myself. The ones that the counselor gave me were too small, way too tight…" In the middle of the conversation, Jing Huan met Xiang Huaizhi's gaze.

Lu Wenhao said, "I think what the counselor gave you were his own clothes."

"I thought so too," Jing Huan patted him on the shoulder. "I see some friends, you guys go ahead."

Jing Huan walked up to Xiang Huaizhi as he put his hands in his pockets, calmly raising his eyebrows at him.

His cold face didn't even last for three seconds, before he broke out into a grin.

"Ge," he said. "Am I handsome?"

Xiang Huaizhi lowered his eyes. Jing Huan hadn't buttoned up his suit, and his white shirt was tucked into his black pants, revealing a slim waist.

Although he had abs, he was still so thin.

Xiang Huaizhi let out an "en" sound. "Handsome."

Jing Huan was very satisfied with his answer. He laughed a bit, then looked around him and asked, "Where's the girl?"

"What girl."

"Didn't they say you were showing a girl around the school?"

"It's my Mei," Xiang Huaizhi paused. "How did you know?"

"Lu Wenhao told me, he said that there were witnesses on the BBS who said that they saw you cheating on me with their own eyes." Xiang Huaizhi didn't seem to care, so Jing Huan also didn't worry much about it and even thought it was actually pretty funny to look through the posts occasionally. "Some people even said we were a BE."

Xiang Huaizhi: "…"

Jing Huan wanted to say more, but the cellphone in his pocket suddenly rang. He took it out, checked the caller ID, but didn't answer it.

He clicked his tongue. "Ge, I have to go now, the counselor is looking for me. Did you come for the show too?"

Xiang Huaizhi responded, "En."

"Then, you have to remember to look for me. I'll be the seventh one to come out, and I'll be standing in the corner." Jing Huan turned around and said, "However, you can't laugh at me."

When Xiang Yu came out, she only saw the back of the boy leaving in a hurry.

"Xiang Huaizhi, I'm ready." She shook the water off her hands. "Shall we go in?"

Xiang Huaizhi looked away and gave a deep "en."

Xiang Yu took out her cellphone from her bag, prepared to start recording at any time.

"Xiang Yu." The boy at her side suddenly called out to her.

"En?"

Xiang Huaizhi frowned. "What does BE mean?"

*

The school celebration was divided into two groups, one with the art students, and one with everyone else. 20 programs, 15 art students, and five other students from other classes in the school.

So overall, the evening party was actually very interesting.

Adding on to that, during Man University's opening ceremony, several beautiful and handsome dancers danced sinuously, directly driving up the excitement in the atmosphere.

Even Xiang Yu, a girl, was completely drooling. She picked up her cellphone and began to crazily record.

Meanwhile, her cousin sat by her side, playing with his cellphone without lifting his head, as if he were living in his own world.

At the end of the first six programs, the first program of the non-art student group finally came out.

Xiang Yu saw that it was a stage play so she disinterestedly leaned back in her chair. She was planning to share the video with her friends when she noticed that the constant cellphone light next to her suddenly disappeared.

Xiang Huaizhi put away his mobile phone, casually placed his hands in front of him, and began to watch the program seriously.

She couldn't help sending messages to her friends.

[My Ge is really such a boring man.]

[He doesn't watch the hot dance of beautiful women. Some people bring up some chairs and tables onto the stage, and he sits up straight.]

Xiang Yu was chatting very happily, but she suddenly discovered that all the girls sitting around them to the left or right seemed to be getting steadily more restless.

As a woman, she knew this atmosphere too well—either they were seeing an idol or they were seeing a handsome man.

Sure enough, as soon as she looked up, she caught sight of the little Gege in the suit standing in the corner of the stage.

She quickly fished her glasses out of her bag and put them on. After seeing clearly, she excitedly grasped the sleeve of Xiang Huaizhi and screamed softly, "Ahhhhhhh! That guy in the suit! He's so handsome!!!"

Xiang Huaizhi pulled back his sleeve and ignored her.

Jing Huan was playing an emotionless bodyguard. The only lines he had were "yes" and "good". Just stuck there, he really did seem like a mascot.

If there weren't enough interesting things, drag in a hot guy. The counselor was very clear about this.

The stage play was very short, less than ten minutes. When it came time for the curtain call, Jing Huan's face finally changed.

His mouth quirked up, and he smiled. Finally, his eyes moved away from the leading actor into the audience.

Who knows who he saw, but suddenly, his smile grew wider, and he winked his left eye.

When Jing Huan stepped down, Xiang Yu returned to her senses.

"Ge!" She grabbed Xiang Huaizhi's sleeve again. "That small Gege in a suit, he, he seemed to be winking at me just now!!!"

Xiang Huaizhi didn't pull back his sleeve this time.

He turned his head and felt the vibration of his cellphone in his pocket. His voice was calm. "Don't be excited, it wasn't for you."

Whether or not it was for her, Xiang Yu individually saved all the pictures, and she was elated for the whole night.

At the end of the party, the cousins walked out of the auditorium side by side.

"Xiang Huaizhi," Having just walked to the gate, Xiang Yu suddenly stopped. "I've decided!"

"I'm going to go backstage and get that guy's phone number," she said, blushing.

Xiang Huaizhi's pace slowed down a little. He immediately said without thinking, "No way."

"Why?" Xiang Yu ran up to him. "He already has a girlfriend?"

"No."

"Then why not!"

Xiang Huaizhi frowned, unable to think up a good reason.

Xiang Yu asked, "Is he not a good person? Or he's unfaithful? Or… "

"He has someone he likes," Xiang Huaizhi interrupted.

"Really?" Xiang Yu paused, but she didn't give up. "That's fine, as long as he has no girlfriend, I still have hope."

"Is the person he likes also at Man University? Are they older? Are they good-looking? What's their name? Do you have any pictures?" Seeing that Xiang Huaizhi wasn't saying anything, she asked, "Ge, are you listening to me… Who exactly does he like?"

Me.

The person he likes is me.

This idea suddenly jumped into his brain, and Xiang Huaizhi abruptly stopped.

His emotions burst through with his thoughts, occupying all his senses, and left him at a loss.

Jing Huan liked him

Ignoring Xiang Yu's repetitive words, Xiang Huaizhi turned this information over and over again in his mind, pondering it again and again, savoring it carefully, and suddenly found—just putting this sentence in his heart, it made him feel satisfied, reassured… and pleased.

—

Juurensha: Ooooooh, it looks like XHZ has accepted his own feelings towards Huanhuan!

Divi: XHZ caught the feels. Better catch him soon, Huanhuan always has girls confessing to him!

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