Zeng Keqin hadn't expected him to continue the conversation. She paused for a moment. "I'm looking it up for a friend."
Jiang Shiyu seemed genuinely interested in the topic. "Why?"
So he could be nosy too.
Zeng Keqin stared at the pouring rain and briefly explained Fang Yu's encounter with a pig-butchering scam.
She had thought he would mock her after hearing it, but to her surprise, he only fell silent for a few seconds before speaking. "I came to the library, but not to cause you trouble."
Zeng Keqin turned her head to look at him.
Jiang Shiyu pulled out his phone from his pants pocket. "This is another social media account I found belonging to Qi Yu."
Zeng Keqin took the phone. The account had posted an update just half a month ago—
[J University student; accepting makeup appointments for photoshoots. DM for pricing.]
Her pupils contracted slightly.
"Following this account, I found that he has posted similar messages on at least five different platforms."
Zeng Keqin's mind raced. "You mean he approaches girls under the guise of photoshoots and steals their photos?"
Jiang Shiyu shot her an approving glance, then lowered his voice with a hint of accusation. "I called you earlier to tell you this, but you hung up on me."
Zeng Keqin bit her lip and turned to look elsewhere, muttering softly, "With that attitude of yours, of course I hung up."
But he caught it with his keen ears.
Jiang Shiyu raised an eyebrow. "What attitude?"
Zeng Keqin decided to just let it all out. "Even though there was a misunderstanding, the way you acted in the library seriously affected others..."
In the dim, gloomy light, she looked up, her mouth opening and closing. Her dark, almond-shaped eyes were startlingly bright, and without her earlier timidity, she seemed unusually vivid.
Jiang Shiyu's Adam's apple bobbed. He finished the rest of the water in one gulp, crushing the empty bottle with his fingers.
Seeing his momentum, Zeng Keqin thought he was about to pick a fight again. She quickly lowered her head, swallowing back the words on the tip of her tongue.
Suddenly, darkness fell before her eyes. Something heavy landed on her head, and the crisp scent of cologne filled her nose.
She dazedly looked up and reached out to take it off. It was a black jacket.
"I'm not cold..."
Before she could finish, Jiang Shiyu had already charged into the heavy rain. His tall figure grew smaller and smaller in the curtain of rain, and that flash of bright red hair quickly disappeared from sight.
Zeng Keqin looked at the jacket in her hands. It still held some residual warmth, feeling almost hot to the touch.
But she hesitated for only a second before wrapping the jacket tightly around her canvas bag, opening the umbrella, and dashing into the rain.
Pushing open the dormitory door, Wang Chunyue's exaggerated shriek immediately greeted her—
"Qinqin, how did you turn into a drowned rat?!"
"The rain outside was too heavy."
Zeng Keqin quickly walked to her desk, fished out her laptop and notes from the canvas bag, and let out a sigh of relief when she saw they were dry.
"Go take a hot shower, or you'll catch a cold. I'll brew you a packet of Xiao Chai Hu."
"Okay, thanks."
Zeng Keqin took a change of clothes from her wardrobe and walked into the bathroom. She looked up at the mirror.
Her hair was plastered to her face in strands, her white shirt completely soaked through, almost revealing... She suddenly realized, and her face flushed all the way to her ears.
So he had given her his jacket not because she was cold. But because he was worried she might... expose herself.
Coming out of the bathroom, Wang Chunyue was holding the jacket and examining it from all angles.
"When did you buy something like this? It looks like a men's style." She even brought it close and sniffed it. "Why does it smell like cologne?"
Zeng Keqin quickly snatched the jacket back from her hands. "It belongs to a regular friend."
Wang Chunyue clicked her tongue and said meaningfully, "A—regular—friend, huh!"
Zeng Keqin ignored her. She noticed there seemed to be something in the inside pocket of the jacket.
She pulled it out. It was a neatly folded piece of paper, slightly damp from the rain.
She carefully unfolded it. Though the edges were wrinkled, the handwriting was still clearly legible.
The strokes were forceful, the characters bold and sharp, just like the person—carrying a hint of unruly wildness.
It was all information about Qi Yu and his accounts on other social platforms, arranged neatly in rows.
She hesitated for a moment, then picked up her phone and opened Jiang Shiyu's chat window.
[There's a paper in your jacket. Do you need it urgently?]
He didn't reply.
She waited for a while, then put down her phone and picked up the hairdryer to blow-dry her hair, but her mind wandered.
She remembered the face he made when he tossed her his jacket—his mouth saying one thing, but his actions betraying a clumsy concern, and the image of him striding into the rain.
This Jiang Shiyu.