As soon as Fang Chi said “Cheng Mo,” everyone paused. When Cheng Mo invited them over, none of them moved at first, they all just stood there.
“What’s wrong?” Cheng Mo frowned. “Sit. If you want to stand, move the chairs. Come stand here.”
Fang Chi smiled and went over to sit. The others followed.
“Big bro,” Li Zheng immediately nodded at Cheng Mo, “thanks for letting us share your table.”
“Order,” Cheng Mo grabbed the menu and tossed it to them. “We haven’t ordered yet. You pick, we’ll split the bill.”
“Alright,” Li Zheng flipped through it, then handed it to Liu Yu. “You order.”
Liu Yu flipped a couple pages, said nothing, and passed it to Fang Chi.
Fang Chi sighed, took the menu, and looked through it. The prices weren’t high. He glanced at nearby tables, portions looked big, so he decisively ordered six dishes and a soup.
“Learn from him,” Cheng Mo smiled at the others. “Ordering food shouldn’t be that hard.”
Li Zheng, the ultimate chatterbox, had been a bit nervous at first, after all, this was Cheng Mo, the one who kicked down a dorm door in three strikes, ended a fight in two minutes, and got away cleanly.
But that nervousness only lasted a few minutes. By the time the dishes started coming, Li Zheng was already chatting animatedly with Cheng Mo’s classmates.
“Seriously, my cousin’s in the journalism department,” he took a sip of tea. “He was the one who told me yesterday that it was Cheng Mo who kicked the door.”
“Why didn’t your cousin come interview me?” Cheng Mo said.
“How about I give him a call and set it up?” Li Zheng said with a straight face.
“Agent, do I have time lately?” Cheng Mo turned to the person next to him.
“Security’s looking for you, you’ll be on the run, no time for interviews,” that person said just as seriously.
“They’re installing surveillance next month, three cameras on our floor. I feel like one’s going right outside our dorm,” Cheng Mo picked up some food. “Fang Chi, are you from Lao Xier or something? You ordered like a pro.”
“No,” Fang Chi said. “Just naturally good at ordering.”
Cheng Mo glanced at him and smiled.
He had thought the meal might be tense, but with Li Zheng around, the whole table ended up chatting quite happily.
Fang Chi didn’t say much, just listened while eating and texting Sun Wenqu.
Sun Wenqu had just arrived at Ma Liang’s place and was about to eat. Fang Chi wanted to call him, but decided against it, he must be tired and hungry. Better to talk later that night.
“Our school has a climbing team, started last year,” Cheng Mo suddenly turned to him. “Want to join?”
“Hm?” Fang Chi looked at him. “No.”
“No?” Cheng Mo was a bit surprised. “Why?”
“I don’t have time,” Fang Chi said. “I need to train and work.”
“Oh.” Cheng Mo nodded.
“You’re on the climbing team?” Fang Chi asked. Cheng Mo didn’t look like a climber, you could tell from his hands.
“No,” Cheng Mo took a sip of beer. “I play badminton.”
“Then why are you handling climbing stuff,” Fang Chi smiled.
“Just helping them recruit,” Cheng Mo said. “The captain’s my roommate. Their level’s not great, if you join, you’d basically be coach-level. Or be a consultant?”
“Huh?” Fang Chi froze.
“How about it?” Cheng Mo looked at him.
“No.” Fang Chi answered decisively.
“…Man, I’ve got a temper,” Cheng Mo stared. “A freshman acting this cocky? If it were someone else, I’d already be throwing hands, you know.”
“Ah,” Fang Chi responded. “Why not hit me then?”
Cheng Mo stared at him for a long time. Fang Chi wondered if he might suddenly snap and start a fight, but Cheng Mo finally said, “Because I have an unspeakable motive toward you.”
Fang Chi’s chopsticks froze mid-air. He turned and stared at Cheng Mo for a long moment before saying, “What?”
“I’ll tell you later. Not the right time yet.” Cheng Mo said no more and went back to eating and chatting.
After dinner, they split the bill. Cheng Mo and his group went back to school, while Fang Chi and his roommates continued wandering around as planned.
Fang Chi was the only one who had already explored the area, so he led the way.
They’d had some beer, and everyone was in high spirits, chatting as they strolled. Fang Chi walked along slowly, mostly quiet.
He’d already thought Cheng Mo was a bit strange. That “unspeakable motive” line made him seem even more off.
He didn’t ask further, just assumed it was random nonsense. But the more he thought about it, the more oddly curious he became.
After walking two streets, Sun Wenqu called. The moment Fang Chi heard his custom ringtone, he practically jumped and pulled out his phone with lightning speed.
“Hello? Done eating?” Fang Chi answered, his smile instantly spreading uncontrollably.
“Just finished,” Sun Wenqu’s voice was as lazy as usual, comfortable to hear. “You haven’t gone back to the dorm yet?”
“Still walking around, following the route we took yesterday,” Fang Chi said. “The more I walk, the more I miss you.”
“Your military training starts tomorrow, right?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“Yeah, ten days,” Fang Chi sighed. “Li Zheng says training at sports universities is harsher than other schools, his cousin was half-dead after it.”
“Then think about me more today,” Sun Wenqu chuckled. “You probably won’t have time later.”
“No way,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue. “I train harder than that usually and still think about you. What’s military training? The instructor might not even have better stamina than me.”
“Your roommates seem nice?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“Yeah, none are particularly annoying,” Fang Chi glanced at the group ahead. “Two of them talk even less than me.”
Hearing Sun Wenqu’s voice made Fang Chi not want to hang up. They talked as they walked, until after a full loop Sun Wenqu said he was going to shower. Only then did Fang Chi reluctantly say, “Alright, send me a message before you sleep.”
“Mm,” Sun Wenqu smiled. “Go chat with your classmates, or they’ll think you’re unsociable.”
“I am kind of unsociable,” Fang Chi said. “Gotta stick to my style.”
“Alright, I’m hanging up,” Sun Wenqu laughed.
“Mm, go shower.” Fang Chi said, then quietly leaned aside and kissed the phone.
Li Zheng treated everyone to ice cream, one each.
“Done being lovey-dovey with your girlfriend?” he handed one to Fang Chi.
“…Yeah.” Fang Chi took it and bit into it.
“Man,” Zhang Junyi sighed, “I’m jealous.”
“Of what?” Fang Chi asked.
“My girlfriend broke up with me before the college entrance exam,” Zhang Junyi said sadly. “Said we’d get back together after, but after the exam she got with her desk mate. They even went to the same school…”
“That’s nothing,” Li Zheng said while eating. “Even if you got back together, long distance wouldn’t last more than a semester… oh, not talking about you,” he quickly added to Fang Chi. “Different situation. A handsome guy like you, your girlfriend should be the worried one.”
“Hey!” Zhang Junyi protested. “That’s discrimination against non-handsome guys!”
Everyone burst out laughing. After a few steps, Li Zheng leaned toward Fang Chi. “Let’s see.”
“What?” Fang Chi paused.
“Photos of your girlfriend.”
At that, everyone gathered around.
“Wait, wait…” Fang Chi gripped his phone, palms sweating. Not only did he not have a girlfriend’s photos, his gallery was basically all Sun Wenqu.
“Don’t be stingy,” Li Zheng said. “I’ll show mine later too.”
It would be awkward to say he didn’t have a girlfriend, and he definitely couldn’t say he had a boyfriend. Asking to see photos was totally reasonable. After hesitating, Fang Chi scrolled through his phone.
Liang Xiaotao saved him.
He had plenty of her photos, from a group trip to the village. Luckily he hadn’t deleted them, including some selfies together.
He quickly made a new album, selected a few solo shots and group photos, and showed them.
“Hey,” Zhang Junyi stared, “your girlfriend’s really pretty!”
“Nice taste!” Li Zheng gave a thumbs-up. “Prettier than mine!”
After everyone looked, they finally left Fang Chi alone and turned to Li Zheng’s girlfriend photos.
Fang Chi let out a breath. If Liang Xiaotao found out, she’d probably beat him.
Sun Wenqu hadn’t eaten much dinner. After hours of driving, he had no appetite.
But back at the apartment Ma Liang rented for him, after unpacking and showering, he collapsed onto the sofa. Less than an hour of TV later, he got hungry.
The kitchen was fully equipped, pots, pans, oil, seasonings. Hu Yuanyuan had even bought noodles.
But Sun Wenqu definitely wasn’t going to cook.
When hunger became unbearable, he opened the fridge. As expected, there was a box of yogurt, probably also bought by Hu Yuanyuan.
He took one.
Red date flavor, sweet and fragrant, almost appetizing.
After finishing it, he lay on the sofa holding Chief Huang, feeling like he wouldn’t survive the night without eating.
He placed Chief Huang on his chest and tapped its nose. “You useless fatty, can you cook noodles?”
Chief Huang meowed softly and hugged his hand.
“What good are you?” Sun Wenqu sighed. “You grew up watching Fang Chi cook noodles and still didn’t learn?”
Chief Huang nibbled his fingers.
“With an IQ like yours,” Sun Wenqu curled his finger, “you don’t deserve balls.”
In the end, Sun Wenqu ordered takeout, roast goose rice, pork tripe soup, fried meatballs, vegetables, and iced orange juice.
It exceeded the delivery range, but after paying extra, they still delivered.
Nearly a hundred yuan, Fang Chi would definitely nag him if he knew.
As he put the change back in his wallet, he paused and counted, only a little over a thousand in cash.
He clicked his tongue. Ever since his dad cut him off, he’d been using just one card, and that card was now with Fang Chi.
So this was all he had left?
He was doomed.
Back at the dorm, the group kept chatting. Fang Chi took the chance to shower.
The bathroom was small but new and well-equipped, quite comfortable.
After he finished, everyone else rushed to use it. Fang Chi climbed onto his bed and checked his phone, no message from Sun Wenqu.
But Cheng Mo had sent one:
-Come be a technical advisor for the climbing team.
Fang Chi clicked his tongue and didn’t reply.
That earlier comment still bothered him.
Just as he was about to message Sun Wenqu, his phone rang.
“Going to sleep?” Fang Chi lay back and answered.
“No, just finished eating,” Sun Wenqu said.
“Just finished? Didn’t you eat earlier?” Fang Chi paused.
“Didn’t eat much earlier. Got hungry again.”
“You’ll gain weight,” Fang Chi said, then asked, “Made noodles?”
“…Yeah, made noodles,” Sun Wenqu said.
Fang Chi paused. “Who are you fooling? You cooking? The most you’d do is stand up, walk three steps, open the fridge, grab yogurt, and even throwing away the empty container would take you twenty minutes of determination.”
Sun Wenqu didn’t respond, he was laughing too hard.
“You ordered takeout, didn’t you?” Fang Chi clicked his tongue. “One day you’ll be too lazy even to order that.”
“Today was an exception,” Sun Wenqu kept laughing. “I’m out of money, if I ate like this every day, I couldn’t afford it.”
“You’ve got seventeen hundred in your wallet, how are you out of money?” Fang Chi immediately said.
“Oh my god,” Sun Wenqu laughed so hard he started coughing. “You even checked my wallet?”
“I just looked at how much cash you had,” Fang Chi said. “Seventeen hundred, if it’s just spending money and not for rent or food, could last two or three months.”
“No,” Sun Wenqu said with a laugh. “Transfer me some money. If I don’t have at least five thousand in cash, I feel like I can’t even leave the house.”
Fang Chi didn’t say anything.
“Hey,” Sun Wenqu said, “dear Fang Little Chi, send me some money.”
“Spendthrift,” Fang Chi turned over to face the wall. “Do you know some of my roommates live on one or two thousand a month?”
“I’m not a student,” Sun Wenqu said. “When I was, I could spend ten or twenty thousand a month.”
“Hey,” Fang Chi sighed helplessly. “What a waste.”
“You’re so arrogant,” Sun Wenqu laughed again.
“Forget it, we’ll take it slow. You’re used to spending freely,” Fang Chi hesitated. “Um… go check Chief Huang’s cat bed.”
“Cat bed?” Sun Wenqu paused. “It’s so hot now, it doesn’t even sleep there.”
“I didn’t tell you to look at Chief Huang, I said look at the bed. There’s a little mat inside,” Fang Chi rubbed his nose. “There’s an envelope under it.”
Sun Wenqu didn’t speak. After a while, his surprised voice came through: “D*mn, you hid money here? You’re something else!”
“Emergency fund,” Fang Chi smiled. “I used to keep mine in my most worn-out running shoes.”
“…How much did you stash?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“Five thousand,” Fang Chi said. “Take it. Can you go out now?”
Sun Wenqu didn’t respond. After a moment, he said softly, “Hey, I think you’re really pretty cute, Fang Chi.”
“Now that you’ve got money, you’re complimenting me,” Fang Chi laughed.
“Then I’ll take it back,” Sun Wenqu said.
“You dare,” Fang Chi glanced around the dorm, everyone was finally sorted, some showering, some on calls, no one paying attention. He lowered his voice. “Hey, I want to see you, let’s do video.”
“You using data?” Sun Wenqu said. “For someone so thrifty.”
“I’ll use a day’s worth. We have campus internet, just no Wi-Fi yet, but Zhang Yu can fix it tomorrow,” Fang Chi said.
“Alright,” Sun Wenqu said.
After hanging up, Sun Wenqu sent a video request.
Fang Chi put in earphones, leaned against the wall, propping his head with one hand so his body blocked the screen, just in case someone suddenly climbed onto his bed.
The video lagged a bit, but the moment he saw Sun Wenqu’s face, he felt a surge of excitement, like he wanted to jump over and hug him.
“Does your dorm have AC?” Sun Wenqu was drinking yogurt.
“No, just a fan,” Fang Chi said. “It’s fine at night, not too hot.”
“Take your shirt off,” Sun Wenqu said.
Fang Chi froze. Sun Wenqu’s voice was low, a little seductive. The video lagged, freezing on his half-lidded eyes, lazy and tempting, making Fang Chi suddenly feel heated all over.
He hesitated for a long time, too embarrassed to take it off. By the time the video resumed, Sun Wenqu was already petting Chief Huang.
“Not taking it off?” Sun Wenqu tilted his head, rubbing his face in the cat’s fur, smiling.
“I’m in the dorm,” Fang Chi said quietly. Taking off his shirt wasn’t unusual, but with Sun Wenqu’s tone and expression, it felt like something more, like doing something indecent in front of everyone. Just thinking about it made his face heat up. “Don’t tease me.”
“You were the one who wanted video,” Sun Wenqu laughed. “Didn’t you say you’d calm down after I left?”
“I underestimated your effect,” Fang Chi scratched his head. “You…”
Before he finished, someone knocked. Zhang Yu opened the door, it was their temporary class monitor.
“The class monitor’s here, probably about training tomorrow,” Fang Chi sat up. “I’ll go listen.”
“Go,” Sun Wenqu yawned. “I’m going to sleep.”
“Good night,” Fang Chi said softly. “Kiss.”
Sun Wenqu leaned toward the camera and kissed it. Fang Chi felt a flutter in his lower abdomen and quickly kissed the screen too before ending the call.
Sun Wenqu tossed the phone onto the coffee table and continued lounging on the sofa with Chief Huang, watching TV.
He was a bit sleepy but didn’t want to move, the trip to the bedroom felt far.
He didn’t even know what was playing, just background noise while his mind wandered to those poorly fired bottles, occasionally interrupted by Fang Chi’s smile.
He hadn’t thought Fang Chi leaving for school would affect him. This feeling surprised him.
A bit empty inside.
His phone rang, it was Sun Jiayue.
After a yawn, he lay back and closed his eyes, not answering.
She usually didn’t call without reason, but he didn’t feel like talking or thinking. With Fang Chi gone, it felt like losing a dog he’d raised, he just didn’t have the energy.
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