The hallway was incredibly quiet.

Yan Zimi was still looking down, pretending to focus on the exam paper.

Yes, pretending.

No one could tell how fast his heart was beating.

The tip of his nose felt warm, as if it had a different temperature from the rest of his body.

It was the warmth from Pei Huan.

He thought, thankfully his bangs were long enough; maybe they would hide his face and make it harder for Pei Huan to notice anything.

But perhaps he had been staring too long, because he heard Pei Huan chuckle.

“Are you working on the problems, Yan Zimi?”

Unfazed, Yan Zimi calmly closed the exam paper. “Just taking a look.”

In that moment, Yan Zimi’s glasses slipped down a bit again.

He thought about raising his hand to adjust them, but Pei Huan did it for him.

Pei Huan quickly reached over, lightly touched the edge of the glasses, and pushed them back up.

He added, “This pair is a bit too big today.”

Pei Huan was about to say something else, but someone interrupted.

“There you two are,” Zhao Di suddenly appeared. “I was wondering how I wrote two lines of code and then you both disappeared.”

Pei Huan turned his head, “What’s up?”

Zhao Di smiled, “Just wanted to explain something to Zimi.”

Zhao Di squeezed between Yan Zimi and Pei Huan, picking up the printed materials from Yan Zimi’s hand.

“I’m worried you might get confused, so let me explain.”

Over the next two minutes, Zhao Di went over everything, pointing here and there, explaining, “This paper, then this one. This one’s easier, but this one’s a bit tricky. If you don’t get it, just skip it.”

Yan Zimi nodded and nodded again, continuing to nod.

“Alright, thank you, senior.”

Yu Nan beamed, “No big deal, no big deal,” pulling out his phone. “If you don’t understand anything, just ask me. Let’s add each other on WeChat.”

Instinctively, Yan Zimi glanced at Pei Huan, only to find that Pei Huan was also looking at him.

So, Yan Zimi simply asked, “Should I add him?”

Before Pei Huan could respond, Zhao Di laughed, “Why would you add me on WeChat just to ask him?”

Pei Huan: “Go ahead, add him.”

Only then did Yan Zimi take out his phone and say to Zhao Di, “Thank you, senior.”

Zhao Di felt a bit embarrassed. “Stop thanking me all the time, you’re being too polite.”

On the way back, Yan Zimi ran into the person who resembled Lin Sheng again.

The two of them briefly made eye contact in the hallway before quickly looking away and continuing on their separate paths.

But Yan Zimi didn’t expect that later that afternoon, Lin Sheng would suddenly pick a fight out of nowhere.

Everyone around them knew that the two didn’t get along, so for the longest time, Yan Zimi tried to avoid running into Lin Sheng whenever possible.

It just so happened that Lin Sheng couldn’t stand the sight of him either, and the two had barely any interaction.

But that afternoon, just as Yan Zimi was drawing, Lin Sheng came over alone.

He swaggered over with a cocky gait, stopping next to Yan Zimi. “Quite something, huh? Got close to Pei Huan now.”

Yan Zimi’s hand paused the moment he heard Pei Huan’s name.

He suddenly understood why that person had reminded him of Lin Sheng.

It made sense—he had heard Lin Sheng had an older brother in the math department.

However, Yan Zimi’s reaction wasn’t very noticeable. He maintained his usual indifferent look, giving off a “I don’t care about you, so just leave” attitude.

But Lin Sheng didn’t leave. Instead, he sat on the desk beside Yan Zimi.

Since Yan Zimi was there to finish his drawing, the classroom was empty except for the two of them.

“If you’ve got something to say, spit it out,” Yan Zimi said calmly.

Lin Sheng sneered, “You’re the one spewing crap.”

Yan Zimi didn’t respond.

Lin Sheng took a light breath. “I’m just being nice and warning you—Pei Huan’s a straight guy. Don’t go having any messed-up ideas.”

Yan Zimi still said nothing.

But that didn’t stop Lin Sheng from continuing his one-sided rant.

“I’m sure you know what happened after Zhou Hua confessed to Pei Huan,” Lin Sheng said with a smirk. “Pei Huan said it was disgusting.”

Yan Zimi blinked lightly and tilted his head to look at his drawing.

Then, he grabbed another paintbrush from the bucket and slammed it down hard, twice.

“Shit!” Lin Sheng jumped back, startled by the water splashing up.

In a flash, he rushed over to Yan Zimi, raising his fist, ready to swing.

But Yan Zimi showed no sign of fear—instead, he leaned in toward the fist.

“What are you doing?” Yan Zimi stared directly into Lin Sheng’s eyes.

Lin Sheng gritted his teeth but didn’t throw the punch.

However, Yan Zimi did move.

He merely swung his arm slightly, yet Lin Sheng, like a startled bird, immediately stepped back, stumbling a couple of steps and nearly slipping.

“Ha,” Lin Sheng let out a dry laugh. “My dear, as if I’d dare,” he said, glancing at Yan Zimi’s profile with a mocking smile. “Just keep being everyone’s little darling. How nice, huh? So many people protecting you, loving you.”

After finishing his sentence with a dismissive snort, Lin Sheng turned to leave, clearly not wanting to linger. But just as he walked away, he heard a voice from behind.

“Coward.”

The tone was dripping with mockery.

Lin Sheng, infuriated, turned back around. “At least I’m better than you, a gay guy.”

Yan Zimi continued working on his drawing. “Which of your eyes saw me as gay?”

Lin Sheng pointed at Yan Zimi, biting his teeth but unable to find the words.

In the end, he could only shout, “Just you wait!”

As if one wasn’t enough, he added, “Disgusting!”

Yan Zimi didn’t acknowledge him at all.

Frustrated and unable to vent his anger, Lin Sheng kicked the nearby desk hard before storming out, slamming the door behind him.

The studio was once again left with only Yan Zimi. After a few minutes, he realized that the colors he mixed seemed a bit off.

Fortunately, it was fixable.

Feeling somewhat distracted, he wasn’t entirely indifferent to what Lin Sheng had said.

As he neared the end of his painting, Yan Zimi received a call from Lin Jie, who wanted to borrow his account to play a game.

Yan Zimi bit down on his paintbrush and scanned the game’s QR code, continuing with his work.

What he didn’t know was that as soon as Lin Jie started playing, Zhao Di had bumped into him.

Zhao Di often borrowed accounts from friends, and right now, he was there to pick up something on behalf of a friend’s request.

As soon as Zhao Di saw Yan Zimi in the game, able to spectate, he completely ignored the items he was supposed to pick up and clicked in.

“Wow,” Zhao Di chuckled at his phone. “Zimi’s playing with his wild king.”

Just as he finished speaking, Yu Nan leaned in, and Xiao Dong came over too.

Yu Nan said, “Let me see how awesome this wild king is.”

The group crowded around Zhao Di’s phone to watch.

But what was going on?

Next, the screen in their hands…

Yan Zimi was spinning in place, casting skills into thin air, while his wild king stood still one moment and circled around him the next.

The jungle was empty, yet these two were caught up in their own little world, sticking to each other like glue.

“What are they doing?”

The three of them looked up at the sound, noticing that Pei Huan had come over at some point to watch.

Zhao Di chuckled, “Can’t you tell?”

Pei Huan asked, “Tell what?”

Yu Nan laughed as well, explaining, “They’re flirting! Good thing we can’t hear the voice chat; who knows what they’re saying?”

Pei Huan shifted his gaze back to the screen.

Yu Nan commented, “These two are pretty in sync. That junior must have played over 600 matches with this wild king guy…”

He swallowed the word “guy” and suddenly had a realization. “Maybe it’s the wild king sister!”

Zhao Di raised an eyebrow and looked up at Pei Huan. “Does Zimi have a girlfriend?”

Pei Huan turned away, no longer looking. “I don’t know.”

Zhao Di suggested, “Why don’t you ask him?”

Pei Huan replied, “There’s no need to ask.”

….

As the sunset cast its glow at Yan Zimi’s feet, he finally finished his painting.

He glanced at his phone to check the time and promptly packed up to head back to his apartment.

During dinner that evening, Yan Zimi pulled out the exam paper Pei Huan had given him and worked on a reading comprehension question.

Just as he finished answering, Pei Huan sent him a message.

fire: [Game tonight?]

Yan Zimi replied, [Not today.]

After sending that, he took a picture of the completed questions and sent it to Pei Huan, adding a comment.

[Just let it die.]

The picture Yan Zimi sent showed the multiple-choice section, with nine out of ten questions crossed out in red ink.

Pei Huan chuckled when he saw it.

He zoomed out the image, noticed the message Yan Zimi had sent, and laughed again.

Fire: [That’s quite a few wrong answers.]

Yan Zimi: [Just a few?]

As soon as Yan Zimi sent that message, his phone suddenly rang. A voice call from Pei Huan flashed across the screen.

Yan Zimi was stunned for a full three seconds before hurriedly pressing the answer button.

Pei Huan’s voice came through the speaker. “You got quite a few wrong.”

Yan Zimi let out a resigned smile, resting his chin on the back of his hand with his chopsticks. “Senior,” he said, his voice self-deprecatingly soft, “what should I do if my English is this bad?”

Pei Huan asked, “Are you planning to take the CET-4?”

Yan Zimi replied, “Who doesn’t want to pass the CET-4?”

Pei Huan continued, “Do you have time? I can help you with this question first.”

Yan Zimi bit his lip.

He really wished he had the time.

But he said, “Not really, I have to head out soon. I have a part-time job tonight.”

Pei Huan asked, “Part-time job?”

Yan Zimi replied, “Yeah, it’s at an art studio outside. I’m on duty tonight and need to be there by 7.”

Pei Huan glanced at the time. “It’s already past six.”

Yan Zimi nodded. “Yeah.”

At that moment, he finished his meal, tied up the takeout bag, and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

Pei Huan asked, “So the reason you can’t make it tonight is because of work?”

Yan Zimi nodded. “Yeah,” he said, sounding troubled. “But what about this question? Have I lost my chance to have you explain it to me?”

Pei Huan smiled. “You can ask anytime.”

Yan Zimi licked his lips. “Just this one question?”

Pei Huan replied, “Two questions are fine too.”

Yan Zimi’s tone rose and then fell. “Ah~ just two questions?”

Pei Huan chuckled. “What do you want, Yan Zimi?”

Yan Zimi closed the door behind him with a flip of his hand. “I want to pass the CET-4.”

Pei Huan replied, “I can’t guarantee that, but I can supervise you.”

He added, “Can I have the privilege of overseeing your studies?”

Yan Zimi internally let out a huge “ha,” though he didn’t let Pei Huan hear it.

Yan Zimi said, “You can ask anytime.”

Pei Huan chuckled and asked, “Are you obedient?”

Yan Zimi replied, “Very obedient.”

Pei Huan smiled. “That’s good to hear.”

Yan Zimi lived on the fifth floor, but he didn’t take the elevator because there was no signal.

When he reached the emergency exit, Pei Huan asked him, “Aren’t you leaving yet?”

Yan Zimi replied, “I’m on my way out.”

Pei Huan said, “Okay, then I’ll hang up.”

Yan Zimi quickly interjected, “Wait.”

Pei Huan asked, “What’s up?”

Yan Zimi’s heart raced a bit, but he quickly said, “Stay with me while I head out, Senior.”

Pei Huan chuckled lightly. “Why do you need someone to accompany you when you’re going out?”

Yan Zimi replied, “I just want to.”

Pei Huan asked, “How should I accompany you?”

Yan Zimi responded, “Just chat with me.”

Pei Huan inquired, “What do you want to talk about?”

Yan Zimi had never thought this quickly before. “Let’s talk about what kind of plan you intend to make for me.”

Pei Huan replied, “I need to think about that. I’ve never done it before.”

Yan Zimi said, “I’m starting to look forward to it.”

Pei Huan laughed, “You’re making me nervous now.”

Yan Zimi felt that every word he spoke was light and airy. “Nervousness is the right response.”

They had only chatted for a short while, but Yan Zimi was already on the fourth floor.

How did he walk so fast?

As he pondered what to say next, Pei Huan suddenly called his name.

“Yan Zimi.”

Yan Zimi replied, “Hmm?”

Pei Huan asked, “Do you have a girlfriend?”