Chapter 84

Chapter 84

This was the teammate Qi Yanyu had invited from the lobby for a normal game, still dazed and slow to react: "Someone come quick! They're tower-diving me!"

As if sitting on a bed of nails, Qi Yanyu had his suffering but couldn't voice it.

Gu Jinglan noticed he wasn’t moving—or rather, his mouse was wandering aimlessly—and brushed his lips past Qi Yanyu’s cheek. “Why are you idle?”

“Your buddy is getting 3v1 top lane,” Gu Jinglan wrapped an arm around his waist, his hand already roaming freely. “Go help him.”

Since Gu Jinglan wasn’t holding him up, Qi Yanyu could still somewhat focus on rushing to top lane. But just as he reached the outer turret, Gu Jinglan gripped his waist again. “Hurry, your teammate’s about to cry. Jungler, why are you still power-farming in the jungle?”

“D-Don’t mess with me,” Qi Yanyu barely managed to utter a complete sentence. The top laner, seeing the jungler arrive like a savior, shouted, “Quick! I’m 1v3ing! They’re all one auto from death!”

When Qi Yanyu finally arrived, he struggled to focus his vision. “One auto from death”? The only one low was his own top laner. “Can’t win,” he muttered before even engaging, ready to turn and flee.

Gu Jinglan bit his ear and whispered, “Why leave? Let your teammate witness your Xin Zhao going god mode, saving him from peril.” Then, softer, he added, “Baby, move a little. Don’t just let me hold you up.”

The teammate caught garbled bits of Gu Jinglan’s teasing. “Jungler, what are you doing?! Come now!!! I’m already dead!!! Damn it!” The teammate, who had been 1v3ing till now, had no idea Qi Yanyu’s face was burning like a steamed crab, his fingers white-knuckling the mouse so hard it might break.

“They’re all one auto from death! Hurry!!!”

In the past, Qi Yanyu would’ve gone god mode, diving in to pick off the squishies before finishing the tank or jungler. But now, reluctant to fight and egged on by both his top laner and Gu Jinglan, he trudged into the dumpster fire of top lane. Instantly, he was like meat thrown into a sea of starving crabs, torn apart by the three enemies.

“Gu Jinglan, don’t—”

“Don’t go too slow? You want it rougher?” Gu Jinglan deliberately twisted his words.

The teammate watched Qi Yanyu’s inting engage, like an old man stumbling into a village only to be bullied by a gang of strong youths: “What kind of engage was that?! You might as well not have come! I thought you were decent at Xin Zhao. This???”

Qi Yanyu’s micro was still somewhat there, his mouse movements barely passable, but a 1v3 was doomed. His low-health teammate joined in, afraid Qi Yanyu would abandon him.

Yet, the teammate let out a shocked cry: “Huh?! Riven’s one hit from death! One more E from Orianna and she’s done! How’d you let them escape?! They were all one auto from death!!! What were you doing? Wait, jungler, how’d you die???”

Qi Yanyu went gray-screen. He buried his face in his arm, biting his sleeve, while his mouse hand reached back to push away Gu Jinglan’s embrace.

“Babe, what’s wrong? Why are you moaning?” Gu Jinglan asked curiously behind him.

The teammate, who had died alongside the jungler, raged in comms but strangely heard no response from Qi Yanyu. Yet, the jungler’s mic was on, and faint suspicious sounds made the teammate pause before asking, “Who’s that with you?”

Qi Yanyu bit down on his sleeve, but it couldn’t stifle his muffled choked-back moans. Gu Jinglan held him like a cat curled in his arms, even biting the nape of Qi Yanyu’s neck, nearly bringing tears to his eyes.

“Bro, your Xin Zhao is... kinda inting,” the top laner finally respawned and criticized him while walking back.

“Screw you—” Qi Yanyu wanted to swear. He could take any insult—except being called bad. But the moment he spoke, his words dissolved into pained whimper.

“Babe, how dare he say that about you?” Gu Jinglan egged him on. Qi Yanyu’s jungle clears were running it down, often jungle diff.

“Bro, who’s that talking beside you?” The teammate couldn’t quite make out the words—and even if he could, he wouldn’t dare believe them.

Qi Yanyu stayed silent, burying his face in his arm again. The teammate yelled, “Why are you AFK? You’ve full-clearing for ages and still in the jungle? Are you trolling my a—, iron juice?”

“Trolling my a—…” It’s just a normal game—why so serious?

Old Qi Yanyu would never say such things. He’d even pick Xin Zhao in normal games—that’s how serious he was.

“Quick, help me gank Orianna. She’s gonna come for me again.”

“Babe, he’s calling for you again,” Gu Jinglan murmured in Qi Yanyu’s ear.

Qi Yanyu kept his face buried in his arms, completely still. The only movement came from the person behind him.

"Yo Xin Zhao, you deaf or what??"

"You done farming jungle yet??" His teammate playing Nasus asked impatiently.

"Husband," Gu Jinglan parroted.

"Don't call me husband..." Qi Yanyu mumbled weakly.

Ignoring him, Gu Jinglan egged it on, "Show ’em your 10K-game Xin Zhao skills." He fanned the flames, clearly enjoying the drama. Of course, while messing with Qi Yanyu, who had no control over the situation.

"Yeah right," Qi Yanyu groaned, burying his face into the keyboard again, letting out muffled whimpers.

His teammate's tower was nearly destroyed. "Bro, where the hell were you??"

Him showing up at all was a miracle. Qi Yanyu had struggled across the map just to snag some minion gold from the top lane, barely surviving each wave before leaving without looking back.

His teammate stared in disbelief. "How the hell are you Diamond?? Huh, Xin Zhao?"

After a moment, the teammate asked again, "Your mic glitching? It’s so noisy on your end. Bro, you got stuff running in the background?" The implication was clear—the teammate could hear either muffled moans or someone else talking—never actually hearing Xin Zhao speak.

Screw this. Qi Yanyu didn’t want to play anymore. Not only was he behind economically, but he couldn’t even operate properly.

"Move it," Gu Jinglan teased with a double meaning. "Or I’ll report you for AFK."

Qi Yanyu squirmed at the nibbling on his neck and furiously clicked his mouse to cross half the map. "Nasus... don’t clear the wave yet."

"Huh? Are they ganking me again?" The teammate stayed frozen like an idiot.

Finally, after a long, clumsy journey, Qi Yanyu limped into the top lane—just in time to steal a wave of minions.

"WTF Xin Zhao! Lane-stealing trash, uninstall!" The teammate roared.

Maybe the enemy team also realized how bad this Xin Zhao was. As Qi Yanyu wandered aimlessly, he was ambushed and two-trapped into death.

Dying in-game was almost a relief for Qi Yanyu in reality. He let go of the mouse, hiding his face as he whimpered, "I’m done."

"Only three deaths," Gu Jinglan said, his hand slick with sweat (or other fluids) as he whispered into Qi Yanyu’s ear. "Toughen up. Your body’s handling it fine."

Qi Yanyu respawned, only to find the jungle already cleared. He wandered off again and died once more. Frustrated, he threw the mouse. "I’m not playing."

"Just sit up and play a little longer," Gu Jinglan laughed, though he made no effort to give Qi Yanyu a break.

"I’m done. Not even a bot would play this! Every fight I start, I die—four deaths in four minutes. Not even a bot would do this!"

Gu Jinglan picked up the mouse and shoved it back into his hand, kissing and coaxing him. "Just a bit longer, hubby’s not done yet."

"Can’t do it," Qi Yanyu’s voice cracked.

Gu Jinglan suspected he might be crying for real and gently turned his face toward him, amused. "Uncomfortable?"

"Uncomfortable," Qi Yanyu could only focus on one thing at a time—either gaming or… He’d died too many times already. "I’m done. Not even a bot..."

A 0/5/0 KDA in norms—if he kept this up, he’d get reported for inting.

The teammate in the lobby faintly heard Xin Zhao sobbing, “Xin Zhao, are you an elementary school kid? Did your dad hit you?”

After crying for a while, Qi Yanyu found enough strength to lift himself from his slumped position at the desk and began searching for the mute function in League of Legends. “Mute it,” he said.

Gu Jinglan didn’t follow his request. Instead, he pulled Qi Yanyu into a hug and kissed his tearless face. “Xin Zhao’s back up. Play more carefully, and you won’t die. Let your man hold you longer.”

“Don’t… don’t mess with me anymore,” Qi Yanyu sniffled while searching for the mute button. The teammate noticed and shouted again, “Xin Zhao, are you AFK again? What’s wrong with you?”

“I… I can’t…” Qi Yanyu couldn’t even finish saying “I can’t play” before faceplanting into the keyboard, sobbing.

Gu Jinglan suspected he was faking it and reached out to touch Qi Yanyu’s face—no tears, just the sound. “Think crying will soften me up?” he teased with provocative banter, trying to provoke Qi Yanyu into action so neither his body nor the game would stay “AFK.”

“……” Qi Yanyu was done. He swore never to do random duo queue in LoL again.

The teammate, Nasus, was holding his own 1v2 and glanced back at Xin Zhao, who was still howling about god-knows-what in the fountain.

“That’s what you get. What’s a kid doing playing LoL?” The teammate assumed Xin Zhao had been scolded by his parents. After some time, he checked again—Xin Zhao had barely moved a millimeter out of the fountain. Instantly, he yelled, “Xin Zhao, you troll! Get out of the fountain already!”

Eventually, the teammate seemed to catch on. At first, he mocked, “Turn off the porn, Xin Zhao.” Then he snapped: “You’re disgusting!” Still, he kept checking, “For real? What the hell are you doing, Xin Zhao??”

The teammate turned off his mic but kept listening. He toggled it on and off repeatedly, probably trying to confirm whether Xin Zhao was playing music to mess with him.

In the end, the teammate couldn’t resist typing: “Xin Zhao, if you ever drag a random into duo queue again, I’ll unplug your internet.”

Qi Yanyu died 14 times that match. Though it was just a casual game, luckily the random Nasus played decently, and the other three teammates weren’t practicing new champions. Against all odds, they managed an insane comeback.

As soon as the game ended, Qi Yanyu scraped together enough energy to retrieve the mouse he’d thrown away. After waiting a few seconds on the exit screen, he quickly clicked “Leave” and exited the random duo queue.

Gu Jinglan hoisted him up by the waist and tossed him onto the bed, pulling off the pants Qi Yanyu hadn’t finished taking off.

Qi Yanyu buried his face in the pillow, his hips raised—convenient for the still fully clothed Gu Jinglan.

At a little past six in the morning, Gu Jinglan woke up. Qi Yanyu, who loved his sleep, wasn’t eager to rise so early.

After peeling off Qi Yanyu’s extra sleepwear, Gu Jinglan watched as he pretended to still be asleep for a while before finally giving up entirely.

While riding the elevator down, Qi Yanyu muttered, “I can’t take it anymore.”

Gu Jinglan pulled him closer. “What’s wrong? Weren’t you dominating last night?”

The only one “dominating” had been Gu Jinglan. Qi Yanyu groaned inwardly.

“What do you want to eat?” Gu Jinglan asked with amusement. Qi Yanyu now looked like a damp firecracker—once capable of occasional explosions, now just a hollow shell.

Qi Yanyu only wanted to go back to class and sleep. “Not eating,” he said. But later when hunger struck, he’d sneak out to the cafeteria anyway.

As the elevator neared the first floor, Gu Jinglan pinched the drowsy boy’s cheek and gave him a small kiss. “Aren’t you tough, Little Pig?”

Another nickname—Little Pig—and it fit. Qi Yanyu ate, slept, and repeated, unable to stand being hungry, tired, or overworked.

Tough? Sure. But even he had limits. After forty-five minutes of gaming, he had to take what was coming—he tried to escape but had nowhere to run, forced to endure the teasing. Later, he was dragged back for more.

That morning brought another hour of the same before Gu Jinglan dragged him to class.

As the elevator doors opened, a male student stood outside. Spotting Gu Jinglan and Qi Yanyu, he smiled in surprise. “Senior Gu.”

Qi Yanyu reflexively leaped away from Gu Jinglan, pretending to step back casually but actually staring wide-eyed at the unfamiliar face.

Gu Jinglan didn’t recognize him either—probably just an underclassman who knew him. He gave a casual nod in response.

While waiting for the car outside, Qi Yanyu didn’t dare get close to Gu Jinglan. Even though Gu Jinglan said, “They left ages ago,”

Qi Yanyu still acted guilty: “Why’d we bump into an alum here, of all places?”

“Car’s here.”

When getting in the car, Qi Yanyu still didn’t dare say much to Gu Jinglan with the driver present, keeping a careful gap between them.

Gu Jinglan deliberately sat closer to him, but Qi Yanyu put on a cold front.

Suddenly, Gu Jinglan wondered if Qi Yanyu was Jiang Tiyan’s boyfriend, which was why he didn’t dare act affectionate in public—afraid of being caught by paparazzi?

At that thought, the warmth in his chest flickered and dimmed.

Back at school for class, Qi Yanyu simply closed his eyes and slept at his desk. Gu Jinglan didn’t bother him now, though he used to be just plain annoyed by him sleeping during lectures. He couldn’t tell if it was disapproval of his pampered heir antics or simply finding him irritating.

Now, it was different. No matter what Qi Yanyu did, Gu Jinglan could always find an excuse for him.

If other students slept in class, it was because they were lazy, didn’t care about grades, or indulged in self-destructive habits. But if Qi Yanyu slept in class, it was probably for one of these reasons: he’d pulled an all-nighter studying to compete for the top spot, he’d been kept up all night by Gu Jinglan, or he’d been exhausted from being worn out that morning.

If he slept in class, it was definitely because he hadn’t gotten enough rest—so thoroughly spent that he could barely walk straight, legs still shaky, knees stubbornly apart even under the desk.

Even if Qi Yanyu dipped out during class to grab breakfast, it was only because he was too tired and hungry to focus. Gu Jinglan always had a ready excuse for him.

Now, things were even more different—Gu Jinglan would sometimes leave class to buy breakfast for Qi Yanyu.

When Qi Yanyu woke up and saw the still-warm soy milk, shredded potato pancakes, and egg-wrapped sticky rice rolls, he’d do a double-take.

Gu Jinglan would then take his hand under the desk, toying with his fingers. “You’re awake. Have some breakfast.”

Qi Yanyu ate with one hand since the other was held by Gu Jinglan’s left. Occasionally, Gu Jinglan would reply to messages with his right hand while using a pen to mark up key sections in both their textbooks.

“Did you eat?” Qi Yanyu asked.

“Yeah.”

Gu Jinglan kept holding his right hand. Thankfully, they’d snagged the back corner desks.

No one behind them seemed to notice their fingers entwined.

Just in case, Qi Yanyu humored him for a bit before pulling his hand back. He wanted to take notes while eating but realized his textbook was missing—where had it gone?

Seeing Gu Jinglan taking notes for both of them, Qi Yanyu swiped his book and started writing notes for him too.

At noon, they returned to the dorm and found neither Huang Shaoze nor Qi Yuanhan had come back yet.

Gu Jinglan had ordered takeout before the lecture wrapped up, and it had already been delivered downstairs. They grabbed it on their way in.

But before touching the food, Qi Yanyu went to wash his face. He bent over the sink, letting the water trickle as he splashed his face.

Gu Jinglan followed him in, closing the door before pulling Qi Yanyu back against him.

Bent over with his eyes closed, Qi Yanyu was still washing his face. “Cut it out—you’ll get water in my eyes.”

When Gu Jinglan’s hand slid down to undo his pants, Qi Yanyu panicked, squinting as he hiked them back up. “They could walk in any second!”

His first thought wasn’t about how wrecked he already was after last night and this morning—it was the fear of Qi Yuanhan catching them in the bathroom.

Of course, Gu Jinglan was only messing with him, watching as water dripped down his face, his lashes clumped like rain-soaked feathers, eyes screwed shut to keep the water out.

He found him a bit silly at the moment, which only made him look even more endearingly clueless.

So he said on purpose, "What are you afraid of? Back when you saw me in the dorm, didn’t you want to get with me, Yu?"

At the very beginning, Qi Yanyu had indeed wanted to "do" Gu Jinglan—but it was the kind that meant throwing fists.

Qi Yanyu simply couldn't stand someone so fake—aloof on the outside but full of it inside.

"Let me finish washing my face first," Qi Yanyu stalled.

"Is it swollen? Let me see." Gu Jinglan deliberately pushed him a little closer to the sink, but Qi Yanyu wouldn’t let him. He stopped mid-wash, but the hand blocking his waist was pulled away.

"Like hell," Qi Yanyu blurted out, then immediately regretted it—he should’ve kept his voice down.

Just then, Gu Jinglan’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out and glanced at it—a text from Qi Yuanhan saying he and Huang Shaoze were eating chow fun at the snack street and asking if they wanted any.

Gu Jinglan replied, "No need."

After sending it, he placed his phone on the sink. The sink was made of pale white marble. In Room 413, Gu Jinglan and Qi Yanyu, both neat freaks, had kept the bathroom weirdly clean for a guy’s dorm.

He pushed Qi Yanyu against the marble surface. Qi Yanyu’s body pressed against the cold, dry stone, the chill making him shiver, but his waist was pinned down.

When Gu Jinglan took him, Qi Yanyu’s mind went blank for a moment. Then came slow, teasing thrusts.

Offhand, he asked, "Are you dating Jiang Tiyan? He’s your boyfriend, right?"

He’d wanted to ask last night, but because he liked him, Gu Jinglan had bitten back the question.

Those taunting videos and texts felt like a challenge to his patience.

The other man seemed frozen silent. Maybe the marble was too cold, numbing his thoughts. Gu Jinglan took his own towel and spread it over the sink.

"Were you with him last night?"

Qi Yanyu’s mind was already hazy from being entered, and now, with this question, his thoughts scrambled like static on an old TV screen for a good ten seconds.

How did Gu Jinglan know? Had he followed him to dinner?

Or had Jiang Tiyan told him? Or had some minor actor posted photos of him and Jiang Tiyan online?

Seeing Qi Yanyu silent, Gu Jinglan gave a few rough thrusts. Maybe because he liked him, he thought Qi Yanyu might be in pain, so he turned his face toward him.

Qi Yanyu’s cheek was pressed against the towel, his eyes blinking slightly, his expression dazed.

To Gu Jinglan, Qi Yanyu looked like he’d been caught cheating—or maybe worn out by him.

"Are you two in a relationship?"

"What? Who told you that?" Qi Yanyu finally snapped back, his mind still stuck on Gu Jinglan’s words: "You were with him last night."

Seeing him finally respond—with a mix of shock and a tight-lipped frown—Gu Jinglan pressed on.

"You two haven’t broken up yet." He ignored Qi Yanyu’s question, stating what he believed to be the facts.

"Are you insane? Who fed you that nonsense? Was it Jiang Tiyan?" Qi Yanyu struggled to get up but remained pinned to the marble.

"Is it true or not?" Gu Jinglan eased up just enough, letting Qi Yanyu rise a bit from the sink. In the mirror, he saw himself and Gu Jinglan.

Gu Jinglan’s expression was icy, tinged with suspicion. Qi Yanyu wanted to turn around, but he was trapped, as if wedged against the edge of the sink—any movement brought a throb. "I don’t like sharing my man."

"How the hell could that be?" Qi Yanyu's chest burned with fury. "Did Jiang Tiyan tell you that? Did he say he's my boyfriend? Is that what he told you?"

"Who told you?" If it had been Zhou Yuhan, Qi Yanyu might have explained. But how did it involve his childhood friend? "Or did you just assume it yourself?"

Pinned uncomfortably, Qi Yanyu slumped over again. Gu Jinglan finally spoke: "Then where were you last night?"

Yet Qi Yanyu couldn't answer.

Gu Jinglan would've rather heard him admit he'd gone to dinner with Jiang Tiyan than lie and say it was with family.

Qi Yanyu still didn’t know Huang Shaoze and the others had gone to the snack street for lunch and wouldn't be back. He begged Gu Jinglan, "Quit fucking with me... they'll be back soon..."

Gu Jinglan wasn't deliberately trying to make him suffer—he just wondered if Qi Yanyu was truly sincere with him.

After a few rough movements, he released Qi Yanyu and withdrew. Gu Jinglan washed his hands and left.

Qi Yanyu watched him go, his chest suddenly aching with confusion.

He adjusted his disheveled clothes, unsure if Huang Shaoze and the others had returned. The sounds from inside were probably loud enough to hear outside.

After pulling himself together for what felt like forever, he finally stepped out of the shower room—only to find the dorm empty except for Gu Jinglan.

Gu Jinglan gave him the cold shoulder. Seeing the others still hadn't returned, Qi Yanyu stood before him. Gu Jinglan hadn't eaten either, just mindlessly pulled up the assignment portal and started working on homework.

"Are you angry?" Qi Yanyu asked fearfully, unable to avoid the question.

Gu Jinglan finally looked up after a pause. Qi Yanyu’s collar hung crooked, the fabric slightly damp—even though there had been no water near the sink earlier.

His pants were clearly yanked up in a hurry, leaving his expression a mix of pain and dazed confusion.

"Not angry," Gu Jinglan said, though his voice said otherwise. He lowered his gaze back to his assignment.

Qi Yanyu stayed planted in front of him, unable to find the right words.

Gu Jinglan continued typing absentmindedly. After a while, he glanced sideways—Qi Yanyu was still standing there, motionless, head bowed, zoned out or something.

He still hadn't eaten, and class would start in another ten minutes. Maybe Qi Yanyu would skip again.

But Gu Jinglan wasn't eating either. He didn't ask, so Qi Yanyu stayed silent.

Just standing there. When Gu Jinglan looked at him again, Qi Yanyu wore a faintly bewildered expression.

A few more minutes passed. Gu Jinglan was on the verge of snapping at him to either eat or go to bed when Qi Yanyu finally spoke, his eyebrows knotted in distress: "I did go to dinner with him last night."

Finally, Gu Jinglan got the truth he’d been waiting for.

But before Qi Yanyu admitted it himself, Gu Jinglan had been only half-convinced.

Even though Jiang Tiyan had sent a video of Qi Yanyu wearing the exact same clothes last night, even though Qi Yanyu had been speechless under questioning in the bathroom—Gu Jinglan had clung to the hope that it was a misunderstanding. If Qi Yanyu explained, he would have believed him.

"Who is he?" Gu Jinglan coolly raised his gaze.

"Jiang... Tiyan." Qi Yanyu stood there like a kid caught lying—because he had. "But we're not together."

"Then why did you tell me you were just having dinner with family?"

Qi Yanyu's stomach twisted with dread, scared shitless that Gu Jinglan was really mad now. "I thought you'd get the wrong idea..."

Then why did you go out with him? Were you two on a date?

"It wasn't a date..." Qi Yanyu's explanation sounded weak. "Other people were there too last night, it was just... just friends hanging out over dinner."

"Then why didn’t you invite me along?"

One lie leads to another. Qi Yanyu couldn't find the words to argue back, so he dodged Gu Jinglan’s question: "Last night, I just wanted the gathering to end quickly so I could come back to you."

That much was true. But Gu Jinglan asked casually, "So are the two of you dating?"

"How could that be? Why would you think we're dating?" Qi Yanyu was desperate. What could've made Gu Jinglan think he and Jiang Tiyan were in a relationship?

Gu Jinglan looked at him, his face an open book—though it was also possible he was lying.

"I'd sooner believe someone else was dating me than that I’m with Jiang Tiyan. I could never date him… he's totally straight…" Qi Yanyu couldn't think of any reason to refute the idea of him and Jiang Tiyan being together.

Straight… Gu Jinglan thought. He used to believe he was straight too.

"Come on, you know I wouldn't… I could never date him…" Qi Yanyu looked utterly miserable.

Gu Jinglan worried that if they kept arguing, Qi Yanyu might skip eating altogether and go to class hungry. "Just eat first."

"But you do believe me, right?"

"Eat first, then we’ll talk."

Qi Yanyu wasn't letting it go. "Let’s clear this up first—"

"Class is about to start," Gu Jinglan insisted, wanting him to eat even in the middle of their argument. "Are you going later?"

Qi Yanyu nodded. He’d slept all morning—of course he was going to afternoon classes.

"Then eat first," Gu Jinglan repeated.

Qi Yanyu had no choice but to go eat, though he suspected Gu Jinglan was just delaying the conversation.

He brought his lunchbox over and placed it on Gu Jinglan’s desk. Gu Jinglan gave him a puzzled look as Qi Yanyu pulled up a chair too. Without a word, Qi Yanyu sat down and started eating beside him.

Gu Jinglan studied him and thought he didn’t strike him as the type to date Jiang Tiyan.

Between bites, Qi Yanyu wondered if Jiang Tiyan was secretly sabotaging him or if this was all just a misunderstanding on Gu Jinglan’s part.

After eating, the two headed downstairs for class, tossing their takeout containers on the way.

On the way to the lab building, Qi Yanyu tried to explain, but Gu Jinglan got a phone call and was still talking by the time they reached the stairs.

Qi Yanyu had only picked at his lunch, and now they had dissection lab in the afternoon. As he stood there separating tissue, blood vessels, and nerves, he seemed miles away.

Qi Yuanhan was trading department gossip, but Qi Yanyu wasn’t paying attention.

Gu Jinglan watched him, noticing how completely lost in thought he was.

Qi Yuanhan, realizing only the original 413 dorm members were listening—with Qi Yanyu seemingly floating in another dimension—prodded, "Why’s No. 3 crying?"

Instantly, all eyes in the dorm turned to Qi Yanyu. Gu Jinglan looked up too, watching more intently than anyone.

"It’s just sweat."

Qi Yanyu was wearing a mask, though the edges were slightly damp. Gu Jinglan thought it did look like sweat. Since when did Qi Yanyu cry?

Shifting his gaze upward, Qi Yanyu’s eyes looked dry, like distant black holes.

“Oh,” Qi Yuanhan said with a chuckle, glancing at the part of Gu Jinglan’s face visible above the mask. “I thought I said something unfunny that made you cry.”

Qi Yanyu didn’t even smile, still keeping his eyes lowered.

Two weeks ago, Qi Yanyu would’ve bantered back with Qi Yuanhan during anatomy class.

Now, only Huang Shaoze replied to him.

Gu Jinglan was also in a bad mood today, on par with No. 3’s. But at least Gu Jinglan would exchange a word or two with him, whereas Qi Yanyu wouldn’t.

It seemed Qi Yanyu was in a worse mood than Gu Jinglan.

Qi Yuanhan found it kinda funny—what was going on with these two? Had they had a big fight?

After class, when they went out to disinfect and change clothes, Qi Yanyu dragged his feet washing his hands and removing his mask, gloves, and clothes. He was waiting for Gu Jinglan.

Huang Shaoze and the others were waiting for them. “Let’s go. Huang’s buying tonight. Where should we eat?” Qi Yuanhan asked.

Huang Shaoze’s student had done well on their exams, so his tutoring gig had earned him a bit more, and he decided to treat Dorm 413 to a meal. “How about Sichuan hotpot?”

The four of them returned to the dorm to shower and change before heading out to take a ride-hail car to the commercial district for hotpot.

While waiting for the car, Huang Shaoze was still explaining a problem over voice chat.

Qi Yuanhan remarked, “Boss Huang will be the most overworked in our dorm from now on. You can count on it.”

Gu Jinglan chimed in casually, “No question.”

Qi Yanyu didn’t interject. By the time the ride-hail car arrived, Qi Yuanhan was still lingering nearby, leaving him no chance to explain anything to Gu Jinglan.

The four got into the car, with Qi Yuanhan sitting in the front passenger seat as usual, though his mood was different now. He glanced back—sure enough, Gu Jinglan and Qi Yanyu were sitting together, with Huang Shaoze on the far side.

“No. 3,” Qi Yuanhan asked, pretending to care, “why haven’t you been sleeping in the dorm this past month either, since Brother Gu hasn’t been there?”

Qi Yanyu answered naturally, “I’ve been sleeping at home.”

“Oh, so both of you are sleeping at home now.” Among their dormmates, three were locals—except for Huang Shaoze. “Now when we want to squad up in PUBG or grab a bite, there’s no one around.”

Huang Shaoze laughed cluelessly, chatting about their absence. “Dong next door keeps coming over to borrow homework but can never find Brother Gu in person.” He completely missed the subtext in Qi Yuanhan’s words.

Even if Dong usually came to borrow homework, Gu Jinglan wouldn’t lend it. The only person he’d ever let copy his work was Qi Yanyu—though it wasn’t really copying, since he’d just do an extra assignment for him.

Gu Jinglan ignored their conversation and instead asked, “Can No. 3 handle super spicy food?” Sichuan hotpot was famously fiery, making it sound like he was concerned about Qi Yanyu’s dietary preferences.

“I’m good,” Qi Yanyu replied. Sitting by the window with Gu Jinglan in the middle, he just wanted to be with Gu Jinglan—it didn’t matter what they ate or did.

“No. 3’s been unusually quiet all day. What’s eating you?” Qi Yuanhan prodded again.

By the time they finished anatomy class, returned to the dorm to change, and headed out for dinner, it was already past 7:40. Outside the car window, the night was in full swing, with neon lights and storefronts blazing like a neon dreamscape.

Gu Jinglan didn’t look at Qi Yanyu, but the person beside him simply said, “I’m hungry. I want to eat.”

Hearing this, Gu Jinglan thought to himself that Qi Yanyu must not have eaten much at lunch—his takeout box was barely touched.