Chapter 130

Mo Yin immediately knew, for some reason, that the number belonged to Li Xiu. He could even imagine the expression Li Xiu had when sending the message, or the tone and demeanor he would have when saying these words to him face-to-face.

It was a strange thing indeed.

Among all the people who approached him, intentionally or unintentionally, Li Xiu was the only one whose intentions Mo Yin couldn’t decipher.

He had suspected whether Li Xiu was getting close to him to mock him, or if Li Xiu found his own comfortable life too dull and wanted to see how someone from a different background climbed upward in adversity.

But perhaps the answer wasn’t so simple.

Li Xiu was genuinely interested in him.

Not out of pity or desire to possess him.

Perhaps it was merely curiosity.

Just as Mo Yin had begun to feel curious about Li Xiu…

Mo Yin stared at his phone screen, his gaze somewhat unfocused. Suddenly, he felt a strange fear.

He was establishing a new connection with someone, and he had only just realized it himself.

This couldn’t continue.

It would lead to problems if it continued.

Mo Yin stared at the message for a while, then added the number to his block list. He flipped his phone upside down on the table, then leaned on the table. He hadn’t closed the curtains before leaving, and the sunlight warmed the surface of the desk, making it comfortable to lean on.

His thoughts wandered in emptiness, his body trembling slightly. His breathing was irregular—fast, then slow. He could dislike Li Xiu, he could be hostile towards him, but he couldn’t allow himself to actually be afraid of continuing to develop something with Li Xiu.

Was this another form of surrender?

If so, what had he lost to?

What if this was Li Xiu’s way of provoking him?

What did Li Xiu want to gain from this?

Surely he didn’t just want to disturb his thoughts? Li Xiu had claimed not to care about winning or losing, and Mo Yin actually wanted to believe that Li Xiu hadn’t lied to him.

Mo Yin’s mind was in turmoil.

Gradually, this thread-like confusion twisted together into a small point.

Everything external disappeared, leaving him to question himself: Did Mo Yin really want to further engage with Li Xiu?

——[We can’t be friends, but we can communicate.]

*

Life finally reached a somewhat satisfactory state for Mo Yin.

He performed well in training sessions, teachers valued him, and he received more praise than Li Xiu did. When he was praised, Li Xiu would smile at him in a way that wasn’t as annoying.

Li Xiu started having meals with Mo Yin. The first time Li Xiu sat opposite Mo Yin, Mo Yin felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave. Fortunately, Li Xiu didn’t speak to him, behaving like a random classmate who happened to sit nearby. They quietly finished their meal and returned to their dormitory. On the way, Li Xiu discussed topics with him, a form of interaction Mo Yin could accept, quietly rebutting Li Xiu.

Gradually, he got used to it.

Li Xiu wasn’t noisy, had a pleasant fragrance about him, and could engage in deep discussions on topics without straying off-topic. Mo Yin found him to be quite a conversational classmate.

Sometimes in the evening, Li Xiu would come to his dormitory, saying nothing and doing nothing, lying on an empty wooden board. Mo Yin would do his assignments, occasionally glancing back at Li Xiu, who had his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling lost in thought.

Mo Yin still felt curious.

He believed Li Xiu was curious too.

At times like this, it was a test of who could hold out longer.

So Mo Yin held back, bowing his head to continue with his assignments.

This gradual curiosity didn’t become the burden Mo Yin had imagined, but rather a small seasoning in his routine life.

Perhaps people were always short-sighted and greedy. Once life stabilized, needs that had never been present before emerged.

He had been so reluctant to establish any connections with others, yet now he didn’t mind having a “corpse” in the dormitory who could breathe.

Occasionally, people passed by in the corridor, chatting loudly. The dormitory wasn’t soundproof, but Mo Yin didn’t find it too noisy. Instead, he felt the dormitory was very quiet.

Li Xiu turned out to be such a quiet person. He hadn’t expected that.

Thunder rumbled outside, and rain poured down. Raindrops beat against the window. Mo Yin turned his head, and rain streaks instantly covered the window.

“I like the rain,” Li Xiu suddenly spoke up.

Mo Yin turned to look at Li Xiu again. Li Xiu tilted his head slightly, watching the rain outside.

Mo Yin said, “I don’t like it.”

On rainy days, the hallway smelled bad, and so did the room. Normally subtle odors seeped out of the walls with the rain, nauseating.

Mo Yin didn’t want to explain the reason to Li Xiu because it was very personal to him, not something Li Xiu needed to understand. As for Li Xiu liking rain, there must be his own personal reasons, which Mo Yin also didn’t need to understand.

They just exchanged such brief dialogue, without a beginning or an end.

Mo Yin finished the last page of his question bank and asked Li Xiu, “Have you finished?”

“I’m done.”

Mo Yin couldn’t believe it. “When?”

“In class.”

“What class?”

“Some exam review class. You can skip it; the teacher won’t mind.”

Mo Yin felt deceived. “Didn’t you say you didn’t care about winning or losing?”

“Yeah,” Li Xiu sat up on the bed, nearly hitting his head on the bed board, “not caring and doing or not doing are two different things.”

Mo Yin couldn’t understand. If he didn’t care, why bother doing things? Like how he didn’t care about socializing or what others thought, living life the way he wanted.

Seeing Mo Yin’s confusion, Li Xiu smiled out of habit, then removed the mask-like smile. “I have many things I don’t want to do but should.”

“Such as ranking first?” Mo Yin asked casually.

“Sort of.”

Li Xiu said, “I…”

After his “I,” he said nothing more. Changing the subject, he asked, “Do you ever do things you don’t want to do?”

Mo Yin thought for a moment and replied, “Of course.”

“I didn’t want to live in the dorm with Mo Yufan and them, but I found a way to get a single room,” Mo Yin said with a hint of pride.

Li Xiu smiled genuinely. Mo Yin could tell.

“I have many things I don’t want to do,” Li Xiu said. “Too many to count. But I also have things I don’t want to do. If doing things I don’t want to do can make some people happy, then I’ll do them. That’s how I see it.”

“You don’t want to do anything?” Mo Yin rested his chin on his hand, his tone neutral without mockery. “Maybe you have everything already.”

“Maybe.”

Li Xiu had explored this argument himself. Because he had everything, he didn’t want anything. But Li Xiu felt it wasn’t so simple.

“Do you ever get a feeling?” Li Xiu smiled at Mo Yin. “God gave you so much, but took away the most important thing. It’s terrible because you don’t know what it is, but you often feel lonely, like walking in the dark without direction or purpose, and sometimes you don’t even feel lonely,” Li Xiu said, “because emotions are also gone.”

Mo Yin found it strange how such seemingly aimless words could sting his brain like that. It felt like when Li Xiu talked about NPCs in the bookstore last time, as if he had experienced it himself…

The thunder outside stopped, and lightning flashed twice more. The outside world was momentarily bright as day. Li Xiu said again, “Actually, there are things I do want to do,” he smiled at Mo Yin, “but it’s best not to say them out loud.”

“What can’t you say?” Mo Yin asked back. “Could it be…?” Then he seemed to realize something, hesitated for a moment, his expression turned slightly unpleasant, and his gaze momentarily unfocused.

Li Xiu said, “There’s something I wanted to do, and I did it.”

Mo Yin focused on Li Xiu’s face, listening to him say amidst the roaring thunder, “Become friends with you.”

*

The day after tomorrow was the competition. The teacher’s training session ended, and each person received individual encouragement, especially Mo Yin. The teacher spoke to him for a long time, regretting Mo Yin’s abandonment last year and appreciating his efforts this year. “Teacher knows it hasn’t been easy for you. Keep up the good work.”

Mo Yin felt a warmth in his heart after hearing this, bowing his head to hide his expression.

As he walked out of the teacher’s office, Li Xiu was waiting for him. Mo Yin asked, “What did the teacher say to you?”

“Nothing much just asked me to work hard this year,” Mo Yin replied.

“It sounds about the same for everyone,” Mo Yin smirked.

Li Xiu chuckled again, “The teacher cheers everyone on, it’s normal.”

“I don’t need you to teach me that.”

They continued walking and talking, while Zhong Jiaming watched from behind. Some classmates called him over, and Zhong Jiaming reluctantly tore his gaze away.

Back in the classroom, there was one more class in the afternoon.

Mo Yin felt a bit nervous about the upcoming competition.

In this class, the math teacher reviewed a test paper from yesterday. Mo Yin had scored full marks. He placed the paper on his desk, feeling his heart beat faster for a moment. With determination, he took out the training booklet of mistakes to review.

After the math teacher finished, he passed by Mo Yin’s desk without any overt criticism.

Mo Yin smiled to himself, realizing how much time he had wasted before, and that interacting with Li Xiu hadn’t been entirely useless.

After class, it was time for dinner. Mo Yin didn’t rush to the cafeteria; instead of competing for time with others, he preferred to stay quietly in the classroom and review some more questions. After waiting about ten minutes, the queue in the cafeteria would be shorter.

When everyone had left the classroom, Li Xiu came in and leaned against the doorway, waiting for Mo Yin to go to dinner together.

In October, the lingering heat of summer remained. At this time, the sun hadn’t completely set yet, and the evening sunlight was cool. Its golden rays fell on Li Xiu, casting a slanted shadow on Mo Yin.

Mo Yin kept his head down, looking at the booklet of mistakes. He knew Li Xiu was waiting for him, but there was no need for formalities between them. They didn’t talk much during meals.

Evening was the time they conversed, though not for long—just a few minutes, during which they curiously learned more about each other. Li Xiu was a bit different from what Mo Yin had imagined, and he wondered if it was the same for Li Xiu.

Quietness—that was the predominant feeling for Mo Yin during this period. Life had become so peaceful.

When Mo Yin felt it was time to head to the cafeteria, he took out his phone. His calm expression suddenly changed.

Since the last incident, he had set his phone to silent during classes.

There were over a dozen missed call notifications on his phone, all from the same number.

Mo Yin stood up abruptly.

The chair scraped loudly against the floor.

Li Xiu looked over and noticed Mo Yin’s face had turned pale.