Chapter Seven

Zoe returned to her dormitory that night, and Luna left after seeing her off.

The next day was Sunday, and Zoe had no classes, so she slept a little later and got up around 8:30. She thought she had woken up late, but surprisingly, Ellie and Stella were still asleep.

After washing up and changing out of her pajamas, Zoe went out to have breakfast.

The cafeteria at Haida University was open on weekends, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

While having breakfast and scrolling through her phone, Leo started adding her again after a night's time.

Leo: "Good morning, Z."

Leo: "Z, can we be friends on social media?"

Leo: "Zoe~~~"

The nickname made Zoe feel uneasy.

Almost as soon as she rejected him, he added her again, as if he was constantly checking his phone.

Leo was indeed waiting. He was wandering around the building where self-study students lived.

Nick was leaning against the railing on the sixth floor of the neighboring dormitory, wearing shorts and a black shirt, looking down.

Ethan stood next to Nick and said, "What's Leo's problem this early? Did he fall for one of the older self-study students?"

Ethan had a small crush on Zoe, and in the same dormitory, Noah was attracted to self-study student Luna. So who did Leo have his eye on?

Nick remained silent.

Meanwhile, Zoe finished her breakfast and was walking towards the dormitory with two breakfast boxes in her hands, facing the morning sun.

She was wearing black shorts that revealed her pale and long legs. Her upper body was a simple shirt, and she was wearing a pair of slippers on her feet. She looked clean and her skin was beautiful.

Ethan's eyes lit up.

Meanwhile, Leo downstairs immediately turned around and waved at Zoe.

"Zoe."

Although the voice wasn't loud, one could guess the shape of his mouth.

Zoe had already been annoyed by repeatedly rejecting him on WeChat, but who would have expected to encounter him right at the dormitory entrance. She forced a smile, walked closer, and asked, "So early?"

Leo's usually bright eyes sparkled even more with joy, "Yeah, can you add me on WeChat?"

With Leo standing right in front of her urging her, Zoe felt it would be inappropriate to refuse directly. She hesitated for a moment and asked softly, "Do I really have to?"

As she spoke, a gust of wind blew through the corridor, causing her hair to partially cover her eyes, giving her an ethereal appearance. Her watery eyes appeared again, fleetingly.

Leo's throat tightened again, and his usually glib tongue was so nervous that he almost couldn't speak.

"Yes, we've been classmates for so many years, after all."

Leo stuttered through his words.

Zoe, however, smiled.

What kind of long-time classmates?

When she was pursuing Nick,

Leo and his friends hadn't spared her any mockery or teasing.

Leo was momentarily stunned by her smile.

This feeling of heart palpitation came on suddenly and fiercely, impossible to resist.

"Just add me."

Leo held up his phone, displaying the QR code.

Zoe sighed, knowing she couldn't refuse anymore. She took her phone and scanned the code, successfully adding him.

Leo's eyes brightened, and his usual vibrant spirit returned. "Zoe, the meals you cook are really delicious."

"Really?" Zoe said with a smile. "Thank you for the compliment. I'm heading upstairs now."

She pointed to the stairs behind Leo, who, having just added her, didn't dare to say much more and stepped aside to let her pass.

As Zoe walked up the stairs, she paused slightly and glanced to the side.

At the entrance of the dormitory next door, Nick leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his eyes raised in a challenging gaze. His eyes were as deep as the sea, revealing no emotion.

Zoe glanced at Nick briefly and then moved away to continue climbing the stairs.

After watching Zoe go upstairs, Leo turned and walked towards Nick. As he approached, he saw Nick looking at him with a half-smile. Leo put away his phone and tried to act casual, "Why are you down here?"

He frowned slightly, noting that Nick wasn't even wearing long pants, exposing his long legs.

Nick's legs were taut and muscular, with a perfect proportion from waist to feet.

He said with nonchalance, "Just came down to watch the show."

Although he spoke casually, Leo felt a bit of pressure.

He chuckled awkwardly, trying to cover up his nervousness.

Nick glanced at the spot where Zoe had stood earlier and then turned to go upstairs.

Once Zoe entered the dormitory, Ellie and Stella woke up.

The breakfast she had brought was just right, and Ellie hugged Zoe and called her "good sister." Zoe laughed and pushed her head away.

Then she went to turn on her computer, and her phone rang.

It was a message from Nick: "Come over for lunch directly, my mom has bought some groceries."

The message was sent three minutes ago, probably while he was downstairs.

Zoe didn't reply to his message.

Since Liu Ma, his housekeeper, had retired, he had hired a part-time maid who would help Nick buy groceries while cleaning and tidying up the house.

Zoe only needed to buy groceries for Nick occasionally when the part-time maid was unavailable.

There wasn't much to do at school today, but there were some matters related to the student council.

After the meeting, Nick was about to leave, but Leo clung to his car, insisting on following him.

Nick held a cigarette between his fingers, resting it on the window, and glanced at Leo with his slender fingertips pressed against it.

Leo smiled and said, "I don't have lunch, so I'm coming to your place to have a meal."

Nick rotated the cigarette in his hand and looked at Leo coldly, as if he saw through something, but didn't say anything.

The car started and they drove home. The house smelled faintly of freshener, indicating that the cleaning had just been done.

Leo had been here several times before, so he was familiar with the place. He changed into slippers and wandered into the kitchen, peeking in and asking Nick, "Is this set of cooking utensils here from Zoe?"

Nick had changed into his casual clothes, with a top that concealed his slender waistline. He nodded in affirmation.

Leo's lips curved into a smile as he poked around in the kitchen.

Unlike usual, Nick didn't go to the living room to relax. Instead, he pulled out a dining chair, sat down, crossed his arms, and rested his long legs, watching the kitchen.

Before, Liu Ma, the former housekeeper, had made the kitchen her domain while cooking.

She had her own way of arranging pots, pans, and utensils, but now with Zoe taking over the cooking, the kitchen has undergone some new changes.

She grows garlic next to the fridge. She owns many knives, even smaller ones that are hung on the wall. The spices like salt and MSG have been rearranged to the left side due to her habits.

Unbeknownst to many, this kitchen has lost the previous setup by Liu Ma and instead has become Zoe's territory.

Nick raised his eyebrows, stood up, entered the kitchen, and grabbed Leo's arm, saying, "Let's go play games."

Leo hadn't finished admiring the changes when he was suddenly yanked out, leaving him stunned for a couple of seconds.

"Play... play games?" he asked.

"I said, let's play games and rank up, huh?" Nick tapped his forehead, emphasizing.

Leo met Nick's eyes, which were tinged with a hint of fierceness.

After a moment of hesitation, Leo pursed his lips and obediently followed him out.

"You're already a master at gaming, so do you really need me to help you rank up? Isn't that a bit fake?" Leo questioned.

Nick didn't reply, but grabbed his phone and gestured for Leo to follow. Leo sat down and was soon captivated by the game, but before starting, he glanced thoughtfully at Nick.

The two of them had a slightly devious vibe about them. Not long after, the sound of a door opening echoed through the room.

Leo, who had been slouching almost to the floor, immediately sat upright and even adjusted his hair. Nick, lazily leaning against the armrest, gave him a harsh kick.

As the door opened, Zoe walked in and saw Leo sprawled on the floor. Nick, with an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, looked over.

Leo cursed under his breath, scrambling awkwardly to his feet. His lower back bumped into the coffee table, causing him a sharp pain that almost made him shout out, but upon seeing Zoe, he managed to squeeze out a smile.

"Z... Zoe, we've been waiting for you for a long time."

Zoe gave him a puzzled look and said after a moment, "You must have had a hard time."

Looking at him in that awkward state.

She glanced briefly at the two guys on the sofa and went straight into the kitchen.

Without even a lingering glance or concern for Leo's condition after falling, she shut the glass door of the kitchen.

Immediately after, Leo looked at Nick and asked, "Was that intentional?"

Nick, playing with his phone, replied in a cold voice, "I was careless."

"I fucking don't believe you."

Leo almost jumped up, but seeing that Nick hadn't even glanced at Zoe since she entered, Leo couldn't figure out Nick's reason for kicking him.

He rubbed his lips and decided not to argue with Nick.

They were childhood friends, so how could they fight?

Let it be, let it be. Big people are magnanimous.

It's more important to have Zoe's meal.

The housekeeper had bought quite a lot of groceries this time. Standing in the kitchen, Zoe weighed out the ingredients and felt that they could cook more for dinner. So, she started cutting and marinating the beef to prepare for dinner.

For lunch, Zoe planned to make some simple stir-fries instead of elaborate dishes.

The only thing that slightly annoyed her was that Leo repeatedly came in to ask, "Do you need any help?"

Zoe declined, but he would come back and ask again after a while.

Zoe felt helpless and eventually had to ignore him.

After about an hour, the meal was finally ready.

Zoe let out a sigh of relief and just as she opened the glass door to let in some fresh air,

Leo came over and asked pleasantly, "Can I help serve the food?"

Zoe wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded, "Sure."

Leo looked delighted and went into the kitchen to carry out the dishes.

Zoe followed behind with the other two plates.

After setting the table with the dishes and bringing out the soup, they had a simple stir-fried pork belly, mapo tofu, another vegetable dish, and a soup with winter melon and minced meat.

The dining room was filled with delicious aromas, and Leo couldn't resist and picked up his chopsticks to grab a piece of meat. As soon as it entered his mouth, he started praising Zoe.

Zoe felt very uneasy. She glanced at Nick, who was nibbling on the stir-fried pork, and turned to hang up her apron.

However, just as she stepped out of the kitchen, Leo intercepted her, insisting that she stay for lunch.

Zoe felt even more helpless and whispered, "I'll eat at home. I didn't cook much rice, just enough for the two of you."

"Stay and eat with us. There's nothing left to eat in the cafeteria at this hour."

Leo was being unreasonable, standing directly in front of Zoe.

Zoe: "..."

Nick licked the chili oil from the corner of his lips with his tongue and raised his eyebrows to look over.

Their eyes met, and the meaning in Zoe's eyes was self-evident.

Nick shifted his gaze away and looked at Leo, his eyes devoid of emotion. Zoe waited for him to speak, but surprisingly, he sat down and picked up his chopsticks again.

Zoe: "..."

In the end, she had to stay for lunch.

After the meal, Zoe cleaned up the table while Leo insisted on helping. The whole room was filled with Leo's chatter as he tried to charm Zoe, much like a peacock spreading its feathers in a mating dance.

Nick, with his arms crossed and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, watched silently.

After entrusting the task of washing the dishes to the diligent Leo, Zoe went to the bathroom.

She washed her face, tied her hair back, and looked at her reddened cheeks. She wiped her forehead and prepared to leave, but... the door was stuck and wouldn't open.

She was startled.

She tried pulling it hard, but it still wouldn't budge, and Zoe panicked.

She knocked on the door and called out softly, "Nick?"

After a moment, Nick's deep voice came from outside, "Want to come out?

Beg me."

Zoe: "..."