Chapter 128

Chapter 128

After watching Song Xiyan leave, Bai Xingshu lingered outside for a moment before opening the dorm door again.

And then...

He saw Shen Geng pacing in the dorm.

Bai Xingshu: "?"

"What are you doing?" Bai Xingshu was amused.

Shen Geng froze in surprise.

He hadn’t expected Bai Xingshu to return so soon and was momentarily flustered.

After an awkward pause, Shen Geng awkwardly cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "I was just... curious about what you and Song Xiyan were up to."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the bag in Bai Xingshu’s hand.

It was obvious—the bag was clearly empty.

Shen Geng seemed to realize something, his lips twitched before he quickly composed himself. However, the instant amusement in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Bai Xingshu: "..."

Ugh!!

Bai Xingshu lunged at Shen Geng with the empty bag.

Since he’d already been caught, Shen Geng didn’t bother hiding his delight anymore and let out a quiet laugh.

Of course, he also knew he was in the wrong, so he didn’t dodge Bai Xingshu’s angry swatting with the bag.

After angrily hitting Shen Geng for a while, Bai Xingshu sighed in resignation as he watched the guy laughing shamelessly.

"Hey! Are you seriously this happy about my breakup?!" Bai Xingshu’s fists were genuinely itching now.

Having lived together for nearly a year, Shen Geng could easily tell whether Bai Xingshu was actually going to hit him or just pretending.

But it wasn’t that Shen Geng found the situation *that* amusing.

Rather... he sort of enjoyed being hit by Bai Xingshu.

Growing up, he’d often seen his mother hitting and pinching his father, who looked downright pleased.

Shen Geng had never understood it.

But now, he suddenly did.

Of course, he still preferred not to get actually beaten.

Shen Geng quickly schooled his expression and regained his usual composed demeanor—though it was unnaturally stiff.

Instead of directly answering Bai Xingshu’s question, he smoothly changed the subject: "So... what happened this time?"

After a brief pause, he cautiously added, "I thought Song Xiyan liked you."

Bai Xingshu shot Shen Geng a look that clearly said, "This is your fault!" "What do you think?" But after that glance, his face fell slightly. "If I can’t even fall for Teacher Song... what am I gonna do..."

Since the topic had come up, Shen Geng stealthily indulged his own agenda, casually guiding the conversation: "Finding someone you like is something that can’t be forced; it’s serendipitous. You don’t need to be in such a hurry."

"Did the person you promised give you a deadline?" Shen Geng asked.

Bai Xingshu shook his head.

No, there wasn’t one.

The real urgency came from the system.

The system was all about efficiency—it wanted the task completed quickly so it could scurry off to the next one.

This point…

Actually, Bai Xingshu had initially shared the system’s mindset.

Even though he knew the system was nothing like the Mutants, having a non-human entity in his mind…

Hard pass.

Bai Xingshu had always pursued his own capabilities, placing little value on the external assistance the system could provide.

He, too, had wanted to finish the task quickly and kick the system out.

But now, Bai Xingshu wasn’t in such a hurry anymore.

—After all, the system had shut itself down.

"Then…" Shen Geng’s honey-colored eyes fixed on Bai Xingshu, "why not let things go with the flow and learn to genuinely like someone?"

Bai Xingshu didn’t respond.

Shen Geng’s mood dipped, but he put on a show of nonchalance and threw out a casual follow-up, "Hmm? What do you think?"

Then, he watched as Bai Xingshu opened his mouth, his voice crystal clear as it reached Shen Geng’s ears.

—"Your eyes are really beautiful!"

Shen Geng was speechless......

He had imagined many possible responses Bai Xingshu might give—but never this one.

"Were you even listening to me?!" Shen Geng grumbled through clenched teeth, his ears turning red.

"I heard you!" Bai Xingshu broke into gleeful laughter at Shen Geng’s flushed, annoyed look.

Watching Shen Geng’s face change was kinda fun.

The thought drifted through Bai Xingshu’s mind, but he didn’t give it much thought, continuing to answer Shen Geng’s question. "Whether I go with the flow or put in effort, it doesn’t make much difference, does it?"

He said, "Doesn’t it just boil down to whether I fall for someone or not?" Bai Xingshu scoffed.

Bai Xingshu wasn’t the type to be swayed just because someone tried to steer him.

He knew exactly what he wanted and what he intended to do.

"Still…" Bai Xingshu didn’t entirely dismiss Shen Geng’s words, "lying around waiting for love to fall from the sky does sound a lot easier."

After a year of effort with zero returns, the temptation to just give up and go idle is indeed strong.

Look at the system.

Didn’t it just give up completely?

As he spoke, Bai Xingshu, who had been staring at Shen Geng’s ear, unconsciously raised his hand and pinched the rosy ear.

A warmth slightly hotter than normal body heat quickly transferred to Bai Xingshu’s fingertips.

At the same time, Shen Geng distinctly felt the coolness of Bai Xingshu’s fingers.

They both froze.

Their eyes met, and before Bai Xingshu could react, Shen Geng—who already understood his own emotions—was the first to panic.

“What are you doing?!” Shen Geng almost leapt up.

Since Shen Geng was flustered, Bai Xingshu no longer was.

Bai Xingshu raised an eyebrow, withdrew his hand from Shen Geng’s ear, and casually patted his shoulder instead.

“What are you worried about? You’re a future Beta—it’s not like I’d make a move on you.”

Shen Geng: “...”

“Well, thank you so much!” Shen Geng said through gritted teeth.

Though his hand was no longer touching Shen Geng’s ear, the lingering warmth on his fingertips felt strangely lingering.

Bai Xingshu didn’t show it, however, and instead gave Shen Geng a bright smile. “You’re welcome! I’ll go shower first then!”

Shen Geng felt a pang of frustration at Bai Xingshu’s words.

Still, thanks to tonight’s good news, his mood wasn’t actually bad.

He casually returned to his seat and replied without looking, as usual. “Go ahead.”

As usual, Bai Xingshu grabbed his pajamas and walked briskly to the bathroom door. Just as he was about to take off his clothes, his hands paused.

Suddenly, he turned to glance at Shen Geng, who had already picked up his tablet and resumed studying, head bowed.

Bai Xingshu thought for a moment, then pulled his hands away and went into the bathroom first, closing the door behind him.

Though Shen Geng kept himself from looking in Bai Xingshu’s direction, he couldn’t control his ears.

He heard Bai Xingshu’s footsteps, heard them stop at the bathroom door.

Next should have been the soft sound of clothes coming off…

Shen Geng, out of habit, had already easily pictured Bai Xingshu’s movements in his mind.

But this time…

Instead of the familiar rustling, his ears caught the sound of the bathroom door opening.

The mental picture broke apart instantly. Startled, Shen Geng looked up and toward the bathroom.

All he saw was the bathroom door slowly closing.

What's going on?

Shen Geng stared at the bathroom door, confusion rising in his heart. Before he could think further, he saw the closed door slowly crack open a sliver.

A pale, jade-smooth arm reached out through the gap, holding clothes. Among the garments, Shen Geng spotted underwear.

His face burned red.

Yet the owner of that arm remained completely unaware.

With a slight twist of the wrist, fingers with clearly defined knuckles exerted just enough force to send all the clothes right into the hamper.

"Yes!!"

From inside the bathroom, Shen Geng heard Bai Xingshu's cheerful exclamation.

He covered his face.

Sometimes he truly couldn’t understand what the hell Bai Xingshu was thinking?!!!

Shen Geng struggled to rein in his racing thoughts, dragging his focus back to studying. Yet...

As he stared at the pale white background beside the black text on his tablet, his mind kept seeing the image of Bai Xingshu’s arm reaching out from the bathroom door gap.

Shen Geng: "..."

Shen Geng: "......"

Alright, now he didn’t even know what he was thinking.

It was just an arm, for crying out loud!

In summer, Bai Xingshu wore short sleeves, exposing far more of his arms than what had peeked through that door gap.

Why was he even thinking about this?!

Thus, Bai Xingshu finished his shower smoothly, wiping away that strange feeling on his fingers. When he turned around, he saw Shen Geng grabbing his pajamas unusually quickly and bolting into the bathroom.

Bai Xingshu: "?"

What's the rush?

Bai Xingshu scratched his head, puzzled, then shrugged it off.

Returning to his desk, Bai Xingshu picked up his tablet again.

He continued organizing his gift—at the absolute latest, he had to finish it before the final exams and give it to Lin Lie.

That way, during the long break, besides helping his older brother, Lin Lie would have something else to do!!

It would also prevent this from cutting into his study time during the semester.

Man, he was the best classmate ever!

Bai Xingshu cheered inwardly.

This semester, finals wouldn’t involve any weird competition setups.

The students competed one-on-one, ultimately determining their respective rankings.

Compared to last semester's evaluation method, this was the fairest assessment to showcase their current mecha piloting skills.

So no surprise, Bai Xingshu secured first place.

After another semester of study, Bai Xingshu's mecha piloting skills had advanced to the point where he could now go a few rounds with Director Liu.

—Still lost in the end, though.

But this clearly placed him a level above his classmates.

Even Lin Lie.

After seeing Bai Xingshu’s recent mecha battles on the battle simulator early on, Lin Lie had already known this would be the inevitable result. Yet, when actually faced with it, he still couldn’t shake his disappointment.

Noticing how unusually quiet Lin Lie remained even after finishing the written exams, Bai Xingshu gave him a sly poke in the ribs and handed over his own tablet.

"Happy long vacation!" Bai Xingshu blinked at Lin Lie, his eyes twinkling.