Chapter 46: "Just Pretend for Him."

After the morning study period, Julie and Tania finished a hot bowl of beef stew in the cafeteria. Not in a rush to return to the freezing classroom, they strolled around the academic building to charge their batteries.

They heard cheers erupting from the basketball courts.

Julie immediately got excited, pulling Tania along. "I heard from Beth there's a really cute freshman who plays here!"

Tania groaned, completely over it. "He's a freshman. They're literally children. What is there to look at?"

"Looking is free!" Julie dragged her into the crowd.

She didn't spot Beth's "super fresh" freshman. Instead, the first person she locked onto was Warren Gale in grey sweatpants. He jumped, releasing the ball. Swish. Nothing but net.

"As expected of Warren!" Julie didn't hold back her praise. "Beth's eyes are definitely broken. Do you see a single handsome guy out there? Warren excluded."

Looking around the court... it was literally just a bunch of background NPCs.

Tania couldn't help but laugh.

As they whispered to each other, Warren, who was high-fiving a teammate, accidentally glanced over. His gaze locked onto them. His heart, already racing from the warm-up, beat just a little faster. He lowered his voice to his teammate. "I'm taking a break."

He grabbed a nearly empty water bottle and walked directly toward Julie with long strides.

The crowd was decent, but no one was really paying attention to them.

Julie saw him catch his breath and go to drink his water, but realized there were only a few drops left. Without hesitating, she loyally handed him the bottle she had just bought. "I haven't opened this yet. Drink it."

Warren didn't act awkward at all. He naturally took it, effortlessly twisting the cap off, and tilted his head back to drink. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. Once his thirst was quenched, he asked, "What are you going to drink? I'll go buy you something. Orange juice, or something else?"

"No need." Julie shook her head. "It's freezing. I'll just go get some hot water."

"Alright."

Before they could chat further, someone on the court yelled, "Warren! You're up!"

Since Julie hadn't seen any decent-looking guys and had completely lost interest in the game, she said, "Warren, go play. We're heading back to class anyway."

"Okay." Warren gave her a look, nodded, and turned back to the court. But first, he carefully placed her water bottle on top of his thick jacket, even using the sleeve to cover it so no one would kick it by mistake.

Julie and Tania squeezed out of the crowd. It was still early, so they strolled slowly toward the academic building. The December scenery was visibly bleak, but the vibrant, energetic students added color to the campus. Julie hummed deeply along to a love song playing over the loudspeakers: Ambiguity makes people suffer... Can't find the proof of being in love...

These kids loved playing the anonymous song dedication game. Someone must be going through a bad breakup, because the broadcast was full of heartbreaking songs lately.

Suddenly, a very soft voice beside her broke her focus. "I never noticed it before... but Warren is actually a really sweet guy."

"Hmm?" Julie turned to Tania and smiled. "Right? Don't worry, I didn't see it before either!"

"It makes sense we didn't," Tania mused. "Warren barely interacts with us girls, and he barely talks. I remember you used to say he was a total closed-off gourd, and that you thought Cheng Yan was handsomer."

"Cheng Yan?"

To everyone else, Cheng Yan was the bad-boy heartthrob who had transferred back to his hometown at the end of sophomore year. Their memory of him was frozen at seventeen.

But for Julie... the last time she saw Cheng Yan was when they were twenty-seven. He was wearing an apron, holding a spatula, and begging his wife Lara for a $200 increase in his monthly allowance. Most importantly, he constantly called Lara "Baby-Q" in a way that made everyone want to physically vomit. They had hosted a housewarming dinner for their old classmates, and nobody had eaten anything because their PDA ruined everyone's appetite.

Julie vehemently refused to accept she had ever said that. That was slander!

"Impossible. I would never say something so objectively false! If you put Cheng Yan and Warren next to each other, I wouldn't hesitate for a single second before voting for Warren. Tania, you definitely misheard me. You are absolutely remembering wrong."

Tania looked at her, speechless, and eventually surrendered. "Fine, fine, I misheard."

She just didn't want to argue. Because if she did, she'd definitely win. She had four other witnesses!

"Tania, you just stepped on a landmine, you know that?" Julie laughed at her reaction. "If you were a guy and you said that to me, you'd be a dead man."

School days passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, morning turned to late night.

Warren carried two thermoses into the boiler room. He stood at the back of the line. Being tall, he had a clear view of the entrance. He scanned the room several times but didn't see Julie. He wasn't sure if she hadn't come yet, had already left, or just wasn't coming tonight.

He thought to himself absentmindedly. I'm really bored, actively looking for things to do.

Slowly, the line inched forward. He looked back down the dark path again. The streetlights were dim, casting mottled shadows through the trees. In the distance, he finally spotted Julie walking arm-in-arm with Tania. He relaxed. His body reacted faster than his brain—he stepped out of line, giving his spot to the guy behind him.

The guy behind him, mid-yawn, was startled and swallowed a mouthful of freezing wind. Not knowing what was wrong with Warren, the guy immediately stepped forward so Warren couldn't change his mind.

Warren calmly walked all the way to the very back of the line again.

Julie and Tania had gotten delayed in their dorm room. They chatted and laughed all the way to the boiler room. Before even getting close, Julie's sharp eyes spotted Warren in line. With his height, he stood out like a crane in a flock of chickens. Most tall guys slouched, but he stood perfectly straight in the night air like a pine tree. Way too eye-catching.

She called out excitedly, "Warren!"

Hearing her voice, Warren turned around. He was calmly looking at his phone, pretending to be completely surprised to see her. "Oh. You guys are getting water too?"

"Yeah, what a coincidence."

Julie linked arms with Tania and walked over, lining up directly behind him. She glanced down at the two thermoses at his feet. Catching on instantly, she teased, "Warren, don't tell me you lost at rock-paper-scissors today?"

Tania suppressed a smile. If it were Gary, she'd tease them for being childish, but since it was Warren, she decided to keep her mouth shut. An angry Warren was terrifying; she didn't want to see that twice.

"...Something like that," Warren replied in a low voice, not denying it.

Julie instantly seized the opportunity to snitch. "Gary told us yesterday that you cheat at rock-paper-scissors!"

Warren put his phone in his pocket and smiled faintly. "Did he? Looks like his skin is itching for a beating. I'll handle him when I get back."

Julie giggled. She thought Warren was actually really funny. It wasn't a loud, flashy kind of humor, but it was incredibly charming.

Tania stood on her tiptoes, looking back and forth between Julie and Warren. Both of them were smiling, but could someone please explain to her what was so funny about this conversation?! Was her sense of humor just broken?!

When Warren finally reached the front, he stepped aside. He let Julie and Tania fill their thermoses first.

Julie already knew he was a true gentleman, but Tania wasn't used to it. She quickly thanked him. "Thanks, Warren."

"It's what I should do," Warren replied casually.

When he said it, Julie was busy handing her meal card to the boiler room worker and didn't hear him.

But those words drifted right into Tania's ears. She looked at Warren again. What he should do? Why is it what he 'should' do? The phrasing felt incredibly strange.

"Careful."

Watching the boiling water pour into the thermos, Warren noticed Julie standing a bit too close and instinctively warned her.

"I know," Julie smiled. She popped the cork back into her thermos and nudged her friend. "Tania, your turn."

"Oh, right." Tania snapped out of it, pushing her suspicions aside for now to get her water.

Julie didn't leave immediately after filling her thermos. She pulled Tania to the side to wait for Warren. Soon, the three of them were walking back to the dorms. If Tania had occasionally joined the conversation yesterday, today she was completely, utterly silent. A perfect background NPC.

"There are stars out tonight," Julie said, looking up at the sky. "I don't think I've ever been able to find the Big Dipper."

Warren stopped walking. He found a good spot where the trees weren't blocking the view, leaned down slightly, and pointed. "Right there."

"Where?"

Julie followed his finger, eyes wide, looking over and over again, but she still couldn't see it.

Neither of them realized that Tania had been completely edged out of their circle. Standing in the freezing wind clutching her thermos, she pressed her lips together helplessly.

Warren pointed patiently. Unfortunately, the city stars weren't very bright, and they were too far away. Julie could only watch his long finger draw spoon after spoon in the air in front of her. Left with no choice, she pulled out her Oscar-worthy acting skills, widened her eyes, and faked absolute joy. "I see it! Wow, that's so magical!"

She had no choice. The top-tier student was way too serious. She genuinely suspected that if she said she couldn't see it, he would stand there pointing at the sky until the sun came up.

I'll just pretend for him.

Warren looked completely satisfied. A soft smile touched his lips. "It's alright."

Beside them, Tania let out a massive sigh of relief. It was absolutely freezing out here. Thank god they're finally done looking at the stars.