Chapter 29

The night before the agreement ended, Bai Zining experienced a rare bout of insomnia.

Although he felt like there wasn’t anything on his mind, he simply couldn’t fall asleep no matter how much he tossed and turned. He picked up his phone to check the time, it was already past 1 a.m., and the date had flipped to October 29th.

It was the last day. Might as well spend it out and about.

This was something he had agreed upon with Zhu Shizhou last week. At the time, he hadn’t even remembered when the agreement would end.

October 29th was a Friday. Bai Zining didn’t have any classes, but when he got up the next morning, he remembered that Zhu Shizhou had two elective courses today.

It seemed like going out was off the table. Oh well, so be it, Bai Zining thought as he weakly flopped back onto his bed.

After a while, Zhu Shizhou came over and knocked on the railing of his bed. “Awake? If you’re up, get ready. I’ve already bought tickets to the Science and Technology Museum.”

“You’re not going to class?” Bai Zining asked in astonishment.

“Skipping one class occasionally isn’t a big deal,” Zhu Shizhou replied.

And so, Bai Zining quickly got up, washed up, and the two of them headed to the Science and Technology Museum, where they spent the entire morning. In the afternoon, they went to an arcade, bought 200 tokens, and tried out every game there.

Zhu Shizhou, who dominated games like coin pushers, basketball machines, and racing simulators, met his match at the claw machine. After ten consecutive attempts, he failed to grab even a single plush toy.

He even considered spending money to buy a plush toy, but Bai Zining talked him out of it.

In the evening, they went to watch a movie. It was a sci-fi film nearly three hours long.

The whole day, Bai Zining refrained from bossing Zhu Shizhou around. On this last day, he wanted to preserve a sense of dignity for both sides.

Instead, it was Zhu Shizhou who continued to care for him with meticulous attention to detail.

For some reason, the cinema had the air conditioning blasting cold air even though it was late October. Even with his jacket on, Bai Zining still felt cold. He had barely rubbed his arms a couple of times when Zhu Shizhou noticed and considerately offered him his own jacket.

Worried that Zhu Shizhou might catch a cold, Bai Zining firmly refused to wear it. In the end, Zhu Shizhou went out and got him a blanket, putting the matter to rest.

When they left the cinema, the streets were already sparsely populated with only a few scattered passersby.

Neither of them mentioned returning to school. They simply strolled along the road, discussing the movie they had just watched.

“If Gabriel had known in advance that the signal jammer was faulty, he might not have returned. Then his family wouldn’t have been captured and used as leverage against him.”

Zhu Shizhou nodded in agreement. “That part was probably a setup. Even if he managed to protect his daughter from being discovered, the organization could still track him and Dr. Alaid through the energy storage device.”

“True, but still…”

Soothing music emanated from Bai Zining’s jacket pocket, interrupting his words. He took out his phone and saw it was the alarm he had set the previous night.

It was midnight. The agreement had officially ended.

Everything was over.

Bai Zining stared at his phone for a long moment until a hand suddenly reached out to turn off the alarm. Accompanied by a teasing remark, Zhu Shizhou said, “Why set an alarm in the middle of the night? To wake up and go to the bathroom?”

After the alarm silenced, Bai Zining finally reacted. He took a deep breath, displayed the date, which was October 30th, on his phone to Zhu Shizhou, and said with deliberate indifference, “Alright, our agreement ends here. From now on, we’re even. No debts, no obligations. Goodbye.”

Then he opened a ride-hailing app to book a car. Just as he pinned the pickup location, his phone was snatched away by Zhu Shizhou. Bai Zining glared at him. “What are you doing? We have nothing to do with each other anymore. Just like before, let’s ignore each other. Don’t even think about hitching a ride with me, not even for splitting the fare.”

Zhu Shizhou countered with a question, “Really? Nothing to do with each other anymore?”

The faintly mocking expression and playful tone in Zhu Shizhou’s voice made Bai Zining feel deeply upset. He snatched his phone back, threw out a curt “I’m not taking the car anymore,” and turned to leave.

His legs moved mechanically, one step after another, but his mind was in chaos. The thought of the two of them reverting to their old dynamic starting today, where his messages wouldn’t get an immediate reply, where no one would remember his food preferences and little quirks, and where no one would wait for him outside the lab, made him want to cry.

What’s more, Zhu Shizhou would treat someone else this well in the future. He’d call someone else “baby” and praise someone else’s legs and fingers for being beautiful.

He didn’t want to accept this reality, but there was no way around it.

This was a disaster. He seemed to have… really fallen for Zhu Shizhou.

This realization made him even more distraught. Was there anything worse than discovering your feelings for someone at the exact moment you lose them? Bai Zining couldn’t think of anything.

He walked down an entire street but didn’t hear any footsteps following him. Zhu Shizhou must have left long ago, probably already thinking about how to celebrate getting rid of him, this troublemaker.

Glancing around, Bai Zining noticed the deserted midnight street and finally allowed himself to cry softly. He wandered aimlessly forward, his shoulders trembling slightly with his sobs, and tears streaming uncontrollably down his cheeks.

He hadn’t been crying for long when someone grabbed his hand. Startled, he turned around, and both of them froze.

The usual nonchalant smile on Zhu Shizhou’s face was gone, replaced by panic. Frowning in worry, he asked urgently, “Why are you crying? Did someone bully you just now? Or are your feet hurting from walking too much today?”

Who bullied you? Zhu Shizhou actually had the audacity to ask that. How cruel.

Bai Zining forcefully shook off his hand. “Go away. I don’t need you to care.”

Zhu Shizhou seemed to catch on. “Are you crying because of me?”

His words hit the mark, and Bai Zining couldn’t hold it in anymore. He shut his eyes and burst into tears. Zhu Shizhou was truly awful, so, so awful. He mocked him, yet treated him so well. Most of the time, he was gentle and considerate, making Bai Zining fall for him, only to shirk all responsibility in the end. He was a total scumbag and a heartless jerk.

Zhu Shizhou hurriedly wiped away Bai Zining’s tears, softly coaxing him, “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. It’s all on me.”

Amid his heartbreak, Bai Zining thought bitterly, Of course, it’s your fault. What did I ever do wrong? He had only wanted to help a classmate realize the dangers of online dating, yet his good intentions backfired, and he ended up dragging himself into this mess.

After a few seconds, something felt off. The thing wiping his tears wasn’t a hand anymore, but it had turned into something soft.

Zhu Shizhou was kissing away his tears. Kissing his cheeks, the tip of his nose, and even his eyelids.

Bai Zining was so startled that he froze, his sobs coming to an abrupt halt.

Sensing his stiffness, Zhu Shizhou spoke gently, “Open your eyes and look at me, okay?”

No way, Bai Zining shook his head furiously, like a rattle drum.

“Alright, let me apologize first. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have pressured you, and I definitely shouldn’t have been so unclear with my words,” Zhu Shizhou said. “And I’ll admit it, these past few days, I did it on purpose. I just wanted to confirm your feelings for me. I’m sorry, baby.”

He took Bai Zining’s hand, his tone earnest. “Even though the beginning wasn’t ideal, there’s one thing I’m absolutely certain about, that is I don’t want to go back to how things were between us before.”

Bai Zining slowly opened his eyes, his tear-streaked eyes red, his cheeks flushed. Yet he feigned ferocity and asked, “What do you mean? Haven’t had enough of being a lackey?”

“Can I take on one more role?”

“What?”

“Boyfriend.”

Bai Zining’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth slightly agape. Before he could say anything, whether it be a yes, a no, or a string of curses directed at Zhu Shizhou, a soft object pressed against his lips with a loud smack, sealing the moment with a kiss.

“Alright, now that I’ve sealed the deal, you can’t go back on it. After all, you’re the one who said it,” Zhu Shizhou declared confidently.