Jing Tian quickly lowered his head.

Meeting Zheng Xunqian’s gaze made him flustered. He didn’t care about saving face; he was willing to show weakness. But even so, he remained stubborn.

“Why should I hold hands with you?” he asked.

Zheng Xunqian’s response was irritating as ever. “Because you like me.”

“Narcissist!” Jing Tian glared at him. “I wish you could share some of your confidence with me!”

With that, he quickly turned and continued walking ahead, taking large strides.

Zheng Xunqian casually followed along.

“Sure,” he said to Jing Tian. “I’ll give you whatever you want.”

Jing Tian was speechless.

For a moment, he felt bewildered, unable to distinguish whether Zheng Xunqian was actually capable of conversation. This rascal always managed to infuriate him and then casually say things that made his face flush and his heart race.

After a moment of inner conflict, Jing Tian suddenly realized. This was so similar to before. This bad guy was best at giving a stick and then a date, dangling carrots in front of him like a donkey.

Ignore him. Don’t foolishly follow along anymore.

I’d rather starve than look at your false carrots.

… Unless you bring it to my mouth and feed me.

Lost in thought, Jing Tian noticed that Zheng Xunqian was silent, no longer speaking.

Inside the cafeteria, Jing Tian lined up for food, with Zheng Xunqian following behind. Jing Tian carried his tray to find a seat, and Zheng Xunqian followed suit.

It was a bit early, so the cafeteria wasn’t too crowded, and there were empty seats everywhere.

Jing Tian found a corner and sat down casually. As soon as he did, Zheng Xunqian sat opposite him as if it were only natural.

Jing Tian glared at him, but he remained unfazed.

Jing Tian thought about getting up to change seats, his hands hovering over the tray, hesitating. The experience in class just now told him that Zheng Xunqian probably wouldn’t follow.

Realizing his inner conflict, Jing Tian felt embarrassed. He lowered his head, trying to ignore Zheng Xunqian sitting across from him, and focused on eating his meal in silence.

“Slow down, eating too fast isn’t good for digestion,” Zheng Xunqian reminded him. “You just had gastroenteritis not long ago, remember to be careful.”

Jing Tian’s movements paused slightly.

He remembered that night. Zheng Xunqian stayed up with him, tired but refusing to return to his own dorm room after arriving at school, insisting on squeezing onto the same bed.

And then they kissed.

Jing Tian tightened his grip on his chopsticks and looked up. “…Do you have anything else to say to me?”

After a moment of thought, Zheng Xunqian said, “You’ve been studying diligently lately, making good progress. You haven’t forgotten what you’ve learned, have you?”

“…”

Jing Tian wasn’t very good at lying. Before, when he deceived Zheng Xunqian about amnesia, it was because he kept silent and pretended to be dead. Now, he didn’t know how to handle these details.

“I heard that the brain stores knowledge and memory in different areas,” Zheng Xunqian continued. “Can you understand today’s class?”

“Uh, yes, I can,” Jing Tian quickly went along.

Zheng Xunqian nodded. “That’s good.”

Jing Tian lowered his head again and continued eating his rice. Halfway through, he remembered Zheng Xunqian’s reminder earlier, and his movements slowed down as he tried to chew and swallow slowly.

“If you don’t understand anything, feel free to ask me,” Zheng Xunqian said.

Jing Tian reluctantly replied, “No need, I can keep up now.”

Zheng Xunqian smiled, then sighed lightly. “Just use and throw away.”

Jing Tian glanced at him quickly and said loudly, “Yeah, I’m shameless like that.”

Zheng Xunqian was taken aback.

Suddenly feeling a little better, Jing Tian continued, “And good at judging people.”

It meant that he was only shameless with him, because he was shameless too.

But Zheng Xunqian seemed to interpret it completely differently. He nodded and said with a smile, “Okay.”

Something felt off. Jing Tian looked away and fell silent.

After finishing their meal, Zheng Xunqian suggested going to the study room, but Jing Tian quickly refused.

He didn’t want to be alone with him.

The two walked silently back to the dormitory, neither speaking for most of the way.

In the end, it was Jing Tian who couldn’t resist speaking first. “Why have you been following me like this? What do you want?”

“I just want to be with you,” Zheng Xunqian said.

Jing Tian’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately pressed for an answer. “Why do you want to be with me? What benefit is there in seeing me?”

Zheng Xunqian fell silent.

Jing Tian waited for a while, growing impatient. “Say something!”

Zheng Xunqian smiled softly. “Looks like you’ve regained your memory, and your patience has decreased.”

Actually, Jing Tian’s patience had never been that great; it was just the difference between mumbling in his heart and saying it out loud.

“Any complaints?” he asked.

“None,” Zheng Xunqian shook his head. “You’re very cute.”

“…”

Zheng Xunqian looked at the side of his face and continued, “It’s not much different.”

His words seemed to carry a hint of teasing.

Jing Tian turned his head to the other side, leaving him with only the back of his head and a reddened ear.

“Feeling shy?” he asked.

Jing Tian not only felt embarrassed, but his emotions escalated to the point of becoming annoyed and angry: “You’re making me mad!”

Zheng Xunqian blinked, then asked him, “Why?”

“Do you remember your actions from the beginning?” Jing Tian suddenly turned his head, glaring at him, “Are you trying to completely avoid discussing it, pretending like nothing ever happened?”

Zheng Xunqian looked away.

Jing Tian stared at him, “I’ll ask you again, do you have anything to say?”

Zheng Xunqian remained silent for a while before answering, “…I couldn’t have been that bad, right? Were you just saying things out of anger that day?”

Jing Tian didn’t immediately grasp the situation, looking at him with confusion.

Continuing, Zheng Xunqian said, “At least, you seemed quite satisfied the other night.”

“…”

Jing Tian took a deep breath, opened his mouth, then closed it again, thinking, why the hell did I ever like this person?

With a hint of regret, Zheng Xunqian said, “It’s just some side effects of amnesia.”

“You…” Jing Tian tried to calm himself down, pointing at Zheng Xunqian, “Wait for me downstairs for five minutes.”

“Why?” Zheng Xunqian asked.

“I don’t need your tablet anymore, so I’m returning it to you,” Jing Tian said abruptly.

At this sudden mention, he felt a bit resentful. Zheng Xunqian seemed to ponder for a moment before asking, “How did you know that tablet was mine?”

Jing Tian was taken aback, his gaze shifting, “Because… because Yang Yue told me!”

Without further ado, Zheng Xunqian nodded and turned to walk towards his own dormitory building, saying, “See you tomorrow.”

Jing Tian stood silently in place, watching his retreating figure, then shouted, “Following me like this won’t do you any good!”

Turning back, Zheng Xunqian asked, “Then what would?”

Jing Tian bit his lip. He wanted to say that nothing would help, but he held back.

As he turned and ran back inside, he yelled, “Figure it out yourself!”

Back in the dorm room, Yang Yue and Shu Ziqin had finished a game and were discussing it.

Or rather, Yang Yue was criticizing Shu Ziqin’s performance in the game while Shu Ziqin listened attentively, occasionally nodding and asking questions.

Yang Yue was quite pleased with Shu Ziqin’s earnest attitude. Seeing Jing Tian return, he smiled and invited him to join in for a game, suggesting they play together after a long time.

After hesitating for a moment, Jing Tian agreed.

Although he wasn’t as passionate about the game as Yang Yue, his rank was higher. Originally, he didn’t want to join in just to be a bystander, but now he felt troubled and wanted something to divert his attention.

As the three formed a team and entered the game, Jing Tian’s phone suddenly started lagging, followed by a call notification.

Seeing Chu Chen Tao’s name, Jing Tian felt a surge of annoyance. Thankfully, after dismissing the call and returning to the game, everything was fine.

He breathed a sigh of relief, and they continued playing. But just as they were about to win a team fight, his phone lagged again.

And once more, Chu Chen Tao’s name appeared.

Jing Tian cursed as he declined the call and returned to the game, only to find his character dead.

“Who keeps calling even after being rejected once?” Yang Yue, who had a short fuse when it came to gaming, was even angrier than Jing Tian and cursed, “What a moron! Block them!”

Before Jing Tian could say anything, the person who didn’t know any better called for the third time.

Taking a deep breath, Jing Tian answered, “Are you crazy or what?”