In Pei Huan’s group of nine, besides Lan University, there were students from other universities as well.

At Lan University, apart from Pei Huan, there was another girl from his class, Chen Cheng. Because they were relatively familiar with each other, they always sat together.

As soon as they got into the car after leaving the airport, their phones rang simultaneously.

Chen Cheng glanced at her phone and said, “Lin Chang sent a group message, reminding everyone about the lecture this afternoon. You don’t need to check it.”

Pei Huan put his phone back down.

Suddenly, Chen Cheng asked, “Do you know Yan Zimi?”

Pei Huan turned his head, “What’s up?”

Chen Cheng smiled, “Oh, it’s nothing. I just thought you should know that Lin Chang has a younger brother who is in the same class as Yan Zimi.”

Pei Huan thought for a moment and vaguely recalled that Lin Chang had a younger brother in the art department.

“I know,” Pei Huan replied, “What about it?”

Chen Cheng took off her headphones. “I heard that you have a good relationship with Yan Zimi.”

Pei Huan still asked, “What’s up?”

Chen Cheng laughed, “Why are you so on guard? What do you think I’m going to do?”

Pei Huan replied, “Nothing.”

Chen Cheng continued, “Since you two are so close, have you heard about the thing between Yan Zimi and Lin Chang’s younger brother?”

Pei Huan clearly didn’t know. “What about them?”

Chen Cheng burst into laughter. “This is quite funny; I won’t allow anyone not to know about it.”

Since there was still a long way to the hotel, Chen Cheng happily started gossiping.

“They’re in the art department, and basically everyone knows that Lin Chang’s brother and Yan Zimi don’t get along.”

Pei Huan asked, “Why not?”

“How should I put this,” Chen Cheng said, “They were roommates in their freshman year. And you should know about Yan Zimi. Even though he doesn’t talk much, he’s handsome, does well academically, and is good at painting. Lin Chang’s younger brother is a bit jealous and always looks for reasons to pick on him.”

Pei Huan frowned slightly. “Pick on him?”

“Yeah, those two really have the same temperament—just petty and really annoying,” Chen Cheng waved her hand. “But it’s not a big deal. His brother is also quite funny, timid, and wants to provoke Yan Zimi but doesn’t dare to offend him. In any case, it’s all just harmless stuff.”

Chen Cheng continued, “The biggest incident that happened was when his brother took a picture of Yan Zimi.”

Pei Huan asked, “What kind of picture?”

Chen Cheng replied, “I think it was a picture of Yan Zimi sleeping in the dorm.”

Pei Huan frowned again. “A picture of him sleeping?”

“Yep,” Chen Cheng said, laughing. “Later, Yan Zimi hit him.”

Pei Huan was taken aback. “Yan Zimi hit him?”

Chen Cheng said, “Well, it wasn’t exactly a hit. It happened in class, and many people were watching. His brother originally wanted to use the photo to stir things up and say some inappropriate things, but before he could even start, Yan Zimi had him pinned against the podium with one hand.”

“Wow,” Chen Cheng exclaimed. “His hand was incredibly fast. Before anyone could react, his brother had already eaten a mouthful of chalk dust and couldn’t move.”

“At first, his brother was cursing, but once he realized he was no match for Yan Zimi, he started begging for mercy,” Chen Cheng continued. “My friend has told me this story at least a dozen times, saying how handsome Yan Zimi is. He may look like he has skinny arms and legs, but he’s really strong. Plus, you should know the look on Yan Zimi’s face—he doesn’t smile and is very cold. At that moment, he just stared at his brother and said, ‘Do you want to die?’ His brother was so scared that he unlocked his phone and handed it over to Yan Zimi.”

After finishing her story, Chen Cheng asked Pei Huan, “Do you think Yan Zimi has practiced martial arts?”

Hearing this question, Pei Huan immediately thought of the person who had pinned him down on the bed last night.

Then he recalled Yan Zimi’s expressionless face.

Pei Huan smiled. “Maybe.”

Chen Cheng continued, “The photo must have been deleted; no one has ever seen it. His brother apologized to Yan Zimi in front of the whole class, and Yan Zimi just stood there with his hands in his pockets, watching until his brother’s apology satisfied him. It was so embarrassing.”

Chen Cheng added, “That part was truly satisfying—so satisfying.”

“It seems that because of this incident, Yan Zimi later stopped staying in the dorm and moved to an apartment outside,” she laughed. “It was arranged by my friend.”

“My friend said Yan Zimi is really charming—he’s the kind of person you just see and think, ‘Okay, okay, sounds good,’ but he’s too aloof,” Chen Cheng said, tilting her chin towards Pei Huan. “Right?”

Pei Huan chuckled softly, “He’s not aloof at all.”

He was quite cheeky and proud, and you couldn’t really get angry with him.

But he was also very well-behaved.

“After all, he’s handsome,” Chen Cheng remarked. “Unlike that Lin Sheng, he’s really annoying—such a sycophant and completely oblivious.”

Chen Cheng added, “Lin Chang is the same.”

She then said, “Yan Zimi is really handsome.”

Pei Huan chuckled and rotated his phone in his hand.

Chen Cheng felt it wasn’t enough, so she opened her phone and clicked into the album.

“Look.”

Pei Huan looked at the phone, which displayed a side profile of Yan Zimi sitting in front of an easel.

Pei Huan asked, “Where did this come from?”

Chen Cheng thought for a moment and replied, “I forgot. Many people have it.”

Pei Huan said, “I don’t have it.”

Chen Cheng laughed, “He’s right there with you. What photo do you want?”

Pei Huan insisted, “Send it to me.”

This part of the journey passed quickly thanks to their conversation about Yan Zimi. After the photo was sent and their chat wrapped up, Chen Cheng put her headphones back on and leaned against the window.

Before she knew it, Chen Cheng realized that she had chatted quite a bit with Pei Huan.

This was probably the most they had talked since forming their group. She didn’t expect to have such a long conversation about Yan Zimi today.

Although Pei Huan was still the same quiet Pei Huan, it was clear that he showed interest in the topic.

Chen Cheng thought that if she had more to share about Yan Zimi at that moment, Pei Huan would probably listen all the way until they got off the car without finding her annoying.

After three years as classmates, the times Pei Huan had communicated with the girls in their class were few and far between.

He gave off a vibe that made him seem hard to approach. While he would respond when called or asked a question, it was just that he wouldn’t say more than necessary—business talk only, and then it was goodbye.

Saying he was aloof didn’t quite fit; calling him indifferent wasn’t accurate either.

At the beginning of university, some girls were eager to get close to him, but gradually, everyone realized there was no hope. Pei Huan had an invisible barrier with girls.

Describing him as a purebred science student with a straightforward, masculine way of thinking wasn’t an exaggeration.

But this kind of straightforwardness wasn’t the type they were looking for.

Chen Cheng chuckled and leaned down to tell her friend, “I just told Pei Huan about Yan Zimi’s charming incident.”

Her friend quickly replied, “What did Pei Huan say?”

Chen Cheng smirked, “He looked quite proud.”

Her friend laughed, “Hahaha, help!”

Chen Cheng added, “He even asked to take the photo of Yan Zimi from my phone.”

Her friend teased, “Tsk tsk.”

Chen Cheng echoed, “Tsk tsk.”

Meanwhile, Pei Huan, upon receiving the photo, opened WeChat immediately.

He asked Yan Zimi, “What are you doing?”

At that moment, Yan Zimi was, of course, working on the assignment Pei Huan had given him.

He had already finished class and returned to his apartment. He needed to head to the studio later that evening for something, so he was rushing to finish his listening exercises.

Yan Zimi sent a message: 【image】

The image was a set of listening questions, and Pei Huan understood them at a glance.

fire: “So obedient.”

Yan Zimi: “Of course.”

fire: “But you got a few wrong.”

fire then added, “I heard there’s someone in the art class named Yan Zimi who is very aloof, doesn’t smile much, and has impressive skills. Do you know this person?”

Yan Zimi couldn’t help but laugh at Pei Huan’s comment about “impressive skills.”

Yan Zimi: “Who is that?”

fire: “Who is that?”

fire: “Why do I keep hearing others say you’re aloof and don’t smile?”

Yan Zimi: “Maybe that’s just who I am.”

fire: “So who is this person in front of me?”

Yan Zimi: “The person in front of you is just me in front of you.”

Yan Zimi: “It’s your exclusive persona.”

After sending that, Yan Zimi tossed his phone onto the table with a thud.

Help, he was now even saying things like that.

And he didn’t even retract it.

The female voice speaking English in his ears had already been paused. He tapped the exam paper, looking at the English words on it, and suddenly felt like he couldn’t understand any of them.

A few seconds later, a WeChat message pinged in his headphones with a “ding.”

Yan Zimi pressed his lips together and stared at his phone for a while before picking it up.

fire: “Exclusive, I remember. It’s something others don’t have.”

Yan Zimi chuckled softly. “Yes.”

In the time that followed, this English teacher surprisingly engaged in a chat with the student.

He told Yan Zimi that he had heard about some of his stories and asked if he had practiced martial arts.

Yan Zimi speculated that it was probably about Lin Sheng’s incident.

Not to mention Pei Huan; he had heard his classmates recount it several times.

Yan Zimi: “I’ve practiced Sanda.”

Yan Zimi: “My mom was afraid I would get bullied at school, so I started learning at a young age.”

Yan Zimi added, “But I still ended up getting pinned down by someone.”

Someone over there started laughing.

fire: “As long as you’re not bullied by others, it’s fine.”

fire: “You can be bullied by me.”

Yan Zimi’s fingers floated as he typed: “You’re a bad person.”

Pei Huan couldn’t chat with him for long; before long, he got busy and disappeared. Yan Zimi continued listening to the audio.

As he listened, he felt a lingering sense of excitement and absentmindedly picked up his phone again to review their recent chats.

Pei Huan had said he would be busy, and he wasn’t lying. His disappearances weren’t just for this short period; in the following days, it seemed as though there was a time difference between Yan Zimi and Pei Huan’s communication, often spaced out by long intervals.

Pei Huan appeared to be someone who wouldn’t reach out to Yan Zimi unless he had something important to discuss.

However, Yan Zimi found himself wanting to contact Pei Huan but felt he had no reason to do so.

Although Pei Huan didn’t often see Yan Zimi when they were at school, now that he had left campus, the distance between them seemed to deepen Yan Zimi’s feelings of longing more than usual.

It’s a longing and also a delusion. Yan Zimi had developed the habit of opening Pei Huan’s WeChat whenever he found himself with nothing to do.

He also hoped for a chance encounter.

Three days felt short yet long at the same time.

On the day Pei Huan returned to school, Yan Zimi’s cousin happened to come looking for him.

The moment the doorbell rang at the apartment, Yan Zimi almost thought it was Pei Huan.

But then his mind reminded him that Pei Huan was currently on a plane and wouldn’t do something like this.

As for why his cousin knew the apartment address, it was obviously because of his mother.

His parents had planned an anniversary trip for a month, and when they ran into his cousin in Haicheng, they asked him to bring the gift his mother had bought for Yan Zimi.

Since his cousin was passing by the school, after they met, Yan Zimi took him around his campus to grab a bite. It wasn’t long before his cousin had to leave.

On the way to the school gate, a distinct “ding” sounded from Yan Zimi’s phone in his pocket.

He took out his phone to check. The person who had informed him about getting on the plane over an hour ago had sent him a message.

fire: “Almost at school.”

fire: “So sleepy, I’ve been napping all the way.”

Yan Zimi: “You can continue to sleep when you get back.”

fire: “I can’t sleep anymore; if I do, I’ll end up being painted as Yan Zimi and hung on the wall.”

Yan Zimi immediately understood: “You’re the one who’s a pig.”

Just then, his cousin spoke up. “Your mom actually gave me a mission.”

Yan Zimi put his phone down and asked, “What mission?”

His cousin smiled. “She asked me to do a surprise check to see if you’re in a relationship.”

Yan Zimi: “…”

Yan Zimi then asked, “Do I have one?”

His cousin nodded. “The apartment is quite clean, and after wandering around for so long, there really isn’t anything suspicious.”

Yan Zimi turned to look at his cousin. “But?”

His cousin laughed. “But!”

He put his arm around Yan Zimi’s shoulder. “But you just looked at your phone and smiled a bit differently, huh?”

Yan Zimi directly handed his phone over. “Feel free to check.”

His cousin waved his hand and pushed the phone back. “No need, no need. I’ll just tell your aunt that you don’t have one.”

Yan Zimi chuckled. “So you’re saying I don’t have one?”

His cousin laughed. “Your brother has to stand by you, right?”

Yan Zimi replied, “No need, there really isn’t one.”

His cousin said, “Alright, alright.”

Yan Zimi helplessly replied, “I really don’t have one.”

His cousin responded, “Yeah, I know.”

Yan Zimi: “…”

When they reached the school gate, the car to pick up his cousin had arrived.

Thinking that Pei Huan might also be back soon, Yan Zimi kept a lookout as he escorted his cousin to the car.

But he didn’t see anything.

“Okay, I’m leaving now,” his cousin said, suddenly pulling Yan Zimi closer and reaching out his hand.

As his hand was about to touch Yan Zimi’s nose, he quickly stepped back.

“What’s that for?”

“Good thing Auntie insisted on leaving this mole; it’s becoming cuter the more I look at it.”

Yan Zimi stepped back again, “That doesn’t mean you can touch it.”

His cousin laughed, “Not touching, not touching. Such a stingy guy.”

The driver had already opened the door for his cousin. Before getting in, his cousin said, “I’m leaving now. Come visit me in Haicheng when you have time.”

Yan Zimi nodded, “Okay.”

His cousin added, “Bring your guy along.”

Yan Zimi, feeling helpless, said nothing and just looked at his cousin.

His cousin laughed, ruffled Yan Zimi’s hair, and then got into the car.

Meanwhile, Yan Zimi stood by the roadside, watching his cousin leave.

Not far away, on the school bus, someone’s gaze was also withdrawn.