That night, Xu Xing slept soundly, his dreams filled with sweetness. When he woke up, all the warmth lingered in his dreams. He then began to settle the “accounts” with Lu Che from the past two weeks.

Lu Che skipping classes frequently could be chalked up to an immature attempt to get Xu Xing’s attention. But getting into fights? That was something else entirely.

When Xu Xing questioned him about it, Lu Che shamelessly replied, “Once I got your attention, of course, I wanted you to worry about me.”

Lu Che had never forgotten the time he got into a fight, and Xu Xing came back to school just to check on him. He wondered if Xu Xing would show up again if he heard he was in another fight, standing there by his dorm door, looking almost ethereal.

“…”

Xu Xing wanted to crack open Lu Che’s head to see if it was full of nonsense.

But after mentally criticizing him, Xu Xing suddenly recalled a previous conversation:

Xu Xing had asked, “Is your brain full of crap?”

Lu Che responded, “How can you say that about yourself?”

Lu Che’s mind was filled entirely with thoughts of Xu Xing. Xu Xing had initially thought it was just a joke, but now he believed it.

Xu Xing sighed and said, “Childish.”

Lu Che rubbed his nose and said, “Actually, I didn’t plan to skip class yesterday afternoon, but then I heard a song playing on the school broadcast, and suddenly I was afraid to see you.”

Xu Xing frowned slightly. “What song?”

Lu Che hummed a few lines softly: “How proud can I be? I crumble at a single touch… Every time I see you, I fall apart~”

His deep voice made even a casual hum sound good.

“…”

Xu Xing hesitated, lightly biting his lip.

The same song, but they each heard it differently. The song perfectly echoed Lu Che’s feelings, while Xu Xing realized he was, in fact, the “you” in the lyrics, “Don’t think of me to the point of madness.”

Turning to him, Lu Che smiled and said, “By the way, I can switch between styles—mature, childish, you name it. Just say the word, and I’ll change modes.”

It was break time, and they were standing side by side outside the hallway.

Lu Che waited for Xu Xing’s answer, and when he didn’t get one, he looked over.

Xu Xing finally opened his mouth, saying, “I like…”

The prolonged pause made Lu Che’s heart itch, eager to hear what he’d say next.

“Three conditions: No smoking, no fighting, and your name has to be Lu Che.”

Each requirement came out softer than the last.

After saying that, Xu Xing coughed awkwardly, his gaze drifting into the distance.

The corners of Lu Che’s mouth had already curved into a high smile. He turned, leaning against the wall to face Xu Xing.

“Just those three?”

“Mm.”

“No matter what I do?”

“Mm.”

Leaning in, Lu Che brushed his chin on Xu Xing’s shoulder and blew lightly in his ear, whispering, “Then… I want to sleep with you.”

Xu Xing’s breath hitched, his ears suddenly turning red.

“…”

Lu Che used a statement, not a question.

Xu Xing pinched his own ear, then turned to glance at Lu Che, forcing himself to ask casually, “Will you take responsibility?”

The six words, articulated so clearly, exploded like fireworks in Lu Che’s mind.

“…”

With one sentence, Xu Xing left Lu Che utterly captivated.

His mind went blank until the bell for the next class brought him back to his senses.

Xu Xing nonchalantly turned around and said, “Class is starting.”

Then he entered the classroom first.

Lu Che stood in the hallway until a teacher passing by prompted him, “What are you standing there for? Get to class.”

Only then did he go in, brushing his hand lightly against the back of Xu Xing’s as he passed. The brief touch left a warm trail, almost ticklish.

Xu Xing instinctively pulled his hand back, his eyelashes trembling lightly.

Leaning forward from his seat at the back, Lu Che bent down and whispered close to Xu Xing’s ear, “Give me the chance to take responsibility for a lifetime, okay?”

The “okay” was so soft, so gentle that Xu Xing had no reason to say no.

“…”

Xu Xing coughed, pressing his hand to his lips, his gaze focused on the blackboard ahead.

During class, Lu Che rested his chin on his arms, his eyes fixed on Xu Xing’s back.

Xu Xing rested his hand on his chin, looking at the board, though his mind wandered.

After class.

They shared an unspoken understanding, neither bringing up their agreement from the break.

Xu Xing managed to refocus, diligently taking notes to make up for what he missed while daydreaming.

Then, he raised his head absentmindedly, catching sight of Xiao Shun walking down the aisle. Xu Xing’s gaze locked onto Xiao Shun’s chest, where a red line emerged, swaying slightly as he moved.

Xu Xing remembered that at the beginning of the semester, he’d seen two red strings on Xiao Shun—one connecting to his left hand, the other reaching a hidden point, linked to a boy named Jiang Jize.

Now, Xiao Shun only had one red string, growing from his heart like everyone else’s.

Seeing Xiao Shun smile and nod at him, Xu Xing smiled back. His first thought was that Xiao Shun and Jiang Jize had become closer, as he and Lu Che had. Once mutual feelings were expressed, the red string reconnected at the heart.

Xu Xing thought this guess was reasonable, and since Jiang Jize was Lu Che’s friend, he turned to Lu Che and whispered, “Do you know who Xiao Shun’s red string is connected to?”

Lu Che looked puzzled. “Who’s Xiao Shun?”

Xu Xing: “…”

Since Lu Che wasn’t familiar with most of their classmates, and Xiao Shun was especially low-profile, it made sense Lu Che wouldn’t know him.

Pointing Xiao Shun out, Xu Xing said, “He’s connected to Jiang Jize.”

Lu Che raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised. “Him? With Jiang Jize? That can’t be…”

From his long years of knowing Jiang Jize, Lu Che figured his friend was open to admirers but still generally interested in girls. How had he ended up with a guy?

Xu Xing nodded, “At the start of the semester, I saw their red string matching ours. Now, they’re both coming from the heart, which probably means they’re together.”

Lu Che grinned, his attention shifting back to Xu Xing. He teased, “Who else is ‘together’?”

Xu Xing shot him a look.

Sensing Xu Xing’s irritation, Lu Che returned to the topic, thinking back. “So Jiang Jize has a red string too? Class President, you know, I got jealous once, thinking you had a thing for him, the way you kept watching him.”

Lu Che vaguely recounted the episode, leaving out his youthful jealousy and the wild thoughts he’d had—like how he thought Xu Xing was fickle in his feelings.

“……”

At that time, Lu Che hadn’t realized his feelings for Xu Xing. He just felt uncomfortable seeing Xu Xing look at Jiang Jize the way he did, an unease that made him feel restless. He was frustrated and couldn’t find the right words to describe how he felt, eventually thinking to himself, “This is just too _ _.”

If it were now, Lu Che would have said without hesitation, “This is just way too annoying.”

However—

Lu Che didn’t have the courage to say this to Xu Xing now. Even if Xu Xing agreed to let him be more intimate, he would be forever grateful. That was the extent of his confidence.

Lu Che silently swallowed his true feelings from that time, knowing that if Xu Xing ever found out, his future would be reduced to living with a keyboard.

“……”

When Xu Xing heard Lu Che say, “I thought you liked Jiang Jize,” he felt disgusted. With a resigned sigh, he said, “I need to revise the three conditions.”

Xu Xing had three conditions for the person he liked: no smoking, no fighting, and the name had to be Lu Che.

Upon hearing this, Lu Che nervously listened, his heart beating fast in anticipation.

Xu Xing clarified, “A. No smoking, B. No fighting, C. The name must be Lu Che. C is a necessary and sufficient condition.”

At first, it seemed like A, B, and C were all necessary but not sufficient, but what Xu Xing was really saying was that as long as C existed, the conclusion would be true.

Wang Zicong, sitting next to Xu Xing, turned around with curiosity, his own red string swaying gently. He blinked and asked, “What are you guys talking about?”

Xu Xing responded, “I’m giving him some sense of security.”

Wang Zicong: “??”

Lu Che pursed his lips, his eyes fixed on Xu Xing—what the class president had just said essentially meant: as long as the person was Lu Che, Xu Xing liked him.

Lu Che stared at Xu Xing’s lips, feeling a strong urge to kiss them—how could this person keep saying such sweet things in such a serious way? It was totally unfair!

Unable to bear it any longer, after the lunch break, Lu Che updated Xu Xing’s contact name to:

“Prince of Sweet Talk: Xu Xingxing [Crown]”

Xu Xing glanced at it and shot him a look, saying, “The person who really knows how to speak sweetly is clearly you.”

Lu Che, sitting in Wang Zicong’s seat, leaned into Xu Xing’s side and sighed dramatically. “Not knowing you’re flirting is the highest level of skill. I go through this pain and pleasure every day—sigh~ Men like me, who can endure this, are really rare.”

Xu Xing scoffed, pushing his head away from his neck. He jotted something in his notebook and said casually, “The crown looks terrible.”