Loud banging echoed through the door of Room 306, leaving everyone inside dumbfounded.
“What’s the matter?” Zhou Zhou opened the door with a sleepy face, his tone clearly irritated.
Who would bang on someone’s dorm door in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?
“Where are you and Wang Mingzhi? I remember you’re both Su Zhiyan’s teammates?” Shen Nianjing glanced at the room assignment posted on the door, then strode toward bed number three to shake awake Wang Mingzhi, who had already dozed off again.
“!” Wang Mingzhi sat up and jumped at the sight of a face before him. Then, seeing Zhou Zhou holding up his phone as a flashlight nearby, his anger at being woken up in the middle of the night instantly surfaced.
‘Not sleeping at night, are you trying to scare ghosts?’ he thought, but kept his complaints to himself.
“So what’s the emergency that you’re waking people up in the middle of the night? Is there a fire?” They moved to the stairwell to avoid disturbing their other roommate from a different team. Zhou Zhou sat on the stairs with his legs spread out, waiting for Shen Nianjing to give a clear answer.
“The competition deadline is the day after tomorrow, and you can still sleep??” Shen Nianjing’s tone was sharp.
He didn’t know why he checked the dorm distribution list while walking, or why he headed straight to Room A-306 without hesitation. But after arriving and seeing these two sleeping so soundly, his emotions suddenly flared up.
“We still have a day and a half…” Zhou Zhou’s arms drooped, clearly not wanting to discuss this topic.
“Then why did you even enter the competition?” Shen Nianjing couldn’t understand.
“Tangtang was desperate for teammates, but everyone interested had already signed up and formed teams.”
“Later, he said he would lead the team to win awards, and a bunch of people in the group rushed to join. We had to beg for a long time to secure a spot as his teammates.”
Zhou Zhou tilted his head back with half-closed eyes, looking barely awake.
“Well, that’s great. How’s he supposed to help you win prizes when he’s about to kick the bucket?” Shen Nianjing coldly mocked.
He wasn’t usually one for sarcasm or meddling in others’ affairs, but for some reason, today he felt extremely irritated.
Absolutely irritated.
Wang Mingzhi froze, then opened his eyes to look at Shen Nianjing.
“What happened to him?” Zhou Zhou straightened up to ask.
“Too busy to eat, pulled all-nighters to catch up on progress, ended up with low blood sugar and fainted,” Shen Nianjing added flatly.
“He’s getting an IV at the hospital. It should be done in about half an hour.”
“Will he come back after the IV’s done? Did he ask you to find us?” Wang Mingzhi stepped forward from his corner to ask.
Hearing this, Shen Nianjing glanced at him. Under the dim corridor lights, his eyes appeared cold.
Zhou Zhou quickly stood up to smooth things over, “That’s just how Wang Mingzhi is. He’s not good with words and can’t express himself clearly.”
“He just wants to know how Su-ge is doing.”
Shen Nianjing averted his gaze, the irritation in his heart still unresolved, and said coldly, “If we’re unlucky, we’ll see him in forty minutes.”
“If we’re lucky, he should sleep through until tomorrow morning, the kind of sleep where even an alarm clock won’t wake him.”
But I think that’s for the best, Shen Nianjing silently added.
“What should we do now? We’re not trying to take advantage, it’s just that we really can’t help much.”
“It’s fine, I can guide you for one night.” Shen Nianjing grabbed the handrail, preparing to go down. “We’re all Math students, surely you have some basics?”
He looked back, “Don’t tell me you use GPT for all your homework?”
Zhou Zhou didn’t talk back despite the mockery, and asked: “You’re our competitor, is this appropriate? Won’t your teammates object?”
Shen Nianjing laughed, pointing his thumb at himself, “I’m helping you out of humanitarian concerns.”
“Whether it’s help before or during the competition, it’s still help, just at different times.”
“But it’s so late, don’t you need to sleep?” Wang Mingzhi asked timidly.
“…It’s just one sleepless night. I bet Su Zhiyan hasn’t slept for several nights already, right?”
Wang Mingzhi pressed his lips together and did not say anything.
“Su Zhiyan is this busy because his project conflicts with the competition, but he’s never mentioned any of this to us. He tends to push himself too hard,” Wang Mingzhi, who had been quiet until now, spoke up as they walked.
“He pushes himself because he actually has the ability to.” Shen Nianjing stopped, turned around and looked at him. “He didn’t tell you how busy he was because he takes responsibility for what he says.”
With that, he pushed open the door and went in.
Wang Mingzhi choked up and paused before following.
As he climbed the stairs, Shen Nianjing mentally kicked himself hard.
He thought he must be crazy. Why was he speaking up for Su Zhiyan?
Although from what he could see, Su Zhiyan was indeed that kind of person.
Stubborn, but very responsible and meticulous about his studies.
But why should he care… why should he care at all!!
Shen Nianjing’s face darkened. He felt like he must be possessed by someone.
–
In his hazy state, Su Zhiyan felt a sudden brightness before his eyes, with sunlight seeping through his eyelids, red and warm.
“Hmm, you’re doing well today. Remember to eat more vegetables at lunch.”
A voice filtered into his ears, and after processing the information, his eyes snapped open.
“?” Su Zhiyan sat confused on the hospital bed, blinking at the nurse before him.
“Ah, handsome, you’re awake. Remember to process your discharge after ten,” the nurse said with a smile before walking out of the room.
Su Zhiyan sat on the bed, feeling confused.
How did he sleep until now?
He planned to return to the computer room to solve the third problem after finishing his IV, but how did he end up sleeping until eight-thirty in the morning?
He turned back and reached under his pillow.
Empty.
“?”
He lifted the pillow. There was nothing underneath.
Where was his phone?
Su Zhiyan searched the entire hospital bed. He even got down to check if it fell underneath.
He remembered that when he put his phone beside his pillow yesterday, there seemed to be someone else there.
Su Zhiyan sat on the edge of the bed holding his head. A particularly punchable face gradually surfaced in his mind.
Complete with a dazzling smile.
“Handsome guy in bed 3?” a nurse’s voice came from behind. “Here’s your phone.”
Su Zhiyan turned around, took it with both hands and said thanks.
“No problem. That 1:30 AM alarm though…” The nurse looked at him reproachfully. “Good thing I was quick enough to turn it off, or it would have kept ringing.”
“…” Su Zhiyan lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”
Seeing his sincere attitude, the nurse smiled. “It’s nothing serious. I just think that guy from yesterday did the right thing leaving your phone with me.”
Su Zhiyan blinked and nodded. “Mm, thank you, nurse.”
“You’re welcome. Make sure to eat something later, and don’t get hypoglycemic again.” After giving her instructions, the nurse removed the IV from the adjacent bed and left.
Su Zhiyan quickly handled the discharge procedures and hopped on a shared electric bike to hurry back to campus.
In the past few days, because of the sudden acceleration of the project and his absence from school causing various complications, he had to stay at an off-campus hotel, working day and night to finish the report. It wasn’t until last night that he finally completed and sent the section he was responsible for to his senior sister.
Su Zhiyan stopped his bike and took out his phone to open his chat with Shen Nianjing.
Besides his transfer record from half an hour ago, there wasn’t a single other message.
He pressed his lips together, put away his phone, and headed upstairs.
The competition would end tomorrow afternoon. The atmosphere grew more tense with each step up. Everyone was rushing to solve problems, write code, and work on papers.
Su Zhiyan’s footsteps faltered.
Damn, he didn’t know if Shen Nianjing had helped clean up his things when he fainted. What if someone had taken his spot? He hadn’t saved his work yet.
Su Zhiyan bounded up the stairs two or three steps at a time, gripping the handrail as he rushed forward.
The moment he burst into the computer room, everyone’s eyes snapped toward him.
Su Zhiyan: What’s going on? Was there something on his face?
Walking to the second row, Zhou Zhou and Wang Mingzhi both stood up, one holding out rice porridge, the other offering steaming buns.
Su Zhiyan froze. “Huh?” He instinctively looked at the computer, where two people had already written drafts following his paper outline.
“Don’t ‘huh,’ eat first.” Zhou Zhou pushed the breakfast into his hands, then awkwardly shifted around, looking like he had something to say but couldn’t quite get it out.
“I’m sorry,” Wang Mingzhi spoke up. “We didn’t know you were doing the project while still keeping up with the competition, staying up late doing so much work.”
Su Zhiyan held the porridge and buns, feeling their warmth steadily seeping into his palms.
“Um…” He suddenly didn’t know what to say.
“How are you feeling now?” Zhou Zhou asked.
“Fine, I’ve recovered.”
“Good. After you eat, rest for the morning. We can handle this.”
Su Zhiyan put down his breakfast and pulled up a chair to sit down. “It’s fine, let’s do it together.”
Although they volunteered to help, Su Zhiyan knew they lacked experience in this area. Leaving it to them alone would be too inefficient.
“Shen Nianjing taught us some things last night. We can help at least a little, so hurry up and go rest!” Zhou Zhou urged.
“…?”
Su Zhiyan froze in place, his mind buzzing.
Who, what?
“Eat it while it’s hot, or it’ll get cold soon.”
A tap on his shoulder startled Su Zhiyan awake. He looked at Zhou Zhou.
“You’re saying Shen Nianjing taught you guys how to solve problems… early this morning?”
Su Zhiyan looked at the neatly organized materials on the table.
Why was this person avoiding him, yet still took him to the hospital and helped his teammates?
One action with no apparent motive paired with another contradictory action that also had no clear motive.
It was really mind-blowing and baffling.
Su Zhiyan had nothing to say. He stuck a straw into the porridge[mfn]In China, some types of porridge (especially thin rice or millet congee) are very watery and smooth in texture, making them easy to drink rather than eat with a spoon. It’s not uncommon to see people using straws for convenience, especially when on the go or when served in a cup. So yes, drinking porridge with a straw is a thing![/mfn] and took a sip, planning to sit beside them and watch them work.
Wang Mingzhi noticed the dark circles under his eyes. “You should go back and rest.”
Su Zhiyan shook his head stubbornly.
“Go back, I got this!”
A playful voice rang out behind him. Su Zhiyan whipped his head around.
Shen Nianjing stood there holding a water bottle filled to the brim, head held high, his eyes brimming with “trust me, I’m reliable.”
“Why are you here?” Su Zhiyan asked.
“I was just passing by to get water. Is that not allowed?”
“Isn’t the water station on the other side?” Su Zhiyan glanced at him, pointing in the opposite direction.
“…”
Shen Nianjing set down his water bottle with a loud thud. “Mind your own business. The bottle’s mine, I’ll get water wherever I want.”
Zhou Zhou rolled his eyes at their exchange, finding their conversation ridiculous.
Su Zhiyan stared at Shen Nianjing. “You’re my opponent. What do you mean ‘you got this’?”
“I may be your opponent, but we’re still teammates from the same school! In this competition zone, A University stands as one!”
Su Zhiyan: …Well, can’t argue with that logic, if he insisted on putting it that way.
Shen Nianjing continued mumbling, “Besides, like I said, this is humanitarian aid, a symbol of my kindness, a representation of all my wonderful qualities…”
“…” Su Zhiyan felt he suddenly couldn’t understand him anymore.
Although it wasn’t like he ever did before.
Could this guy’s thought process really be different from normal people?
Seeing his confused expression, Shen Nianjing simply pulled out the notes from when he’d taught the two of them a few hours ago. He spread six pages of draft paper grandly in front of Su Zhiyan, lifting his chin proudly. “Now do you trust me?”
Su Zhiyan’s gaze fell to the papers.
The handwriting and various logical breakdowns on the draft papers were enough to show the instructor’s sincerity and patience.
He looked up at Shen Nianjing.
Shen Nianjing’s smile radiated confidence, his bright eyes full of pride and satisfaction, looking quite full of himself.
He suddenly lowered his head and smiled.
“Oh.”
Su Zhiyan said softly, “I trust you.”
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