What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Chapter 70

Chapter 70 – Showing Off

“Everyone, at attention!”

It was lights-out in the boys’ dormitory.

After showering, everyone should have been lying in bed, but Duan Yi refused to settle down. He slid down from the second floor to the first with lightning speed.

“Stand up!”

At the command, Xiaobang looked up from his snack pile. “President Duan, what time is it? Let’s go to sleep. I’ll play your roll call game with you tomorrow.”

Duan Yi kicked Xiaobang’s bed. “Who wants to play games with you? Our class has a top-priority matter to discuss!”

He swiftly dragged Jiang Wangshu out of his blanket. “Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up! With attitudes like yours, you’ll be the first to die gloriously on the battlefield!”

Jiang Wangshu, half-asleep, mumbled, “Duan Bao… are you my dad or my grandma? Can’t you let me get some sleep at this hour?”

Bookworm, sensing the situation, hastily threw down his test papers and scrambled to his feet, standing at attention.

Duan Yi patted Bookworm’s shoulder with an expression of “this one shows promise.” “See? That’s what attitude looks like.”

He took a deep breath and shouted again, “Everyone, at attention!”

This time, he had roused the entire dormitory. They gathered around the desk.

Duan Yi was in high spirits. “Attention! At ease! Count off!”

Jiang Wangshu drawled, “One…”

Bookworm snapped, “Two!”

Xiaobang mumbled, “Three…”

“That’s all!” Duan Yi declared. “Excellent attendance today. I’ll keep this brief.”

He cleared his throat. “The meeting is now in session. Silence your phones. Everyone look me in the eye—don’t let me catch anyone not looking at the Class President!”

Xiaobang, clutching a bag of potato chips, asked, “President Duan, what’s this about?”

Duan Yi struck a dramatic pose. “This is a test to see if you’ve been studying diligently at Second High School.”

Jiang Wangshu retorted, “Comrade Xiao Duan, please state the purpose of this meeting quickly and concisely!”

Duan Yi abandoned his pretense, plopping down on his chair and leaning forward with both hands on the desk. “Tell me,” he said earnestly, “did any of you hear rumors about Sheng Yunze and a Bai Fumei from the Second Division during our first year?”

The three exchanged puzzled glances.

Duan Yi stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Xiaobang furrowed his brow in deep concentration, then suddenly a lightbulb seemed to appear above his head, accompanied by a “ding!”

“I remember something!”

Duan Yi’s eyes lit up. “Excellent! Xiaobang is on fire today. Stand up and recite your answer with feeling!”

Xiaobang said, “President Duan, is the Bai Fumei you’re asking about named Yu Yijing?”

Duan Yi silently repeated the name to himself, but it didn’t ring any bells.

In his first year of high school, he had been in Class Two with Jiang Wangshu, while Sheng Yunze was in Class One.

Although the class numbers suggested they should be on the same floor of the same building, Second High School defied convention. Class One was housed in the science lab building, while Class Two was in the media building.

The two buildings were separated by what felt like a vast distance—a basketball court’s worth—and the students rarely saw each other.

Even though Duan Yi was as well-known as Sheng Yunze in school, he hadn’t seen him more than ten times across his first two years of high school.

Thinking back, Duan Yi realized he truly hadn’t encountered Sheng Yunze much during those early years.

After the reform of the National College Entrance Examination system, Duan Yi and his classmates became the last generation to benefit from the traditional Liberal Arts and Sciences class divisions.

Second High School operated on a flexible class system. Twice a semester, during midterms and finals, students who improved or fell behind would be shuffled between Class One and Class Two based on their exam scores.

Jiang Wangshu, loyal to Duan Yi, refused to transfer to Class One even when his grades warranted it, deeply moving the headmaster of Class Two.

In their third year of high school, the Liberal Arts and Sciences classes were reorganized. Science Classes 1 and 2 were split into a Competition Class and a new Science Class 1, while the remaining students chose Liberal Arts, forming Liberal Arts Class 1.

These were the three elite classes; the rest were regular classes.

Xiaobang said, “Science Class 1’s lab building used to be really close to the new campus, just across a green belt. Back then, the new campus wasn’t finished yet, so the Second Division’s science classes were held in the lab building.”

Duan Yi asked jealously, “Did that Bai Fumei take classes in the lab building too?”

Xiaobang replied, “I heard from my buddy that Secretary Sheng probably met her there. He was already popular with girls in his first year. When he transferred to Second High School, everyone’s jaws dropped.”

Hang City’s best high school was First High School, followed by Second High School. Sheng Yunze’s grades were more than good enough to get into First High School.

Duan Yi had never inquired about Sheng Yunze’s past, and more importantly, he had never seen him through someone else’s eyes. This piqued his curiosity.

“So Sheng Yunze was famous even in middle school?”

Xiaobang munched on potato chips as he answered, “He went to Attached Middle School. He must have been pretty well-known there… Oh, and their uniforms were cool. He became a legend after playing in a basketball game—he was ridiculously handsome.”

“Wow…” Duan Yi exclaimed dramatically, “How have I never seen this before?”

Jiang Wangshu retorted, “Wake up. We’re from Cai He—we never had a chance to play against Attached Middle School.”

He reminded Duan Yi, “Besides, weren’t you dating Nan Yi back then? You strutted around the court like a peacock, practically gluing all your feathers to yourself. How could you possibly have noticed anyone else?”

Duan Yi, embarrassed by his past, quickly changed the subject. “Enough, enough, enough!”

Xiaobang yawned and asked, “Why are you asking about this, President Duan? Don’t tell me you’re crushing on that Bai Fumei too?”

Seeing Duan Yi wasn’t going to press the matter, Jiang Wangshu slowly climbed into bed. “You’ve got your grammar mixed up. Let’s sleep. Nothing short of an earthquake will get me out of bed now, got it?”

Duan Yi grabbed his phone from the bedside, settled into bed, and just as he did, the patrolling teacher walked by.

At this hour, Sheng Yunze was undoubtedly still working on his exam papers. Duan Yi sent him a message, intending to wait for a reply, but he fell asleep clutching his phone.

Duan Yi woke up early to find Sheng Yunze had replied to his message from the night before. First, there was a question mark, followed by, “Asleep?”

It seemed Sheng Yunze knew Duan Yi well.

He was a heavy sleeper in winter.

The dormitory broadcast system blared songs at exactly 6:30 AM, the noise forcing everyone to sit up in bed, grumbling about tearing down the speakers, then the school itself. They’d grab their basins, squeeze toothpaste, and scramble for the faucets. The water was still cold, and the icy splash jolted them awake in the dead of winter.

After quickly changing into their school uniforms, they’d sprint to the sports field. Boarding students had to be present for roll call by 7:00 AM.

Duan Yi dragged himself weakly out of bed. Only when he heard Jiang Wangshu preparing to leave did he mumble, “Mark me present…”

The door swung open again. Half-asleep, Duan Yi looked up. “Back so soon?”

It was Sheng Yunze.

Duan Yi’s eyes snapped open. The aroma of soy milk and fried dough sticks drifted into the room. Sheng Yunze set the breakfast on the table and perched on the upper bunk, watching Duan Yi. He was wearing a bear-print pajama top, his hair sticking up in disarray—endearingly disheveled.

“Still half-asleep?” Sheng Yunze asked.

The air conditioning had been off for half an hour. Duan Yi shivered. “I’m freezing…”

Seeing no one else in the dorm, he rummaged around under the covers for a while before finally settling still.

Sheng Yunze knew Duan Yi had probably stuffed the clothes he’d taken off at the foot of the bed under the blanket to warm them up before putting them on.

He watched Duan Yi struggle under the covers for a long time, then suddenly climb out of bed and leap onto Sheng Yunze.

Sheng Yunze instinctively tightened his grip to keep Duan Yi from falling.

Duan Yi wrapped his legs around Sheng Yunze’s waist, squinted, and hung onto him, half-asleep. “I didn’t finish my homework. I don’t want to go to school.”

Sheng Yunze simply held him and set him on the desk. “You can copy it in class. I’ll help you finish it.”

Duan Yi whined, “Can’t you just tell the teacher not to collect my homework?”

Sheng Yunze replied coolly, “Can’t you just write a few more lines yourself?”

“But I can’t!” Duan Yi protested.

He clung to Sheng Yunze, refusing to let go. After a long struggle, Sheng Yunze finally dragged him to the sink to wash his face and brush his teeth.

By the time Sheng Yunze had packed his backpack, Duan Yi had already finished his soy milk, a white foam clinging to his upper lip.

The last two days before the final exams were mostly free from classes. When Duan Yi arrived at the classroom, Hao Shanshan was reciting her English composition like a monk chanting scriptures.

Duan Yi had overslept and missed roll call, assuming he would lose points. However, Jiang Wangshu told him that Sheng Yunze had already signed him in. Jiang then gave Duan Yi a mischievous look and said in a mockingly exaggerated tone, “Having a boyfriend is so convenient! You don’t even have to sign in yourself or do your homework anymore.”

Duan Yi retorted shamelessly, “That only works if your boyfriend is a top student.”

The two days of self-study passed in the blink of an eye.

The night before the exams, the Old Class Teacher distributed the exam permits and then kept them late during Evening Self-Study to clean the classroom.

Duan Yi treated cleaning like a game. Unable to find any newspaper to wipe the windows, he crumpled up his weekly English practice report and used that instead.

Ah Mi caught him in the act, and he was immediately punished by being made to stand outside the door.

The Old Class Teacher warned them not to bring phones into the exam hall. Anyone caught cheating with a phone would receive a zero.

He also forbade them from bringing any unauthorized items into the hall. If they accidentally brought something, they were to hand it over to the invigilator.

Every time the teacher announced that students should hand in anything unrelated to the exam at the podium, Duan Yi felt like turning himself in.

His exam permit, black ballpoint pen, eraser, and 2B pencil had all come from Sheng Yunze. Duan Yi’s entire worldly possessions consisted of a single, shameless pen refill without its casing.

Their exam halls weren’t in the same building. On the morning of the final exam, Sheng Yunze first took Duan Yi to the cafeteria for breakfast, then escorted him to his exam hall before heading to the lab building himself.

Duan Yi’s exam room was on the fourth floor of the Media Building. When Sheng Yunze appeared with him at the corner of the hallway, the students waiting on the rooftop instantly turned their heads.

A flurry of whispers erupted.

“Holy shit, the school beauty! What’s he doing here in the Media Building?”

“I’m texting my bestie to come see him!”

“Move! You’re blocking my view!”

“Damn… he’s seriously so handsome…”

“He came with Duan Yi? Oh right, they’re in the same class. Their relationship actually improved after third year… impressive…”

“Why is Hua carrying two backpacks? Is this some new hobby for the handsome guy?”

“……”

Sheng Yunze stood by the fourth-floor corridor railing, indeed carrying two backpacks, one slung over each shoulder.

The left one was his own, while the right one belonged to Duan Yi.

Duan Yi held a box of cookies, his hands covered in crumbs as he crunched loudly.

With fifteen minutes until the exam, the rooftop and corridors buzzed with chatting students, each clutching a clear card case filled with pens and pencils.

Sheng Yunze wasn’t in a hurry to leave, content to stay and keep Duan Yi company.

“Want one?” Duan Yi offered the cookies.

“Feed me a bite,” Sheng Yunze ordered.

Duan Yi grumbled, “Don’t you have hands of your own…?”

He pulled out a cookie and shoved it into Sheng Yunze’s mouth, clearly hearing the collective gasp from the surrounding girls.

Duan Yi felt a wave of awkwardness. He wanted to turn around and say, “Can you guys stop staring at us?” but feared overthinking it. What if they weren’t even looking?

You’d think they weren’t watching, but everything Sheng Yunze did seemed to draw a crowd.

And don’t think he didn’t notice—the rooftop, which had originally held only six or seven scattered students, was now damn near packed!

What the hell is this?

An amphitheater?!

Duan Yi grumbled inwardly as he withdrew his hand, rubbing his fingers to brush off the cookie crumbs.

He quietly glanced at Sheng Yunze. “Aren’t you leaving?”

“The exam hasn’t started yet,” Sheng Yunze replied.

“Then aren’t you going to study? Everyone else is cramming every last minute before the test.”

“You’re so boring. Don’t you have anything else to say to me?”

“=口=! What do you want to hear?”

Sheng Yunze suddenly leaned down.

Duan Yi, thinking he was about to be kissed in public, instinctively stepped back.

But Sheng Yunze merely flipped up his collar and gave him a light hug.

The gesture was ambiguous enough. “I’m leaving now.”

Sheng Yunze took Duan Yi’s backpack. “Your pen’s inside.”

A broadcast crackled through the school, a teenage boy’s voice announcing.

“Attention, invigilators! There are 15 minutes remaining before the exam. Please proceed to your assigned classrooms immediately. Verify students’ seating charts against the exam numbers posted on their desks, and confirm their information, including names and exam numbers. Exam distribution personnel, please deliver the test papers to each classroom and distribute the Chinese language exam booklets…”

Sheng Yunze glanced up. Duan Yi interrupted, a hint of embarrassment in his voice, “Okay, okay, it’s my voice, alright?”

The exam broadcast had been pre-recorded by Duan Yi at the school’s broadcasting station. He had recorded nearly all of Second High School’s announcements in the past.

His voice was youthful and clear, with a refreshing quality.

It sounded even better when he softened it, especially in bed.

“Okay,” Sheng Yunze replied. “I’ll find you after the morning exam.”

Duan Yi waved dismissively. “I’ll definitely finish first. I’ll come to your classroom.”

He paused, remembering something important. “There aren’t any beauties in your classroom, right? Like old flames or anything…”

He hinted at Sheng Yunze.

Sheng Yunze raised an eyebrow. Duan Yi continued, “I heard there was a Bai Fumei in First-Year who used to chase after you. She’s taking the exam in the same room as you this time. Have you seen the forum?”

“What, are you jealous?” Sheng Yunze asked him.

Duan Yi pinched his waist hard. “Yes! Exactly! If you dare say a word to her, you’ll be kneeling on the ancestral washboard!”

Sheng Yunze chuckled. “Oh. Let’s go.”

The proctors were Brother Qiu and Brother Bei—Duan Yi’s physics teachers from his first and third years of high school, respectively.

Brother Qiu entered the classroom carrying a red plastic basket filled with stacks of sealed final exam papers.

Bei-ge stood at the door, reminding students in the hallway, “You can line up now. Follow the exam numbers posted at the entrance.”

Duan Yi hurried to the door to check the seating chart. The death photos of all the exam permits for that room were clearly displayed. Duan Yi was listed as the sixth seat in the second row.

After memorizing his position, he quickly leaned against the window—joining several other students already pressed against the glass.

Duan Yi carefully counted, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5… Shit! First seat in the second row!”

In disbelief, he counted five times.

Five times, he came up with the same result: first seat in the second row!

Pingtou arrived late. “President Duan! Where are you sitting?”

Duan Yi’s face was pale. “I’m in the first seat below the podium.”

Pingtou was shocked, then gave Duan Yi a heavy pat on the shoulder. “President Duan… I’m sorry for your loss. Take care of yourself!”

“What row are you in?” Duan Yi asked.

Pingtou counted the seats. “Third row. We’re pretty far apart.”

Duan Yi gripped Pingtou’s hands, tears welling in his eyes. “The bond between the people and their leader transcends distance! My 2.0 strategy: the bolder the plan, the higher the score! Pingtou, the Class President has always treated you well, right?”

Pingtou scratched his head awkwardly. “I’ll definitely pass you the answers. Don’t worry!”

Duan Yi understood the situation. He quickly confirmed their code with Pingtou.

“Look, 1 is A, 2 is B, 3 is C…” Duan Yi gestured like he was preparing for the National College Entrance Examination. “I don’t need the essays, just the multiple-choice answers. After you finish your answer sheet, put it upside down on the top right corner of your desk…”

Pingtou memorized every detail.

As it turned out, Duan Yi was lucky. His seat wasn’t the first one in the second row after all.

This time, the seating arrangement followed an “S” pattern, placing Duan Yi in the second-to-last seat.

Duan Yi finished his morning exam feeling refreshed, having copied most of Pingtou’s paper.

He still had plenty of time left, but it wasn’t time to hand in early. To kill time, he pulled three strands of red string from his pocket and began weaving them together.

Fang Yun had taught him how.

Last week, Fang Yun had been sitting in front of him, weaving a bracelet. Duan Yi, ever curious and with a mischievous streak, tugged at her newly tied ponytail—he had a habit of pulling girls’ ponytails.

It wasn’t a hard tug, but Fang Yun’s eyes widened. “Duan Yi! What are you doing?”

Duan Yi leaned on his desk, his youthful, earnest gaze making Fang Yun slightly embarrassed. She looked away, but Duan Yi didn’t notice. He pointed at the red string in her hands. “What’s this? You’ve been weaving it for days. Hao Shanshan’s doing it too.”

“It’s from the school store,” Fang Yun replied. “Want some? I have over two packs left.”

Duan Yi remembered Sheng Yunze’s pale wrists and the faint blue veins on the back of his hands, and a sudden urge stirred within him.

“How do you weave it? Teach me.”

And so he learned the most basic weaving technique.

In the final half-hour of the math exam, Duan Yi tied his last knot, even adding two small beads for a unique touch.

When Duan Yi looked up, Sheng Yunze was already leaning against the back door, waiting for him.

The students still in the classroom, whether from the First or Second Division, slowed down as they caught sight of Sheng Yunze’s face.

Girls gathered in small groups, discreetly glancing at him, which inexplicably made Duan Yi feel a little puffed up.

Ugh, what can I say? My boyfriend is just too handsome, he thought smugly.

He had originally planned to give Sheng Yunze the gift right away, but the words caught in his throat, tinged with embarrassment.

I’ll give it to him after lunch, Duan Yi decided.

The afternoon’s integrated science exam wouldn’t start until 1:50 PM, leaving them over two hours for lunch.

Duan Yi dragged Sheng Yunze to the snack street outside Second High School, but they were late, and all the popular eateries were packed.

They walked down the street until they found a Korean barbecue restaurant near the end. The savory aroma wafting from the entrance made Duan Yi’s mouth water uncontrollably.

Sheng Yunze chuckled. “Pig.”

Duan Yi, used to the teasing, retorted, “Hurry up! We’ll lose our seats.”

The snack street outside the school was known for its cheap eats.

A bowl of spicy hotpot could fill you up for just forty yuan.

Even the two-story Korean barbecue restaurants that looked fancy only charged about a hundred yuan per person.

The food was cheap and delicious. Duan Yi sat down and immediately began rattling off his order from the menu. Sheng Yunze noticed that Duan Yi had ordered many of his favorite dishes.

He didn’t even ask me, but he knows what I like to eat, Sheng Yunze thought silently. I’ve never told him.

Given Duan Yi’s dubious claims of traveling to parallel universes, Sheng Yunze decided to let this slide for now. He would figure out what was going on sooner or later.

Half an hour later, Duan Yi was stuffed.

He rolled around in his seat, groaning from overeating. Sheng Yunze, exasperated, pulled Duan Yi into his lap, unbuttoned his school uniform jacket, and began rubbing his swollen belly.

“I told you to stop eating,” Sheng Yunze said coldly.

Duan Yi wailed, “Damn it… how was I supposed to know that last bite would be so deadly…”

“Are you a pig?!” Sheng Yunze snapped, then chuckled in exasperation. “Even pigs know when they’re full! You don’t? You’re quite something.”

Duan Yi slumped bonelessly in his arms, stubbornly insisting, “Just let me rest for a bit. I bet I could still eat more.”

Sheng Yunze pulled out his phone to play games, continuing to rub Duan Yi’s stomach as he did.

After a while, Duan Yi suddenly sat up straight.

Sheng Yunze turned his head as Duan Yi rubbed his nose. “Oh, right! I remembered I have something for you.”

As Sheng Yunze looked puzzled, Duan Yi pulled a red string bracelet from his pocket.

Noticing it was handmade, Sheng Yunze’s heart subtly quickened. Feigning ignorance, he asked, “What’s this?”

Duan Yi replied shyly, “I made it myself. Do you want it?”

“Oh,” Sheng Yunze said, taking the bracelet to examine it.

Duan Yi gazed at him earnestly. “I actually think it turned out pretty well. What do you think?”

Sheng Yunze pointed to a knot in the string, his sharp tongue striking. “Your meticulously crafted knot? It looks just like one.”

Duan Yi: …

“It’s a real knot,” Duan Yi protested. “I didn’t make it look like one.”

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Duan Yi reached to snatch the bracelet back. But Sheng Yunze raised his hand, and Duan Yi, at a height disadvantage, couldn’t reach it.

“What are you doing?” Sheng Yunze asked irritably.

“Taking it back,” Duan Yi said. “If you don’t like it, I won’t give it to you. It’s not very well-made anyway.”

Duan Yi added, “I bet you have a ton of girls lining up to braid things for you.”

Sheng Yunze raised an eyebrow, infuriatingly calm. “What I give you is yours. Why would I take it back?”

Duan Yi retorted sarcastically, “Didn’t you call it a tangled mess of thread?”

Sheng Yunze put it on his wrist. “Still my tangled mess of thread.”

Duan Yi grabbed Sheng Yunze’s hand and examined it closely.

Sheng Yunze’s hand was strikingly beautiful, with distinct knuckles and a pale jade-like quality that radiated a chilling aura. Slightly larger than Duan Yi’s, Duan Yi played with it for a moment, interlacing their fingers before separating them, then interlacing them again. Suddenly, he suggested, “Let me take a picture.”

He grabbed Sheng Yunze’s phone and searched for the camera app, but couldn’t find it.

Duan Yi stared in disbelief. “You mean you only use the default front camera?”

Sheng Yunze replied calmly, “I don’t take selfies.”

“Holy crap, are you even human?” Duan Yi exclaimed in shock. “How is it possible to find a high schooler who doesn’t take selfies these days?”

Sheng Yunze asked, “Do you?”

Duan Yi nodded. “Sometimes I just have to take a picture. When I look at my own handsome face, I can’t help myself! Especially after a shower—I’m so good-looking I almost fall in love with myself.”

Sheng Yunze retorted, “Are you sure you didn’t get water in your brain after that shower?”

Duan Yi waved dismissively. “I’m in a good mood. I’ll let you argue.”

He quickly downloaded several beauty camera apps and opened the front camera.

Sheng Yunze’s face appeared on the screen, and Duan Yi couldn’t help but exclaim, “Holy shit!”

His boyfriend’s face looked otherworldly even through the iPhone’s front camera.

With the beauty filters, he looked impossibly perfect, like a mannequin.

No amount of photoshopping could achieve such flawless results. If he posted this online, people would definitely accuse him of catfishing.

The worst part was that Sheng Yunze looked even better in person than in the filtered photos.

Suddenly, Duan Yi didn’t want to take a picture with Sheng Yunze anymore. He thought he was pretty handsome himself, but standing next to Sheng Yunze made him feel plain.

“I’ll take my own picture. I don’t want to take one with you,” Duan Yi grumbled.

Sheng Yunze wrapped an arm around Duan Yi, pulling him into his embrace. “Why not?”

Duan Yi answered honestly, “You’re outshining me! Look, I’m not as handsome as you. I refuse!”

Sheng Yunze chuckled, “Then you’re adorable.”

Duan Yi grumbled, “I don’t want to be adorable…”

In the end, they still forced a group photo.

Duan Yi eagerly showed Sheng Yunze the stickers on the beauty camera app.

After clicking download, a pair of cat ears popped up, startling Sheng Yunze. He frowned and covered his face, uttering a classic straight-guy remark, “What’s this crap?”

Duan Yi’s eyes sparkled. “Why are you hiding your face? It’s super cute! Let me see your cat ears!”

Sheng Yunze stubbornly refused. “Get rid of it!”

Duan Yi refused, holding the phone up to take pictures of Sheng Yunze. Sheng Yunze couldn’t block his face completely, and Duan Yi snapped several photos of him with the cat ears.

“Hahahaha!” Duan Yi laughed triumphantly.

Gritting his teeth, Sheng Yunze vowed revenge. He downloaded a pig snout sticker and started spamming Duan Yi with photos.

Duan Yi’s laughter shook like a magnitude 10 earthquake, blurring all the pictures. Sheng Yunze pulled him into his arms. Once Duan Yi’s laughter subsided, he finally held the phone steady, ready to take a proper group photo with Sheng Yunze.

The last time they took a photo together was for their student IDs, wasn’t it?

When Duan Yi recalled the incident, it felt like a lifetime ago.

They had even messed up the photo and ended up with a fake marriage certificate.

Duan Yi sat on the left, Sheng Yunze on the right.

The moment the shutter clicked, Sheng Yunze’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to kiss Duan Yi.

So he turned and pressed his lips against Duan Yi’s—

This frozen moment should have been beautiful, a perfect expression of youthful love.

But with Duan Yi, the master of slapstick, there was no hope for anything romantic!

When Sheng Yunze kissed him, Duan Yi wasn’t prepared. He startled, then jolted violently.

Literally jolted.

The camera captured it all with a click.

Sheng Yunze’s handsome profile—and Duan Yi’s blurry, pixelated figure, reduced to a human-shaped mosaic.

Duan Yi: ……

Now it was Sheng Yunze’s turn to mock him, mercilessly, laughing so hard he pounded the table.

Even during the exam, Duan Yi couldn’t stop muttering about that pixelated blur, unable to let it go.

Sheng Yunze, that devil, had even printed the photo at a photo booth and solemnly tucked it into his pocket.

…Damn it!

Duan Yi was speechless. He did that on purpose!

They returned to the exam hall separately.

Sheng Yunze sat in the first seat by the window, openly playing on his phone in the corridor before the exam started.

Sheng Yunze scrolled through the photos he’d just taken: Duan Yi’s silly grins, his “=口=” expression when Sheng Yunze snatched his phone, and that hilarious shot of him sprawled across the table after eating too much, looking like he was about to cough up his soul.

A faint smile crept onto Sheng Yunze’s lips, one he didn’t even notice himself.

“Sheng Yunze, you’re here early?”

A student from his exam hall greeted him. Not from his current class, but a former classmate from Science Class 1 in their second year, now studying Liberal Arts.

Sheng Yunze nodded. The Liberal Arts student chuckled, “Bold move playing on your phone right at the classroom entrance. Aren’t you worried about the teachers?”

“Whatever,” Sheng Yunze replied, absorbed in his photos.

His aloofness was well-known. The Liberal Arts student had learned in their second year that the “High Mountain Flower” wasn’t fond of small talk, so he kept chatting to himself, unfazed by the lack of response.

He rambled on for a while, not expecting Sheng Yunze to reply.

Then, out of nowhere, Sheng Yunze suddenly put his phone away, as if struck by a thought, and straightened up to respond.

The Liberal Arts student stared, bewildered. What’s going on?

Then Sheng Yunze, utterly perplexed, muttered, “It’s kind of hot.”

The Liberal Arts student thought. It’s -4 degrees Celsius! What’s hot about that? Where’s this heat coming from? The weather forecast even said it’s going to snow later!

Then, Sheng Yunze rolled up the sleeves of his school uniform, as if to show how hot he was.

A striking red bracelet dangled from his wrist.

The Liberal Arts student, reacting like any ordinary person, casually asked, “When did you start wearing a bracelet?”

Sheng Yunze turned his head at just the right moment, as if only just noticing it himself. “Oh, this? Just now,” he said nonchalantly.

He feigned annoyance. “It’s pretty ugly, right?”

The Liberal Arts student wouldn’t dare call it ugly! “No, not at all! It’s quite nice. Handmade, right? You can tell.”

Suddenly, something slammed into the student’s mind, leaving him stunned. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed inwardly, finally realizing why the bracelet looked so familiar.

Isn’t that made from the red string material the school’s been selling like crazy lately?

So many girls have been making these to give to their boyfriends!

The student’s brain froze. “Ah… ah? Who… who gave you that?” he stammered.

No way! Sheng Yunze has a girlfriend?! he screamed inwardly.

“Ah, Duan Yi gave it to me,” Sheng Yunze replied casually.

You asked, not me, he thought. I’m not trying to show off.

Then, with exaggerated nonchalance, he rested his hand on the railing, propping himself up.

Just in case anyone passing by might miss it.