Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"Then..." Huang Shaoze hesitated.

"You mean what to eat?" Qi Yanyu knew Qi Yuanhan wanted him to foot the bill. He had plenty of money and didn’t care. On the contrary, the thought of dining with Gu Jinglan filled him with anticipation.

Seeing how readily this guy played along, Qi Yuanhan didn’t hold back: "Let’s go for barbecue then. There’s a place specializing in Wagyu beef, said to be air-flown daily—extremely fresh." Huang Shaoze’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Wagyu. Having never tried it, he knew a single meal could easily cost tens of thousands of yuan.

But Qi Yanyu turned to Gu Jinglan: "Are you coming?"

"If you’re not there, Gu, is it even Dorm 413?" Qi Yuanhan interjected.

Gu Jinglan didn’t refuse, so the meal was settled. Qi Yuanhan hummed cheerfully, suddenly finding the bloody dissection work far less disgusting.

"You’ve severed the femoral vein, femoral artery, and great saphenous vein..." No sooner had the dinner plans been set than Gu Jinglan couldn’t help but criticize, "Truly impressive." The severed vessels filled the air with a heavy metallic scent, as if they were standing in some massive slaughterhouse.

"Well, we’ve got you and Xiao Ze here," Qi Yuanhan replied, no longer addressing him stiffly as "Crown Prince" or "Classmate Qi." A single meal had superficially brought the guys closer—wasn’t that worth it? He chuckled.

"No one could fix this, not even a god." Gu Jinglan lifted his gaze, intending to glare at Qi Yuanhan’s grinning face, but accidentally caught sight of Qi Yanyu working meticulously, using hooks to identify structures before cleanly severing them. Not once did he wrinkle his nose at the overwhelming stench of blood.

"Before you two showed up, Xiao Ze and I were exhausted. Other groups have four people, so I’m taking a break—you two handle the cutting, alright?" With that, Qi Yuanhan wandered off to inspect other groups’ equally disastrous dissections. If Qi Yanyu claimed he’d never taken a systemic anatomy class before, then by that logic, neither had the entire class.

Huang Shaoze, ever the earnest one, didn’t dare make more careless cuts in front of these two top students, leaving some parts untouched for them to work on. He followed Qi Yuanhan around, stopping by neighboring groups to ask for advice.

This semester’s systemic anatomy class involved dissecting the cadaver in their hands. The final exam would have each student enter the exam room one by one, draw 20 anatomical terms, and point them out on the cadaver under the teacher’s supervision.

With Huang Shaoze and Qi Yuanhan gone, it was the perfect opportunity for Qi Yanyu to create some space.

"Do you... like Wagyu beef?"

Though the tissue under their hands was mangled and bloodied, medical students were long desensitized to such sights—no shock, no nausea, no disgust.

"Not particularly." Gu Jinglan was focused on locating the nerves and muscles required for the day’s dissection, his eyes downcast.

"Then let’s skip the Wagyu tonight." If he didn’t like it, they wouldn’t eat it.

Gu Jinglan glanced up briefly, meeting Qi Yanyu’s gaze for just a second before lowering his eyes again, lifting a muscle with his tool. "Didn’t you say we were having Wagyu?"

"But you said you don’t like it," Qi Yanyu replied, equally focused on his task but no less attentive to his other thoughts. He pressed, "What would you prefer instead?"

"..."

The two stood beside the stainless-steel table—a metal table resembling a coffin, usually meant to hold the cadaver. Now, it lay atop the table, tissue being meticulously dissected.

They stood at the same level, not quite side by side, but not far apart either.

Gu Jinglan didn’t answer.

Qi Yanyu wondered if he’d been too obvious. Softly, he said, "I don’t know how to thank you for yesterday."

Gu Jinglan seemed to realize that asking about his food preferences was just a prelude to treating him to a meal. He replied flatly, "We’re dormmates. We have four years ahead of us."

As if refusing to help would’ve meant dealing with Qi Yanyu’s behavior for four years.

Yet Qi Yanyu remained in a good mood, quietly locating nerves to dissect.

Eventually, Qi Yuanhan wandered back: "The group next to us butchered theirs too." Huang Shaoze added, "Some mistakes are even more egregious than ours."

They both noticed that the combination of Qi Yanyu and Gu Jinglan resulted in almost no errors in their nerve and muscle dissections.

Qi Yuanhan questioned skeptically, "Classmate Yanyu, you've missed several days of class. How can you cut so precisely?"

"Did Gu give you hints but not us?" Qi Yuanhan turned his accusations toward Gu Jinglan.

Gu Jinglan couldn’t be bothered to argue. "Yeah, sure."

The four of them chatted about random things in between. Occasionally, Qi Yuanhan would ask Gu Jinglan for guidance, while Huang Shaoze turned to Yanyu—should they cut here? Should they separate that part?

Yanyu didn’t hold back either, offering pointers that made Huang Shaoze feel, for the first time, that Yanyu was actually approachable.

Gu Jinglan answered some questions but grew annoyed at others, shooting Qi Yuanhan a glare. "Keep asking, and I’ll start charging."

Qi Yuanhan whined, "Look at Classmate Qi—helping out for free, always willing to assist. Not like you! We should all improve together, shouldn’t we?"

"Then go ask Classmate Qi." Gu Jinglan went along with it, too lazy to argue further. The cadaver, originally intact, had been hacked up so badly that it pained him.

After some thought, Qi Yuanhan decided not to press further. Instead, he quietly consulted Huang Shaoze, who then relayed the questions to Yanyu.

The Crown Prince was in an unusually good mood today. Had he finally discovered the harmonious beauty of Room 413? Whistling a tune, Qi Yuanhan adopted a super lazy way of dissecting—whenever he didn’t know something, he’d indirectly ask Yanyu.

By 7 p.m., the anatomy lab ended. Everyone changed out of their blood and gunk-covered lab coats and discarded their masks and gloves.

A tiny splatter of blood had landed near Yanyu’s eye. He focused on taking off his gloves.

Gu Jinglan noticed and remarked casually, "You’ve got blood on your face. Clean it up."

Yanyu looked up in surprise, especially since the other man wore his usual cool, blank face—only stirring something in Yanyu.

The mask had made breathing difficult, so between 5 and 6 p.m., Yanyu had stepped out several times to remove it and catch his breath before returning. As a result, streaks of dried blood still lingered on his cheeks.

The mirror was crowded with students. "Where?" Yanyu, busy changing gloves and clothes, couldn’t easily check his phone’s front camera. Instead, he scrubbed hard at his face with a disinfectant wipe, eyes closed.

"Left corner of your eye, left cheek, lower right side of your chin, and the left side of your neck, slightly lower." Gu Jinglan listed off each spot.

He must have taken off his mask frequently—otherwise, how would so much blood have gotten on him?

Tossing Yanyu some tissues and disinfectant wipes, Gu Jinglan cleaned his own palms, fingers, and wrists before glancing back. Yanyu’s fair skin had turned pink from how hard he’d scrubbed.

For some reason, Gu Jinglan was reminded of Yanyu’s photo. He lowered his lashes, hiding the look in his eyes. After wiping his hands, he noticed another smear of blood still on the soft spot under Yanyu’s chin.

"Here." Gu Jinglan gestured, pointing to the dip under his own chin.

Qi Yanyu finally wiped it off.

Back in the dorm, Room 413 prepared to shower and head out for dinner. Qi Yuanhan demanded to shower first, while Huang Shaoze needed to do laundry, so the two piled into the bathroom together.

The dorm’s curtains led to the balcony. Gu Jinglan pulled them closed and began changing. Even though he’d worn a lab coat, his inner clothes and exposed pants had still been soaked with blood and grime.

Yanyu watched as Gu Jinglan undressed, his eyes locked on him.

Gu Jinglan caught Yanyu staring intently and wondered for a second—*Is he checking me out?* "What are you spacing out for? Aren’t you changing?"

"I’ll wait until they’re done showering." Yanyu didn’t like getting fully undressed in front of others. He continued watching Gu Jinglan—tall, over 187 cm, with a slender build. As Gu Jinglan turned to unbutton his shirt, only his back was visible.

Surprisingly, Gu Jinglan didn’t strip entirely either, only removing his thin outer jacket and tossing it into the washbasin.

Then he took out the bloodstained lab coat from its plastic bag and soaked it in a mix of water and bleach.

"You have disinfectant?" Catching Yanyu still staring, Gu Jinglan asked.

"No, can you lend me some?"

"I'm out too. Ask Qi Yuanhan or the others for some."

"I don’t want to borrow from Qi Yuanhan," Qi Yanyu said honestly.

"...Where’s your clothes?"

Qi Yanyu pointed at the plastic bag on the floor. Gu Jinglan instructed, "Take them out and put them in the laundry basin."

Though Qi Yanyu complied, Gu Jinglan poured the last of his own 84 disinfectant (a common Chinese bleach) into Qi Yanyu’s basin. Then, shaking Qi Yuanhan’s new bottle, he added some more disinfectant before tossing in a few scoops of laundry detergent. Qi Yuanhan often used Gu Jinglan’s shower gel, perfume, and coffee powder daily—Gu Jinglan was used to it. In Room 413, borrowing each other’s daily necessities was perfectly normal.

Qi Yuanhan and Huang Shaoze finished showering boisterously and came out. Gu Jinglan said to Qi Yuanhan, "I used a bit of your 84." Qi Yuanhan replied, "Sure," before heading off with Huang Shaoze to hang the laundry.

Qi Yanyu asked him, "Aren’t you going to shower?"

He noticed Gu Jinglan lighting a cigarette. Despite being a germaphobe, Gu Jinglan wasn’t sitting on a chair—instead, he stood scrubbing his white coat. "You go first."

Qi Yanyu had never showered so quickly before. While washing, he imitated Gu Jinglan, scrubbing the white coat and all his clothes in the basin repeatedly. Back in medical school, he’d always sent his laundry to dry cleaners or servants. If a white coat got too dirty, he’d just throw it away. Handwashing? Never.

When he came out, Qi Yuanhan and Gu Jinglan were already joking around again.

"I’m done. You can shower now."

Gu Jinglan went to shower, and by a little past eight, their dorm room headed out, calling a ride.

Qi Yuanhan assumed the crown prince would take the front passenger seat to avoid squeezing with them. To his surprise, Qi Yanyu climbed into the back seat. Qi Yuanhan glanced around, wondering who’d sit next to him—preferably with someone in between.

Huang Shaoze was also a bit intimidated by the crown prince, so Gu Jinglan was the second to get in. Qi Yuanhan grinned, "Guess I’ll take the front seat then!"

Outside, the sky was dusky, neon lights glowing.

"I’m so hungry," Qi Yuanhan didn’t bother hiding his typical hungry college guy nature.

Three guys piled into the back. Qi Yanyu had no memory of getting into Lan An’s car the night before.

Only a vague recollection of Gu Jinglan speaking to his housekeeper—just a few words.

Later, Gu Jinglan had asked him something, maybe even helped him up to take medicine. He couldn’t remember.

Their limbs inevitably brushed against each other, yet Qi Yanyu found the cramped seating strangely okay.

He caught a faint, clean, sharp scent from Gu Jinglan—light and subtle.

"Do you play Dota 2?" Qi Yuanhan, rarely engaging Qi Yanyu in conversation, asked about games.

For some reason, Qi Yanyu wanted to fit in with Room 413. Though he’d never played, he answered, "Yep."

"What’s your rank?"

Qi Yanyu faltered. He didn’t know if Dota 2’s tiers were similar to League of Legends. "Haven’t logged on forever—probably dropped."

He brushed it off.

"What games do you usually play?" Qi Yuanhan was curious—would the crown prince play the same games as them?

Qi Yanyu knew Dota players talked trash about League of Legends players, so he avoided mentioning LoL. But he’d heard Room 413 often played PUBG, so he said, "PUBG."

"Really? You hit the jackpot joining 413—we would win Chicken Dinners all the time."

Gu Jinglan didn’t bother exposing him: "Who dies first every time?"

Qi Yanyu quickly defended himself: "Just bad luck—always running into hackers!"

Huang Shaoze chimed in: "Next time we play, stick with Gu. His aim’s god-tier."

"My aim isn’t bad either," Qi Yuanhan hated losing.

"Pfft, then I guess I was a pro gamer too," Qi Yanyu boasted sarcastically.

Soon, they arrived at Yintai. After getting out of the car, Qi Yanyu asked, "We’re grabbing boba—what’s everyone getting?"

"Let’s go together," Huang Shaoze suggested.

Looking at the menu, Qi Yuanhan was asked again: "What do you want?"

He couldn’t handle cold drinks or much dairy, and nothing on the menu particularly appealed to him. Instead, he glanced at Gu Jinglan, who had ordered Misty Rain Oolong (a tea flavor).

Qi Yuanhan asked directly, "Is yours good?"

Gu Jinglan replied, "It’s a bit sour."

"Then what’s not sour? Something light?"

"Jade Dew Tea."

So Qi Yuanhan went with Jade Dew Tea. Qi Yanyu ordered Mango Coconut Pomelo Ice, while Huang Shaoze chose Velvet Orchid. The four of them waited for their drinks.

Yintai was swarming with college kids after class, and every passerby kept sneaking glances at Gu Jinglan.

Meanwhile, Qi Yuanhan thought—how’s everyone’s eyesight this good?

Finally, after getting their drinks, they headed to a high-end BBQ spot—7,000 to 8,000 RMB per person.

Qi Yanyu took the menu and tentatively asked, "413’s really paying, right?" He didn’t want to split the bill.

"Yeah, order whatever, just don’t go overboard," Qi Yuanhan replied, clearly well-off and unfazed, even amused by Qi Yanyu’s obvious attempt to splurge at his expense.

Huang Shaoze, ever frugal, barely ordered. Qi Yanyu scoffed at him, "Let me handle it. Any dietary restrictions?"

They went for top-tier cuts—M12 Australian Wagyu beef, Snowflake beef (1,000 RMB per jin), whatever cost the most.

When Gu Jinglan took the menu, he noticed Huang Shaoze hadn’t ordered much and added something he wanted.

Qi Yuanhan, however, wasn’t particularly craving Wagyu and instead browsed the desserts, ordering Sabayon and Raspberry Cheesecake.

"No drinks? How about some wine?" Qi Yanyu completely disregarded the boba they’d just bought and eyed the high-end wines on the menu. "How about a bottle of Château Valandraud '94 white?"

Huang Shaoze, mid-sip of his milk tea, nearly choked, barely catching himself with a hand over his mouth.

Gu Jinglan said, "Isn’t that enough?"

Qi Yanyu countered, "This is nothing. Qi’s loaded."

"True," Qi Yuanhan took the menu. "Let’s see—Château Valandraud’s white is a bit astringent. How about an '86 Lafite instead? It’s more floral and fruity."

"Seriously?" Qi Yanyu’s grin nearly split his face. "Then switch to Lafite, '86. Why do they only have '86 here?" He fake-complained.

The server apologized, "Sorry, but we currently only carry the '86 Lafite." With that, they handed in the order.

Until the very last moment when Qi Yanyu paid the bill, Qi Yuanhan still had some concerns—what if Qi Yanyu skipped out on the bill or intentionally tricked them?

But judging by Qi Yanyu’s status, it didn’t seem like he would do something so embarrassing.

So, Qi Yuanhan asked Qi Yanyu curiously, “How come you seem like you’ve studied medicine? Do rich folks like you hire private med tutors for extra lessons?” He didn’t usually seem like the grind type—skipping classes, missing his first year—so how did he know so much more than them in both practice and theory?

Qi Yanyu had just taken a sip of his now slightly less chilled *Cuizhi Yulu* (a premium green tea blend with a hint of cream).

“That’s what rich folks do,” Qi Yanyu replied, “but in my case, it’s purely due to my own genius.”

“Pfft,” Qi Yuanhan was stunned by Qi Yanyu’s boast. “Alright, alright. Let’s hear what Gu thinks. Jinglan, do you think our roommate in Bed 3 is a genius?”

“How can you eat his meal and still not acknowledge his genius?” Gu Jinglan was at least a bit more appreciative.

Qi Yuanhan grumbled, “Fine, fine, you’re a genius,” but he would never truly agree. In his mind, there was no such thing as genius—just money and connections. Except for their Brother Gu, of course.

Though Gu Jinglan’s family was also well-off, he didn’t have the same new-money vibe as Qi Yanyu.

The premium Japanese beef arrived, and being med students, they didn’t let the waiter grill it for them, opting to do it themselves.

Qi Yanyu and Gu Jinglan sat on one side, while Qi Yuanhan and Huang Shaoze sat together.

While grilling, Qi Yuanhan made sure to share some with Qi Yanyu and Gu Jinglan’s side.

Qi Yanyu hadn’t eaten with Gu Jinglan much before, and he noticed that Gu Jinglan had very refined table manners.

The two sides had completely different eating styles—Qi Yuanhan and Huang Shaoze wolfed down their food, while Qi Yanyu and Gu Jinglan ate methodically, not at all like med students fresh off a grueling shift.

“You two eat like a married couple,” Qi Yuanhan blurted out without thinking.

As a result, he earned a dagger look from Gu Jinglan.

Qi Yanyu, however, chuckled. “Damn, you’re observant.”

Huang Shaoze couldn’t resist joining in. “You two have the same eating style—like the food isn’t even good, taking bird-sized bites.”

“Exactly like a married couple,” Qi Yuanhan, clueless as usual, happened to say something Qi Yanyu actually liked. Qi Yanyu teased, “You’ve got a sharp eye.”

Gu Jinglan wasn’t sure if Qi Yanyu was being sarcastic or just joking around.

“This wagyu is so good I could weep,” Qi Yuanhan exaggerated, noticing that Qi Yanyu and Gu Jinglan weren’t eating much, so he gave them smaller portions.

When grilling the sizzling intestines, he gave half to their side.

Gu Jinglan ate a bit of the intestines but left most of them in the plate—specifically for Qi Yanyu.

Qi Yanyu said, “I don’t eat offal.”

Under normal circumstances, Qi Yuanhan would’ve found this ridiculously picky. But today, having eaten his fill, he just scoffed, “Ah, suit yourself.” What a shame.

“Wait, really? Do you like this stuff too?” Qi Yanyu asked Gu Jinglan.

“So you don’t like lamb offal soup either?” Qi Yuanhan needled Qi Yanyu. Good thing they hadn’t saved any for him last time when he was asleep—it would’ve been a waste.

“I don’t eat any kind of animal innards…” Qi Yanyu cut himself off when he realized Gu Jinglan hadn’t answered his question.

Meanwhile, Gu Jinglan, calmly grilling the intestines, deadpanned, “Shame.”

Huang Shaoze said defensively, "It's just like some people don't like cilantro—that's totally normal."

Cilantro—Qi Yanyu steered clear of it.

But then he noticed Gu Jinglan's dipping sauce had cilantro in it.

After an internal struggle, he picked up a sizzling piece of grilled beef intestine from the grill and took a tentative bite.

The taste was funky and off-putting. Qi Yanyu barely suppressed a grimace. Gu Jinglan, seeing him actually go for the beef intestine, remarked, "I thought you said you didn’t eat it."

"It’s weird..." The texture made Qi Yanyu want to spit it out.

Gu Jinglan noticed his dipping sauce was bland as water, without even a hint of chili powder. "If you make your dipping sauce stronger, you won’t notice the weird taste as much."

"Really?" Qi Yanyu played it cool. "What’s in yours? I’ll go mix one."

"Sichuan pepper powder, dried chili flakes, beef and mushroom sauce, chopped Thai chilies, cilantro, scallions, soy sauce, and vinegar. It’ll be both numbing and spicy." Gu Jinglan stirred his own dipping sauce with his chopsticks, listing the ingredients one by one.

So Qi Yanyu went and mixed an identical one. He took a whiff—it had a faint aroma of beef sauce and vinegar.

When he returned, stirring his dipping bowl, Gu Jinglan added some more marbled beef to their communal platter.

Qi Yanyu asked, "Any more beef intestine left?"

Gu Jinglan checked the grill and used tongs to serve him some. Qi Yanyu coated the beef intestine thoroughly in his dipping sauce, then shoved the whole thing in his mouth, working his jaw hard with his lips sealed.

"How is it?" Gu Jinglan was grilling meat for the three of them—originally, it had been Qi Yuanhan’s job, but after realizing he was starving and grilling a huge pile, he finally stopped to eat. He turned to Qi Yanyu for an answer.

Qi Yanyu was still chewing the beef intestine, like he was chewing rubber.

"Don’t force yourself if you don’t like it." Gu Jinglan flipped the honey-glazed chicken wings Huang Shaoze had ordered. "The drumettes are done. Want some?"

Qi Yuanhan, having zero tact, immediately chimed in, "I do!"

Huang Shaoze also jumped in, "Me too, Bro Gu. It’s too spicy—I need a honey-glazed wing."

There were only three wings left—originally four, but Qi Yuanhan had eaten one earlier.

Gu Jinglan dished out to each of them, including Qi Yanyu. "If it’s not good, don’t eat it," he said, referring to the beef intestine still in Qi Yanyu’s mouth.

Qi Yanyu finally called it quits on chewing and swallowed, taking a sip of Lafite from his glass to wash down the taste.

He eyed the perfectly golden drumette Gu Jinglan had given him—not a hint of char, cooked just right.

Just as Qi Yanyu started eating the wing, Qi Yuanhan complained, "Bro Gu, your wings aren’t cooked through!"

Qi Yanyu countered, "They are."

Qi Yuanhan insisted, "No, they’re not!"

Qi Yanyu stubbornly held his ground, "They really are."

Qi Yuanhan looked ready to explode, "I swear, Third Bed, are you tastebud-deaf? It's still pink in the middle!"

"You're imagining things," Qi Yanyu said.