Before they even reached mid-lane, Yan Zimi had only scouted the bushes when the enemy suddenly charged at them.

The Icebox hero had just come out to clear the minions but got frozen immediately by the opponent.

Pei Huan, leading Yan Zimi, dashed forward, dodging abilities and taking down the enemy’s damage dealer first. However, Pei Huan didn’t attack the support; instead, he backed off to the side a little.

Just in time, Yan Zimi’s ability was still active, and he secured the kill.

“Crafty bastard, scared the hell out of me,” Icebox muttered, returning to base with just a sliver of health left. “Thank God Brother Huan showed up.”

After Icebox returned, Pei Huan led Yan Zimi into the enemy’s jungle.

Hiding in the bushes, Yan Zimi asked, “What are we doing here?”

Pei Huan replied, “Making it up to you.”

Yan Zimi smirked, “Next time, just wait for me.”

Pei Huan said, “I will from now on.”

Yan Zimi chuckled again.

No wonder Lin Jie enjoys playing support with his boyfriend so much.

“Our Brother Huan has never had a support follow him before; he might not be used to it,” Yu Nan chimed in, seemingly understanding the conversation.

Yan Zimi leaned back into his chair. “It’s fine, I’ll try my best to support him.”

Pei Huan secured the red buff with a single ability. “You don’t need to try so hard; I’ll get used to you.”

As soon as he said that, Zhao Di, who was sitting nearby eating an apple and watching the game, suddenly started chewing faster.

Zhao Di had come over just as Yu Nan mentioned that Pei Huan and Yan Zimi were having a private conversation, even asking Yu Nan not to wear his headphones.

In fact, Zhao Di didn’t usually watch the three of them play games, but today, it was mainly because Yan Zimi was there.

For some reason, Yan Zimi gave him a really good impression—he liked him a lot.

But the longer he watched, the more he felt like his original reason for being there had started to shift.

Pei Huan and Yan Zimi… well, how should he put it?

Of course, he wouldn’t dare say it out loud.

In front of Pei Huan, neither Zhao Di nor Yu Nan dared to say much.

What followed was the usual gameplay routine. This round was a complete stomp—every lane was easily winning, and everyone had the energy to chat and joke around.

However, the conversation revolved around things from their social circle, and Yan Zimi could only understand most of it.

“They’re talking about our computer science professor,” Pei Huan’s voice suddenly came through the mic after a while.

He didn’t specify who he was explaining it to, but Yan Zimi responded, “Oh.”

“Yeah, our computer science professor,” Yu Nan’s voice, the loudest of the group, chimed in. “You wouldn’t know, junior, but this quirky professor assigns the weirdest homework…”

“Whoa, whoa!”

Yu Nan hadn’t even finished his sentence when a voice alert came through—the enemy had just killed Yan Zimi’s hero.

Yan Zimi: “…”

Yan Zimi: “I wasn’t paying attention.”

He had just returned to base to heal up and was on his way back to meet up with Pei Huan.

Suddenly, in the chat on the left side of the screen, a message popped up.

It was from the enemy team.

[All: Sorry, we just took down your little cutie.]

“Fuck off,” Yu Nan snapped, unable to hold back his anger.

Meanwhile, Pei Huan sent out two signals.

“Group up.”

“Initiate attack.”

A few seconds later, Pei Huan dove under the tower and took down the enemy who had just killed Yan Zimi.

Then he charged in again and eliminated the damage dealer.

A hard kill.

A chaotic slaughter.

The voice alerts became busier and more excited.

“Double kill.”

…

“Penta kill.”

“Aced.”

They were racking up kills, but it was risky—Icebox was sacrificed, leaving the remaining three with very low health.

With the minions still not in position, the three of them stood confidently in front of the enemy’s crystal, waiting in style.

As the enemy minions reached the halfway point, Yan Zimi respawned.

Thinking he had nothing to do now, he didn’t move.

But Pei Huan called out, “Come hit the tower.”

As soon as he said that, Yu Nan, who had taken a step toward the tower, quickly retreated.

Meanwhile, Xiao Dong charged right in, exclaiming, “How long are we supposed to wait for him? Just hit it already!”

But he soon realized he was the only one diving in.

Well, it didn’t matter; the enemy team was all dead anyway.

Xiao Dong stopped hitting the tower and just spun around inside the enemy’s crystal.

At that moment, a message flashed in the chat on the left.

[All: Sorry, we just took down all of you.]

“Oh, Brother Huan, you can chat too?” Yu Nan said, clearly amused.

Pei Huan replied, “I have hands.”

Yu Nan responded, “And you have a heart.”

Just then, Zhao Di nudged him playfully.

Yan Zimi finally arrived, but instead of joining the others inside, he jumped onto Pei Huan’s back.

With his ability activated, Pei Huan charged in, swinging his stick a couple of times, and the screen instantly flashed with the message.

“Victory!”

With this round over, Pei Huan could roughly gauge Yan Zimi’s skills.

In the following few games, Yan Zimi continued to get used to his hero while Pei Huan adjusted to playing with Yan Zimi.

After another match ended, Yan Zimi’s phone suddenly buzzed with a call from Xiao Gang. Without thinking twice, he hung up.

He then picked up his tablet to call Xiao Gang back.

“What’s up?” Yan Zimi asked.

Xiao Gang replied, “We bought four-level scrolls. Do you want one?”

As Yan Zimi muted the voice chat, he responded, “Yes.”

“Alright, I’ll count you in,” Xiao Gang said.

Yan Zimi added, “From now on, whatever you buy, I’ll buy too.”

“Got it,” Xiao Gang replied.

After the call ended, Yu Nan asked, “Is it the English Level Four exam?”

Yan Zimi opened the voice chat, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Yeah, I didn’t pass last semester.”

Yu Nan replied, “If you didn’t pass, just ask Brother Huan. He breezed through Level Six.”

Yan Zimi didn’t say anything.

But Pei Huan jumped in, “What version of the exam paper are you buying?”

Yan Zimi said, “Let me check.”

Before he could ask, Pei Huan continued, “I have a set of Level Four papers I haven’t done. Do you want them?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Di exclaimed, “Zimi, that paper from Brother Huan isn’t something just anyone can ask for!”

Yu Nan chimed in, “Exactly! I don’t know who started the rumor, but every time Pei Huan has an exam, there are always younger girls asking him for it.”

After saying that, Yu Nan asked, “Brother Huan, do you have any younger girls asking this year?”

Pei Huan replied, “No.”

Zhao Di nudged Yan Zimi, “You’d better hurry up, then.”

Yan Zimi bit his lip, feeling a surge of eagerness.

But Pei Huan spoke up first, “Do you want it?”

Yan Zimi replied without hesitation, “Yes.”

Xiao Dong laughed, “Junior, you might have just blocked Brother Huan’s romantic prospects! Brother Huan, aren’t you going to wait for your crush to ask?”

Zhao Di added, “If Brother Huan wants to pursue a girl, he doesn’t need that set of papers.” He then turned to Yan Zimi. “I have some supposedly really good listening exercises. Want me to share them with you?”

Yan Zimi replied, “Sure, thank you!”

That night, Yan Zimi was fully immersed in the game.

Once it ended, he quickly took a shower and got his drawing supplies ready.

Yes, he still hadn’t finished the assignment due tomorrow, so he was likely going to be up all night again.

Settling down, he glanced at the time and saw a new message from Pei Huan.

Fire: “Where are you staying? I’ll drop it off tomorrow.”

It had been over half an hour since Pei Huan sent the message, so Yan Zimi quickly replied, “No need, I’ll just come by to get it after my class tomorrow morning.”

Pei Huan responded right away.

Fire: “Okay, I don’t have class in the morning, so come by anytime.”

Yan Zimi replied, “Sounds good.”

After that, Pei Huan didn’t send any more messages.

It was already 11:30 PM, and Yan Zimi wondered if he should say goodnight to Pei Huan.

Over something so simple, he hesitated for a full five minutes while holding his phone, but in the end, he couldn’t resist sending the message.

He typed: “Goodnight, senior.”

When the message came in, Pei Huan was busy finishing up his computer science assignment for tomorrow.

At that moment, the boys in the dorm were discussing an incident that had happened downstairs earlier that evening.

They mentioned that one guy had successfully confessed to another.

Since Pei Huan was there, Yu Nan and Zhao Di kept their comments brief, wrapping it up in just a few sentences.

But then Xiao Dong suddenly asked Pei Huan, “Brother Huan, didn’t you also get confessed to by a guy around this time last year?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Yu Nan and Zhao Di tensed up.

Xiao Dong hadn’t been around back then; he had taken a leave of absence due to family matters, so by the time he returned, that whole episode was a distant memory for everyone else.

He probably didn’t grasp the seriousness of the situation and thought it was just a casual confession.

“Yeah.”

Pei Huan’s tone was flat.

Yu Nan and Zhao Di exchanged glances, then turned to look at Pei Huan in unison.

He was still focused on his code, appearing completely unfazed.

Xiao Dong added, “That’s pretty interesting, huh?”

“Yeah,” Pei Huan replied, clicking to run his code. “I just don’t understand why guys would like other guys.”

Yu Nan and Zhao Di exchanged another glance, too hesitant to speak.

Xiao Dong laughed and said, “Yeah, I don’t get it either.”

As one segment of code ran successfully, Pei Huan absentmindedly reached for his phone and saw Yan Zimi’s goodnight message.

No, it was “Goodnight, senior.”

Suddenly, he recalled that two-second voice message from Yan Zimi, and he found himself smiling without even realizing it.

He replied, “Goodnight, junior.”

…

Yesterday’s events lingered too much in his mind, and when Yan Zimi woke up the next morning, the first image that flashed before him was Pei Huan.

Suddenly, he couldn’t fall back asleep.

For a long time, he lay there, his thoughts drifting between images of Pei Huan patting his head and saying, “Today, be my little follower,” and Pei Huan playfully tapping his head, asking if he was being silly.

Since he couldn’t sleep, he decided to get up and find something to do.

When the time was right, Yan Zimi changed his clothes and glanced at the few glasses frames on the shelf.

A few seconds later, he took out his phone and opened Pei Huan’s WeChat.

Yan Zimi: “Senior, do you think I should wear glasses today?”

Pei Huan didn’t have class that morning, so he wasn’t sure if he was already up.

Yan Zimi didn’t worry about that and picked out the glasses he had worn yesterday that looked good.

Just as he was about to head out, he received a message from Pei Huan.

Fire: “Why do you wear glasses all the time if you’re not nearsighted?”

As Yan Zimi clicked to open the chat, he saw Pei Huan had already unsent that message.

Moments later, another message came through.

Fire: “Wear them.”

Yan Zimi couldn’t help but smile. “Okay.”

After attending classes for so many years, Yan Zimi had never felt this eager for the end of class as he did today.

As soon as the bell rang and the teacher stepped away from the podium, he slipped out through the back door.

Once he arrived at Pei Huan’s dorm building, he sent a quick message to Pei Huan.

Upstairs, Pei Huan had left the door open for him. When Yan Zimi walked in, he found Pei Huan there, while the other three seniors were busy at their computers.

Strings of code filled the screens; they were probably working on assignments.

“Zimi’s here!” Zhao Di called out from the door.

Yan Zimi replied, “Yeah.”

Yu Nan and Xiao Dong also turned to greet Yan Zimi, while Pei Huan retrieved some papers from the bookshelf.

Just then, the sound of a lighter flicked through the air, followed by a small pop.

Yan Zimi turned to see Xiao Dong lighting a cigarette.

As he passed by, the smoke hit him squarely in the face.

He frowned and took a few steps toward Pei Huan, coughing lightly due to the sudden irritation.

“Xiao Dong, put that out,” Pei Huan said.

Xiao Dong glanced back, replied with an “Oh,” and promptly extinguished the cigarette.

Pei Huan adjusted the papers in his hands, glanced at the air around Yan Zimi, and said, “Let’s step outside to talk.”

Yan Zimi nodded and followed Pei Huan outside.

Once they reached the doorway, Pei Huan asked, “Are you bothered by the smoke?”

Yan Zimi admitted, “I don’t like it.”

Pei Huan nodded but didn’t say anything further. Instead, he remarked, “You changed to black frames.”

Yan Zimi’s eyes lit up with a smile, and he pushed his glasses up a bit. “You can tell?”

Pei Huan replied, “Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

Yan Zimi responded, “I thought you didn’t pay attention to me.”

Pei Huan glanced at Yan Zimi’s glasses again. “It’s quite obvious.”

He didn’t linger on that topic but handed over the items in his hands. “Here’s my paper and Yu Nan’s listening exercises.”

Yan Zimi reached out, saying, “Okay, I’ll take—”

But Pei Huan pulled back slightly.

Yan Zimi looked at him, puzzled. “Huh?”

Pei Huan asked, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Yan Zimi smiled again. “If I have something to say, I’ll say it.” He met Pei Huan’s gaze and added, “Thank you.”

As he reached for the papers again, Pei Huan moved away once more.

“Thank who?”

Yan Zimi felt his ears heat up. “Thank you, senior.”

Pei Huan seemed satisfied just to hear the word “senior.” Only then did he hand over the papers.

Yan Zimi added, “And thank you to Yu Nan as well.”

Pei Huan replied, “No problem.”

After receiving the papers, Yan Zimi casually flipped through them.

Yu Nan’s listening exercises were freshly printed, still carrying the scent of ink, looking indeed impressive.

As for Pei Huan’s paper, it was clearly brand new—even the cover…

“Hmm?”

Yan Zimi was startled as a finger suddenly reached toward him, causing him to instinctively step back.

He followed the finger to its owner, blinking lightly in confusion.

“Hmm?” Yan Zimi asked, puzzled.

Pei Huan shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

As he spoke, he tried to retract his hand, but Yan Zimi unexpectedly grasped Pei Huan’s hand.

With Pei Huan’s finger still extended, Yan Zimi took a step closer and gently pressed the tip of his nose against Pei Huan’s fingertip.

A slight push caused Pei Huan’s finger to lift a little in response to Yan Zimi’s movement.

“Do you want to touch this?” Yan Zimi asked, gazing into Pei Huan’s eyes.

Pei Huan was momentarily taken aback.

Yan Zimi appeared unaffected, offering a faint smile as he released Pei Huan’s hand.

Yet deep down, it felt like something had gently brushed against him.

Pei Huan also withdrew his hand.

Yan Zimi lowered his gaze, returning to examine the paper, focusing on its pristine cover.

“Yan Zimi,” Pei Huan suddenly called out to him.

Yan Zimi didn’t look up. “Hmm?”

Pei Huan continued, “Paint a picture for me.”

Yan Zimi still kept his gaze down. “Sure, what do you want?”

Pei Huan glanced at the mole on Yan Zimi’s nose. “How about a painting of you?”