Pei Huan scanned the menu again, ordering a few of the lighter dishes this restaurant had to offer and called the waiter over, emphasizing no spicy food.

Yan Zimi took a few more sips of water, feeling a bit embarrassed to look Pei Huan in the eye.

“You still dare to eat?”

It was only after Pei Huan said this that Yan Zimi realized he had unconsciously reached for another bite.

He quietly put his chopsticks down. “Oh.”

Pei Huan also set his chopsticks down. “If you had said you couldn’t eat spicy food, we could’ve just gone to a different restaurant.”

Yan Zimi nodded lightly.

Pei Huan: “Or do you think I won’t keep my word?”

Yan Zimi hurriedly shook his head. “No, that’s not it.”

As Pei Huan spoke, Yan Zimi kept his head down the whole time.

The restaurant had ambient lighting, with several small lamps on each table. Under the light, shadows from Yan Zimi’s hair, glasses, and eyelashes were cast across his face.

It was only then that Pei Huan noticed how long Yan Zimi’s eyelashes were.

Right now, he looked like a child being scolded by a parent.

Pei Huan swallowed his words and even smiled a little to himself.

“Do you need more water?” Pei Huan asked.

Yan Zimi shook his head. “No, it’s not so spicy anymore.”

Pei Huan added, “Wipe the sweat off your forehead.”

Yan Zimi replied, “Oh.”

Yan Zimi took two tissues, pressed them on his forehead, and then wiped his neck with a bit of a twist.

In the process, he glanced at Pei Huan but quickly looked away.

Pei Huan found Yan Zimi amusing. “Did I bully you?”

Yan Zimi shook his head. “No.”

It was clear he looked quite distressed, despite saying he wasn’t bullied.

Even though Yan Zimi said he didn’t need more water, Pei Huan still poured him another glass.

When they returned, all their dishes had been served.

Pei Huan placed Yan Zimi’s water down, slightly adjusted a plate, and put the dishes he had ordered for Yan Zimi in front of him.

For the rest of the meal, neither of them talked much. They were simply two guys eating together, quietly enjoying their own food.

Yan Zimi was usually quiet, and Pei Huan wasn’t very talkative either, making the meal even more silent.

However, Yan Zimi seemed to have picked up on one additional habit.

He didn’t mean to, but he couldn’t help glancing at Pei Huan.

Whenever Pei Huan looked up, Yan Zimi would sneak a look out of the corner of his eye, and when Pei Huan looked down, Yan Zimi would quickly look directly at him.

At first, he hadn’t realized he was doing this. It was only when Pei Huan unexpectedly looked up and caught his gaze that he became aware of it.

Fortunately, Pei Huan didn’t seem to notice anything unusual. He simply looked down, picked up his food, and continued eating.

The meal ended within a perfectly normal timeframe.

After Yan Zimi set down his chopsticks, he secretly scanned the QR code and found that Pei Huan had already paid the bill.

He pursed his lips, starting to wonder if he should bring up the idea of owing Pei Huan a meal. He wondered if Pei Huan might think he was being overly persistent.

“Are you full?” Pei Huan asked as he also put down his chopsticks.

Yan Zimi nodded. “Yes, I’m full.”

Pei Huan grabbed the coat hanging on the back of his chair. “Let’s go.”

At the door, a gust of wind blew in, and Yan Zimi reminded him, “Do you want to put on your coat?”

Pei Huan smiled, picking up his coat. “Sure, I’ll put it on.”

Yan Zimi looked down, pushing up his glasses and hiding a fleeting smile in the palm of his hand.

Pei Huan added, “Consider this meal a freebie. I’ll take you out for something else next time.”

Yan Zimi turned to look at Pei Huan.

Pei Huan said, “Is it too much to call you an idiot again?”

This time, Yan Zimi didn’t hide his smile. His eyes behind the glasses curved slightly. “You’re the idiot.”

The Sichuan restaurant was right next to the school gate, so it only took a few steps for them to get to the school.

A school bus happened to be there, so it wasn’t long before they were dropped off at the boys’ dormitory.

After getting out of the bus, Pei Huan asked Yan Zimi, “Which building are you in?”

Yan Zimi thought for a moment. “It’s quite far.”

Pei Huan probably took this to mean a dormitory building further inside, so he didn’t ask further. Instead, he waved his phone and said, “They’re hurrying me to play the game.”

Yan Zimi nodded. “I’ll start it once I get back.”

Pei Huan asked, “Do you usually play with a team?”

Yan Zimi shook his head. “No.”

Pei Huan then asked, “Do you play alone?”

“Occasionally with friends,” Yan Zimi replied. “They say you’re really good at jungle.”

Pei Huan responded with a casual “It’s okay,” then asked Yan Zimi, “Who do you usually support?”

“Whoever,” Yan Zimi said. “Today, I’m supporting the jungle.”

Pei Huan smiled. “So, you’re supporting me.”

Yan Zimi nodded. “Yes.”

Pei Huan playfully pressed his hand on Yan Zimi’s head. “Be my little follower.”

Yan Zimi smiled. “Sure.”

After saying that, Yan Zimi pressed his lips together and adjusted his glasses. “But I’m not that good.”

Pei Huan said, “No one’s that great, just play casually.”

“Alright,” Yan Zimi said, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’m curious to see how impressive your jungle skills really are.”

Pei Huan said, “With you talking like that, I’m getting nervous. I have to take this seriously as your jungle.”

Yan Zimi replied, “No one’s that great, just play casually.”

Pei Huan turned to look at Yan Zimi and smiled.

Yan Zimi smiled back.

Oops, he felt a tiny bit happy.

When Yan Zimi got back to his apartment, the first thing he did was open the game.

Pei Huan was already online. As soon as Yan Zimi entered the homepage, he was added to the team.

The two seniors in Pei Huan’s dorm were already making noise.

“Junior, you finally made it to the dorm. How far away is your dorm, anyway?”

Yan Zimi recognized it was Yu Nan’s voice.

“I’m online now,” came the voice of Xiao Dong.

Yan Zimi turned on his microphone and put on his headphones.

As soon as he put them on, Pei Huan’s voice came through. “Just arrived?”

Due to sound transmission, Pei Huan’s voice sounded a bit different—deeper and more magnetic—than it did in real life.

Yan Zimi responded, “Are you asking me?”

Pei Huan clearly had a smile in his voice. “Who else?”

“It’s a bit far,” Yan Zimi hesitated before adding, “I don’t stay on campus.”

Yu Nan’s voice came through. “You don’t stay on campus? Where do you live? Is your home in Lan City?”

Yan Zimi said, “No, I live in the apartment complex outside the campus.”

There was only one such apartment area near the school, so Yan Zimi figured they all knew about it.

Yu Nan responded with a drawn-out “Oh.” “That shouldn’t be, though. The place where you had dinner is closer to your place, isn’t it?”

Yan Zimi pressed his lips together.

Yes, that restaurant was right at the entrance of his apartment complex.

So he remained silent.

But Pei Huan spoke up, not saying anything else, just calling his name. “Yan Zimi.”

Yan Zimi’s heart skipped a beat, and his voice softened as he said, “I’m an idiot.”

This made Pei Huan laugh. “Glad you know.”

Pei Huan then asked, “Why?”

Yan Zimi replied, “No particular reason.”

The matching took a while, and as soon as they finished that exchange, they entered the game, cutting off the topic.

Yu Nan started shouting, “Ban heroes!”

Everyone began discussing which heroes to ban. Meanwhile, a message popped up on Yan Zimi’s phone.

fire: “Are you being polite with me, or is it just that you’re uncomfortable telling me?”

Yan Zimi had just finished the bans and exited to reply, “No.”

How was he supposed to explain this?

How could he explain it in a way Pei Huan would understand?

As Yan Zimi was hesitating, Pei Huan sent a message.

fire: “Call me senior.”

Yan Zimi was momentarily taken aback but still pressed the voice button and gently said, “Senior.”

The word “Senior” traveled through the electromagnetic waves and reached Pei Huan’s ears through his headphones.

Amid the overlapping game sounds, Pei Huan smiled.

He had only intended for Yan Zimi to type it out.

Why was he being so obedient?

fire: “If you know to call me senior, you shouldn’t be so polite with me.”

fire: “Just say what’s on your mind from now on.”

After sending these messages, Pei Huan tapped on the 2-second voice message from Yan Zimi.

After listening, he smiled again.

Yan Zimi: “Got it.”

Yan Zimi went back into the game just in time to select his hero.

“Why are you two privately chatting?” Yu Nan immediately said. “What can’t be said in the team chat?”

Xiao Dong chimed in, “Exactly.”

Yu Nan then asked, “Junior, which hero are you picking?”

Yan Zimi only had one choice for a hero he was skilled with—support. He was unfamiliar with the support role, so it took him a bit longer to confirm his selection.

So, he managed to sidestep the truth again.

He had played a few games as a support, but it was only a handful.

He picked this hero this time because his friends had raised its proficiency on this account, making it less noticeable.

How could he, a jungler, join this team? And end up clashing roles with Pei Huan?

After Yan Zimi selected his hero, Yu Nan exclaimed, “With your rank and this proficiency, you must have a jungle king brother.”

Yan Zimi responded with a hesitant, “No.”

It wasn’t him; it was his friend’s jungle king brother.

Recently, his friend had been pursuing a guy who played the jungle role. Since his friend’s rank wasn’t high enough, they borrowed Yan Zimi’s account.

Most of the support games with over 600 matches were played by his friend.

Yu Nan didn’t ask further, and Yan Zimi didn’t elaborate.

It wasn’t a big deal; it was just casual conversation, and no one was paying much attention.

At the start of the game, Yan Zimi followed Pei Huan to the jungle to farm. However, it wasn’t long before the opposing team boldly invaded.

Yan Zimi stayed close to Pei Huan, using his skills. Noticing that Pei Huan didn’t seem to be in a hurry or even moving to push or pull, he charged in to fight.

A few seconds later, Pei Huan secured first blood.

Probably due to their gaming habits, after the voice notification, all three of them simultaneously said, “Nice, nice.”

Pei Huan didn’t say anything and continued clearing his own jungle.

Yu Nan, however, spoke up. “Junior, is your jungle king better or is our Huan ge better?”

Yan Zimi naturally answered, “Pei Huan is better.”

Yu Nan seemed to be praising him. “Of course, our Huan ge is the king of the jungle.”

Pei Huan still didn’t respond.

After a while, Yan Zimi noticed that Pei Huan suddenly used an unnecessary skill, quickly finished off a small monster, and then walked through a wall.

Yan Zimi followed behind, waiting for his own skill cooldown.

As they reached the enemy jungle, another voice came through the headphones.

“Hey, why are you taking my water?”

It was Yu Nan speaking.

Immediately after, Pei Huan said, “This is mine.”

Yu Nan replied, “It hasn’t started yet. I’ll buy you a bottle tomorrow.”

Pei Huan said, “Go buy it yourself.”

When Yan Zimi’s ultimate ability was ready, he quickly joined Pei Huan.

Just as the enemy marksman was about to gank, Pei Huan took Yan Zimi with him and decisively tower-dived to kill the opponent.

“Nice, nice, nice.”

“Impressive, impressive.”

…

After securing the kill, Pei Huan moved on, not looking back as he continued with his tasks.

Yan Zimi fell off his head and contributed weakly from the side.

After Pei Huan collected a small dragon, Yan Zimi tried to jump onto him again, but Pei Huan made a stylish turn and headed toward the mid lane.

“Wait for me,” Yan Zimi couldn’t help but call out.

Pei Huan paused when he heard this, and Yan Zimi had to run a few steps to catch up.

As Yao floated up in a graceful arc, the small speaker in the top-left corner activated.

Pei Huan said, “I thought I was the only jungle king.”