Yu Ju was certain—he hadn’t kissed Gu Qianxing.

So what was Gu Qianxing talking about?

Yu Ju pondered. Could he have done something else to Gu Qianxing?

N-no… probably not?

Failing to steal a kiss already felt pretty serious. He had no idea how Gu Qianxing would see him now.

Would he think he was some kind of pervert?

A pervert…

Well, if that’s the case—
There wasn’t much he could do.

But if Gu Qianxing really thought that way, Yu Ju figured he was actually getting the short end of the stick.

If he was going to be branded a pervert anyway, he should’ve gone all out—taken advantage of the drunken moment, stripped Gu Qianxing, pinned him to the bed, climbed on top, and done this and that.

…Haha. Just kidding.

On his phone, Yu Ju kept up the act: “What did I do?”

Gu Qianxing started typing…

Yu Ju waited in agony.

After what felt like forever, a message finally came through:

[You forgot everything?]

Before Yu Ju could reply, Gu Qianxing sent another message:
[Does what you promised me still count?]

Yu Ju froze. [Huh?]

What had he promised Gu Qianxing?

Gu Qianxing: [You forgot that too?]

Yu Ju: [Tell me.]

Gu Qianxing: [Then I guess it doesn’t count.]

And then: [Heartless.]

Yu Ju bit his lip, trying hard to remember.

But no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t recall a thing.

He kept asking Gu Qianxing what it was, but Gu Qianxing refused to say. Instead, he sent a stolen sticker from the group chat—a pitiful little cat with pleading eyes, like Yu Ju had bullied him.

No, not just bullied him.
It was more like… Yu Ju had let him down.

First of all, Yu Ju was very sure that he hadn’t kissed Gu Qianxing last night.

So then…

What did he do?

Yu Ju, what kind of shameful things did you get up to after drinking?!

Because of this, Yu Ju spent the next several hours obsessively trying to recall every little detail from the night before.

He felt both embarrassed and desperate to remember.

It seemed like he had clung to Gu Qianxing all night, refusing to let go.

He also remembered staring at Gu Qianxing—really staring—and calling him “gege.”
(Gege is a Chinese term meaning “older brother,” often used flirtatiously or affectionately.)

“Gege, you’re amazing.”

“Gege, everyone’s calling you hubby.”

“Gege, how are you good at everything?”

…

Yu Ju could’ve scratched out an entire castle with his toes from secondhand embarrassment.

Yu Ju, what is wrong with you?

He also remembered that, later on, when Gu Qianxing was taking him home, he brought up Lin Jian and asked if Gu Qianxing knew him.

But… he couldn’t remember if Gu Qianxing said he did or didn’t.

He thought and thought, over and over—one cringe worthy memory after another came flooding back—but no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn’t remember what exactly he’d promised Gu Qianxing that would make him say something like “heartless.”

On the way back, Yu Ju reopened Gu Qianxing’s WeChat. The last message on the screen was Gu Qianxing’s reply to the cat sticker Yu Ju had sent.

Simple. Straight to the point:
[Fine.]

Who would’ve thought that the Yu Ju who, on the surface, looked so indifferent—like he couldn’t care less whether you answered or not—was, in private, racking his brain over a single sentence from Gu Qianxing?

Not even writing his thesis had made his head hurt this much.

As for the two invitation letters from Gu Qianxing’s studio, Xiao Jie still pushed for Lin Jian, though they hadn’t heard back yet by the time Yu Ju left.

Yu Ju didn’t have much of an opinion on it either. Honestly, Lin Jian was better suited for these types of events.

But if Gu Qianxing really did invite him instead…

Then he’d go.

Hmph.

Yu Ju stared at the “Heartless” message Gu Qianxing had sent for a long time before finally putting his phone away.

When he got home, he scrolled through the food delivery apps, but nothing appealed to him. In the end, he just made himself some instant noodles to fill his stomach.

Not long after he poured the hot water in, his phone rang.

It was a call from Zhao Yi.

Yu Ju used a book to hold down the noodle cup lid, swiped the green button, and turned on speaker mode.

“What are you up to?” Zhao Yi asked.

“Eating instant noodles,” Yu Ju replied.

Zhao Yi scoffed, clearly disapproving. “You’re seriously having instant noodles for dinner?”

“Yeah.”

Zhao Yi asked, “You leaving A City tomorrow for a project?”

Yu Ju stuck his fork in his mouth. “Mm-hmm.”

Zhao Yi said, “Aren’t you curious how I know?”

Who else could’ve told him besides Gu Qianxing?

Still, Yu Ju played along: “How do you know?”

Zhao Yi: “Guess where I am right now?”

Yu Ju: “Gu Qianxing’s studio?”

Zhao Yi gave a knowing Ohh: “So you did know Gu Qianxing was the one who told me.”

Yu Ju replied, “If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”

Quit beating around the bush already.

Zhao Yi laughed so loudly it felt like the whole building could hear him through the phone.

“I’m not at his studio—I’m at his shop,” he said, then asked, “Did you know he owns a café?”

Yu Ju, genuinely surprised, said, “Nope.”

Zhao Yi went on, “He brews coffee like a pro. Apparently, he’s also really good at cooking.”
Then he asked, “Have you ever tried his cooking?”

Yu Ju said, “Nope.”

Zhao Yi kept going, “So what exactly happened between you two last night?”

Yu Ju shot back, “Isn’t he right next to you? Why don’t you ask him?”

Zhao Yi said, “He stepped out to take a call.”

Yu Ju: “Who’s with you right now?”

Zhao Yi: “My husband, who else?” Then he suddenly paused. “Wait, wait—Zhou Jinye isn’t allowed to hear this, huh?”

Yu Ju stayed deliberately silent.

Zhao Yi: “Got it, got it. I’ll step away.”

Yu Ju didn’t believe for a second that Zhao Yi had actually stepped away. Those two were practically joined at the hip at night—what secret could possibly stay hidden between them?

So he figured, might as well let loose a little, give Zhao Yi something he wanted to hear.

Yu Ju said lazily, “We did it.”

Zhao Yi: “Whaaat?!”

Yu Ju held his phone away from his ear.

Zhao Yi practically screamed, “What did you do?! What did you do?!”

Yu Ju replied coolly, “And you actually believed that.”

Zhao Yi: “…”

“Knew it,” he said, instantly sobering. “But I did fall for it for like, half a second. Ha.”

Then Zhao Yi asked, “Wanna come over?”

The instant noodles were ready. Yu Ju peeled off the lid. “Nah.”

Zhao Yi said, “Don’t you really like coffee? I’m not a fan of the stuff, but it actually looks pretty decent here. Come have a taste?”

Yu Ju stuck to his answer: “Nope.”

“Alright then,” Zhao Yi said, and continued, “Hey, just now, we were talking about you—and Zhou Jinye asked Gu Qianxing if he likes you.”

“Psshh—” Yu Ju suddenly let out a sharp breath of surprise.

Zhao Yi: “What’s wrong?”

Yu Ju: “I burned my hand.”

Zhao Yi: “How could you be so careless? Are you alright?”

Yu Ju looked at the red mark that spread across the back of his hand, then grabbed a tissue to wipe away the soup: “I’m fine.”

“Well, if you’re not coming, then you’re not coming,” Zhao Yi lamented from the other side. “Alright, then, you eat instant noodles.”

“Wait.” Yu Ju stopped him.

Zhao Yi: “Huh?”

Yu Ju stirred his instant noodles with a fork: “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

On the other end, Zhao Yi: “What am I not telling you?”

Yu Ju: “…”

Yu Ju poked the noodles hard with his fork: “Didn’t Zhou Jinye just ask Gu Qianxing something? What was it? What, what, whatever.”

Yu Ju left it at that.

If he understood, great. If not, never mind.

Yu Ju waited quietly for a few seconds.

Then…

“Hahahaha.”

Zhao Yi burst into wild laughter again.

Zhao Yi: “Yu Ju, how are you so cute? How did I never notice how cute you are before? Help me.”

Yu Ju: “…”

Yu Ju: “If you don’t stop, I’m hanging up.”

“Go ahead, I didn’t say I wouldn’t stop.”

Zhao Yi continued: “Gu Qianxing, well, he asked Zhou Jinye in return, ‘What do you mean by that?'”

Yu Ju seemed frozen, listening intently.

Zhao Yi: “Zhou Jinye said, ‘Of course, that’s what I mean.'”

“And then?”

Zhao Yi said, “Then Gu Qianxing’s phone rang.”

Yu Ju: “…”

Yu Ju: “I’m hanging up.”

“Hahaha,” Zhao Yi laughed again on the other end. “What’s this, are you getting embarrassed? Wait, I think I’ve just realized something about you.”

Yu Ju, of course, knew exactly what Zhao Yi was implying: “Nothing’s changed, just shut your mouth.”

Before Zhao Yi could say anything else, Yu Ju immediately hung up, cutting off Zhao Yi’s laughter in the radio waves.

After taking a couple of bites of his instant noodles, Yu Ju received a picture from Zhao Yi.

It was half a cup of coffee, and Zhao Yi managed to capture it perfectly. The coffee looked like it was saying, “I’m incredibly delicious.”

Zhao Yi was still typing.

Yu Ju thought his next words would be some exaggerated praise about the coffee, but unexpectedly, the text that came through was something like this:

[By the way, you’re not interested in Gu Qianxing, are you?]

Cough, cough…

Yu Ju accidentally inhaled the soup from his noodles.

He dropped his phone and grabbed the table, coughing hard a few times.

Yu Ju: [?]

Zhao Yi: [I feel like you’re acting a little differently toward him.]

Zhao Yi: [How do I put it?]

Zhao Yi: [You’re so awkward, wanting to get closer but also pushing him away.]

Zhao Yi: [Isn’t that right? Isn’t that right?]

Yu Ju: [It’s your head.]

Zhao Yi: [Oh! No way, no way. The person you said you like yesterday, it’s not Gu Qianxing, right?]

Zhao Yi: [No wonder I couldn’t guess, because you’ve liked him all along!]

Zhao Yi: [Did you like him from the moment you met him?]

Zhao Yi: [Wow, that makes so much sense! I was wondering how you suddenly brought up someone you like.]

Yu Ju clenched the fork tightly.

Had he and Zhao Yi really become this in sync?

Yu Ju: [Excuse me?]

Yu Ju: [Didn’t I say there’s nothing?]

Zhao Yi didn’t pay any attention to what Yu Ju had said.

Zhao Yi: [But it makes sense. With Gu Qianxing’s looks and personality, it’s really easy for him to be liked.]

Zhao Yi: [Since you say you two haven’t interacted much, I’ll take a wild guess—love at first sight!]

Zhao Yi: [Wow, that’s so ship-worthy!]

Zhao Yi: [Seriously, even though I’ve always joked with you, it’s all been in fun.]

Zhao Yi: [I feel like no one is really a good match for you.]

Zhao Yi: [But now, Gu Qianxing shows up.]

Zhao Yi: [You and him are a perfect match! You two are so compatible, staring at each other, standing together like a wedding photo.]

Zhao Yi: [I saw that HIC photo of you two. The way Gu Qianxing looks at you, it’s definitely not innocent. Really.]

Zhao Yi: [Wow, I gotta say, your names match perfectly.]

Zhao Yi: [Qianxing Yu Ju! It’s insane!]

Zhao Yi: [I have goosebumps!]

Yu Ju read every message Zhao Yi sent.

He had to admit, he kind of enjoyed it.

It felt just like back then—whenever Zhao Yi mentioned anything related to Gu Qianxing, he felt happy.

But since he didn’t reply to a single word, Zhao Yi naturally assumed that Yu Ju couldn’t be bothered to respond.

He also naturally thought that Yu Ju still had the same attitude as before, like always.

Zhao Yi: [Alright, alright, I won’t say anything more.]

Zhao Yi: [Just reply to me—]

Yu Ju: [1]

Zhao Yi: [Hehe, I love you.]

Yu Ju: [If you love me, then shut up.]

Zhao Yi: [Okay.]

With no more messages from Zhao Yi, the living room suddenly felt quiet.

Yu Ju locked his phone and continued eating his instant noodles.

But after two bites, he unlocked his phone again and opened Zhao Yi’s chat, scrolling through from top to bottom once more.

Eating while reading—really goes well together.

After finishing, he went back and opened the coffee picture.

Yu Ju started drinking coffee in his second year of high school.

At first, it was only because he had to stay up late studying, and coffee worked well for that.

But as he kept drinking, he realized that coffee wasn’t half bad. Depending on the type of coffee bean and the water ratio, there were many different ways it could be brewed to taste delicious.

Back then, Gu Qianxing didn’t know how to make coffee—Zhang Qiye was the one who knew how.

So, during many afternoon tea times, Yu Ju would sit in the yard and watch Zhang Qiye  make coffee.

The coffee beans at his house were particularly high-quality, the kind that Yu Ju couldn’t find at other places.

He had no idea when Gu Qianxing learned the craft of making coffee.

If he wasn’t so stubborn, he would have actually gone over to try it.

Honestly, why didn’t Zhao Yi invite h more often? If he’d just asked a couple more times, he could be at the shop right now.

After being interrupted by Zhao Yi, Yu Ju found that his instant noodles tasted bland.

Once he finished eating, he opened his laptop to look at some research papers.

And of course, he also brewed a cup of coffee.

Today’s coffee was rather mediocre.

He took a sip, then set it down, focusing his attention back on the computer.

After burying himself in work for almost an hour, the doorbell at his house suddenly rang.

Yu Ju saved his data and walked to the door, peeking through the peephole.

“Why are you here?”

It was Zhao Yi at the door.

Zhao Yi let out a long sigh, then lifted the bag in his left hand. “Here, coffee made by Gu Qianxing.”

Yu Ju raised an eyebrow. “You brought it for me?”

“Sigh! Let me correct that,” Zhao Yi said, raising his index finger. “It’s not me who brought it, it’s Gu Qianxing who specially made it and asked me to bring it to you.”

Yu Ju looked down at the coffee in his hand.

Zhao Yi continued, “He also said, after you drink it, you should give some feedback.”

Yu Ju: “Oh.”

Zhao Yi then lifted the other bag in his other hand.

Yu Ju: “What’s this?”

“It’s still from Gu Qianxing,” Zhao Yi said with a grin. “You’re going to A City for three days, and he bought you some snacks. I looked, and they’re all the ones you like to eat.”

Yu Ju wasn’t sure whether to take the bag or not.

“Hurry up, my arm’s getting sore!” Zhao Yi urged.

Yu Ju: “Oh.”

He took the bag.

Just as Yu Ju was about to move the bag, Zhao Yi suddenly reached out and pulled out a box from inside the bag.

Yu Ju asked, “What’s this?”

Zhao Yi: “Burn ointment.”

Yu Ju: “Burn ointment?”

“Yes, burn ointment,” Zhao Yi shook the item in his hand. “After I emphasized that you were only splashed by the soup from the instant noodles, someone still bought this for you.”

Zhao Yi wore a mischievous expression: “If it hasn’t healed, you should apply it soon.”

Yu Ju showed Zhao Yi his hand: “It’s nothing.”

Zhao Yi: “Don’t lie to me.”

Zhao Yi suddenly grinned slyly.

“I really can’t help myself, even if you kill me, I’ll still say it.”

Zhao Yi’s face was full of curiosity: “Is he flirting with you?”