Chapter 85: Is That All?

He sent a question mark in reply, then exited WeChat and started scrolling through Zhihu.

When Lin Huiran saw that Xie Xu had replied to her, she was so excited that she bounced right off the bed. “He replied to me!”

Xu Xiaole, hearing the commotion, couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What did he say that’s got you this worked up?”

Lin Huiran handed her the phone. After reading the two painfully awkward sentences on the screen, Xu Xiaole frowned. “That’s it? That’s it? That’s all it takes to get you this excited?”

Lin Huiran sheepishly took her phone back. “Is that not enough?”

“Sure, sure, whatever you say. Unrequited love—what a woman.” Xu Xiaole clicked her tongue.

“Xiaole, what should I reply now?” Lin Huiran asked anxiously.

“Whatever you want. As long as it gets a conversation going between you two, that’s good enough.”

Get the conversation going?

Lin Huiran felt awkward. Boys had always been the ones to chase after her and find things to talk about. Now she had to take the initiative and make conversation? This was way beyond her comfort zone; she genuinely didn’t know how to start.

After hesitating for quite a while, she timidly typed a line.

[I’m Lin Huiran. Do you still remember me?]

Not long after, Lin Huiran received a reply from Xie Xu—a string of ellipses.

Lin Huiran immediately deflated.

She couldn’t help but complain to Xu Xiaole, “Is this guy unable to type, or does he just look down on me? He can’t even manage a simple ‘yes’? If he can’t type ‘yes,’ at least give me an ‘mm.’ But no, it’s just question marks and ellipses. Does he think he’s so cool?”

Alright, he really was pretty cool.

Seeing her best friend get riled up, Xu Xiaole snorted. “Is he always this aloof?”

Lin Huiran gritted her teeth. “Yes!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. This is exactly the kind of guy you should pursue. The ones who don’t seem to care about you—then you throw your pride aside and chase after him like crazy. The moment he looks back at you, you’ll become his whole world. He can’t live without you, you know? Go for it!” Xu Xiaole punched the air in encouragement.

Lin Huiran bit her lip, determined. “...Alright, I’ll trust you this time!”

After sending the ellipses, Xie Xu thought this girl probably wouldn’t message him again. After all, not everyone could keep up with his punctuation.

Yet after a while, Lin Huiran’s messages popped up again.

Lin Huiran: Judging by the way you look, you must be a high schooler too, right? Which grade are you in?

Lin Huiran: I go to No. 3 High School. Which school are you at?

Xie Xu: “...”

Where did this woman get so many questions?

Too lazy to reply, Xie Xu exited WeChat and opened Zhihu again.

As he scrolled, a post suddenly caught his eye.

The title read: “How should you pursue a girl you like?”

One popular reply drew Xie Xu’s attention.

First: Be clean.

Second: Be generous.

Third: Treat her the way a boy treats a girl.

What did it mean to treat her the way a boy treats a girl? Was there another way—like treating her the way a girl treats a girl?

Xie Xu snorted and kept reading.

[If you’re a man, act like one. Don’t speak in a weird tone—keep your voice steady.]

Xie Xu thought his voice was steady enough.

[When chatting with a girl, make sure to look her in the eyes.]

Nonsense. Where else would I look? Anywhere else... I wouldn’t dare.

[While talking, you can get a little closer to her and make some physical contact, depending on the mood. Otherwise, be careful—you might end up in the friend zone.]

The friend zone...