Love at First Sight: A College Romance

1

I was Katherine Hardy, an ordinary sophomore in college. I was a homebody and I was nineteen and had never been in a relationship. I might have seemed aloof, but I was actually quite easygoing.

With the crisp, refreshing weather, it was the perfect season for freshmen to embark on their college adventure. My adorable roommate, Cindy Harding, being a member of the student council, was naturally assigned to welcome the new students. According to her, it was just grunt work, but who knew, she might just have bumped into a stunning guy.

As she was about to leave, Cindy glanced at me, who was still lying on the bed, and suddenly got an idea. "Katherine, get up and come with me to meet some handsome guys."

I blinked, not having the chance to say anything before she dragged me out of bed, chiding me with the frustration of someone who sees wasted potential, "Look at you, with such a pretty face. How do you expect to get married if you stay cooped up in the dorm all day? What guy would want you?"

I protested, "Wasn't that guy from our class in freshman year a man?"

Cindy laughed mockingly, "He was a man, alright. But when he asked you out, you said you didn't want to go. When he talked to you, you acted all cold. In the end, he ignored you, didn't he? See, you missed out on a handsome guy for nothing."

Ah, it was ancient history and best left unmentioned.

Unable to resist Cindy, I eventually got dressed and joined her. I picked up a volunteer badge and stood under the blazing sun, suffering together.

Welcoming new students wasn't too bad. It was mostly just showing them around. Being girls, we didn't have to carry heavy stuff like the boys did. Cindy left with a new girl, leaving me alone. Seeing that there weren't many people around, I sneaked off to buy an ice cream. Just as I was happily heading back with my ice cream, as the saying went, "trouble often lurked just around the corner".

The chocolate ice cream left a bold mark on a young man's pristine white shirt. Before I could look up, I heard his clear, gentle voice.

"Don't you think this is a bit inappropriate? It's hot, sure, but this kind of cooling off isn't necessary."

I quickly apologized, my heart racing. What should I do? Paid for it? That seemed excessive. Washed it and returned it to him? Yes.

I had a plan, and when I looked up, I was momentarily stunned by his bright eyes and handsome features. I blurted out, "Take off your shirt, I'll wash it for you."

The young man was taken aback, then chuckled softly, "Are you really that bold? I'm still an innocent young bachelor, you know. It's not appropriate in public."

I blushed furiously. Having had little interaction with boys while growing up, I had been at a loss in that situation. I stammered, explaining that I just wanted to clean his shirt.

His gaze lingered on me, making me uncomfortable. After a while, he sighed, "I thought you were after my good looks. What a letdown."

I was shocked. Were boys really this... eager those days? I stared at him blankly, mentally labeling him as a desperate guy.

"Do you know where Building West 2 is? Show me the way, and I'll change and give you the shirt."

I looked at his teasing eyes, feeling a bit awkward, but I agreed to guide him. To think their freshman dorm was so close to ours? Yes, it was right behind my dorm.

Our girls' dorm and the boys' dorm faced each other, and from the balcony, we could sometimes see shirtless guys lazily pondering on their balcony. Pondering was a stretch. They were probably just showing off their bodies. This conclusion came from my cheeky roommate, Cindy. So, I often saw a shameless girl with glasses drooling while watching the boys' dorm.

Thinking of this, I worriedly told the young man beside me, "Guys need to watch out for themselves too, you know."

He laughed, as if he had heard a funny joke. "You're quite the character, aren't you? You're adorable."

I smiled, pleased with the compliment. I replied with a wink, "I think I'm pretty cute too."

When we reached the dorm, I waited for him at the bottom of the building. Before long, he came down, swinging a bag with the shirt inside. He had changed into a blue T-shirt, and in the sweltering summer, his presence felt refreshing. I glanced at him and couldn't help but marvel at how boyishly fresh-faced this young man looked.

Holding the bag, I realized I hadn't exchanged contact information. How was I supposed to return the T-shirt to him? I scratched my head. "Hey, could you share your contact info?"

The boy handed me his phone, already displaying his QR code. After adding him as a friend, the young man waved his hand and said, "I'm leaving now. You're the first student who has struck up a conversation with me."

Me? This guy was so full of himself. If there had been a definition for someone who was only good-looking and nothing else, it would have been him.

Back at the dorm, Cindy looked like a woman scorned, accusing me of abandoning her to elope with someone else for the entire morning. I rolled my eyes, tossed the bag aside, and sighed, exhausted. "Don't even mention it. I accidentally dirtied a boy's clothes today and now I have to wash them. I even lost my ice cream."

Cindy laughed heartily after hearing the story. "What kind of era is this? Can there still be such a person? Such a small-minded person?"

I didn't argue, since it was indeed my fault for dirtying his clothes.

When I mentioned he was quite handsome, Cindy clamored to see his photo, which reminded me to check his social media.

To my surprise, just like me, his profile was devoid of selfies, filled instead with pictures of food or funny emojis related to eating. As a fellow foodie, I was thrilled. It was rare to find a kindred spirit in those days. If you couldn't eat with enthusiasm, what could you do well?

After browsing through his posts, I was about to exit when I noticed he had posted a status, "Met a goofy senior today. Who would've thought someone as extraordinary as me would encounter such a goofball at university? Luckily, I'm too outstanding to bother with her."

I was ready to give him a piece of my mind, but all my words boiled down to one: "You're the goofball."

He replied instantly, "Oh, goofy woman. Stop playing with your phone and go wash my clothes."

I couldn't help but exclaim, "What a cheeky guy!"

Opening the bag, I took out the clothes, overwhelmed by the strong scent of men's cologne. At the bottom of the bag was a note, "Enjoying my signature scent?"

What on earth? This guy was too much, his serious and gentle appearance didn't match his personality at all.

After pondering for a while, I sent him a message, "Someone must be worried about their body odor, spraying so much cologne to cover it up. Don't worry, I'm not the type to mind a man's scent."

After a long pause, he replied, "Come smell it for yourself sometime."

This man had no shame. I ignored him, angrily tossed his clothes into the water and started scrubbing them.

2

The next day, the clothes were dry. I contacted him to return them, but there was no response for half the day. He finally replied by noon, asking me to meet him at the cafeteria.

When I saw him, he was in his military training uniform, and I almost didn't recognize him. The boy with jet-black hair from yesterday now had a buzz cut. I understood immediately. It was a tradition at our school for boys to get buzz cuts during military training, a rule that had many of them crying in despair. Seeing him like this, I couldn't help but feel a bit smug, but I held back my laughter to spare his feelings.

He noticed me and casually placed his military cap in the bag I was holding, then headed towards the cafeteria without a word.

I quickly grabbed him. "Take your clothes. What are you doing?"

He looked me up and down, ignored my question, and instead asked if I had eaten. I shrugged. As a self-proclaimed foodie, I was already full.

He sighed and muttered something under his breath, and I caught words like "glutton". I shot him a silent middle finger from behind.

Just as I was about to shove the clothes at him and leave, I heard him say, "Hey, little rascal, have lunch with me."

I was taken aback. Did he just call me little rascal?

"I'm your senior, you know. I'm older than you. You're the little rascal." I paused and said. "I'm full. I don't want to eat any more. Just take your clothes so I can go."

He ignored me and went to buy food from a nearby stall, then found a seat and waved me over.

"Join me. You don't want to miss a live show of a handsome guy eating, do you?" He sat there, looking at me with a face full of regret.

I scoffed. What a narcissist. I was about to refuse when he pitifully added, "I skipped lunch with my friends to meet you. Now you're leaving me all alone here? I'm scared."

What a cheeky guy.

I glanced at his tray, which was piled high with meat.

He noticed my gaze and smiled. "What? Hungry?"