Chapter 22: The Single Advisor of Love—One Dares to Speak, the Other Dares to Listen

“Oh, Hua, what are you in such a rush for?”
In Dormitory Building 17 of Hangzhou Normal University, You Liuhua was hurriedly stuffing a pile of blueprints from her desk into her small backpack.
Her roommate and best friend, Liu Shan, watched her flustered yet smiling face with curiosity.
“Luo just messaged me,” she explained with excitement. “He asked me to meet him at a certain milk tea shop to discuss something. I’ve got to hurry.”
At the mention of ‘Luo’, Liu Shan’s face took on a teasing grin. She reached out and poked You Liuhua gently.
“Oh, it’s that childhood sweetheart you’re always talking about, isn’t it? But doesn’t he already have someone he likes?”
But You Liuhua showed no embarrassment—if anything, her face shone with anticipation.
“Good news! Luo has finally broken free from that green tea’s hypnotic spell. He’s a free adventurer now, ready to embark on a journey to create wealth—with me!”
“No wonder you’re so happy today,” Liu Shan laughed. “Go on, then! You’ve liked him for six or seven years, haven’t you?
Come here, let your strategist give you some advice.”
Liu Shan pulled You Liuhua down to sit beside her, then spoke with solemn earnestness.
“They say when a girl pursues a boy, it’s like a thin veil between them. Now that your Luo is single, you need to act fast. Remember my sixteen-character mantra:
Take the initiative, strike while the iron’s hot, confess quickly, and sleep with him!”
She tapped You Liuhua’s cheek with her finger, then glanced enviously at her enviable figure.
“I simply refuse to believe anyone could turn down such a cute, proactive college girl!
Come on, put on your short skirt—I’ll do your makeup and your Luo won’t know what hit him!”
Liu Shan called over the other two roommates, and together they dressed her up and did her makeup for half an hour.
One had to admit Liu Shan’s makeup skills were impressive. You Liuhua was already attractive, and with that touch of light makeup and a fitted black JK-style skirt, she looked even more adorable and charming.
“All done! Now go! And if it works out, you have to treat our whole dorm to dinner!”
You Liuhua glanced at her slightly unfamiliar reflection in the mirror, gave herself a silent pep talk, then slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the room.
Chen Qunfang, another roommate, eyed Liu Shan suspiciously.
“Shanshan, didn’t you say you’ve never been in a relationship? That you’ve been single since birth for nineteen years?”
“Yeah, so?”
“So you’re playing love guru for Hua without any experience?”
“I watch a lot of romance anime and dramas. That’s how they all do it!”
“…You two are something else—one dares to teach, the other dares to listen.”
Chen Qunfang could only cover her forehead in exasperation, silently praying things wouldn’t backfire for You Liuhua.
…
Tap tap tap!

You Liuhua jogged down the dorm stairs, her steps light, unable to suppress her excitement.
It was true, as Liu Shan said—she had liked Chen Luo for many years.
It was a love she was certain of, one she had clung to for so long.
At first, their relationship was genuinely that of close neighbors and friends. Her father, You Lijun, and Chen Luo’s father, Chen Guangrong, were both police officers at the same station.
Colleagues and neighbors, with both fathers often busy and rarely home, their mothers frequently cooked and ate together with the children.
With this kind of upbringing, Chen Luo and You Liuhua were more like siblings.
Both had developed a passion for anime and spent every day together—going to school, coming home, eating, playing, and until junior high, even sleeping in the same bed.
According to Chen Luo, they were so close they were practically fused together.
Had it not been for that incident, perhaps neither of them would be who they were today.
Vroom! Vroom!
A motorcycle roared past the school gate, the violent sound instantly making You Liuhua slow her steps. She pressed firmly on her eye patch, sweat breaking out on her forehead.
“No! Don’t come near! Don’t come near!”
The nightmares from that day surged back with the roar of the engine.
…
Six years ago, outside Jin Feng County First Middle School.
“Luo, your dad’s busy today, so I’m picking you both up.”
You Lijun held You Liuhua’s hand in one and Chen Luo’s in the other as they walked home.
At the time, both Chen Luo and You Liuhua were thirteen, just starting middle school.
“Dad, I want chocolate ice cream,” Liuhua pleaded, her face—without the eye patch—upturned in a pout.
“No more. You ate too much yesterday and got a stomachache. Be good, I’ll get you and Luo some in a few days.”
You Lijun, a seasoned police officer and former soldier, looked imposing, but at that moment his face was full of fatherly affection.
“Alright, you promised! You have to buy it for me and Luo in a few days!”
Just as he was about to agree, a sharp engine roar erupted from the road beside them. You Lijun’s police instincts flared.
Could it be some thug, out to get revenge?
“Chen Luo! Protect Hua! Danger!”
He spun around just in time to see a man speeding toward them on a motorcycle, wielding a metal rod.
“Hua! Watch out!”

Chen Luo leapt forward, grabbing You Liuhua and spinning to shield her with his back.
“You bastard!” You Lijun launched himself at the attacker. The man, seeing him, instinctively jerked back—but not enough.
With a sickening thud, the metal rod struck Chen Luo’s head.
Blood poured from the wound, dripping onto You Liuhua’s right eye.
“Luo!”
“Chen Luo!”
Both cried out in terror as the assailant sped away.
You Lijun tore off his jacket, pressing it to Chen Luo’s head to staunch the bleeding, then dialed the police station and called for an ambulance.
You Liuhua was frozen in horror at the sight of Chen Luo’s blood-soaked face. Seeing him so close to death, she was consumed by fear and helplessness, her body shaking, her mind blank.
“L-Luo… you…”
Chen Luo’s right hand rose and caressed her cheek. “It’s alright. Your right eye is the Eye of God. You’re a mage—you can heal me.”
“No! Luo, don’t die! I’m sorry! I’m so useless! I can’t save you!”
At his words, You Liuhua finally broke down, sobbing as all her terror and guilt came pouring out.
You Lijun could only pat her gently, at a loss for comfort.
Soon the ambulance arrived. Chen Luo was rushed to the hospital—his life was spared, but the head injury left his memory muddled, and he stayed hospitalized for two months.
After that, You Liuhua asked her father to teach her martial arts and self-defense, wanting to have some way to protect Chen Luo.
And she never wanted to ‘graduate’ from her childish fantasy world—not because she was lost in it, but because she wanted strength, wanted to protect him.
That was why she kept the eye patch, because Chen Luo had told her, in that moment of comfort, that her right eye was the Eye of God. She refused to take it off.
That eye belonged to Chen Luo, for his protection, whether or not it held any special power.
Pulled from her memories, You Liuhua found herself standing before the milk tea shop.
The pain from those recollections made her even more desperate to see Chen Luo. She longed to hold him, to embrace her Luo.
She took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and called out,
“Luo, where are you? I’m here!”
The words had barely left her mouth when she froze, her gaze landing instantly on Chen Luo—
And on a woman sitting beside him.
A woman who set every alarm in her heart ringing.
“Hey, Liuhua, you’re here! Come, come sit!”