Xue Tao and His Girlfriend Cannot Pull Together in Times of Trouble

Originally, Su Bai was mentally critiquing the purple handicraft project that "Lord Shanghai" (Chu Mingzhe) was working on when he suddenly noticed Chu Mingzhe's overly enthusiastic expression. He couldn’t help but feel it was… hard to describe.

A person’s "first time" — how much is it really worth? It’s complicated and depends on the context. Take the art industry, for example. The debut works of later-famous artists often hold significant value, even if the craftsmanship was crude at the time. Thanks to the celebrity effect, they can fetch astronomical prices.

But judging by Chu Mingzhe’s handicraft skills… well, he probably wasn’t destined for that kind of fame.

"It’s fine. A precious first attempt—Leilei will probably like it, right? Though you might want to pair it with something else when gifting it."

"I get what you mean. After all, ours isn’t some ordinary, shallow relationship. Gifts are about sincerity, not price tags."

With that, Chu Mingzhe dove back into his feverish crafting session.

Su Bai’s lips twitched. Hard to describe indeed.

Speaking of which… does Leilei even know about your so-called "transcendent, non-conventional relationship"?

Su Bai couldn’t shake the feeling that Chu Mingzhe was being a bit too idealistic.

Then again, he had no interest in deciphering the mind of someone nicknamed "Landmine Girl."

He just believed that any form of romance ultimately had a material foundation.

Sure, exceptions existed, but the odds were so low they might as well be negligible.

Take today, for instance—Su Bai had a great time with Yangyang. Their connection wasn’t materialistic. But if Su Bai were broke, would he even have gotten close to a woman of Yangyang’s caliber?

Setting aside Chu Mingzhe for now, Su Bai turned his attention to Wang Haoran. The guy was, as usual, grinding away at his gacha games. But after watching for a moment, Su Bai noticed something odd.

Wait—this wasn’t just casual grinding. He was playing Genshin Impact and Arknights simultaneously!

"How the hell are you doing that?" Su Bai was baffled by Wang Haoran’s multitasking.

Only then did Wang Haoran, still wearing headphones, realize Su Bai was there.

"Oh, Bai… It’s simple. Keyboard for one, controller for the other. Just remap the inputs."

"…"

"By the way, Bai, you’re really joining the anime club?"

"Yeah, it’s settled. I’ve even got the sponsorship money ready. Why?"

"Nothing much. Just that an upperclassman from my hometown is in the club too. Lately, he’s been pestering me to introduce you to some of the girls there. You know… the usual."

Damn.

Those cosplayers were pulling out all the stops to get close to Su Bai.

To be fair, Su Bai didn’t have many friends at school. Wang Haoran was pretty much his only real buddy.

So it wasn’t surprising they’d try to approach him through Wang Haoran.

"Tell them to chill. I’m not interested. We can be regular club friends—no need for extra drama. Keep it casual."

"Got it."

Wang Haoran actually respected Su Bai’s stance.

From what he’d observed since starting college, a lot of people joined clubs just to find a partner.

Some of the bigger clubs were even jokingly called "matchmaking associations" by students and faculty alike.

College wasn’t like high school. Even in balanced majors, class bonds were weak, leaving few avenues to meet the opposite sex. Clubs were basically the main social hunting grounds.

The anime club was one. Then there were hiking, cycling, badminton… all prime territories for singles on the prowl.

Maybe Su Bai was just too used to high standards, Wang Haoran mused.

And he wasn’t wrong. Su Bai had already scanned those cosplayers with his "system." The results?

Not a single one had fewer than three exes.

Horrifying.

Su Bai preferred girls with zero dating experience, so naturally, he wasn’t interested.

To each their own, though. Some guys enjoyed short flings with experienced girls—plenty of rich dudes played that game.

But Su Bai? His tastes were different. He liked collecting blank slates and enjoying them one by one.

After dropping his bag, Su Bai swung by the neighboring dorm to set up a basketball game with some teammates.

When he returned, Chu Mingzhe had paused his crafting, complaining about hand fatigue.

So Su Bai asked if he’d heard anything about Xue Tao.

As local rivals, Chu Mingzhe would surely be stalking Xue Tao’s social media while the latter vacationed in Thailand with his girlfriend.

That’s what rivals did—watch each other like hawks!

“Oh, Su Bai, now this is a topic worth discussing.” Chu Mingzhe’s expression lit up. “Got the scoop last night. Xue Tao and Liu Yuanyuan hit up a trendy night market, and Liu Yuanyuan fell for a jade bracelet. Turned out to be fake. Honestly, Xue Tao’s so uncultured—how could he not spot a counterfeit?”

"…Wait, you know about jade, Old Chu?"

"A thing or two."

Chu Mingzhe puffed out his chest proudly. But judging by his clueless demeanor, Su Bai suspected he’d have gotten scammed too. There wasn’t much difference between "Lord Shanghai" and "Local Man" in terms of absurdity.

"Hold up, Xue Tao got duped? I only saw Liu Yuanyuan’s bracelet pic. How’d you find out?" Wang Haoran removed his headphones and joined in.

Su Bai blinked. "Wait, you’re following this drama too?"

"Uh, just saw it while scrolling. You know how it is—long holiday, people posting wild stories left and right." Wang Haoran scratched his head sheepishly.

Chu Mingzhe grinned. "Xue Tao DM’d me to vent. Funny, right? We might clash normally, but when it counts, he turns to me. Goes to show he secretly respects my taste."

"…So they fought over the fake jade?"

"Pretty much. More like the last straw? Those two were never a good match—no soul connection, unlike me and Leilei."

"…"

What soul connection?

She literally used her family as an excuse to keep you out of her social media posts, Lord Shanghai!

Su Bai’s inner monologue was a whirlwind of sarcasm.

Travel mishaps leading to fights were nothing new.

Being in an unfamiliar place tested both crisis management skills and wallet depth.

That’s why so many couples broke up after trips—travel had a way of revealing truths.