Jing Tian deliberately slowed his pace, causing the distance between them and Zheng Xunqian to grow larger and larger. It seemed that they would soon completely disappear from each other’s sight.

Seeing this, Yang Yue cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted ahead, “Zheng Xunqian! Slow down!”

Jing Tian reached out to pull him, “Why are you shouting at him?”

“If you’re not angry, can’t we walk together?” Yang Yue said, “Or does he have something urgent to do?”

Jing Tian didn’t say anything, stretching his neck forward to look.

Clearly hearing Yang Yue’s shout, Zheng Xunqian immediately slowed down, taking a few steps forward before stopping and turning around.

Jing Tian quickly looked away.

“Don’t pretend. What’s going on?” Taking advantage of the distance, Yang Yue asked softly with a helpless look, “Weren’t things fine just now? I was only gone for about ten minutes. How did it escalate?”

Jing Tian didn’t intentionally hide anything from him, but those unclear little emotions were difficult to put into words at the moment, making it hard to express.

Zheng Xunqian stood still for a while, but didn’t wait for them to catch up completely. When there was still about six or seven meters between them, he turned around and walked forward again.

After that, he slightly slowed down, maintaining a relative standstill with the two behind him.

Yang Yue tried to catch up with Jing Tian, who refused to cooperate.

They walked awkwardly all the way to the dormitory area, where Zheng Xunqian stopped again.

Seeing him turn around, Yang Yue said to him awkwardly as they walked, “Why are you walking so fast? We can’t catch up, haha.”

Jing Tian kept his head down, silent.

Feeling ashamed that Yang Yue had discovered his disagreement with Zheng Xunqian, Jing Tian felt a bit embarrassed. But towards Zheng Xunqian, he didn’t want to hide his emotions at all. Even if it was unreasonable and had no basis, he hoped Zheng Xunqian would know that he was not happy right now.

As they approached, Zheng Xunqian finally spoke, “I’ll go back to the dormitory first.”

He waited specifically for them just to say this.

Jing Tian became even more upset.

He kept his head down and said nothing. Yang Yue, feeling awkward standing there, didn’t know what to do. Both of them remained silent. Even though Zheng Xunqian had bid them farewell, he still stood there without leaving.

The atmosphere was strange.

“Do you have anything else to say to Jing Tian?” Yang Yue spoke loudly. “Um…my takeaway is about to arrive, so I’ll leave first? You guys talk!”

After saying that, without waiting for Jing Tian’s response, he hurriedly left, leaving Jing Tian and Zheng Xunqian staring at each other in surprise.

After a moment, Zheng Xunqian still didn’t speak or leave. Jing Tian lowered his head and said, “Didn’t you say you were going back to the dorm?”

“Not in a hurry,” Zheng Xunqian said.

Jing Tian looked up and found him looking back at him. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and Jing Tian’s mood improved slightly.

“What about you?” Zheng Xunqian asked.

“…I’m not in a hurry either,” Jing Tian said.

He didn’t know what he was upset about or what he wanted specifically. He guessed that what he wanted should be something very simple and pure.

It was what Zheng Xunqian still owed him.

He was upset now, angry at Zheng Xunqian, feeling him annoying. Yet, deep down, he didn’t want to part ways with him like this. He wanted to talk to Zheng Xunqian a little more.

“Oh,” Zheng Xunqian said with a nod, taking a half step forward and getting closer to him.

Jing Tian’s mood also eased slightly.

The two of them stood quietly for a while. Zheng Xunqian suddenly asked, “Have you remembered anything else recently?”

The topic suddenly changed, catching Jing Tian off guard. “What?”

“Besides things related to me, have you remembered anything else?” Zheng Xunqian asked.

Jing Tian nodded slightly. “A little.”

They were all very fragmented and mundane fragments, unclear and without cause or effect, suddenly popping out of his mind like bubbles emerging from the bottom of the water.

Some were related to Zheng Xunqian, some to Yang Yue, and some to his classmates, his life, and his mood.

They were all very ordinary, seemingly unimportant, yet gradually making him feel fulfilled.

Zheng Xunqian spoke again, mentioning an unexpected name, “What about Chu Chen Tao? How much do you remember about him?”

Jing Tian was suddenly surprised.

Since their last disagreement, he had had little contact with Chu Chen Tao, almost completely disappearing from his world. Zheng Xunqian had not paid attention to Chu Chen Tao in the past, barely remembered his name a few days ago. So why did he suddenly bring it up now?

After a short period of bewilderment, Jing Tian shook his head. “I haven’t remembered anything.”

So far, all his memories of Chu Chen Tao were still limited to high school. The so-called confession, the breakup, he had no impression of any of it, feeling no sense of reality.

Jing Tian once thought that those were unimportant, and it didn’t matter if he couldn’t remember them.

Rather than saying he couldn’t remember, it was better to say he had never tried to recall them.

“Why mention him?” he asked Zheng Xunqian.

Zheng Xunqian turned his head, no longer looking at him. “He said, before you lost your memory, you two were in a relationship.”

Jing Tian furrowed his brows. “…So?”

“Nothing,” Zheng Xunqian shook his head. “Just a speculation. Maybe from his perspective, he wasn’t lying.”

Jing Tian was stunned, then asked louder after a moment, “What do you mean?”

“Literally,” Zheng Xunqian said, “Could he have unilaterally assumed that he was really your boyfriend?”

“…I don’t remember,” Jing Tian said. “I don’t know.”

Why mention this at a time like this? Even if it were true, Jing Tian didn’t want to take responsibility for it now. He was sure he didn’t like Chu Chen Tao, and being with him wouldn’t make him happy. Chu Chen Tao’s mean remarks that day had completely shattered all the goodwill he had accumulated towards him during high school. If his past self did have feelings for him, it was surely only due to not knowing him well enough.

“Yeah,” Zheng Xunqian said. “So you can just pretend like nothing ever happened.”

“What exactly are you trying to say?” Jing Tian asked. “Why mention him?”

It was too strange. Zheng Xunqian seemed to be speaking up for Chu Chen Tao.

“Nothing, just a random guess,” Zheng Xunqian said.

Jing Tian bit his lip. “That’s nonsensical.”

Zheng Xunqian chuckled softly, though his expression remained calm, showing no signs of joy. “I’m going back to the dorm.”

He turned and took a step forward, then quickly remembered something else, turning back to look at Jing Tian. “You’ve just recovered, so go back and rest well.”

Jing Tian stared at him, not responding.

Zheng Xunqian didn’t mind and turned back again, walking forward once more.

Watching him gradually disappear into the distance, Jing Tian took a shallow breath and shouted, “you are really annoying!”

After shouting, without waiting for Zheng Xunqian’s reaction, he turned and ran.

Opening the door to the dorm, Yang Yue, who was sitting at the table, immediately looked up at him.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing his expression, Yang Yue frowned. “Another fight?”

“…No,” Jing Tian quickly walked to the table and sat down. “We didn’t fight.”

Yang Yue didn’t believe him at all, looking at him, hesitating to speak.

“What’s there to fight about? We just don’t get along,” Jing Tian said.

Yang Yue sat down beside him. “That’s still a fight.”

Jing Tian didn’t know how to refute, so he pressed his lips together and said nothing.

“What’s really going on?” Yang Yue asked.

“I don’t know,” Jing Tian said. “It’s not that I’m not telling you, I really don’t know.”

Seeing Yang Yue looking confused, he added, “That guy is crazy!”

After saying that, he immediately felt a surge of grievance in his heart and stood up again. “He must be trying to trick me!”

“Trick you? How?” Yang Yue asked.

“…The way you mentioned last time,” Jing Tian said.

Not being proactive, non committal, not taking responsibility. Zheng Xunqian occasionally took the initiative, but clearly had no intention of taking responsibility.

“That’s unlikely,” Yang Yue widened his eyes and blinked. “He doesn’t seem like it?”

Jing Tian remained silent.

“Don’t overthink it when you’re angry,” Yang Yue reached out to pull him. “Sit down and relax.”

Jing Tian obediently sat down again, still silent.

“It’s normal for couples to argue,” Yang Yue comforted him. “He’s that type of person, so there’s bound to be some friction. Just don’t…”

“We’re not dating,” Jing Tian interrupted. “We’re not in that kind of relationship.”

Yang Yue laughed. “You’re being stubborn.”

“It’s true,” Jing Tian emphasized before adding in a low voice, “At least… at least not from his perspective.”

Yang Yue was silent for a moment, then tentatively asked, “So, is the problem here?”

Jing Tian suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

So, the problem was here.

Immediately, he felt even more aggrieved. So, when Zheng Xunqian mentioned Chu Chen Tao, what was he trying to express? Advising him not to unilaterally fall into love and humiliation?

Jing Tian sniffed and stood up again. “I’m going to take a shower!”

Yang Yue looked at him worriedly but didn’t say anything.

After spending some time under the hot water, Jing Tian finally calmed down a bit.

After drying off and getting dressed, he walked out of the bathroom. Yang Yue was still sitting at the table, and as soon as he heard movement, he looked up.

Jing Tian suddenly felt a bit guilty. He had caused Yang Yue to worry about him because of his emotional tiff with Zheng Xunqian.

“I’m fine,” he smiled at Yang Yue. “You do your thing.”

“What thing? I’m studying,” Yang Yue sighed. “It’s making me dizzy. Now you’re much more stable than me because…..”

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

Jing Tian could guess what he was going to say.

You’re much more stable than me for next week’s quiz because of Zheng Xunqian.

“After all, you’ve worked hard!” Yang Yue tried to completely erase Zheng Xunqian’s contribution. “You reap what you sow!”

“Let’s not talk about this,” Jing Tian sat down beside him to ease the awkwardness and changed the subject. “I have something to ask you.”

Yang Yue immediately sat up straight. “Go ahead!”

Jing Tian felt a bit embarrassed and smiled at him. “What exactly happened between me and Chu Chen Tao back then?”

“…Why mention him all of a sudden?” Yang Yue was puzzled.

Because there’s a lunatic who suddenly mentioned him.

“Just curious,” Jing Tian said. “I don’t have any feelings for him now anyway. Just tell me.”