Chapter 125: Too Many Coincidences to Be Coincidental
Another Friday.
The first-year students of the Mond Art Department were preparing for a group outing.
They called it an art field trip, but it was really just an excuse to collect money from the students.
Such practices were commonplace at Mond.
"This trip is only three days long! They want six thousand yuan for three days? Are they serious?"
Wang Xiaoya grumbled in the dorm room.
They weren't exactly broke, but they weren't exactly rolling in it either.
"I heard we're staying at a five-star hotel," Qiao Xin remarked while applying hand cream, her skin meticulously cared for down to every inch. "If that's the case, it doesn't seem too expensive."
"Five-star? I'm sick of it… I thought we'd be going to a hot spring resort."
Lu Chengcheng propped her chin up, listlessly flipping through the novel in her hands.
She quickly put the book down.
Her worries made her glance involuntarily at Ye Zhen, who was sitting on the balcony catching the breeze.
For them, six thousand yuan was nothing.
But what about Ye Zhen?
Perhaps her unease had spread, causing the other two to pause their work as well.
Wang Xiaoya still felt guilty about the body lotion incident and hadn't dared speak to Ye Zhen for days.
She gave Lu Chengcheng a meaningful glance, signaling her to help ease the tension.
Lu Chengcheng cleared her throat, her face wearing an expression of helpless resignation, and headed toward the balcony.
"Oh dear, what a scatterbrain I am! Zhenzhen, I think I made a mistake with this payment! I paid twice… Since it can't be refunded anyway, I'll have the class committee transfer it directly to your account."
Ye Zhen turned to look at her, utterly bewildered.
Then she took off her headphones.
"Chengcheng, did you say something?"
"I—"
Having grown up in a household where reading the room was essential, Lu Chengcheng keenly sensed Ye Zhen didn't need her help.
So she immediately smiled and added:
"I was going to say, I'll transfer this payment to your account. Next time you can pay for me, okay? Otherwise it'd be a waste—such a pity."
Ye Zhen nodded and smiled back. "Sure."
She truly hadn't heard…
After all, the song "Wings That Won't Burn Away" blared loudly through her headphones.
But Lu Chengcheng's request was perfectly reasonable, and Ye Zhen could agree to it.
Lu Chengcheng shrugged and returned to her seat.
Wang Xiaoya shot her a reproachful look before rapidly typing in her chat window: "But we agreed I'd pay!"
Beep beep beep—
Living in the same dorm room yet still needing to communicate via QQ—Lu Chengcheng felt helpless.
She patiently replied, "It doesn't matter who pays. Just let her accept it first!"
Wang Xiaoya: "Then next time it's definitely my turn. No arguing!"
Lu Chengcheng: "No one's trying to take it from you… Seriously, are you still sulking? Just apologize for that thing and move on."
Mentioning the body lotion incident, Wang Xiaoya shot her another resentful glare.
A moment of silence passed.
Wang Xiaoya finally typed slowly, "I really don't know how to apologize. Because even now, I still don't understand why she reacted so strongly."
You don't know why she overreacted?
Lu Chengcheng stole another glance at Ye Zhen.
That sweet, smiling girl must have some sad memories too.
Everyone has their own taboo zones—some fear venomous snakes and ferocious beasts, some dread mollusks, and others are terrified of adorable cats and dogs… What could Zhenzhen possibly be afraid of?
"That's what they call psychological trauma, I suppose."
Lu Chengcheng immediately saw the root of the problem.
"Xiao Ya, this probably isn't your fault."
Wang Xiaoya: "Oh…"
She was only half-convinced, but somehow felt comforted by the words.
Since it was still early, she promptly ordered a box of snacks to share with everyone in the dorm later.
…
Evening.
A knock sounded on the door of Room 404.
Ye Zhen, sitting closest to the door, immediately got up to answer it.
"Is that you?"
Seeing that it was Jiang Zao, Ye Zhen felt a bit surprised.
They shouldn't have much in common, right?
"You're not here to see me, are you?"
Jiang Zao kept her head down, hesitating for a long moment before finally speaking up: "I… I'm from Room 306 on the third floor. I'm in the Literature Department… I'm also a freshman…"
Her timid manner was starting to test Ye Zhen's patience.
Ye Zhen sighed. "Just get to the point."
"Actually, it's nothing."
Jiang Zao quickly pulled her mask back over her face.
Students passing by couldn't help but glance at her with curious stares.
Once the scar on her face was concealed, she visibly relaxed, her tone becoming much more natural.
"The counselor has some work-study positions available. I thought, if you need one, I have extra application forms you could fill out… I'll take them to the counselor's office with you later."
She truly meant no harm.
Ye Zhen stared at her densely filled-out form and couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
Wow, this girl was a workhorse!
How many jobs did she juggle in a day?
"I… I'm managing financially right now and don't really need to work. Still, thanks for the heads up," Ye Zhen replied.
"Oh! Is that so? I'm sorry…"
Jiang Zao's eyes betrayed a hint of unease.
"I… I may have overstepped. My apologies."
She turned to leave, but Ye Zhen suddenly remembered the leftover chocolates and cookies on her desk and called out to Jiang Zao.
"If you don't mind, take these with you."
Jiang Zao waved her hands hurriedly.
From the packaging of these candies and cookies, she could tell they weren't cheap, off-the-shelf items.
She hadn't really helped Ye Zhen at all, so it felt wrong to accept a gift.
"Take them."
Ye Zhen saw the longing for snacks in her eyes.
These treats she'd grown tired of might be something others hadn't tasted.
Jiang Zao held the small snacks in her hands, remained silent for a moment, then whispered a quiet thank you.
After closing the dorm room door.
Ye Zhen began gathering the things she needed to take out.
Just then, Qiao Xin suddenly said, "Zhenzhen, I don't like to speak ill of others, but you'd better stay away from that guy from earlier."
Wang Xiaoya exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? Why do you say that?"
Qiao Xin pursed her lips thoughtfully.
After a long silence,
She looked at her roommates. "If I say it's just a gut feeling, would you think I'm overreacting?"
Lu Chengcheng said nothing, just quietly organizing the bottles and jars on the table.
As for Wang Xiaoya, she wore an exasperated expression: "You can't judge someone by their looks…"
"It's not about looks."
Qiao Xin said this, but deep down, she found that ugly face hard to accept. She couldn't help but feel a bit prejudiced.
But the real reason she'd spoken up earlier wasn't because of that face.
"Her eyes… they're calculating."
"From this distance, you can see scheming in someone's eyes?"
Qiao Xin raised an eyebrow, a hint of smugness in her voice. "My eyesight is 20/20."
"That has nothing to do with your eyesight!"
Wang Xiaoya clearly didn't buy into any "intuition."
She turned her gaze back to Ye Zhen, hoping for some insight.
But Ye Zhen looked utterly bewildered, as if she hadn't considered such a profound question.
"Who doesn't have ulterior motives?" Lu Chengcheng finished tidying up and finally looked up at the group. "Having them isn't necessarily a bad thing—it all depends on where she chooses to use them."
She chuckled as she spoke.
"These days, the bad guys are all schemers. If you want to live better, you have to be even more scheming than the bad guys."
Qiao Xin rolled her eyes.
She knew that in this dorm, Lu Chengcheng was undoubtedly the resident philosopher.
Wang Xiaoya, meanwhile, wore an expression of profound understanding as she scratched the back of her head.
"Ouch, my head itches like crazy. Feels like brains are growing in there."
One hour later.
The college-arranged bus pulled up at the entrance to the residential area.
The counselor notified everyone to assemble in the group chat.
Ye Zhen, carrying a small suitcase, followed her roommates downstairs.
"Huh? A new bubble tea shop opened at the school gate, and there's a cake shop too!"
"Never heard of this brand before…"
"To be fair, that big parrot logo is kinda cool."
Big Parrot?
Ye Zhen instinctively looked up at the logo of the newly opened milk tea shop.
The blue parrot was drawn in an exaggerated style, holding a chestnut in its claw.
And this logo was also the cake shop's logo.
"Hmm…"
It's just a coincidence, right?
Seeing the parrot reminded her of the one Ye Fuli had given her, and Ye Zhen cursed her own overactive imagination.
There are so many large parrots in the world.
"Half-price cakes today! Come on, let's go buy some to try."
The roommates squeezed into the cake shop.
Then, they quickly emerged with pained expressions on their faces.
"This is crazy expensive! A palm-sized slice of mousse cake costs over fifty bucks, and it's supposedly half price!"
"I feel like the owner isn't even trying to run a business."
"But it was seriously delicious!"
Expensive it was, but money wasn't an issue for them.
Each of the three girls held a small cake in their hands.
"The names are all so weird too," Wang Xiaoya muttered as she took a bite. "This one's actually called 'Heart Stealer'?"
Qiao Xin examined her own slice and made a disapproving sound. "And this one? Why is it called 'Shackles'?"
"Mine's called 'Key'."
Lu Chengcheng plucked a blueberry from hers, dipped it in cream, and popped it into her mouth.
"The owner of Big Parrot must have quite a story to tell."
She said this because…
Among all these cakes, the one named "Key" was the most expensive.
Even at half price, this tiny slice cost 96 yuan.
"They say this piece is real gold. What do you think?"
Lu Chengcheng picked up the tiny gold leaf with a lily pattern that lay beneath the cake and gave it a gentle shake.
The golden lily glinted in her eyes.
Ye Zhen instinctively took a small step back.
Too many coincidences—it wasn't coincidence, but deliberate arrangement.
Ye Zhen had a pretty good idea who the mastermind behind this was.
"Zhenzhen, what's wrong? You look a bit pale."
Ye Zhen forced a smile and shook her head.
"Nothing. Let's go."
She was no longer Ye Zhen, but Ye Zhen.
Even if she ever met Ye Fuli again, she could smile and say, "I don't know the person you're talking about."
Don't panic. Stay calm. Stay calm…