After the person left, Shang Jue came to his senses and put the pots and pans he had just cleaned back in their place, pouring the seasonings he had taken out back into their bottles.
After being busy for half a day, he was really a bit hungry.
At home, he had bought bagged knife-cut noodles, but feeling unsure about his seasoning skills, he decided to go for instant noodles instead and boiled an egg. Although the egg ended up a bit broken, the noodles turned out fine. Instant noodles are hard to mess up.
He returned late, and since there was only one class left for the day, he decided not to attend.
The next morning, he appeared in class, his face clearly marked by a bandage. Shang Jue had switched to a new adhesive bandage, making it hard for him to blink his eyes. His skin was fair, and the bandage didn’t quite match his skin tone. During class, the teacher saw him and asked, “Oh, how did you get hurt too? Did you fight with the student who was sitting next to you before?”
With both of them injured, it was no surprise the teacher could make that connection.
Shang Jue smiled and shook his head, saying it wasn’t true.
He didn’t know what expression Lu Yuxing, who was sitting at the back, had at that moment, nor did he turn around to look.
—
Lu Yuxing had beaten up Tian Miao pretty badly, and the latter had behaved himself at school for a while. A week later, Shang Jue finally received a message from He Yang, and the two agreed to meet at Shang Jue’s house. He Yang handed him an envelope containing a stack of photos.
Shang Jue opened it and saw pictures of Tian Miao entering and exiting a hotel; it was clear what he was up to without needing to guess.
“What’s the frequency?” Shang Jue asked.
He Yang replied, “It’s hard to say; he just got a bit better. He only returned to school for the first time two days ago. These photos were taken two days ago and yesterday. He scheduled two dates in a row.”
Shang Jue was surprised. “So frequent? But isn’t he still hurt?”
He Yang said, “That’s because he didn’t succeed either time.”
“?”
He Yang explained, “With this kind of thing, it doesn’t always work out, and the chances of failure are quite high.”
“What’s the reason?”
He Yang couldn’t help but laugh. “Because there are a lot of photo scams.”
Shang Jue casually flipped to one of the photos, spotting a middle-aged man with a bloated figure walking out of the hotel.
“……” He thought back to the targets Tian Miao had pursued before—He Yang, Lu Yuxing, all of them were top-tier in looks and body. Compared to this painfully unappealing photo, the contrast was simply too stark.
He Yang lazily leaned back on the sofa. “Are you planning to post these photos online? Would that feel satisfying? Even I can’t find satisfaction in that; he suddenly mentioned me in a post, causing me to get scolded for several comments.”
He showed an expression of dissatisfaction. “I’m so friendly to my classmates; where did my character go wrong? Is there any evidence that says I’m a player?”
Adding to that, the things Tian Miao did at the bar… Just thinking about him made He Yang feel disgusted.
Shang Jue looked at the photos in his hand, lost in thought, neglecting to comfort He Yang.
He Yang then fell silent, his gaze aimlessly wandering around the living room.
In one corner of the living room sat an open black suitcase filled with clothes and daily necessities.
He casually asked, “Are you going on a trip?”
“No.”
“Oh…”
After a moment, Shang Jue raised his head and said, “It’s too easy on him to post these online. I still need you to keep an eye on him. Can you find a way to prevent him from succeeding in his dates? Just try your best.”
He Yang thought for a moment and nodded. “Shouldn’t be a problem; it’s easy to intercept and give him some cash. Ah, are you trying to make him choke to death?”
“……”
Shang Jue shook his head, stuffing the photos back into the envelope and tossing it onto the coffee table.
He Yang guessed that he must have an idea, so he stopped asking and turned to another topic. “What about that guy of yours? Your boyfriend… really broke up?”
Shang Jue replied, “We never actually got together, so how could we break up?”
He Yang was taken aback. “Didn’t you say you liked him before? How come you’re denying it now?”
Shang Jue said, “That’s not what I said.”
He Yang realized, “Oh, he said that. Haha! That must have stung a bit for you!”
“……” Looking at He Yang still helping him out, Shang Jue suppressed the urge to throw him out.
“I told you, you two have no future.”
Shang Jue hesitated and asked, “That day, he looked at my injury. Do you think… it could mean something?”
He Yang said, “Ah, maybe he’s secretly happy to see you hurt?”
“Well… he left the pot he bought for me.”
He Yang was surprised. “He even left you the things he used?”
Shang Jue said, "It's getting late; maybe you should head back."
"Oh, okay."
He Yang got up, but as he reached the door, he suddenly reacted, turning around to shout, "You think what I'm saying sounds unpleasant, right?"
"Not really."
"You just think I talk too harshly! But I'm just speaking the truth!"
"… It's really not."
Shang Jue sighed and said, "I'm afraid that if I hear too much truth, I won't dare to do anything at all."
—
Lu Yuxing's head bandage had only been removed for two days, but the wound still looked rather gruesome from a distance. He consciously chose to sit at the back of the classroom during lessons to avoid scaring anyone.
After leaving Shang Jue's house last time, he hadn’t contacted Shang Jue for a whole week. The only time he could see him was during class, when he would catch a glimpse of Shang Jue's figure wedged between countless heads in front of him.
Shang Jue seemed unbothered, always smiling and chatting cheerfully with others. Sometimes, when he encountered Lu Yuxing walking with Ge Zhicheng and the others, he would wave and greet them without a care, as if he truly didn’t mind.
Lu Yuxing's companions were all in high spirits—his brother, Ge Zhicheng, Lin Xuying—celebrating his recovery of memory.
But Lu Yuxing himself had been unusually calm when he lost his memory; now that it had returned, his emotional management had deteriorated drastically. He would wake up feeling angry every morning, and this mood would only sour further when he saw the heads in front of him in class, adding a hint of bitterness to his frustration.
With only a few weeks left until the final exams and several classes wrapping up, the atmosphere in the dorm was relaxed after the last lesson of the day. There would be a break or no classes for several days following.
After dinner, it was almost seven o'clock. Having recently snowed, the roads were slippery. Lu Yuxing decided not to go to the library to avoid trouble, opting instead to stay in the dorm and read.
After a while, he got up to fetch some water and noticed the chaotic shoe prints on the floor. The snow had soaked the soles of his shoes, and he knew he would inevitably make a mess on the way back.
Unable to stand the sight, he put down his cup and went to the balcony to grab a mop.
He calmly instructed the other two, “Move the chairs in. Don’t let them get wet later.”
Lu Yuxing was usually responsible for most of the cleaning, and the two by the door quickly moved their chairs in as instructed.
After carefully mopping the floor twice, he was about to put the cleaning tools away when there was a sudden knock on the dorm door.
The other two, hearing the knock, didn’t dare move, feeling a strange reverence for the spot Lu Yuxing had just cleaned.
With no choice, Lu Yuxing gripped the mop and suppressed his slight annoyance as he went to open the door.
As he swung the door open, a cold breeze brushed past his face, and he was caught off guard by the sight of Shang Jue standing outside.
Shang Jue had a slight smile at the corner of his lips, his dimples appearing and disappearing. In that instant, fireworks exploded in Lu Yuxing's mind.
But when Shang Jue saw him, the smile on his face faltered, especially since Lu Yuxing was still holding the mop.
He rubbed his nose, his smile fading. The line he had prepared for this visit got caught in his throat due to the unexpected door opener.
Why did he open the door? The other two were much closer to the door…
The two shared a blank stare for a few seconds.
Lu Yuxing was stunned for a moment before lowering his gaze, pulling his eyes away from Shang Jue’s face. This time, he noticed the suitcase Shang Jue was holding, and his thoughts momentarily stalled.
Shang Jue looked up at the ceiling, his gaze passing over Lu Yuxing's head directly to the ceiling of Room 323. He felt a sudden urge to turn around and leave with his suitcase.
“...Can you move aside?” he said softly.
But Lu Yuxing stood there, stiff both physically and mentally, not moving for several seconds.
“Hey? Shang Jue, why are you here with a suitcase?” Ge Zhicheng strained his neck to look outside, “Are you moving back into the dorm?”
Shang Jue contemplated how to answer without sounding overly shameless.
In the end, he replied in a cold, somewhat displeased tone, “Yeah. Someone promised to share my rent, but who knew they’d only come up with five hundred bucks after three months... Living alone in such a big place is a financial burden, you know?”
Ge Zhicheng exclaimed, “Oh, someone was going to live with you outside? Who is so inconsiderate to not pay their rent?”
Lu Yuxing: “...”
How could he bring up that five hundred!
After speaking, Shang Jue lowered his eyes, biting down on a bit of soft flesh inside his lip, wishing he could just dig a hole and hide.
Why did I have to say that? If he transfers me the money now, what reason do I have to stay here? Shouldn’t I just take the money and leave right away?
But Lu Yuxing remained silent for a moment and surprisingly didn’t bring up the rent issue. He pushed against the doorframe, applying a bit of pressure to fully open the door. He then took a step back, allowing Shang Jue to pass.
Hearing that there would be new people in the dorm, the other two excitedly started chatting with Shang Jue, their voices overlapping and becoming indistinguishable, but even in their excitement, they didn’t dare to set foot on the floor to greet him.
At this moment, Shang Jue was feeling tense, his mind in a jumble, completely disregarding the outside environment. He walked in with his suitcase and headed straight for his old bed.
When he stood before it, he looked down and saw the marks he had left on the shiny floor, which was so reflective it could shine.
His shoes weren't actually dirty, especially since it had snowed over the past couple of days, making them quite clean from the accumulated snow. However, the suitcase had accompanied him through thick and thin, and Shang Jue usually didn’t bother cleaning the wheels, which had rolled who knows where. As a result, it left behind two conspicuous gray streaks on the floor.
Shang Jue: "..."
He calmed down a bit, glanced at Ge Zhi Cheng and Lin Xu Ying, who were huddled in their chairs like quails, then shifted his gaze to Lu Yuxing, who was leaning against the door with one hand propping up a mop, revealing his profile.
Lu Yuxing had his eyes lowered, the outline of his face was clear, and he showed no expression, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. His dark pupils were coldly focused on the dirt on the floor.
Shang Jue: "……………"
He silently turned his face away, feeling that if he looked any longer, that obsessive-compulsive person by the door would explode.
Lu Yuxing was indeed staring at the gray marks extending from the threshold all the way to Shang Jue's feet. His jaw tightened, and his mood suddenly became very complicated.
He actually found them as cute as the paw prints left by a cat on the concrete floor…
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