Chapter 36: Continuing to Refine the Path of a Scoundrel

Xu Ke’s beautiful face, which had been devoid of expression for so long, finally broke into a faint smile.

"As I thought, he still likes me. Thank you, Xiao Jin, I’ll buy you snacks tomorrow!"

Xu Ke seemed to have regained her confidence, her face radiant with a hint of satisfaction.

Upon hearing the word "snacks," Chu Sijin beamed with joy. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she said, "Xu Ke, I think it would be great if you were actually with Qin Luo. After all, he’s so gentle and can cook such delicious food. If I were the one who lost him, Liunian would definitely mock me for having poor taste."

At these words, the room suddenly fell silent.

Yao Yanyan and Tang Yu looked at Xu Ke simultaneously, their eyes filled with deep meaning.

The saying "the speaker is unintentional, but the listener is deliberate"—this was the third time a similar sentiment had surfaced in the dormitory.

Xu Ke, of course, realized this, and the smile on her face stiffened slightly.

Both Yao Yanyan and Tang Yu had previously told her that she had poor taste. Although Chu Sijin hadn't said it so directly, the implication was the same.

However, Xu Ke felt that Chu Sijin was unintentional, for her little head was filled only with thoughts of food; she certainly wasn't the type to play mind games.

Therefore, Xu Ke didn't blame her. Stubbornly refusing to let her complex emotions show, she turned to Chu Liunian and said, "Liunian, I’ll leave the rest to you."

Chu Liunian shuddered, looking troubled. "But you’re already certain that he likes you, right? Do I... do I really have to?"

Xu Ke shook her head, insisting firmly, "I need a definitive answer from him—a clear admission that he still likes me, not some ambiguous response!"

Chu Liunian’s face fell instantly. She wanted to say more, but in the end, she stayed silent, her lips pouting as she retreated into her own world.

Seeing her like that made Chu Sijin quite happy; after all, who told her to snatch her potato chips earlier?

As for Yao Yanyan and Tang Yu, they glanced at Xu Ke without a word, then looked away, returning to their phones or their work.

Yet, at that moment, the same thought crossed both their minds—a thought they wanted to share with Xu Ke, but ultimately kept to themselves:

*You don’t realize it at all. As long as you don’t express your own feelings for him, his answer will never change.*

*Just as he said, does it really matter if he still likes you now?*

*What truly matters is whether you like him.*

...

"Qin Luo, where are you? I’m free today. Aren't you going to ask me out for a stroll or something?"

"Xiao Jin told me everything. You didn't say you didn't like me yesterday. You actually still like me, right?"

"If you just tell me you still like me, I’ll agree to let you keep pursuing me. Are you satisfied now?"

"Say something! Don’t pretend you don’t see this. I know you’ve been reading my messages!"

Looking at the barrage of messages from Xu Ke on his phone screen, Qin Luo thought for a moment. Instead of playing dead, he typed a reply:

"My phone is out of gas, talk later."

"What kind of gas does a phone use? Are you playing with me?! Reply to me right now!"

This time, Qin Luo chose to turn a blind eye. Just as he was about to tuck his "out of gas" phone into his pocket, another notification popped up.

It wasn't from Xu Ke this time, but from Chu Sijin.

And she hadn't sent text; she had sent a transfer—a staggering ten thousand yuan.

Qin Luo was stunned for a moment before quickly sending a message.

"Did you send this to the wrong person?"

"Nope. This is for the snacks you helped me buy yesterday."

Qin Luo’s eyes widened, and he couldn't help but gasp...

He had thought his own act of tossing a few bills to the cashier to save time when buying those snacks was pretty flashy, but seeing Chu Sijin’s move, he finally understood what true, reckless wealth felt like.

For just a few bags of potato chips, she casually dropped ten thousand yuan. Who could handle that?

There’s a rich girl right beside me!

"Isn't this a bit too much?"

"It’s fine, just keep it. After all, you saved me back then. Also, are you at the anime convention yet? Liunian is already there waiting for you."

"...Yeah, I'm here."

"Great! Have a fun date! By the way, Liunian is cosplaying as Sagiri Izumi today!"

Looking at the last message from Chu Sijin, an image of Chu Liunian in a Sagiri Izumi costume involuntarily surfaced in Qin Luo’s mind. He then shifted his gaze back to the ten-thousand-yuan transfer.

Just as he was hesitating whether to accept it, Chu Sijin sent another message: "Accept it already."

So, Qin Luo reluctantly accepted the windfall.

Come to think of it, he was now a wealthy man with several million to his name; ten thousand yuan really didn't mean much to him. Since Chu Sijin didn't care, he couldn't be bothered to argue over such a small matter.

Beside him, Wu Xuan glanced at him and asked, "Old Qin, why are you grinning like an idiot?"

Qin Luo replied calmly, "Nothing, just made ten thousand yuan."

That earned him three looks of disdain from his roommates.

*Sigh, you guys don't understand the world of the wealthy.*

With a look of lofty detachment, Qin Luo tucked his phone away and let his gaze drift across the venue. A massive poster filled his vision, covered in various anime characters.

There was Ichigo Kurosaki wielding his Zangetsu, Monkey D. Luffy steaming with Gear Second, Naruto Uzumaki in Sage Mode, and so on—all highly recognizable figures.

Of course, there was also the world-renowned Dragon Ball protagonist: Goku in Ultra Instinct, shirtless and bursting with muscles, surrounded by a silver-white aura. His eyes were filled with cold indifference and disdain, his entire demeanor screaming "invincible." The design was both cool and imposing.

The poster was enormous, featuring so many characters that it drew crowds to stop and stare, or lean in to take photos.

At this moment, Qin Luo was at an anime convention near his university. It was of modest size, with events held every weekend.

As times progressed, more and more emerging cultures had entered the public eye, with "two-dimensional" (anime/manga) culture standing out as a leader.

As a populous nation neighboring Japan, China had been deeply influenced by Japanese anime culture over the years. Many young people now enjoyed watching anime and reading manga, and they certainly wouldn't miss events like anime conventions.

Qin Luo wasn't a hardcore fan; he had rarely visited such conventions.

But his roommate, Wang Chen, was. Although he didn't cosplay, he loved anime. Whenever there was a convention and he happened to be free, he would drop by to take a look.

Today was no exception. Counting the other three, the entire Dorm 404 was present.

This made Wang Chen quite happy. He turned to Qin Luo and asked, "Brother Luo, what got you so interested in coming to the convention with me today?"

"Sometimes you just need to do some team-building to promote harmony in the dorm," Qin Luo replied cheerfully, lying without missing a beat.

The truth was, he only came to the convention because of what Chu Sijin had said yesterday.

Even though he knew it was one of Chu Sijin’s "schemes" and that Chu Liunian hadn't actually asked him out, it didn't matter. He had already interacted with the other members of the "Goddess Group," so he might as well take the opportunity to bump into the last one.

It was like a collector’s impulse; if you weren't aiming for the target from the start, it didn't matter, but once you were on the verge of completing the set, the desire to finish it would naturally arise.

That was roughly Qin Luo’s mindset right now... Of course, he wasn't collecting beauties; he was simply refining his path as a "scumbag."

He had always been very clear about his own position.