Serenade

Chapter 1

On a scorching summer noon, the sunlight was particularly harsh, making people's skin sore and itchy.

Jin Xi raised her head slightly, squinting her small, black deer-like eyes as she looked at the building in front of her, a male dormitory.

A gentle breeze blew, causing the shorts on the balcony of the dormitory to sway.

She lowered her head and wiped off the sweat beads on her nose, reaching into her bag to pull out a small piece of paper with the words written on it:

Male Dorm 8, Room 510.

Today was her first day at school. She had spent the morning running around like she was at war, clutching her admission letter, finding the location of her college's umbrella stand, squeezing her way through the crowds to fill out registration forms, and finally getting her dormitory key.

However, when she came out, she found that her red suitcase was missing.

In its place was a crudely written note: Male Dorm 8, Room 510.

Jin Xi's first instinct was to go to the security department for help. But when she got there, she found the corridor packed with students and parents, most of whom had come to report lost items.

B City University was very large, covering thousands of acres with complex terrain. The frenzy of new students and the crowds of outsiders and parents made it difficult to avoid oversights.

The security department organized everyone into a queue and dealt with them one by one, asking them not to be impatient.

After waiting for a while, Jin Xi decided to give up.

Following the information on the note, she came to Male Dorm 8 and wandered around downstairs, unsure of what to do.

Many freshmen and their parents carrying luggage were entering the dormitory building.

Jin Xi thought about it and decided to mix in with someone and enter the male dormitory.

Just then, a tall guy in a black T-shirt walked slowly past her.

She didn't see his face clearly, but from the back, he was very tall, at least 5 '8", with a light-colored drawing board hanging from his left shoulder.

He was wearing black cropped pants with the cuffs rolled up, clean sneakers, and exposing a beautiful white ankle.

Jin Xi immediately followed him like a little tail, sticking to his shoulder where the drawing board was, and walked into the iron gate of the male dormitory.

There was a hint of minty fragrance on him.

Jin Xi sniffed and thought it smelled nice.

The guy seemed to sense something and turned his head to look at her, their eyes meeting.

He had a head of refreshing short hair, slightly long bangs falling to his almond-shaped eyes that were slightly upturned, conveying a sense of laziness and uninhibitedness.

Jin Xi quickly made a gesture for him to be quiet.

Bo Yan raised an eyebrow in confusion, looking around to see where this little tail came from.

But the next second, the eagle-eyed dormitory auntie stopped Jin Xi: "Girls can't enter the boys' dormitory. What's the matter with you, young lady?"

Um~

Jin Xi had to come forward, facing the strange looks of the male students around her, stuttering: "I...I came in with him..."

Bo Yan looked at her. Her facial features were very gentle, with long black hair hanging on her shoulders. She wore thick-framed glasses, and her eyes seemed misty, showing a bit of innocence. She had small, wind-catching ears with red earlobes that looked like little rabbits.

"Auntie, she's with me," Bo Yan finally spoke up and casually pulled her to his side. "My dorm room is a mess, so I asked her to help me clean up."

Jin Xi breathed a sigh of relief.

The auntie looked puzzled and asked, "Why did you ask her to help you clean up? Who is she to you?"

Bo Yan's lips curled up into a faint smile, with a hint of teasing. "Who else could she be? My girlfriend, of course."

Some guys around them started teasing him. "Bo Yan, you're amazing, changing girlfriends every day?"

"Get lost," Bo Yan's voice was tinged with a wild and rebellious tone. "I only have one."

Any handsome young man would be liked by everyone. The auntie in charge of the dorms didn't want to make things difficult for him. Today, there were many students' parents and relatives seeing them off, and there were also some little girls who came to help their boyfriends clean up. The auntie turned a blind eye and let them go.

Bo Yan grabbed Jin Xi by the back of her collar and took her to the dormitory building. When they turned the corner of the stairs, he let go of the trembling little white rabbit.

"Why are you following me?" His voice was low and lazy, with a hint of drowsiness from just waking up from his nap.

Jin Xi hesitated for a moment, as if she had made up her mind, and took out the crumpled paper ball from her pants pocket and handed it to Bo Yan. "Senior, I lost my luggage."

"Senior" was like a pass to go through fire and water.

At the beginning of the new semester, Bo Yan had only been at the school for a few days, and he had already met such a soft and cute girl who called him "senior" in a sweet voice, melting his heart.

Bo Yan glanced at the note and without hesitation, he lifted Jin Xi in his arms and went up to the fifth floor.

"510, the end room is yours."

Jin Xi finally escaped from his "claws" and stood next to him, straightening her clothes and smoothing her hair.

Bo Yan felt that she was a bit like the stray orange cat he fed, very clean and tidy. Every time he petted her, she would lick her paws and straighten her fur.

Cute, he wanted to pet her.

Jin Xi politely thanked Bo Yan and walked towards room 510, where she could see her red suitcase through the crack in the door.

Bo Yan raised his eyebrows, put his hands in his pockets, and leisurely followed her.

"Hello, I'm here to pick up my luggage." Jin Xi peeked her head into the male dormitory.

There were four guys inside, all dressed in the typical male dorm attire of tank tops, shorts, and flip-flops.

They didn't seem surprised by Jin Xi's arrival, instead huddled together like pigeons and started gossiping.

"Is this Shen Pingchuan's bratty sister?"

"I can't believe such a beautiful girl is related to that bastard Shen Pingchuan."

"I wish I had a sister, sigh."

Jin Xi interrupted their banter and asked, "Excuse me, what do you want?"

The guys turned to her menacingly and said in unison, "We're kidnapping you!"

Jin Xi: ...

"I'm just kidding," said the guy wearing a Nike T-shirt. "Call your brother Shen Pingchuan and tell him to bring our stuff to room 510, or else we'll tear up your ticket!"

Jin Xi asked, "Why do you want my brother to bring your stuff?"

"Because he confiscated our kettle, stove, rice cooker, washing machine, and even our cigarettes and hotpot seasoning when he checked our room during the dorm inspection," replied the angry guy.

Jin Xi was surprised by the number of illegal items they had in their dorm.

The guy continued, "Tell your brother to bring our stuff or else we'll have to take turns defiling your purity and see if he comes to save you."

Jin Xi stepped back in alarm.

The other guys in the room immediately rebuked him, "What kind of scum are you? She's just a cute freshman who came to school with a happy heart. How could you even think of defiling her?"

"Yeah, and why use such formal language to describe such a disgusting act?"

The guy with the Nike T-shirt handed his phone to Jin Xi and said, "Don't worry, we won't do anything to you. Just cry a bit and tell your brother that we're bullying you and he needs to bring our stuff."

Jin Xi remained calm and said, "Shen Pingchuan is my stepbrother. He usually bullies me at home and even beats me up. If you're looking for revenge, count me out. But if you guys want, I can treat you to some hotpot."

The guys were taken aback.

Jin Xi eventually called Shen Pingchuan and pretended to cry, telling him about the guys' demands. Shen Pingchuan calmly replied, "Tell them they'll never get their stuff back. And I'll report them to the school and deduct their conduct points. If anything happens to you, I'll seek revenge for you, sis."

"Beep," the phone hung up.

Jin Xi blinked and handed back her phone. "See for yourself."

Several guys looked at each other, and Nike Brother sympathetically looked at Jin Xi. "You're unlucky to have encountered such a scumbag like Spring Brother."

Jin Xi agreed. "Yeah, um...can I have my luggage back?"

Nike Man said, "We'll hold onto your luggage for now. You tell your brother to bring the confiscated electronics to Male Dorm 8 to redeem your luggage."

Jin Xi felt helpless and didn't know what to do.

Just then, a mocking chuckle sounded, "Several old geezers teaming up to rob someone of their girlfriend and still talking self-righteously. You guys really have your own principles."

"Bo...Bo Yan."

The guys saw Bo Yan leaning against the door and immediately backed away like mice seeing a cat, pushing Nike Man out.

"Why are you guys being cowards?" Nike Man rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward. "Four of us against him, let's go!"

Sophisticated Guy whispered, "Last year, he was the one who took on ten opponents in the final combat test at the National Defense Academy. He's unbeatable."

Nike Man heard this and immediately put his sleeves down. He said righteously, "We're all civilized people. A gentleman settles disputes with words, not fists. Bo Yan, who is this girl to you? Why are you protecting her?"

Bo Yan looked at Jin Xi, a hint of laziness and teasing in his eyes. "My girlfriend, is that okay?"

Jin Xi's heart skipped a beat when she met his scorching gaze and quickly looked away.

"Are you kidding me?" Nike Man said. "This girl just arrived for her first day and she's already your girlfriend? You move faster than a spaceship!"

Jin Xi knew she had found a big backer and obediently moved behind Bo Yan, calling out, "My dear is so amazing." Her voice was soft and coquettish, with a hint of playfulness that men loved.

Everyone, including Bo Yan, was stunned.

Her voice was really nice, and some people wanted to take off their pants on the spot.

Bo Yan looked down at her, and she tightly pursed her rosy lips. Under her glasses, her long and thick eyelashes and her small, delicate nose were dotted with a few beads of sweat.

Just for that "dear," he made up his mind.

"Go get your luggage," he lightly patted the back of her head and said softly, "Don't be afraid."

Jin Xi quickly ran over and took the luggage from Nike Man's hand.

On the way back to the dormitory, Bo Yan explained to Jin Xi, "Shen Pingchuan, in the Student Union, is acting alone and has offended many people. With your connections to him, your life at school won't be easy."

"Do you also dislike my brother?"

"Of course."

"Then why are you helping me? You're really a good person."

Bo Yan smiled shallowly and thought this girl was interesting.

"You're pretty, you know."

Jin Xi sincerely said, "Thank you, you're also good-looking."

"Where am I good-looking?" He raised his eyebrows, and his eyes became lively and expressive.

Jin Xi didn't expect him to ask so many detailed questions, but in fact, she was just being polite.

"You..." She looked at his handsome face. "You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen with single eyelids."

She blushed as she spoke.

Jin Xi looked at Bo Yan. In the sunlight, his features were very three-dimensional, with high eyebrows and deep-set eyes, and his fine, long eyelashes cast shadows on his eyelids.

His handsome appearance exuded a strong masculine charm, unlike anyone else.

"I'm here, so the senior should be here too."

In front of the female dormitory, Jin Xi thanked Bo Yan again.

Bo Yan handed his luggage to Jin Xi, and only then did she notice that he had been carrying it all the way without even pulling out the handle.

The large suitcase was filled with bottles, clothes, and other items, weighing at least twenty kilograms. He had walked two kilometers carrying it, but he was breathing smoothly without even a hint of exhaustion.

He was like a devil!