Chapter 10

Chapter 10

◎Playing by His Own Rules◎

To stay in character, Meng Qi desperately suppressed the happy flutter in his chest, feigning nonchalance as he looked at Qi Yun and asked, “Why are you here?”

“I thought you might not remember which classroom to go to, so I came to take you there,” Qi Yun said, shaking the breakfast he held in his hand. “On my way back, I passed by Pengji Porridge Shop and brought you a bowl of plain porridge.”

“On your way back?” Meng Qi stepped aside to let Qi Yun enter his dorm room first, then asked in surprise, “Do you mean you pulled an all-nighter at Qian De’an’s place?”

Qi Yun nodded sheepishly. “The night shift pays better, and besides, I have classes during the day, so I don’t have time to go there.”

“Oh.” Meng Qi took the plain porridge from Qi Yun and opened it right in front of him. Immediately, the refreshing aroma of rice mixed with vegetables wafted out—delicious. Having eaten nothing for a day and two nights, Meng Qi was instantly captivated by the inviting scent and eagerly took a big sip. Only after drinking did he remember to ask Qi Yun, “Have you had breakfast yet?”

Qi Yun paused for a moment before shaking his head. “Not yet.”

“Then why did you only buy one portion?”

“I’ll grab something at the school cafeteria after dropping you off,” Qi Yun said, looking embarrassed once more. “A bowl of porridge like this costs over fifty yuan. I couldn’t bring myself to buy two.”

Meng Qi looked down at the porridge, thinking, *This? Without even a hint of meat, it costs over fifty! That’s daylight robbery! No matter how good it tastes, it’s not worth that price! Back home, fifty yuan could make a whole big pot of the same thing.*

He was shocked by the price of a simple bowl of porridge—and even more shocked that Qi Yun would treat him so well, spending so much money on a bowl of plain porridge for him. It made him feel incredibly flattered.

Since childhood, the only ones who had been unconditionally good to him were his grandparents. It wasn’t until middle school that He Cong and Wang Boyuan joined them. His childhood experiences of being bullied made him yearn for kindness while also leaving him at a loss when others showed him goodwill—unsure of how to reciprocate.

Back then, it took He Cong and Wang Boyuan a long time to help him understand what equal friendship meant.

After his initial shock, Meng Qi scanned the dorm room, then fetched a white ceramic cup from the nearby desk. He divided the porridge from the takeout container, pouring half into the cup and handing the remaining portion to Qi Yun. “Here—half for you. I can’t finish this much by myself.”

The way Meng Qi had learned to reciprocate kindness was to share good things with those who treated him well—returning kindness with kindness to sustain the friendship.

Of course, this was under the assumption that Qi Yun genuinely wanted to be friends with him and didn’t have ulterior motives.

Meng Qi wasn’t foolish either. He knew the status and wealth of the “Meng Qi” in the book were facts of life. As long as he remained the “Meng Qi” from the book for a day, he couldn’t avoid people approaching him with various motives, trying to gain something from him.

But… he hoped Qi Yun wasn’t that kind of person.

If he was, so be it. After all, Qi Yun looked like Wang Boyuan. At most, he could let Qi Yun take advantage of him a bit. After all, he had money now—even his porridge cost over fifty yuan a bowl!

Seeing the porridge Meng Qi handed over, Qi Yun’s eyes first flashed with disbelief, then were quickly replaced by delight. He took the porridge while happily thanking Meng Qi, “Thank you, Young Master Meng. You’re so kind.”

“First of all, you bought this porridge, so I should be thanking you—not the other way around,” Meng Qi gestured for Qi Yun to drink the porridge while it was hot. He also took a couple of sips from his own ceramic cup before stopping to look at Qi Yun, speaking with an air of authority. “Secondly, just call me by my name from now on. Drop the formal ‘you.’ I’m not much older than you, and it sounds awkward.”

Hearing this, Qi Yun smiled. “You—no, *I’m* not older than you. My birthday is March 17th, and yours is June 16th. That makes me exactly three months older than you.”

At this, Meng Qi was dumbfounded. “Didn’t you say we’d never spoken before? How do you even know my birthday?”

*Could Qi Yun be some kind of know-it-all?* Meng Qi was utterly confused.

Qi Yun stared into Meng Qi’s eyes for two seconds before quickly lowering his gaze to the porridge in his hands, explaining softly, “You’re a huge deal at our school. Probably no one doesn’t know your birthday.”

*Oh, I see.*

Meng Qi nodded to himself, then clicked his tongue inwardly. *This “Meng Qi” from the book is way over the top—making such a big scene that even his birthday is known by the entire school. That’s impressive! This level of attention is beyond what I imagined. As a small introvert, I can’t handle this. It makes me want to back out right now.*

But he could still hold on a little longer—because Qi Yun had stepped up to help him!

Meng Qi secretly glanced at Qi Yun, who was silently drinking his porridge beside him, thinking, *Qi Yun must be the angel sent by heaven to save me! Even though I’m incredibly unlucky to have transmigrated into this book and might die in nine months, meeting Qi Yun is still a kind of luck, isn’t it?*

Walking to the lecture hall, everyone they passed pointed and stared at him. Meng Qi looked down to check his outfit once more, confirming there was nothing wrong, and decided to ignore them. He calmly continued following Qi Yun.

This was probably the special treatment of being a campus celebrity—constantly under others’ scrutiny, always the subject of gossip. Though it was quite annoying, Meng Qi knew he had to accept it and learn to adapt.

He felt his adaptability was fairly strong now; after walking this short distance, he was already about seventy to eighty percent adjusted.

As they neared the classroom door, Qi Yun suddenly tugged at Meng Qi’s sleeve and pointed to two classmates walking toward them, chatting and laughing. “You’re usually very close with them. The one in the white T-shirt is Dong Jiaming, and the one in the blue shirt is Kuang Hui.”

Meng Qi silently memorized their names, also recalling the chat history he’d seen between these two and the “Meng Qi” from the book. Their conversations were mostly about where to hang out today or what luxury item to buy tomorrow—hardly ever discussing anything serious.

*Probably just fair-weather friends?*

Thinking this, Meng Qi instantly felt much more confident, believing he could handle these two.

As Kuang Hui approached Meng Qi, he completely ignored Qi Yun’s presence, turned to shove him aside, and took his place. He then slung an arm around Meng Qi’s shoulders, walking forward as he asked, “How did you end up hanging out with that sissy? Aren’t you afraid people will gossip behind your back?”

Although Meng Qi didn’t know what “sissy” meant, he could tell from Kuang Hui’s flippant tone that it wasn’t a nice word. Frowning in displeasure, he shrugged off Kuang Hui’s arm, turned around, and waved for Qi Yun to come over. Once Qi Yun was by his side, Meng Qi naturally put an arm around his shoulders and declared to Kuang Hui, Dong Jiaming, and the other students peeking out of the classroom to watch the commotion, “From now on, Qi Yun is under my protection. I’d appreciate it if you all treat him with respect.”

Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming, who had lagged behind, exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief and incredulity in each other’s eyes. Kuang Hui even shouted directly at Meng Qi, “Meng Qi, have you lost your mind? Don’t you know what kind of person he is? And you want to protect him? With what? Money? Or condoms?”

As soon as Kuang Hui finished speaking, a wave of mocking laughter erupted from the surroundings—lingering and piercingly harsh. Not only did Qi Yun’s face instantly pale, but Meng Qi’s did too, because these malicious laughs instantly transported him back to his helpless childhood.

Back then, because of his eyes, Meng Qi was often called a “little monster” openly or behind his back. Sometimes, those who mocked him would gather together, emboldening each other to bully him—pushing him into mud puddles or stripping off all his clothes and throwing them everywhere, then laughing loudly at his disheveled appearance. The sound was just like now—piercingly harsh.

Meng Qi instinctively wanted to run away, but as he turned, he saw Qi Yun beside him trembling like a leaf—looking even more pitiful than young Meng Qi ever had. The broken string in Meng Qi’s mind automatically reconnected at this sight. He suddenly remembered his current identity: he was no longer the Meng Qi anyone could bully from childhood, but the arrogant, domineering Young Master Meng—the “Meng Qi” from the book!

He now had the means to stand up to bullies! He was afraid of no one!

In the blink of an eye, before Meng Qi’s brain could fully process it, his right hand had already lifted automatically, shoving Kuang Hui away with swift, precise force. Amidst the gasps from the surrounding crowd, he angrily pointed at Kuang Hui, who had stumbled back several steps before regaining his balance, and shouted, “I’ll say it again: from today on, I’m protecting Qi Yun. You’d better show him some respect. If something like this happens again, we’re done as friends!”

Hearing Meng Qi say such a thing, Kuang Hui’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He stared at Meng Qi in disbelief, roaring back even louder, “You’re treating me like this over some whore? You’ve really got some nerve!”

Meng Qi was almost furious with Kuang Hui—and had also figured out why everyone disliked Qi Yun.

But whether this reason was true or not remained to be seen. Even if Qi Yun really was the kind of person Kuang Hui claimed, it was out of necessity. His blood boiling, Meng Qi not only didn’t blame him but even felt a sense of empathy and camaraderie. So he continued to angrily retort at Kuang Hui, “Watch your mouth. I’m telling you for the last time: he’s my friend. If you still want to be friends with me, you have to accept him. Otherwise, our friendship is really over.”

Kuang Hui was left panting with rage in the distance, but suddenly let out a scornful laugh. Jutting his chin out defiantly, he said to Meng Qi, “Fine, I fucking accept! Why wouldn’t I? I want to see how badly he’ll screw you over in the end—and where you’ll go to cry about it.”

With that, Kuang Hui brushed off the spot where Meng Qi had pushed him, then walked back to Meng Qi’s side, shoving Qi Yun aside again as if nothing had happened, and slung his arm around Meng Qi as they walked into the classroom.

Seeing this outcome, the surrounding crowd’s whispers grew louder, buzzing like a swarm of flies.

This situation thoroughly annoyed Kuang Hui. He rolled his eyes skyward before shouting at the onlookers, “What are you all staring at? Haven’t you seen friends who fight and make up?”

Meng Qi: …

*That phrase isn’t usually used to describe friendships…*

Meng Qi, who had been so nervous from his earlier uncharacteristic behavior that he nearly walked with his same-side arm and leg, almost laughed at Kuang Hui’s remark. The suffocating tension also faded significantly. He couldn’t help but glance at Kuang Hui, thinking, *This guy really doesn’t play by the rules. Even after I confronted him like that, he can still calmly be friends with me. I don’t know whether to praise his broad-mindedness to his face or gossip behind his back about how heartless he is.*

Then Meng Qi turned to look at Qi Yun.

Qi Yun hadn’t left yet and was still standing in the same spot. His face, hidden in the shadows, was unreadable—making Meng Qi’s heart ache for him. But when he saw Meng Qi looking back, Qi Yun immediately offered a smile—curved lips and crescent eyes, looking utterly delighted.

Meng Qi returned the smile, then followed Kuang Hui into the classroom feeling reassured.

“Author’s Note”

Revised on July 4, 2024.