The campus roads were lit up at night, with lights casting shadows that flickered in and out.

Because he was on the phone, Pei Huan deliberately walked a few steps ahead, creating more distance between them as he continued on.

Pei Huan’s dormitory was nearby, while Yan Zimi’s apartment was farther away. In no time, Pei Huan had already reached the dormitory, but Yan Zimi had only covered half the distance.

They chatted about various things.

For instance, Pei Huan asked Yan Zimi how many times he went to the art studio in a week.

Pei Huan also inquired where the studio was, whether it welcomed him to come by, and joked that Teacher Yan should teach him how to paint.

Perhaps it was because Yan Zimi was a part of Pei Huan’s life that he rarely touched upon, or perhaps for other reasons, but Pei Huan showed a rare curiosity.

He asked questions, and Yan Zimi answered them. When Pei Huan complimented him, Yan Zimi smiled and said thank you.

“Who is Pei Huan on the phone with?”

In the dormitory, Zhao Di turned to glance at the person sitting on the balcony outside.

Yu Nan was also curious. “He’s been on the phone the whole way; he’s not secretly dating, is he?”

Xiao Dong, who hadn’t participated in this activity but looked like he was in the know, said, “I’m just guessing, but it’s probably Yan Zimi.”

Zhao Di and Yu Nan both exclaimed, “Yan Zimi?”

Xiao Dong laughed. “Yeah, whenever he talks to Yan Zimi, he uses that tone. Haven’t you noticed?”

Zhao Di and Yu Nan exchanged glances.

It was true.

Xiao Dong added, “Isn’t it rather dull?”

Zhao Di and Yu Nan both chuckled.

Pei Huan returned to the dormitory from the balcony after twenty minutes. He glanced at his phone, noting that the call had lasted 31 minutes and 26 seconds.

Although he didn’t think it should take Yan Zimi that long to return to his apartment, Pei Huan didn’t have any doubts about it.

As soon as the balcony door was pulled shut, Zhao Di asked Pei Huan, “Are you calling Zimi?”

“Yeah,” Pei Huan replied.

Zhao Di raised an eyebrow. “You just broke up, and you’re calling him?”

Pei Huan tossed his phone onto the table. “He’s going back alone and will be bored; I thought I’d keep him company for a bit.”

His tone was calm and unperturbed, as if this was completely normal.

Zhao Di actually wanted to say something more, but he didn’t dare.

So he could only ask, “Did he arrive?”

“Yeah,” Pei Huan replied.

“Did he mention me?” Zhao Di asked.

Pei Huan looked puzzled. “Why would he mention you?”

Zhao Di smiled. “It’s nothing.” He continued, “He should be heading toward the back mountain, right? I remember there’s a shortcut to the back gate of his neighborhood, but there aren’t any streetlights over there, so it gets pretty dark at night.”

Pei Huan was fiddling with his computer when he lifted his eyelids slightly. “You care about him a lot.”

Zhao Di replied, “Of course! He’s a junior.”

Pei Huan said, “I didn’t let him take that route.”

Zhao Di nodded. “That’s good.”

Yan Zimi wouldn’t have taken that path anyway; even if Pei Huan hadn’t mentioned it, he wouldn’t have gone.

During the day, it was fine, but at night, that area was pitch black. The path was only roughly paved with stones, and there were trees and grass on either side—who knew what kind of strange creature might jump out?

After hanging up the phone, Yan Zimi had been sitting in his chair for a long time.

The lollipop had long since melted in his mouth, but he continued to suck on it.

He stared at the new painting on the easel, lost in thought.

The silence was broken by a phone call. Yan Zimi glanced at his phone; it was an unfamiliar number.

“Hello.”

On the other end, someone said, “Can you fill out the form I just posted in the group? I need to submit it soon, so do it right away.”

Yan Zimi turned on his tablet and indeed found a competition form.

He glanced at the date on it. “Couldn’t you have sent this earlier?”

Lin Sheng replied, “Just hurry up.”

As Yan Zimi was about to hang up, Lin Sheng added, “Um…”

Hearing his hesitance, Yan Zimi urged, “Go ahead.”

Lin Sheng asked, “Did you run into my brother tonight?”

Yan Zimi replied, “So?”

Lin Sheng cleared his throat, his tone becoming weak. “You… didn’t get into any trouble with him, right?”

Yan Zimi chuckled softly and hung up the phone, cutting off Lin Sheng’s annoyed exclamation of “Damn it.”

Lin Sheng had provided the school’s website. After submitting his information, Yan Zimi didn’t log out; instead, he navigated to the homepage of the School of Mathematics and Computer Science.

On this webpage, there was a link called “College Highlights.” The school sports meet had just concluded last month, and Pei Huan had participated in several events. He wondered…

And there it was.

Yan Zimi’s earlier displeasure vanished in an instant.

The photo showed a vast lawn filled with people.

Pei Huan had competed in the sprint, and the camera captured the moment he crossed the finish line in first place.

It was a recent memory; Yan Zimi recalled how, after stepping off the track, his classmates had swarmed around him, handing him water, patting him on the shoulder, all congratulating him.

Yan Zimi saved the photo and scrolled down.

It didn’t take long to find another picture of Pei Huan, but this time he wasn’t the main focus. He was wearing a dark blue sports outfit, standing with one hand in his pocket, watching others play soccer.

The distance was far, so Yan Zimi zoomed in several times.

Though it was blurry, he thought…

This guy is really handsome.

The college highlights had captured every event Pei Huan participated in, and Yan Zimi saved them all without missing a single one.

After closing the computer, he took out a new sketchbook.

He found some nice tape, first sticking the cola-flavored candy wrapper on it, then attaching the wrapper from the lollipop.

He added the remaining lollipop wrappers and then tore off a corner of the one on his forehead…

Just as he was about to remove the little bee sticker, he pressed it back down, took a selfie with his phone, and then finally peeled off the little bee sticker and placed it on the sketchbook.

With nothing else to do in the evening, he decided to draw with these materials.

….

Under Pei Huan’s careful supervision, Yan Zimi made significant progress in his English.

A week flew by, and Yan Zimi received a new reward from Pei Huan—he wanted Pei Huan to teach him how to play ball.

Yan Zimi felt he might have a bit of a problem; he watched videos of others and saw two boys interacting while playing, and he wanted to experience that too.

He also took advantage of Pei Huan’s willingness to agree to everything, thinking that if he didn’t, how could he even bring it up?

Of course, he didn’t let Pei Huan know.

He didn’t show Pei Huan those videos either.

The boring Mao Zedong Thought class on Friday became interesting as he waited for Pei Huan’s message. When the second class started, Yan Zimi received a message from Pei Huan saying he had just returned and was waiting for him in the dorm.

Yan Zimi replied, [Okay.]

In the dorm, just as Pei Huan put away his phone, he heard Zhao Di ask from behind him, “Is Zimi coming over later?”

“Yeah,” Pei Huan replied.

Zhao Di chuckled and peeled back a pomegranate he had just bought from the table. “Then I’ll prepare a cup for him.”

After saying that, Zhao Di excitedly went out to wash a cup and his hands, then hurried back to split the pomegranate.

Throughout the whole process, Pei Huan watched him.

After a while, sensing something was off, Zhao Di suddenly looked up after only managing to peel a quarter of the fruit.

The two locked eyes unexpectedly.

Zhao Di asked, “What’s wrong?”

Pei Huan replied, “Nothing.”

Pei Huan had some tasks to finish, so he didn’t waste any time and got busy.

When Yan Zimi arrived, Pei Huan had just wrapped up his work.

He first heard the sound of a knock, followed by Zhao Di’s inexplicably excited voice from behind him: “Come in, come in!”

Yan Zimi smiled at Zhao Di before walking over to Pei Huan.

“Are you ready?” Yan Zimi asked.

“Yeah,” Pei Huan replied.

He closed his laptop and handed over a cup.

“Here, Zimi, eat some pomegranate. It’s super sweet,” Zhao Di said.

Yan Zimi thanked him and took a piece from the cup, then turned to Pei Huan and asked, “Shall we go?”

Pei Huan’s gaze returned from the cup of pomegranate. “Let’s go.”

Zhao Di placed the pomegranate on Pei Huan’s desk. “Are you going to watch Pei Huan play? I’ll go too.”

Pei Huan stood up and asked Zhao Di, “Have you finished the assignment due tomorrow?”

“I’ll do it tonight,” Zhao Di replied with a smile. “Otherwise, while you’re out there playing, Zimi will just be sitting there all alone. That’d be so boring.”

Pei Huan noticed that Yan Zimi had eaten another piece of pomegranate.

Pei Huan said, “He’s not alone; I’m teaching him how to play today.”

Zhao Di became even more excited. “He’s playing? Then I definitely have to go watch!” After saying that, he turned to Yan Zimi and asked, “Is it sweet?”

Yan Zimi took another piece. “Sweet.”

Zhao Di immediately grabbed a new piece from the bag. “Here you go.”

Yan Zimi was about to take it, but Pei Huan flicked Zhao Di’s hand away. “It’s not convenient to carry.”

Zhao Di replied, “Oh, right.”

What Yan Zimi didn’t expect was that there were so many people at the basketball court today, with not a single hoop available.

His clear plan was about to fall through.

Pei Huan seemed to sense his thoughts. “It’s okay; they’re all familiar faces. I can bring you along.”

Yan Zimi wasn’t sure how to explain to Pei Huan that he just wanted to play with him, not really to join in the game.

Just then, a group of people below spotted Pei Huan and called for him to come down. Yan Zimi nudged him forward. “Next time, then,” he added, “you owe me.”

Pei Huan asked, “What about you?”

Yan Zimi replied, “I’ll just watch you play.”

As Pei Huan was being called again, Yan Zimi gave him another push to go down.

Today, there were not only players but also many more spectators than last time.

He and Zhao Di found a spot further back to sit down. Pei Huan got into the game, and before long, he scored a basket.

The seats closest to the action were almost all filled by girls, and their cheers and applause were especially loud.

“Our Huan is still as popular as ever,” Zhao Di clicked his tongue.

Yan Zimi smiled and asked Zhao Di, “Why don’t you go play?”

Zhao Di replied, “I don’t know how.”

He added, “My ex-girlfriend loved watching basketball.”

The remark came rather unexpectedly, leaving Yan Zimi unsure how to respond, so he simply made a sound of acknowledgment.

Yan Zimi thought the conversation would end there, but for Zhao Di, it was just the beginning.

Something seemed to have stirred Zhao Di’s memories, and for the next ten minutes, he nostalgically recounted stories about him and his ex-girlfriend.

He talked about how his ex-girlfriend had many hobbies and how she even got him, a guy, to enjoy all sorts of random little things.

She loved gossip, watching basketball, and checking out handsome guys…

“Now he’s become like this, and like that…”

“He even started watching danmei.”

When Zhao Di said this, Yan Zimi was momentarily stunned.

Zhao Di chuckled, “Do you know what danmei is?”

Yan Zimi wasn’t sure whether to say yes or no.

Luckily, Zhao Di quickly explained, “It’s about two guys—haha, forget it, you probably won’t be able to accept it.” He added, “Don’t tell Pei Huan, though. If he ends up looking down on me, that’d be a disaster.”

Yan Zimi let out a couple of awkward chuckles.

Zhao Di brought the conversation back, “Last semester, she went abroad and talked to me a lot. Basically, the gist was that we should take some time apart,” Zhao Di suddenly sounded a bit weary. “Sigh, we barely keep in touch now. Do you think that by keeping up with all her hobbies, I won’t run out of things to talk about with her in the future?”

Yan Zimi rarely found himself in the position of listening to such stories and didn’t know what to say.

Luckily, Zhao Di wasn’t actually expecting an answer and continued talking on his own.

“Everyone in the dorm knew about the breakup those few days. Yu Nan and Xiao Dong even teased me about it, but only Pei Huan came with me to drink,” Zhao Di clicked his tongue. “Didn’t say a word, just drank.”

Then Zhao Di added, “Wait, no. He didn’t say anything—just watched me drink,” he laughed. “Damn it, he barely took a few sips, but I ended up completely wasted.”

Yan Zimi finally smiled.

Zhao Di watched the man on the basketball court and said, “I really like Pei Huan.”

Then he added, “But our Huan is as straight as they come—really, really straight.”

Yan Zimi turned his head to look at Zhao Di.

“I’m just talking nonsense,” Zhao Di gestured toward the court, “Whoa, that kid scored again.”

Yan Zimi looked over as well.

Perhaps realizing that it wasn’t the right place to dwell on such sentimental thoughts, Zhao Di quickly pulled himself together and started focusing on the game.

“Why is Pei Huan playing so relaxed today?” Zhao Di commented after a while.

Since he had been busy listening to Zhao Di’s story, Yan Zimi hadn’t paid much attention to Pei Huan’s performance, so he just gave a casual hum in response.

Zhao Di wasn’t the only one to notice—Pei Huan’s teammates on the court mentioned it too.

“You’re really distracted today,” a teammate patted Pei Huan on the shoulder.

Pei Huan passed the ball in his hands and joined everyone on the sidelines for a break.

He glanced toward the audience and then waved at Yan Zimi.

Receiving the signal, Yan Zimi walked over, with Zhao Di following behind.

“What’s up?” Yan Zimi asked when he got there.

Pei Huan said, “They’re about to leave. Where’s the ball?”

Yan Zimi brightened up, “I’ll go get it.”

Once Yan Zimi had walked away, Pei Huan asked Zhao Di, “What have you been talking to him about?”

Zhao Di grinned, “Not telling you. It’s a secret between me and Zimi.”

Pei Huan, straightforward as always, said, “Your ex-girlfriend?”

Zhao Di: “…”

Pei Huan smiled a bit, “Did he comfort you?”

Zhao Di replied, “Well… he didn’t say anything.”

Pei Huan patted Zhao Di’s shoulder, “He’s not good at comforting people.”

That almost sounded like a form of comfort, but on second thought…

What are you doing, Pei Huan?

By the time Yan Zimi brought the ball over, Pei Huan was off to the side on the phone.

Not all of Pei Huan’s teammates had left yet. One of them noticed Yan Zimi carrying the ball over and said, “So that’s why Pei Huan hasn’t left—it’s because of you.”

Yan Zimi patted the ball in his hands, “I’m learning to play from him.”

This guy was quite helpful. After asking a few questions and realizing Yan Zimi had never played before, he took the ball from Yan Zimi’s hands, saying, “It’s really simple,” while demonstrating how to dribble and make a layup.

“Give it a try.”

Yan Zimi took the ball and gave it a couple of tentative dribbles.

“You’re doing fine. Now walk with it and try shooting.”

Yan Zimi glanced at Pei Huan before attempting to dribble the ball.

“Yeah, that’s right,” the person encouraged, “Now shoot.”

Yan Zimi jumped and shot based on instinct.

Ha.

The ball didn’t even touch the rim.

“No worries, just missed it by a little. Try again.” The person encouraged him, catching the ball and passing it back to Yan Zimi.

So, Yan Zimi gave it another try.

But just as he threw the ball, someone suddenly rushed up from behind and collided with his back.

“Ow!”

“Sorry, sorry!”

Although it was a hit from the back, because the person was so large, Yan Zimi, being quite light, was knocked several steps forward and crashed to the ground.

“Damn, Zimi!” Zhao Di ran over from the side, shouting to the other end, “Pei Huan!”

Yan Zimi was on his knees and hands on the ground. From the fall, his palms had scraped hard against the surface, leaving a long abrasion, and a large patch of skin was torn off, with blood gushing out.

“Anyone got any medicine?”

“There’s so much blood—anyone got tissues?”

“Let’s take him to the medical room.”

…

People gathered around, and many voices mixed together, with several asking Yan Zimi if he was okay. “Are you alright?”

Yan Zimi stood up from the ground and shook his head, saying, “I’m fine.”

Zhao Di asked, “Does it hurt?”

Yan Zimi shook his head again, “It doesn’t hurt.”

Just as he finished speaking, Pei Huan appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Yan Zimi’s wrist. “And you say it doesn’t hurt?”

Yan Zimi looked up at Pei Huan.

Pei Huan lifted Yan Zimi’s other hand as well. “Where else did you hurt yourself?”

The surrounding chatter gradually faded, and Pei Huan’s frown made the atmosphere suddenly feel tense.

Yan Zimi pressed his lower lip together and took half a step toward Pei Huan, speaking in a volume only he could hear, “Pei Huan, it hurts so much.”