Serenade-Chapter 3: A Chance Encounter at the Supermarket

Three girls sat huddled like frightened rabbits, heads buried in their desks, too scared to move or even lift their heads.

Chu Zhao: "I need to go to the bathroom."

Lin Luo: "Hold it in!"

They only breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the sound of chairs moving behind them. Bo Yan and a group of boys had finished their milk tea and were leaving.

Jin Xi looked up towards the door, where a large group of boys had gathered. Bo Yan stood out among them with his tall and slender figure. His short, clean-cut hair and casual basketball jersey gave him a youthful appearance.

Just as Jin Xi was admiring his back, he turned around and gave her a fleeting glance, his long single eyelid opening and closing like a sparkling gem. His black pupils were hidden, but there was a hint of charm in his carefree and wild smile.

Jin Xi felt like this man was a fox with a big tail from ancient times, his narrow phoenix eyes were too enchanting, no wonder he was so popular with the ladies.

The two of them gazed at each other from a distance amidst the bustling crowd. Jin Xi had no choice but to smile politely at him.

Afterwards, Chu Zhao told Jin Xi that it was the most sinister smile she had ever seen in her life.

**

Bo Yan stood by the basketball court, holding a cup of hot milk, absentmindedly sipping it while staring ahead.

"Didn't you say hello to your girlfriend?" Bo Yan's roommate, Jing Chi, asked as he tossed the basketball to a friend and sat down next to Bo Yan.

Bo Yan replied casually, "I'm not really familiar with this girlfriend. As for you, you invited some girls for milk tea even though you don't know them."

"I didn't invite them for milk tea. A few girls might dig up your past."

Bo Yan moved his slender neck left and right and sat down on the side of the court, sucking on the straw of his milk cup, expressionless.

Xu Chaoyang continued, "That schoolgirl is Shen Pingchuan's sister. I heard that Sun Kai and his buddies on the fifth floor have a plan to teach Shen Pingchuan a lesson, starting with his sister."

"Oh."

Bo Yan got up and left with lazy steps.

Xu Chaoyang asked, "Do you care about her?"

Bo Yan replied indifferently, "I'm not interested in little girls."

"I see, sir Bo, you have a unique taste." Xu Chaoyang laughed and said, "Do you know what Sun Kai and his gang said? 'Shen Pingchuan is strutting his stuff in the student council, I'll hook up with your sister.' Those were their exact words."

Bo Yan tossed his milk bottle away and said lazily, "It rhymes quite well."

...

At night, the two roommates' sisters took Jin Xi to a department store to buy daily necessities. It was the beginning of a new semester, so the store was crowded with people.

To increase efficiency, they split up and went their separate ways.

Lin Luo stood in line at the checkout, while Chu Zhao and Jin Xi went to choose products.

Jin Xi looked down at her phone's memo list and, while passing by a shelf, saw a familiar figure.

Bo Yan.

He was wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts, sharply contrasting with each other, standing in front of a shelf and carefully examining the product's description.

Under the overhead light, his fair skin looked even more translucent, with a slight frown on his forehead. His long eyelashes cast a shallow shadow on his eyelids.

He looked up and saw Jin Xi standing by the shelves.

He casually tossed the box of Okamoto condoms into the red shopping basket.

They looked at each other for a moment before Jin Xi suddenly turned and ran, stopping only after running ten meters.

Why did she run away? She wondered, feeling her cheeks flush with heat. It's not like she was the one buying the condoms, so why did she feel embarrassed?

Shrugging, Jin Xi continued browsing.

At first, Bo Yan didn't recognize Jin Xi, but he felt like he had seen her somewhere before. Bo Yan was face-blind, which made it difficult for him to remember people. In high school, he had a desk mate for half a year, but after they graduated, he saw her on the street and couldn't remember who she was, even after staring at her for a long time.

Bo Yan wandered around the mall for a while before he saw Jin Xi again. She was standing in front of a shelf, stretching to reach for the top product. Her height and awkwardness made her look cute.

Finally, he remembered who she was. She was Shen Pingchuan's unlucky stepsister.

Jin Xi didn't know Bo Yan was watching her. She was too focused on trying to reach the product.

She suspected that the sanitary pads of a certain brand had offended the supermarket manager, as they were placed too high for any girl to reach. Or so she thought, until someone did reach them.

Jin Xi watched as a pair of long, white, and beautiful hands took down the sanitary pads. The owner of the hands was a goddess.

Jin Xi smiled sweetly and was about to ask the goddess for help when she turned around and collided with someone's chest.

The first thing she noticed was the slender and smooth neck, with a prominent Adam's apple that added to its charm.

Bo Yan.

They were only a few inches away from each other, and Jin Xi's face was almost touching his chest.

Bo Yan looked down at her, his gentle breath falling on top of her head.

Jin Xi felt a little hot.

Bo Yan looked at her, his gaze falling on the fair skin of her neck. Her delicate collarbone was horizontal, and her whole body seemed even smaller against her thin shoulders.

He felt like he was looking at his younger self.

No, she was even smaller than he was in elementary school.

Bo Yan lazily smiled, his eyes slightly curved, looking charming and affectionate. "I heard you really want to be my girlfriend?"

"Oh, sorry, senior!" Jin Xi immediately stepped back and apologized. "It was my roommate who misunderstood and said it, I never intended to be your girlfriend!"

Bo Yan: ...

He felt a little disappointed that she didn't want to be his girlfriend.

"Did you add me on WeChat yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Do you need something?"

"No, I just wanted to see if you would add me as a friend."

Bo Yan: ...

He felt like he was being toyed with.

"Didn't you invite me to hotpot?"

Jin Xi looked up at Bo Yan in surprise. "If you want to eat hotpot, we can..."

"I don't want to. I have training the next few days, and I need to protect my stomach."

Bo Yan put the sanitary napkins he was holding into her basket and turned to leave.

He thought his departure was cool and suave, but he was stopped by Jin Xi just a few steps away.

"Bo Yan, can you help me with something?"

He didn't want to turn around, but the soft and sweet sound of "Bo Yan" melted his heart.

Bo Yan turned around expressionlessly. "Hmm?"

Jin Xi pointed to the top of the shelf. "Can you help me get a few more packages?"

Bo Yan reluctantly walked over and grabbed two packages of the same color, handing them to Jin Xi.

"I need three more for overnight use, and I need some longer ones."

"Which ones?"

"Get four packages of the deep blue ones."

Bo Yan followed Jin Xi's instructions and absentmindedly asked, "Will you use all of these?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he regretted it. Why did he care if she used all of her feminine products?

Jin Xi didn't seem to think too much about it and replied truthfully, "I like to stock up."

Bo Yan looked at her. She didn't have much hair and tied a small braid behind her head, which looked cute and playful like a scorpion tail.

He said, "That's a good habit. I also like to stock up."

Jin Xi looked down and saw the seven or eight Okamoto condoms in Bo Yan's basket.

He really did like to stock up.

Bo Yan: ...

Why is she staring at them?

Jin Xi thanked Bo Yan politely and left with her basket of sanitary napkins. As he was leaving, Bo Yan put a bottle of milk in her basket.

"Drink more milk, like a little kid."

Jin Xi: ...

Are you giving milk to a little kid?

And Bo Yan had already walked away.

She rolled her eyes and left.

As she passed by the condoms, Jin Xi hesitated and took the condom box that Bo Yan had just bought.

It had a silky texture, was 0.03mm thin, and provided a sensationless experience.

At that moment, Chu Zhao pushed her shopping cart over and widened her eyes in horror as she looked at the condoms in Jin Xi's hand. "So this is how my roommate keeps her desires hidden!"

Jin Xi: ...

Wait, let me explain!

**

Bo Yan returned to the dormitory and put the two bottles of milk on his desk, throwing the rest of the condoms onto his roommate's bed.

"Don't ask me to buy this stuff for you anymore."

Jing Chi looked up from his game. "What, did you get caught by someone you know?"

Bo Yan opened the milk and drank it without saying a word.

"Did you really get caught?" Jing Chi laughed. "Was it a girl?"

At this moment, Xu Chaoyang poked his head out from the top bunk and said, "Our Boss Bo is pure and chaste, even though he's been through a lot of temptations. He's still a virgin. You should learn from him."

Bo Yan grabbed a box of condoms and shoved it into Xu Chaoyang's mouth, saying, "You talk as if you're not a virgin. Instead of wasting your time, why don't you learn from the guy downstairs and become an entrepreneur, robbing the rich and helping the poor?"

Jing Chi took a condom ad paper that read "Men, we have everything you need here" and stuck it onto the dormitory door with double-sided tape.

"If anyone has an urgent need, they can sell it to me. I can double the price," he said.

Xu Chaoyang couldn't stand him posting the small ads everywhere and said, "The dormitory across from us is going to have female students moving in soon. Take down all your ads for male enhancement."

Jing Chi was surprised and asked, "Is it really happening? Are they really mixing the dormitories?"

Xu Chaoyang replied, "It's confirmed. The counselor told me personally as the class monitor to be reserved, keep the hallway clean, and not scare the new girls with our loud noises at night."

Suddenly, Jing Chi realized something and said, "Oh my god, that's why. I just passed by the sports field downstairs and saw those guys from the sports college writing banners."

Xu Chaoyang asked, "What banners?"

Jing Chi imitated a young girl's voice and said, "Warmly welcome cute freshman girls to move into Male Dormitory Eight. Full of vitality! Damn it!"

Unexpectedly, Bo Yan sprayed milk all over Xu Chaoyang's face.

Xu Chaoyang: ...

Bo Yan cursed, "F*ck you!"