Chapter 65 Double Standards

Chapter 65 Double Standards

The next day, Zhou Liao was awakened by the sound of Qin Zhan getting up and washing up. The walls in this rental apartment were too thin, and the faucet in the bathroom sounded like it was right next to his ear.

He woke up and glanced at the time on his phone—it was already ten o'clock. Last night, after eating takeout and finishing his wash-up, he had become drowsy again. He fell asleep while watching a movie, making up for all the sleep he had missed over the past few weeks in one go.

When Qin Zhan saw him get up, he placed some steamed buns in a bowl and put a fresh box of milk beside it. Zhou Liao wasn't particularly bothered; after all, he hadn't eaten much better back at the warehouse.

They went to school together since they both had classes on Tuesday. In the crowded morning rush hour subway, they were squeezed among the crowd. Once they got out of the subway station, they parted ways because their classroom buildings were in different directions.

On the subway, they didn't say much. Zhou Liao didn't know what to say, and Qin Zhan was simply quiet.

Once they entered the campus, they returned to their usual roles—one silent and gloomy, the other bright and radiant. No one would have guessed that these two had woken up from the same bed in the same house that morning.

During the morning class, Zhou Liao didn't listen to a single word and sat at the back playing with his phone with a group of others.

"Brother Liao, want to eat lunch together today?"

Zhou Liao, resting his head on his hand, didn't even glance sideways. "I'm having lunch with Chen Xian today. Afterward, we'll find you guys to play basketball."

"Okay, what are you having for lunch?"

"Spicy Sichuan rabbit from the back alley."

"That means we'll have to queue up."

"Chen Xian reserved a table yesterday."

After replying to Chen Xian's message, Zhou Liao hesitated for a moment, then swiped to the text message interface and sent a text to an unmarked phone number.

The person must have been listening attentively in class, as Zhou Liao only received a reply just before the class ended.

Zhou Liao guessed it would be the canteen because it was cheap. He didn't reply further, and Qin Zhan didn't ask him either about who he was having lunch with or what he was eating. Their tacit understanding was almost a given.

His class ended half an hour earlier than Chen Xian's, so when the time came, he wandered towards the familiar building. By the time he arrived, Chen Xian's class should also be ending.

"Brother Chen! Brother Liao is waiting for you!" someone shouted at the door.

"Don't rush me, I need to pack my bag."

Zhou Liao patted the shoulder of the person next to him and then walked into the classroom with his hands in his pockets.

"You're not even listening to the lecture, why did it take you so long to pack your iPad?" Zhou Liao glanced at Chen Xian's empty bag. "What are you pretending?"

"The pen rolled to the front, took me a while to find it." Chen Xian said as he zipped up his bag.

Zhou Liao didn't look at him but scanned the classroom. Soon, his eyes met those of a person sitting in the corner at the front, who had just put on their computer bag.

The two of them exchanged glances across several rows of seats and through the scattered crowd leaving the room. Zhou Liao swallowed, feeling as if they were having a secret affair with their eyes, despite being in a public place. The key was that Qin Zhan's eyes remained calm and composed.

Damn, he was acting crazy.

"Let's go."

"Are we going or not? You've been rushing me."

Chen Xian called out to Zhou Liao repeatedly, following his gaze and seeing Qin Zhan. Another student from their class stood in front of Qin Zhan, probably having built up the courage to ask the top student for help. Even from a distance, it was clear the student was nervous.

"Let's go," Zhou Liao snapped back to reality. "Didn't you say you'd be done picking things up?"

"I told you ages ago." Chen Xian punched Zhou Liao on the shoulder and then lowered his voice. "Explain yourself, about what happened before."

Zhou Liao coughed twice, pretending not to hear and greeted someone passing by. Then he turned back to urge Chen Xian: "Let's go first, I'm starving."

"You slept until ten, and now you're hungry again after two hours?"

"I only had steamed buns."

"You had steamed buns for breakfast?" Chen Xian was surprised, as Zhou Liao usually slept until lunchtime or ate noodles or rice for breakfast.

Zhou Liao clammed up again.

He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and glanced at Qin Zhan, who was still answering questions. Unexpectedly, Qin Zhan seemed to sense it, and their eyes met just as Zhou Liao stepped out the back door.

"Damn."

Zhou Liao took a deep breath, ran his hand through his hair, and quickened his pace.

At lunch, under Chen Xian's insistence, Zhou Liao vaguely recounted the past events but refused to provide any specifics. Chen Xian's curiosity turned into morbid interest, which eventually became impatience.

It was obvious that Zhou Liao was trying to deceive him; the story didn't add up. Chen Xian didn't want to listen anymore and had already formed a conclusion.

That Zhou Liao had spent his missing days with Qin Zhan, and that Qin Zhan had definitely broken Zhou Liao's leg. He didn't know the details, but he was certain that these two were still entangled in some way.

But this entanglement was subtle, not like the enmity of the past. What exactly it was, Chen Xian couldn't guess, and Zhou Liao couldn't explain either.

Eventually, Chen Xian gave up trying to understand. It had been more than a year; Zhou Liao could say whatever he wanted, and he would find out eventually.

After lunch, they rested for a bit and played basketball for a while. Since Zhou Liao had afternoon classes, Chen Xian and the others decided to go to the library to do homework.

In the afternoon class, Zhou Liao slept through most of it until the teacher mentioned the assignment, waking him up.

"How many minutes until class ends?" Zhou Liao rubbed his eyes and turned to the person beside him.

"About ten minutes." The person checked the time.

Zhou Liao took out his phone and sent a message to Qin Zhan.

It took several minutes for a reply to come through.

What a stupid schedule, Zhou Liao frowned.

With that, Zhou Liao left it up to Qin Zhan to understand his implication, fortunately, he did.

As soon as the teacher dismissed the class, Zhou Liao picked up his bag and headed out. He held a cigarette in his mouth as he walked to the entrance of their department's library. Chen Xian was on the third floor, so Zhou Liao went upstairs first. Upon arriving, he saw that no one was actually doing homework; some were sleeping, others playing games.

"Not leaving?"

Hearing the voice, Chen Xian turned his head. "Didn't you just get out of class? How did you get here so fast?"

"Is it not okay to come early?"

As they descended from the third floor, Zhou Liao had intended to say he would go to the second floor to browse for a book, but before he could even mention it, he spotted someone descending from the other side of the staircase.

Their eyes met in the narrow corridor, but Qin Zhan merely glanced at him before looking away.

Zhou Liao swallowed. "I need to use the restroom, wait for me."

Chen Xian, busy with his messages, simply said, "Go."

Zhou Liao immediately walked to the other side of the corridor. Qin Zhan was already gone, but he pushed open the door to the emergency exit, which was pitch black except for a faint green light.

As soon as he opened the door, someone grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside, and the door automatically closed behind them.

"What are you doing here?"

"There are too many people outside."

Zhou Liao thought about it and agreed; it would be strange for them to be seen together.

"What are you doing later tonight?"

"Going home to rest, then working tomorrow."

"Oh." Zhou Liao looked into Qin Zhan's eyes in the dim space. "Aren't you eating dinner?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhan's phone rang. Zhou Liao glanced over and saw the name Bai Ling. Qin Zhan looked at him, and Zhou Liao licked his teeth without saying anything. The call was quickly answered.

The place was so quiet that the voice on the phone was crystal clear.

"Qin Zhan, are you coming over tonight? Mom made soup and packed some dumplings for you to take home."

Zhou Liao took a deep breath, grabbed Qin Zhan by the collar, and pressed him against the door with his elbow, his expression furious.

He gritted his teeth and whispered, "What the hell is this?"

Qin Zhan's face remained expressionless, his gaze lowered, showing no emotion. Instead of responding to Zhou Liao, he spoke into the phone.

"I'll come by tomorrow after work, something came up tonight."

"Okay, that works," Bai Ling replied casually. "It's getting colder, wear more clothes."

"Sure, you too."

They hung up after a few more words, their conversation casual. Zhou Liao narrowed his eyes and released his grip on Qin Zhan's collar.

"I'm warning you, Qin Zhan, don't play me."