Chapter 16

Because he had previously searched for keywords like “how to pursue someone,” “quirky roommates,” and “online dating,” now whenever Bai Zining opened any app, he was bombarded with related topics.

After coming across a funny dormitory post, he forwarded it to Zhu Shizhou and asked at the same time: 【Gege, do you get along well with your roommate?】

Ferry: 【Normal relationship. Why?】

Bai Zining’s question had a bit of a personal agenda. First, he wanted to see if Zhu Shizhou was being truthful. Second, he hoped to gauge Zhu Shizhou’s true opinion of him.

Hawthorn Porridge: 【Because our dorm has a really good relationship, so I wanted to ask you.】

Hawthorn Porridge: 【Then, what kind of personalities do your roommates have, gege?】

Ferry: 【The guy in the bed opposite mine is in the same major as me and pretty talkative. The other two are from different departments, one is very kind, and the other… very cute.】

Bai Zining stared at the last two descriptions, deeply puzzled. The “different departments” clearly referred to him and Cai Yu, but neither of these evaluations matched the way he imagined Zhu Shizhou saw him.

He carefully typed his response: 【You don’t often hear people describe guys as cute.】

Ferry: 【That’s true, but it’s the most fitting word I could think of for him.】

Hawthorn Porridge: 【Compared to the others, gege must have the best relationship with him, right?】

Ferry: 【No, he doesn’t really like me.】

That absolutely ruled out Cai Yu. With one option eliminated, the answer pointed to the most unlikely and unbelievable choice.

Zhu Shizhou was referring to Bai Zining himself.

Is this really how he sees me? Then why did he always ignore me at the start of the semester, target me, and act so dismissive toward me?

Based on Zhu Shizhou’s claim that their relationship wasn’t good, Bai Zining was 80% sure he wasn’t lying. However, this result was worlds apart from what Bai Zining had envisioned.

Unable to make sense of it for now, he offered a suggestion as an outsider: 【Maybe it’s a misunderstanding. Do you want to talk to him and clear things up?】

Ferry: 【It’s fine. As long as Ningning likes me, that’s enough, isn’t it?】

Hawthorn Porridge: 【Yes! I like gege the most!】

Hawthorn Porridge: 【[Picture of a puppy licking]】

The vacation had lasted nearly a month, and through Bai Zining’s daily dedication to studying and practicing, he had finally learned to play a few simple pieces.

The first thing he did was send Zhu Shizhou a message: 【I learned a new piece today. Do you want to hear it?】

Over the course of the summer break, their conversations had become so frequent that Bai Zining had developed a habit: whatever happened, he would share it with Zhu Shizhou first, whether it was about his daily life or any problems he encountered.

Zhu Shizhou responded almost instantly: 【I’d love to.】

Zhu Shizhou even added an expectant emoji at the end.

Bai Zining then made a voice call. Just before he started playing and singing, he suddenly felt a bit nervous—like the feeling he had as a child before performing on stage at a cultural event. Even though he was prepared, he still worried about not performing well.

“This song is called 《Baby》. It’s an old song from over a decade ago. I wonder if you’ve heard it before?”

“No, I haven’t. Let me hear you sing it, baby.”

Here we go again. He’s breaking the rules before the game even starts. He’s calling me baby. He’s being unethical.

Bai Zining felt a little dizzy, but he managed to steady himself. His soft voice followed the guitar chords as they flowed out: “My baby, baby, giving you a little sweetness, so you’ll sleep well tonight…”

“Ningning, dinner’s ready!” His mother’s voice suddenly rang out beyond the headphones. Bai Zining’s heart tightened, and he quickly hit the hang-up button.

He sent a WeChat message to explain: 【Sorry, gege, I have to go eat. I’ll sing it for you next time.】

Ferry: 【Does your mom call you that too?】

Hawthorn Porridge: 【Yes, I’ve already told you it’s my nickname.】

Later that evening, after finishing a round of a game, Zhu Shizhou called again via voice chat. They talked for a while until Bai Zining said he was going to bed. But then Zhu Shizhou asked, “Ningning, don’t you think you still owe me something?”

Owe him something? Bai Zining was confused. He thought back carefully but couldn’t figure out what Zhu Shizhou meant.

After waiting for a while and seeing no reply, Zhu Shizhou sent a screenshot. It was of the message from earlier that afternoon when he had asked if Bai Zining wanted to hear the new song he’d learned. Only then did Bai Zining remember the song had been interrupted.

Before he even registered the message’s content, Bai Zining’s eyes were immediately drawn to the contact name Zhu Shizhou had set for him: “Baby” [Grinning Face][Rabbit][Beating Heart]

It was obvious that Zhu Shizhou had seen the screenshot Bai Zining had sent earlier that month, with the nickname format, and had deliberately updated his own contact to match, except for the middle emoji.

Bai Zining suddenly felt a bit warm. He waved his hand in front of his face to cool off, then got up to lock his bedroom door. Sitting back on his bed, he picked up his guitar and started to play and sing again.

Their house had pretty good soundproofing. Whenever Bai Zining’s dad watched anti-Japanese war dramas in the living room at full volume, Bai Zining could barely hear anything once he closed his bedroom door. So, he wasn’t worried about his parents finding out.

After finishing the song, Zhu Shizhou applauded enthusiastically and showered him with praise: “Ningning, that was amazing! Your singing was so beautiful, and your guitar playing was incredible. I really liked it.”

This was probably the most emotionally charged compliment Zhu Shizhou had ever given him since they met. But Bai Zining knew he wasn’t as good as Zhu Shizhou made it sound, because he had missed a few notes just now.

This was a disaster, it really felt like a school performance now. He was the little kid on stage, and Zhu Shizhou was the overly excited parent in the audience watching their child perform for the first time.

At that moment, Bai Zining noticed some faint feedback in the background. He asked softly, “Did you turn on the speaker?”

“I did,” Zhu Shizhou confirmed. “So I could hear your voice more clearly.”

Bai Zining glanced at the clock, it was almost midnight. He quickly whispered, “Aren’t you worried about disturbing your parents’ sleep?”

“It’s fine. They’re not home.”

“You live alone?”

“Not exactly, but they’re very busy with work and are hardly ever around.”

Hearing this, Bai Zining felt a little more at ease. Then he recalled what Zhu Shizhou had said earlier—“so I could hear your voice more clearly.” That restless, warm sensation came flooding back. He grabbed the remote control and turned on the air conditioner to cool down.

From the other end of the line came Zhu Shizhou’s voice: “Well then, goodnight, baby.”