That night, before going to bed, Chu Qingning sent Lin Can a message on WeChat: [Little brother, good night.]
When a girl sends a "good night," it's not really a good night—it means: "Little brother, come chat."
But... one second, one minute, five minutes passed.
The chat interface remained with no reply from Lin Can.
Why isn't my little brother replying to my message?
Chu Qingning leaned against the headboard, biting her finger, and pressed the screen of her phone to light it up again.
Could it be because I spent the whole afternoon playing with my best friends and didn't contact him? Is he angry?
Chu Qingning began to overthink, feeling disheartened just because he hadn't replied to her message.
She didn't even notice her own emotions, as she kept staring at the screen.
Beside her, Qiao Meina glanced at the screen, then at Chu Qingning's disappointed face, and couldn't help but sneer. "What's wrong? Did that guy tug at your heartstrings?"
"Tch~ How could that be? I'm just checking the time, about to sleep."
Chu Qingning's mouth was stiff; only the three little ones knew the truth.
After speaking, she turned off the screen and put the phone on the bedside table, lying down to sleep. Ai Ye moved closer to hug her, but Chu Qingning pushed her away.
"Why are you hugging me? Go away."
"Why are you so grumpy? You scared me."
Qiao Meina: "Lin Can didn't reply, so now you're upset, huh?"
Ai Ye: "It's normal not to reply to messages, it's so late. I'm here hugging you to sleep, and Lin Can's in a presidential suite, hugging a beautiful girl to sleep. He has no time to reply to you."
What was said lightly hit a nerve.
Chu Qingning: !!!
Could it be true?
"No, no, no, Qingning, don't overthink, I'm just talking nonsense. Lin Can didn't reply because he must have been held up by something."
What could possibly hold him up at this time of night?
Silence.
Not just Chu Qingning, but the three little ones also fell silent, each thinking about what a rich second-generation would be doing at this hour, alone in a presidential suite, not replying to messages.
At first, Ai Ye led them astray, but now they were all letting their imaginations run wild.
"Uh... ahem..." Qiao Meina suggested, "How about... we give Lin Can a video call to check?"
Ai Ye: "Good idea, good idea."
Chu Qingning: "Isn't that a bit too much?"
Ai Ye: "True, what if he's really hugging a girl to sleep? That would be awkward."
Qiao Meina: "Ai Ye, shut your mouth, are you trying to make Qingning feel worse?"
Ai Ye: "I'm not talking nonsense, it's not impossible."
Beep beep beep...
Just as they were suspicious, Lin Can finally replied with a voice message.
Chu Qingning quickly tapped on the voice message and heard Lin Can's tired-sounding voice: [Hmm~~ (mixed with heavy breathing, as if very tired).]
The four girls felt a jolt in their hearts.
It sounded heavy.
Successfully PUAed by Lin Can.
Ai Ye was even angry: "Why does he sound so exhausted at this hour? Seems really tired, ugh ugh…"
Before she could finish, Qiao Meina covered her mouth.
"Qingning, ask him what he's doing?" Qiao Meina also felt that his voice didn't sound right, and she wanted to protect her best friend.
Could it be that all the good feelings from earlier towards Lin Can had vanished by the evening?
Chu Qingning, feeling uneasy, was about to send a voice message.
"Ai, why send a voice message? Just make a video call!" Qiao Meina reached out and pressed the video call button.
If Lin Can didn't answer immediately, or if he hung up and said it wasn't convenient, then there was a problem.
The four little ones nervously stared at the phone.
Little puppy, little puppy, don't disappoint us.
You're carrying the hearts of all four of us, after all.
...
At the same time.
Lin Can had just finished swimming several laps in the hotel's private pool, climbed out, and replied to Chu Qingning's message.
The video call was soon made.
Without hesitation, he answered.
"What's with the video call?"
Lin Can placed his phone on the wardrobe and rubbed his wet hair, his half-naked, wet torso appearing in the video.
The three little ones were stunned, then turned to look at Chu Qingning, as if asking: "Does your little brother have such a good body?"
This late at night, he's sending benefits to four single 19-year-old girls?
No, wait.
Don't be fooled.
It's a scheme by this heartthrob.
"Ahem…" Qiao Meina cleared her throat, snapped back to reality, and questioned: "Why aren't you wearing clothes this late? What are you doing?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I went swimming in the pool." Lin Can said, wiping the water droplets from his abs with a towel.
This…
Ai Ye couldn't take her eyes off him and kept biting her lip.
Qiao Meina: "You swam alone?"
"Of course, if you don't believe me, you can take a look."
Lin Can knew exactly what they were thinking, that they were checking up on him!
But it didn't matter. He confidently held the phone and scanned the pool.
"Don't worry, sisters, I'm not that kind of man."
"Well, if you're not that kind of man, then why are you naked, giving us a video call? Do you often do this with girls?"
This question was interesting, and since it was one person asking, it meant she was asking for the entire bestie squad.
Lin Can's answer had to satisfy not just Chu Qingning, but all four of the besties.
You're not just battling alone; you're battling with the entire squad.
Lin Can smiled and said, "How could I? This is the first time I've ever had a video call like this with a girl. You're all very lucky to see my sexy body."
"Ugh~ So full of yourself."
The four little ones chuckled and felt relieved.
Qiao Meina: "Since everything's fine, we can relax. The main issue is that you didn't reply to messages all day, and your sister was feeling down."
Lin Can: "Really?"
Chu Qingning: "I wasn't!"
Lin Can smiled: "Next time, I'll buy a waterproof phone, and when you send messages, I'll be able to see them while swimming."
Although he was trying to comfort her, it sounded really sweet.
Chu Qingning made a heart gesture.
Qiao Meina: "Oh, by the way, just so you know, get some rest. We're going traveling tomorrow, and Ai Ye's taking us. Got it?"
Lin Can: "Alright, I'll go to sleep now."
Qiao Meina: "Good boy, good night, oh, and next time, put some clothes on before the video call. Don't show off too much. Hmph~"
Click, the call ended.
Qiao Meina: "Is Qingning satisfied now?"
Chu Qingning: "I've always trusted my little brother."
The three little ones: "Tch~"
...
Lin Can found it amusing.
Are these four girls really that close?
Not fake friends?
But real sisters?
He wasn't dating just Chu Qingning; this was 1VS4, dating all four of them!
He had to constantly maintain a good impression in front of all four women.
If Chu Qingning is satisfied, then they are satisfied.
If they aren't satisfied, then Chu Qingning won't be satisfied.
As a bestie squad, they shared the same aesthetics and views, which is why they got along so well.
Is it difficult?
Not at all, just be yourself.
One failure, and it's game over.
One success, and everyone's happy.
It seems like if this goes on, in the end, they'll all be satisfied, and what he wins isn't just Chu Qingning, but…
The entire bestie squad. Total annihilation!