She's a Passerby, But Can See the Protagonist's Halo-Chapter 138
At this moment, Xiao Qingnang experienced the highs and lows of life in an instant.
His face flushed almost immediately, his ears turning so red they stood out vividly on the video call.
He seemed to float on air, unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips, his entire expression brimming with joy as his bright eyes gazed through the screen.
Stammering slightly, his voice trembled with barely contained excitement: "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."
"With Zhu Jue," he added.
Gu Jiasui responded with a faint "Mm," followed by, "See you tomorrow."
"See you in the morning," Xiao Qingnang emphasized.
Yet even after the words were spoken, neither of them moved to end the call.
Though separated by distance, the intensity of their locked gazes through the screen seemed to make the air grow warmer.
Sometimes, silence speaks volumes.
The heat in his eyes felt as though it could pierce through the screen and wrap around her. Gu Jiasui tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, inadvertently revealing the flushed pink of her earlobe.
"I’ve been in the bathroom too long. They’re waiting for me," she said.
"I’ll wait for you to hang up first," he replied.
Finally, Gu Jiasui pressed the red end-call button. Staring at her reflection—her cheeks still burning—she splashed cold water on her face, but it did little to cool her down.
Stepping out of the bathroom, she was met with He Xing giving her a thumbs-up.
"Precision strike," Yi Zhi remarked.
Clearly, they had all seen Gu Jiasui’s latest Weibo post.
"Suisui’s face is red with anger," Ding Ling chimed in.
Yan, however, seemed thoughtful. Just moments ago, Jue had messaged that Xiao Qingnang had also been holed up in the dorm bathroom for a long time.
Meanwhile, in the boys’ dormitory, Room 414...
Zhu Jue watched as Xiao Qingnang emerged from the bathroom. The usually composed "Master Xiao" now seemed unable to resist breaking into a light jog.
Before anyone could react, Master Xiao yanked the door open and bolted out of the dorm, leaving the entire room in stunned silence.
"What the—?"
"What’s up with Master Xiao?"
"Where’d he go?"
Chu Shen flung the door open, but Xiao Qingnang was already gone.
From the balcony, Zhu Jue spotted him sprinting across the courtyard below.
"He’s already downstairs," he reported in real time.
"What’s going on? Did that male celebrity show up, or is Gu Jiasui here?" Ye Ping'an and the others rushed to the balcony.
"No one’s there," Chu Shen muttered.
"Did something set him off?" Yuan Ye wondered aloud.
The sudden sight of their most level-headed roommate charging out like an Olympic sprinter was nothing short of shocking.
"His face was bright red when he left," Zhu Jue noted.
Since both he and Yan were keeping tabs on the situation, Zhu Jue had caught the details the moment Xiao Qingnang stepped out.
"Should we call him?" Chu Shen asked, concerned.
"He probably just needs to cool off," Zhu Jue reasoned.
The four of them huddled by the balcony, peering down.
Sure enough, before long, Master Xiao reappeared, hauling a shopping bag.
"Is that from the supermarket? Did he just run out to buy something? Since when does shopping require a sprint?" Ye Ping'an mused.
"Lao Xiao didn’t even grab a jacket," Yuan Ye pointed out.
"So his brain was too fried to think about clothes. You don’t think he confessed in the bathroom, do you?" Chu Shen speculated.
The other three turned to stare at him.
"A bathroom confession? No way. Master Xiao’s EQ isn’t that low," Ye Ping'an scoffed.
"No idea what he bought, but it looks heavy," Zhu Jue observed keenly.
As Xiao Qingnang headed back toward the dorm, the four scattered from the balcony, pretending to be engrossed in their phones or shows, coughing awkwardly to cover their tracks.
The door swung open, and Xiao Qingnang strode in, a deep blue hoodie over his shoulders and the shopping bag in hand. He shut the door behind him.
"What’d you get?" Chu Shen craned his neck to peek inside.
"Beer." Xiao Qingnang pulled out a six-pack of canned beer.
"But we still have some," Ye Ping'an said, glancing at their stockpile in Lin Fan’s corner—a crate of beer and soda.
Xiao Qingnang tore open the plastic wrap, wiped each can with an alcohol wipe, and handed them out.
The moment Yuan Ye took his, he nearly jumped.
"It’s ice-cold? Lao Xiao, you bought cold beer? You didn’t grab the wrong one, did you?"
April wasn’t exactly warm, especially with eight out of ten days drizzling rain. Add to that their dorm’s collective "health-conscious" habits—thanks largely to Xiao Qingnang’s influence—and icy drinks were a rarity.
Yet here was Master Xiao, the epitome of restraint, suddenly handing out frosty beers. It was like the sun rising in the west—unheard of!
Chu Shen stepped forward and pressed a hand to Xiao Qingnang’s forehead.
"No fever!"
"No mistake, no fever," Xiao Qingnang confirmed, popping open his can and raising it for a toast.
Baffled but obliging, the other three clinked their cans with his—all except Zhu Jue—and watched as Master Xiao took a long swig.
"Don’t overdo it. You’re not used to cold drinks. Your stomach might rebel," Zhu Jue warned.
"I’m fine. Just indulging a little," Xiao Qingnang said.
"I’m... really, really happy," he added, lifting his beer again.
"Zhu Jue, I’m coming with you tomorrow morning." His eyes shone brighter than ever.
The words clicked instantly.
"Wahhh!!!" Chu Shen was the first to erupt.
"Oho~ Can’t wait to pick someone up, huh?" Ye Ping'an grinned.
"Well, well~ Persistence pays off," Yuan Ye chimed in, raising his can.
"Alright, let’s get Fan-ge on the line," Zhu Jue said, sending Lin Fan a quick message to check if he was free. Once confirmed—no risk of waking the baby—he initiated the video call.
Lin Fan’s face appeared, taking in the scene of his roommates holding beers while Chu Shen whooped, "Fan-ge, you’re the only one missing! Another one of our dorm’s bachelors is off the market. We’re celebrating Master Xiao!"
Lin Fan blinked, then grinned, giving Xiao Qingnang a double thumbs-up. "Legend."
He’d been at home with his wife, keeping up with the drama surrounding that male celebrity’s remarks at Bin University, and had been worried for his friend.
Now, all that was left was to celebrate. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"Hold on, we don’t have beer or liquor, but there’s probably wine. Let me ask my wife."
A moment later, he returned, raising a glass of red wine toward the camera for a virtual toast.
"Just one’s enough, Fan-ge. You’ve got the kid," Xiao Qingnang said.
"Eh, I’m not big on this stuff anyway. I’ll save it for later when the little one’s asleep and have a bit with your sister-in-law. No point wasting it now," Lin Fan replied, already heading to the kitchen to rinse his glass.
"Old Xiao, have you officially gained status now? Is this the perfect time for Teacher Gu to go public?" Chu Shen asked with gossipy enthusiasm, suddenly addressing Gu Jiasui with respectful honorifics.
Xiao Qingnang shook his head, leaving everyone momentarily stunned.
What was going on then? Celebrating halfway through the game?
His face lit up with a smile, his nose and cheeks flushed red as he repeated his beloved's words, radiating sheer delight from head to toe.
Yuan Ye nearly dropped his beer, clutching his chest with one hand.
"Oh my god."
"You two are really…" Ye Ping'an was at a loss for words.
"Sniff, so touching," Chu Shen mumbled, his lips pressed together. His roommate's love story was just too beautiful.
Out of the six guys in their dorm, two were already "married off," and another was practically spoken for—just lacking official recognition.
Imagining the gorgeous woman saying those words and seeing Xiao Qingnang now, blooming like an old tree in spring, unable to hide his giddiness—it was all just too much.
At this moment, Yuan Ye felt he could finally understand everything.
"You two are a perfect match."
After living together for over half a year, they’d come to know Xiao Qingnang well—a somewhat old-fashioned, reserved guy. The nickname "Old Man Xiao" didn’t come out of nowhere.
Like during a casual discussion earlier, Xiao Qingnang’s personal perspective had left three of them utterly shocked.
Pure sincerity, genuine devotion—this relationship was a two-way street of heartfelt emotion and mutual respect, making it all the more moving.
The next day was Sunday. Yan and Jiasui walked downstairs together, where two towering young men, both over six feet tall, were already waiting.
"Jiasui, what’s your plan for today?" Yan asked.
Last night, the hashtag #GuJiasuiPosts had skyrocketed to the top of trending topics and was still hanging there.
If Jiasui stepped out like this now, she’d be an open target! There were bound to be nosy people snapping photos of her today and spinning some eye-catching gossip.
Right now, Yan’s face mask was practically welded on. Random strangers wouldn’t care about their own image rights—posting things online only invited a bunch of idiots to nitpick and judge.
"No plans," Gu Jiasui replied.
"Unless the blue planet explodes, life goes on as usual."
Yan let out an "Oh." For now, she and Jiasui walked ahead, with Jue and Xiao following behind, all heading to the campus pet association office.
They hadn’t recorded footage of Pangpang yesterday. Though there were surveillance cameras, high-definition phone footage was still better. Today, she and Jue were going to help with the filming.
The four of them entered the office. Before they could even open the child gate at the entrance, they found the kitten Pangpang already waiting there, its heterochromatic eyes fixed on them, meowing softly.
Clearly, it had been anticipating their arrival.
Gu Jiasui gently scooped up the little kitten, while Xiao checked the food and water situation.
After the routine daily inspection came another round of acupuncture. Watching Pangpang sit obediently through the treatment, Yan couldn’t help but marvel.
Animals were highly sensitive and held grudges—like dogs bolting from vet clinics or cats cursing out the doctor who neutered them. Even the sight of a pet carrier could send them into a frenzy of resistance.
Acupuncture was undoubtedly painful for a kitten, yet after all this time, from its initial helplessness to now regaining some mobility, Pangpang still showed no resistance toward Xiao during the sessions.
Once filming wrapped up, Yan received an unexpected call.
From Ning City—Xu Jiaojiao.
