For once, Ye Xi didn’t arrive at class exactly as the bell rang, but even after sitting down, he still felt a bit dazed.
He was wearing Bai Yue’s jacket, which was a bit too big for him—not a great fit, but luckily he was tall and slim, so it looked like an intentional oversized style.
But his deskmate Li Rui immediately sensed something was up.
He had waited all night for Ye Xi to return to the dorm, but he never came back. All he got was a message saying Ye Xi had something to do and was staying out.
And now, here Ye Xi was—having spent the night out and wearing a jacket that obviously wasn’t his.
Very suspicious.
Li Rui’s gaze swept over Ye Xi like an X-ray, and he asked, “Where were you last night? Why didn’t you come back? Do you know how hard it was for me to lie to the dorm inspectors for you?”
He stared at Ye Xi, guessing, “Did you pull an all-nighter gaming? And whose jacket is that? Doesn’t look like your size. And it’s not new either. Don’t tell me you met some guy in an internet café and spent the night chatting about stars and poetry…”
His imagination ran further and further. As a boy with a budding crush and an overactive imagination, it was easy for his mind to go to weird places.
Ye Xi made a “shh” gesture.
“I didn’t stay up all night, and I didn’t sleep at an internet café,” Ye Xi licked his lips and whispered, “I stayed at Bai Yue’s place.”
“What?!”
Li Rui was stunned.
What the hell? He missed just one night of surveillance and this happened? What kind of god-tier speed was this? How did Ye Xi go from zero to home run overnight?
Excited, he grabbed Ye Xi’s jacket, eyes shining. “You finally woke up, huh? Tell me everything—how did you end up at Bai Yue’s place?!”
His voice rose a bit too loud, drawing some attention from the nearby students.
Ye Xi suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and quietly pushed Li Rui’s hand away.
Just then, the English teacher walked in, knocking on the doorframe to get everyone’s attention.
“Put down your books. Here’s a set of mock reading comprehension papers. Use the morning class period to complete it—we’ll review it together after.”
As she spoke, she began handing out the papers and asked the students to pass them down the rows.
The classroom was instantly filled with groans, including one from Li Rui.
Ye Xi used the opportunity to retrieve the corner of his jacket from Li Rui’s grasp.
“I’ll tell you after class.”
Li Rui was clearly reluctant to wait, but the classroom had already gone quiet, filled only with the sound of pens on paper. The English teacher was watching from the front of the room like a hawk. No matter how unruly he could be, chatting now would be too obvious.
He had no choice but to wait, though he still squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth, “You better tell me after class.”
Forty minutes later, the early class ended.
They had a fifteen-minute break between classes. Li Rui immediately grabbed Ye Xi and even handed him a bottle of milk to help “soothe his throat” before demanding a full retelling of last night’s events.
Ye Xi thought this gossip fiend was hopeless.
He slowly took a sip of the milk, getting a white mustache on his lips, which he licked away.
He hesitated, then said, “Honestly, it wasn’t much. I took a shortcut back to school last night and ran into a petty thief…”
Ye Xi briefly summarized the previous day’s events. “…Then Bai Yue said his apartment was nearby, and it was too late for me to go back to school without possibly getting caught by teachers. So I stayed at his place for the night. The jacket is his—he lent it to me this morning.”
Li Rui let out a dramatic “wow.”
Even though Ye Xi’s version was pretty dry, he still managed to fill in all sorts of steamy details in his imagination.
But Ye Xi immediately crushed his fantasy.
“His apartment has three rooms. I stayed in the guest room across from his. We each slept in our own rooms. Didn’t bother each other.”
Crash.
Li Rui’s beautiful daydreams shattered completely. He gave Ye Xi a resentful look.
Still, he wasn’t ready to give up. “That’s it? You had such a great opportunity—didn’t you do anything?”
Ye Xi blanked for a second.
Did he do anything…?
He had planned to. After all, he’d studied seduction tips for so long—he figured it was time to put it into practice. But in the end, he didn’t get the chance.
Then he remembered Bai Yue feeding him pasta and asking him to remove the basil leaf from his face.
And when Bai Yue said he’d always thought he was well-behaved.
If anything, it felt like Bai Yue was unintentionally seducing him.
But Bai Yue always seemed calm and gentle—like a gentleman without any intentions.
Ye Xi’s face flushed slightly.
He mumbled, “I wouldn’t say nothing happened… before bed, Bai Yue made me a late-night snack. We even watched a variety show on the couch together.”
Then, as if feeling a little shy, he added in a low voice, “Actually, on the way to school this morning, Bai Yue said he could tutor me. He accidentally saw my test paper and thought my score was really bad.”
That brought Li Rui back to life.
“Perfect!” He slapped his thigh. “If he wants to tutor you, let him! That way, you’ll have an excuse to see him often!”
But then he saw Ye Xi’s expression and had a bad feeling.
“…Don’t tell me you said no?”
Ye Xi shrank back slightly, fearing Li Rui would hit him, then silently nodded.
“Aaaaah!!” Li Rui broke down. He was about to lose it.
What was the difference between this and playing a game with a teammate who sabotages the mission? Ye Xi got a golden opportunity and just let it go?!
“What were you thinking?” Li Rui poked Ye Xi angrily. “You’re the one crushing on Bai Yue—not the other way around! He’s offering to tutor you, and you push him away? What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Ye Xi smoothly dodged his finger.
But he didn’t argue back.
Because deep down, he regretted it too.
Li Rui wasn’t wrong. It was a golden opportunity. Even if the tutoring didn’t help, at least he’d have a reason to keep seeing Bai Yue.
But he quietly laid his head on the desk, looking dejected, and explained slowly:
“I just felt… maybe Bai Yue was just being polite. If I latched onto that and immediately said yes, it might’ve made things awkward.”
“Besides, with my infuriatingly bad grades, if Bai Yue really tried to tutor me and saw I wasn’t improving, he might think even worse of me.”
Ye Xi turned his face toward Li Rui. He had no expression, but the way the corners of his eyes drooped made him look helpless and pitiful.
Li Rui’s heart almost exploded from the cuteness.
Ahhh, being pretty really is an unfair advantage. Ye Xi looked so sad and adorable like that.
Even Li Rui, who was firmly committed to being a bottom, felt his resolve wavering.
He couldn’t help but complain, Bai Yue must be blind! How could he let such a pretty little thing sleep in his guest room and not do anything? Just let him come and go?
Unbelievable!
At this point, he openly suspected Bai Yue was impotent.
He reached out to ruffle Ye Xi’s hair and comforted him: “You can’t think like that. Maybe Bai Yue genuinely wants to help. Didn’t you say he’s the kind of person who rescues stray dogs on the street? Maybe he just really likes helping people.”
“It’s okay,” he patted Ye Xi. “Whether it works or not, you should go for it. If you regret it, text him now. Say: ‘Gege, I was blind this morning and rejected your offer. I sincerely repent. Would you please take me in again?’”
Ye Xi laughed, knowing that Li Rui was teasing him, and kicked Li Rui under the table.
Just then, the bell for class rang. The previously noisy classroom reluctantly quieted down again as the math teacher walked up to the podium.
Ye Xi pulled out his textbook, absentmindedly taking notes while his hand kept reaching into the desk compartment to touch his phone.
His pinned WeChat contact—the very first one—was Bai Yue.
Just like Li Rui had said, if he truly regretted it, he could message Bai Yue anytime.
Ye Xi spun his pen, but didn’t grip it well. With a clack, the slender fountain pen fell onto the desk, splashing a bit of dark red ink.
It stood out starkly on the white test paper—alarming and glaring.
…..
Over the next few days, Ye Xi went to class as usual, and returned to the dorm to read novels.
He appeared completely calm, acting no different than before. He hadn’t forgotten to camp online for the release of a new special-edition manga and merchandise. He even snatched up ten sets in one go and tipped his favorite artist on Weibo.
Even Li Rui was amazed, saying, “Look at that mental fortitude. Rejecting his dream guy and still this chill.”
But only four days later, Ye Xi appeared outside Bai Yue’s apartment building, poking his head around, carrying a gift bag.
He was hiding in a small café across from Bai Yue’s apartment. The shop was tiny, with only one row of seats by the window, but from there he had a clear view of the residential complex across the street—every passerby and vehicle in or out could be seen.
In the gift bag beside him was the jacket Bai Yue had lent him that day. On the surface, he was just returning the jacket. But deep down, he had ulterior motives.
Ye Xi sipped his white peach soda, the ice cubes clinking gently in the glass as he stirred with a metal straw.
His eyes lowered, hoping Bai Yue would come back soon, yet dreading actually meeting him.
Ever since he turned down Bai Yue’s tutoring offer that day, he had been drowning in regret.
On the surface, he was composed. Rationally, he knew Bai Yue had just been being polite.
But emotionally, it was like a hundred tiny ants gnawed at his heart, day and night.
He kept wondering—what if he’d said yes that day? He didn’t expect Bai Yue to tutor him forever. He just wanted to spend a few afternoons together.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. In his desperation, he reopened that paid seduction tips app, opened a private chat window, and bought a ¥288 half-hour consultation session.
“VIP Dating Mentor Private Chatroom – Solve Your Problem Directly.”
He dumped his whole situation in the chatbox and sincerely asked the mentor whether he should try again—should he message his crush and say he wanted tutoring after all?
The mentor hesitated. The typing indicator blinked for a long time.
Finally, the reply came:
“Sweetie… you’re not still in high school, are you?”
Ye Xi was stunned.
But for once, he reacted quickly and flatly denied it:
“Nope.”
He struggled internally for a moment, then abandoned his conscience and spiced up the details:
“I’m in college, about to graduate. Need help with my thesis. My crush said he’d tutor me.”
The other side clearly relaxed. The typing sped up:
“Of course you should go! How could you not?! If you miss this golden opportunity, you’re an idiot! The first rule of seduction is to create alone time. You’ve got the perfect setup—his place, just the two of you, zero interruptions. That’s the dream environment!”
“And more importantly—sweetie, if your crush offered to help with your thesis, that’s a clear sign he likes you! Just play it smart and he’s yours!”
That last sentence came as a voice message—a cheerful, teasing female voice with a hint of warmth.
Ye Xi’s ears turned red.
He wanted to explain—Bai Yue was just being kind, not interested in that way.
But then he figured, what’s the point?
He rubbed his ears and asked seriously:
“So should I text him?”
“Nonono,” the mentor replied immediately. “Go in person! Either go to his place or ask to meet somewhere private. Look a little shy, then say you’re having trouble with your thesis and ask if his offer still stands.”
“You have to dress nicely, and your eyes need to look soft and a bit pitiful. If you forgot how, go review Lesson 1, Chapter 3—I taught this! Just look at him that way and ask sincerely. No way he’ll say no.”
The mentor’s persuasive tone left Ye Xi dizzy.
So, on Friday night, he gritted his teeth, steeled his nerves, and showed up—carrying Bai Yue’s jacket.
He knew Bai Yue usually spent a few hours at the archery range on Fridays—often staying past 9 p.m. This tidbit he’d overheard from Zheng Yang.
So at 8 p.m., he was already there—lying in wait.
But still, he was a little nervous.
Flipping a coin wouldn’t help him now, so he decided to leave it to fate.
If Bai Yue came back before midnight, he’d muster up the courage to go up and ask for tutoring again.
But if midnight came and went, and Bai Yue never returned…
Then maybe even the heavens were telling him to give up.
The thought made Ye Xi a bit dejected. He leaned back in his seat, the corners of his eyes drooping.
His fingers idly traced circles on the table. The charm for romantic luck he and Li Rui had gotten from the temple was still tucked in his bag.
Please… just let me have a little more luck. Let me run into Bai Yue tonight.
