"Woo-hoo~ I'm back!"

Xu Shuai pushed open the dorm room door with exaggerated enthusiasm, greeting his roommates.

Long Aotian and the other two exchanged glances—something was clearly off.

Since when did Xu Shuai act like this?

Unusual behavior meant trouble.

Without a word, the three of them scrutinized Xu Shuai from head to toe.

"W-why are you looking at me like that? Weren’t we supposed to go out for dinner today? Let’s go!"

His words sounded normal, but his subconscious actions betrayed him.

As he spoke, his hand instinctively shielded his stomach.

"Hand it over," Long Aotian said coolly.

"W-what? Hand over what?" Xu Shuai forced a laugh, pretending ignorance.

"Still playing dumb? I know exactly what you’re hiding just by the way you stand. Cut the act!" Li Longlong pointed at Xu Shuai’s stomach.

"We’re brothers, and you’re pulling this on us?"

Huang Fei stood up from his bed, walked over, and shut the dorm door. "Gentlemen, we have a traitor in our midst. Enforce dorm rules!"

In no time, they dug out a box of assorted fruits from Xu Shuai’s arms.

It was obviously prepared by Wang Lijuan—the watermelon was even cut into a heart shape.

She must’ve put a lot of effort into it.

"Pre-dinner fruit sounds good to me!"

"What do you guys think?"

"Sounds perfect."

"Agreed."

"Wait, wait—what are you doing to my fruit platter?!"

"Yours? Ours! Everything in this dorm is communal!"

With that, they descended upon the fruit like ravenous wolves.

Xu Shuai desperately tried to protect it, managing to salvage only the heart-shaped watermelon.

"You gonna eat that or not? If not, I’ll take it."

"I’m eating it!" Xu Shuai snapped, slowly bringing the watermelon to his mouth.

Watching his blissful expression, the three exchanged glances—then lunged forward, each taking a bite.

Left with nothing but a tiny remnant of the watermelon, Xu Shuai could only watch as the fruit bandits fled.

He let out a furious roar.

Just then, Li Longlong barged back in, snatched the last piece from Xu Shuai’s hand, and popped it into his mouth before darting away. "Later!"

"Nooo... my heart-shaped watermelon..."

For their first reunion after the holidays, the four of them hit a small restaurant, shared some beers, and swapped exaggerated stories about their New Year adventures.

Though the tales were amusing, Long Aotian suspected most were pure fiction.

"What about you, Lao Ao? How was your holiday?"

Long Aotian shrugged. "Same as usual. Visited my girlfriend’s family, got their approval, went hiking a few times, watched some fireworks..."

Before he could finish, the other three cut him off. "Alright, enough!"

"Let’s hear Li Longlong’s epic battle against those brats instead."

Li Longlong opened his mouth, then picked up his beer. "Let’s just drink."

Compared to Long Aotian’s romantic holiday—meeting the in-laws, hiking, fireworks—his own struggle against a bunch of kids sounded downright pathetic.

"Wait a minute... what’s that on Lao Ao’s hand?"

Xu Shuai pointed at the ring on Long Aotian’s finger, grinning mischievously. "Now I’ve got you!"

"You guys ate my fruit—fair’s fair. Hand it over."

He turned to Huang Fei and Li Longlong. "Don’t side with him. You both took bites, especially you, Li Longlong!"

The two glanced at Long Aotian.

"I’ll get you guys one later—after dinner. But not this one!"

Huang Fei and Li Longlong immediately shifted their gaze back to Xu Shuai, raising their eyebrows as if to say, See? That’s how you handle things.

Faced with their smug looks, Xu Shuai pretended to sulk and downed his beer.

Just then, Long Aotian’s phone buzzed.

His girlfriend was asking when he’d be back.

"Probably a while longer," he replied.

Seeing the message, Hu Yuying put her phone away and turned to Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning. "Long says he’ll be a while. Do we really have enough time?"

"When men say ‘a while,’ it means forever. We’ve got plenty of time!" Lin Wanning declared confidently.

"Come on, A’Ying, let’s just try it. Please?" Li Qingxue tugged at Hu Yuying’s arm, pouting.

Glancing at the storefront, Hu Yuying finally nodded.

......

"Put the phone away. Tonight’s about the four of us. Rule’s simple—no early exits. Whoever leaves first becomes dorm laughingstock for the next three years!"

Hearing this, Xu Shuai silenced his phone. Li Longlong outright turned his off.

"Laughingstock? Not in my lifetime!"

"Leave early? My reputation as the ‘Persistent Prince’ isn’t just for show!"

Outside, they could act however—but inside the dorm, dominance was non-negotiable.

The thought of being mocked for three years? Unbearable. Better sleep all day tomorrow than risk that shame.

Men’s pride often hinged on the silliest things.

And so, the standoff began.

As evening fell—

Ding!

The four froze. Then three pairs of eyes locked onto Long Aotian.

"Oho~ Someone’s getting restless!"

"Three years of ridicule—can you imagine?"

"Pathetic, really. Whipped men have no dignity."

Long Aotian rubbed his nose. "Alright, I forfeit."

Compared to male ego, his girlfriend took priority.

So what if he was whipped? He liked being cared for.

Message: "Come home for dinner."

Reading it, Long Aotian grinned. "Time to wrap this up..."

"Woo! Victory!"

"What’d your girl say?"

After holding out so long, what message could possibly make him surrender?

They had to know.

Long Aotian stood, turning his phone toward them. "Nothing much. Just that my girlfriend made dinner and is waiting for me at home."

Hearing this—

Oddly, despite winning, they didn’t feel as triumphant as expected.

Instead, a vague, inexplicable melancholy settled in.

The three exchanged glances. Maybe it was the alcohol, but each thought the others’ noses looked redder, like sad clowns from a circus...

......