Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Ji Mian avoiding him was actually a good thing for Xie Hang.

Ever since Ji Mian admitted in the dorm that he liked guys, Xie Hang would recall the scene he witnessed in the restroom during high school, and it gave him the creeps.

Xie Hang wondered if he was overreacting, but Ji Mian seemed completely unfazed. The next day, he happily went out with friends from the club for the entire day, and even remembered to lend Xie Hang some antiseptic when he returned. He acted like nothing happened, no discomfort at all.

Xie Hang rubbed the two band-aids on his elbow, which Ji Mian had given him last night.

When Ji Mian handed them to Xie Hang last night, he pinched the band-aids with two fingers, carefully avoiding any physical contact. He looked cautious, like he was the homophobic one.

Xie Hang remembered smiling at the time, though he wasn’t sure why.

Thinking of this, he frowned slightly.

It was just a different sexual orientation, and Ji Mian hadn’t done anything to provoke him…

Being gay isn’t a disease; he might have been overreacting.

With ten minutes left in class, the teacher announced the final assessment method, requiring groups to submit a course project. The group size was limited to five members, and the class monitor had to turn in the group list by next week.

The class group chat was flooded with complaints. The project was way too hard for them right now, and without a strong programmer in the group, the progress would be hard to push forward.

Despite the complaints, as the class was about to end, people were calling out, trying to form groups.

Ji Mian was also figuring out who to team up with. When the bell rang, he slowly started packing his things.

"Lu Zhou, want to join our group?" A girl skipped over to Ji Mian. She was Fan Tao, Class 3’s academic rep. Behind her was her roommate, also from Class 3.

Ji Mian was also a class committee member and had attended several meetings organized by the Counselor with Fan Tao, so they were somewhat familiar.

He joked, "You sure? I’m terrible at this."

"No big deal, come on!" Fan Tao invited him. "We’ve got a coding whiz from the CS department." She pointed to a spot on the right.

Ji Mian followed her finger and saw that it was Han Ji. Han Ji was also looking at Ji Mian and smiled at him.

Ji Mian said, "Isn’t that kind of unfair? I’m not aiming for much, just passing. I don’t wanna hold you guys back."

Fan Tao replied, "What’s there to worry about?"

At that moment, Han Ji walked over, clearly having heard Ji Mian’s earlier words. He said, "Just be our mascot."

Ji Mian raised an eyebrow, feeling that the comment was a bit odd, and politely declined, "No, thanks…"

He wasn’t about to freeload.

Seeing this, Han Ji changed his tone, "Just kidding. We also need someone to take charge of the presentation. We’re hoping you can take the lead. Come on, we can also play basketball together."

"..."

Han Ji had extended the invitation multiple times, showing genuine sincerity.

Ji Mian hadn’t found a group yet, and he couldn’t come up with a good reason to refuse. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and agreed.

"Then we have four people now. I’ll pull in my roommate to make it five," Fan Tao said, waving at Ji Mian.

Han Ji had his next class over at the CS building, which was about ten minutes away, so he didn’t say much more and left.

Ji Mian threw his bag over his shoulder and was about to leave the aisle when a tall figure passed by him, intentionally slowing down.

Seeing Xie Hang appear beside him, Ji Mian initially intended to let him go first. However, after waiting a few seconds, Xie Hang instead came to a complete stop, turned around, and looked at him: "You’re not leaving?"

"Uh, yeah, I’m going." Ji Mian was somewhat puzzled but, after a moment of hesitation, caught up with Xie Hang and walked alongside him.

"Did you find a team yet?" he asked.

Xie Hang shook his head, "Grouping up is too much hassle, I’ll just form a group by myself."

"?!" Ji Mian was shocked, "You’re going solo? Can you handle it?"

"I can handle it."

Hearing his confident tone, Ji Mian didn’t say anything more.

"Our group has a big name from the computer science department, I’ll probably have some free time. If you need help, you can come to me."

Xie Hang looked at him with a complex expression, "Yeah."

Arriving at Building Three and finding the classroom, Ji Mian chose a seat for himself. He purposely avoided Xie Hang to keep their interaction minimal, but unexpectedly, Xie Hang closely followed his steps and proactively sat down beside him.

"You—what are you doing?" Ji Mian looked at the person beside him in surprise.

"What?"

There were other people in the classroom, so Ji Mian couldn’t speak loudly. He covered the lower half of his face with his hand and whispered to him, "Wait, aren’t you... homophobic?"

Xie Hang looked at the side of Ji Mian’s face tilted towards him. Ji Mian’s fair and slender fingers covered his lips and chin, only his eyes and eyebrows visible. Ji Mian’s eyelashes were quite long but not particularly curled, with just a slight hook at the ends. His hair had a hint of brown, but his eyelashes and the pupils beneath his double eyelids were jet black, making his eyes appear very bright when he looked at people.

For the first time, Xie Hang noticed that Ji Mian’s hands were also quite attractive, the kind that would make hand enthusiasts go crazy. The faint blue veins on the back of his hands were barely visible, his finger joints were distinct, his nail beds were slightly elongated and neatly manicured, and the tips of his fingers had a faint reddish tint.

The first thought that came to his mind when he saw his hands was not just beautiful, but also clean.

This guy had a bit of a cleanliness obsession, something Xie Hang had sensed from the day Ji Mian moved into the dorm. Ji Mian’s side of the room was always spotless, with every corner and crevice wiped spotless. He always kept a bottle of alcohol on his desk for cleaning things and his hands.

Xie Hang stared at Ji Mian’s hands for a while. Even though he knew alcohol evaporates fast, he still felt that hand had the scent of alcohol.

The last bit of his resistance melted away.

After a moment of thought, he answered Ji Mian’s question, "With you, it’s okay."

Hearing this, Ji Mian was stunned for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle, his eyes forming a pleasant curve.

Hearing his laughter, the corners of Xie Hang’s lips twitched upward.

During class, Ji Mian received a message from Jia Wenbo.

"Jia Wenbo": Xiao Zhou, have you found a team for the Business Management class?

"Lu Zhou": Yes, Fan Tao pulled me into their group.

"Jia Wenbo": Oh, okay.

Ji Mian could tell that Jia Wenbo probably hadn’t found a team yet.

It hadn’t been long since the semester started, and everyone was still getting to know each other. Suddenly being told to form groups was a bit much. Especially for someone like Jia Wenbo, who was introverted and socially anxious, finding a team was pure torture.

During the freshman year, most people grouped with their dorm mates. If it weren’t for Fan Tao’s invitation, he originally planned to team up with Jia Wenbo and then pull in a few acquaintances to form a group.

"Lu Zhou": Don't worry, it's just the beginning of the semester, and no one really knows each other yet. Only a few have already teamed up.

"Jia Wenbo": Mhm.

"Jia Wenbo": Hey, why is Xie Hang sitting with you again? I thought he was homophobic?

"Lu Zhou": It just shows that fear can't stop our unbreakable bond.

At the back of the classroom, Jia Wenbo, who laughs easily, was amused by this.

"Jia Wenbo": Hey, Xiao Zhou, has Xie Hang formed a team yet?

Ji Mian glanced at the person beside him and replied:

"Lu Zhou": He plans to go solo.

"Jia Wenbo": Seriously?

"Lu Zhou": Yeah. Why don't you ask him if he wants a teammate? Xie Hang is a nice guy. He’d probably say yes.

As usual, Ji Mian was right.

If Jia Wenbo reached out to Xie Hang, the latter would indeed agree.

As roommates in the same dorm, as long as there are no major issues, Xie Hang considers them part of his close circle. Besides, having one more or one less person in the team doesn’t really matter to him.

Of course, the premise is that Jia Wenbo asks him first.

Xie Hang hates drama and would never do something like inviting someone to join his team.

Jia Wenbo glanced at Ji Mian and Xie Hang sitting ahead and sighed.

Xie Hang is a nice guy, but he’s too aloof. Every time he returns to the dorm, Jia Wenbo can’t seem to talk to him. Only Ji Mian seems to get along with Xie Hang.

However, it was still quite surprising to him that Xie Hang got along so well with Ji Mian, even though the latter likes boys.

He always thought that Xie Hang wasn't the type to easily team up with others, but for some reason, he was very special to Ji Mian.

"Jia Wenbo": Never mind. It's okay, I’ll figure it out.

"Lu Zhou": Got it.

At noon, the bell rang.

Ji Mian had packed early but was stuck in the middle, so he waited.

Xie Hang usually ate alone. Normally, he would have left by himself by now.

He wasn't the type to be afraid of awkwardness, and he didn’t care if others felt awkward.

He paused, glancing at Ji Mian, who was sprawled on the desk, earring glinting, looking oblivious.

Xie Hang felt oddly guilty.

The person in front of him was a bit too good, sometimes even good to the point of being like a fool. It felt like making him show an awkward expression would be a crime.

Xie Hang paused, and ultimately decided not to commit that crime.

"...Wanna grab lunch?"

Ji Mian didn’t think twice: "Sure, what do you want to eat?"

"I don’t know," Xie Hang replied, then asked, "What do you want to eat?"

Ji Mian stood up, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and took the lead.

"Hmm... I want to eat... I don’t know."

This pointless banter inexplicably made Xie Hang want to laugh.

He looked at the glowing white back of Ji Mian’s neck and suddenly couldn’t understand why he had avoided this person just because he was homosexual.

He looked like a piece of exquisitely carved white jade, steeped in alcohol—what was there to be afraid of?