Chapter 13: New Roommate, Gu Lianxing

The boy subconsciously tried to follow her inside, but Gu Lingxing turned and raised her hand to block him at the door.

"Don't come in. The auntie downstairs said you have to leave within five minutes. Just give me the stuff."

The boy had fair skin and was wearing a white top with gray casual trousers. Beneath his medium-length, shaggy bangs, he wore black-rimmed glasses with lenses visibly thick enough to make him look a bit dull.

He nodded expressionlessly, pushed the trunk into the dormitory, and turned to leave.

Although they were of opposite genders and he had helped her move, Shen Ci could tell they weren't a couple.

"My driver's son. He's in the math department."

Gu Lingxing explained casually.

Shen Ci understood. Looking at Gu Lingxing’s appearance and demeanor, it wasn't hard to guess that she came from a well-off family; she looked like a pampered girl who had been raised in luxury since childhood.

Gu Lingxing walked over to the bed opposite Shen Ci’s, looked it over, and said with a reluctant expression, "I guess I'll choose this one, right across from you."

As she spoke, she suddenly tilted her head, looked at Shen Ci, and smiled. "You're really pretty."

Shen Ci was slightly taken aback, not expecting this young lady to be so spontaneous, complimenting her without any warning.

"You're very pretty too," she replied politely. And indeed, Gu Lingxing was very pretty—the kind of bright, vivid beauty.

The next second, Gu Lingxing pouted. "This room looks like it’s been empty for a long time. There’s a thick layer of dust everywhere."

"You probably don't know how to clean, do you?" Shen Ci asked, looking at her.

Gu Lingxing nodded without hesitation, looking at Shen Ci with a troubled expression. "If I let you clean it all by yourself, would that make me look a bit excessive?"

"I can treat you to a big meal!" Gu Lingxing’s eyes lit up.

Shen Ci couldn't help but chuckle. Her new roommate wasn't just pretty; she was also a bit cute. She was starting to like her.

"Leave it to me," Shen Ci said, pulling out her phone and fiddling with it.

Gu Lingxing leaned in curiously to look. She saw Shen Ci open a group chat named "Keda Dormitory Cleaning Service."

"Deep cleaning for Room 336, Building C, West Campus Female Dorms. Need 3 people. One cent per person. First come, first served."

People in the group immediately jumped in to take the job.

Gu Lingxing blinked in surprise. "You can do that?"

Shen Ci explained softly, "Everyone in this group is a student at Keda, both boys and girls. Most of them are from families with financial difficulties, and they usually take on cleaning jobs in the dorms to earn some living expenses."

She had been added to this group by a classmate when she first enrolled. Although she received a stipend as a special scholarship student, she would occasionally take jobs to earn extra pocket money. Later, after she started dating Li Xiao, he disapproved, so she stopped.

However, she had never left the group, and today it came in handy.

Before long, three girls arrived with cleaning supplies and knocked on the door. They were all freshmen.

"Hello, seniors."

The girls were very polite. Shen Ci took the lead and instructed, "This is an empty dorm, so there should be many hidden spots that need cleaning. Sorry for the trouble, but please give it a deep clean."

One cent per person was a high price. Shen Ci had considered the need for a deep clean when setting the rate, which was why she had increased the pay.

Gu Lingxing also chimed in, "Especially the bathroom. Make sure it's spotless."

The freshmen nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, seniors. Leave it to us."

A dormitory cleaning session usually took two hours, and they would just be in the way standing there. Shen Ci looked at Gu Lingxing and asked, "Shall we go out for a walk first?"

Gu Lingxing naturally had no objections. It would be dusty while they cleaned, and she didn't want to stay in the dorm.

But once they were out, Gu Lingxing remained unusually silent the whole way, not saying a single word.

Shen Ci was full of confusion. Just as she was wondering what was wrong, the other girl suddenly turned to her and shouted, "Ah!"

Shen Ci was startled and stood there, stunned with a shocked expression. "Ah?"

"I finally remembered! Shen Ci, right? I remember you!" Gu Lingxing looked at her excitedly. "You're Li Xiao's girlfriend. Someone took a photo of you when you enrolled last year and posted it on the school forum. I saw it!"

"Oh my, I finally remembered. It was driving me crazy! I kept saying that as soon as I saw you, you felt familiar, and once I knew your name, I was sure I’d heard it before. I thought about it for ages and finally got it."

She let out a long sigh of relief, looking as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Shen Ci felt both speechless and amused. So, the reason she had been silent was that she was struggling to remember who she was.

However, judging by the tone she used when mentioning Li Xiao, they seemed quite close.

"You know Li Xiao?" Shen Ci asked tentatively.

Gu Lingxing pouted and nodded. "Yeah, my dad and his dad are business associates. I've known him since we were very young, but we didn't have many chances to meet. We aren't exactly close; we only saw each other occasionally at social gatherings for the elders."

"But I knew you two were dating. I saw it when Li Xiao held a bouquet of roses and confessed to you downstairs at the girls' dorm."

"I broke up with him," Shen Ci interrupted, wanting to stop her before she could say anything more about how enviable it was.

Gu Lingxing’s mouth fell open. "Huh?"

Shen Ci gave a calm, faint smile and nodded gently at Gu Lingxing.

Gu Lingxing’s expression shifted, but she couldn't help asking, "Why?"

Shen Ci pursed her lips, hesitating. In her previous life, Li Xiao’s plagiarism of her thesis happened three years later, so she obviously couldn't use that as a reason now.

She hesitated for a moment, leaned close to Gu Lingxing’s ear, and whispered, "He’s... not very good in that department..."

"That? Which department?" Gu Lingxing blinked blankly. Then, noticing Shen Ci’s meaningful expression, her pretty face turned bright red down to her neck. "Th-th-that?"

Shen Ci raised a finger to her lips, signaling her to keep it quiet. "Don't tell anyone else."

Noticing there was no one else around, Gu Lingxing’s shy expression vanished instantly. She lowered her voice and asked, confused, "That shouldn't be right. He... he looks like he’d be quite good at it!"

Shen Ci shook her head with a look of disappointment. "You can't judge a book by its cover."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Gu Lingxing shook her head as well. "What a waste of that six-foot frame."

Because of this topic, their relationship suddenly became much closer. They walked arm-in-arm across the West Campus playground and out of the school gates, with Gu Lingxing insisting on treating Shen Ci to a "breakup meal."

As it turned out, they both ended up at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on the snack street behind Keda.

Gu Lingxing couldn't hide her disgust as she looked around, picking up a napkin to wipe the table in front of her over and over again. No matter how many times she wiped, she could still see grease stains.

"I said I'd treat you to a big meal, and you chose this place?"

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(End of chapter)