Lin Jing replayed that question in his mind. Suddenly, he had no idea how to respond.
This atmosphere is way too weird. Is this just habit?
Had he gotten used to being flirted with in-game? Used to being treated as someone’s boyfriend, so now everything felt ambiguous?
But he knew from the start that it was all just an act, just Xu Wanzhi’s twisted sense of humor. And hadn’t he been totally repulsed by it at first?
[Shuang Mu Cheng Jing: ……]
Lin Jing politely responded with an ellipsis.
That question again.
—Maybe this isn’t the right word to explain it, but the feeling of wanting to make someone happy—aside from ‘liking,’ what other word comes closest?
What word comes closest?
How the h*ll would he know?
But Xu Wanzhi didn’t linger on the awkward question for too long. After a short pause, he switched topics.
[Wan Feng Wan Yue: Did you add me just to thank me?]
[Shuang Mu Cheng Jing: Yeah.]
[Shuang Mu Cheng Jing: Are you on the main star?]
[Wan Feng Wan Yue: Mm.]
Lin Jing smiled.
[Shuang Mu Cheng Jing: Perfect. I have some business there in a few days. Want to meet up?]
But Xu Wanzhi’s response was unexpectedly cold.
[Wan Feng Wan Yue: Mm.]
Lin Jing suddenly hesitated, fingers hovering over the keyboard. He started typing, “Where should we meet…”
Then, before he could send it, Xu Wanzhi messaged again.
[Wan Feng Wan Yue: Sorry, I’m busy right now.]
[Wan Feng Wan Yue: Contact me when you arrive.]
Lin Jing paused, deleted everything, and simply replied:
[Shuang Mu Cheng Jing: Okay.]
The first message had confused him, but the later cold, polite tone unsettled him even more.
As for why it unsettled him—he had no reason. Lin Jing silently chalked it up to a common late-night phenomenon. Boredom makes people overthink.
That afternoon, when he was about to leave Hailan Star for the main star, his mother handed him a book—the very same fairy tale book he had spotted on the table earlier.
Lin Jing was baffled. “Why are you giving me this?”
“Just returning it to its rightful owner. And in case you get bored, it’s something to read on the way.” She smiled, stood on tiptoe, and placed a kiss on his forehead. “Remember to stay in touch. Safe travels.”
Lin Jing thought to himself—reading fairy tales at his age? How boring. He’d probably fall asleep after a few pages.
However, he had underestimated himself—because this book turned out to be surprisingly engaging?!
Lin Jing: Cough, I guess this is what they call a handsome guy with a childlike heart.
After boarding the spaceship and settling into a window seat, Lin Jing opened the fairy tale book.
The torn-up note that had once been tucked inside the title page was gone, leaving only his childish signature behind.
The first chapter of the book was Cinderella.
As he flipped to the first page, a gentle voice from the broadcast filled the cabin.
“Ladies and gentlemen…”
The spaceship took off.
Resting his elbow against the window frame, Lin Jing lowered his gaze and read through the familiar stories line by line. Even as he mentally ridiculed their childishness, he couldn’t stop himself from reading—like he was under some kind of spell.
Little Red Riding Hood took down the Big Bad Wolf, the seven dwarfs saved Snow White, and Cinderella married the prince. Everything in these stories leaned toward kindness, happiness, and romance.
As Lin Jing turned another page, something cool and soft slipped onto the back of his hand. He looked down and saw a round, white petal with a faint, lingering floral scent.
He held the petal between his fingers and studied it for a while before recognizing it—it was a hyacinth, his mother’s favorite flower.
The edges of the petal had started to yellow, and it had even left an irreversible stain on the pages of the book.
Lin Jing realized it almost instantly—hyacinths, a sea of flowers, a fairy tale book.
This must have been something from his childhood. Over ten years ago.
But this particular flower had been genetically modified, which meant it wilted very slowly, retaining its fragrance even now.
A nostalgic smile tugged at Lin Jing’s lips. He carefully placed the petal between the pages as a bookmark.
It happened to land right at the beginning of Sleeping Beauty.
The wicked witch had cursed the beautiful princess into an eternal slumber, and only a prince’s kiss could wake her.
This story had fascinated his younger self, and the margins were filled with crooked, scribbled words—fragments of his childhood dreams.
“Do princesses really exist?”
“Being a prince is way too lucky.”
“I want to kiss a princess too!”
Below his messy handwriting, another set of neater characters stood out—his mother’s merciless commentary:
“Read more, dream less.”
But back then, he had been stubborn and undeterred by her words. Instead, he had doubled down on his enthusiasm and made an even more shameless request.
“Mom, can you find me a princess?”
Lin Jing couldn’t stop laughing.
Now he finally understood why his mom always called him an idiot as a kid. Looking at it now… yeah, he really had been pretty dumb.
The spaceship had now left Hailan Star and was traveling along an orbital path named YI4. Through the window, nebulae stretched across the vastness of space like breathtaking paintings. The romance of the universe was something one had to see with their own eyes to truly appreciate.
Feeling drowsy, Lin Jing placed the book on the table and quickly dozed off.
By the time they arrived at the main star, it was morning.
Dean Chang reached out to him first, warmly providing Lin Jing with the address and access code to his home in District 1. Since the dean was currently at the base and unable to leave, he insisted that Lin Jing stay there instead of finding his own place, worried about him being unfamiliar with the area.
Lin Jing felt a little guilty and initially declined, but with the dean’s persistence, he eventually agreed.
Still, for his first day back, Lin Jing planned to catch up with Lu Xingyu first.
After disembarking, he immediately called him.
It was a Wednesday, and Lu Xingyu had deliberately skipped class for him. Though he complained over the phone about how reluctant and difficult the decision was, Lin Jing was certain he was grinning from ear to ear.
After waiting at the terminal for a while, Lin Jing soon spotted a familiar figure in a blue-and-white checkered shirt and black jeans.
Lu Xingyu waved enthusiastically at him. Lin Jing ended the call.
The moment they saw each other, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Once they got into the self-driving car, Lu Xingyu scrutinized Lin Jing for a moment before sighing, “Not bad, huh? Haven’t seen you for a year, and I think you’ve gotten thinner.”
Lin Jing: “If you were in a coma for a year, you’d lose weight too.”
Lu Xingyu let out an unapologetic laugh. “D*mn, that’s rough.”
Lin Jing gave a helpless smile. “It wasn’t that bad.”
Lu Xingyu set their destination to Imperial University and threw an arm around Lin Jing’s shoulders. “Alright, let this senior take you to campus first.”
Lin Jing: “Thanks, son.”
Lu Xingyu whistled. “And then I’ll introduce you to the pretty girls at our school.”
Lin Jing smiled faintly. “Not interested.”
Lu Xingyu: “Not interested in pretty girls? Have you secretly turned gay behind my back?”
Lin Jing rolled his eyes. “I came here for treatment. Treatment. Get it?”
Lu Xingyu let out an idiotically loud laugh. “Hahahaha.”
The two had grown up together, and even after so much time apart, there wasn’t the slightest bit of awkwardness between them. Lu Xingyu was still bitter about Lin Jing abruptly hanging up on him last time, so as a form of punishment, Lin Jing had to sit through another round of his endless, dramatic storytelling about his crush.
From the way Lu Xingyu went on and on about their fateful first encounter, paired with his embarrassingly cheesy vocabulary and overly sentimental expressions, Lin Jing nearly considered jumping out of the moving vehicle.
Thankfully, the main star’s transportation system was top-notch, and they arrived at Imperial University in no time.
Lu Xingyu’s dorm was an apartment-style setup.
When they entered, one of his roommates was slouched on the couch, gaming.
“Chill, chill, don’t rage,” the roommate said, trying to calm someone down over the mic. “It’s just a game. No need to take it so seriously.”
Lu Xingyu pushed the door open and gave him a look. “Dude, didn’t I just hear you yelling ‘trash players don’t deserve to play’ when I left? So now you have two faces?”
Then, with a sly smirk, he added, “Ohhh, is it because you’re the trash player this time?”
Lin Jing: “…”
How could someone so normal-looking have such an annoying mouth?
Lu Xingyu’s roommate probably had the same thought.
“You little—” The roommate raised a couch pillow, about to throw it, but the moment he noticed Lin Jing at the door, he froze.
Lin Jing took a deep breath, put on a polite smile, and greeted, “Hello.”
He was tall, well-proportioned, and had a refined, pleasant demeanor. Even among guys, his looks were universally appealing.
The roommate stared blankly for a moment, removed his glasses, wiped them, then put them back on—completely forgetting his anger toward Lu Xingyu. He beamed, “Hey, hey! Nice to meet you!”
Lu Xingyu’s roommate was named Wen Hua. After hearing about Lin Jing’s accident, he was full of sympathy and even offered to treat him to a meal. However, being a game-obsessed homebody who spent all his money on microtransactions, he was too broke to take Lin Jing anywhere fancy—so in the end, he could only treat him to a meal at the nearest campus cafeteria.
Lin Jing was very satisfied. He had always been drawn to university life, and the cafeteria, of course, was an important part of it.
Wen Hua and Lu Xingyu exchanged glances after hearing his comment.
The two academically indifferent slackers assumed the posture of seasoned veterans, earnestly trying to dissuade him.
Lu Xingyu’s nonsense had never held any weight with Lin Jing.
Wen Hua said, “Treasure this time while you can, junior. The Mecha Department is no place for humans. No pretty girls, just grim-looking old men. It’s all training, assignments, and competitions, constantly getting crushed by monsters. Over time, both your body and mind start to deteriorate.”
Lin Jing paused, then laughed. “Is that so?”
Wen Hua continued, “The midterm combat challenge for the Mecha Department is in two days. You can watch Lu Xingyu get completely destroyed.”
Lu Xingyu: “……”
Lu Xingyu, furious, retorted, “Shut up! I’ve been taking this exam very seriously! You better hope you don’t get matched against me, or I’ll beat you so bad you’ll be calling me dad!”
Wen Hua rolled his eyes. “You think you’re the only one taking it seriously? The whole department is.”
Lin Jing was puzzled and intrigued. “Why?”
Wen Hua explained, “Every student in the Mecha Department dreams of joining the Imperial Army. The professors say a general will be coming to inspect the challenge this time. Who wouldn’t want to make a good impression?”
Lin Jing grew even more confused. “A general is coming to observe?”
Wen Hua nodded. “Sounds unbelievable, right? I thought so too. But apparently, the general’s visit is just incidental—his real reason for coming is to recruit someone.”
Lu Xingyu’s eyes widened. “Whoa, you’ve got insider info? Spill it.”
Wen Hua grinned. “It’s about our elusive senior. With his skills, he could have graduated early a long time ago. If he enters the military, he’s probably going straight into a high-ranking position. But for some reason, the university hasn’t let him go.”
Lin Jing found himself listening more intently.
Lu Xingyu shot him a playful look and waggled his eyebrows.
Lin Jing: “……” What’s wrong with this guy?
Wen Hua took a sip of soup and continued, “Some say it’s not the university holding him back—it’s that he doesn’t want to leave. The general is coming specifically to persuade him.”
Lu Xingyu gaped. “That’s insane.”
Wen Hua smirked. “There’s an even crazier theory—the general is actually acting on orders from the Marshal. The Marshal, as in the head of the Osmond family.”
Lu Xingyu: “……”
He muttered a curse under his breath, defeated, and turned his attention back to his meal.
Comparisons really were infuriating.
Lin Jing sat in his seat, lost in thought.
As the conversation went on, Wen Hua got himself so fired up that he suddenly felt guilty about spending his afternoon playing games. He ran off to the training hall to work hard.
That left the unmotivated Lu Xingyu and Lin Jing walking together.
Lu Xingyu stretched lazily. “It’s been ages since we slept together. Let’s relive our childhood.”
But before long, he received a phone call. The moment he saw the caller ID, he nearly jumped, a smirk creeping onto his lips. He coughed dramatically and turned the volume up, obviously intending for Lin Jing to hear.
A girl’s tearful voice came through. “Xingyu, I… I feel so awful…”
Lin Jing: “?”
Lu Xingyu, tail practically wagging in triumph, put on a serious face and a concerned tone. “Don’t cry, Wenwen. Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
Lin Jing: “??”
After hanging up, Lu Xingyu immediately dropped his act and gave Lin Jing a tragic look, as if parting with a lover.
Lin Jing: “……” He had known Lu Xingyu long enough to predict whatever nonsense he was about to spew.
He had truly had enough. “Scram, scram, scram.”
Lu Xingyu leaped in excitement.
“I love you, Jingzi! It’s not that I’m abandoning you for a girl, I swear! The situation demands it—I have no choice! She’s all alone out there, you understand, right?”
With that, he sprinted off. “You can crash at my place tonight. Do whatever you want with my bed. Byeee!”
And just like that, Lin Jing was left alone in the cold night breeze.
He curled his lips into a smirk. Do whatever I want with your bed? What if I dismantle it?
But he didn’t head toward the dormitory.
Screw catching up. That b*stard doesn’t deserve it.
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