I have a gaming partner.

He asked me to meet him at McDonald's.

When I arrived, an elementary schoolboy came towards me pulling the college hottie's hand.

"I'm too young to date."

The little schoolboy put the hottie's hand into mine and said, "You can have my brother!"

"Thanks for the gift, little brother."

"I bless this union."

What?

What the hell?

It was end-of-semester exam week again.

I was buried in books all day, so stressed my hair was falling out. In the course of combating hair loss, I became addicted to a game.

A few words appeared in the chat box: [Come earn some buff.]

I turned on the microphone and said, "Okay."

He was my partner in the game.

He was a master, so it took me not much effort to win with him.

At first, I found it strange that such a master would be interested in a rookie like me, even taking the initiative to couple up.

I asked why he chose me among so many people.

To which he replied concisely: [Easy on the eyes.]

Guess it was my luck.

He was very mysterious though. All the while playing together, he never spoke on the microphone.

Enough gaming for the day, I left my room.

He sent a message: [You're off?]

For convenience, I replied with a voice message, "Yeah. Time to study."

He: [Exams coming up?]

I: [Right.]

He： [I won't bother you then. Let's meet tomorrow.]

I: [Any time is fine?]

He: [We can chat anytime. Gaming is for after 3:30 on weekdays. Weekends, it depends.]

I was wondering why there was a time limit for gaming, but I didn't ask and replayed with an "Okay" emoticon: [Off now, I'm going to the library.]

He responded quickly: [Okay.]

It was Saturday and the library was a bit crowded.

I looked around for a long time before finding an empty table in the corner.

I took out my notes and went to find some textbooks.

There were some noises coming from the other side. I looked up and was stunned.

It was a senior in my major, the school prince Josh Stevens.

Josh hadn't been back to school often, what was he doing here?

"Mind if I sit here?"

He looked like he ran here. His face was a little red, and his voice was a little breathless.

"No, of course not."

I lowered my head in embarrassment.

Help! How could I concentrate on studying when such a beautiful man was sitting opposite me?

It really messed up my mind!

Josh got up to look for a book, and I quickly picked up my phone to send a message to my dormitory group: [Hey! Guess who I met!]

My roommate Jane: [Josh Stevens?]

I: [You have a third eye?]

Jane: [What? I was joking!]

I: [He's sitting opposite me! The guy's so pretty!]

My other roommate Dolly: [Photos, photos!]

I: [I'm too chicken for that.]

Seeing Josh coming back, I quickly put down my phone and pretended to be busy studying.

He put a pile of books in front of me and said, "These are more useful for your major."

I was stunned. "Um, thank you."

Josh must've felt awkward too, touching the back of his neck embarrassedly. "Sorry, it's a habit. I saw the books you were reading and guessed you're my junior in the same major. Thought I'd recommend a few good books."

"Thanks."

Must be good books if recommended by him.

May luck smile upon me with the exams.

"Oh right."

Josh glanced at my homework and pointed out a mistake. "This part is wrong. You shouldn't use this formula."

He bent down, picked up a pen and wrote down the detailed steps to solve the problem, then smiled at me and said, "Take a look, ask me if you have any questions."

I touched my nose subconsciously and replied, "Thank, thank you."

Guy sure knew how to impress.

I received exclusive tutoring from Josh.

I gotta admit, any difficult problem could be easily solved with his guidance.

I felt like I had been reborn and baptized, no longer the same old me!

I was now the passer of exams, with full marks in every subject!

"Let's call it a day."

Josh was picking up his things, paused and took out his mobile phone. "Add me on WhatsApp. If you have any questions, just ask me."

I excitedly scanned his QR code. "OK, thank you."

Josh accepted my friend request.

I changed his contact name to "Josh the Beauty".

When I returned to the dormitory, my roommate Shirley came over and asked, "How was it?"

"Thanks," I held my head high and said, "I've got the exam."

"Who asked you about that?" Shirley winked at me. "I mean the guy."

I shook the phone in my hand and replied, "Added his WhatsApp."

Jane glanced at the screen. "Tsk, tsk, look how she named him."

Just then Josh sent a message: [Are you back?]

I: [Yes, thanks for asking. You need anything?]

He hadn't replied, and the chat box kept showing typing.

Josh: [Nothing. Just wanted to ask if you have any other questions. I'm free now and can answer them.]

"Damn! Since when does Josh Stevens ask to help others with their homework?"

Dolly expressed disbelief. "Back when his classmate asked him for help, he just threw a book at her."

"Judy, you are..." Three of my roommates said in unison, "Our goddess!"

Thanks to Josh, every one of us passed the first exam.

I checked the time.

It was twelve forty-one.

It was Saturday, I didn't know if my partner would be online.

I opened the game and sent him message: [Are you online?]

He seemed to have been waiting and immediately replied: [Log in.]

I asked: [ I don't think I've ever heard you speak on the mic.]

He replied: [Wanna hear my voice?]

I answered: [I'm a little curious.]

He turned on the microphone and a deep voice came through. "Follow me closely."

Tsk, guy was a bass.

Pretty nice voice he got there.

I wondered, "But why did I feel like I'd heard it somewhere before?"

He helped me win more than ten rounds without much effort. Suddenly, the alarm rang, I jumped and almost threw my phone off.

I hurriedly left my room and sent a message: [Bye partner, gotta go offline now!]

He sent a voice message, "Why going off now?"

I replied: [Working as a part-time tutor.]

He: [Okay. Be careful on the road.]

I got off work a little late today. When I came out, it was already getting dark. I rubbed my face which was stiffened by the cold wind.

The part-time job was not far from school, and I usually walked there and back. It was no big deal before, but tonight I felt a bit spooked.

After stopping and looking back for God knows how many times, I couldn't help but speed up.

Suddenly someone tapped me on the shoulder.

I swung my bag at him and shouted, "Help!"

"It's me," The guy grabbed my bag. "Josh."

I put down my arms and blinked. "It's you?"

"I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"

Josh pointed to the road ahead, explaining, "I was on my way back to school. When I passed that intersection, I saw someone looking a lot like you. I was about to call you, but you just started running."

I scratched my head embarrassedly. "I thought someone was following me, turns out it's you..."

"It's my fault. I scared you."

Josh patted the bicycle beside him and said, "How about I take you back to school to make amends?"

"Is it too much trouble?"

"It's fine."

Josh took a long step forward, patted the back seat, and said, "Get on."

Seeing how enthusiastic he was, I couldn't refuse, so I tiptoed to the back seat.

"You can hold on to me."

Josh laughed, "Don't be shy. If you don't hold on, later if we run into something, you might fall down."

"Okay."

I carefully grabbed the sides of his shirt.

What he said turned out to be true.

He suddenly braked and my face hit his back. Before I could react, he started riding again, speeding up. I subconsciously put my arms around his waist for fear of falling off.

It was as if I was on a car, not a bicycle.

Josh sent me straight to the dormitory building.

"You're great on the pedals... Haha..."

I scratched my nose and praised him against my will.

"Thank you."

Josh accepted my compliment without any guilt. "It's cold out here, head back in."

"Okay. Thank you. Goodbye."

I walked up the steps and suddenly heard him calling my name.

"Judy."

I turned around and asked, "Anything else?"

Josh smiled at me, his eyes beaming, "Good night."

My heart seemed to skip a beat. "Good night."

Josh and I then met more frequently.

He always seemed to run into me by chance.

For example, just now, as I was walking out of the examination room, I met him in the lobby of the building.

I wasn't sure how he saw me among the crowd.

"Done with the exams?"

"Yeah. It's all over."

I motioned to my three roommates to go back first.

Josh walked beside me and asked, "When are you planning to go home?"

"I live in town. Just gotta pack. My dad will come to pick me up."

I thanked him, "Thank you for helping us revise for the exams."

"No problem at all."

Josh offered to help me with my luggage, "Let me help you move your stuff downstairs. This kinda thing should be done by a guy."

"But..."

Before I could say no, he added, "Just helping out my junior."

"Okay. Thank you."

As soon as I opened the door, my slouching roommates immediately sat up straight, stared at us in unison, and even stood up and bowed, "Hi Josh! Thank you for helping us revise!"

"Hmm."

Josh walked to a desk and asked, "Is this your desk?"

My face turned red instantly.

The desk was really a mess.

"Oh yes, I'm not done with those. I left in a hurry this morning, so it's a bit messy. It's not usually like this. My clothes and other things are all packed."

I tried to salvage my image.

"Let me help you clean up."

Josh quickly started tidying up, asking, "Where should these go?"

I handed him a makeup bag.

He carefully put the bottles and jars in, found some wet wipes to wipe my desk clean, and laid a dust-proof plastic film on it.

"I'll take the two suitcases downstairs first."

Josh picked up my two suitcases at the door.

Dolly touched her chin as she said, "I couldn't tell. Our major's academic god looks all slender and not that buff, turns out he's pretty strong. Easily carried two suitcases."

"I was startled when he came in just now."

Jane patted her chest, asking, "Judy, is he pursuing you?"

I was checking if there were any items left behind when I heard that. "No way."

"You sure?"

"We're not even that close."

I racked my brains but couldn't figure out what Josh saw in me. "Did he fall in love with me at first sight in the library?"