There was no other way. She and Xiao Hua were both ordinary college students from not-so-wealthy families. 

Whenever they went out, they could clearly feel the harsh reality of being poor.

The happiest moments for them were intimate activities in bed.

Xiao Peng was happy, and Xiao Hua was happy too.

After all, they were both attractive young people...

But aside from that, they couldn't think of anything else that brought them joy.

Xiao Nuo was different.

Though average-looking, she had money.

Money could buy happiness.

Just one example - the 7,000-yuan smartphone Xiao Peng was using had been bought by Xiao Nuo.

Moreover, for his favorite mobile game Honor of Kings, Xiao Peng used to have no skins except the basic ones. 

But now Xiao Nuo had gifted him dozens of skins, all epic, legendary or limited editions.

Therefore, he ultimately chose Xiao Nuo and abandoned Xiao Hua.

After eating some snacks, Xiao Hua excused herself to get some fresh air outside.

But everyone knew the real reason.

Xiao Peng was still concerned about Xiao Hua despite their breakup.

Xiao Q noticed the pleading look in Xiao Peng's eyes and, to reassure him, volunteered to follow Xiao Hua.

Xiao Q and Xiao Hua went out together.

There were now four guys and four girls remaining in Xiao Nuo's apartment.

After finishing their takeout, the eight college students started playing Truth or Dare out of boredom.

They used rock-paper-scissors to decide who would answer or perform - the last one losing each round would choose between truth or dare.

The first loser was a girl who chose truth.

The question was: Who among us do you like?

She answered none, saying the person she liked wasn't present.

The second loser was a guy who also picked truth.

His question: How many girlfriends have you had?

His answer: Three.

The third loser was another guy who again selected truth.

His question: How many adult films have you watched?

Answer: Many, at least over a hundred.

This drew laughter from the group.

The fourth loser happened to be the same guy who lost the third round, and he stuck with truth.

This time the question was: Who's your most frequent fantasy object?

Blushing, he answered: My college English teacher.

The group erupted in teasing, urging him to call his teacher and confess.

He immediately refused: "Hey hey, I chose truth, not dare! I have the right to refuse!"

Seeing that everyone was choosing truth and no one picked dare, they found the game boring.

So they changed the rule - losers must perform a dare.

The fifth loser was a girl.

She was usually introverted with no juicy gossip about her.

So the dare they gave her was:

Go knock on Room 701's door and take a selfie with the resident in front of their door.

The shy girl shook her head vehemently, asking for a different dare.

But the others insisted, saying this would help improve her social skills and make her more outgoing.

Reluctantly, the introverted girl went to complete her dare.

The remaining seven waited for her return.

After ten minutes with no sign of her, they weren't too concerned and kept waiting.

But by the twentieth minute, they started feeling something was off.

They were in Room 904; the girl had gone to Room 701 - just two floors apart.

Even taking the stairs shouldn't take twenty minutes.

"Maybe she's still hesitating at the door? Too scared to knock?" one girl joked.

Introverts might agonize over how to ask a classmate for an eraser, let alone knock on a stranger's door for a photo.

So the others didn't think much of it.

But Xiao Peng grew increasingly worried.

He remembered Wang Ju from two days ago, and Wang Nuli he'd seen earlier today.

With these disturbing thoughts, his heartbeat unconsciously quickened.

Truthfully, he hadn't approved of this dare from the beginning.

But he'd been outvoted by the others.

After five more minutes, Xiao Peng suddenly stood up, startling everyone:

"Let's go check Room 701. Why hasn't she come back yet? Don't tell me another Wang Ju situation happened."

The others agreed and prepared to go together.

"Relax, what are the chances of another Wang Ju incident? Unless this whole apartment is full of psychos..."

The seven took the elevator to the 7th floor. The motion-activated lights illuminated the previously dark hallway as they stepped out.

At Room 701's door, finding no trace of the girl, Xiao Peng knocked directly.

Within two minutes, the door opened to reveal a tall, blond, blue-eyed foreigner about their age.

His Chinese was heavily accented - probably also a student here.

After a quick glance, Xiao Peng asked bluntly: "Did a female friend of ours come knocking on your door? Have you seen her?"

Though polite on the surface, Xiao Peng felt intense dislike looking at the foreigner's face.

Xiao Peng hated all foreigners, white or black.

Why?

Because at bars, foreign guys always got first pick with girls.

Even though he was handsome, when girls had to choose, they'd pick a foreigner every time.

Didn't matter if the foreigner was ugly - they were just more popular.

Thus Xiao Peng despised foreigners and even more the girls who mindlessly fawned over them.

He could never be friends with such girls.

The young foreigner took several minutes processing the question before smiling down at them:

"No, no one knocked tonight."

"Really?"

Xiao Peng scanned the foreigner suspiciously, trying to peek inside.

Noticing this, the foreigner politely stepped aside to let Xiao Peng look:

"See? No one here."

Since the foreigner was being courteous, Xiao Peng couldn't rudely barge in. He just apologized before the door closed.

......

"Thank you, Xiao Q. I feel much better after talking with you."

Having come down from the rooftop, Xiao Hua and Xiao Q were now returning to Xiao Nuo's apartment.