After finishing the last topic, Lin Bai looked at his phone. Fu Chengyu had texted him, saying he had arrived and was waiting downstairs. A faint smile flashed in Lin Bai’s eyes as he stood by the window, looking down to find Fu Chengyu’s figure. Fu Chengyu stood by the car door, one hand in his pocket, head lowered as he looked at his phone, completely unaware of the admiring glances from passersby.

Lin Bai stared at him, unable to deny that Fu Chengyu was truly outstanding—his looks, family background, and character were beyond what ordinary people could compare. No one could help but be moved by Fu Chengyu, not even him. With that thought, Lin Bai gathered his things and headed downstairs.

Lin Bai ran down the stairs, his cheeks slightly flushed and out of breath. He looked at Fu Chengyu apologetically. “Sorry, Fu Xuezhang, for making you wait.”

Fu Chengyu gave a gentle smile. “It’s fine, I just arrived.”

Though Fu Chengyu was a bit unhappy, he pretended not to care in order to leave a good impression on Lin Bai.

“Fu Xuezhang, is there anything you want to eat?” Lin Bai asked eagerly.

“I’m fine with anything, up to you,” Fu Chengyu replied.

Lin Bai’s voice had a cheerful tone as he suggested, “How about we have barbecue? I got my paycheck today, I’ll treat.”

Fu Chengyu opened the passenger door, signaling for Lin Bai to get in, then thoughtfully buckled Lin Bai’s seatbelt. Their bodies were close together, and Fu Chengyu’s scent filled Lin Bai’s nostrils, making him feel like he was being held in Fu Chengyu’s arms.

When Fu Chengyu didn’t immediately respond, Lin Bai turned his head and asked again.

Fu Chengyu looked at him indulgently. “If you like it, that’s fine.”

Lin Bai picked a highly rated but slightly expensive barbecue place on his phone. After telling Fu Chengyu the address, the two of them chatted and laughed along the way. When they arrived at the restaurant, they realized it was a couples’ restaurant.

Lin Bai looked at Fu Chengyu with innocent eyes and said apologetically, his voice bright and pleasant, “Sorry, Fu Xuezhang, I didn’t check the reviews, I didn’t realize this was a couples’ restaurant.”

Fu Chengyu hadn’t thought much of it, considering it was just a place to eat. However, Lin Bai’s attempts to show that he didn’t know made him feel intrigued. He decided to tease him a little.

“I didn’t expect you to have such taste, Ah Bai,” Fu Chengyu said.

Lin Bai, surprised, looked at him. “Ah, Ah Bai?” No one had ever called him that, not even his parents. It felt too intimate, but at the same time, Lin Bai couldn’t help feeling a little happy inside.

Fu Chengyu smiled. “Isn’t that okay?”

Lin Bai looked into his heated gaze, stumbling over his words, “It’s… it’s fine.”

Fu Chengyu’s deep, magnetic voice called out again, “Ah Bai.”

“Mm.” Lin Bai lowered his head, his face flushed, softly responding.

Fu Chengyu chuckled. “You can call me by my name too. We’re friends, you don’t need to keep calling me Fu Xuezhang.”

“Okay.”

“Then go ahead and call me once, let me hear it.”

“Fu… Fu Chengyu.”

Fu Chengyu furrowed his brow, seemingly dissatisfied. “That’s too unoriginal. Pick another one.”

Lin Bai tilted his head, thinking for a moment before suggesting, “How about Chengyu?”

“That works.”

As they were talking, the dishes were served. Since it was a barbecue, some of the food needed to be grilled by themselves, and Fu Chengyu, who was clueless about cooking, naturally left the grilling to Lin Bai. During the meal, Lin Bai took great care of Fu Chengyu, always offering him the food that was grilled first. Their time together was quite pleasant. At one point, Lin Bai even pulled out a video of the stray cat he had filmed in the morning and showed it to Fu Chengyu. As they leaned in to watch the video, their bodies unconsciously drew closer to each other. In the restaurant’s dim lighting, it felt particularly intimate.

—

The next day, Shen Nanxing woke up early. Today he had the typical nightmare of a university student—an 8 AM class.

“Young master, why are you up so early today?” Wu Ma glanced at the clock on the wall—it wasn’t even 7 AM yet. How could the young master already be up?

Shen Nanxing casually replied, “I have an early class today.”

Wu Ma looked at him with concern. “That’s so early. I didn’t think university life would be this tough.”

After finishing a glass of milk, Shen Nanxing answered, “It’s fine.”

He left the house at 7 AM, telling the driver to hurry since he was about to be late. In reality, there was plenty of time, but Shen Nanxing didn’t want to go to school with Fu Chengyu, so he deliberately avoided him.

The driver, hearing that Shen Nanxing was about to be late, took a shortcut and managed to get him to the university gate in twenty minutes. Shen Nanxing checked his schedule, seeing that the class was “Classical Chinese,” and the classroom was on the second floor, easy to find.

As soon as he entered the classroom, Xie Ling waved at him and pointed to the empty seat next to her, telling him there was a spot. Xie Ling was the only classmate he was somewhat familiar with, so he smiled at her and sat down next to her.

The moment Xie Ling saw Shen Nanxing, she became overly excited. “Xing Bao, you’re here so early today.”

Since the two had added each other on WeChat, Xie Ling knew that Shen Nanxing liked to read novels, and often recommended books she thought he would enjoy. She would call him “Xing Bao” with affection. At first, Shen Nanxing felt awkward being called “Xing Bao” by a girl and asked her not to do so. But Xie Ling insisted, saying it suited him perfectly. Over time, Shen Nanxing became immune to it.

He helplessly glanced at Xie Ling. “Not earlier than you.”

Xie Ling made an exaggerated expression and mimed a broken heart with her hands. “Xing Bao, I haven’t seen you in two days, I missed you so much.”

Fang Yanran, who was sitting to Xie Ling’s left, elbowed her. “Ling Ling, can you not be so inappropriate?”

She tugged at Xie Ling’s sleeve and whispered, “Don’t embarrass yourself. Xing Bao might run away from you at this rate. Control yourself.”

Xie Ling shrugged, “I can’t help it. I’m a top-tier fan of handsome guys.”

Xie Ling wasn’t necessarily trying to do anything to Shen Nanxing. She just couldn’t take her eyes off someone good-looking. She didn’t understand what was wrong with wanting to be friends with someone who looked good.

Fang Yanran took Xie Ling’s pulse in a mock serious manner, sighed, and said with a straight face, “Sigh, you’re beyond help.”

Shen Nanxing watched the two of them interact humorously, and he couldn’t hold back his laughter, letting out a chuckle.

“Alright, enough, class is about to start. You two, quiet down for a bit,” he said.

The class was dull and boring, all about classical Chinese. It mainly focused on learning vocabulary, grammar, and literature from ancient Chinese. The teacher spoke passionately, while the students below nodded along. At first glance, it seemed like everyone was paying attention, but in reality, it was so monotonous that they were all dozing off.

In contrast to the casual attitude of the others, Shen Nanxing found the class quite interesting. Ancient literature had a deep meaning, and one word could have several different meanings. The way things were expressed varied depending on the context and sentence structure.

Finally, when the class ended, as Shen Nanxing stepped out of the classroom, he ran into Fu Chengyu. Fu Chengyu grabbed his arm, his tone questioning, “Nanxing, why didn’t you wait for me today?”