After the New Year, when Ji Mian saw Xie Heng again, it was on the school’s No. 2 playground.
He had returned to school two days early and wandered around the playground in the evenings when he had nothing to do. Most students hadn’t come back yet, and the sports area of the playground was quite deserted.
Ji Mian couldn’t find anyone to play basketball with but didn’t want to stay cooped up in the dorm alone, so he decided to come to the playground to walk around the track in the evening.
Just as he stepped onto the track and walked a few dozen meters, he spotted a tall figure not far ahead, looking quite familiar.
After squinting for a moment to identify him, Ji Mian confirmed that the back was indeed Xie Heng.
He knew Xie Heng had returned at noon today. However, usually, on the first day back to school, students would be busy unpacking. Since Xie Heng lived alone outside, cleaning the two-bedroom apartment would take even more time.
Ji Mian didn’t expect Xie Heng to keep running like this. If it were him, after tidying up the room, he would have been too exhausted to keep going.
His pace changed from walking to a jog as he wanted to catch up and greet Xie Heng.
Xie Heng was tall and had long legs, running very fast. Ji Mian had to run for half a lap before he could finally reach a distance where he could tap Xie Heng on the shoulder.
The person running ahead with headphones turned around and saw Ji Mian’s face, which was filled with a pleasant smile, and slowly came to a stop.
“Long time no see, Heng Ge.”
After a brief moment of shock, Xie Heng’s eyes gradually lit up.
It was the first time Ji Mian had seen such an expression on Xie Heng’s face, and he couldn’t help but take a couple more looks in surprise.
Since he had just been running, Xie Heng was breathing a bit heavily.
He didn’t say anything, just looked at Ji Mian with a subtle distance between them.
Ji Mian teased, “It’s only been a little over a month since we last met; how come it feels like you’re a stranger?”
Xie Heng reached up and touched the tip of his nose. “No.”
“I won’t delay your running. I’m too lazy to run; I’ll just walk a couple of laps and go back.” Ji Mian wasn’t a fan of running because he found it boring.
He couldn’t understand: what was the point of running laps around the playground alone?
“I’ve finished running. Let’s walk together.”
Ji Mian glanced at Xie Heng’s face, puzzled. “Finished running? But you’re not even sweating.”
Xie Heng paused for two seconds. “It’s cold; it’s hard to sweat.”
“Oh.” Ji Mian nodded, not suspecting anything.
—
On the first day of school, Song Yu arrived at the dorm dragging his suitcase.
He had originally planned to arrive a day or two early, but thinking that He Zhikai might also be there, he opted for a ticket that would arrive on the same day.
He really didn’t want to share a space with He Zhikai.
Before he even pushed the dorm door open, he heard someone inside cursing while playing a game.
Song Yu sighed and pushed the door open.
As expected, He Zhikai was lying on the bed, playing a game.
After the second half of last semester, He Zhikai had completely fallen off the rails.
The reason he worked hard in high school was partly due to the supervision of his parents and teachers. Their school had a strict atmosphere, with breaks being closely monitored. In that environment, no one dared to relax even a little.
Another reason was the competitive spirit within the class. Whenever report cards came out, the feeling of being at the top, above everyone else in the class, was something He Zhikai greatly enjoyed.
But in college, no one would be watching everyone’s grades all the time, and the school culture was much freer. Most teachers wouldn’t even remember the names of students in their classes, let alone care if anyone attended lectures seriously.
In the early days of college, he was highly motivated, but later he slacked off, hardly wanting to attend more than half of his classes in a week. If a teacher didn’t care, he wouldn’t go at all, and if a teacher was strict, he would just look for someone in the school’s secondhand trading group to attend for him.
Lin Sai was also in the dorm, tidying up his desk, looking like he had just arrived not long ago.
He Zhikai wasn’t wearing headphones, so the characters’ battle cries and his teammates’ voices were all crystal clear.
It was very noisy.
But since it wasn’t break time, Song Yu didn’t want to say anything. He quietly organized his luggage.
After about ten minutes, a pleasant female voice sounded.
“Defeat!”
He Zhikai threw his phone down and cursed, “What the hell! How did that idiot shooter play? If you’re trash, don’t come and rank up, damn it, it’s disgusting!”
He cursed his teammates one after another, and the following words were even harder to listen to.
Song Yu frowned. Although he had grown used to He Zhikai’s antics, he couldn’t help but feel disgusted every time he heard it.
After losing several rounds in a row, He Zhikai had run out of steam, so he simply got off the bed.
He looked at Song Yu, who was bent over organizing his suitcase, and walked over to him, saying, “Song Yu, can I borrow your computer for a bit?”
Song Yu looked up. “...What do you want to do?”
“My computer is broken and being repaired outside. I just need to borrow yours for a couple of days to play a game.”
“...” Song Yu hesitated.
If it were someone else, he would definitely lend it, but since it was He Zhikai, he didn’t quite trust him.
“What? You don’t have anything inappropriate on there, do you?” He Zhikai asked with a lewd expression.
“……”
“It’s just a computer. Do you think lending it to me for a couple of days will break it?” He Zhikai sneered. “If it breaks, I’ll buy you a new one, alright?”
Song Yu pressed his lips together, took the computer bag out of his suitcase, and handed it to him.
“Hehe, thanks!”
—
Over the next few days, classes had been going on for almost a week, yet He Zhikai still hadn’t returned the computer.
Song Yu reminded him twice, and both times he only replied, “Soon,” even showing him the chat history with the repair shop.
It turned out the computer really was broken, and the shop told He Zhikai he could pick it up over the weekend.
Since it was just a day or two, Song Yu didn’t press any further.
On Friday night, in order to avoid He Zhikai, Song Yu took his backpack and went to study in the library, stopping by the supermarket on the way.
At the refrigerated section, while picking out yogurt, he turned his head and saw a shiny earring.
Song Yu blinked.
Ji Mian was also slightly surprised to see him, and his earlobes quickly blushed a bit. “Going to the library?”
“Mm.”
“...Can I go with you?”
Song Yu was momentarily stunned.
“Just to walk there together,” Ji Mian quickly explained, “I won’t sit next to you or disturb your studying.”
Song Yu knew Ji Mian had feelings for him, so he was intentionally keeping some distance and hadn’t intended to go with him.
But hearing Ji Mian say this, Song Yu instinctively waved his hand. “It’s fine, I wouldn’t feel disturbed…”
Ji Mian’s eyes curved, and he smiled brightly. “Then it’s settled. Don’t chase me away later.”
“…” When Song Yu saw the smile in Ji Mian’s eyes, he realized he’d been tricked.
But somehow, coming from Ji Mian, this trick didn’t feel annoying.
Song Yu bit his lip slightly.
Still, he really couldn’t reciprocate Ji Mian’s feelings.
【Affection +60, Contributor: Song Yu.】
【Affection +40, Contributor: Song Yu.】
On the way to the library, they encountered several acquaintances. Ji Mian, in particular, greeted people along the way.
As they entered the library, a boy with glasses and a backpack brushed past them.
“Wenbin?” Song Yu hesitated before calling out.
The boy, hearing his name, turned around. “Song Yu!” His glasses were from his first year of high school and hadn’t been changed, so the prescription was a bit weak, and he couldn’t see people clearly.
The boy named Wenbin chatted briefly with Song Yu, although his gaze kept shifting toward Ji Mian.
Ji Mian stayed silent throughout.
This was Zhuo Wenbin, one of the supporting characters in the original storyline for the main couple.
Zhuo Wenbin had been Song Yu and He Chang’s classmate in high school, and he also got into A University.
Zhuo Wenbin and He Chang were childhood friends, having grown up in the same rough neighborhood, and they had a close relationship. But Zhuo Wenbin was slightly luckier; although his family was poor, they never neglected his education.
He knew his friend had never really gotten over Song Yu, so he always kept an eye on him on He Chang’s behalf.
There were several times Zhuo Wenbin had run into Ji Mian and Song Yu together.
One time, when Ji Mian took Song Yu to play basketball, Zhuo Wenbin happened to be at the court. To drive the storyline forward, Ji Mian deliberately kept his eyes on Song Yu, specifically to let Zhuo Wenbin notice him as He Chang’s potential rival.
Whether it worked or not, he wasn’t sure.
After a short chat, Song Yu said goodbye to Zhuo Wenbin.
Once they found seats on the upper floor, Ji Mian indeed didn’t disturb Song Yu while he studied.
But someone else did.
About ten minutes later, a contact who hadn’t reached out in half a year suddenly sent a message.
【He Chang】: I heard you have a boyfriend?
Song Yu’s heart seemed to skip a beat when he saw the name “He Chang” in his contacts, and it took him several seconds to recover.
Above this message was his last plea to He Chang from six months ago.
— Can I see you? Please.
But He Chang had read it without replying.
Holding his phone, Song Yu felt complicated emotions.
Since he had been so determined to cut off contact back then, why was he asking if he had a boyfriend now, half a year later?
He gripped his phone tighter, didn’t reply immediately, and turned his gaze to the book on his desk, but he couldn’t focus.
If He Chang could ignore him for half a year, he could ignore He Chang for… half a month? Half a day?
In the end, Song Yu left He Chang hanging for about half an hour, during which he felt tortured himself, before picking up his phone and replying coldly with two words.
【Song Yu】: No.
He Chang replied instantly.
【He Chang】: Doesn’t matter if you do. I was just asking casually.
Seeing that, Song Yu pressed his lips tightly together and angrily flipped his phone over.
After two minutes, he couldn’t help but flip it back. The message “Doesn’t matter, just asking casually” had already been retracted.
【He Chang】: Oh.
Song Yu felt slightly amused.
This person was still the same as before.
He thought this curiosity-fueled conversation was over, but half a minute later, He Chang sent another message.
【He Chang】: I heard there’s a boy in your department who seems to be pursuing you.
Song Yu raised an eyebrow, surprised.
He quickly guessed the source of He Chang’s information; there probably wasn’t anyone other than Zhuo Wenbin.
As for the latter part of He Chang’s message…
In the economics department, the only guy Song Yu thought liked him was Ji Mian. But Ji Mian hadn’t publicly disclosed his orientation, nor had he confessed directly.
Song Yu didn’t know how to respond.
While “Lu Zhou” hadn’t confessed to him, he was aware of Ji Mian’s various actions hinting at his pursuit.
He simply didn’t respond.
After a while.
[He Chang]: That guy must be pretty good-looking, right?
Song Yu: “…”
[He Chang]: Just asking.
This time, Song Yu couldn’t hold back the slight smile at the corners of his mouth.
[Song Yu]: Yeah, he’s quite handsome.
At the top, the words “The other party is typing…” blinked for almost two minutes, but in the end, nothing was sent.
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