If I Can’t Get the Male Lead, I’ll Just Be a Salted Fish Chapter 41

Qin Shu took a long time before typing: 【Wanna game?】

Two guys really didn’t have much else to chat about, and Xie Lanzhi wasn’t the type to make small talk anyway. Since neither of them could sleep, besides playing games together, Qin Shu couldn’t think of anything else to do.

Wait, anything else to do? 

Do…?

Do??

The more he thought, the weirder it sounded. Xie Lanzhi replied: 【Okay.】

They first teamed up for Honor of Kings, then a few rounds of PUBG. By the time Qin Shu finally felt sleepy, it was already three in the morning.

【Uncle Qin: Bro, I can’t keep going. I’m gonna sleep now. (sleepy)(sleepy)(sleepy)】

He conked out right after sending it. Only the next day did he see Xie Lanzhi’s “Good night.” Too late to reply, Qin Shu instead sent: 【Good morning, bro! Another under-energized day today, off to class I go~】 Then he scrambled out of bed to wash up, hurrying to class with Chu Cheng.

They left the dorm at the last possible minute—if they slowed down even a bit, they’d be late. Qin Shu speed-walked after Chu Cheng, checking his phone every so often. Xie Lanzhi still hadn’t replied; maybe he didn’t have class today and was still asleep.

Wow, a sleeping-in Xie Lanzhi… what would that look like?

He wanted to see.

Qin Shu stepped into class just as the bell rang. This was the general course Signals and Systems, required for most science and engineering majors. The teacher he picked was a famous lecturer, humorous and easy to understand. Many who couldn’t register for his class still came to sit in; with over a hundred students, sometimes the room wasn’t enough, and latecomers had to stand. Qin Shu scanned the room—hardly a free seat in sight—until Chu Cheng’s sharp eyes spotted two. Though far apart, neither of them minded; they shared a look, then each headed toward a seat.

Qin Shu had just sat down when the teacher started class. He pulled the ridiculously thick textbook out of his bag, and a familiar voice sounded beside him:

“Classmate, I forgot my book. Can I borrow yours to take a look?”

Qin Shu snapped his head up. Xie Lanzhi was sitting right next to him, his manner lazy and natural. “As repayment, I’ll treat you to breakfast.”

“Brother!” Qin Shu lowered his voice, heart pounding wildly. “Why are you here?”

Xie Lanzhi looked at him, speaking softly: “Came to check on the junior who’s not so full of energy—there’s milk and bread in the drawer, eat them during the break.”

…Okay, now he had another story to brag about when he got old in the nursing home: the school’s school grass once brought him breakfast!

“Brother, you don’t have class this morning?”

Xie Lanzhi said: “I have one.”

“The first period?”

“Mn.”

The first morning lecture started at 8:30. Judging from yesterday, Xie Lanzhi had probably slept less than four and a half hours. No wonder he looked a little lazy, a bit different from usual. Still handsome as ever, with no trace of staying up late on his face—if anything, there was an added kind of languid sexiness.

“You should’ve said you had class,” Qin Shu whispered. “I definitely wouldn’t have dragged you to play games so late.”

Xie Lanzhi leaned back against the chair, raised a hand, and pressed lightly at the back of Qin Shu’s neck. “Class has started.”

Where their skin touched was like a sudden electric shock. Qin Shu blanked out, gave a dumb little “oh.” The teacher’s voice from the podium felt like it came from another space—he couldn’t take in a single word.

Xie Lanzhi had brought his Surface to read papers. The surrounding noise, even the teacher’s lecture, didn’t affect him at all. The only thing that could affect him was the gaze his junior cast toward him from time to time.

Qin Shu’s phone buzzed. He picked it up—

【Oni-chan: Look at the podium, don’t look at me.】

【Uncle Qin: 0.0】

【Uncle Qin: But you look better.】

Xie Lanzhi’s lips tilted up. 【After class, you can look as much as you want.】

In a lecture of nearly a hundred people, most faces were unfamiliar, but Xie Lanzhi’s face had appeared on the school forum and on Weibo supertopics for years—most people recognized him; even if not, when such a handsome guy suddenly showed up after months, it was impossible not to notice.

Qin Shu managed to focus on class for a bit, but then WeChat exploded again. Class group, department group, all popping up. He muted the big groups and went straight to the little four-person group of dorms 418 and 419.

【Overlord Chu: (picture)】

【Overlord Chu: @Brother Lan, that guy sitting next to Qing Shu looks a lot like you.】

【Red Carp Green Carp and Donkey: !!!】

【Red Carp Green Carp and Donkey: @Shuimenjian, care to explain? You said you were busy—how come you’re at someone else’s class!】

【Overlord Chu: So it really is Brother Lan? (shocked)】

【Red Carp Green Carp and Donkey: (go away, my mom told me not to play with idiots.jpg)】

Xie Lanzhi glanced at WeChat, then set his phone aside, not planning to reply.

Qin Shu thought for a moment, then typed into the group:
【Brother Lan felt bad I hadn’t had breakfast, so he kindly came to save my stomach. (shy)(shy)】

【Overlord Chu: ……】

【Overlord Chu: I think I didn’t eat either?】

【Red Carp Green Carp and Donkey: ???】

【Overlord Chu: ?????】

Chu Cheng and Lu Rulu were spamming question marks in the group. Qin Shu almost laughed out loud. He clicked open a few other groups—everyone was talking about Xie Lanzhi showing up at the sophomore “Signals and Systems” lecture. At university, it was normal to accompany your boyfriend or girlfriend to class. But since the people in front, behind, left, and right of Xie Lanzhi were all male, it looked very strange.

Qin Shu really wanted to brag a bit in the big groups, but worried it might cause trouble for Xie Lanzhi, so he chose to stay low-key. At that moment, a private chat popped up.

【Hehe: …You win!】

Qin Shu stared at the avatar for a few seconds before remembering—it was the president of the Photography Club, who shipped the “Lan-Ning” CP.

【Uncle Qin: What!】

【Hehe: You’re acting mighty cocky huh!】

【Uncle Qin: And what if I am? Is being cocky illegal? Show me the law that says people can’t be cocky.】

【Hehe: (hands big boss an Ice Coke.jpg)】

【Hehe: Please keep being cocky, thank you.】

【Uncle Qin: ?】

【Hehe: You’re right, Lan-Ning isn’t worth it. I’ve unfollowed already. Lan-Shu incense it is! (as long as I don’t drop dead, I’ll keep shipping.jpg)】

【Uncle Qin: (grandpa on the subway looking at his phone.jpg)】

【Uncle Qin: You’re overthinking it. Xie Lanzhi and I are just brothers.】

【Hehe: (that night on the bed you didn’t say that.jpg)】

【Hehe: Brotherhood, pure and bright!】

【Uncle Qin: ……】

Qin Shu lifted his head and glanced at Xie Lanzhi. Xie Lanzhi was propping his head on one hand, the other resting on his laptop. His eyes were closed, breathing even, as if asleep.

This was probably the first time Qin Shu had been so close while looking at Xie Lanzhi’s sleeping face. His brows, partly covered by bangs, were clean and neat, lashes resting quietly, nose straight, lips faintly tinted… The longer Qin Shu looked, the hotter his own breathing became.

Just like now.

He used to have this reaction when looking at Xie Lanzhi, but never once had it been this bad—his heart was practically in a panic.

What was going on? Could being a face-connoisseur actually level up?

Qin Shu didn’t dare look anymore. His eyes shifted to Xie Lanzhi’s hand. Long, clean, distinct-jointed fingers, just like the man himself—cool.

Qin Shu propped two fingers on the desk, made them “walk” like two little legs to the side of Xie Lanzhi’s hand—and froze. Uh. He didn’t even know what he was trying to do.

So… should he touch his hand?

Should he? Should he? Just touching once… should be fine, right…?

Qin Shu was still tangled in indecision when Xie Lanzhi’s hand suddenly moved, lightly closing over his.

Then, Xie Lanzhi slowly opened his eyes, the corner of his lips curving up.

“What bad thing are you trying to do, little Love Letter?”

Qin Shu’s brain was flooded with blood, his heartbeat pounding at 180.

Ahhhhhh—he was done for.

It wasn’t until the bell rang for the end of the first period that Qin Shu barely managed to return to normal. He quietly pulled out the breakfast Xie Lanzhi had brought him from the desk drawer and started eating. Chu Cheng came over, saw the bread in Qin Shu’s hand, and held out his palm toward Xie Lanzhi.

“Brother Lan, where’s mine?”

Xie Lanzhi: “There isn’t.”

Chu Cheng clutched at his heart. “Brother Lan, I’ve known you longer, haven’t I? Do you know how cruel you’re being?”

“Cough, cough—” Qin Shu almost choked. “The h*ll, quit learning all that nonsense from Brother Yun.”

Xie Lanzhi patted Qin Shu’s back and said to Chu Cheng, “I didn’t know you hadn’t eaten breakfast.”

“Oh?” Chu Cheng felt comforted. “So if you had known, you would’ve brought me some too, right?”

Xie Lanzhi neither confirmed nor denied.

Qin Shu said, “Brother, hurry and go grab lunch, then go home and nap. Otherwise you definitely won’t last through afternoon classes.”

“That won’t be necessary,” said Xie Lanzhi. “Missing one night of sleep is nothing.”

Chu Cheng asked curiously, “Brother Lan, you didn’t sleep the whole night?”

The whole night? That couldn’t be right—didn’t he say “goodnight” at three in the morning?

“Mm,” Xie Lanzhi said blandly. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Qin Shu freaked out. “What the h*ll?! Then all the more reason you need to go rest!”

Xie Lanzhi gave a soft laugh and nodded. He knew he was distracting Qin Shu here anyway. After packing up his things, he ruffled Qin Shu’s head. “Focus on class, little junior.”

Qin Shu felt like his hair was sizzling with smoke.

And yet he still failed Xie Lanzhi—because even after he left, Qin Shu couldn’t get a single word of the lecture into his head.

After class, Qin Shu absent-mindedly went with Chu Cheng to the cafeteria. On the way, he got a food-delivery request from Lu Rulu. Qin Shu suddenly thought of something, so he volunteered for the mission. He packed up two meals, ditched Chu Cheng, and headed straight to 418.

When Lu Rulu saw the two boxes of food, he said, “Little Love-Letter, you got it wrong. I’m not Chu Cheng, one meal is enough.”

“One’s for me.”

Lu Rulu was moved. “So you came specially to eat with me?”

“Yeah, Brother Lu.” Qin Shu opened his own box and placed a chicken leg in Lu Rulu’s. “Brother Lu, I’ve got something I want to ask of you.”

Lu Rulu was flattered. “What’s with the formality, what’s our relationship? Just say it.”

Qin Shu said it straight: “I want to know which ‘player’ Brother Lan likes.”

Lu Rulu froze with his chicken leg halfway to his mouth. “Huh?”

Qin Shu’s face was serious. “My Brother is that good. I won’t allow some player to hurt him.”

Lu Rulu put down the leg, quiet as a chicken for a while, then said, “Shu, this kind of thing—it’s mutual. Even if you knew who that player was, if Brother Lan himself wants it, what can you do?”

Qin Shu was stunned, then fumed. “Xie Lanzhi must be blind!”

Lu Rulu sighed. “Who says he isn’t? But the player is cute, and good at using tricks. He couldn’t hold out.”

Qin Shu sneered. “Cute? Tricks? More like green tea trash at a glance!”

Author’s Note:
Progress on Love-Letter’s enlightenment: 80%? Anyway, soon!
The ambiguous stage is beautiful too, so everyone, be patient~0v0