Chapter 15

“Fine.” Mu Chi took a small step to the side.

Song Wenzhou pursed his lips, wondering if his tone had been too harsh just now, but the words were already said and couldn’t be taken back.

“Uh…” Song Wenzhou smiled and asked as gently as he could, “Where’s your key?”

“Which one?” Mu Chi looked at him and said, “Call me ‘Brother Chi’.”

Song Wenzhou held back his frustration and said, “Brother Chi…”

Mu Chi was satisfied, his eyes squinting in a smile, and he pressed further, “Now that’s good. You should always call me that from now on, got it?”

As he spoke, he picked up the school jacket lying nearby and threw it to Song Wenzhou. “The key’s in the pocket, get it yourself.”

Song Wenzhou straightened out the jacket, which was in a tangled mess, and pulled Mu Chi’s key out of the right pocket.

Along with the dorm key, there was another key attached to the keychain. It might be Mu Chi’s home key, though Song Wenzhou had never seen him bring it before.

What caught Song Wenzhou’s attention was that both keys had small notes attached to them.

One note read, “Grade 10 Class 8, Mu Chi,” and the other had a string of eleven digits, which looked like Mu Chi’s phone number.

Song Wenzhou: “…”

So this was Mu Chi’s method of never losing his keys again.

Mu Chi raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for a compliment, and asked, “What do you think?”

“It’s a bit ugly,” Song Wenzhou said bluntly.

Mu Chi, not pleased with the answer, looked at him in disappointment. Song Wenzhou wondered why Mu Chi hadn’t thought that if someone found his keys with his class name on them, it would be easy for them to find out which dorm he was in and easily gain access to it.

Sigh, such a clever guy.

“Let me borrow the key… just for a bit.”

Before Song Wenzhou could finish speaking, the whistle blew, signaling for Mu Chi and the others to gather.

“There’s only the last half left,” Mu Chi called out to Song Wenzhou as he walked away. “Wait for me to finish, and we’ll have dinner together.”

Song Wenzhou swallowed the words he was about to say. Even though Mu Chi had already run off and couldn’t hear him, he still softly replied, “…Alright.”

In the second half, Mu Chi was as dominant as ever.

Song Wenzhou admired Mu Chi’s coolness while internally mocking him for probably having mastered the art of showing off, seeing how mesmerized the group of girls on the sidelines were.

He was already eye-catching enough, yet he didn’t even try to tone it down, occasionally even showing off by carelessly adjusting his clothes.

Song Wenzhou didn’t think there was anything wrong with his mindset. He blamed everything on Mu Chi, who, with his continuous goals and the girls’ cheers, was being too showy. He blamed him for being too flashy, for… not upholding the standards of a man!

At this moment, Song Wenzhou vaguely understood what Qi Ling had said before—his own brilliance was overshadowed by Mu Chi.

To be honest, if Qi Ling hadn’t been his roommate, Song Wenzhou might not have even noticed that Mu Chi had a teammate.

For Song Wenzhou, who was fully absorbed in watching Mu Chi play basketball, the half-time quickly passed. He even thought he hadn’t seen enough yet.

When Mu Chi tossed his school jacket over his shoulder and called out to him, Song Wenzhou was still immersed in the informal match, feeling more pumped up than when he played himself.

“Hey, come on, is watching us play really this boring?” Mu Chi nudged Song Wenzhou, looking disappointed. “We might not be that great, but is it really so bad that you zoned out and didn’t even notice the game ended?”

“…”

Song Wenzhou opened his mouth, unsure of how to explain. Should he say, “I zoned out because I was watching you”?

Forget it. Song Wenzhou chose not to explain. He turned and started to leave, not caring what Mu Chi thought.

“Wow, you’re not even willing to make up a little excuse to spare our feelings?” Mu Chi poked Song Wenzhou’s head, saying playfully, “Zhouzhou, you really are… getting spoiled.”

Qi Ling, overhearing Mu Chi’s words, nodded in agreement. “Exactly!”

“?” Song Wenzhou, wrongly accused, furrowed his brows and said, “How many times have I told you not to touch my hair? And also, no swearing.”

“I swear?” Mu Chi laughed in disbelief. “You tell me to ‘get lost’ every day, but you don’t say anything about that.”

“‘Get lost’ isn’t swearing.” Song Wenzhou replied with a good mood, “Getting lost is an action. And ‘rolling’ sounds so cute. I’m actually complimenting you.”

Mu Chi sneered. “Haha, should I thank you for that?”

Qi Ling, with a thoughtful expression, said, “Well, ‘(“kao” (靠) typically means “to rely on” or “to lean on.” It can also be used in a figurative sense to mean “depend on” or “rely upon.”)kao’ isn’t swearing either. ‘Kao’ is an action, and ‘relying on’ sounds like such a beautiful word.”

“If that’s the case, then ‘(“cao” (操) is a vulgar slang term and is considered swearing in Chinese. It literally means “to do” or “to engage in,” but it is commonly used as an expletive, similar to the English equivalent of the f-word. )cao’ isn’t swearing,” Mu Chi casually remarked, “It’s also an action…”

“I can’t believe it,” Qi Ling opened his mouth in surprise, “I didn’t know Brother Chi was this bad. Saying such things in public like that!”

Song Wenzhou silently quickened his pace to distance himself from the two.

Behind him, he could hear Mu Chi passionately defending himself against Qi Ling’s teasing.

After walking a few meters, Mu Chi caught up, as though afraid of ruining his reputation, quickly explaining, “I didn’t mean it! I didn’t!”

Song Wenzhou ignored him.

“I was just following the example you gave me. My brain didn’t catch up with my mouth,” Mu Chi grabbed his arm. “You have to believe me, Zhouzhou, I’m innocent.”

Song Wenzhou gave him a cold “Heh,” just like Mu Chi had done earlier.

“I’m done for!” Mu Chi suddenly started acting like a spoiled child, “My whole reputation, ruined by a little unicorn! I have no face left to show people!”

“…” Song Wenzhou was speechless for a while. Seeing the students who hadn’t finished walking around the field starting to look over at them, he sighed helplessly, “Alright, stop yelling.”

“Do you believe me now?” Mu Chi asked, pouting.

Song Wenzhou was forced to nod. What else could he do if he didn’t believe him?

It was just a pity that the filter he had when watching Mu Chi play basketball had completely shattered.

This idiot shouldn’t even have a mouth—every time he spoke, his true nature came out, and no matter how handsome his face was, it couldn’t save him.

“Then let’s go eat,” Mu Chi smiled and casually asked, “What are you holding in your hand?”

“Oh, your jacket. I wore it home that night,” Song Wenzhou handed it back to Mu Chi. “Thanks.”

“You’ve said ‘thank you’ countless times, why so polite?” Mu Chi said, then turned to Qi Ling and growled, “Why are you walking so slowly? Are you trying to show off your small feet?”

Qi Ling just pointed at him without saying anything, but his contemptuous expression said more than words ever could.

On the way to the cafeteria, they passed by the school’s convenience store, and Qi Ling darted inside.

“Ice Cola, Ice Cola…” Qi Ling opened the fridge, poking half his face out and asking, “Do you guys want some?”

Before Song Wenzhou could answer, Mu Chi quickly said, “He can’t drink.”

“Right,” Qi Ling nodded in realization. “Then what about you?”

“Give me a can,” Mu Chi said, walking over.

“You don’t have to come over,” Qi Ling chuckled, “I’ll treat you. Don’t be polite, I’ve got money to burn…”

“Fool,” Mu Chi ignored him and walked straight past, grabbing a bottle of room-temperature mineral water from beside the cashier and walking out. “If you’ve got so much money, don’t forget to pay for this too.”

“Here,” Mu Chi returned to Song Wenzhou’s side, unscrewed the bottle cap, and handed it to him. “Weren’t you thirsty earlier?”

Song Wenzhou froze for a moment before taking the water. In truth, he didn’t feel particularly thirsty now. He had only felt a dry mouth when he saw Mu Chi earlier, thinking he looked really sexy. It was a fleeting sensation, but not the kind of thirst that made him want to drink. After calming down, the feeling passed.

Maybe, he wasn’t thirsty—he was just hungry.

“!””

Song Wenzhou was suddenly startled by his own thought. How could he have such a ridiculous idea?

It really was true that “you become like the people you’re around,” wasn’t it? Mu Chi had corrupted him!

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Mu Chi widened his eyes and stared back at Song Wenzhou. “Do you want to see whose eyes are bigger? Let me tell you, I’ve never lost at this since I was a kid.”

Song Wenzhou: “…”

He was really losing his mind. Even if he were feeling hungry and thirsty in front of Qi Ling, there was no way he would feel that way about someone like Mu Chi.

It must be his hormones acting up during puberty. He hadn’t paid attention to his body’s reactions when waking up in the morning, which is why he thought Mu Chi was sexy when he was drenched in sweat.

After all, isn’t there a saying: diamonds are the hardest thing in the world, and next is a teenage boy’s…

Wait, wait, wait!

Song Wenzhou shook his head fiercely. He had only been resting at home for a few days without the usual mental stimulation, and now his mind was filled with such nonsense.

“What’s wrong with you?” Mu Chi quickly reached out to stop Song Wenzhou’s actions. “Headache?”

Song Wenzhou felt Mu Chi’s fingers gently pressing on his scalp.

Mu Chi furrowed his brows and said, “I’m just saying, you’re too delicate. Either it’s your stomach or your head that hurts. A person like you…”

Before Song Wenzhou could collect his thoughts to feel moved, he heard Mu Chi pause and then continue, “…I could take on ten of you.”

“…” Song Wenzhou immediately swatted Mu Chi’s hand away and angrily said, “Get lost.”

What was he even expecting?