Just recently, he had declined an invitation for dinner citing the need to study, but now he was shamelessly bringing another man to the cafeteria, sitting conspicuously in the elegant seats on the second floor.

Jing Tian was extremely embarrassed.

“Um… well…”

He stumbled over his words, unable to come up with a proper explanation, when Zheng Xunqian spoke up.

“What’s wrong?” He said this while half-turning his body, his gaze fixed on Jing Tian’s face as if Chu Chen Tao wasn’t even there. “Don’t like this secluded spot?”

“Oh, isn’t this your boy?” Another voice, completely unfamiliar to Jing Tian, came from behind Chu Chen Tao. “So you’ve invited someone else too, no wonder you were in such a hurry to leave.”

Jing Tian followed the voice and saw a tall, thin guy.

His words were directed at Chu Chen Tao, referring to Jing Tian as “your boy.”

Jing Tian felt even more awkward.

“Yeah,” Chu Chen Tao responded with an unpleasant expression, “You should go back first. I have something to attend to.”

The guy smiled at Jing Tian, then quickly left.

“Do you still have something to do, Senior?” Jing Tian’s eyes shifted nervously. “Then, um…”

Please, just leave!

Unfortunately, his silent pleas didn’t get through.

Chu Chen Tao remained in place, glaring at him with an unfriendly expression.

The scene felt like he had been caught red-handed cheating on his boyfriend outside.

In addition to feeling guilty, Jing Tian also felt wronged.

As a poor lonely single dog whose romantic world had always been barren, how did he end up with this inexplicable emotional debt?

The two of them stared at each other, but Zheng Xunqian was completely unaffected, acting natural and friendly. His tone was even more intimate than before. “Why are you standing there? You said you were hungry just now.”

As he spoke, he casually passed by Chu Chen Tao and headed to the seat he had pointed out earlier.

After hesitating for half a second, Jing Tian took a few steps forward. He didn’t want to leave Chu Chen Tao alone but also felt awkward staying. So, he politely said, “Senior, I’ll go over there first, okay?”

“Wait a moment,” Chu Chen Tao grabbed his wrist, “Can you bring one more person with you?”

When Chu Chen Tao sat down opposite Zheng Xunqian, Zheng Xunqian could no longer ignore him.

“…Why are we sharing a table when there are so many empty seats?” He muttered while looking at the menu.

“Feel free to order whatever you want, my treat!” Jing Tian raised his voice, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere at the table.

“I’ve already eaten,” Chu Chen Tao said, “Just sit for a while.”

Zheng Xunqian slowly raised his head, glanced at him, then turned his gaze back to the menu and said, “Let’s go with today’s recommended dish.”

Jing Tian nodded and was about to get up to order when Chu Chen Tao spoke up, “He can’t eat spicy food, don’t you know that?”

The recommended dish for the day was assorted dry pot, recommended for two to three people, with a small chili symbol next to it.

“It’s okay, I can order something else!” Jing Tian hurriedly waved his hand.

Zheng Xunqian pursed his lips, reached out, and pushed him back into his seat. “You decide, I’m not picky.”

“I can eat spicy food, it’s just that…” Jing Tian nervously explained, “I can just rinse it with some clear water!”

“It won’t taste good that way,” Chu Chen Tao said, reaching for the menu and pointing to a dish in the corner. “You used to love this soup pot, give it a try.”

He was referring to the carp fish head and tofu soup pot, which Jing Tian had loved since childhood.

Jing Tian tentatively looked at Zheng Xunqian.

“I’m fine with it,” Zheng Xunqian said.

The fish head pot at the school cafeteria was unexpectedly delicious.

The pure white fish soup sprinkled with a little white pepper was fragrant, the vermicelli was soft but not mushy, and the tofu was tender and delicious.

Jing Tian drank two bowls of soup in one breath, still wanting more.

“You used to order this all the time. Sometimes when you were craving it and too lazy to come over, I would specially pack it and bring it to your dorm,” Chu Chen Tao said.

He had already eaten his fill a while ago and barely touched his chopsticks, but his words seemed to be directed at Jing Tian, even though his gaze occasionally swept over to Zheng Xunqian.

Zheng Xunqian remained silent, not looking at him, sitting upright and chewing slowly.

Jing Tian was completely absorbed in the delicious food, sweating as he drank, momentarily unaware of the subtle atmosphere around him.

“Watch your sleeve,” Chu Chen Tao reminded Jing Tian, “You almost touched it.”

Jing Tian quickly raised his hand.

He was pouring soup over his rice, and the pot was only half full, a bit shallow. He hadn’t paid attention when he reached out and almost touched the greasy surface.

“Senior, why don’t you have some?” He felt a bit embarrassed, “This pot is so big, the two of us can’t finish it.”

Chu Chen Tao took the soup spoon symbolically and scooped some into his bowl, then said, “Why aren’t you wearing your bracelet these days?”

Jing Tian looked at his empty wrist and smiled. “I’m not used to it, so I took it off.”

In addition to the bracelet, he had also removed the earrings hanging from his ears.

Whenever he went out, he would only wear the simplest clothes from his wardrobe.

In a few days, when Yang Yue had time to dye his hair again, he would be back to his original low-key appearance.

The only difference from before was that he had taken off his glasses.

According to Yang Yue, he had undergone laser surgery during his freshman winter vacation.

Ignoring the external differences, not having to wear glasses was just too convenient. Jing Tian greatly appreciated his decision at the time.

“It looked good on you,” Chu Chen Tao seemed a bit regretful, “Your taste is excellent, and you always look very comfortable.”

Yang Yue had said similar things before.

He said that just by looking at those photos, one could tell that Jing Tian didn’t belong to the flashy and unserious type, but rather had a lot of style and looked very trendy.

“I don’t have much time to focus on these things now…” Jing Tian lowered his head, “In a few days, I plan to dye my hair back.”

Chu Chen Tao seemed hesitant to say something but stopped himself. His expression clearly showed that he wanted to persuade Jing Tian.

“…Afraid of attracting too much attention?” Zheng Xunqian, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up.

Jing Tian smiled and nodded.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t get tattoos in obvious places,” Zheng Xunqian said, “Removing tattoos is much more troublesome than dyeing hair.”

Jing Tian was suddenly surprised. “I have tattoos?!”

He glanced at Chu Chen Tao as he spoke, and Chu Chen Tao also looked surprised.

“Yes,” Zheng Xunqian raised his hand and pointed towards his body, “On your back, a little further down from the waist.”

Jing Tian stared at him dumbfoundedly, mouth agape, but didn’t say anything.

Further down from the waist… that would be the butt.

Zheng Xunqian had seen the tattoo that Jing Tian himself had yet to notice, and there was only one reason for that.

Chu Chen Tao undoubtedly realized this too, and his gaze towards Jing Tian became deep and unreadable.

Zheng Xunqian remained calm as he leisurely served himself some soup.

Unconsciously, Jing Tian reached out and randomly touched the area below his waist and above his butt, asking, “What… what’s the pattern?”

“It’s hard to describe,” Zheng Xunqian set down the ladle, “I took a photo last time, I’ll send it to you later.”

Jing Tian’s mouth hung open, blinked a couple of times, and soon his cheeks were burning.

“A photo?” Chu Chen Tao’s voice sounded with strong skepticism.

“It was taken with consent,” Zheng Xunqian said, lowering his head to sip the soup.

Chu Chen Tao stared straight at Jing Tian, his eyes expressing a myriad of thoughts.

Not long ago, on the day Jing Tian lost his memory, he had earnestly said that Zheng Xunqian wasn’t trustworthy, and he believed Jing Tian wouldn’t do anything to betray him.

…It seemed like not only had he done something, but he had also left a memento.

Jing Tian stiffened all over and abruptly sat up. “I, I have something to do! I’m going back first!”

His cheeks were burning, his brain buzzing, about to explode; he just wanted to escape from this place as quickly as possible.

“Wait,” Chu Chen Tao stood up, “You…”

He seemed undecided about what to say and fell into a brief pause.

Jing Tian turned his head, afraid to look at him.

Wasn’t this considered concrete evidence of infidelity? What was he even thinking back then? This was so wrong.

Now, he had no capability to handle this mess at all.

After hesitating for a while, Chu Chen Tao asked a question completely unrelated to the previous topic, “Why did you ask for my birthday earlier?”

Jing Tian realized belatedly that he hadn’t replied to Chu Chen Tao’s message.

Oh no, it seemed like he had done something stupid again.

Zheng Xunqian, who had shown little reaction when Jing Tian said he was leaving earlier, finally raised his head at this remark.

“…You asked him about that?” He looked at Jing Tian, raising his eyebrows slightly.