Chapter 5: Brother, Don’t You Stare Too!

Coming back to her senses, Gao Qinghe was already standing outside the apartment door, still wearing the shoes belonging to Li Xiang's girlfriend that she had hastily put on in her panic.

The look in Li Xiang's eyes urging her to leave quickly was still vivid in her mind. He had looked panicked, almost on the verge of tears, yet his eyes still held an apology. This even moved Gao Qinghe a little.

This guy Li Xiang, he's all right.

Behind her, even through the metal door, she could hear the shouts of Li Xiang's girlfriend. Although she couldn't make out the words clearly, it was undoubtedly stuff like "Who is this woman?", "Why did you let her wear my clothes?", and "What's your relationship?" She could guess it all with her toes.

But to be honest, anyone in that situation would probably demand an explanation. Finding a strange woman in your boyfriend's apartment, wearing your clothes... it looked incredibly suspicious no matter how you sliced it.

Gao Qinghe mourned for Li Xiang in her heart: Brother, looks like you have some serious explaining to do tonight.

She genuinely hoped Li Xiang could clear things up and make up with his girlfriend. She was still waiting to drink at their wedding banquet.

But then again... if they really did break up, and she was in this stunning beauty form... she might actually be able to properly comfort her bro... No, no, no, no!

Gao Qinghe hurriedly shook her head, trying to fling the strange thoughts away.

What the hell am I thinking?

But that hand of hers in the room earlier, moving as if possessed...

If Li Xiang's girlfriend had come in just a few seconds later, what exactly would she have done? Caressed his face?

...And then?

And then!!

"Ahhhhhhhhh—" Gao Qinghe frantically rushed down the stairs, not daring to think any further. Dude, dude, I'm not gay!! How could I possibly have those kinds of feelings for a guy?

Stuff like "turning into a girl to let your bro have some fun first" or "the mouth says no but the body is honest," isn't that all just wishful thinking from novels? Psychological gender is psychological gender; it shouldn't change just because your biological sex does—that should be how it is.

That's what Lin Xi's psychology books said, so that should be how it is.

That should be how it is, right—

Gao Qinghe scratched her head, truly not daring to think any deeper.

Forget that for now. To be honest, these high heels are a real pain to wear. Li Xiang's girlfriend's heels are less than three centimeters, right? How can they be so unstable?

Last Halloween, Lin Xi was wearing ten-centimeter heels. She was a whole head taller than usual back then, and the height difference between them suddenly shrank. When she linked arms with him, he could turn his head slightly and smell her floral-scented breath, which felt novel and made his heart itch.

Sigh... At least we were still together back then. Even though they basically had a big fight every three days and a small spat every two, most of the time he still felt life was pretty sweet.

Last Halloween too, everything was fine at first. Just because they missed the subway, he muttered, "Ah, wearing heels really does slow you down a bit, huh," and Lin Xi blew up, blaming him for not calling a cab.

Come on, it's Halloween. Who knows how long a cab would be stuck in traffic? Did she even want to make it to the party?

Thinking of this, Gao Qinghe felt a surge of anger again.

Did she have to pick a fight with me right there in the subway station, in front of everyone? She yelled at me in front of so many people. She might not care about face, but I still do, okay?

An old resentment welled up in Gao Qinghe's heart, intertwining with the bitterness of being dumped, making her want to vent a couple of lines on her secret Weibo account again.

Patting herself down, she realized she hadn't brought her phone at all. Not just the phone—she had nothing on her. Her wallet and keys were also left at home. Normally, he might have been able to fish two bucks out of his pants pocket to buy some water or something, but this woman's dress didn't even have pockets.

With no way to go home now, Gao Qinghe could only wander aimlessly on the street. Unconsciously, she ended up near the school, right by that cafe.

She looked up instinctively and saw her current reflection in the glass window, startling her again. The slender figure wrapped in the little black dress was so different from her former tall, lanky build, making her extremely uncomfortable.

The seat she and Lin Xi used to frequent was now occupied by another couple. They were sharing a small slice of Black Forest cake, their sweet smiles feeling somewhat piercing to her.

When I first got together with Lin Xi, we used to do things like that too. They had even taken a cutesy couple photo feeding each other with little spoons back then. But more often, she would buy an iced Americano for herself, and he'd just drink water. They would often sit here for entire afternoons. She would lower her head, revising her thesis or reading those professional books he couldn't understand at all. He would sometimes catch up on notes, but most of the time he was scrolling through gaming videos. Come to think of it, the official "we're dating" selfie they posted was also taken at this seat. Undoubtedly, this place was filled with memories.

In a daze, Gao Qinghe pushed the door open, only to walk straight into a tall, solid chest. The impact wasn't that hard, but perhaps because her weight was lighter now, her whole body swayed. The tip of her nose first caught a whiff of a crisp, woody cologne, followed by the warmth of the fabric against the other person's chest.

"Ah, I'm sorry..." she apologized instinctively, lowering her head. Her voice was soft, carrying a hint of panic.

But when she raised her eyes and clearly saw the face in front of her, she froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

Of all the rotten luck, the person standing before her was none other than that damned Xiang Bei.

The very same Xiang Bei—Lin Xi's new boyfriend, the one who threw away her ninety-nine roses and threatened to have people "deal with" her, that damn idiot.

Gao Qinghe's apology evaporated instantly, replaced by a fury exploding in her chest.

"Watch where you're going!"

She completely abandoned her previous gentle tone, snarling viciously.

Unfortunately, her voice was still that soft, sweet, loli-like tone. It was like punching cotton—soft and squishy, having no intimidating effect whatsoever. Instead, it carried an inexplicable hint of childish petulance.

"Are you blind or something? You got my clothes dirty! Pay up!"

Unwilling to give up, she added another line, widening her almond-shaped eyes, trying to kill him with her glare.

But it seemed—

It had zero effect.

Not only that, it might have even had the opposite effect.

Instead of getting angry as she had hoped, Xiang Bei just stared at her blankly. His gaze slid from her disheveled hair to her slightly flushed cheeks, his whole person seemingly nailed to the spot.

Oh no, this is bad. That look in his eyes is trouble.

It seemed it wasn't just a matter of him not recognizing her. He was clearly staring at her, mesmerized.

Students passing by cast curious glances. Gao Qinghe couldn't decide whether she should keep yelling or just turn and leave, so she could only awkwardly clear her throat.

Xiang Bei finally snapped out of it, but his face still wore that stunned, awestruck expression. He looked down at her and finally spoke, his voice low but carrying a rare hint of hesitation.

"Sorry, you... are you okay?"