This method is indeed quite feasible, but it's more difficult to implement than other approaches. Its advantages outweigh other methods, and it's much more scientific than something like the reckless cucumber diet.
Lin Xiaojin is quite scientific-minded after all.
Xi Shui lay back down on the bed, chewing on his pen cap as he pondered how to find a partner.
He searched online:
[How to find a partner?]
The answers provided quite a few approaches.
1. Through introductions by relatives and friends.
Xi Shui thought about his relatives and friends. They probably wouldn't be happy with him dating in college. They'd prefer him to focus on his studies and major. He couldn't tell them about this; it had to be kept secret.
2. Through introductions by friends in friend groups.
Xi Shui could count on one hand the number of people he could call friends. Everyone seemed to get along well with him, but not well enough to introduce potential partners to him. Moreover... Xi Shui felt their judgment wasn't great. They always ended up with jerks, either male or female, cheating from CUDC to Capital Academy to CUSC. Even an octopus couldn't spread its tentacles as wide as their partners spread their affections. Xi Shui didn't like to comment on others' relationships, so whenever they came to him sniffling and crying, asking what to do, he could only mumble: "Do you want to break up?"
What else could he say?
"But he/she is usually very good to me."
"He/she is also very good-looking."
Xi Shui didn't understand their thinking.
3. Adding friends through WeChat's "People Nearby" feature.
This wasn't reliable!
Because last time Lin Xiaojin accidentally entered it, a fifty-year-old man asked Lin Xiaojin if his butt was round.
Xi Shui just wanted to burn a few calories through kissing; it had nothing to do with whether one's butt was round or not.
4. Participating in matchmaking events.
There used to be a matchmaking corner at the school, but it had been suspended and hadn't been reactivated for a long time.
Only one option left.
5. Joining interest groups.
Xi Shui tapped his fingers on the screen. He had only joined the student union of CUDC, where everyone was either his classmate, a junior, or seniors. Senior Lan Lan had said before that all the good ones were taken, and what was left were just misfits, available by the dozen for free, which she wouldn't even want.
Lan Lan was a senior Xi Shui greatly admired. If she said they were misfits, it must be true. So he didn't want them either.
Therefore, to sum up, finding a partner is a very difficult task.
Xi Shui ruffled his hair a few times, frowning as he lay on the bed. His pajamas were a T-shirt he bought in high school. After wearing it for several years, it was perfect as sleepwear, except that the neckline had been washed out two sizes too big and kept slipping off his shoulders, revealing smooth, delicate skin.
He reached out to pull the neckline up, only for it to slip down on the other side.
But he could no longer spare attention to fix his clothes. He sent a message to Lin Xiaojin.
[Do you know how to find a partner?]
Lin Xiaojin, who was always surfing the internet, saw and replied to Xi Shui's message immediately.
[Lin Xiaojin: If I knew, would I still be single?]
[Oh, right.]
[Lin Xiaojin: You want to find a partner?]
Xi Shui thought for a moment and still felt there was no need to hide it from Lin Xiaojin, after all, this method was suggested by Lin Xiaojin.
After he told Lin Xiaojin, Lin Xiaojin immediately sent a long voice message.
"You're really serious about this? Well, I think it's fine. Maybe when you start dating, you won't be thinking about food all the time, and you'll have someone to keep an eye on you. Do you have any requirements? I know you like guys, so are you a top or a bottom? You've never told me about this."
"Bottom, bottom..." Xi Shui held the phone to his mouth, his fair skin flushing a little red. He spoke very softly.
"What about requirements?"
Xi Shui's fingers fidgeted with the bedsheet. "The bigger the lung capacity, the better, I guess. They should be healthy, clean, and not too ugly."
"What do you mean by not too ugly?"
Xi Shui was a bit uncertain. "About the same as me?"
Lin Xiaojin: "..."
"That's hard to find."
Lin Xiaojin had always known that Xi Shui didn't place much importance on looks, even though he knew he was quite good-looking himself. His aesthetic acceptance was very broad. Among friends, regardless of appearance, he could always find the good points in others.
At the time, Lin Xiaojin only befriended Xi Shui because of his appearance.
Before entering university, he had been somewhat insecure. Art students were never short of good-looking people, and Lin Xiaojin was too ordinary. Not ugly, but without any distinctive features or memorable points.
But Xi Shui would always compliment him: "Your nose is so straight," "Your hands are so beautiful," "Your soft, droopy eyelashes look especially languid."
At last year's high school reunion, a group of Lin Xiaojin's classmates asked if he had gotten plastic surgery, wondering how he had become so handsome. No, he hadn't had surgery. It was because Xi Shui gave him encouragement every day. Although some of the flattery was exaggerated, Lin Xiaojin truly became more and more confident in such an environment, and his personality improved a lot.
So now that Xi Shui was facing troubles, he also wanted to rack his brains and do everything he could to help Xi Shui.
"You can directly choose a few targets, and I'll take a look for you."
"Or I can send you a few. These are all people who have confessed to you on the forum."
Lin Xiaojin sent over a dozen photos, along with their personal information and his own commentary. Lin Xiaojin had never been this careful and serious even when taking class notes.
"Contestant No. 1, Xu Shanhai, Capital Academy School of Economics and Management, junior, height 183cm, weight 75kg, looks okay, but was recently exposed for faking scholarship credits. Poor character."
"Contestant No. 2, Zhang Jing, Capital Academy Law School, freshman. He's younger than you, and too skinny, only 50kg. Thin as a pipe."
"Contestant No. 3, from CUSC, named Liu Ben, 198cm, 100kg. He's a weightlifting major. Not suitable either, he could flatten you."
Xi Shui looked at those photos with little interest. These people didn't seem great for kissing. It would require intense making out.
"You don't want any of them?" Hearing Xi Shui's silence, Lin Xiaojin knew he was dissatisfied. "Then I'll go find Meng Kewen tomorrow and ask him to introduce you to a few. That group of his all look pretty good. They all hang out with Zhou the King of Hell, and not one of them is bad-looking."
Unexpectedly hearing the name "Zhou the King of Hell," Xi Shui suddenly remembered that Zhou Zeqi existed.
Zhou Zeqi...
Xi Shui's mind wandered a bit. He recalled the oppressive aura around that person, lingering and unforgettable. Even now, if he tried to recall, he could still remember that feeling of being easily controlled and unable to resist.
Lin Xiaojin waited for a long time without getting a response from Xi Shui and became anxious. "Say something. What do you think of my suggestion just now? If it's okay, I'll go talk to Meng Kewen tomorrow."
Xi Shui hadn't been paying attention to Lin Xiaojin's suggestion. The doorbell suddenly rang, and Xi Shui hurriedly replied "Okay, okay" before saying goodnight to Lin Xiaojin and going to answer the door.
Lin Xiaojin watched as Xi Shui suddenly disappeared.
He sighed. In reality, Xi Shui's kindness extended to everyone, anyone. Whoever became his boyfriend in the future would be in for a tough time, likely to be annoyed enough to lose fifty years of their life. But then Lin Xiaojin thought, if he could be the top, even if it meant being annoyed to the point of aging backwards, he would still be willing to serve Xi Shui like an ox or a horse.
-
The room had wooden flooring, and although a housekeeper came to clean every day, Xi Shui still wore slippers to open the door.
The ceiling light in the corridor stayed on at night.
If one were just standing in the corridor, it would be hard to tell whether it was day or night outside.
Zhou Zeqi had a towel draped over his shoulder and a plastic basin tucked under his arm, containing toiletries and a change of clothes. His hair was wet, but he had probably toweled it off before coming, so it wasn't dripping.
His eyes seemed to have been washed by water, even darker and brighter than during the day.
"The water's been cut off on my side. Can I take a shower at your place?" Zhou Zeqi looked at Xi Shui, who had obviously just crawled out of bed. He looked so soft. Although not short, he always gave the impression of being like the Chinchilla Persian cat his sister kept.
With long, soft fur, large bright eyes, natural eyeliner, always perched haughtily on the bookshelf, looking down at people below with disdain, like a fluffy cloud that had descended there.
This was off-stage.
On stage, Xi Shui was more like a swan, a little swan.
The usually kind-hearted and good-natured Xi Shui didn't immediately let Zhou Zeqi in. He leaned against the door, "Did you forget to pay your water bill?"
"My sister used to live here. She used up all the water credit and left without telling me. I was in the middle of washing my hair when the water stopped. Xi Shui, I'll pay you for the water bill. Can you help me?" Zhou Zeqi hung his head, his eyelashes as black as crow feathers, concealing his usually sharp and fierce gaze.
Xi Shui couldn't resist when someone spoke to him like this.
His heart melted completely.
He slowly loosened his grip and stepped aside to make way. "Come in."
"Should I change my shoes?"
Xi Shui looked at the slippers on Zhou Zeqi's feet, which were clearly a size larger than his own, and shook his head. "No need, you're already wearing slippers."
He led Zhou Zeqi to the bathroom and explained how to use the shower. "Cold water is on the left, hot water on the right. I've already turned on the ventilation. The body wash is this green bottle, it's mint-scented."
"The shampoo is the white bottle, and next to it is the conditioner."
Xi Shui's finger pointed to each bottle of toiletries as he introduced them. After finishing his explanation, he looked up at Zhou Zeqi standing beside him. "Did you get all that?"
Zhou Zeqi held back a smile. "I got it."
Zhou Zeqi's shower time was much shorter than Xi Shui had imagined. He was sitting in the living room reading a book, and hadn't even finished two pages when the bathroom door opened. A cloud of white steam rushed out from the bathroom, preventing Xi Shui from seeing clearly who had come out for the first few seconds.
Zhou Zeqi wasn't wearing clothes, or to be precise, he was only wearing a pair of long pants. His upper body was bare.
Water droplets rolled down from his neck and shoulders, following the clearly defined lines of his muscles, disappearing into the waistband of his pants.
The young man's body was full of vitality, the scent of hormones directly overwhelming Xi Shui.
In the showers at CUSC and CUDC, guys often ran around naked, so although Xi Shui had never done it himself, he had seen plenty. So it wasn't that he found it strange, but he was stunned because he had never seen... such a sight.
Noticing Xi Shui's fixed gaze, Zhou Zeqi bent down to take out the tank top he had brought from the basin and pulled it over his head. His arm muscles were still enough to make one's heart race.
Xi Shui averted his gaze and said dryly, "You're in good shape."
Zhou Zeqi wiped the water from his face with a towel, his tone casual, "It's alright."
"Xi Shui, to thank you, how about I treat you to a meal tomorrow?"
Xi Shui shook his head without much thought. "I've already made plans with Lin Xiaojin to eat barbecue. Maybe next time."
"Aren't you on a diet?"
Exposed, Xi Shui felt mortified.
He borrowed Lin Xiaojin's unscientific explanation, "Barbecue... has no calories."
Zhou Zeqi stopped teasing him, afraid he might get angry. He picked up the basin from the floor. "Then next weekend." His tone left no room for refusal.
He was also preparing to leave.
Xi Shui responded with an "Okay," watching Zhou Zeqi's retreating figure. A top student from the sports college, broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, skilled in boxing, tennis, and other sports, as well as the beautiful yet not exaggerated muscles Xi Shui had seen with his own eyes, and also... quite handsome.
If he were to kiss Zhou Zeqi, it would surely burn a lot of calories.
Xi Shui's actions were faster than his thoughts. He chased to the doorway, holding onto the doorframe as he called out to Zhou Zeqi.
"Zhou Zeqi, do you like guys?"
Zhou Zeqi was puzzled, narrowing his eyes, "Yes, why?"
"Are you single?"
"Yes."
Xi Shui stared directly at Zhou Zeqi, his breathing rapid, his heart racing.
Good, very good. Xi Shui was very satisfied.
He was so happy he could almost fly.
Zhou Zeqi waited for Xi Shui to continue, but when nothing came, he asked confusedly, "What's the matter?"
Xi Shui gripped the doorframe tightly, saying with a straight face, "You'll know in a few days." He needed to prepare a bit, to let Zhou Zeqi know that he took him seriously.
*
Old Zhou: He's fallen for me
-Top 30, wow!