At noon, Lu Yuxing returned, and the four of them were quietly doing their own things.
As night fell, Ge Zhicheng glanced around the dormitory and noticed that no one was studying, even Lu Yuxing was scrolling through his phone under the desk lamp.
He then peeked at the new member of the dormitory.
Shang Jue hadn’t turned on the desk lamp and was looking through a stack of photos that He Yang had given him the previous day in the shadow of the desk. Among them were two photos that He Yang hadn’t mentioned specifically. They showed an entertainment club where Tian Miao had gone after breaking up with the person he was meeting, but he quickly came out, probably without spending any money.
Last night, he had messaged Shang Yu, who told him that the club wasn’t a proper place. What set it apart from others was that this club had “young masters” providing special services to men.
Seeing that Shang Jue wasn’t doing anything serious either, Ge Zhicheng cleared his throat and said, “Anyone want to play cards?”
Shang Jue, hearing this, stuffed the photos into the bookshelf, then leaned back in his chair, arching his upper body backward to look over. His two chair legs lifted a bit in curiosity. “What are we playing?”
“Poker. We won’t play for money; we’ll play whatever you know. I have two sets of board games…”
Shang Jue straightforwardly replied, “Let’s do it.”
Ge Zhicheng perked up, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Lu Yuxing wasn’t interested in such boring activities. Since the dorm had lost a member, his sets of cards and board games had gathered dust in the cabinet for three months.
Lin Xuying naturally wanted to join as well.
The three dragged their chairs to squeeze in the middle of the dormitory, using two suitcases as a table.
Lin Xuying asked, “Lu Ge, are you coming?”
Lu Yuxing turned to glance at the group and replied, “I’m good.”
Ge Zhicheng asked, “Then Lu Ge, are you studying? Will we be too noisy…?”
“It’s fine.”
Ge Zhicheng exclaimed, “Alright!”
Lu Yuxing turned back to his work, but not long after, he could hear the sound of their conversation.
Shang Jue was quiet, but he quickly blended in, and soon Ge Zhicheng spoke to him in a much more familiar tone.
Occasionally, Lu Yuxing could hear Shang Jue’s light laughter, which wasn’t loud but still bothered him.
He stood up, preparing to take a stroll around the school.
The three pairs of eyes immediately turned to him, thinking Lu Yuxing was annoyed by them.
“…”
Lu Yuxing said, “...I’m stepping out for a bit.”
Ge Zhicheng cautiously asked, “Lu Ge, are we too noisy?”
Lu Yuxing didn’t want to spoil the mood and said, “No, I need to buy something. Do you need anything?”
Ge Zhicheng breathed a sigh of relief. “Then Lu Ge, could you bring me a cup of instant noodles?”
Lin Xuying added, “I want ice pops!”
“You want to eat ice pops in weather that’s below ten degrees? You’re really something,” Ge Zhicheng teased.
“It’s warm in the dorm!”
“Alright.” Lu Yuxing’s gaze fell on the last person and asked, “What do you want?”
Shang Jue hesitated for a moment. He wasn’t particularly hungry, but he was tempted by the other two.
He said, “Instant noodles and popsicles.”
Lu Yuxing: “……………”
His facial muscles tightened for a moment, and he said, “I am going to the East Gate.”
Ge Zhicheng: “Ah!”
At the East Gate, there was a food stall area filled with late-night snacks.
Lu Yuxing asked Ge Zhicheng, “Want to switch?”
“I’ll change to small wontons, thanks, Brother Lu!”
Lu Yuxing lifted his eyelids and turned to Shang Jue: “What about you?”
Shang Jue hesitated for a moment, then said, “Then I’ll… switch to small wontons too.” He awkwardly added a “thank you” at the end.
Only then did Lu Yuxing put on his coat and leave with Shang Jue's “thank you.”
Shang Jue stared at his back, not pulling his gaze away until the dormitory door closed, his thoughts drifting before he cautiously pulled himself back.
“It’s great that you can move back.”
Ge Zhicheng’s voice snapped Shang Jue back to reality.
“Before you came, Yingzi and I could only play mobile games, but I still think it's most fun to gather a few people in the dorm to play together.”
Shang Jue asked, “Is Lu Yuxing not coming?”
“Oh, Lu Ge hasn’t participated since his freshman year. He’s basically in the library every night. He’s not interested in these things.”
Shang Jue nodded.
About half an hour later, Lu Yuxing returned carrying the items, and the two portions of small wontons were still steaming.
Ge Zhicheng gratefully shouted, “Thanks, Lu Ge!” He happily took one portion from Lu Yuxing and handed one to Shang Jue.
Lu Yuxing's other hand carried a small plastic bag containing a lonely popsicle, which he handed to Lin Xuying.
Lin Xuying was taken aback and said, “I remember Shang Jue seemed to want you to bring popsicle…”
Lu Yuxing: “Did he? I don’t recall.”
Shang Jue: “…”
Lin Xuying scratched his head and said somewhat awkwardly, “Then how about giving that one to Shang Jue?”
Lu Yuxing: “…”
Shang Jue glanced at Lu Yuxing and said, “No need.”
He took his warm late-night snack back to his bed.
The small wontons had thin skins and generous fillings, with a light and savory broth that warmed his stomach after eating.
Shang Jue ate slowly, his mind drifting as he looked at the bright soup.
He didn’t want to be overly sentimental.
But thinking about the small wontons and popsicles made his heart race.
What does this guy mean… does it mean… he has feelings for me?
Shang Jue felt a bit of a headache and thought: Have I become that kind of person? Do I think everyone is secretly in love with me just because they do something ???
After the late-night snack, there was still more than an hour until lights out.
The group returned to the makeshift table made from their suitcases.
Ge Zhicheng picked up the first card, but Shang Jue hesitated to make a move.
He felt a bit hopeful...
Shang Jue turned his head and softly called out to Lu Yuxing's back, “Hey.”
Lu Yuxing shifted his shoulder slightly, turning his head to look over with a mix of cold dissatisfaction in his eyes.
Shang Jue hesitated for a moment, then finally asked, “...Do you want to come join us?”
Lu Yuxing suddenly fell silent.
After a while, he spoke, “I don’t…”
Shang Jue’s warm heart cooled a bit.
Lu Yuxing: “I’m not very good at it.”
Shang Jue was stunned and after a moment, lowered his eyes. “You’ll get the hang of it with a couple of rounds. I can teach you if needed.”
“…”
Lu Yuxing pursed his lips, conflicted for a few seconds, then stood up and brought over a chair.
The other two were dumbfounded.
Ge Zhicheng was the first to react and said in disbelief, “Lu Ge you didn’t play before because you didn’t know how? You should have said that! I’m great at teaching newbies; Yingzi learned from me!”
Lin Xuying said, “Then let’s play an open hand next round so Lu Ge can get familiar with the rules.”
Shang Jue had called Lu Yuxing over to teach the game, but once he sat next to him, he fell silent.
He looked down at his hand of open cards, thinking: it’s still… a bit interesting, right?
Shang Jue bit his lip hard, but the cheerful mood was hard to suppress, and in the end, he couldn’t hold back a smile.
In the light, his face was excessively captivating. Ge Zhicheng looked up and caught a glimpse of the dimples on Shang Jue's smiling face, unexpectedly stunned and exclaimed, “Shang Jue… you smile so charmingly!”
Shang Jue: “…”
This was the first time Shang Jue had heard such a description, and he couldn’t control his laughter, bending over and chuckling for a long time.
No one noticed that after Ge Zhicheng finished speaking, Lu Yuxing turned his head slightly, but then immediately froze. It seemed he wanted to see just how charming Shang Jue's smile was, but he desperately held back.
Lu Yuxing played for two consecutive nights, and on the last day of the break, the three finally calmed down a bit and worked quietly on their group assignment under their beds.
When Ge Zhicheng grew tired, he tossed his computer onto Shang Jue's bed to chat.
In just a few days, their friendship had deepened due to their card-playing relationship, and he was now quite familiar with Shang Jue.
“Do you still smoke? I saw a pack of cigarettes on the coffee table when I went to your house that day.”
Shang Jue vaguely sensed that Ge Zhicheng wasn’t just casually mentioning it and carefully replied, “Not often.”
“Oh…”
Shang Jue: “What’s up? Can’t you stand the smell of smoke?”
Ge Zhicheng said, “It’s not me; it’s Lu Ge who doesn’t allow smoking indoors. If you want to smoke, you can go to the balcony and open the window. We had a roommate who smoked in the dorm a few times, and Lu Ge scolded him severely!”
Shang Jue: …
With his back to the two of them, Lu Yuxing, who had fully listened to this conversation: …
“And then,” Ge Zhicheng scratched his face, surprisingly feeling shy, “our dorm has a few rules… I figured you’d eventually need to know them, so I’d rather tell you early to avoid getting scolded by Lu Ge later.”
Lu Yuxing: “…”
Shang Jue paused for a moment, then nodded with some confusion, “I can understand. Go ahead.”
“It’s actually pretty simple. Just keep personal hygiene in order, stay quiet after lights out, and don’t put personal items in public areas… The main thing is still hygiene.” Ge Zhicheng pointed at himself, lamenting, “I’ve been scolded by Lu Ge several times.”
Lu Yuxing finally couldn’t sit still anymore, “When did I randomly scold people?”
Ge Zhicheng said, “Lu Ge, don’t be shy now. When Shang Jue accidentally talks after lights out and disturbs you, you’ll end up snapping at him…”
Lu Yuxing took a deep breath. He wasn’t a hot-tempered person and rarely got angry. If he ever snapped at someone, it was because he had already gently reminded them several times, but they still didn’t change their behavior, and he had no choice but to take a firmer stance.
After hearing this, Shang Jue looked at his desk.
He didn’t have much of a problem with hygiene, but he wasn’t very particular about how he arranged his items. However, Lu Yuxing shouldn’t care that much.
The few points Ge Zhicheng listed were basic requirements and not excessive.
But Shang Jue still felt a bit of… a disparity. When he lived at home, Lu Yuxing never criticized him, even if things were a bit messy; Lu Yuxing would just help him tidy up.
Now there was a risk of getting scolded just for talking after lights out? Shang Jue felt a little unaccustomed to this change.
Moreover, he didn’t have much confidence in his own temper.
Shang Jue glanced over at Lu Yuxing with mixed feelings.
Lu Yuxing met Shang Jue’s unfamiliar and cautious gaze and felt his ears suddenly heat up. He was both angry and aggrieved.
I’m not that… I’m not that!
Mean…
Shang Jue took a sheet of white paper from the bookshelf and said to Ge Zhicheng, “Is there anything else? I’ll jot it down.” Otherwise, if he ended up getting scolded by Lu Yuxing, he would definitely not be able to hold back from arguing back… how could he pursue someone if the relationship got awkward?
Ge Zhicheng said, “There should be more, but I don’t remember them all that clearly. How about you write it down, Lu Ge?”
Lu Yuxing was momentarily speechless. He had nothing to say. He remembered that Shang Jue hated being restricted and having rules set for him, and now he had to list out rules..
From across the spacious corridor, Shang Jue handed over the piece of paper.
After he passed it, he suddenly wanted to get a bit closer to Lu Yuxing, so he stood up and pretended to watch him write from the other side.
Shang Jue leaned slightly against Lu Yuxing's wardrobe, lowering his eyes to watch Lu Yuxing put pen to paper.
This time, Lu Yuxing didn’t use a pencil; he held a black ballpoint pen and made a single stroke on the page. Half a minute passed, but he hadn’t written a second word.
Shang Jue said, "Forgot? How can you forget the rules you set for yourself?"
Lu Yuxing glanced at him. "I haven't forgotten."
He picked up his pen and added a dot after the "1," but then got stuck again.
This time, he was stuck for several minutes.
Feeling embarrassed, he turned his head. "You should go wait somewhere else; don't just stand here."
"Can’t get it out with someone watching?" Shang Jue snickered. "It’s not like you’re peeing..."
Lu Yuxing got annoyed. "Just go back."
Shang Jue reflexively scoffed. "You think I want to be here..."
Fortunately, he managed to stop himself in time.
He wouldn't mind staying here.
But since Lu Yuxing wanted him to leave, Shang Jue had no choice but to go back.
After waiting at his own desk for half an hour, just two minutes before the lights went out, Lu Yuxing threw a folded piece of paper onto his desk.
Shang Jue opened it and took a look, then frowned and flipped to the next page, staring for another half a minute.
He turned on his desk lamp and held the paper up to the orange light, confirming he wasn’t seeing things.
What is this? A paper with no words?
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