Pei Huan actually took the initiative to ask someone for their WeChat?!

“Wow,” Zhao Di was quite surprised on the way back, “You actually took the initiative to ask someone for their WeChat?”

Pei Huan replied, “So what?”

Zhao Di continued, “Why did you want Yan Zimi’s WeChat?”

Pei Huan asked, “Is it not allowed?”

“It’s not that,” Zhao Di turned to seek validation, “Don’t you all find it a bit strange?”

Yu Nan said, “I do.”

Xiao Dong nodded in agreement, “Mm-hmm.”

Zhao Di repeated, “You actually took the initiative to ask someone for their WeChat?”

Pei Huan looked down again; Yan Zimi’s friend request still hadn’t come through.

“Why can’t I?” Pei Huan asked.

Zhao Di exclaimed, “You never take the initiative to add people on WeChat!”

Pei Huan asked, “Is that so?”

Zhao Di replied, “Aside from Yan Zimi, who else have you ever taken the initiative to ask for their WeChat?”

Pei Huan really thought about it for a moment.

Indeed.

“No one.”

Zhao Di clapped his hands and said, “Look at that, you’ve inexplicably asked for the WeChat of an art student. What are you planning to do?”

Just then, a new friend request came through on Pei Huan’s WeChat.

He clicked to accept it and asked Zhao Di, “Is there a problem?”

“No problem,” Zhao Di replied with a questioning tone. “Are you really not familiar with each other? I heard you talking about colds and water and stuff. What were you chatting about?”

Pei Huan retorted, “If we were familiar, would I have added WeChat today?”

Zhao Di responded, “Well, true.”

Seeing Pei Huan browsing Yan Zimi’s Moments, Zhao Di leaned over and said, “Let me take a look too, see what’s been posted.”

Pei Huan casually flipped through the posts: “Nothing much.”

Just pictures.

Just pictures, along with some trivial captions.

Yan Zimi had already checked twice, scanning the code and clicking to add before flying off to review it.

He usually had a one-month visibility limit on his posts and didn’t post often, so there were only a few posts to browse through.

He had posted some complaints before, but it had been over a month.

After Pei Huan accepted the request, Yan Zimi’s first action was to visit Pei Huan’s Moments.

Pei Huan also had a one-month visibility limit, but unfortunately, there were no posts.

When he backed out, Yan Zimi noticed someone who seemed a bit strange out of the corner of his eye.

Turning around, he saw a senior with a big smile looking at him.

Yan Zimi asked, “What’s up?”

The senior said, “What’s going on? You actually gave out your WeChat.”

Yan Zimi replied, “Is it really that strange?”

“Very strange!” The senior picked up a flyer. “I’ve never seen you explain activities to anyone like this. Why?”

Yan Zimi gave a small smile, “Why?”

“Exactly!” The senior noticed another point. “You even smiled at him.”

Yan Zimi defended himself confidently, “He’s handsome.”

The senior was momentarily taken aback, then started to laugh. “Indeed.”

She added, “After all, they’re all handsome. Whether being asked for WeChat or taking the initiative to ask, it’s all so convenient, right?”

Yan Zimi’s gaze drifted away. “Someone’s come to inquire.”

The senior gave Yan Zimi a half-smiling look before turning and leaving.

Yan Zimi’s phone buzzed again. He quickly picked it up to check.

Pei Huan sent him two messages in succession:

“Hello”

“Pei Huan, third-year math”

Yan Zimi replied, “Yan Zimi, second-year art.”

After a moment’s thought, he added, “Hello, senior.”

Pei Huan responded, “I know you.”

Yan Zimi couldn’t help but smile slightly, “I know you too.”

After this brief exchange of introductions, Pei Huan didn’t send any more messages.

Yan Zimi pressed his lips together and clicked on Pei Huan’s contact info.

Pei Huan’s WeChat name was “fire.” Yan Zimi first changed it to Pei Huan but then deleted it and changed it to “Senior.”

Then he deleted that too and went back to using the original name.

Unexpectedly, after exiting, Pei Huan sent another message.

fire: “Do you remember how I said I didn’t know you yesterday?”

Yan Zimi’s face flushed instantly; luckily, Pei Huan wasn’t around.

After thinking for a moment, Yan Zimi replied, “You didn’t know me yesterday either.”

Yan Zimi didn’t know, but on the other end, Pei Huan smiled.

He indeed didn’t know Yan Zimi yesterday.

But he didn’t say so.

fire: “Let’s just say we’re meeting for the first time today.”

Yan Zimi’s fingers wavered more as he typed, “Okay.”

fire added: “If you have a cold, don’t drink ice water.”

Yan Zimi licked his lips, put down his phone, and glanced at the ice-cold mineral water on the table.

After a moment, he picked up his phone and replied to Pei Huan, “Okay.”

fire: “Thanks for the water yesterday.”

Yan Zimi: “You’re welcome. You already said thank you.”

fire: “The thank you was because you added me on WeChat.”

Yan Zimi blinked slightly.

It seemed like he wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation and could only reply, “You’re welcome.”

After this, Pei Huan really didn’t send any more messages.

Yan Zimi lingered on the chat screen for several minutes before locking his phone.

He locked his phone directly.

After lunch, the crowd was noticeably smaller.

But it felt even more stifling.

Yan Zimi felt his palms growing quite warm.

…

After a weekend and a school day, it was Tuesday afternoon again, and time for English class.

It was the same classroom in the same building. Today, Yan Zimi arrived five minutes early, and when he got there, the class was empty.

He took the same seat as last time, by the window in the last row.

The basketball court below, which had never been empty in his memory, was filled with strangers playing today.

Five minutes later, students started arriving in the classroom. It seemed that Yan Zimi had indeed come too early, as those who greeted him would also add, “You’re here so early today.”

Yan Zimi simply responded with a “Mm” and didn’t offer any explanation.

Xiao Gang arrived just as the bell was ringing. He pulled out the chair next to Yan Zimi and sat down, saying, “You’re actually here earlier than me today.”

Yan Zimi hadn’t thought much of it, but with everyone’s comments, he began to feel unusual for arriving early.

The two English classes dragged on, and when the bell finally rang, Yan Zimi got up from his book and immediately looked down at the basketball court.

Why were these people playing for so long?

In fact, the basketball court was quite out of the way, mostly used by art students, so last Friday afternoon must have been an exception.

Yan Zimi didn’t linger; he packed up his bag and left.

Yet, he felt a bit dissatisfied about those five extra minutes he had arrived early.

So, he didn’t go back to the dormitory.

But he wasn’t sure where to go.

People just can’t stay idle and should avoid unexpected encounters, or else they might end up doing something absurd.

Take Yan Zimi, for instance. At this moment, he had already opened the campus map and, despite not being sure if Pei Huan was actually playing basketball, he pinpointed the nearest court to the science building.

He walked the fifteen minutes to get there.

Upon entering, Yan Zimi scanned the court and felt a mix of relief and self-mockery. He wasn’t sure whether to be thankful that his efforts had paid off or to laugh at how fate seemed to leave him with nothing better to do.

Pei Huan was indeed playing basketball here.

The gym didn’t have sunlight, and it was cooler inside compared to outside. Pei Huan was wearing a full set of long-sleeve sportswear.

When Yan Zimi arrived, the ball was in the opponent’s hands, but by the time he found a seat, his side had already scored a basket.

It seemed to be a casual half-court game, played loosely with occasional laughter on the court.

There weren’t many spectators, but it wasn’t sparse either, with slightly more girls in attendance.

There were also people secretly taking photos.

Yan Zimi thought that some of the photos on his phone from a year ago might have been taken by one of these girls.

Pei Huan had become well-known for playing basketball. His good looks were already a plus, and he played steadily—serious when needed, casual when the moment called for it, with no drop in skill.

He was tall, had good jumping ability, and later, it turned out he had good grades as well.

It was hard not to be liked.

Yan Zimi’s attention was entirely on Pei Huan. At this moment, the ball was in Pei Huan’s hands, with two opponents blocking him on either side.

Pei Huan took a few steps with the ball, then suddenly moved forward, followed by a quick retreat, a fake move that sent the defender stumbling to the ground. He then spun around the other defender and made a shot.

It went in.

The crowd erupted in applause, and the people on the court laughed.

“Nice move, Brother Huan,” someone said.

Pei Huan gave a hand signal, turned around to help the player up from the ground, and patted him on the shoulder.

Feeling the heat, Pei Huan moved to the side and took off his jacket.

The light gray jacket quickly became a bundle in his hand. As everyone expected him to casually toss it aside, he instead raised it up.

Then, with a single-handed throw, he sent the jacket soaring in a perfect arc towards the stands.

It landed right into Yan Zimi’s arms.

Yan Zimi was startled and jumped.

He instinctively hugged the jacket and stared at Pei Huan, who, as if nothing had happened, turned and walked back onto the court.

Since Yan Zimi was seated in the back with no one around, his catching the jacket caused everyone in the front rows to turn and look at him.

Some showed surprised expressions.

Yan Zimi looked down at the jacket now spread out in his arms and swallowed hard.

Soon, the game took a break. Pei Huan’s teammates scattered along the sidelines, but Pei Huan himself walked up the aisle to the stands.

Yan Zimi’s heart raced again.

Especially when Pei Huan sat down next to him.

“Folded so neatly,” Pei Huan said as he settled into his seat.

Yan Zimi glanced at the neatly folded jacket on his lap and replied, “Bored.”

Pei Huan asked, “What brings you here?”

A very good question—how did an art student end up coming all this way?

Yan Zimi thought for a moment and replied, “Just passing by.”

Pei Huan didn’t question it further. He was probably used to seeing college students with nothing better to do watch others play basketball, so he didn’t press for more details.

Instead, he asked, “Do you have any water?”

From Yan Zimi’s perspective, the bottle of water on the side of his backpack caught his eye. After a moment of consideration, he decided to pull it out.

In the next second, Pei Huan took it, twisted off the cap, and drank from it with his head tilted back.

Pei Huan had a very attractive profile, which Yan Zimi had known about for a year.

But this was the first time he saw it up close.

To avoid touching the bottle’s mouth with his lips, Pei Huan tilted his head back a little further.

Yan Zimi watched him like this, observing how his Adam’s apple moved up and down as he drank, and it took him quite a while to pull his gaze away.

When Pei Huan finished drinking, Yan Zimi said, “I’ve had some.”

“I know,” Pei Huan smiled and said. “So, you weren’t planning on giving it to me?”

Yan Zimi shook his head. “No,” then nodded. “Yes,” he added, “It’s for you.”

Pei Huan laughed again, suddenly resting his hand on his knee and looking directly at Yan Zimi. “Are you naturally prone to blushing?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Yan Zimi felt his face not just blush but burn.

He quickly grabbed Pei Huan’s jacket to cover half of his face.

Pei Huan sat back down, still smiling. “Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t have asked.”

To ease the awkwardness, Pei Huan twisted the bottle cap back on and changed the subject. “I didn’t see you wearing glasses last time. How bad is your nearsightedness?”

Yan Zimi shook his head. “I’m not nearsighted.”

Then he demonstrated a trick, sliding his finger through the glasses frame.

He had spent a long time choosing these gold-rimmed glasses before heading out at noon.

But Pei Huan asked, “Why are you wearing these?”

Yan Zimi asked back, “Do they look bad?”

After he finished speaking, Yan Zimi turned to look into Pei Huan’s eyes, adjusting his glasses while smiling at him.

Pei Huan was clearly a bit taken aback.

After a while, he said, “They look good.”

Yan Zimi adjusted his glasses again. “Yeah, that’s the point—just to look good.”

Pei Huan chuckled, then took another sip of Yan Zimi’s water.