WAYCAV Chapter 26

Su Zhiyan closed the door to find Wen Bei slurping spicy noodles after finishing a round of games.

“Why are you back so late?” Wen Bei asked casually.

“I went to watch a game,” Su Zhiyan replied as he changed clothes and headed to the bathroom.

“What?!”

The thunderous shout nearly burst Su Zhiyan’s eardrums.

He put down his headband, trying to avoid Wen Bei’s grabbing hands and the inevitable spray of saliva.

“You actually went to watch a game behind my back!” Wen Bei looked like he was about to cry, shaking Su Zhiyan frantically. “Quick, tell me how it felt watching it live! Was it amazing? Super exciting?!”

Su Zhiyan’s head was getting dizzy from all the shaking. “Yes, yes, yes.”

“I’ll take you next time if there’s a chance. This time my friend couldn’t go last minute so he gave me his ticket.”

“How come you’re suddenly interested in games?” Wen Bei instantly calmed down, looking thoughtful. “Did you go alone?”

“With Shen Nianjing.” Su Zhiyan put down his toothpaste.

“??????” Wen Bei’s eyes went wide, his mouth gaping like he’d swallowed an egg. He looked at Su Zhiyan, then looked away, then looked at Su Zhiyan again.

“What’s wrong?” Su Zhiyan asked through his toothbrush, words slurred. But he could tell Wen Bei was up to no good from that expression.

“Haha… hahahaha.” Wen Bei suddenly burst into laughter, borderline hysterical.

Su Zhiyan: “…”

He turned around to rinse his mouth, ignoring that crazy person.

After he finished washing up, Wen Bei looked at him with a mischievous smile. “Su Zhiyan, you really do everything with Shen Nianjing now.”

“…I’ll definitely take you to the next game.” Su Zhiyan couldn’t stand Wen Bei’s meaningful look. “How about I just treat you to a game for your birthday this time? What do you think?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

He shook his head in denial, then randomly said, “Congratulations.”

Su Zhiyan: “?”

But Wen Bei didn’t say anything more. He turned and went into the bathroom, sighing loudly, “The world is going downhill[mfn]世风日下 (shì fēng rì xià) – public morals are degenerating with each passing day (idiom)[/mfn], people’s hearts aren’t what they used to be[mfn]人心不古 (rén xīn bù gǔ) – (idiom) moral standards are much lower now than in former times[/mfn]!”

“Idiot,” Su Zhiyan muttered.

But Wen Bei was right about one thing.

He really did do everything with Shen Nianjing now, like he’d gotten used to it.

Even watching this game was the same.

Was the “21 days to form a habit” theory actually scientific?

But this was pretty good. At least he didn’t seem like a “stalker” anymore.

–

After October, it rained several times and the temperature dropped quickly, giving a real sense of autumn.

Thursday night, Su Zhiyan turned off his computer and drank the rest of the warm water in his cup in one go.

“Leaving so early today?”

A friend from the same department sitting across from him was very surprised to see him starting to pack his backpack.

“Yeah.” Su Zhiyan zipped up his jacket and put on his hoodie. “I’m a bit dizzy. I want to go back and sleep early.”

“I told you that you were wearing too little.”

“I’m leaving.” Su Zhiyan picked up his backpack.

“Okay, bye.”

Su Zhiyan walked out of the library and stood at the entrance thinking whether to scan a bike to go back to the dorm or walk.

Walking would take too long, but biking… it was a bit cold.

He really regretted not listening to his mom’s message this morning to wear more clothes. The key problem was he didn’t have many thick clothes or jackets in his dorm closet. Before, he’d either go to the mall or buy online, or just go home to get them.

“Hello there.”

Su Zhiyan turned around.

A tall guy walked over with a smile, his trench coat swaying as he moved.

“Yes?” Su Zhiyan said.

“Looks like you really study seriously, you don’t remember me at all.” The guy smiled. “These past few days in the library I’ve been sitting diagonally across from you. I’m Xie Qifang, third year, from the Information Engineering College.”

“Oh.” Su Zhiyan nodded.

Xie Qifang looked like a very refined person. His bangs were styled in a perfect 3:7 part, and a fresh, clean scent drifted from him.

“Can we be friends? I’m preparing for graduate school entrance exams next year, but I have zero self-discipline.”

“I really want someone serious and disciplined to guide me.” He smiled.

His tone was sincere, but his smile felt casual.

Su Zhiyan turned his head. “If you can’t even discipline yourself for grad school prep, having someone else guide you won’t help.”

Xie Qifang seemed surprised he’d say that. After a moment of shock, he laughed again.

What’s so funny? Su Zhiyan felt annoyed.

He was born with light-colored eyes, thick black lashes, and fair skin. His features were superior, and with his usual indifferent expression, standing silently at the entrance, he blended perfectly with the autumn scenery, very pleasing to the eye.

When Su Zhiyan was little, girls his age often invited him to play games because he was good-looking. As he grew up, he received many carefully written love letters. In high school, even boys confessed to him.

So he could tell Xie Qifang was probably trying to hit on him.

While his words had a rejecting tone, they were also his honest thoughts.

He wasn’t impressed by this person’s way of approaching him.

“Alright, then I’ll work hard on my own first.” Xie Qifang’s voice was gentle, completely unaffected by Su Zhiyan’s attitude. “Please don’t reject me then.”

Su Zhiyan looked at him lazily. “I have no reason to accept your friend request.”

Xie Qifang seemed surprised. “You’re not taking the grad school exam?”

Given how seriously Su Zhiyan studied, he assumed he’d be preparing.

“No.” Su Zhiyan shook his head.

Xie Qifang still smiled. “That’s okay, I…”

“I’m getting direct admission.”

“…”

Xie Qifang swallowed the words he was about to say.

Su Zhiyan had also figured out what to do. He’d ride the bike.

Cold was better than being stopped on the road for pointless conversation.

“Well, see you around then, top student.” Xie Qifang watched him ride away.

“Su—Zhi—Yan—”

A voice called from behind, growing closer.

Su Zhiyan slowed down, waiting for his friend to catch up on his bike. “Didn’t you say you’d stay until closing? How come you’re leaving now too?”

Wang Yao panted. “After you left, I didn’t want to study anymore.”

“I need a study buddy, otherwise I can’t even focus on reading.”

Su Zhiyan didn’t understand. Was needing someone’s company while studying some kind of popular study habit?

“Why are you still here? I thought you’d be back in the dorm by now.”

“Got held up for a bit.”

“Perfect timing though, now I have a buddy for the ride back to the dorm!”

Su Zhiyan wondered what this “buddy” trend was all about. Wen Bei always talked about his gaming buddy’s skills being like a roller coaster, either carrying him to victory or dragging him down.

Was “buddy” just another word for friend?

“I decided not to go to the library tomorrow.” Wang Yao’s voice couldn’t hide his excitement. “The drama I’ve been following has double episodes this weekend, and I’ve saved up several episodes.”

“Tomorrow I’m going to binge-watch them all, then catch up on the weekend updates!” He let go of the handlebars with his left hand and pumped a fist.

“With your fast-forward and triple speed?” Su Zhiyan teased.

“No no no! My habit now is to savor every detail, the kind where I read all the comments too.”

Su Zhiyan had a flash of inspiration. “How many dramas have you watched?”

Wang Yao laughed. “Way too many to count. I’ve loved watching dramas since I was little.”

Su Zhiyan’s curiosity was piqued. “Have you ever seen a plot like this?”

He repeated word for word the entire plot that Shen Nianjing had told him before, emphasizing it was a storyline between a supporting character and cannon fodder.

Wang Yao had a moment of realization. “This supporting character is basically a villain character type, pretty ruthless!”

“What drama is this, so melodramatic?”

“You haven’t seen this?” Su Zhiyan pressed.

“I have zero memory of this plot. It’s probably not from the last thirty years.”

“Or maybe you remembered wrong? Want me to ask on my drama-watching account?”

“…No need.” Su Zhiyan smiled.

If even Wang Yao hadn’t seen this drama, it was either a super terrible flop or a black and white film.

But Wang Yao was the type who’d check out even super terrible flops just to see how bad they really were.

The next morning there was a new class schedule, a public lecture.

After getting to the classroom, Wen Bei kept looking around.

“What are you looking for?” Su Zhiyan pressed down his notebook that almost got knocked off by Wen Bei’s fidgeting.

“Shen Nianjing.” Wen Bei said matter-of-factly. “Where is he? Didn’t you save him a seat?”

“…He’ll be here soon.”

Su Zhiyan had checked his phone a few minutes ago. Shen Nianjing sent him a message saying he was about to enter the school gate.

He slumped over his desk, listlessly scrolling through their chat history.

Should he ask Shen Nianjing about that drama or not?

He always felt like what Shen Nianjing said that day might not be true, but he had no reason to lie to him and make up a whole drama, right?

It made no sense.

Su Zhiyan couldn’t figure out the logic behind it, and the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he got.

“Over here!”

Wen Bei suddenly waved his hand.

Su Zhiyan looked up. Shen Nianjing was already walking over with his books.

“Phew! Good thing I’m not late!” He put his books down next to Su Zhiyan and pulled out two pens from his pocket.

His whole manner was neat and carefree.

Su Zhiyan thought to himself that this person usually seemed so upright and honest, so how come he couldn’t stand up to scrutiny?

But if he asked directly, wouldn’t that show he didn’t trust his friend and hurt their brotherhood?

After all, his friendship with Shen Nianjing started from “wanting a good night’s sleep,” so it wasn’t exactly pure.

“Why are you staring at me?” Shen Nianjing raised an eyebrow, then smiled. “Don’t tell me I look especially handsome today?”

Weirdo.

Su Zhiyan turned his face away.

“How come you’re wearing so little? That’s just two layers, right?” Shen Nianjing pinched his sleeve.

“Yeah~” Wen Bei said in a singsong voice. “How come this person is dressed so lightly~ not taking care of his body at all~.”

Su Zhiyan frowned, glancing at Wen Bei with a “what the hell” look.

Another weirdo.

“Here!” Shen Nianjing pulled out a cup of hot porridge from his pocket like magic. “Drink this to warm up.”

“I’m not cold.” Su Zhiyan said.

But he still took the hot porridge and jabbed the straw hard into the cup opening.

After class, Su Zhiyan grabbed Shen Nianjing. “I need to ask you something.” Then he looked at Wen Bei, who immediately blinked. “Okay, I’m going to buy food first. I won’t wait for you, bye bye bye!”

Watching Wen Bei leave quickly, Shen Nianjing’s eyes showed amusement. Though he didn’t know why Su Zhiyan wanted him to stay, he was pretty happy about it. “What—”

“Top student~” A playful greeting interrupted them.

Shen Nianjing looked over.

A tall guy in a long trench coat suddenly walked over and stopped in front of Su Zhiyan.

“We really did meet again, what fate.”

Xie Qifang wore a silver earring in his left ear, seemed to have light makeup on, and had the top two buttons of his shirt undone.

Shen Nianjing: “…” Where did this peacock come from?

Su Zhiyan deadpanned, “The Information Engineering College is half a campus away from our college. Are you walking through a maze?”

“Hahaha, you’re really interesting.”

Shen Nianjing’s teeth hurt just listening to this.

Getting roasted and still calling it interesting, was this guy a masochist?

“Either way, we did meet.” Xie Qifang took out his phone and pulled up his friend code. “Can you agree to be friends this time, top student?”

Su Zhiyan’s expression was cold, his tone even colder. “You came all the way here without even knowing my name?”

Even after being exposed, Xie Qifang didn’t get angry and kept smiling. “Alright, Su Zhiyan, I was worried you’d be put off by me asking around about you.”

“But I really did ask my friend because I genuinely wanted to get to know you.”

Su Zhiyan didn’t say anything.

Xie Qifang seemed to already understand his coldness and invited again. “Are you free for lunch—”

“Ding.”

The sound of a successful scan suddenly rang out.

Both of them froze, looking at the person who had successfully scanned the code.

Shen Nianjing smiled faintly. “Wasn’t this about making friends? Now you’ve achieved your goal.”

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