Chapter 3
On their way back to the dorm, Li Yun and Tan Tingting had a minor argument.
“Aren’t we best friends?!” Tan Tingting pouted. “How could you not share even a single bite of your chicken broth wontons with me?”
She had seen it all—Li Yun finished her chicken broth wontons, then secretly went back to line up twice more. And as if afraid Tan Tingting would try to snatch them, she didn’t even dare to make eye contact with her.
Of course, the main reason Tan Tingting missed out was her own stubbornness—she insisted on believing the owner relied on his looks to make money and lost her chance to queue at the right time.
Li Yun felt a little guilty. “Sorry, they were just too good. My survival instincts kicked in.”
At that moment, her brain was completely taken over by the taste of those wontons. The pure joy of having her mouth and stomach utterly satisfied… Forget Tan Tingting—if even her own parents had tried to take a bite, she might not have shared.
“Don’t be mad. Tomorrow, we’ll go earlier and line up together. My treat—two servings.” Li Yun coaxed her.
“Alright, deal!”
They linked pinkies. Best friends never stayed mad overnight.
Back at the dorm, Li Yun went to take a shower, while Tan Tingting sprawled over her desk, sweet-talking on the phone with her boyfriend for a while.
Tan Tingting’s boyfriend went to a neighboring university and had a strong controlling streak. Li Yun and their other friends didn’t like him much, so Tan Tingting always made her calls in private.
But for some reason, today, she found herself distracted while talking to him.
After hanging up, she opened Penguin (QQ) and scrolled through the university’s Confession Wall.
Someone from another department had already made a submission—
[@Jing University Confession Wall Admin]: Anonymous post from a physics department girl—”A super handsome guy showed up at the school gate today! Ahhh, god-tier visuals!! [Image]”
Attached was a close-up shot of Jian Yunlan’s face. The angle was brutal—the kind that could ruin most people’s looks. Yet, even through the blurry camera, his absurdly refined features held up effortlessly.
The comments were filled with screaming fans:
“I saw him too today! Super handsome! Super delicious!”
“His looks are on par with my god, Ning Sheng. Ning Sheng has that aloof, icy beauty, while this guy gives off a warm, dazzling charm.”
“Is he an influencer? A celebrity? A freshman??”
“Where did you see him?! Spill!! If you don’t tell us, how will I know where to stake out tomorrow?!”
That was when Tan Tingting noticed something interesting.
Many commenters claimed they had also seen Jian Yunlan. Yet, no one revealed that he was running a food stall, nor did they mention that he was set up at the South Gate.
It was an unspoken agreement.
Sharing handsome guys? Fine.
But if too many people found out about the god-tier wontons, wouldn’t that just mean more competition tomorrow?!
There were only 100 servings per day. And right now, Jian Yunlan had zero publicity, yet his stall was already this popular. If the whole school caught wind of it… it’d be game over.
Even the photos posted in the comments were strategically cropped to remove any signs of a food stall—or the apron Jian Yunlan had been wearing. No clues. No giveaways.
It was as if everyone had silently conspired together.
Tan Tingting joined in, posting a few apron-free photos of Jian Yunlan and immediately racking up a bunch of likes.
Just then, Li Yun’s phone vibrated on her desk.
“Yun, your brother’s calling,” Tan Tingting glanced at the screen and called out.
Fresh out of the shower, Li Yun was toweling her hair dry. She thanked Tan Tingting, then picked up the phone. “Hello? Brother?”
“You didn’t go to Cafeteria Two today?” Li Mingxi’s voice came through the line. “Ning Sheng said he didn’t see you.”
Li Yun: “!!!”
She had been so obsessed with eating wontons that she completely forgot.
Her twin brother, Li Mingxi, was a junior at Jing University’s Computer Science Department—the same dorm mate as Ning Sheng.
Thanks to her brother’s connections, she had been able to secure many chances to meet Ning Sheng.
For instance, today—Li Mingxi had asked Ning Sheng to help pass a small plushie to his sister if he happened to see her at Cafeteria Two.
Li Mingxi was a straight-A student, completely focused on his studies. He couldn’t quite understand his sister’s hobbies, but he still did his best to make her happy.
Just one conversation with Ning Sheng could keep Li Yun in a good mood for days.
Of course, even if she was lucky enough to talk to Ning Sheng, Li Yun never had any unrealistic expectations.
A cold and unattainable beauty like Ning Sheng was someone to be admired from afar, not someone to covet. Just appreciating him was enough.
…Speaking of beautiful people, Li Yun suddenly thought of the food stall owner from today.
Technically, she should feel regret for missing out on seeing Ning Sheng because of the wontons. But somehow, she didn’t feel that bad about it.
After all, not only did she get to admire a handsome guy today, but she also ate the most delicious wontons ever!
“Brother, let me tell you a secret.”
Li Yun lowered her voice, glanced around to make sure only Tan Tingting was in the dorm—her other roommates hadn’t returned yet—then whispered,
“A food stall popped up at the South Gate today. The owner makes the best wontons ever! If you don’t have a night class tomorrow, we should go together.”
Despite being fiercely protective of her food, Li Mingxi was her biological twin brother. Of course, she had to share something this delicious with him!
Just talking about the wontons made Li Yun incredibly excited—her voice practically radiated an eerie, fanatical enthusiasm.
…Honestly, it was kind of unsettling.
Li Mingxi instinctively held his phone a little farther away, adjusting his glasses. “Uh… I think I’ll pass.”
“I’ve got a big algorithm project due. Tomorrow night, I need to fix some bugs.”
Li Mingxi was a hardcore tech nerd. His greatest passion was coding, and he could easily sit in front of a computer for over ten hours a day.
Right now, his algorithm course had assigned them a major project: independently building a Gitlet program. The framework was massive and quite challenging, and Li Mingxi was stuck.
For three days, he had been tweaking his code over and over, but it still wasn’t good enough.
He wanted to crack the problem by tomorrow, so he had zero time to wait in line for wontons at the school gate.
“Are you sure? If you don’t go, you’re really going to regret it.”
Li Yun sounded a little disappointed, rambling on about chicken broth, pork and corn filling, and the perfect seasoning of the wontons.
As her twin, Li Mingxi quickly sensed that something was off.
“Yun, do you actually want me to go eat, or do you just want me to stand in line so you can buy more?”
Li Yun: “……”
Crap. He saw right through her.
Today, the owner didn’t set a purchase limit. But with such high demand, what if he enforced one tomorrow?
It was always good to have a backup plan.
“Fine, I admit it,” Li Yun decided to just come clean. “But we can split them half and half! Trust me, they’re worth it.”
“Brother, if you go with me, when my allowance comes in next month, I’ll buy you that graphics card you’ve been wanting.”
She pulled out her ultimate weapon.
Li Mingxi was stunned.
That graphics card was worth thousands—his sister was going all in!
With an offer like that, how could he say no? He sighed, “Alright, fine. I’ll go with you tomorrow. Seven o’clock, right?”
“But just to be clear—I’ll buy the wontons, but you’re eating all of them. Also, I’m only waiting in line for thirty minutes max. After that, I’m heading back to the lab.”
“Half an hour is plenty!” Li Yun blew him a kiss through the phone. “Love you, bro!”
Li Mingxi shook his head helplessly.
Just then, the dorm door creaked open.
“Ning Shen’s back,” a roommate, curled up on his bed playing a game, called out.
The person entering responded with a soft “Mm.”
Li Mingxi looked up.
Ning Sheng stood by the door, tall and slender—maybe even a little too thin. His entire figure carried a faintly fragile air. His dress shirt clung half-wet to his frame, accentuating his sharp, delicate features.
His long eyelashes were damp, misted with moisture. Water droplets clung to the strands of his dark bangs. His deep-set eyes were unreadable, their darkness almost heavy.
Yet, at the corner of his eye, the small crimson tear mole stood out—so striking, so mesmerizing, making people unable to look away.
“Did it rain outside?” Li Mingxi was surprised. He quickly stood up and grabbed a towel for Ning Sheng. “What happened to you?”
Li Mingxi had just come back himself, and he was pretty sure it hadn’t rained today.
…Had someone bullied Ning Sheng?
Looking closer, Li Mingxi noticed faint red marks around Ning Sheng’s wrists—as if someone had grabbed him too hard.
“It’s nothing.” Ning Sheng lowered his gaze, as if recalling something or someone he despised. “I wasn’t paying attention when I passed by South Lake and took a fall.”
Li Mingxi mumbled, “Oh… as long as you’re okay.”
Among all their dormmates, Ning Sheng was the most mysterious. He barely spoke, sometimes disappearing for days, and occasionally returning with injuries. The others were somewhat afraid of him.
Only Li Mingxi had the closest relationship with Ning Sheng. They shared an algorithm class this semester, often teamed up for group projects, and occasionally chatted—mostly about academics.
Ning Sheng was incredibly diligent and highly skilled at coding, earning him the nickname “God Ning” among their fellow computer science students.
Li Mingxi knew Ning Sheng didn’t like talking about his injuries, so he awkwardly changed the subject.
“Ning Shen, have you finished the big project? Want to go to the lab together tomorrow?”
Just as he finished speaking, he remembered something.
“Oh, wait. I have to take my sister to get wontons tomorrow night. I won’t be free until after eight…”
Ning Sheng’s gaze remained downcast as he replied in a low voice, “I have something to do tomorrow. The day after, then.”
Li Mingxi originally wanted to chat a bit more—maybe tell him about his sister’s odd behavior and her inexplicable obsession with those wontons.
But seeing Ning Sheng like this, he figured the guy was exhausted. Better to let him rest.
Besides, Ning Sheng didn’t seem like the type to be interested in street food wontons anyway.
Li Mingxi said, “Alright, get some rest. Let’s meet the day after tomorrow.”
Ning Sheng nodded slightly and turned into the bathroom.
The moment he stepped inside, he could no longer hold it in. Leaning against the door, he slid to the floor, curling up as his eyes turned red at the corners.
He looked disheveled, almost pitiful.
One hand clenched into a fist, pressing tightly against his stomach as waves of sharp, cramping pain tore through him, unbearable and relentless.
*
Multiverse Live-Streaming Platform.
The first day of live streaming had ended, and across all the streams, the story had reached the same plot point—Ning Sheng returning to the dorm.
At the top of the platform, a large screen displayed the original storyline, while smaller screens below showed the different challengers’ live broadcasts.
[I feel so bad for my Ning Baby ToT]
[That bastard Gu is such a scumbag! Ning Bao clearly doesn’t like him, yet he keeps pestering him, forcing him into submission with violence, and even starving him… He’s literally developed stomach issues from hunger.]
[This novel Possessive Obsession is all about dog-blood drama and abuse—both physical and emotional. If you don’t like it, just leave.]
[Can some streamer please do something amazing and save our poor Ning Baby?!]
[!! That one streamer with maxed-out luck stats might have a chance! He actually talked to Ning Baby today. I heard he’s planning to wait outside the dorm every day to bring Ning Baby food and warmth!]
[People have tried that before, LOL. Ning Baby is super guarded. He’s never accepted a single meal from anyone.]
[At least those streamers are trying to change the storyline… You guys don’t even know. Today, I stumbled into the weirdest stream ever. The guy spent the entire day running a food stall!]
[Wait, what? A food stall?]
[=?= He’s just running a food stall? Not following the plot at all?! That stream must be boring as hell.]
The user who posted about the food stall went silent for a moment, then sent another message.
[Honestly… I don’t even know why, but his stream is actually kinda fun to watch.]
From just a few dozen viewers at the start, the stream had now grown to nearly 700–800 live viewers.
It wasn’t a huge number, still ranking among the lower-tier streams overall. But for a new streamer with no fanbase and zero plot progression, it was an impressive result.
Most people were probably just curious—wanting to see just how absurd he could get.
Unfortunately, if a streamer completely ignored the main storyline, they’d likely be eliminated within a week.
Some viewers became intrigued.
[Now I kinda wanna see this. Drop the room number?]
[Room 6666. You can check it out if you’re curious, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.]
[This streamer literally! Does! Not! Follow! The! Plot! At! All!!! (I’m losing my mind)]
—His brain is entirely focused on that damn food stall.
