When Jing Tian decided to give up his revenge plan, there was still a trace of regret in his heart.

Quitting halfway through meant that all the grievances he had suffered before were in vain. However, considering it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble, and to prevent situations like today from happening again, he decided to let it go, for both the other person’s sake and his own.

He never expected that Zheng Xunqian would act even more recklessly than him.

After a brief moment of shock, Jing Tian quickly fell into embarrassment. Then, he began to worry. Zheng Xunqian had gone deep into the enemy’s territory alone. What if they got into a physical altercation? One against many, he would definitely come out worse.

Fortunately, less than five minutes later, Zheng Xunqian reported back safely. Jing Tian was already on his way to Chu Chen Tao’s dormitory, finally feeling relieved. Afterwards, he felt a pang of regret, wishing he could have witnessed the scene himself.

“It seems his roommates don’t like him much either,” Zheng Xunqian told him over the phone. “They pulled him away more than they pulled me.”

Jing Tian sighed, “Don’t be so impulsive next time!”

At this moment, Zheng Xunqian was quite obedient and replied, “Okay.”

Then, as if he was still worried, he reminded, “Don’t go looking for him again.”

“Don’t worry,” Jing Tian said, “I’ve already blocked him.”

As he heard faint laughter from his phone, Jing Tian’s gaze caught a blurry figure.

“Coincidentally,” Zheng Xunqian, who was walking out from the direction of the senior dormitory area, held his phone and smiled at him, “it seems we should still have dinner together.”

Jing Tian couldn’t find a reason to refuse.

The weekend arrived quickly.

Jing Tian arranged to meet Wei Shengnan at a hotel in the city center. Wei Shengnan had stayed in a hotel near the university city during her previous visits, but those places, which were considered affordable and pleasant by students, were too shabby for her taste.

Wei Shengnan, now in her middle age, had achieved financial freedom through years of hard work. In recent years, she had shifted her focus on enjoying life, caring for her son who had never needed her to worry about him in the past.

Jing Tian had always been a good kid in front of Wei Shengnan, studying diligently and actively participating in activities. This led Wei Shengnan to have a slight misunderstanding about the difficulty of “raising children.”

She always felt that Jing Tian’s changes over the past few years were too introverted.

In simple terms, she thought Jing Tian had become abnormal in silence.

Although there had been significant changes in appearance and personality, Jing Tian still behaved quite well in front of Wei Shengnan. When she said she wanted to stay farther away, he obediently traveled across the city to meet her.

After a long separation, Wei Shengnan warmly embraced him, carefully examining him from head to toe, and exclaimed with a smile, “You seem different from before.”

“I dyed my hair recently!” Jing Tian pointed to the top of his head.

“Not about the hair color,” Wei Shengnan squinted and looked up at him, then reached out to touch his pink head, “it’s about the feeling you give off, which is different from when I last saw you.”

“What’s different?” Jing Tian asked.

Wei Shengnan thought for a while but couldn’t come up with an answer.

Wei Shengnan’s flight arrived in the morning, and by the time they settled into the hotel, it was already past one in the afternoon. The two of them casually ordered some food at the hotel restaurant and discussed their plans for the afternoon.

“Isn’t there an aquarium nearby?” Wei Shengnan asked.

Jing Tian was taken aback, “Do you want to go?”

“It seems there’s also a dolphin show,” Wei Shengnan looked at the promotional posters on the restaurant wall, “let’s go see it?”

Jing Tian hesitated for a moment, “I just went there recently…”

“Is it fun?” Wei Shengnan asked with a smile, “Perfect, then you can be my tour guide.”

“…I don’t really want to go,” Jing Tian said, “Mom, you know, as cute as dolphin shows may seem, they’re actually quite cruel.”

Wei Shengnan looked at him puzzledly.

Jing Tian told Wei Shengnan everything that Zheng Xunqian had told him, and then said, “Let’s not go, let’s just sit and chat for a while, or I can accompany you shopping.”

Wei Shengnan listened quietly, lost in thought.

“It’s really cruel!” Jing Tian emphasized seriously, “Anyway, I’m not going.”

Wei Shengnan smiled, “I can see how you’ve changed. You’re much gentler than a few months ago.”

“Huh?” Jing Tian was puzzled.

He had always believed that he had never been arrogant or overbearing in front of Wei Shengnan, always being quite easygoing, and his tone during their conversation just now was nothing special.

“I don’t know how to describe it,” Wei Shengnan said, “but I feel that the way you speak and your expressions and tone are much softer now, and you seem more relaxed than before.”

Jing Tian thought to himself, perhaps it was because of that period of amnesia.

He had forcefully changed himself for two and a half years, which had made his nerves tense. Once relaxed, they couldn’t be tightened again. There was nothing wrong with that. As Wei Shengnan said, he was much more relaxed now.

But Wei Shengnan had a different interpretation, “Is it because you’re in love?”

Jing Tian’s face immediately turned red.

“Are you really dating that boy named Zheng Xunqian?” she asked.

Jing Tian’s eyes wandered, “…How did you know about me and him, that… I clearly…”

“I’m your mom,” Wei Shengnan said.

Jing Tian’s face turned even redder.

When he first complained to Wei Shengnan about Zheng Xunqian, his thoughts were very pure, just wanting to vent about having such a weird classmate.

But after several times, Wei Shengnan raised doubts about why he cared so much about that person. He realized belatedly and upon self-reflection, finally becoming aware of the unsettling feeling hidden in the depths of his heart.

Of course, he wouldn’t admit it out loud.

When sending those emails, Wei Shengnan was abroad, with very poor local signals, and instant messaging tools were not very usable, so they could only communicate through emails with difficulty.

After Wei Shengnan met with him, she asked if he had a crush on a boy named Zheng Xunqian. He vehemently denied it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep it hidden.

“It’s not like there’s any evidence, just a pure intuition,” Wei Shengnan said to him. “Whenever you mention him, something seems off about you.”

Jing Tian scratched his chin, lowered his head, and remained silent.

“I was initially worried that he might be scared off by you, but unexpectedly, it went smoothly,” Wei Shengnan asked again, “Looking at you now, you’re getting along well, right?”

Is this considered getting along well? Jing Tian questioned silently, afraid that Wei Shengnan would worry, so he didn’t say anything.

Wei Shengnan was very interested in her son’s love life. “How did he come to like you? Who confessed first?”

It should be me, Jing Tian thought.

Or perhaps, it’s not really about who confessed first; from start to finish, I was the only one who confessed.

As for what their relationship is now, Jing Tian couldn’t say for sure.

It’s like we’re together, yet not quite. He probably likes me too, but he hasn’t explicitly admitted it yet.

Because he hasn’t made it clear, I can’t get past that hurdle in my heart, so we always feel awkward. It’s like we’re just a breath away from being truly together, but fundamentally, it’s not much different from being together.

Last night, we studied together in the self-study room, and he walked me downstairs when we returned to the dormitory. Before parting, we kissed each other naturally.

But it seems like we haven’t officially reconciled yet.

How do I explain this clearly?

Seeing him conflicted and silent, Wei Shengnan felt somewhat worried. “…Isn’t it going well? Are you still like you used to be, all prickly and defensive in front of him?”

“I’m not!” Jing Tian denied instinctively.

“Every time you mention him to me, that’s how you are,” Wei Shengnan said. “Everyone can see it.”

Jing Tian remained silent, feeling strangely conflicted.

Wasn’t he exactly prickly and defensive in front of Zheng Xunqian before?

“Who doesn’t like someone who treats them gently and kindly?” Wei Shengnan continued, “Being too proud and stubborn all the time doesn’t lead to lasting relationships. Who wants to be pricked by thorns all day?”

After thinking for a moment, Jing Tian whispered defensively, “I’m not like that in front of him now…”

Wei Shengnan smiled, “It’s best to get along well. If someone is willing to tolerate you, you should also learn to appreciate them.”

“You’re making it sound like I’m terrible!” Jing Tian grumbled, “He has his flaws too!”

Seeing his reaction, Wei Shengnan assumed they were getting along well and her smile became even more apparent. “Mutual tolerance.”

Perhaps she was just speaking from experience, casually lecturing a bit.

But Jing Tian couldn’t help but think deeply.

In the past, he wasn’t just prickly; he always launched suicidal attacks like a cactus bombarding Zheng Xunqian.

And Zheng Xunqian could tolerate that.

Jing Tian felt a chill down his spine. Putting himself in Zheng Xunqian’s shoes, he might have been furious long ago, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they ended up fighting.

Was Zheng Xunqian’s head screwed on right to be interested in him?

Even after parting ways with Wei Shengnan and returning to school, Jing Tian still felt uneasy.

Wei Shengnan said tolerance is mutual. They didn’t have any major conflicts at their core now. What he had been brooding over were just old issues and a formal declaration.

Upon careful consideration, the one who truly tolerated it was probably Zheng Xunqian. 

With almost certainty about each other’s feelings, is saying “I like you” really that important?

Deep in thought as he returned to the dormitory, Jing Tian found Yang Yue also lost in thought.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking at Yang Yue, who was motionless and expressionless on the desk, a bit worried. “Did you fail the test?”

This morning, the school’s teaching system sent the results of the last test to everyone’s phones. Jing Tian’s efforts during this period hadn’t been in vain; his scores were quite good.

But for Yang Yue, who crammed at the last minute, it was uncertain.

“It just managed to pass the line.” Yang Yue said, sitting up.

“Amazing!” Jing Tian couldn’t help but applaud him. “Are you a genius to be able to pass even when you’re just goofing off every day?”

Yang Yue smiled wryly, “Thank you.”

“Then why do you look so down?” Jing Tian asked.

“…I don’t know how to put it,” Yang Yue looked conflicted, running his hand through his hair. “It’s hard to explain.”

Half concerned and half curious, Jing Tian sat next to him, looking at him, signaling him to continue.

“There’s something, it’s just my speculation, it may not be correct, and it’s a bit rude, so don’t laugh at me when I say it,” Yang Yue looked embarrassed, “I always feel… feel like… lunch seems to imply something to me…”

Jing Tian’s heart skipped a beat.

“…Is it just my overactive imagination?” Yang Yue asked.

“Well… it’s hard to say, and not necessarily,” Jing Tian’s gaze shifted, “He does treat you very well…”

“You told me before that he’s just a nice person, right,” Yang Yue said, sighing, “I didn’t think much of it at first, but today he asked me some questions, and the more I think about it, the more it doesn’t seem right.”

“What kind of questions?”

“About how you and Zheng Xunqian are, and stuff like that,” Yang Yue said, “At first, I thought he was just curious, but then I realized… he’s not really concerned about you two, it’s about my own… acceptance of… guys.”

Jing Tian cautiously asked, “So how do you feel about it now?”

“Embarrassed,” Yang Yue said.

Hearing him say this, Jing Tian also felt embarrassed. Seeing Yang Yue looking at him, in order to hide his slight discomfort, he pretended to be busy by casually opening the laptop on the desk.

As he regained his memory, he naturally remembered the computer’s boot password, but since he hadn’t used it during this time, he hadn’t opened it yet.

His password had nothing to do with Zheng Xunqian, it was set two years ago when he was determined to start anew. It was a bit embarrassing to say it out loud, it was the initials of “I am a lone wolf”.

As he silently typed on the keyboard, he planned to change it as soon as he logged in.

“What if it’s true, I… I don’t like guys, so I don’t know how to face him,” Yang Yue muttered with a pained expression, “But it’s not convenient for me to ask about this kind of thing, right? It would be so embarrassing if I got it wrong!”

“…Yeah, indeed,” Jing Tian nodded.

After entering the password, the computer automatically redirected to the desktop, and the chat software set to start up automatically appeared in the center of the screen.

Jing Tian casually logged in and scanned the code with his phone, quickly logging in.

“So… as friends, what do you think of him?” he asked Yang Yue.

“He’s pretty good,” Yang Yue said, “It’s just that I’m conflicted because I get along well with him. If I find him annoying, whether it’s true or not, I’d just ignore him.”

Do you want to try giving him a chance?

This sentence got stuck in Jing Tian’s throat, unsure if he should say it or not.

He wanted to help Shu Ziqin, but he also didn’t want to force Yang Yue. His own love life was still a mess, yet he was worrying about others, truly lacking self-awareness.

Jing Tian sighed and shifted his gaze back to the screen, then he froze.

At the top of the recently logged-in chat software, there was a conversation box with Zheng Xunqian. The content preview in the message line surprised him greatly.

In a hurry, he clicked it open and stared blankly at the unfamiliar sentences on the screen, his mind going blank.

Those weren’t messages Zheng Xunqian had sent just now.

The day he fell down the stairs, before leaving the dormitory, he had used the computer and logged into the chat software, setting up message synchronization.

Those messages that he hadn’t seen because of falling down the stairs, almost wiped out by the phone that was almost broken, were all synchronized to the computer that had never been turned off at the time.

—No, your ID card is with me.

—You don’t want your ID card anymore?

—Say something.

—Don’t be like this.

—Jing Tian, do you still like me?

—I think I kind of like you.

—I like you.