Running into Shen Yicheng at school was normal, but seeing Lian Fei’er was somewhat surprising to Xia Zichen. Although Shen Yicheng had mentioned before that he would introduce her to them, nothing had actually come of it, and Xia Zichen had long since forgotten about it. Unexpectedly, they ran into each other today.
“You’re back.”
Though Shen Yicheng’s words were directed at Xia Zichen, his eyes were fixed on Gu Xu.
“Yeah. Going out?” Xia Zichen wasn’t sure where Shen Yicheng was headed. Logically, if he was with Lian Fei’er, they should be going off campus, not back toward the dorms.
“Yeah, forgot my wallet. Came back to get it,” Shen Yicheng said. “This is Fei’er. Her real name is Fan Jiayue. I mentioned her before.”
“Mm.” Xia Zichen nodded and said to Fan Jiayue, “Hello.”
“Hello.” Fan Jiayue smiled sweetly. It was a perfectly measured smile—not overly warm, but not cold either. To be precise, it felt somewhat practiced. “I’d only heard Yicheng talk about you before, and I’d seen your photos. I didn’t expect to meet Chenxi in person today.”
Xia Zichen smiled but said nothing. It was natural for Shen Yicheng to tell his girlfriend about him. It also conveniently clarified the nature of their relationship.
If a girl’s boyfriend was close with another girl, most girls would feel jealous. But if that “girl” turned out to actually be a guy, most people probably wouldn’t overthink it.
“Honestly, if I hadn’t seen you in person, I still wouldn’t believe Chenxi was actually a guy.”
Fan Jiayue slightly lifted her chin, a trace of disdain hidden in her voice.
“There are plenty of guys playing female characters these days, but if my relationship with Yicheng had really lost to a crossplay account, that’d be seriously humiliating.”
Xia Zichen frowned slightly.
Fan Jiayue’s words made him uncomfortable, though what she said wasn’t entirely wrong. The identity of a male player using a female character was indeed awkward in games.
“What? Did my Chenchen steal your man?”
Gu Xu walked over, naturally draping an arm across Xia Zichen’s shoulder. His expressionless face looked especially cold. Combined with the difference in height, the sense of pressure he gave off was overwhelming.
Fan Jiayue awkwardly glanced at Gu Xu’s icy expression and laughed stiffly.
“No, I was just making a comment.”
“Mm. Chenchen has always had high standards, so you don’t need to worry about unnecessary things.”
Gu Xu’s face remained cold, making him seem like a completely different person from the one who spoke to Xia Zichen.
Sensing the awkward tension, Shen Yicheng stepped forward and lightly tugged Fan Jiayue, shifting the topic.
“I didn’t know Zichen knew Senior Gu. He never mentioned it before.”
If they hadn’t run into each other today, Xia Zichen still wouldn’t have said anything. But now that they had met, it wouldn’t be appropriate to act rude.
Even if Fan Jiayue didn’t care about appearances, Xia Zichen still cared about the impression he left on Gu Xu. It wouldn’t look good if, during their first official meeting, he lost his temper.
“This is my roommate, Shen Yicheng,” Xia Zichen said simply.
As for Lian Fei’er, Shen Yicheng had already introduced her earlier, and Gu Xu had clearly heard.
Gu Xu gave a slight nod, offering a greeting for Xia Zichen’s sake.
Shen Yicheng suddenly seemed to think of something and looked up.
“During New Year at Linyao Clubhouse… that tray of pastries was from Senior Gu too, wasn’t it?”
“I happened to run into Chenchen there. Since he likes pastries, it wouldn’t be right for me, as his older brother, to be stingy.”
Gu Xu clearly didn’t care much about the pastries.
“Older brother?” Shen Yicheng’s tone held a hint of probing.
Gu Xu curved his lips slightly toward Xia Zichen.
“This little one is a bit awkward. He doesn’t like telling people he knows me.”
He then looked at Shen Yicheng.
“Thank you for taking care of Chenchen all this time.”
“From now on, I’m here. No need to trouble yourself anymore.”
With just a few casual words, Gu Xu reframed all the previous ambiguity between Xia Zichen and Shen Yicheng as nothing more than ordinary care between classmates. At the same time, he clearly drew a line between them and pulled Xia Zichen firmly to his side.
“You’re too polite, Senior,” Shen Yicheng said.
He couldn’t figure out Gu Xu’s true meaning. It felt like every sentence carried hidden meaning, yet at the same time sounded like nothing more than polite words from an older brother.
Still, though Gu Xu’s words were polite, his tone held no warmth. If anything, it felt more like a warning.
“If you’re busy, go ahead.”
Seeing the atmosphere becoming tense, Xia Zichen spoke up.
If this were happening in-game, everyone might speak much more openly. But in real life, it wouldn’t do to make things ugly in public.
Xia Zichen cared a lot about that.
He was always thin-skinned, but Gu Xu still carried himself with the same aloof superiority. Even Shen Yicheng’s rich-young-master aura was completely overshadowed by him.
Xia Zichen quietly realized that some things were innate. No matter how much one compensated later in life, there would still be a gap.
“Then we’ll head upstairs first.”
Following Xia Zichen’s cue, Shen Yicheng prepared to leave.
Both he and Fan Jiayue came from good families, but Gu Xu was famously mysterious on campus. No one really knew his background.
Better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
“Yicheng, you go up first. I’ll wait here for you.”
Fan Jiayue spoke in a slightly coquettish tone.
“Your dorm is full of guys. It’s inconvenient for a girl like me to go upstairs.”
“Mm. Wait here for me. I’ll be right back.”
Shen Yicheng nodded.
Though it wasn’t the season where people wandered hallways in only underwear, things were still more casual inside the dorm. It made sense that Fan Jiayue felt awkward going up.
Without saying more, Shen Yicheng quickly headed upstairs.
Fan Jiayue stood downstairs alone, looking somewhat isolated.
But Xia Zichen wasn’t close enough with her to chat casually, and he doubted anything pleasant would come from talking anyway.
He turned to Gu Xu.
“You said you had something for me?”
“Come here.”
Gu Xu walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk, pulling out two boxes. One had a monitor printed on it; the other was harder to identify.
Xia Zichen looked at the items in confusion.
“What is this?”
“A computer,” Gu Xu said quietly, clearly not wanting Fan Jiayue to overhear.
Xia Zichen frowned.
“What for?”
Gu Xu smiled.
“For you, obviously.”
“I already have a computer.”
“Didn’t you tell me before that your current computer couldn’t handle large faction battles or siege events?”
Gu Xu shut the trunk, then pulled a bag from the back seat containing a keyboard, mouse, and even a mouse pad.
“This computer has excellent specs. You can play however you want now.”
“I can’t accept this.”
There was no reason for him to accept such an expensive gift from Gu Xu.
Especially since this was their first meeting in real life as Chenxi and Canmo Wuhen.
That made it even less appropriate.
Gu Xu locked the car.
“If you don’t take it, I’ll leave it with the dorm supervisor auntie.”
Xia Zichen stared at him speechlessly.
The dorm auntie loved shouting downstairs for people to come collect deliveries. Usually she shouted not just the recipient’s name, but also who sent it and what it was—loudly and repeatedly until you came downstairs.
Everyone would know.
“It’s nothing particularly expensive. Just use it.”
Gu Xu lowered his voice.
“I’m being selfish too. This way we can do battlegrounds and faction battles together.”
“Otherwise, when I’m off doing battlegrounds, you’ll just be bored farming.”
“I’m not bored.”
If not for this opportunity, Xia Zichen might never have cared much about joining faction battles.
But now, hearing Gu Xu talk about upgrading his computer had actually sparked his interest.
Gaming was more fun when you tried every mode.
“Come on. Just think of it as a gift from your older brother.”
Smiling, Gu Xu handed the bag with the keyboard to Xia Zichen while carrying the two boxes himself into the building.
Xia Zichen had no choice but to follow.
But as he turned, he noticed Fan Jiayue’s eyes fixed on Gu Xu.
That look made him deeply uncomfortable.
Without drawing attention to it, Xia Zichen stepped forward and positioned himself between Gu Xu and Fan Jiayue as they passed, blocking her line of sight.
Gu Xu, meanwhile, didn’t spare Fan Jiayue a single glance, walking past as if she didn’t exist.
On the stairs, they ran into Shen Yicheng coming down.
No one said much. They simply exchanged nods.
Walking beside Gu Xu, one step lower on the stairs, Xia Zichen said, “You’re pretty good at making things up. I’m an only child. I don’t even have relatives. Where did this ‘older brother’ come from?”
Gu Xu smiled casually.
“I am older than you.”
Xia Zichen couldn’t really argue.
If their relationship were different, calling him “Senior” would be perfectly reasonable.
“Shen Yicheng couldn’t keep his mouth shut and told his girlfriend about you.”
Gu Xu explained quietly.
“If they’re together, that means they’re similar people.”
“That girl might not be able to keep secrets either.”
“So the less they know, the better.”
“Mm.”
Xia Zichen nodded.
Downstairs, Gu Xu had kept his voice low the whole time. Clearly, he hadn’t wanted Fan Jiayue overhearing.
His relationship with Gu Xu was sensitive to begin with.
And the outcome was still uncertain.
It was better to keep quiet.
If things didn’t work out, he wouldn’t want comfort from others.
He would rather be alone and slowly recover.
To Xia Zichen, that kind of sympathy felt no different from mockery.
Opening the dorm door, Xia Zichen found An Jing and Tang Hui absent. The lights were on, probably left that way when Shen Yicheng had gone out.
“Come in.”
Xia Zichen changed his shoes and let Gu Xu enter.
“The dorm’s pretty clean.”
Gu Xu set down the boxes and looked around.
“We clean regularly.”
After removing his coat, Xia Zichen pointed to his chair.
“Sit wherever.”
Compared to most boys’ dorms, theirs was unusually clean.
Shen Yicheng was slightly obsessive about cleanliness, likely a habit formed from his upbringing. Even the curtains in the room were his insistence—most boys’ dorms wouldn’t care, but Shen Yicheng had insisted on putting them up and always closing them after dark.
Xia Zichen had also grown up influenced by his father and cared a lot about cleanliness. Sweeping and wiping down surfaces were daily chores.
An Jing talked a lot, but he worked efficiently and never refused when asked to help clean.
Tang Hui had excellent personal habits. He kept his own things organized and often helped tidy up shared spaces too.
With all four of them maintaining the room together, naturally it stayed much cleaner.
After taking off his coat, Gu Xu washed his hands and began setting up the computer for Xia Zichen.
The tower was compact and relatively light, fitting neatly beside the desk without taking up much space. Its clean white design matched the white tones of Xia Zichen’s desk perfectly.
The monitor was slightly large, but its ultra-thin design kept it from feeling bulky. Sitting on the desk, it looked sleek.
After plugging in the power and internet cable, Gu Xu booted it up.
Soon a pale blue desktop appeared, with icons for all the software Xia Zichen commonly used.
“The antivirus is already installed.”
Gu Xu sat in the chair while Xia Zichen stood behind him, leaning forward to look at the screen.
“I didn’t know what wallpaper you liked, so I just picked something simple.”
“The game’s already installed too. If you need anything else, you can install it yourself.”
“Mm.”
Xia Zichen responded softly.
The brand-new monitor displayed colors far better than his laptop. Running the game at full settings probably wouldn’t be a problem now.
“Even though I want you to experience faction gameplay, don’t stay up too late playing.”
Gu Xu turned his head as he spoke.
When he turned, Xia Zichen suddenly realized just how close they were.
Close enough that he could feel the warmth of Gu Xu’s breath.
Embarrassed, Xia Zichen tried to straighten up—
But Gu Xu moved first, holding him in place.
A kiss landed softly at the corner of his lips.
Light as a dragonfly touching water.
Gentle.
Brief.
Carrying the faint coolness that belonged uniquely to Gu Xu…