Sophomore year's schedule was more packed than ever, but Wednesday afternoons were miraculously free—an unofficial "common rest period." On one such Wednesday, Jiang Jin sidled up to Lu Zhao with a conspiratorial grin and whispered, "Hey, come with me somewhere."
"What for? Don't tell me you need me to haul gear for the sports department again," Lu Zhao eyed him warily.
"Nope! This is a good thing!" Jiang Jin flashed a toothy smile. "I asked out Lin Wei from the Foreign Languages Department—remember her? She's bringing her roommate. They insisted we bring another guy, and I thought of you."
Lu Zhao vaguely remembered Lin Wei—one of the prettiest girls in the department. Jiang Jin had met her during a campus event and had mentioned her more than once. Lu Zhao wasn't big on group dates, but between Jiang Jin's relentless persuasion and a free afternoon, he eventually gave in.
The board game café they went to had a cozy vibe. Lin Wei and her roommate, Sun Qian, were already there. Lin Wei was as gentle and graceful as her name suggested, speaking in a soft, delicate voice. Sun Qian was the opposite—lively and expressive, her big eyes darting with curiosity, quickly warming up the atmosphere.
Jiang Jin was clearly the star of the show—funny, charming, and a board game pro. He had Lin Wei laughing behind her hand in no time. Lu Zhao, on the other hand, was a bit stiff, mostly following the rules and occasionally chatting with Sun Qian about safe topics like classes.
Midway through, Jiang Jin stepped out to take a call. Sun Qian leaned closer to Lu Zhao and asked in a hushed voice, "Hey, your roommate… Gu Xun, right? Why didn't he come today?"
Lu Zhao blinked, caught off guard. "Him? Probably in the lab. He's been busy with a project lately—barely around."
"Oh…" Sun Qian drew out the syllable, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "He seems super aloof. A bunch of girls in our department talk about him, but no one dares ask for his number."
Lu Zhao thought of Gu Xun's expressionless face and his aura of "don't come near me," and nodded. "Yeah, he's a bit like that. But he's a good guy—just not very talkative."
"What a shame," Sun Qian pouted. "He's so good-looking and smart. If only he were as outgoing as Jiang Jin."
Just then, Jiang Jin returned, and the conversation shifted. But Gu Xun's name had already dropped into the afternoon like a pebble into still water—sending out quiet ripples.
That evening, back in the dorm, Jiang Jin was clearly in high spirits, humming as he washed up. Gu Xun, for once, wasn't up late—he was calmly reading at his desk. Jiang Jin, towel over his head, casually said, "Gu Xun, we went out with some girls from the Foreign Languages Department today. I was gonna invite you, but figured you'd be busy."
Gu Xun didn't even pause his page turn. He let out a barely audible "Mm," acknowledging the comment.
Jiang Jin didn't seem to mind. He turned to Lu Zhao, excited. "Hey, what do you think of Lin Wei? I feel like she might be into me."
Lu Zhao looked up from his phone. "She's nice. Pretty." It was the truth, though he didn't feel much beyond that.
"Right?" Jiang Jin grinned wider, already planning their next outing.
Lu Zhao listened, but his gaze drifted to Gu Xun. He was still reading, the desk lamp outlining his sharp profile. It struck Lu Zhao how completely removed Gu Xun seemed from the pink-hued world Jiang Jin was describing. And yet… there was something oddly clean about that distance. Untouched.
The thought surprised him.
A few days later, on the way to class, Lu Zhao ran into Sun Qian again. She was walking with another girl and greeted him with a bright smile.
"Hey, Lu Zhao!"
"Oh, hey," he nodded.
"Did Gu Xun come to class today?" the girl beside her asked softly, eyes full of hope.
Lu Zhao recognized her—quiet, sat next to Lin Wei at the board game café. Her name was… Zhou Yu? He shook his head. "He's in the lab. Skipped this one."
Both girls visibly deflated.
It happened again—two, maybe three more times. In the cafeteria, the library—girls he didn't know, or ones introduced through Sun Qian, would approach him to ask about Gu Xun. The questions were always the same: "Does he have a girlfriend?" "What does he like?" "Can I get his contact info?"
Lu Zhao went from surprised to numb. He felt like Gu Xun's personal receptionist. His answers were always vague: "Not sure," "He hasn't said," "Sorry, can't give that out." He began to realize just how magnetic Gu Xun was on campus—his aloofness only adding to the allure. These moths-to-a-flame moments gave Lu Zhao a clearer picture of Gu Xun's popularity, but that was all. In his mind, it had nothing to do with the straightforward brotherhood he shared with Jiang Jin.
Meanwhile, Jiang Jin's flirtation with Lin Wei seemed to be going well. He was around less, often returning to the dorm with a goofy grin after texting. Lu Zhao didn't mind the quiet, though he sometimes wondered—Jiang Jin's excitement when talking about Lin Wei… didn't it feel a little less intense than when he'd once tried to impress Gu Xun with his MVP win?
The thought passed quickly. Lu Zhao didn't dwell on it. He had his own things to worry about—considering a second major, maybe finding a decent internship to prepare for the future.
Time flowed on, steady and unhurried, carrying with it the restlessness and uncertainty of youth. Lu Zhao drifted along, aware of the undercurrents—about the future, about relationships, about emotions still too vague to name. But he remained on the surface, enjoying what might be the last truly simple stretch of college life.
The storms that would one day upend everything still lingered far beyond the horizon, not even a breeze to warn of their approach.