An Unexpected Encounter and a Near Exposure

Before I could fully recover from the surge of emotions, a faint creak echoed, and a gentle, warm, white light spilled in from the doorway. Then, a figure seemed to materialize before me.

A slight startle seized me, and I immediately rose, my eyes wide and fixed on the doorway that had opened unnoticed, and on the bewildered figure standing within it.

The one who had opened the door was none other than Guo Hao!

“Oh, little sister, it’s you again. Do you… have something you need?” He smiled faintly upon recognizing me, his voice gentle as he spoke.

Only then did a wave of acute embarrassment wash over me. The thought that he had witnessed me crouching by the door, knees hugged to my chest, intensified my mortification.

“I… I…” Unable to articulate anything coherent, I stood there, face flushed crimson. Perhaps subconsciously, my hands began to toy with the hem of my clothes.

“Hmm, I recall you saying you were looking for someone here, right? Did you find them?” Seeing my hesitant demeanor, and sensing I couldn’t readily answer, he spoke again, half-questioning and half-answering himself.

“No, no, not yet…” This time, I managed to stammer out a reply, my fingers tracing a small circle on the corner of my skirt’s hem, then releasing it, still unable to meet his gaze.

“Is that so? Could it be, little sister, that the person you’re looking for is in our dorm room?” He seemed eager for my response, then asked with a hint of a playful smile.

“Ah, no, I… I… it’s… it’s Liu Fang…” Perhaps it was excessive nervousness, or overwhelming bewilderment. I hadn’t yet decided whether to reveal my true identity, but his question prompted an unconscious, honest reply. The words had barely left my mouth when a pang of regret struck me.

Principal Dugu had specifically instructed me not to reveal my former identity to others. Even regarding my own parents, he had hesitated, wanting to personally explain the intricacies and implications to them at an opportune moment, given my involvement as the party concerned.

Yet, here I was, having carelessly let it slip?

As I was practically regretting my very existence, Guo Hao furrowed his brow, observing me for a long moment. Then, his expression brightened, and he said, “Ah, I understand! You’ve come to find our Fourth Brother… hmm, that is, Liu Fang, right? My apologies, that rascal went home for the holidays to enjoy himself and hasn’t returned yet. Do you have something urgent? Should I give him a call?”

Regarding Guo Hao’s interpretation, I wasn’t sure whether to be immensely relieved or to force a wry smile. In any case, it seemed my identity as Liu Fang had not been exposed—at least, not yet!

Having endured such an emotional roller coaster, fraught with anxiety, I secretly began to entertain the idea of retreating. Thus, I stammered a hesitant excuse, “Since… since… since he’s not here, then, um, then… I’ll just… leave. No… no need to trouble you.”

However, Guo Hao was inherently warm-hearted. In a rural setting, he would undoubtedly be the type to spend his days helping widows fetch water and cut grass. This very nature, brought to Tianwu University, still kept him busy. If not for it, his relationship with the gatekeeper wouldn’t be so amicable.

Yet, this amiable nature now placed me in a predicament. For in response to my excuses, he merely smiled, took out his phone to dial, and said, “No trouble at all, no trouble. But little sister, coming to find Fourth Brother so late at night, it must be something urgent, right? I’ll call him right away!”

My eyes widened in alarm. If he made that call, the phone in my other back pocket would immediately ring loudly! How would I explain that?

In this situation, I couldn’t tell him not to call. Trying to snatch the phone by force would likely result in a one hundred percent failure rate, given the disparity in our current skills.

What was I to do?

However, in times of crisis, it was always one’s brothers who came through, even if, at this very moment, one of my own dorm mates seemed to be inadvertently digging my grave.

“Boss, who is it?” Yang Laoer’s slightly weak voice drifted from a higher position within the open dorm room.

Upon hearing this, Guo Hao immediately turned his head and called inside, “Don’t know, seems like someone looking for Fourth Brother!”

“Damn it, that Fourth Brother has been home sucking on his mama’s tit for days now, why isn’t he back? School’s practically starting tomorrow, isn’t that kid afraid his homeroom teacher will rat him out to his dad again for not attending classes properly?” Yang Laoer, hearing Guo Hao mention me, immediately cursed with indignation. “If he had been keeping watch and covering for me today, I wouldn’t have been chased out of the girls’ dorm again!”

I was initially grateful for Yang Laoer’s interruption, which at least prevented Guo Hao’s call from going through. Besides that, I had been wondering why this fellow, usually the dorm’s biggest night owl, had gone to bed so early tonight. Only when he brought up this matter did I realize that he must have taken quite a hit from Senior Kang Qiao and was now recuperating in bed!

“Second Brother, stop daydreaming. Last time, Fourth Brother and I were tricked by you into watching the fun, and we ended up being chased all over campus by the dorm supervisor. With such a bloody lesson learned, and Fourth Brother not being stupid, how could he possibly risk it with you again? Isn’t he afraid of being dealt with by that fierce dorm supervisor as well?” Linghu Ruoxu’s voice also drifted from the side of the door. Though he appeared refined, honest, and meekly modest in front of others, he was quite the lewd character within the dorm.

“Damn it, so that’s why you, Third Brother, adamantly refused to go with me, Second Brother? So getting lectured by that menopausal Senior Sister Kang Qiao is more serious than my, your Second Brother’s, lifelong happiness, is it? Why didn’t I notice you were such a disloyal person before?” Yang Laoer’s words immediately became agitated.

Listening to this pair of living treasures bicker in front of me, who was at this moment likely categorized as a complete stranger, Guo Hao, as the dorm leader, instantly wore an expression of self-perceived shame. Ignoring the two of them, he turned back to me instead, saying, “Little sister, please excuse their antics. We boys are used to this kind of playful bickering. I’ll contact Fourth Brother for you now.”

Before I could respond, Yang Laoer suddenly let out a strange shout, “Little sister? Wait, Boss, it’s a girl?”