âItâs too much trouble. Iâd have to come back again,â Qi Le thought for a moment. âIâm going to the library to study. I have an exam coming up anyway.â
âWhat a coincidence, I was also planning to go to the library. Letâs go together then,â Wan Lei said. âLetâs go to the canteen first. Do you remember where the canteen is?â
âNo thank you, I have company for lunch,â Qi Le looked at him, a little surprised, âThe term has just started but youâre already going to the library to study. Did you also fail the exam? â
âNo, Iâm just getting ready for the term. Whoâs accompanying you...â Wan Lei said, looking over there, âYouâre going together? Where are you going to eat? Can I join you?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Qi Le couldnât help turning around and found that Ning Xiao had arrived God knows when. He turned back to Wan Lei and said, âNot with him.â
Ning Xiao hadnât thought of answering them. He just happened to see the two together and intentionally or perhaps subconsciously walked this way. He overheard what their conversation about, then glanced at Qi Le, not speaking.
Wan Lei was surprised. âWho are you eating with then?â They had already reached the first floor by this time. Qi Le was about to answer Wan Lei when his cellphone rang. He took it out, looked at it and found that it was Gu Bai so he picked up. âHello, where are you?â
âThe main building, where are you?â
âIâm also in the main building... I see you. Iâm hanging up.â Qi Le put away his cellphone and waved to the other side. The person beside him looked over and saw a car parked. A man was standing beside the car. He came over, smiling and pulled Qi Le into his arms while he rubbed his head.
Wan Lei suddenly froze while Ning Xiaoâs gaze turned cold; the man still silent.
Gu Bai glanced at them and took Xiao Leâs hand. âLetâs go.â
Qi Le nodded, waved goodbye to Wan Lei and left soon after. The latter stood and watched them get into the car. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Ning Xiao was about to walk away and quickly asked, âWhat happened to you guys during summer vacation?â
âAs you saw.â Ning Xiao broke away from him and looked over as well. Since the two had successfully gotten together, he didnât care to do that sort of stupid thing. But now he was still unhappy about their interaction. He glanced at the one beside him, âAlthough you hid yourself pretty well, I know youâre the same as us.â
Wan Lei froze slightly and heard him say, âI know that you like him, but he has changed a lot now. Itâs better for you to figure out first if you still like him. If not, I advise you not to get involved.â
Wan Lei stood there, watching him walk away in silence.
Gu Bai was concentrating on the road as he casually asked, âHow do you feel today? Who was that earlier?â
âHeâs my classmate, a new acquaintance,â Qi Le said. He suddenly remembering something and turned to look at him, his eyes shining, âErquan, Iâm very popular with girls now!â
Gu Baiwei paused slightly and raised his eyebrows. âWhat did they all talk about?â
âA lot of stuff.â Qi Le said simply, âThey even shared some gossip... Oh yes, Yi Hang!â He reached for his cellphone to dial, waited, and soon heard a certain idiotâs voice. He laughed at once. âI want to ask you something.â
Yi Hang replied, âGo ahead.â
âDid you get hit by a car while receiving a delivery package?â
âHow do you know?â Yi Hang was surprised. âDid the school hold a memorial service?â
Qi Leâs face was covered in black lines. âNo, youâre thinking too much, thank you. Because express delivery is more special, so everyone knows about it. Did you really buy that? Are you thirsty to that extent? â
âYouâre thirsty, your whole family is thirsty,â Yi Hang retorted. âIt was a goddess from a game. I found a website to order it. I bought it as part of a collection. I saved money for a whole semester to buy it.â
Qi Leâs lips twitched. âWho will believe that you bought that stuff to collect it?â
âAi, donât believe me if you want to. What do you know? It looks more real than anything else. In order to buy it, I only ate two meals a day before I finally saved up enough,â Yi Hang said sadly. âAs a result, I was too excited to see the car across the street that day, so I was hit... I didnât even have the chance to look at my Goddess.â He paused slightly before becoming excited, âYes, I can buy it again! Anyway, I have money now. Iâm hanging up!â
âHello? Hello â Qi Le stared at his cellphone and thought to himself that Yi Hang really was an idiot. If Lu Yanbin saw him buying an inflatable doll, he would definitely die! He blinked, remembering that he had sold out that idiot in the past anyway. So he put away his cellphone without any mental burden and didnât prepare himself to give Yi Hang any warning. He turned to Gu Bai and went back to the topic earlier. He said happily, âMany girls like me!â
Gu Baiâs lips curved in a smile as he reminded, âThink of Zheng Xiaoyuanâs identity. They think of him as a âgirlfriendâ.â
Qi Le, â......â
Looking back on the conversation in the morning, Qi Le suddenly felt sad. âWhy is it âgirlfriendâ? If I told them Iâm straight, would they believe me?â
Gu Bai looked at the road, parked his car in front of a hotel, turned to look at him, his eyes deep with implicit meaning. Qi Le suddenly remembered their current relationship and looked at him in silence. His face looked innocent, âIâm just kidding ...â
Gu Bai rubbed his head and gently encouraged him: âItâs okay. Tell me why you want to tell them that youâre straight.â
â...Iâm just kidding.â Qi Le slowly retreated. Whatâs up with the guilt he was feeling?
Gu Bai looked at him and smiled. He opened the door and got down. âLetâs go and have lunch.â
Qi Le followed him silently, looking at him in secret. His expression was innocent and pitiful. He made it so hard for Gu Bai to control himself from pouncing on him. They found a place to sit down for lunch and ended up driving around after their meal. Gu Bai had class and was unable to accompany him so he sent him back to school. âWhere will you go?â
âIâm going to the library. Wan Lei sent a text message saying that he had gotten a seat. Oh, Wan Leiâs the boy from earlier. I think heâs quite nice.â
Gu Bai recalled his gaze at the time and rubbed a certain someoneâs head. He thought to himself that maybe it was better to "eat" Xiao Le first and spare himself all the worry. Qi Le looked at him and asked, âWhatâs wrong?â
Gu Bai saw that there was no one around so he pulled Qi Le close and kissed him. âNothing.â
Qi Le said goodbye to him, opened the door and got off. After he watched him drive off, he called Wan Lei to ask where he was. Then, he continued with his revision. When he went to class again, he had lost this morningâs enthusiasm for those girls probably because of Gu Baiâs reminder earlier. So he calmly spent the afternoon and in the evening, he went to the bar. He was starting work again this week. He had classes on two nights but he felt occasionally skipping two classes should be okay.
Gu Baiâs schedule for this semester was pretty full and he had classes at night so he didnât go to pick up Qi Le from university. Qi Le finished his dinner and arrived at the bar at 6:30. He stretched his fingers and went up to play the piano. By the time Wan Lei entered the bar, Qi Le had already finished playing two songs. Seeing that there was no one singing on stage, Wan Lei was surprised and sat down at the bar. He didnât like it here. He only came to listen to the music on rare occasions, look at him from a distance and leave early. Therefore, he didnât really know anyone and only talked to the bartender occasionally.
The bartender saw him come in and greeted him with a smile. Wan Lei smiled back, ordered a glass of wine and looked around. The bartender often mingled with the patrons of the bar and could tell that he was interested in Zheng Xiaoyuan so he pointed to a corner of the stage and said, âThere, the one playing the piano.â
Wan Lei looked over and was immediately shocked. When did he learn to play the piano?
The bartender wiped his glass. âYou live in another province, donât you. You werenât here during summer vacation. I originally wanted to tell you that he had lost his memory and ask you to seize the opportunity.â
âI already know.â
âYouâre a little late,â said the bartender regretfully. âHeâs already with Gu Bai.â
"I also know...â Wan Lei suddenly froze. âGu Bai?â
âYes, him.â