The four of them arrived at the mall and headed straight for the barbecue restaurant. Since it was mealtime, the place was crowded and already had a waiting list. Lu Rulu took a number for a medium table, and they waited outside the restaurant, chatting idly.
Chu Cheng said, “Brother Lan, I heard from Brother Lu that you went abroad as an exchange student last year?”
Xie Lanzhi: “Mm.”
“No wonder I didn’t see you around in freshman year. Did you play basketball overseas?”
“A little, but not much,” Xie Lanzhi replied. “My studies kept me busy.”
Chu Cheng asked with great interest, “Are those Black guys super strong? Could you beat them?”
Xie Lanzhi: “No.”
Qin Shu: “Pfft—”
@Author, there’s a problem with your super-popular stock’s character setting here. As the official gong, how could he possibly lose to someone else? Look at the other gongs out there—they all exude B-king vibes, crushing cannon-fodder moms to tears, with amateur skills that could challenge NBA players.
“What are you laughing at?” Chu Cheng turned to Qin Shu, displeased. “You think you could beat them?”
Qin Shu shrugged. “Never tried, so I don’t know.”
Chu Cheng scoffed, “Yeah, right—look at those scrawny arms and legs of yours, you’d better not even try.”
“Basketball and all that’s secondary,” Lu Rulu said with a grin. “What I think is the real pity is that Brother Lan didn’t even get a foreign girlfriend during his exchange year. Now he’s still holding on to his first love, what a disgrace.”
Chu Cheng’s eyes went wide. “No way?! Seriously, Lanlan’s never had a girlfriend?”
It was true—Xie Lanzhi had never been in a relationship. But baby, if you don’t work harder to win Ning Ning, he’s bound to start dating sooner or later.
Xie Lanzhi lazily lifted his eyes toward Lu Rulu. “Save it for you?”
Lu Rulu froze, then half-jokingly, half-seriously said while staring at Xie Lanzhi’s face, “If it’s you, I’ll take it!”
Xie Lanzhi shot a “Get lost” at his roommate. “I won’t.”
Lu Rulu sighed theatrically, “Alas, the school grass refuses to bend for me.”
Qin Shu cut in, “Only because you’re not pretty enough.” If it were someone like Xu Ning, a real beauty, just watch whether he bends or not.
“Hahahaha, true,” Lu Rulu self-deprecated. “I’ll admit I’m not worthy.”
Xie Lanzhi gave a faint smile. “No matter how pretty, I still won’t bend.”
Qin Shu: “Heh.”
After waiting twenty minutes, their number was finally called. Chu Cheng shouted that he was starving, yet when the server handed over the menu, the first thing he did was pass it to Xie Lanzhi.
Qin Shu could tell that Chu Cheng seemed to really like Xie Lanzhi. But it wasn’t the same as how he liked Xu Ning—it was admiration and envy toward an outstanding senior. Just like in the original, Chu Cheng liked Xu Ning but respected Xie Lanzhi. Once he knew there was ambiguity between the two, he couldn’t treat Xie Lanzhi as roughly as he did other love rivals, so he could only bottle it up inside. Watching this left Qin Shu feeling stifled as well.
While Qin Shu was fretting over his own baby, the menu was passed to him.
“Thanks for waiting so long for us today,” Xie Lanzhi said. “This meal’s on me—order whatever you like.”
“…” Wuwuwu, so handsome, so gentlemanly—he couldn’t handle it, what to do?
Ah, who would have thought this man could be d*mnably sweet!
Qin Shu turned his head away, refusing to look at Xie Lanzhi’s face, and forced his tone stiff. “I’ll eat anything, you guys order.”
Three big guys fresh off a workout, plus one Qin Shu, managed to rack up over a thousand yuan. Chu Cheng felt a bit embarrassed. “Let’s just split it, Brother Lan, I’ll WeChat you.”
Before Xie Lanzhi could respond, Lu Rulu cheerfully said, “No need, he’s treating this time, we’ll cover the next one.”
Chu Cheng grinned. “Sounds good, let’s meet often.”
After leaving the mall, Xie Lanzhi parted ways with the three who lived in the dorms and walked home alone.
Passing by a milk tea shop, he thought of the cup he hadn’t gotten earlier. He wasn’t fond of sweets and rarely drank milk tea, yet for some reason, he suddenly felt like trying the one Qin Shu had drunk.
Xie Lanzhi stepped into the shop. The milk tea girl greeted him warmly: “Hello, what would you like to drink?”
Xie Lanzhi said, “The new item.”
“We have several new summer specials, which one do you mean?”
Recalling the scene of Qin Shu drinking milk tea, he replied, “The pink one with milk foam on top, 35 yuan.”
A few minutes later, Qin Shu received a WeChat notification: Xie Lanzhi had accepted his 35 yuan red packet, along with two messages.
【Shuimenjian: (photo)】
【Shuimenjian: The milk tea’s very sweet, thanks.】
In the photo, a slender, elegant hand held the cup of milk tea. Qin Shu could clearly see the label on the cup—it was the exact same one he’d bought that afternoon.
So it begins—this Xie fellow was starting to unleash the charm of a top-popularity stock. But sorry, as the number-one supporter of the “Cheng-Ning” CP, he wasn’t buying it.
Still, Qin Shu zoomed in on the photo again and again, before quietly saving it to his phone. Then he replied with a sticker.
【Uncle Qin: (Got it, you may retire now.jpg)】
***
Half a month into the semester, Qin Shu’s life gradually settled into a routine. Besides his sophomore courses, he had to make up for freshman basics and even some high school science knowledge, busy to the point of being flat on his back. On top of that, he couldn’t ignore his baby’s love life.
Chu Cheng still showed no signs of waking up. Xu Ning posted on Moments that he’d lost his campus card during PE class, asking anyone who found it to return it. Qin Shu commented with kiss-and-hug emojis to comfort him—yet Chu Cheng just gave it a like and then blasted a long chain of “hahahaha.”
Qin Shu was dumbstruck by this idiotic move, his face more speechless than the old grandpa on the subway looking at his phone.
“Chu Cheng, isn’t laughing like that when Ning Ning lost his card a bit inappropriate?” Qin Shu fretted endlessly. “Look at me, then look at what Squid King replied.” The answer’s handed to you on a plate, and you still can’t copy it—are you stupid?
“What did Squid King say? I don’t have him on WeChat, can’t see it.”
Qin Shu read it aloud: “‘I’ll post on the school forum to help you ask around.’ Ning Ning even replied to him, saying ‘thanks.’”
Chu Cheng scoffed indifferently. “Fake. People should be straightforward.”
“That’s not straightforward—that’s being a jerk, being KY*,” Qin Shu said darkly. “If you keep this up, be careful you don’t end up single forever.”
**KY = “kuangyan,” clueless or tactless in online slang)
Chu Cheng snorted. “Who cares. I’m skipping my next class.”
“Skipping again? What for?”
Chu Cheng waved his hand. “Playing basketball with Brother Lan and them.”
Qin Shu rolled his eyes. Always playing, always playing. These straight guys were annoying—couldn’t even chase their wives properly, yet still had time to play basketball. He dared not say it out loud though. When the teacher called roll, he even answered for Chu Cheng.
After class, Qin Shu headed as usual to the library, planning to play a round of game before studying. Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered matchmaking, he saw that Xie Lanzhi was already in a game—half an hour in.
What kind of bladder match is this, still going after half an hour… Wait. Wasn’t Xie Lanzhi supposed to be playing basketball with the baby? Unless the guy could play basketball and game at the same time?
Qin Shu spotted the flaw, and deigned to lower himself to send Xie Lanzhi a message.
【Uncle Qin: What are you doing.】
Xie Lanzhi, being a conscientious gamer, only replied after the match ended five minutes later.
【Xie Lanzhi: Just finished a game. What’s up】
【Uncle Qin: Isn’t Chu Cheng with you?】
【Xie Lanzhi: No.】
【Uncle Qin: ???】
【Xie Lanzhi: ?】
Qin Shu’s brows furrowed: something’s not right. Since Baby didn’t go play basketball with Xie Lanzhi, then where did he go? And why lie to his parent—could it be something shady?
In an instant, countless guesses flooded his mind. A fight? Campus loans? Drinking, gambling, wh*ring?
Qin Shu sucked in a cold breath.
【Uncle Qin: Then do you know where he went?】
【Xie Lanzhi: Don’t know. Why don’t you ask?】
【Uncle Qin: If I ask, he won’t tell me sob sob sob QAQ】
【Uncle Qin withdrew a message】
【Uncle Qin: If I ask, he won’t say.】
【Xie Lanzhi: .】
Two minutes later, Xie Lanzhi said: 【He’s at the sports complex.】
【Uncle Qin: Good!】
【Xie Lanzhi: You’re going to spy on him again?】
Qin Shu pretended not to see the last message, packed his things, and rushed straight to the sports complex.
The place was big—various courts, running tracks, swimming pool, lots of people. Qin Shu didn’t see Chu Cheng, but he did see Xie Lanzhi.
Dressed in a fresh white shirt and black trousers, Xie Lanzhi stood at the entrance, seemingly waiting for someone. The blazing sun was like a high-definition filter, magnifying his beauty at every angle. Qin Shu, caught unprepared, was instantly struck by a face attack; the corners of his mouth just wouldn’t stay down.
—Wanting to hate someone that good-looking is just way too hard!
From afar, Xie Lanzhi noticed Qin Shu. They walked toward each other. Under Xie Lanzhi’s gaze, Qin Shu felt like a toddler just learning to walk, not knowing where to put his hands. At the same time, he struggled with expression management—absolutely must not smile like a blooming flower in front of Baby’s rival!
Those few short steps felt like a year. Finally reaching him, Qin Shu gave a little cough to cover up, “Why are you here?”
“I happened to be nearby, came to take a look.” Xie Lanzhi’s tone was a bit cold. “Didn’t you say after eating takoyaki you wouldn’t stalk people anymore?”
Qin Shu lowered his head to look at Xie Lanzhi’s shadow. “When did I say that to you? And besides, I’m not stalking.”
“Then what are you here for?”
“I… I’m looking for Chu Cheng.”
“If you have something, just say it to him openly.”
Qin Shu was annoyed, pointing at the track. “Look, isn’t the track wide?”
Xie Lanzhi: “?”
“You’re nosier than a 400-meter wide track!”
Xie Lanzhi said coolly, “I’m the one who told you where he was. I think I’m allowed to ‘mind a little.’”
“Then why tell me in the first place?”
Xie Lanzhi paused. “You even went ‘sob sob sob,’ looked pretty anxious. I thought it was something urgent.”
Qin Shu: “……” Fine. Decision made—he had to quit the bad habit of using kaomoji.
“Chu Cheng’s at the soccer field,” Xie Lanzhi said. “I’ll take you to him.”
Qin Shu had no choice but to follow behind. At his eye level, he could see just about Xie Lanzhi’s shoulder. The height difference was mostly in the legs—Xie Lanzhi wasn’t walking fast, yet Qin Shu had to speed up to keep pace.
“Did Chu Cheng tell you why he came to the sports complex?” Qin Shu asked.
“He said he came to look for something.”
“Look for something?” Qin Shu was surprised. “He lost something?”
Xie Lanzhi said: “Didn’t say what.”
Whether Chu Cheng lost anything Qin Shu didn’t know, but someone had lost something—and it was at the sports complex.
Qin Shu stopped, half-laughing, half-crying. Baby, what can Daddy even say about you! This stubborn tsundere routine of yours is just… d*mn, way too cute! What a treasure boy, Daddy will love you for life!
God, this sugar! Ah, he’s going to pass out from sweetness! Mom, why am I crying while shipping a CP!
Xie Lanzhi turned back to see the junior suddenly all excited, his cheeks tinged pink—whether from the sun or from excitement, who could say. “You…”
Qin Shu’s eyes were shining, impatient. “Come on come on, let’s find him quick, and then—”
“Help him look?”
“Ask him what he’s looking for! I want to hear what he says!” This time Chu Cheng couldn’t escape. He had to dig until he forced him to face his true feelings.
Under the blazing sun, Qin Shu hurried all the way to the soccer field—and there, spotted Chu Cheng at once.
Head down, Chu Cheng wandered slowly around the pitch, clearly searching for something.
Qin Shu, thrilled, was about to call out to him—when behind him, Xie Lanzhi suddenly spoke: “This is…”
He bent down and picked up a card from the grass. “Xu Ning’s campus card?”
Qin Shu froze. Could this be the destined bond between the official CP before the story even begins? Chu Cheng couldn’t find it after searching forever, yet Xie Lanzhi glanced once and saw it right away?
Xie Lanzhi took out his phone. “I happen to know him.”
Qin Shu’s voice trembled. “Y-you’re going to—?”
“Tell Xu Ning—”
“No!” Qin Shu roared, veins bursting. “You can’t!”
Author’s note: Qin Shu: Put down that campus card, let my Baby handle it! (Ma Jingtao roar.jpg)
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