When I got back to campus that morning, I was praying Meilin would already be asleep.
The hallway was too quiet, the kind that echoes your heartbeat. I slipped my key into the lock and turned it slowly, hoping not to wake her. But the moment I opened the door, there she was…standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed, hair messy from her bun, and an expression that could melt glass.
"Where have you been since the concert, huh?" she demanded, her accent thick and her tone sharper than usual.
I froze by the door. "Don't tell me you've been waiting all night."
"Answer me first. I've called the police to search for a missing foreign teenager" She squinted suspiciously, her pajamas wrinkled and her bunny slippers tapping impatiently against the floor.
I sighed and tossed my bag onto my bed. "Meilin, I'm fine. I just… had a long night, okay? Don't spoil me the tea."
Her eyes widened. "Don't spoil you the tea? Girl, you disappear from a concert and stroll in here at sunrise? What the hell happened? You look like you've been through an earthquake."
I sat on the bed, rubbing my eyes. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me." Meilin crawled onto her bed, facing me with a pillow in her arms like she was ready for a full gossip session. "Don't tell me you got knocked off."
I turned sharply to her. "What?! No! Of course not!"
She gave me that sly smile, the one that screamed liar. "Mmm, that's what they all say."
"Meilin!" I grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. "I swear nothing happened like that. Just…listen."
She laughed, catching the pillow mid-air. "Okay, okay. So what did happen? You vanish from the crowd, and I couldn't find you anywhere. I thought maybe you fainted, or some crazy fan pushed you."
I took a deep breath, trying to piece it all together. "I… woke up in a suite."
Meilin's mouth dropped. "A suite?! Like… a hotel suite?"
"Yeah." I nodded, my voice low. "And not some cheap one either. It was… clean, expensive-looking, smelled like cologne."
"Oh my God," she said dramatically, clutching her pillow tighter. "You did get knocked off!"
I groaned. "No! Meilin, stop saying that!"
"Then how do you explain waking up in a suite? Did a fairy godmother carry you there?"
I rolled my eyes. "Just let me finish."
She raised her hands in surrender. "Fine. Go ahead, princess."
"When I woke up," I said, "someone came in. I thought maybe it was hotel staff. But it was him."
Meilin frowned. "Him who?"
"Li Wei."
Her jaw dropped, and for a second I thought she might actually scream. And she did.
"WHAT?!" she shrieked, so loud the walls vibrated. "Li Wei, the Li Wei? The guy everyone in China is obsessed with?"
"Keep it down!" I hissed, jumping to shut the door. "Yes, that one."
"Oh my God, Francesca! You're telling me you woke up in Li Wei's suite? The man who could sneeze and trend for three days?"
"Yes," I muttered.
Meilin's grin stretched wide. "You so got knocked off."
"I did not!" I shouted, my face burning.
She collapsed into laughter, rolling on her bed. "Okay, okay! So, what did Mr. Superstar say?"
I hesitated. "He said… he'd been staring at me during the concert."
Her laughter stopped instantly. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah. He said when our eyes met, he felt something and that he couldn't stop thinking about me. So he wanted to explain… that's why he brought me there."
Meilin blinked at me in disbelief. "That's insane. And also romantic. But mostly insane."
"I know." I rubbed my temples. "I didn't believe him either. But then he… asked me out."
Now she actually fell off the bed. "WHAT?! He what?! You're kidding!"
"I'm serious." I pulled my phone out and showed her the message he'd sent me that morning:
> You didn't answer me. I'll be waiting for your reply, Francesca.
Her mouth hung open. "Oh my God, he texted you. He really texted you! Do you know how many girls would sell their kidneys for that message?!"
I laughed awkwardly. "You're being dramatic."
"I'm being realistic!" she countered. "Girl, why didn't you reply?"
I shrugged. "I don't know… it just didn't feel safe. I mean, he's Li Wei, Meilin. He could have anyone. Why me?"
"Maybe because you're different," she said softly, tilting her head. "But come on, what's unsafe about being adored by a literal superstar?"
"I don't know," I said honestly. "It just felt… fast. Unreal. Like something I shouldn't trust."
Meilin groaned. "Please don't tell me you rejected him."
"I kind of did."
She stared at me like I'd just admitted to burning down the dorm. "You what?! Francesca, are you crazy?!"
"I told him I needed to focus on school. That I didn't want distractions."
She threw a pillow at me this time. "Oh my God, you're worse than a nun! What did you tell him after?"
"I told him I'd… get back to him."
"Girl," she warned, narrowing her eyes, "you better get back to him with a yes. Because if you don't, we're not speaking again."
I snorted. "You're not serious."
"Oh, I'm dead serious." She crossed her arms dramatically. "You will not ruin this roommate's dream of living with the girl dating Li Wei. I refuse."
I laughed, shaking my head. "You're ridiculous."
"I'm realistic," she corrected. "Now tell me the truth. Do you like him?"
I hesitated, fingers playing with my blanket. "I… don't know. He was sweet, I guess. Charming. But—"
"But what?"
"But I can't stop thinking about another guy," I said before realizing the words had slipped out.
Meilin's brows shot up. "Another guy? Who?"
"No one," I said quickly. "Just someone I ran into before. Someone I don't even want to think about."
She smirked. "You mean that 'someone' who humiliated you back at the mall?"
I looked away. "Yeah. Him."
"Ugh," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "Forget him. He doesn't even like you. Go for the one who does."
I smiled faintly. "Maybe you're right."
"I'm always right," she said proudly, stretching and grabbing her phone. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need beauty bathe. You've officially made my day."
She finally disappeared into the bathroom. But still her words still lingered on. Go for the one who does.
But my heart didn't listen.
No matter how much I tried, I couldn't shake the image of Qin Kai…the cold, arrogant man whose shirt I ruined. The one whose eyes felt like they could burn through me.
Li Wei's kindness made me feel safe.
But Qin Kai's stare made me feel alive.
Still… I told myself that dating Li Wei wouldn't be that complicated. There was
something about the way he spoke to me that morning that made me feel warm, secure…even wanted.
Maybe I'd give him a chance.
Just maybe.