I was about to confess to my online chat partner in person when a barrage of comments suddenly flashed across my mind.

[Don't bother. Jedediah is avoiding her right now. He's regretting ever mixing her up with someone else.]

[It's all her fault for using a profile picture so similar to Georgia's. Otherwise, Jedediah wouldn't have gotten confused.]

[It's annoying to think that when Jedediah lost a game, it was the supporting role, Monica, who comforted him. All those sweet words he said were meant for the female lead, Georgia.]

[Jedediah is grossed out by it, too. Georgia only added him as a friend yesterday. It's so frustrating.]

[Monica is a bane!]

Dazed, I ran into Jedediah Merritt, who had just finished playing basketball.

He quickly averted his gaze, but I moved around him, shoving the love letter into his roommate's hands.

Online chat partner? I had more than one, sending my goodnight voice messages to several people every night.

When I first saw the barrage, I was a bit dazed.

Standing outside the basketball court, I looked at the scrolling comments in the air. Slowly, the pieces started to fall into place.

According to the messages, I was nothing more than a minor supporting character in a campus romance novel, and my online chat partner, Jedediah Merritt, was the male lead.

I looked down at the love letter in my hands. It all made sense now.

No wonder his replies to my messages had been so slow and indifferent these past few days, with hints of irritation. He had mixed me up with someone else from the start, thinking I was the female lead, Georgia Roberts.

That was why he had added me on WhatsApp and started chatting with me. Slowly, feelings had developed through casual "good morning" and "good night" messages.

But now that he knew the truth, he was avoiding me and even saw me as an obstacle between Georgia and him.

I heard some noise in the distance. Looking up, I saw Jedediah walking toward me.

He was dressed in a blue basketball jersey, his forehead covered by a white sports headband. He casually grabbed the water bottle a classmate handed him and took a swig.

He was glowing, radiating a charm that made him the object of admiration for girls.

As he walked closer, he noticed me, and his steps faltered. He quickly looked away, pretending to focus on his teammates.

His reaction made me sigh. It seemed those comments were right after all.

[If I were Monica Lovell, I'd stay far away from Jedediah and stop embarrassing myself.]

[Exactly. The male and female leads are meant to be together. Monica shouldn't be in the way. Doesn't she think it's pathetic?]

[Jedediah won't even look at her.]

Indeed, Jedediah didn't look at me. He lowered his head, fiddling with his phone, likely replying to someone's message.

His face broke into a smile. Probably, it was Georgia who had just added him as a friend.

Just as he was about to walk past me, I grabbed his wrist.

His eyes widened in surprise, and I smiled, "Jedediah Merritt?"

The barrage went wild with comments, all cursing me, but I paid them no mind, focusing on Jedediah. "Excuse me, is Bruno Johnson your roommate? Do you know where he is right now?"

He blinked. "Why are you looking for him?"

I waved the love letter in my hand. "I have something for him."

Jedediah didn't answer, but one of his teammates, who had been watching, chimed in, "Bruno? He's at the tennis court next door."

"Oh, thanks." I let go of Jedediah's wrist. "Thanks for the help."

I turned and walked toward the tennis court. Whispers then came from behind me. They weren't exactly quiet, and I could hear every word clearly.

"Wow! This girl is bold, falling for Bruno."

"Bruno is kind of creepy. How could any girl like him?"

"He is good-looking, though. Not like Jedediah, but he's pretty. Some girls fall for his looks."

"Jedediah, why aren't you saying anything?"

"Where are you going? It's time for lunch."

Footsteps came from behind, and then he blocked my way.

I blinked. "Jedediah? Do you need something?"

He furrowed his brow, then glanced at the love letter in my hand, as if he had just realized what was going on. He looked a little frustrated as he ran a hand through his hair.

"It's nothing. I just remembered that my roommate is kind of weird," he replied. "You don't really know him, and if you show up to find him, he might get angry. How about I pass on your letter to him?"

The barrage went wild.

[What's going on? Is Monica trying to play hard-to-get?]

[Scared me there. I thought Jedediah liked this plain girl. But now it seems like he's just being kind.]

[To be honest, Georgia's comfort after Jedediah's loss in the competition was significant. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to bounce back so quickly. If I were him, I might have fallen for her already.]

As I glanced at the comments, my mind wandered.

They were talking about a basketball game that took place last fall, one that meant a lot to Jedediah. But he faltered at a crucial moment, and they lost.

His teammates tried to console him, but he could still feel their barely concealed disappointment and shame.

He hid away, alone.

I sent him so many messages, but he never replied. In the end, I recorded a purposely off-key song for him.

Finally, he responded, "Stop singing. You're going to kill me with that voice."

His voice was full of helplessness, but there was the faintest hint of amusement. I stayed up talking to him until dawn, finally managing to lift his spirits.

[Monica stole Georgia's play! Jedediah would never fall for her. He's always liked Georgia.]

[Exactly. He fell for Georgia at first sight. He only added Monica as a friend by mistake. Or else, she wouldn't even have made it onto his list.]

That was probably true.

I shook my head. "It's fine. I'm quite close to Bruno."

Jedediah froze. "What? How come?"

I leaned in a bit, my tone mysterious. "Actually, I've known him for three years. We've only chatted online before but have never met in person."

I paused, adding, "Now that graduation is coming up, I thought I'd confess to him and give myself a chance."

[What's going on? Did Monica make a mistake too?]

[This is great. If she goes after that shady, villainous guy, she won't keep bothering Jedediah.]

[But Jedediah doesn't look too happy about it.]

Jedediah stood in front of me, frowning, his hesitant expression almost comical.

I looked past him, my face relaxing into a smile. "I see him. Catch you later, Jedediah."

Jedediah blurted out, "Are you sure you haven't made a mistake?"

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

He gritted his teeth. "Didn't you just say you've never met him? How can you be sure it's him?"

I chuckled, "If it's not him, could it be you?"

Jedediah denied it without a second thought. "It's not me."

I stared at him, but he didn't dare to make eye contact with me. I nodded. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

I sidestepped him and ran toward the group of people leaving the tennis courts. Jedediah instinctively raised his hand, then stopped himself mid-motion.

At 6'2", Bruno stood out in the crowd. He was walking at the back, his hair a little long, casually tied back. His forehead was damp with sweat, and he casually ran his fingers through it, revealing his delicate features.

But his expression was cold, giving off an unapproachable vibe. Except during tennis practice, no one really wanted to walk next to him.

I weaved through the crowd of tall guys, finally stopping in front of him. Bruno didn't notice me, almost bumping into me.

When he saw my face, he froze for a split second. "What's up?"

I handed him the love letter. "Well, I want to confess to you."

He eyed the wrinkled pink envelope, then looked up at me. To be honest, everything I told Jedediah was true. I really was quite familiar with Bruno. Well, in my own way.

I had a bit of a problem: I was overly emotional and loved to provide emotional support to others. I wanted to give a home to every sad boy and girl in the world.

I talked to more people online than just Jedediah. He was just the most active, demanding one.

When he was upset after a lost game, he'd vent his frustration and ask me to lull him to sleep with a lullaby.

Bruno was nothing like that. He was cold.

I could send him ten messages, and he wouldn't reply to one. It didn't bother me because I was only into his looks.

I held his gaze calmly. "I'm Monica Lovell, from the Department of Statistics next door. I know you might not like my confession, but what do you think about meeting me offline first?"

Bruno ignored me, slinging his tennis racket over his shoulder, then walked away.

Unfazed, I grinned and headed to the cafeteria for lunch.

On my way there, my phone beeped.

It was a message from my online friend, Gigi.

Gigi: [The other day, you mentioned seeing a psychologist who suggested you find a boyfriend; maybe it would help with your emotional excess. How's that going?]

I thought for a moment, then typed my reply: [I had someone in mind, but now I've decided to change that. What about you? Didn't you say you added your crush on WhatsApp? How's the conversation going?]

Gigi was a little troubled. [It's just okay. After adding him, I didn't feel like talking much. I still enjoy chatting with you more.]

Just then, I noticed the barrage of comments going wild, as if something had triggered them.

[Can someone explain why Monica is also friends with Georgia?]

[Is Jedediah just an expendable fish in Monica's pond?]

[Georgia, what are you doing? Jedediah is still waiting for your reply. Why are you chatting with Monica?]

[Monica, look behind you. The creepy guy is following you. Can you really talk to someone like that?]

[Everything's a mess now. Drink to that.]

As I replied to Gigi's message, I kept an eye on the barrage.

It seemed these comments weren't entirely pointless. Gigi turned out to be Georgia, the female lead.

I abruptly turned around, taking Bruno by surprise. Standing about ten feet away, he didn't seem embarrassed by his stalking actions.

With a blank expression, he walked over, then brushed past me. With that kind of mental resilience, he was definitely not an ordinary person.

I clicked my tongue but did not think much. I simply turned and stepped into the cafeteria.

After an exhausting day, I got back to my dorm, washed up, and felt sleepy.

I said goodnight to each of my online friends. When I clicked on Jedediah's chat, I paused, knowing better than to chat with him that night.

I was about to exit when I saw the prompt of him tying. I waited for a while, but nothing happened.

I yawned, turning off my phone and rolling over to sleep.

...

I was serious about finding a boyfriend.

The next day, as soon as my class ended, I rushed to find Bruno.

Unfortunately, I arrived too early, and there weren't many people at the tennis court. I wandered around for a while, then bumped into people shouting.

"Coach, when I arrived, the ball machine was already broken, and it looked like someone did it on purpose."

"Who was the last to leave last night?"

"It was Bruno. After dinner, he came back to the tennis court and didn't leave until it was about to close."

"Did you check the surveillance cameras?"

"The cameras are broken. They haven't been fixed yet."

Bruno appeared, and everyone turned to look at him.

The coach, Carmelo Ray, furrowed his brows, his tone not so friendly. "Bruno, did you break the ball machine?"

Bruno glanced at him. "No."

His indifferent attitude annoyed Carmelo. "If you did something wrong, don't deny it. It's not a big deal."

The students around them whispered to each other.

"It's probably him."

"He won't admit it because he's afraid of paying for the damage."

"How could he do that?"

Even the barrage was skeptical.

[There's a reason he's not the main character. This guy has some serious moral issues.]

[Tsk, look at the way he's looking at people. It's kind of scary.]

Bruno's face darkened. His gaze shifted to someone in the crowd, pausing. Then he pulled out his phone from his pocket, found a video, and played it.

The video showed the empty tennis court, and in the corner, a figure could be seen violently kicking the ball machine. The scene flashed by quickly, then the camera flipped, revealing a girl's face.

"Bruno, haven't you come to the tennis court yet? I've been waiting here for so long."

Familiar voice and familiar face.

Everyone turned to stare at me, who had been watching the scene from the back. Even with my thick skin, I couldn't handle all their stares.

I forced a smile. "Oh, just taking a random video."

But fortunately, this video cleared Bruno's name. Carmelo walked over to me. "Do you know who damaged public property?"

I pointed to someone in the crowd. "Him."

I hadn't remembered it until Bruno showed the video. I asserted, "It was him."

The guy shook his head, denying it, "No way."

"It was you. You were kicking and cursing, saying how Bruno shouldn't have been chosen for the competition," I said. "You said he must have bribed the coach."