Su Cheng's Whimsical Ideas

Monday

Early morning.

The morning air carried a faint earthy scent after last night's rain.

Su Cheng groggily crawled out of bed at the alarm's insistence—perhaps the exhaustion from the weekend had left him dead asleep, barely roused even by the shrill alarm.

He'd even had a wonderful dream that night.

What kind of dream?

The first thing he did upon waking was grab his phone from the nightstand, deftly opening the "Unbelievable Group Chat" and typing out a message before sending it.

OrangeHater: "Good morning, my beloved concubines~"

After sending it, still half-asleep, he shuffled toward the bathroom to relieve himself and wash his face. But the moment cold water splashed onto his skin, he jolted awake—and immediately bolted back to his bedroom, not even bothering to pick up the slipper that flew off in his haste.

Grabbing his phone, his heart sank at the replies.

Ji Qingyi: "?"

Gu Ruoxue: "How horrifying! I can't believe you'd harbor such disrespectful thoughts toward women."

Li Guanqi: "Are you still asleep?"

Panicked, Su Cheng quickly recalled the message and scrambled to explain.

OrangeHater: "Wasn't me! I was brushing my teeth—Ya-Ya was playing with my phone."

Li Guanqi: "Are you sure about that?"

The reply made him freeze. Right—Ya-Ya was with Li Guanqi. He hastily backtracked.

OrangeHater: "Wait, no—it was Da Huang! The dog pawed at my phone and accidentally hit the 'good morning' shortcut. I’ve already scolded him. Please forgive the poor creature."

Gu Ruoxue: "So it was the dog’s fault?"

Ji Qingyi: "Da Huang?"

OrangeHater: "Yeah, a dog."

Gu Ruoxue: "You’d better train that dog properly. If it grows too bold, who knows what trouble it’ll cause next?"

Ji Qingyi: "I’d like to hear it bark. It’s been so long since I last heard a dog—I miss the sound."

Su Cheng’s face darkened. He flung his phone onto the bed and yelled, "The cold palace! They’re banished to the cold palace!"

But having dug his own grave, he had no choice but to commit. He rushed to the balcony, searching for Da Huang—only to find no trace of the imaginary dog.

Was he really going to have to bark like a dog?

No way! A real man would never stoop so low!

He refused such humiliation, even if it killed him!

Instead, he booted up his computer, searched for dog barking sounds, played one, recorded it with his phone, and sent it to the group.

A long silence followed.

Ji Qingyi: "That bark sounds... odd."

Gu Ruoxue: "It’s an audio clip."

Cornered, Su Cheng gave up the act.

OrangeHater: "Fine, I admit it was me. But it wasn’t on purpose. I’m sorry—I’ll reflect deeply on my actions. Please forgive me."

With no time left for further excuses, he hurried through his morning routine—washing up, eating breakfast, changing clothes—and by the time he stepped out, it was just past seven.

At the school gates, Su Cheng paused, pushing his bicycle as he gazed at the familiar entrance before wheeling inside.

The campus buzzed with youthful energy, greetings exchanged left and right—though thankfully, none involved calling anyone "beloved concubines."

On his way to the bike racks, he spotted her again—the long-haired girl with the "Disciplinary Committee Member" armband.

"Good morning, Su Cheng."

"Morning, Hoshino-senpai."

He nodded politely at Hoshino Mirai before they passed each other, heading their separate ways. After parking his bike, he entered the classroom.

With eight o’clock approaching, most students had already arrived, clustered in small groups chatting.

But the first thing Su Cheng did upon entering was glance toward the corner—where Li Guanqi sat alone, absorbed in a book. She didn’t even look up when he walked in.

That was strange.

Shouldn’t Xuan Ying and Zhao Yan be chatting with her by now?

He scanned the room but found neither girl present.

And why was his dear Guanqi ignoring him?

Weren’t they supposed to meet at the lawn at noon?

Wang Guancong and his two friends noticed Su Cheng and immediately called him over, launching into a discussion about last week’s Go match.

Su Cheng half-listened while stealing glances at Li Guanqi, who remained statue-still, her delicate features unreadable as she focused on her book.

Why wouldn’t she even look at him today?

Had she really banished him to the cold palace?!

Sighing, he brushed off the trio and slumped into his seat, pulling out his phone to message her.

OrangeHater: "Good morning. Have you eaten?"

After sending it, he peeked at Li Guanqi.

She seemed to notice her phone lighting up, slowly closing her book to check the screen with slender fingers.

Li Guanqi: "Morning. Yes."

Su Cheng frowned. Even after replying, she didn’t glance his way—just resumed reading as if he didn’t exist.

His mood soured. What had happened to his heroine?

He racked his brain for reasons behind her coldness.

Was it the "concubines" incident this morning?

No—it had to be staying overnight at Ji Qingyi’s place on Saturday!

That had to be it.

Think about it:

Wouldn’t any girlfriend be upset if her boyfriend spent the night at another girl’s house?

Wouldn’t she have every right to be angry?

They’d never even broken up!

Hell, he hadn’t even stayed at Li Guanqi’s place before!

Her reaction was completely justified.

In the group chat, she’d seemed normal—which was why he hadn’t noticed earlier.

And it wasn’t just Li Guanqi. At the club meeting this afternoon, Gu Ruoxue would probably give him the cold shoulder too.

Then it hit him. His eyes widened in horror.

Was she planning to break up with him at noon?

Why else insist on meeting at the lawn?

Panicked, he quickly typed another message.

OrangeHater: "What did you want to talk about at noon?"

Sent.

He sat there, anxiously watching Li Guanqi, waiting for her to check her phone.

But she didn’t.

She just kept reading, indifferent.

Su Cheng stared at his own phone, heart heavy.

What if they broke up?

What if she really ended things?

Su Cheng's heart was tangled with conflict at this moment.

Yet he knew all too well that if she truly wanted to break up, he had no right to stop her—because, as a boyfriend, he had undeniably failed. Miserably so.

"Ding ling ling~"

The school bell rang.

The classroom fell silent in an instant.

Right on cue, Xuan Ying and Zhao Yan slipped into the room just in time. Unfazed, their gazes immediately sought him out as usual before they took their seats.

But Su Cheng had no mind to notice any of it. His thoughts churned like a storm.

After all, even the custody of Yaya had gone to Li Guanqi!

Of course, these were just his assumptions. The truth would only reveal itself by noon.