Gu Yufeng saw Xie Ci looking at him with a serious expression, reaching out to help him button up, only to be dodged. He leaned against the desk, watching the handsome guy with wet hair put on his clothes.

From an appreciation standpoint, the only person he could never get tired of looking at was Xie Ci. He could watch him wash a cup for an entire night, let alone change clothes—this was simply a special privilege for dormitory students.

After Xie Ci finished getting dressed, he grabbed a towel to dry his hair and casually asked, “You were born in Country D, at what age did you start learning Mandarin?”

Gu Yufeng replied, “I never specifically learned it. My parents both speak Mandarin, so I grew up in a bilingual environment.”

Xie Ci followed up with a question, “So your Mandarin should be pretty good, right?”

“Casual conversations are fine, but my mom has a regional accent, so sometimes I might pick up a bit of it without realizing.”

Gu Yufeng countered, “Am I not speaking well?”

Xie Ci shifted his probing gaze away, “For a foreigner, it’s not bad.”

“So that means it’s not good?” Gu Yufeng let out a light snort from his nose, sounding a bit unhappy. “Are you indirectly insulting me? Here I am, caring about you, and I, a young master, have never helped anyone get dressed before.”

“Just take it literally, don’t overanalyze it.”

Xie Ci dried his hair, unfazed, “Besides, helping me get dressed shouldn’t count as caring for you; you just want to take advantage, right?”

“You noticed that? This month of sitting together hasn’t been in vain.”

Gu Yufeng chuckled, grabbing both ends of the towel on Xie Ci’s head, pulling him closer, his gaze tracing the face in front of him, and he asked in a teasing tone, “So, what do you think I want to do right now?”

Xie Ci was pulled forward, having to brace himself with both hands on Gu Yufeng’s sides, their noses almost bumping into each other.

Gu Yufeng raised his chin, a smile in his eyes. Xie Ci could see that there was no hint of fear or retreat in those eyes; instead, it felt like he was toying with his prey, completely at ease with this close distance.

“Do you know how to write the word ‘reserved’?” Xie Ci asked, his face serious.

“I don’t know, but I do know how to write the character for ‘loosen’,” Gu Yufeng said, disregarding Xie Ci’s warning and even leaning in a bit closer, his lowered voice making the atmosphere a bit ambiguous. “I just regret that you didn’t agree to be a gigolo; otherwise, I could have touched you all over without having to find excuses.”

Xie Ci glanced at the slightly raised corners of his lips, not in a hurry to back away. “So, you’re saying you’re already a habitual offender?”

Gu Yufeng replied, “If you want to understand it that way, then sure.”

Xie Ci could tell this guy was just talking nonsense, but he couldn’t help but think, what if it were true? Suddenly, he felt a pang in his heart.

He had no right to meddle in Gu Yufeng’s personal affairs, but it still made him uncomfortable.

Zhang Ruochuan and Jiang Chenyu returned to the dormitory together. As soon as they opened the door, they saw the awkward position of Xie Ci and Gu Yufeng.

Jiang Chenyu teased with a smile, “Oh, Gu, helping Xie dry his hair, huh? On the court, it’s life and death, but off the court, it’s all sweet nothings, right?”

Gu Yufeng asked, “Jealous?”

Jiang Chenyu replied, “Me and my deskmate have a great relationship too, okay?”

Zhang Ruochuan, who followed in, vaguely felt it wasn’t that simple, but the thought passed quickly. He walked to his bed to change shoes and asked Xie Ci, “Hey, Xie, are you feeling unwell? Why did you suddenly walk away earlier?”

“I’m fine now,” Xie Ci straightened up and stepped back.

“Gu, you play basketball so well; it would be a shame not to join the school team.”

Jiang Chenyu rummaged through his clothes, preparing to take a shower.

Gu Yufeng replied, “Not interested, no time.”

Jiang Chenyu was just saying it casually, knowing they were in their senior year and had to prepare for the college entrance exam. Not just Gu Yufeng, even they would have to quit the team after this league.

“If only we had met two years earlier,” Jiang Chenyu sighed dramatically, “My youth just slipped away like that, never to return.”

Zhang Ruochuan laughed and scolded him for being neurotic.

During evening self-study, Xie Ci heard Gu Yufeng cough a few times and casually closed the window. “Cold?”

“Not cold, don’t close it, let it ventilate,” Gu Yufeng felt his throat a bit itchy and coughed lightly again, saying with double meaning, “The tofu I had for lunch was too spicy, making my throat uncomfortable.”

Xie Ci: “…”

This guy could still be cheeky; it seemed he wasn’t that uncomfortable after all.

As the monthly exam approached, all the students in the class were working hard. Those who had questions for Fang Sizhe were lining up, each taking a number.

Fang Sizhe didn’t mind; while answering their questions, he could also review the knowledge points himself. But there were just too many people. Turning around, he saw Xie Ci sitting idle and told the boy squatting by the desk waiting, “You can ask Xie Ci about this question; he might explain it better than I can.”

The boy glanced at Xie Ci, nervously asking, “Will he hit me for asking him a question?”

He said that, but deep down, he knew he probably wouldn’t get hit. However, Xie Ci wasn’t as easy to talk to as Fang Sizhe, and if he really approached, he might not even get a response.

“With so many people in the class, have you seen him hit anyone?”

Fang Sizhe patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry, go ask. If he really hits you, I’ll help you criticize him.”

The boy: “…”

Another girl nearby was also eager to try after hearing Fang Sizhe.

After Xie Ci’s grades suddenly shot up, many people, including her, were curious about this returning academic genius.

“Why don’t we go ask together?” the girl suggested to the boy squatting next to her.

The boy hesitated, “Are we really going?”

The girl urged, “Come on, you’re a boy; how come you’re more timid than I am?”

The boy replied, “He doesn’t hit girls, so of course, you’re not afraid.”

The girl: “…”

The two of them walked to Xie Ci’s desk, with the boy too scared to speak.

It was one thing to join in the class’s antics, but talking to Xie Ci alone was a whole different ball game.

The girl mustered her courage and spoke first, “Xie Ci, do you know how to solve this problem?”

Xie Ci looked up from his physics textbook, took a glance at the paper the girl handed him, and rummaged through the high stack of books in front of him, pulling out a math paper. “This is what I wrote; you can take a look first. If you still don’t understand, ask me again.”

“Thank you.”

It was the girl’s first time talking to Xie Ci, and she shyly took the paper. Upon seeing it, she was stunned—how could his handwriting be so beautiful?! And the problem-solving process was so clear and detailed!

This wasn’t just luck; he was a real genius!

No wonder the old teacher had been fixated on Xie Ci for the past two years, always holding onto him. It looked like he was targeting him, but they could still see that the old teacher had expectations for Xie Ci. Otherwise, how could such a poor student remain in the key class? He would have been thrown out long ago.

Seeing this, the boy hurriedly handed over his paper, “Can you take a look at mine too?”

After saying that, he caught Xie Ci’s glance and realized he had used a respectful term, making his ears turn red with embarrassment.

Gu Yufeng watched the foreign language book, listening to Xie Ci explain the problems, feeling that high school life wasn’t so hard to endure after all.

Although there were many things he wanted to do that he couldn’t, he had also done many things he had never thought of or done before.

After evening self-study, they returned to the dormitory.

A group of people had finished washing up early and sat down at their seats to review.

The usually noisy corridor was eerily quiet these days.

Gu Yufeng didn’t go out to work; as the weather turned cooler, he felt a bit lazy and brought his laptop into the dormitory.

While everyone else was reviewing, he was stuck looking at annoying project files.

Fang Sizhe knocked and entered, bringing a chair with him, sitting down next to Xie Ci on the left side, in the small corridor separated by the desk and window. “Xie, can you help me look at these questions?”

Xie Ci glanced and saw both math and physics questions.

He hadn’t finished reviewing physics yet.

Seeing Xie Ci staring at the physics problem without saying anything, Fang Sizhe asked, “You don’t know either? We’re doomed.”

Xie Ci replied, “Let’s start with math.”

Halfway through explaining, Xie Ci paused slightly, looking up at Gu Yufeng sitting across from him, who was propping his chin and focused on the computer screen.

“What’s wrong?” Fang Sizhe noticed Xie Ci suddenly stop and asked curiously.

Xie Ci withdrew his gaze, “Nothing, continue.”

After a moment, Xie Ci paused again, feeling a bit helpless.

This guy, Gu Yufeng, was actually scratching his toes under the table, acting as if nothing was wrong.

The Gu Yufeng from his youth was different from the image in his memory. Over this time, he had deeply realized that the Gu Yufeng he knew was mature and steady, definitely wouldn’t do something as inappropriate and meaningless as scratching his toes. It didn’t seem like he was trying to flirt to get his attention; it was purely that his feet were restless, like he had a case of childhood hyperactivity.

Looking at it this way, Xie Ci felt that his previous suspicions were a bit ridiculous.

Gu Yufeng couldn’t be that childish; the boy in front of him and the one he knew were clearly two different people.

Under the table, Gu Yufeng had his bare foot resting on Xie Ci’s foot, his toes like antennae, occasionally poking Xie Ci’s toes, scratching the strap of his flip-flops, and sliding along Xie Ci’s foot to his calf, rubbing casually, and when he was happy, he would scratch a couple of leg hairs.

While doing all this, Gu Yufeng was quickly confirming the content of the project files, accurately identifying problems and sending the files back.

His brain and feet seemed to be controlled by two different systems, not only not interfering with each other but even improving work efficiency.

“Xie?”

Fang Sizhe saw Xie Ci stop again and thought about Xie Ci’s unusual behavior on the court earlier, unable to help but speak up, “Are you feeling too tired lately? Why don’t you go to bed early tonight?”

“Not really.”

Xie Ci lowered his head to look at the problem, writing the solution on the draft paper, and casually said, “I just suddenly remembered that I don’t know who infected me with athlete’s foot recently; it’s really itchy, and I don’t know how to get better.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Yufeng across from him suddenly froze, vigorously rubbing his leg against Xie Ci’s, silently retracting his misbehaving foot.

The other six people genuinely thought Xie Ci had athlete’s foot and began discussing remedies seriously.

Xie Ci caught Gu Yufeng’s gaze: [Why didn’t you say anything earlier?]

Xie Ci raised an eyebrow: [Who told you to be so restless with your feet?]

Gu Yufeng retorted: [What’s wrong with me scratching my foot if I can’t do anything else?]

Xie Ci: “…”

And he was so justified about it.

After finishing the explanation, Xie Ci belatedly realized what was going on.

If he had to be serious, Gu Yufeng’s hyperactivity wasn’t without reason; it was just that every time it flared up, it would end up on him.

The next day, Gu Yufeng’s cough worsened, and his voice became hoarse.

After the morning exercise, Xie Ci dragged him to the school clinic, where he was officially diagnosed with a cold.

“You’re the one who poured cold water on your head; why am I the one who caught a cold?” Gu Yufeng grumbled as he put on a mask, coughing a few times due to his itchy throat, yet stubbornly insisted on finishing his sentence, his hoarse voice making Xie Ci feel both pity and amusement.

Xie Ci replied, “I told you to wear more clothes a long time ago; you insisted on looking good instead of staying warm. Who’s to blame for the cold?”

Gu Yufeng sulked, “No one said you had a sharp tongue?”

Xie Ci replied, “No one, they’re not like you, who won’t listen to advice.”

Gu Yufeng: “…”

Damn.

After lunch and taking cold medicine, Gu Yufeng was completely listless in class that afternoon.

Seeing him drowsy, Xie Ci noticed that the next classes were English and music, so he simply helped him take a leave and urged him to go back to the dormitory to rest.

Gu Yufeng wasn’t particularly attached to attending class; he was just too lazy to move while lying down. With Xie Ci pushing him, he decided to go back.

Lying alone in the empty dormitory, perhaps due to the cold, his mind felt a bit chaotic, and the emotions he usually suppressed surged up.

In his past life, he had been kidnapped by Desen to an island in Slinjiazhou.

That old bastard was his grandfather’s arch-nemesis, secretly uniting with other consortiums over the years, trying to swallow up his grandfather’s power.

He teamed up with Xie Ci, who was an outsider, and it took him more than three years to shake them off and break through the encirclement to counterattack.

That old man, desperate, set his sights on him, trying to hold him hostage to force his grandfather to hand over power.

At that time, he had already fallen out with Xie Ci, and they hadn’t contacted each other for a month.

When he escaped from that abandoned factory, being chased by an unmanned convoy, he had regretted not being able to clarify things with Xie Ci that night.

Asking his partner if they had found someone new made him feel like a discarded husband.

His pride wouldn’t allow him to bow his head.

Rather than waiting for Xie Ci to bring up divorce one day, he might as well let go first, at least preserving a bit of dignity for himself.

But he never expected that this letting go would be a final farewell.

He thought he would never see Xie Ci again, never imagined that the other would come to save him.

That island was Desen’s territory, and to prevent him from escaping, they had set up a tight net. Xie Ci couldn’t possibly not know how dangerous it was there, yet he still came.

The moment he saw Xie Ci sitting in the helicopter calling his name, nothing else mattered.

All he could think was—escape, and then give each other a chance to start over.

Unfortunately, there was no second chance.

Thinking of the last embrace before the explosion, Gu Yufeng felt a pang in his heart, beating wildly.

He took a deep breath, feeling a bit uncomfortable, and turned to look at the bed below.

The bedding was neatly folded at the end of the bed, looking tidy, and he could vaguely smell a familiar scent.

Gu Yufeng hesitated for a moment and took out his phone to send a message.

In the classroom, Xie Ci heard his phone vibrating in the drawer, thinking it was Yang Le, and blocked it with a book, taking out his phone to check.

Gu Yufeng: [I’m too weak to climb onto the bed; can I borrow yours?]

Xie Ci frowned.

It had gotten this serious already.

Xie Ci replied: [Use it as you like.]

After sending the message, Xie Ci grew more worried. If it was serious enough to cause tonsillitis, he might end up with a high fever like that night.

Xie Ci was afraid this pampered young master wouldn’t know how to take care of himself, so he skipped music class and ran back to the dormitory to check on Gu Yufeng.

Opening the dormitory door, he happened to see Gu Yufeng holding his work laptop, nimbly climbing down from the upper bunk and diving into his bed, leaning against the headboard to prepare for work.

Hearing the noise, Gu Yufeng looked up at the door and met Xie Ci’s gaze.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward.

Gu Yufeng checked the time, “Why are you back at this hour?”

Xie Ci raised an eyebrow, his face stern, “Is this what you call being too sick to climb onto the bed?”

Gu Yufeng replied, “So I didn’t climb up; I flipped up.”

Xie Ci: “…”

Still trying to argue.

Xie Ci walked to the side of the bed, bent down to check Gu Yufeng’s forehead, and confirmed he didn’t have a fever before coldly ordering, “Get back to your own bed.”

“You promised to lend me your bed; how can you go back on your word?” Gu Yufeng sat there, showing no intention of moving.

Xie Ci asked, “Are you going back or not?”

Gu Yufeng simply hugged his pillow and lay down, “I’m sleeping in this bed tonight.”

Xie Ci was so amused he almost laughed, “If you sleep here, where do I sleep?”

“Upper bunk is yours.”

As he said this, Gu Yufeng patted the space beside him, sounding incredibly sincere, “Or we can squeeze together; if you’re not afraid of falling to the floor, I don’t mind.”

Xie Ci: “…”

That night, Xie Ci lay in the upper bunk, unable to sleep.