Yu Li had a deep and peaceful sleep, and when he woke up, more than two hours had passed. The gathering time was approaching, and Lu Qing woke him up. Yu Li opened his eyes; it was nearing evening, and the sky was already a bit dark.

Sitting there in a daze for a moment, Yu Li mumbled, “Did I sleep for that long…?” He had slept until it was dark outside.

As he spoke, he glanced at the shoulder he had been leaning on the whole time without moving. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he gave the man’s shoulder a couple of squeezes. “Thanks.”

The Little Young Master, whose ten fingers had never touched spring water, had hands so soft that they couldn’t form a single callus. Lu Qing’s shoulder tingled pleasantly from the squeeze, and feeling refreshed, he and Yu Li returned to Dexin Building.

The registration for new students was almost complete, and only a few people were scattered around the mezzanine level.

Yu Li was a bit late. By the time he found the gathering classroom, more than half of the seats were already taken.

Lu Qing didn’t go in; he just stood by the back door waiting for him. Yu Li was about to find a random seat by the wall when he saw someone in the classroom waving at him.

It was Xu An and Yu Li’s other two roommates.

Yu Li paused for a moment, thought about it, and then walked over to the empty seat next to Xu An.

“Afraid you’d be late and not have a seat, so I saved one for you,” Xu An said with a smile when he saw Yu Li. “Did you finish all your registration materials?”

Yu Li nodded. “All done. Thanks.”

After Xu An spoke, he glanced back at the back door. Sure enough, he saw the tall figure leaning against the door frame and couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Is he your boyfriend?”

Yu Li was taken aback by the question. He turned to look at Lu Qing, who was waiting for him at the back door, and didn’t deny it immediately. Instead, he asked, “Why do you think he’s my boyfriend?”

“Hehe, just a hunch,” Xu An said, then pulled out his phone and opened a post to show him. “I’m not the only one who thinks so. This post has been trending all day, and everyone says they saw a perfect new couple today.”

Yu Li followed the direction of Xu An’s finger and saw many candid photos of him and Lu Qing appearing one after another. He fell silent as he looked at them.

People are naturally gossipy; in such a short time, the post had already reached hundreds of comments.

Seeing Yu Li not speaking for a while, Xu An became uncertain, hesitantly putting away his phone. He tentatively asked, “You guys are dating, right? I saw in the post that someone from the sports department insisted on getting your WeChat during registration, and he scared them off. Everyone thinks you’re a couple and criticized that sports guy for harassing you even though you have a partner. So low-class.”

Yu Li lowered his eyelids, smiled at Xu An, and neither confirmed nor denied it. He simply said, “He’s a bodyguard arranged by my brother.”

A bodyguard?

Xu An was stunned. His first thought was of those forbidden romance novels he used to read, but those books were quite explicit, and he didn’t dare voice his doubts to Yu Li. After hesitating for a long time, he chose to keep his mouth shut.

Since Yu Li said he was a bodyguard, then he must be a bodyguard. But how close is this “close protection”? The candid photos in the post already hinted at something more.

Asking further would be impolite.

A few minutes later, the counselor entered the classroom, and the previously noisy atmosphere quieted down.

The projector screen displayed a PowerPoint about the start of the school year, but Yu Li’s mind wasn’t on the slides that kept changing.

He propped his face on his hand, his thoughts drifting.

Thanks to his good looks, Yu Li had received countless confessions from both men and women, young and old, since he was a child. Being asked for his contact information was a common occurrence.

But none of these left much of an impression on Yu Li. The most troublesome part wasn’t the endless stream of admirers but the fact that he always seemed to attract some overly extreme and obsessive people.

In high school, he had a crazy admirer. Whether he tried talking to them nicely or threatening them with force, the person only had one response: “It’s my freedom to pursue you, and since you don’t have a partner, why can’t I pursue you?”

In the end, things almost went to extremes, and Yu Huaiyuan, in a fit of anger, sent the person to a detention center. Yu Li didn’t know what his brother did afterward, but soon the person was taken away by their parents and transferred to another school, never to appear in front of Yu Li again.

Even though it was a year ago, Yu Li still felt a bit scared when he thought about it now.

Besides that person, Xu Baicheng was also a master of pestering, and then there was the sports student today who turned hostile when he couldn’t get Yu Li’s WeChat…

Yu Li sighed softly.

University is a relatively free place, without the strict constraints of high school. Yu Li could imagine that in the next four years, he would face more harassment incidents, and he couldn’t predict if he would encounter another obsessive person like before.

No one likes trouble.

Thinking of this, Xu An’s words echoed in Yu Li’s mind—

“Someone in the post said that during registration, a sports student insisted on getting your WeChat, and he scared them off.”

“Harassing you even though you have a partner, so low-class. Everyone criticized him.”

Yu Li’s mind conjured up the image of Lu Qing’s strong physique and fists the size of sandbags.

With Lu Qing’s appearance, just standing there without moving could scare off many people with impure intentions. If there was an ambiguous identity added to the mix, it would be even more effective.

Perhaps… Lu Qing’s bodyguard duties could include one more task?

***

Because he was thinking about Lu Qing, Yu Li didn’t pay much attention to the first half of the gathering.

Now that the counselor announced the end of the gathering, he was still sitting there in a daze. Seeing that Yu Li hadn’t moved, Lu Qing walked over to him through the crowd.

The two of them were the talk of the new students today. As soon as Lu Qing stood in front of Yu Li, curious glances were cast from all directions.

Yu Li snapped back to reality, realizing that what he wanted to discuss with Lu Qing wasn’t suitable for such a crowded place. So he tugged on the man’s sleeve and left the classroom.

Lu Qing was puzzled. “Little Young Master?”

Avoiding the crowd, Yu Li turned to look at him. “I have something to discuss with you.”

Lu Qing paused. “Little Young Master, just give the order. No need to discuss.”

In any case, he was willing to do anything for Yu Li.

“Really no need?” Yu Li asked.

Lu Qing had just nodded when he heard Yu Li say, “I need you to act more intimate with me at school from now on.”

Feeling that this was a bit vague, he added, “Like… uh… like a couple in the honeymoon phase?”

The man’s head had just nodded halfway when he suddenly widened his eyes in surprise.

It was as if he was both shocked and pleasantly surprised, his heart pounding wildly. Lu Qing clenched his fist tightly, then released it, and pinched his leg hard.

Yu Li could sense that the person beside him had noticeably stiffened at his words. He quickly added, “Just pretend, to prevent similar harassment from happening again, like those celebrities who fake relationships for publicity. Just look the part, nothing more.”

As he spoke, he slightly raised his eyes, his moist, dark pupils reflecting the bright fluorescent lights of the corridor… and the tall figure of the man. “Lu Qing, if you don’t mind,”

“Would you be my shield from now on?”

Lu Qing was stunned, his heart melting under the gaze of those almond-shaped eyes.

Is this a dream?

Yu Li had just asked him to be his boyfriend.