Balcony Assembly

Xia Yueshan’s face fell, clearly unwilling.

But under Lin Yu’s domineering pressure, he obediently started clearing the dishes.

Lin Yu and Xia Muzhu, like any couple deep in the honeymoon phase, began acting all lovey-dovey.

Just then, Lv Pengju, who had just returned from outside, saw Lin Yu video-calling his girlfriend. Overflowing with curiosity, he bounced over and craned his neck to peek at Lin Yu’s phone.

After one glance, he suddenly went silent, the smile from when he entered completely gone.

Without a word, he sat down on a chair, neither speaking nor touching his phone. After a long while, he abruptly stood up, pulled out an unopened pack of cigarettes from his desk drawer, and headed to the balcony.

Lin Yu, lying on his bed, ignored him and kept chatting with Xia Muzhu.

A little later, Lang Hua returned.

He was carrying four cups of milk tea in one hand and a heart-shaped box—likely chocolates—in the other.

Hearing the noise, Lin Yu glanced at him, raising an eyebrow slightly in surprise, though not overly so.

Lang Hua wasn’t bad-looking—in fact, among the four roommates, he was easily the most handsome.

So when Lin Yu saw him holding milk tea for four and what seemed like a gift of chocolates from a girl, he was only mildly surprised, mostly just intrigued.

Wait, do college confessions require this much milk tea now?

Four cups!

Even the roommates get bribed.

This girl’s really thorough!

Wu Zhen hadn’t returned yet, so Lang Hua placed his share of milk tea on his desk. Without greeting Lv Pengju, who was still on the balcony, he set his cup on his desk too.

Lin Yu knew one of those cups was his, so he didn’t pay much attention, continuing his video call with Xia Muzhu while waiting for Lang Hua to hand him his drink.

Soon enough, a hand placed a cup of milk tea by his bedside. Just as Lin Yu reached for it, the hand withdrew—then returned.

Along with it came the heart-shaped box of chocolates.

Lin Yu’s eyes widened. Sensing trouble, he quickly muted his mic. A second later, Lang Hua’s voice came from below the bed.

"Ye You asked me to give this to you."

Ye You?

One of the two girls who tried to bring him water after military training?

Lin Yu remembered who she was but didn’t react.

He was still on a video call with Xia Muzhu, and if she noticed anything off, things could get messy.

He didn’t want her to worry.

Hiding the chocolates under his blanket, Lin Yu kept talking to Xia Muzhu.

"What happened just now?" Xia Muzhu asked casually.

"Nothing," Lin Yu said, waving the milk tea in front of the camera. "Someone treated me to tea."

Xia Muzhu nodded and didn’t press further, letting Lin Yu smoothly brush it off.

Usually, after dinner, cleaning up, having some fruit, and resting, Xia Muzhu would turn on the TV at 9 p.m. sharp to follow a yoga livestream.

Today was no different. When the time came, she tried to end the call to start her routine.

But this time, Lin Yu didn’t let her.

At his insistence, she propped her phone horizontally on the TV stand, framing herself in the camera as she performed yoga live for him.

Lin Yu stared wide-eyed at the screen, watching her stretch, bend, and relax into various poses.

Absolutely mesmerizing!

After half an hour of dedicated viewing, Lin Yu had a rough assessment of Xia Muzhu’s yoga skills.

She was decent—for an amateur.

Her movements weren’t perfectly fluid, occasionally giving off a slightly clumsy vibe.

Not because she lacked flexibility, but because she was carrying… quite the burden up top.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, indeed!

While Lin Yu was engrossed, a box of fruit salad was handed up to him from below.

Too focused on the screen, he didn’t notice until Wu Zhen’s voice came from under the bed.

"Wang Yanyan sent this for you."

Before Lin Yu could process that, another box of fruit salad was placed on his bedside.

"Luo Xiaoxiao sent this one."

Then two more cups of milk tea appeared. This time, before Wu Zhen could speak, Lin Yu leaned over the bed and urgently signaled for him to shut up.

Wu Zhen, looking grim, didn’t say another word. Mission complete, he walked away, grabbed something from his desk, and joined the others on the balcony.

Lin Yu glanced at the snacks on his bedside—each with a sticky note—then quickly looked away, afraid Xia Muzhu might catch on.

She was still diligently performing her unintentionally alluring yoga poses, but Lin Yu’s mind was elsewhere now.

Uneasy, he stole another look at the gifts, his suspicion growing.

Are these girls serious?

What the hell?

What’s so special about me?

Why are they so persistent?

What, do I smell like cough syrup or something?

After ending the call with Xia Muzhu, Lin Yu pulled out the heart-shaped chocolates from under his blanket.

A heart-shaped note was stuck to the packaging. He peeled it off and read: a bunch of flirty lines and a string of numbers.

Lin Yu tapped the note, thinking avoidance wasn’t solving anything.

Might as well ask them what they really want.

With that in mind, he opened a messaging app and entered the number.

The search results popped up immediately—a profile with a cute female avatar. He sent a friend request, adding "Lin Yu" as a note.

The request was accepted almost instantly. Lin Yu wasted no time typing.

Dragon Overlord: What’s your game? Why go through all this trouble to get close to me?

It’s Yuzu~: ?

It’s Yuzu~: I just wanted to be friends. What "game"?

Dragon Overlord: Out of thousands of people here, why me?

It’s Yuzu~: Because you’re handsome...

It’s Yuzu~: (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

Dragon Overlord: Are you blind?

Dragon Overlord: Or do you think I am?