In the hotel, Jiang Yi sat on the bed and sighed. “No, I wasn’t planning to hang up on you.”

On the other end of the phone, Lu Li spoke with a tense voice, “Who’s in your room? Why is someone taking a shower in your room?”

“You…”

Before Lu Li could finish, Jiang Yi earnestly synced with his words, “You have no idea how dangerous it is out there.”

Lu Li: “…”

Went to City A and already learned how to interrupt people, huh?

Jiang Yi continued, “This was arranged by the organizers. They assigned two people to a twin room.”

“I’m sharing a room with one of my classmates.”

Lu Li: “…”

He paused for a moment and said, “So, you’re going to live with this classmate for a week?”

“For a whole week, you’re going to eat, sleep, and compete together?”

Spending every moment together, even sharing the same bathroom to shower?

Jiang Yi corrected him, “Not a full week, actually. It’s six and a half days.”

“I’ll be back by the afternoon of the seventh day.”

Lu Li choked for a second, “Is there really a difference?”

Jiang Yi earnestly replied, “There is.”

“On the sixth day in the morning, I’ll still have to collect seashells for you.”

Lu Li: “…”

“Are you with Little Glasses?”

Jiang Yi: “What Little Glasses?”

Lu Li, in a cold tone, replied, “The classmate you’re staying with, is he the one with glasses?”

Jiang Yi, slightly upset, responded, “You shouldn’t call people that. He has a name—Cai Fang.”

Lu Li thought to himself, “I don’t care if he’s Cai Fang or Square Fang. I just want to know who exactly is sharing a room and meals with Jiang Yi.”

Despite his thoughts, Lu Li responded, “Alright, Cai Fang it is. Is he the one you’re sharing the room with?”

He clearly remembered that this Cai Fang had always admired Jiang Yi, and sitting next to Jiang Yi already made him overly excited. Now that they were living and eating together, how would their relationship evolve?

Before Lu Li could finish his thoughts, Jiang Yi said, “No, I’m staying with our class vice-president.”

Lu Li: “What’s your vice president’s name?”

Jiang Yi replied, “Cheng Zhao.”

Cheng Zhao, who had just finished his shower, was drying his hair and glanced over at Jiang Yi upon hearing his name.

Jiang Yi was sitting on the bed, and the person on the other end of the phone seemed to say something else. Jiang Yi obediently nodded, his slightly messy black hair falling over his eyes, making him look very docile.

A few minutes later, Jiang Yi hung up the phone and heard Cheng Zhao ask, “Was that a call from your family?”

Jiang Yi thought for a moment, then nodded.

Cheng Zhao smiled gently, “Your family treats you well.”

His appearance was more on the handsome side, with slightly damp black hair and a smile lingering on his thin lips. After saying this, he half-lowered his eyes and casually flipped through the book in his hands.

For some reason, Jiang Yi felt that Cheng Zhao seemed to be smiling, but also not quite.

Tilting his head, Jiang Yi realized it wasn’t polite to stare at someone, so he averted his gaze. He noticed that Cheng Zhao wasn’t reading anything related to the competition, but rather one of those “irrelevant” books their teacher often warned them about.

Jiang Yi looked away and sighed, thinking that Cai Fang had a point. Aside from Cai Fang’s rose-colored view of him, Cheng Zhao was definitely the most solid candidate in their class to make it to the finals.

After all, Cheng Zhao was mentally tough.

Jiang Yi sighed again and began organizing his luggage. Once done and exhausted from the journey, he took a nap on the bed.

He thought he’d only rest for a short while and didn’t set an alarm. Unexpectedly, he slept through the entire afternoon, and by the time he woke up, it was already dark outside.

The hotel room was quiet, with only the last remnants of the setting sun casting a dim glow outside. Jiang Yi checked his phone and saw it was nearly 7 p.m.

On the screen were several messages from an hour ago from Cai Fang, asking him to join them for dinner at the restaurant.

Jiang Yi replied to the messages, got out of bed, and noticed that Cheng Zhao wasn’t in the room; it was completely empty.

After putting on his shoes, Jiang Yi grabbed his room card and headed to the restaurant to pack two dinners.

Upon returning, he found Cheng Zhao standing outside the room, holding an artboard in one hand and with the other in his pocket. His eyes were slightly lowered, his expression indifferent under the warm yellow light.

Hearing footsteps, Cheng Zhao looked up, smiling gently as he said, “You’re back?”

Jiang Yi apologized for the wait while opening the door with his keycard. Following him inside, Cheng Zhao’s voice remained gentle, “It’s alright.”

The hotel room only had one keycard, which controlled both the door lock and the power switch. Jiang Yi had assumed Cheng Zhao went to the restaurant to eat as well, so he took the card with him when he left.

But when Jiang Yi arrived at the restaurant, it was nearly empty. He hurriedly packed two dinners and rushed back with the card.

Cheng Zhao shook his head, silently continuing to read his book.

Without Lu Li hovering over him, Jiang Yi enjoyed his chocolate ice cream in peace, basking in the air conditioning, with another flavored ice cream stashed in a plastic bag beside him as he gleefully played a mobile game.

Until his phone rang.

Jiang Yi hesitated for a moment, ice cream in hand. But seeing Lu Li’s name flashing on the screen, he reluctantly answered the call.

Cheng Zhao was about to put on his headphones, but stopped when he heard Jiang Yi speak.

“I’m drinking water.”

“Uh-huh, no, I’m not eating ice cream.”

Cheng Zhao turned his head to watch Jiang Yi, who was licking his ice cream with a completely serious expression. “I know, I’m not eating.”

“I eat meals every day.”

Whatever was said on the other end made Jiang Yi freeze, stammering, “I’m almost out of data, I can’t do a video call.”

Cheng Zhao couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, surprised that someone would use such a lame excuse in this day and age.

Sure enough, whatever Lu Li said next made Jiang Yi choke up. He quickly stuffed the other ice cream in the drawer of the bedside table, tossed the one he was holding into the trash, and frantically prepared for a video call.

Just then, Cheng Zhao said, “Wait.”

Jiang Yi looked over at Cheng Zhao, thinking maybe he was being too loud and should step outside for the call. “I’ll go outside for the video.”

Cheng Zhao shook his head, “You’ve got chocolate on the side of your mouth.”

“It’s obvious you just had ice cream.”

Jiang Yi froze for a second, touched his face, and sure enough, there was a smudge of chocolate. He awkwardly wiped it off, thanked Cheng Zhao a few times, then finally started the video call.

From the other side of the video, Lu Li’s voice came through loud and clear, “Open your mouth, let me see.”

Cheng Zhao paused slightly, watching as Jiang Yi, seemingly nervous, licked his lips and mumbled softly, “I’ve got a bad tooth. Can I show you later?”

Lu Li on the other end: “…”

Cheng Zhao on the sofa: “…”

He silently thought to himself, maybe he had misunderstood Jiang Yi all along.

He thought that Jiang Yi, as the illegitimate son of the Lu family, must be calculating and manipulative, just like his half-brother.

But seeing someone come up with such blatantly terrible excuses… this was a first for Cheng Zhao.