By the time Xia Zichen logged back into the game, it had already been five days. These past few days, he had been staying at Gu Xu’s place, getting an early taste of cohabitation. He had gone back once in the middle to grab a change of clothes and ran into An Jing, who was cooped up in the dorm.
Seeing him packing, An Jing teased, “So this counts as you being married off?”
Xia Zichen lifted the corner of his mouth. “I know you’ve been desperate to get married for years.”
“I… I—damn it!” An Jing glared at him. “I like girls! Girls!”
Xia Zichen shrugged indifferently. “Who knows. Maybe you’re a latent homosexual or something.”
An Jing shot up and rushed over to Xia Zichen’s desk. Without caring what it was, he grabbed whatever clothes he saw and stuffed them into a bag, shoving it back at him. “Go, go, go. Go bother your ‘Xu-ge’. Not seeing you for a few days and your mouth’s gotten even sharper.”
Xia Zichen was half-dragged, half-pushed out the door, helplessly laughing. “So this is you being embarrassed?”
“I, An Jing, will find a girlfriend sooner or later and clear my name.” He blocked the doorway, clearly refusing to let Xia Zichen back in.
“What are you two doing?” Tang Hui had just returned from class.
“Nothing. Just sending little Chenchen back to his marital home,” An Jing said with a snort.
Tang Hui’s eyes flicked between them and he smiled without speaking.
Xia Zichen raised a brow, glanced at An Jing, then looked toward Tang Hui with casual intent. “You two actually match quite well.”
“Get out and go ruin someone else’s life!” An Jing dragged Tang Hui inside. “I think marrying Xia Zichen off is basically saving all the straight guys in the world.”
“More like saving yourself,” Tang Hui said with a smile as he went inside.
Xia Zichen didn’t tease him further. He waved and left.
“His personality’s gotten better, but his mouth’s gotten worse,” An Jing muttered, watching his back disappear down the stairs before going back into the room.
As for Shen Yicheng, Xia Zichen didn’t see him when he returned, and he didn’t ask. An Jing mentioned first that after Xia Zichen left with Gu Xu, Shen Yicheng went home the next day and hadn’t returned since. Xia Zichen guessed he was handling Lin Fei’er’s matters. In the end, that was between them; even concern felt unnecessary.
Gu Xu’s dorm was very quiet, perfect for studying, even better than the library. The neighboring Jian Lang and Bai Caozhe had moved out a week earlier, so Xia Zichen hadn’t met them yet. He wasn’t in a rush—just a little curious.
He even asked Gu Xu why he still went to the library during last semester’s finals when his dorm was already so good. Gu Xu said his family had sent someone to clean the house that day, so he went to the library to find a quiet place. Hearing that, Xia Zichen suddenly saw a trace of a “young master” lifestyle in him—but he didn’t dislike it. If anything, it felt like fate that they had met there.
The moment Xia Zichen logged in, the guild channel exploded.
【Guild】[Sunflower]: The “guild wife” is online!!! ONLINE!!! ONLINE!!!
【Guild】[One Season Bloom]: Finally here, we were scared you’d AFK!!
【Guild】[Little Thing]: Guild wife, save us in dungeons!!!
【Guild】[Three Times Falling in Love]: Where’s the boss? Why isn’t the boss with the wife??
Seeing their enthusiasm, Xia Zichen felt nothing had really changed. His “female avatar” identity hadn’t brought him any negativity in the guild—in fact, everyone seemed even more excited than before.
【Guild】[Chenxi]: He’s not online yet. He’ll come later.
Gu Xu had gone to meet his advisor in the afternoon and said he’d bring dinner back, but he still hadn’t returned.
【Guild】[Sunflower]: From that tone… you two are living together?!
【Guild】[Tsundere Healer]: Ahhh I’m suddenly so excited!
【Guild】[Bai Caozhe]: Actually, what you want to say is it’s very gay, right.
……
The guild chat quickly devolved into chaos again, and Xia Zichen found himself laughing softly as he watched.
Just then, the door opened.
Gu Xu walked in carrying two large bags of groceries.
“Why are you smiling?” he asked.
“I’m online. Sunflower wants me to guess something,” Xia Zichen said.
Gu Xu raised a brow. “Let me guess. Probably guessing who the biggest cross-dresser and gay player in the guild is.”
Then, right on cue:
【Guild】[Sunflower]: Guess who the biggest cross-dresser + gay player in the guild is?
Xia Zichen couldn’t help laughing. That was exactly it.
Gu Xu walked over and glanced at the screen, smiling faintly without answering.
In the guild:
【Guild】[Sunflower]: Hint—same healing output as you.
【Guild】[Chenxi]: Yu Pian Wudong?
【Guild】[Sunflower]: Bingo~
Xia Zichen was genuinely surprised. He hadn’t expected it to be that person at all.
As everyone chatted and joked, Bai Caozhe suddenly sent him a private message.
【Private】[Bai Caozhe]: You’re at Xu-shao’s dorm right now?
【Private】[Chenxi]: Mm.
【Private】[Bai Caozhe]: Rare. He usually doesn’t bring people back. Free this weekend? Let’s eat together—Jian Lang, Xu-shao, and you.
【Private】[Chenxi]: I’ll ask him.
【Private】[Bai Caozhe]: Haha no need, if you go he’ll definitely come.
Xia Zichen still turned to ask anyway.
“Bai Caozhe invited us to dinner this weekend. Are you free?”
Gu Xu turned off the tap and smiled. “If you want to go, I’m free.”
Xia Zichen smiled faintly. “Alright.”
He accepted.
This would be the first time he formally entered Gu Xu’s real-life social circle. And somehow, that made him feel a little expectant.
Maybe relationships really did require this—slowly blending into each other’s worlds, step by step, until life itself quietly settled into something lasting.