Zhang You found his dorm mates truly remarkable!
He had seen classmates get along well before, but this was something else. At the start of the semester, the two of them didn’t even know each other—and they weren’t even from the same city—yet they hit it off instantly. They hadn’t even lived in the dorm a few days before telling him that they were moving out. He had never seen anything like it!
“So you’re moving out this weekend?” Zhang You asked Ye Qingyang, uncertain.
Ye Qingyang nodded. “But we’ll come back sometimes, don’t worry.”
“Oh… alright then,” Zhang You replied, still finding it unbelievable.
He was grateful both his roommates were guys. If it were a guy and a girl, he’d start wondering if it was love at first sight!
Ye Qingyang could read the confusion on his face.
Actually, he hadn’t planned to move out so soon either, but he couldn’t refuse Lu Jingcheng. He always went along with him, so he agreed to move.
Lu Jingcheng was completely unapologetic about it. “We used to live together, just the two of us. Now there are four people, and it’s inconvenient for anything we want to do. Of course, we have to move.”
Ye Qingyang gave a knowing “oh” and looked at him meaningfully. “What exactly do you want to do?”
Lu Jingcheng just smiled, saying nothing.
Ye Qingyang bumped his arm, and Lu Jingcheng, looking adorably arrogant, said, “Anyway, we’re moving out.”
“Then we need to look at apartments first,” Ye Qingyang said.
“No need. I already have some,” Lu Jingcheng replied.
Ye Qingyang: !!!
“How many?” he asked curiously.
Lu Jingcheng pinched his cheek proudly. “Lots.”
Ye Qingyang: …
It was clear—the rich second-generation trope of Lu Jingcheng was intact, both in the book and in real life.
Indeed, Ye Qingyang soon confirmed from others that Lu Jingcheng was the eldest son of the wealthy Lu family. Not only that, but his family structure and business empire were exactly as described in the book.
Even Chen Wei, Bai Le, and Dong Yu—all three of his good friends—lined up perfectly with the story.
After learning this, Ye Qingyang strongly suspected he hadn’t entered an original novel, but a Lu Jingcheng fanfiction.
“Back in high school, was there a girl named Yu Wan?” Ye Qingyang probed.
Lu Jingcheng: !!!
He was furious. “You’re still thinking about her? After all these years, you remember that name?”
Ye Qingyang pointed at him. “You remember too.”
Lu Jingcheng grabbed his finger. “I don’t remember.”
“So… did you know her in high school or not?”
“How would I know?” Lu Jingcheng said casually. “I didn’t like her. I didn’t socialize much with girls. The only ones I remembered were the class monitors who constantly reminded me about homework.”
“Speaking of which, you even got into Tsinghua without my help,” Ye Qingyang said in surprise. “I thought you’d have to go to a junior college.”
“What nonsense,” Lu Jingcheng tapped his head lightly. “You know I just don’t like studying, not that I can’t.”
“Back in high school, did many people like you? Were you the school heartthrob?”
“Obviously.” Lu Jingcheng looked proud. “People like me are heartthrobs everywhere I go.”
Seeing that familiar expression, Ye Qingyang couldn’t help but pinch his chin. “Indeed.”
“So why are you asking all this?”
“Just to see if dreams match reality,” Ye Qingyang smiled. “That wasn’t me now, and I hadn’t seen high school you.”
“Pretty much the same,” Lu Jingcheng thought. “Apart from different classmates, not much has changed.”
“The biggest difference… is probably that you weren’t there.”
“However…” Lu Jingcheng looked at him carefully, “why are you different from the one in my dream?”
Ye Qingyang sat up straight and pointed at himself. “Do you think the current me is better looking, or the me in your dream?”
“Both are good,” Lu Jingcheng said.
Ye Qingyang clicked his tongue. “Little Jing, you’re smooth now.”
“After all, we’ve lived a lifetime together.”
Ye Qingyang smiled, leaning back against him.
“I like who I am now,” he said. “This is the real me.”
“When we accidentally connected in the dream, I entered your dream, so I changed my appearance to match the dream-you’s version of Ye Qingyang. But now… this is the true me.”
Lu Jingcheng was a little confused. “What do you mean?”
“I never told you at first. The original Ye Qingyang wasn’t me. The one who met you in the cafeteria to get your attention—that was the real me you know now.”
Lu Jingcheng slowly recalled, “Then what you said back then?”
“Half true, half false. False because I had just entered that body, so the trouble I caused you before wasn’t me. True because I wanted to get your attention.”
“Why?” Lu Jingcheng asked.
Ye Qingyang smiled. “Because I fell for you at first sight. I looked up, and you were there, sunlight shining on you—you were like light itself. Even though it was the first time I saw you, I just wanted to get closer. You happened to walk by, so I said what I did.”
“And it worked. I got your attention.”
Indeed, Lu Jingcheng thought, he had never taken his eyes off Ye Qingyang since then.
“You’re really scheming and meticulous, yet claim first sight love—it’s audacious.”
“And you call it first sight love? Shame on you,” Lu Jingcheng teased.
Then he frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Ah, at first I didn’t dare. Even if I said I wasn’t the troublemaking Ye Qingyang, you wouldn’t believe me. Later, when we were together, you believed me. I didn’t want you to be upset if I told you sooner.”
“Besides, it wasn’t a big deal, so why bother?”
“Not a big deal?” Lu Jingcheng thought her mindset was impressive. “By your logic, you weren’t the original Ye Qingyang. You had no relatives there. You were alone in that world.”
“I have you,” Ye Qingyang said softly. “You’re my family.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lu Jingcheng said helplessly, feeling even more protective.
Whether Ye Hong and the others were his relatives or not, he just felt for Ye Qingyang.
He hugged him, kissed his forehead gently. Thankfully, he met him early, grew together with him, built a home and family.
He ruffled Ye Qingyang’s hair and kissed the top of his head. “Forget it, I’m not mad.”
Ye Qingyang smiled at the familiar words. In their long life together, Lu Jingcheng rarely stayed mad. If he did, he’d vent or frown, and with a few coaxing words, it would vanish.
He trusted Lu Jingcheng completely, never doubted him, never stayed angry.
That weekend, they moved to Lu Jingcheng’s apartment closest to campus.
Ye Qingyang marveled at the house. “Two lifetimes—you’re literally the protagonist in both. Life winner.”
“Of course,” Lu Jingcheng smiled. “How else could I support you?”
Ye Qingyang laughed.
“This time, though, it might be harder. My dad could be tricky.”
“Your dad is hard to deal with?” Lu Jingcheng asked.
Ye Qingyang’s gaze deepened. “He was a special forces soldier.”
Lu Jingcheng: “…So I should be gentle?”
Ye Qingyang shook his head. “Pray he doesn’t break your legs.”
Lu Jingcheng: …Hope!
Living together felt familiar and natural. Their past left such deep marks that they instantly returned to their old couple rhythm.
Lu Jingcheng cooked, showing off by making braised prawns.
Ye Qingyang was surprised. “You can cook?”
Even in the book, Lu Jingcheng could cook, but only because Ye Qingyang taught him. Here, he learned on his own during the summer.
“Just learned it recently,” Lu Jingcheng said. “Feels natural, like I always knew how.”
He peeled a prawn and handed it to Ye Qingyang. “Try it.”
Ye Qingyang tasted it. “Delicious.”
“Whatever I make, you say it’s delicious,” Lu Jingcheng said helplessly.
“Because it’s you. I like you—if anyone else made it, I wouldn’t say that.”
Lu Jingcheng was shy but proud. Indeed, whether in dreams or reality, Ye Qingyang was devoted to him.
They ate together; Lu Jingcheng had slightly more, since he liked sweets.
That night, they watched a movie and then fell asleep.
Before sleeping, Ye Qingyang secretly pulled at Lu Jingcheng’s robe.
Lu Jingcheng held his hand. “Sneaky.”
“Not going to?”
Lu Jingcheng hesitated. He wanted to, but “we just met in this world.”
“We’ve already lived a lifetime together,” Ye Qingyang countered.
“Yes, but here, we just met.”
He restrained himself. “Too soon.”
Ye Qingyang thought he hadn’t changed. Even in high school, living together, he restrained himself beyond hugs and kisses.
“Then when is it not too soon?”
Lu Jingcheng remembered his past words: after sophomore year.
But now… after entering adulthood, after changing his diet, his past restraint lingered.
“Wait until your birthday this year,” he said. “Is your real birthday in the second half of the year?”
Ye Qingyang smiled. “I thought you’d say after sophomore year.”
Lu Jingcheng lowered his head guiltily. He couldn’t go back to being vegetarian.
“Yes, in the second half of the year,” Ye Qingyang confirmed.
Ye Qingyang leaned close. “Looks like you really want to.”
Lu Jingcheng glared, then kissed him fiercely. “Of course.”
He restrained himself out of love.
Ye Qingyang knew him well. His love was sincere, always wanting to treat him respectfully.
Ye Qingyang felt lucky to have him, cuddled him, and drifted to sleep.
On the first snowfall in City B, Ye Qingyang’s birthday arrived.
Lu Jingcheng gave him a pair of rings—simple white gold with a small leaf engraved.
“One pair,” he said.
Ye Qingyang slowly held Lu Jingcheng’s hand, helping him put on the ring.
“From now on, only I can put it on for you,” he said.
Lu Jingcheng rubbed his nose. “Okay.”
They shared the cake, with Lu Jingcheng eating more as usual.
Ye Qingyang was full of joy watching him, and Lu Jingcheng fed him a bite. Ye Qingyang slowly ate it, Lu Jingcheng wiped the cream from his lips, and kissed him again.
The sweetness from the cake mirrored Ye Qingyang’s effect on Lu Jingcheng.
He had been anxious before, wondering if Ye Qingyang existed in this world. He had searched and found nothing.
Every day of summer, he had waited desperately, hoping Ye Qingyang would appear.
He rejected other confessions, knowing he wanted someone who would love him alone, forever—Ye Qingyang.
Ye Qingyang had always been gentle, forgiving, calling him “Little Jing” sweetly. Even though he could be cold to others, to Lu Jingcheng he was always warmth and tolerance.
Lu Jingcheng lived in that warmth, seeing no one else. He felt his love was bound to Ye Qingyang alone.
He trembled as he applied to Tsinghua, thinking that if Ye Qingyang existed, he could follow his dream, as in the dream.
At registration, seeing the unfamiliar dorm layout, he was momentarily crushed.
He reluctantly entered, then froze when he saw the neatly written three characters: Ye Qingyang.
Lu Jingcheng: !!!!
He couldn’t hit or scold—just let him watch and study.
But the face that appeared wasn’t the one from his memories, but a youthful, radiant, sunny version.
“Hello, I’m Ye Qingyang, your neighbor,” the boy said.
Lu Jingcheng’s heart sank, but gradually the smile in those eyes overlapped with his memories.
“Have we met before?” he asked cautiously.
“Probably in a dream,” came the soft, dreamlike voice.
He kissed him tenderly, their bodies pressing together.
How I Asked Fate to Let Us Meet
At my most beautiful moment,
I prayed before Buddha for five hundred years,
Asking to bind our fates.
Buddha turned me into a tree
Along your path,
Blooming in sunlight,
Each flower a hope of my past life.
Across time and space, whether seen or unseen, I always love you.
“I love you,” Lu Jingcheng whispered.
Ye Qingyang hugged him, kissed him softly. “Me too.”