Chapter 72

Chapter 72

"What?" Ji Mian was momentarily stunned but quickly ignored Xie Hang's inexplicable question.

He said, "We're still in the classroom, and there's a security camera on the wall. Are you sure you want to fight here?"

Xie Hang was still staring at the hands on Han Ji's waist, remaining silent.

Ji Mian felt that Han Ji was no longer trying to advance and slowly let go, "Xie Hang."

"..." Xie Hang looked up.

"The next class is about to start, and we need to change classrooms. Let’s go?"

Xie Hang's tense arm muscles calmed down, "Hmm."

After speaking, his aggressive stance gradually subsided, leaving only a cold look in his eyes.

Xie Hang returned to his seat to grab his backpack.

The previously tense atmosphere vanished in an instant. After grabbing his and Ji Mian's backpacks, Xie Hang walked over to Ji Mian, who was standing behind Han Ji, and said, "Let's go," as if nothing had happened.

Han Ji also didn't want to cause trouble. No one who got into a top university like A would be foolish enough to ruin their future. But being outdone, he couldn't save face and muttered a few curses, displaying a somewhat comical sense of frustrated anger.

"Why did you suddenly start a fight with Han Ji?" Ji Mian asked, both complaining and confused, as they left the classroom.

"..." Xie Hang didn't answer.

He himself didn't quite understand why he had acted so impulsively earlier; it was somewhat out of character for him.

Ji Mian didn’t press further.

After about half a minute of silence, Xie Hang asked Ji Mian the same question as before, "Why did you hug him?"

Ji Mian was surprised, then laughed. Why was he still hung up on this?

"What do you mean 'hug'? It sounds so awkward. I was breaking up the fight..." he explained, "Han Ji isn’t exactly friendly. If I hadn’t held him back, wouldn’t you have gotten beaten up?"

"..."

"Besides," Ji Mian continued, "I couldn’t have held you back anyway!"

Ji Mian and Han Ji were about the same size, but Xie Hang was taller and broader, and he worked out regularly. Ji Mian was half a head shorter and indeed found it difficult to hold him back.

After saying this, Ji Mian gestured around Xie Hang's waist.

For a moment, Xie Hang thought Ji Mian was going to hug him, and the muscles in his waist immediately tensed.

However, Ji Mian's arm just moved a bit near his waist, making a gesture, and then he withdrew it.

...

When the two arrived at the classroom, they ran into Song Yu, who was coming out with a water bottle to fetch water.

The moment Song Yu made eye contact with Ji Mian, he gave an awkward smile and greeted him.

He walked past the two and went to the water room to fill his bottle.

From the moment Ji Mian saw Song Yu, his eyes lit up, and even after Song Yu left, he kept turning his head to look at his retreating figure.

Remembering something, he stopped in his tracks, took off his backpack, and pulled out an empty cup.

“Brother Heng, I owe you big time!”

Before Xie Hang could figure out what he meant, a backpack was thrust into his hands.

Turning his head, he saw Ji Mian already holding his own cup, catching up to the slim boy ahead, walking side by side with Song Yu.

Xie Hang watched them walk away for a few seconds, then withdrew his gaze and entered the classroom with two backpacks.

“Affection Points +120, courtesy of Xie Hang.”

*

On top of final reports, freshmen were also starting to gear up for finals.

The first year had the most courses, and the students were all stressed out about finals week and the piles of lecture notes.

Xie Hang had a solid foundation and wasn’t too anxious as the finals approached. Ji Mian, on the other hand, was different; he’d slacked off in several courses after finishing them and never thought about reviewing, so by the end of the semester, he had almost forgotten what he’d learned earlier.

Especially for the first exam of finals week, Microeconomics, the course where He Zhikai had called him a “lackey” behind his back, he now only remembered the content of the last two chapters of the textbook.

While eating with Xie Hang in the cafeteria, Ji Mian mentioned he’d forgotten the earlier material.

“We can study together, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me,” Xie Hang said.

Ji Mian was stunned, “Xie Hang, Brother Heng...”

“Hmm?”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a saint?”

Xie Hang: “...”

Ji Mian genuinely felt that Xie Hang might be a saint. First, he always made sure he had breakfast every day, then let him tag along for course projects, and now he even thought of helping him cram for finals.

Ignoring Ji Mian’s nonsense, Xie Hang asked, “No class in the afternoon. Want to hit the library and study?”

“Sure. 3:30 work?”

They had just finished eating and it wasn’t even 12:30 yet. Taking a nap for an hour and a half would only bring them to 2 o’clock. 3:30 was a bit late.

Xie Hang: “That’s fine. Are you going to take a nap?”

“No, tomorrow’s the last Business Management class, and Wen Bo is going to present. He’s freaking out, so I promised to check his PPT and notes at noon today.”

Jia Wenbo’s group’s presentation was scheduled for the last class.

Moreover, when forming the group, Jia Wenbo had picked teammates who were also loners.

As a result, everyone in their group was shy, and Jia Wenbo was considered the least severe among them.

Therefore, the way their group chose the presenter was by rolling dice in the chat. Unfortunately, Jia Wenbo was the one with the highest number.

Xie Hang nodded.

Ji Mian: “You can head to the library first, and I’ll join you after helping Wen Bo.”

“No need, I’ll crash with you.”

Normally, Xie Hang would occasionally come back, sometimes when the noon break was too short to go to his rented place for a nap, he would come to the dormitory to rest.

The two girls sitting at the next table immediately turned their heads upon hearing this, their eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

"..." Ji Mian kindly reminded in a low voice, "Brother Heng, that could be taken the wrong way."

Xie Hang pursed his lips and corrected his statement, "I meant a nap."

However, their excitement didn’t fade. But to spare them the awkwardness, the two girls quickly looked away.

Xie Hang followed Ji Mian back to the dorm.

Chen Xu wasn’t in the dorm; he’d gone to the library. He’d been slacking all semester and could only cram at the last minute.

Only Jia Wenbo was in the dorm, sitting at his desk with his computer on, anxiously waiting for Ji Mian to get back.

Xie Hang had initially thought that when Ji Mian said he would help him polish his presentation, it would just be offering a few suggestions.

But unexpectedly, Ji Mian took it very seriously, fixing a lot of the logical gaps in the presentation.

Jia Wenbo practiced three times and improved rapidly under Ji Mian’s guidance.

"I think we’re close," Ji Mian turned around to seek Xie Hang’s opinion, "Xie Hang, what do you think?"

Xie Hang got up and went over, giving it a quick once-over, "The system could use a few more features, but overall it’s okay."

"If Brother Heng gives the thumbs up, we’re golden!"

Ji Mian gave Jia Wenbo a playful nudge. The latter gave a shy smile.

Xie Hang watched this scene without saying a word.

He’s just so nice to everyone, no exceptions.

Xie Hang’s fingers paused on the mouse, suddenly realizing: he was the same as Jia Wenbo, and the same as Chen Xu.

Ji Mian wasn’t just nice to him; he treated everyone the same.

From the first day he moved into the dorm, Xie Hang knew that the guy living across from him was someone who’s always helping out. But this thought became inexplicably clear at this moment, stuck in his head like a song.

He looked at Ji Mian’s focused profile, his brows furrowing.

So in this person’s eyes, did he really see no difference between him and everyone else?

Ji Mian noticed Xie Hang’s gaze and looked up and caught his gaze.

He smiled at Xie Hang.

That bright smile, along with the glint of his earring, caught Xie Hang’s eye and suddenly felt too bright to look at.