If I Can’t Get the Male Lead, I’ll Just Be a Salted Fish Chapter 38

A subtle emotion welled up in Qin Shu’s heart. He and Xie Lanzhi were relatively close, yet he had no idea this “player” even existed. Not just him—Lu Rulu didn’t know who it was either. Apparently Xie Lanzhi had hidden the person well.

Like Lu Rulu said: a normal person, upon learning their crush is a player, would usually back off. But Xie Lanzhi knew this and still hadn’t given up. He must really, really like that player. Then what kind of beauty, what kind of charm must the player have? Even Ning Ning couldn’t compare. So maybe she’s from another school? Or not even a university student? What if Xie Lanzhi liked an older woman?

F*ck—who the h*ll is it? Qin Shu really wanted to know.

Noticing Qin Shu zoning out, Xie Lanzhi asked, “Finished checking?”

Qin Shu, slow to react, “Mm…”

“Any findings?”

Qin Shu returned the phone. “N-no.” Just that your player isn’t my future daughter-in-law.

“And what does that prove?”

Qin Shu stared wide-eyed. “Eh?”

Xie Lanzhi’s voice carried a trace of lazy tipsiness. “It proves I haven’t been sneaking around behind my junior’s back, flirting with someone else.”

Qin Shu lowered his head, muttering: “Who’d believe that.” If you didn’t flirt, where did the player come from?

When Chu Cheng and Lu Rulu came back from the bathroom, Xie Lanzhi paid the bill. “I’ll go back to campus with you guys.”

Lu Rulu shrilled, “Ohhh, is Young Master Xie planning to spend the night in the dorms tonight?”

“Not staying,” Xie Lanzhi paused, “going back to get some things.”

After a bit of night breeze, Qin Shu sobered up a little. He walked slower, with Xie Lanzhi by his side, while Lu Rulu and Chu Cheng laughed and joked ahead of them.

Qin Shu looked weighed down with worries. Xie Lanzhi assumed he was still thinking about the Compilers exam, so he said: “The final exam counts for sixty percent of the grade, plus ten percent for usual coursework—you still have a chance.”

Qin Shu had been thinking about the player matter the whole time, temporarily forgetting about exams. Now that Xie Lanzhi brought it up, his depression doubled. “Brother, don’t talk about it.”

Xie Lanzhi coaxed, “Just one more sentence, okay?”

Qin Shu reluctantly: “…Okay.”

“From now on, pick two evenings a week to self-study with me,” Xie Lanzhi said. “I’ll teach you Compilers, little love letter.”

Qin Shu’s heart trembled. He turned his head to look at Xie Lanzhi’s side profile. Aside from handsome and perfect, he couldn’t find a third word.

—How could such a god suddenly lose his eyesight and fall for the player!

Qin Shu took a deep breath. “Brother, you…”

“Hm?”

Qin Shu almost blurted it out directly, but remembering his confidentiality pact with Lu Rulu, he changed his words at the last second to something more tactful: “What kind of person do you like?”

After a brief moment of surprise, Xie Lanzhi gave a small laugh, like he’d been waiting for Qin Shu to ask.

“Me? I like interesting people.”

“Interesting?” That’s way too broad! And “interesting” is so subjective. Before, he’d even thought little Baby’s silly personality was “interesting.” Thinking about it now, what a blind fool he’d been. “Why interesting?”

“Because, to me, that’s really cute.”

“Then you must like pretty people too.”

Xie Lanzhi glanced at Qin Shu. “Mn, pretty.”

Interesting + pretty. Might as well not have answered!

Aaaaahhhh—it wasn’t just curiosity anymore, he really wanted to know who it was!!!

Xie Lanzhi asked: “What kind of boys do you like?”

Qin Shu didn’t even need to think: “I like good-looking ones.”

Xie Lanzhi sighed, helpless. “Yeah, I can tell.”

Back at the dorms, Xie Lanzhi watched Chu Cheng and Qin Shu enter 419. Lu Rulu opened the door of 418 and asked: “What are you getting again?”

“Books.”

Lu Rulu flopped onto his chair, face full of post-meal satisfaction. “Oh right, how are things with that player?”

Xie Lanzhi pulled a few sophomore textbooks from his shelf. “Mind your own business, Lu Jingyun.”

—

The next morning, Qin Shu’s drunkenness had fully worn off. He hadn’t been that drunk last night, but the alcohol had loosened his tongue, made him say things he normally wouldn’t, do things he normally wouldn’t—and he remembered it all.

He had clung to Xie Lanzhi asking to see his phone. And the key point was—Xie Lanzhi actually let him look!

Qin Shu curled himself under the blanket—if he hid fast enough, embarrassment couldn’t catch him!

Anyway, he’d already confirmed that Xie Lanzhi’s player wasn’t Ning Ning. That meant it had nothing to do with him, no need to worry.

Yes, yes, exactly. What really mattered now was pushing Baby and Ning Ning past the ambiguous stage and into an official relationship.

But still… who the h*ll was the player that captured the god’s heart?!

Qin Shu rolled back and forth on his bed like a caterpillar. Across the room, Chu Cheng woke up and was on his phone. Annoyed, he said: “What, are you evolving into a maggot?”

Qin Shu mused, “Right, I should put my energy on Maggot Baby.”

Chu Cheng snorted. “What, even maggots can have kids these days?”

“If maggots can’t have kids, how did you get here?”

Chu Cheng froze, then hurled his pillow at him. “F*ck your grandpa!”

Qin Shu caught the pillow and hugged it. “Cursing all the time is so uncouth. You should really cut down on the swearing.”

After washing up, Qin Shu spotted the toothpaste and decided to give Baby a life lesson. He’d use real-life teaching methods to deepen Baby’s personal experience, so he’d actually learn.

“Cheng, do you like mint?”

Chu Cheng: “No. F*ck off.”

Qin Shu: “…” Fine, rot on your own then!

—

A week later, the Compilers exam grades came out. Qin Shu happily received a 55. Tragic, sure, but better than he’d expected—he even guessed some multiple choice correctly. He asked Chu Cheng: “What did you get?”

Chu Cheng flipped his paper over. “Better if you don’t know. I don’t want to upset you.”

“No need,” Qin Shu said. If Baby did well, as his dad he’d be happy. “Just tell me, I won’t get jealous.”

Chu Cheng eyed him suspiciously. “You sure you want to know?”

“Hurry up, don’t drag it out.”

Chu Cheng shrugged. “Fine, you said it.” He flipped it open.

From his manner, Qin Shu thought he’d scored super high. But instead—bright red “61.” It nearly blinded his titanium-alloy dog eyes.

“That’s it? That’s it?” Qin Shu laughed and cried. “You’re only six points higher than me, and I’m not jealous at all.”

“This isn’t about six points,” Chu Cheng said earnestly. “It’s the difference between passing and failing!”

Qin Shu stared at his own “55,” clenched his fists. “So what if I fail? My family’s rich anyway.”

Chu Cheng: “???”

Qin Shu snapped a photo of his paper and sent it to Xie Lanzhi.

【Uncle Qin: (image)】

【Uncle Qin: Brother, I failed! (cry)(cry)】

【Onii-chan: I saw.】

【Uncle Qin: I have a stain now, I’m not pure anymore! (cry)(cry)】

【Onii-chan: It’s okay, I don’t dislike you.】

【Uncle Qin: (black guy question mark.jpg)】

【Uncle Qin: Then are we self-studying together tonight?】

【Onii-chan: I have an elective class tonight. Tomorrow?】

【Uncle Qin: Okay!】

Qin Shu stared at the contact name he’d saved for Xie Lanzhi. The more he looked at it, the more embarrassing it felt. Come to think of it, he still didn’t know what note Xie Lanzhi had saved him under. Last time at the barbecue he had the perfect chance to check, but didn’t. Besides, since Xie Lanzhi already had a “player” he liked, wasn’t it a bit inappropriate to still call him this?

— Whatever, Xie Lanzhi was the one who asked him to save it like that anyway.

After class, the two of them went to the cafeteria and ate Chu Cheng’s favorite malatang.

“After dinner I’m not going back to the dorm,” Qin Shu said. “I’m going to the library for self-study.”

“A guy who scored 55 really ought to study harder.”

“You have no right to say that, thanks.”

Chu Cheng was about to retort, when suddenly he spotted something, swore under his breath, ducked his head, and even tried to cover his face with his hand.

“What’s up?” Qin Shu looked back. “Who did you see?”

“Don’t look back!” Chu Cheng hissed. “It’s Squid King.”

Qin Shu spotted Wang Youyu, carrying a tray, looking for a seat. “It’s not like Squid King is Nagini. Looking into his eyes won’t kill you.”

“But I look terrible today! My hair got messed up from my nap, and I didn’t have time to fix it because I overslept.” Chu Cheng grumbled, “D*mn it, why is it that every time I don’t dress up properly, I run into my love rival.”

Qin Shu burst out laughing—he didn’t expect even this could turn into candy. “The moral of the story is, if you’re dating on campus, you need to be a refined boy at all times, because you never know when you’ll run into your love rival.”

“I’m out of here.” Chu Cheng wolfed down the rest of his food in no time, and in order to avoid Wang Youyu, he deliberately took the long way back to the dorm. Ten minutes later, he came back to the cafeteria. He didn’t see Wang Youyu, but instead bumped into Xie Lanzhi and Lu Rulu.

“Cheng?” Lu Rulu looked him up and down, carefully. “Dressed like this… you going to a rock concert or something?”

Chu Cheng said lightly, “This is just my usual hip-hop Hong Kong vibe.”

“Really?” Lu Rulu looked baffled.

Xie Lanzhi said, “I thought you’d gone blind.”

Chu Cheng quickly pulled off his sunglasses, embarrassed. “I just wanted to put on some swag. Brother Lan, don’t call me out, alright?”

Xie Lanzhi chuckled. “Qin Shu’s not with you?”

“Oh, he went to the library.”

Qin Shu, meanwhile, had arrived at the library with his backpack. It was November, exam season was coming, and the place was packed with students preparing for grad school entrance exams. He wandered from the first to the fifth floor before finally finding a spot in a corner. Pulling out his tablet, he started staring at the PPT slides, supposedly studying along with the textbook (though not really).

Suddenly his phone on the desk buzzed—it was an AirDrop request.

【“Shuimenjian” wants to share a photo.】

【(Junior, want to self-study together?)】

AirDrop could only be sent by someone nearby. Qin Shu lifted his head, and right away he saw Xie Lanzhi standing by the shelves, a phone in one hand, a book in the other, looking straight at him.

Qin Shu hurried over, lowering his voice: “Bro, why are you… Didn’t you have class tonight?”

Xie Lanzhi answered simply: “Skipped it.”

“Why?”

Xie Lanzhi said slowly: “For you.”

Author’s Note:
Little Love Letter’s enlightenment level: 50% 🐶