Shen Yang was upset and didn’t return to the dorm that night. Yan Linjian didn’t care where he went to party, but what surprised him was that Qi Jingzhi also came back very late that day. He couldn’t help but send him a message.
【Where are you? Why aren’t you back yet?】
【Library. Heading back now.】
【Alright】
The frequency of their chats only increased in the past two weeks, mostly consisting of takeout transfers. Scrolling through the chat history, Yan Linjian thought about what Shen Yang had said and felt a surge of anger in his heart.
He knew that Qi Jingzhi’s family situation was not good, he earned his tuition and living expenses himself and lived frugally. But what was so shameful about that, being self-sufficient was much better than being a freeloader relying on family money like the rest of them.
Shen Yang was just a jerk, nothing good ever came out of his mouth!
Qi Jingzhi rushed back just before curfew, carrying a large box of cherries, which he placed directly on Yan Linjian’s desk.
Yan Linjian was startled. He had treated Qi Jingzhi to a few meals recently under the pretext of tutoring fees, but even if Qi Jingzhi wanted to return the favour, there was no need for such an expensive gift.
“Why did you buy this? I don’t even like them.”
“Didn’t you mention you wanted to eat some on the phone last time?”
“…” Yan Linjian kept a straight face, thinking to himself, how can someone who types on a keyboard all day have such keen hearing?
Qi Jingzhi smiled calmly and said, “I got my pay cheque.”
Yan Linjian had never seen him smile so happily before, and he couldn’t help but be infected by it. He sincerely praised, “That’s impressive.”
Qi Jingzhi pulled out a bank card from his pocket and asked, “Can you keep this for me?”
?
Although they were quite close with each other, but they weren’t close enough to this degree, right?
Yan Linjian hesitated, then heard Qi Jingzhi say, “I don’t have a wallet, so I figured it would be safer with you.”
He doesn’t even have a wallet?
Yan Linjian, feeling unusually charitable, took the card and slipped it into his own wallet: “I’ll keep it safe for you. Do you want me to give you some of it regularly for living expenses?”
“No need, I can earn money myself.” Qi Jingzhi’s face flushed and said shyly, “I want to save this money to, to… use as a dowry.”
Yan Linjian burst into laughter at that, poking Qi Jingzhi’s shoulder and saying: “You don’t even have a girlfriend yet, and you’re already thinking about getting married?”
“I will, eventually.”
Qi Jingzhi lowered his gaze, his eyes settling on Yan Linjian’s shoulder. He reached out, picked off a stray strand of hair from his clothes, and held it tightly in his palm.
“Alright then, I’ll keep it for you. Just ask me for it when you need it.”
This card stayed in Yan Linjian’s wallet for an entire semester. During that time, Qi Jingzhi went from an unknown figure to the legendary Qi-shen of the entire school, while Yan Linjian secured his own spot on the Campus Influencers List thanks to his record of being dumped eight times in one semester. His ex-girlfriends even started a forum section dedicated to venting about the clueless things he did in relationships, which remained highly popular on the school forum.
During a club gathering, Yan Linjian found himself getting teased about it. One of his ex-girlfriends happened to be there too.
“Honestly, you’re great in every way, but I don’t know why we just can’t seem to get along.” His ex-girlfriend, having had too much to drink, pulled Yan Linjian and vented, “You’re the first boyfriend I’ve ever had who would ditch me to go on a roller coaster alone!”
Yan Linjian: “Because you said you were afraid of heights.”
“I said that because I wanted you to accompany me to ride some lower rides! Yan Linjian, you totally deserve to be single.”
After multiple failed relationships, Yan Linjian finally came to terms with it. Whether he was dating or not, was no longer important. If he keeps embarrassing himself like this, his entire family would soon know about his such deeds.
Thankfully, his brother was abroad and wasn’t at the university. Otherwise, he would have really been in trouble.
By the time the club dinner ended, it was already nine at night. A rowdy crowd made their way back to campus. Yan Linjian, along with a few others who hadn’t had too much to drink, had to drag and escort everyone back to their dorms, and ended up sweating a lot. By the time he finally returned to his own dorm, it was already 9:30 p.m.
All the exams for their department had ended. Shen Yang and Miao Xin each went back to their homes, but Yan Linjian planned to stay until the day the university started to kick people home. He missed his mother, but he really didn’t want to go home and face his father. Even with Qi Jingzhi’s cram tutoring during finals week, Yan Linjian was still nervous, fearing that his uncle would take him on a 20 kilometre training run.
The dorm lights were still on. Qi Jingzhi, dressed in light gray pajamas, was sitting at his desk. Hearing the sound of the door opening, he stood up: “Linjian? Are you drunk?”
“Not drunk, just exhausted.” Yan Linjian swayed and leaned against him, complaining, “Those people can really drink. Especially Chen Yuwei, she out-drank every guy in the club.”
Qi Jingzhi’s arm around his back tightened slightly, he asked: “Chen Yuwei is your ex-girlfriend, right?”
“Mm.” Yan Linjian closed his eyes, wishing he could just fall asleep right away.
Qi Jingzhi gave him a little shake. “Did you two get back together?”
“How is that possible… it was just a club gathering.” Yan Linjian’s only focus was his bed. He tried to push Qi Jingzhi aside but failed. “I want to sleep.”
“At least wash up first. You’re reeking of alcohol.”
His tone almost sounded angry. But under the influence of alcohol, Yan Linjian couldn’t think too deeply about it. By the time he realized what was happening, he had already been led into the bathroom.
Qi Jingzhi filled a basin with warm water, soaked a towel and gently wiped Yan Linjian’s face, his movements soft and careful. Yan Linjian’s mind was a hazy mess, he mumbled, “Chen Yuwei said I was her worst boyfriend ever.”
“Does it bother you?”
“A little. Hai… maybe I just shouldn’t date at all.”
“You’ve said that before, but you never seem to learn.”
Qi Jingzhi’s hand pressed a little harder, rubbing Yan Linjian’s cheek red. He howled and said softly, “Be gentler.”
“Alright,” Qi Jingzhi muttered.
Yan Linjian lowered his head, fragmented memories flashed through his mind, like meteor shards streaking across the night sky: “Actually, my first relationship was in high school.”
Qi Jingzhi’s actions paused for a moment. “Hm?”
“It was in a game. I met this really cool girl. Back then, I had just started playing and got cornered by a wild monster on the edge of a cliff. She swooped down from the sky and saved me… I fell in love at first sight. Do you think it’s ridiculous to fall in love at first sight with someone in a game?”
“No.”
“I pursued her for a long time, and she finally agreed to become my partner. But not long after, my dad found out about us. He thought online relationships were unreliable, and since I had made a mistake and got scammed out of money, my dad forced me to delete my account before I even got to say goodbye to her. Dating her was amazing. Although she wasn’t very talkative, and I always had to start the conversations, but she would take me all around the game world to visit different scenic spots. Maybe because that first love ended so suddenly, I started dating recklessly afterward, I just wanted to rebel against my dad’s authority!”
Yan Linjian suddenly became fired up, raising his right hand high, almost knocking over the water basin. Qi Jingzhi pressed his hand back down and asked in a quiet voice: “How did you get scammed out of money?”
“It’s a long story… My first love was short on money at the time, so I transferred my New Year’s money to her. As a result, my parents found out and thought I got scammed.”
“Do you feel like you were scammed too?”
“No, I believe her. She’s not a scammer. I’ve always wanted to know whether that money actually helped her.”
As he spoke, Yan Linjian’s nose tingled with a sour ache. A few tears welled up at the corners of his eyes, which were gently wiped away by Qi Jingzhi. His drunken body felt light, and the moment he touched his bed, his consciousness drifted away.
In his half-asleep, half-awake state, Yan Linjian vaguely heard a voice whispering beside his ear:
“It did.”
The author has something to say:
Yan Linjian assumed his first love was a girl, so he referred to them as “she.”
Qi-shen didn’t scam him.
Note: Novels are novels, reality is reality, be cautious with online dating!! Never transfer money to online friends!! There are many scammers online, so don’t have a mindset of taking chances!! Beware of fraud!!
