Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Once a lunch buddy routine is established, it's hard to turn back.

For the next month, on mornings with a second class, Xie Hang would have lunch with Ji Mian, occasionally joined by Jia Wenbo.

By November, Xie Hang had become fully accustomed to having Ji Mian around. Mostly because Ji Mian had a knack for putting people at ease.

On this Tuesday, a message from his family appeared in the small family group chat of the Xie household.

"Listen to Dad": It's been getting colder recently, are you wearing enough?

Xie Hang was still in class.

He glanced at his thin shirt and cheekily replied:

"Xie Hang": Plenty warm.

"Listen to Dad": Did you find a place yet?

Seeing this, Xie Hang's fingers paused, then suddenly remembered something. He checked the chat history from September, finding the message "Just staying for a month?"

That was from mid-September, and now it was November.

From the time his mother had said to stay another month, it had already been two weeks longer than the original date.

Xie Hang: ...

He'd gotten so comfortable in the dorm that he had actually forgotten about the whole apartment hunt.

Now Xie Hang saw no downside to dorm life, especially since he had been assigned to a pretty good one.

In terms of cleanliness, Ji Mian was a neat freak, Xie Hang was also tidy, and while Chen Xu was a bit messy, thanks to the others' influence, he would keep his own bed area neat.

As for living habits, with Ji Mian acting like a den mother, the dorm was very orderly. Chen Xu used to play games with his mic on at night, but after Ji Mian couldn't take it anymore and dragged him out of bed twice in the middle of the night, he had become much more restrained.

But good as it was, having his own place was still better than sharing a dorm.

"Xie Hang": Still looking, almost there.

...

Xie Hang had great initiative. Once he decided to do something, he would jump right in with impressive efficiency.

After deciding to move out, he reached out to several landlords that same night to arrange viewing times.

Over the next two days, he used his free time to view several off-campus apartments, finally choosing a two-bedroom apartment.

On Friday of that week, Xie Hang didn't return to the dorm at noon, heading straight out to sign the lease.

After finishing his last class at around six, he returned to the dorm.

There was no evening self-study on Friday nights, so while all his roommates were there, Xie Hang broke the news about moving out.

They had all heard him mention it before, so no one was too surprised.

"Need a hand moving?" Chen Xu casually asked.

Under the influence of Ji Mian's eager-to-help nature, "Need help?" had become a dorm favorite.

"No need, I don’t have much," Xie Hang said, adding, "Thanks."

Ji Mian often sat by Xie Hang in class, so he’d known for a few days that Xie Hang was apartment hunting. He was the first in the dorm to hear Xie Hang was moving out this week.

Still, hearing Xie Hang officially announce he was leaving brought an inevitable sense of reluctance.

"So… you’re leaving tomorrow?" He sat sideways, arms draped over the back of his chair, looking at Xie Hang, already knowing the answer but asking all the same.

In the dorm, Chen Xu was already gaming with someone on voice chat, and Jia Wenbo had his headphones on, listening to music.

Though there were four people in the room, at that moment, only Xie Hang could hear Ji Mian.

The hint of loss in his voice felt like a secret meant only for Xie Hang.

The atmosphere suddenly shifted, turning awkward.

Even though they’d only lived together for two months, there was an inexplicable sadness, like when a senior roommate clears out their bed and leaves the dorm for the first time.

Xie Hang pursed his lips and let out a soft "Hmm."

After replying, Xie Hang realized his "Hmm" had been soft, muffled, and… weirdly gentle—almost nauseatingly so.

Xie Hang: "..."

He cursed under his breath, cleared his throat, and added, "I’ll keep the bed for now. I might come back to stay sometimes."

"Oh…" With that, Ji Mian felt less reluctant.

Coming back occasionally felt different from leaving for good.

He asked, "If you keep the bed, won’t you have to pay the dorm fee every semester?"

Xie Hang said, "I’ll keep it for now. It’s convenient to have a bed here. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll drop it next semester."

The dorm fee at University A wasn’t much—just 400 yuan per semester. It wasn’t a big deal for Xie Hang financially, and he wasn’t ready to give it up just yet.

At eight, Ji Mian got up as usual and headed out to play basketball.

Xie Hang, halfway through packing, stopped when he noticed.

He shoved his headphones and phone into his pocket. "I’m going for a run. Let’s go together."

The two of them left together.

When they reached the track entrance, Ji Mian spotted someone walking slowly in the distance. The guy was wearing a thick beige coat, but when the late autumn breeze hit, he shivered and hunched his shoulders.

Song Yu's demeanor was easy to recognize.

Ji Mian had been coming out to play basketball every night since the semester started, but this was the first time he had seen Song Yu out at night in the past two or three months.

He wanted to catch up to him but worried Xie Hang might feel awkward.

"Affection Points +30, contributed by Xie Hang."

Ji Mian turned his head and met Xie Hang's eyes.

Before he could rack his brain for an excuse, Xie Hang spoke first, "I’ll go in first."

"Oh… okay."

Ji Mian watched as Xie Hang entered the track field, then put on his headphones and headed straight for the running track.

He looked away and jogged over to the small path on the other side of the field.

Song Yu was walking at a slow pace, and Ji Mian caught up to him in under half a minute.

When he was just three or four meters away, Ji Mian stopped, caught his breath, and then called out to the person ahead: "Song Yu."

Song Yu turned around, his confused face lit up with surprise upon seeing Ji Mian.

Ji Mian stepped forward and fell into step beside him. "Taking a walk?"

"Yeah."

"I don’t see you around here much."

"I’m not really into... exercising," Song Yu said, somewhat embarrassed.

He was diligent in his studies but otherwise pretty lazy. His laziness meant he wasn’t great at sports, even in high school.

A few months before the college entrance exam, due to a lack of exercise and the stress of exam prep, he ended up seriously ill.

After that, He Chang was the one who dragged him to the track field every night, running laps with him until his physical condition improved a little.

But after the college entrance exam ended and he and He Chang broke up, Song Yu went back to his old ways.

Ji Mian felt regretful; the protagonist wasn’t into sports, which meant one less thing to bond over.

He then asked, "What about video games?"

"I don’t play those."

"Then what do you usually do?"

"I read books or watch movies," Song Yu replied.

He only came out tonight because he didn’t want to stay in the dorm.

They didn’t have evening self-study on Fridays, and He Zhikai had been gaming with his mic on ever since he got back to the dorm after class, cursing up a storm when he was losing.

At the start of the semester, He Zhikai was all about studying, going to the library on weekends and even demanding that other dorm members keep quiet during non-rest hours, claiming it would affect his studies.

But just two months later, he’d turned lazy and started skipping classes.

Ji Mian nodded, but upon seeing Song Yu's slightly tired face, he couldn't help but add, "Being cooped up all the time can really bring you down."

He spoke from experience. In his previous world, he was often confined to the hospital ward or his bedroom due to health issues, making it hard to improve his mood.

Song Yu forced a smile.

It wasn’t because he was cooped up that he felt down; on the contrary, it was because he felt down that he wanted to stay in the dorm.

After breaking up with He Chang, various emotions piled up in his heart, and over time, they became blades tormenting him.

He looked up and saw Ji Mian's gentle eyes, the earring in his left ear glinting faintly, and suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of trust.

"I... just broke up with my ex," Song Yu said, surprising even himself with his impulsiveness.

Perhaps afraid that Ji Mian would look at him differently, he used the term "ex" instead of "ex-boyfriend."

Ji Mian was caught off guard, surprised that Song Yu would bring it up on his own.

"When did it happen?"

"Roughly two months ago, I think."

Ji Mian paused, silent for a moment.

After a while, he said softly, "Breakups are tough at first, kind of like... quitting smoking? The beginning is always the hardest, but with time, once you get past the withdrawal, it gets easier."

"Will I eventually forget him?"

Ji Mian smiled, offering a vague reply, "Maybe."

Somehow, hearing his answer, Song Yu felt oddly calmer.

"How about some basketball? It’s a great way to get over a breakup."

Song Yu bit his lip, hesitating to respond.

Seeing his hesitation, Ji Mian added, "It’s just us. No one else. I’ll show you the ropes."

This wasn’t some ploy to win Song Yu over; Ji Mian truly wanted to help.

He heard Song Yu's reply:

"Alright."

*

Xie Hang had been running for a while, and by the time he finished, it was nearly 9:30, close to when the track closed.

He wasn’t sure if Ji Mian had come to the track, but after a moment’s thought, he detoured to peek through the iron fence between the court and the track.

Xie Hang’s eyes landed on the two figures by the far-right hoop. They were easy to spot, since most people had already cleared out of the outdoor court. Besides Ji Mian and Song Yu, only a group of seven or eight senior boys were still playing in the middle.

The guy with Ji Mian was clearly new to basketball, fumbling his shots, while Ji Mian patiently adjusted his form now and then.

When he finally sank a shot, Song Yu’s face lit up with a bright smile.

Two guys, together.

Seeing this, Xie Hang felt an odd discomfort.

He frowned.

Yeah, seeing two guys acting all affectionate still felt off to him.

He thought this, but his eyes stayed fixed, watching the lively young man through the fence.

"Affection Points +100, courtesy of Xie Hang."

Ji Mian stopped dribbling, glanced toward the fence, and spotted a tall, shadowy figure in the dark.

Checking the time again, he realized it was getting late.

"Time to go?" Song Yu asked, noticing Ji Mian check his watch.

"Yeah, it’s about that time."

After leaving the court, Ji Mian approached Xie Hang. "Been waiting long?"

"No, I just finished running."

Ji Mian nodded and said, "This is Song Yu. Song Yu, meet Xie Hang, my roommate."

Xie Hang met Song Yu's gaze behind Ji Mian, nodded slightly in greeting, and then slowly shifted his gaze away.

"Affection Points +60, courtesy of Xie Hang."

Ji Mian paused for a moment, feeling puzzled.

Why is it so easy to get Xie Hang's Affection Points...

The playground administrator came to shoo everyone off since it was closing time, so they left the playground.

Once outside, Song Yu awkwardly said, "I’m heading to the supermarket, you guys can go ahead."

After speaking, he sneaked a glance at Xie Hang, who was standing off to the side.

Being with Ji Mian made him feel relaxed, but this person... he was too intimidating. He always felt a lot of pressure.

"Oh," Ji Mian said, "I’ll go too. Xie Hang?"

"Not going," Xie Hang replied flatly, his eyes downcast.

"So, I’ll go with Song Yu then?"

"Yeah."

Ji Mian followed Song Yu, and after walking a few steps, he suddenly turned and clasped his hands together in a playful plea for forgiveness from Xie Hang. It was oddly endearing coming from him.

A faint smile flickered in Xie Hang’s eyes, gone in an instant.

Isn’t it natural for Ji Mian to want to walk with someone he likes, whether he’s buying anything or not?

Moreover, they hadn’t agreed to go back together in the first place, so it wasn’t a case of prioritizing romance over friendship.

Xie Hang thought to himself, suddenly lifted his foot, and gave the curbstone a light kick.