No Fever Just a Little Warm

Pushing open the dorm room door, Long Aotian was instantly met with three pairs of eyes locked onto him.

"Old Ao, we treat you like a brother, but you’ve been playing us all along. A cold beauty adding you on QQ was one thing, but what’s the deal with those two girls today?"

"Yeah, yeah, spill it. We thought you were some pure-hearted virgin, but then you hit us with this big reveal right in front of us."

Hu Yuying’s delicate allure and Li Qingxue’s lively charm—either one alone would easily qualify as campus queen material.

Yet there was Long Aotian, one girl on his left, another on his right. Where did that leave the dignity of the "Three Love Kings" of their dorm? Their envy was practically turning their teeth sour!

"Turns out you’re the biggest faker in our dorm."

"You’re seriously something else. We haven’t even held a girl’s hand yet, and here you are pulling off head pats on goddess-tier girls. Unbelievable..." Huang Fei clawed at his hair in frustration.

"Hey now, I can’t let that slide," Xu Shuai interjected, raising his left ring finger. "Don’t forget, I’m not like you guys. I’ve technically touched a girl’s hand before!"

Long Aotian chuckled at their antics. "They’re just friends."

The others weren’t buying it, smirking suggestively. "Uh-huh, ‘friends.’ Sure, ‘friends.’ But since when do ‘friends’ greet each other with head pats?"

"Exactly! And that gorgeous girl you patted didn’t even resist—she just giggled and blushed like crazy..."

At that, Long Aotian realized they were talking about Hu Yuying.

He couldn’t really argue. Deep down, he knew he did treat Hu Yuying with extra care.

And then... his fingers lightly brushed his lips as a thought crossed his mind.

"Whoa, Old Ao, that’s a downright pervy grin you’ve got there."

"He touched his lips just now! Oh my god, have you two even kissed? That’s sacred territory!"

"Shut up, shut up. She’s still young," Long Aotian retorted irritably.

"But aren’t you only eighteen too?"

The question gave Long Aotian pause.

All this time—whether helping Hu Yuying or guiding Li Qingxue—he’d never seen himself as their peer. He’d always approached their problems and worries from the perspective of an elder.

To him, they were just kids who’d barely turned eighteen.

In his mind, it was only natural to look after them. He was older (in spirit, at least) and male; taking care of younger girls was just what you did.

But to them—no, to everyone else—wasn’t he also just an eighteen-year-old?

[It’s like an eighteen-year-old watching over an eight-year-old—instinct compels them to care for the younger one.

Or a twenty-eight-year-old guiding an eighteen-year-old—they’d still feel responsible for the younger adult.

A ten-year gap meant that no matter how mature an eighteen-year-old acted, to someone twenty-eight, they’d always seem like a kid.]

That’s why Long Aotian kept forgetting: this body of his was only eighteen too.

Hu Yuying had once said, "Long-ge, you’re so mature sometimes... it’s like you don’t belong in this age group."

Li Qingxue had remarked, "Long Aotian, you’re so serious—you don’t have any of the energy someone your age should."

Even his three roommates had commented, "Old Ao, it feels like you’re carrying a lot inside. Like you’re holding back somehow."

That’s why, when Li Qingxue saw him hurt, she cried. She scolded him like a little adult, refusing to let him brush it off.

Because to them, Long Aotian—who always took care of them—was only eighteen.

And in his eyes, looking after two eighteen-year-olds was just... natural.

For the first time, Long Aotian seemed to realize something.

If—just if—he weren’t a transmigrator, if he were truly just an eighteen-year-old at heart...

Wouldn’t he be acting like his roommates right now?

An aloof eighteen-year-old beauty adding him on QQ? He’d probably be over the moon.

With Hu Yuying’s delicate charm and Li Qingxue’s vibrant energy flanking him, wouldn’t his younger self have reveled in the attention, showing off without a second thought?

Taking a deep breath, Long Aotian glanced at the three. "What are you guys up to? Let me join."

The trio: "Chatting with girls. We worked hard to get into college—we want sweet romance too..."

"Ugh, boring. Might as well play Snake."

"Snake? That’s even more boring, you weirdo!"

Long Aotian ignored them and lay back on the bed—he had lied. The phone he used to play Snake had already been retired.

He opened his phone and saw the unread notification dot still lingering on Lin Wanning’s chat window.

Clicking into the chat and then exiting would clear the unread marker.

But the moment he tapped in, the QQ chat interface displayed: [The other party is typing...]

At first, Long Aotian thought it was just a glitch.

Strangely, though, the [The other party is typing...] prompt soon disappeared—only to reappear a second later.

So he decided to test it and sent a message.

In the music academy’s girls’ dormitory,

Lin Wanning stared at the sudden message that popped up on her screen.

Her phone slipped from her hands onto the bed, and she immediately covered her face with both hands.

The commotion drew the attention of her three roommates.

“What’s wrong, Wanning?”

“Are you okay?”

Facing their concern, Lin Wanning slowly lowered her hands. “It’s nothing.”

Nothing was more embarrassing than being caught red-handed...

“Wow, Wanning, your face is so red!”

“Your neck and collarbone are flushed too. If I didn’t know how reserved you usually are, I’d think you were getting all worked up.”

Lin Wanning awkwardly dropped her hands and turned away to avoid their gazes. “I’m not worked up. Maybe it’s just a little hot in here.”

Reading the reply on her screen,

she fought back the urge to roll around on her bed.

With her roommates still there, she had to maintain her cool, aloof persona—no matter what.

She absolutely couldn’t let them see how flustered she really was.

Because this was just too mortifying.

Who would’ve guessed that behind that icy exterior, she was actually so... naughty?

[I finally got you hooked again. Reward me—please, reward me wildly.]