Spring and summer were transitioning, and the campus of Nanyang University suddenly became full of spring. The trees that were covered in snow during winter were growing wildly, with green buds hanging on the willow branches, and the ice and snow on the lake melting.
Even the sound of bicycle bells in the school became more melodious.
However, the weather was still a bit stuffy, with a hint of heat.
Yun Ci didn’t care much about the weather; he was concerned about something else.
Yu Xun’s birthday also fell in this season.
A date he didn’t need to memorize but could recite by heart.
After all, back at West High, they had, in a way, deeply participated in each other’s birthdays.
So, Yun Ci, who originally planned to review his lessons, wandered around the school library for a while and ended up taking a book unrelated to studying to the study room.
The arrangement for the second-semester exams in the first year of college was basically the same as the previous semester. Yun Ci didn’t have much to prepare for the exams; his attention was on his student from West High, who was at the bottom of the class.
After being a tutor for a while, Yun Ci gradually found some enjoyment in it.
Or rather, his competitiveness shifted.
yc: [Midterm exam]
yc: [Better than second last]
With his phone back, Liu Jiayu quickly replied: [……]
Liu Jiayu: [Don’t your university have exams? Shouldn’t you spend more time on your own grades?]
Yun Ci, sitting in the study room, had “How to Give Your Partner an Unforgettable Birthday” on his left and “Complete Solutions to High School Math Basics” on his right.
He replied coldly and emotionlessly.
[I’m first.]
[No room for improvement.]
Liu Jiayu: [……I’m going to compete with you top students.]
yc: [Got your phone back?]
Liu Jiayu: [Yeah, Yan Yue still has a shred of humanity left and returned my phone.]
Upon receiving this reply, Yun Ci took a photo of the new test paper he had just made and sent it to him.
yc: [Great, do this test paper.]
Liu Jiayu: [If I say this isn’t my phone and I don’t have a phone, is it too late?]
After sending this message, Liu Jiayu keenly noticed the words “How to Give Your Partner xxx” in the corner of the picture.
He was speechless about his handsome tutor’s obsession with romance: [Is your girlfriend celebrating a holiday or birthday?]
Yun Ci originally didn’t plan to talk much with him.
His fingers paused on the screen, and considering that Liu Jiayu had mentioned the key point, he replied with a few words: [What about it.]
[Got experience?]
Liu Jiayu: [Of course, I do. For my last girlfriend’s birthday, I sang love songs to her at KTV, and she was moved to tears.]
Liu Jiayu thought this was a genuinely good suggestion.
He was about to elaborate, using his thirty-plus points essay skills to give this tutor a detailed breakdown.
However, he received a simple reply.
yc: [Get lost and do your homework.]
“……”
Liu Jiayu: [Why do you look down on my love songs?]
yc: [Because she’s now your ex-girlfriend.]
Liu Jiayu: [Damn.]
After finishing the chat, Yun Ci checked the time.
It was time for his boyfriend to get off work.
Yun Ci exited the chat window and ignored Liu Jiayu’s complaints.
Liu Jiayu: [I don’t know the first question.]
Liu Jiayu: [???]
Liu Jiayu: [Hey, where are you?]
Liu Jiayu: [Teach me.]
[……]
Yun Ci generously gave him one last reply.
yc: [I’m off work, got something to do.]
He typed three words on the screen.
yc: [Dating.]
Liu Jiayu: [……]
Yun Ci, as usual, went to the east gate of the school, but this time it wasn’t to pick up Yu Xun from work.
He timed it right and walked into the store.
Only Liu Zi was finishing up in the store. When he saw Yun Ci, he exclaimed, “Damn,” and then awkwardly held up a broom, saying, “Here to find Yu-ge…”
As he said this, remembering their still-secret relationship, he awkwardly added, “To fight, right.”
Yun Ci couldn’t be bothered to explain, “Sort of.”
Liu Zi’s tone unconsciously showed a bit of politeness, “He just left. If you’re in a hurry to fight, I can call him back for you.”
Yun Ci: “No need. Another time is fine.”
As he spoke, he glanced around and saw the dessert counter behind the glass window.
“That,” Yun Ci pointed, “Can I use it?”
“?”
“I have a very important friend who’s about to have a birthday.”
Very important. Birthday.
Liu Zi almost immediately connected it to Yu Xun.
He knew Yu Xun’s birthday by heart.
No wonder Yun Ci came to the store specifically when Yu Xun wasn’t there.
Liu Zi felt a toothache coming on again.
“Go ahead,” Liu Zi opened the door for him, “Just buy an ‘experience baking class’ online. One class costs 188, and you can use any ingredients.”
He finished speaking, realized his attitude was a bit too good, and added, “I’m just here to make money, don’t overthink it.”
Yun Ci glanced at him quietly, confirming that this person’s mental state hadn’t completely deteriorated yet.
After entering, Yun Ci washed his hands, rolled up his sleeves, and stood at the counter, figuring out how to make a cake.
He was wearing a thin hooded sweatshirt, which was too loose, making him look excessively thin, like a tall bamboo, with a hint of indifference and arrogance in his brows.
His wrists were bare, wearing nothing.
His fingers were long and slender, working on the cake base.
Liu Zi glanced at him once, then again.
He had to admit.
This kid’s looks were still pretty decent.
“…”
Quickly, he looked away and cursed himself internally: We’ve been rivals for years. What am I acknowledging?
Even if they’re dating! In terms of looks! His brother is still slightly better!
Liu Zi dragged his feet and continued sweeping the floor.
He remembered that Yu Xun used to celebrate his birthday with their group of brothers.
Their theme for Yu Xun’s birthday was mainly to humiliate Yun Ci, with creating a scene and making a show of it as their core purpose. Once, they even sent a huge cake to Yun Ci’s class just to humiliate him, but it was sent back untouched with a message, “We can afford our own cake.”
Wait a minute.
Liu Zi thought about it and vaguely felt something was off.
…
Was the initial intention of sending that cake really to humiliate?
Since knowing these two were together, Liu Zi had to reshuffle his thought process, and many details became increasingly frightening: “…”
“Being together is one thing,” Liu Zi muttered to himself, brainwashing himself, “but my brother having a crush on this kid since high school is absolutely zero.”
He continued to brainwash himself: “Impossible, absolutely impossible.”
“It must have been after going to university, accidentally becoming roommates, and then mistakenly seeing things differently.”
“…”
Yun Ci tried making the cake for over an hour, realizing that it was quite difficult to do it himself.
Standing in the kitchen, he seemed to see how Yu Xun made his birthday cake for him back then.
After a while, the top pinned black avatar jumped: [Not in the dorm?]
Rarely, Yun Ci lied to him: [Went home for a bit.]
After one attempt, he had a rough understanding of the basic process of making a cake.
He planned to come back again on Yu Xun’s birthday in a few days.
Pushing open the store door, the air was a bit stuffy, as if it was stagnant.
The traffic light at the intersection just changed.
In the midst of the crowd, Yun Ci saw a strange man wearing a mask nearby. He didn’t look like he was there to buy anything, his gaze was somewhat gloomy. He glanced into the dessert shop a few times, brushed past a group of students, and hurried away.
Maybe a student’s parent.
With just one glance, Yun Ci didn’t look closely.
He went all the way back to the dorm, standing at the door, pondering how to cover up the lie he just told. Yu Xun could be exceptionally meticulous sometimes.
Sure enough.
As soon as he stepped in, someone sitting by the bed coolly remarked, “Went home? From the study room to home and back, quite fast.”
“The traffic was good.”
“Oh,” Yu Xun said, “rush hour, and the traffic was good.”
“…”
Yun Ci certainly couldn’t tell him what he had been up to.
In the dorm, everyone was minding their own business, and their reaction to the two of them was instinctively to assume they were “arguing,” which was normal. As long as they weren’t fighting, it was fine.
Yun Ci glanced around, Luo Sifang was focused on his game.
Wang Zhuang was sleeping. Liu Sheng had his back to them, organizing his guitar case.
Seizing the moment, Yun Ci bent down and quickly kissed the corner of Yu Xun’s mouth before he could react.
Liu Sheng happened to finish organizing, catching a glimpse of the two suddenly getting very close. But he didn’t see clearly.
He only saw his brother Yu Xun’s earlobes suddenly turn bright red.
“…”
After barely coaxing him, Yun Ci sat at the long table, continuing to ponder about the birthday gift.
What would Yu Xun want as a gift?
This person’s preferences had always been unclear.
Playing games, but not addicted.
Basketball? Giving a ball seemed silly.
“Hey.” With others in the dorm, Yun Ci could only call Yu Xun like this.
Yun Ci asked directly, “What do you like?”
He covered it up poorly, “No reason, just curious.”
“What do I like,” Yu Xun, sitting opposite him, dragged his words slowly, “do you even need to ask?”
“?
Yu Xun twirled a pen in his hand, his hair freshly washed, looking a bit sleepy, his eyes slightly drooping, but his gaze was locked on Yun Ci.
Then he silently mouthed.
—You.
“…”
Though there was no sound, Yun Ci still felt his ears ringing for a moment. It was like an electric current passing through.
He lowered his eyes, avoiding Yu Xun’s gaze.
Then his gaze fell on the phone beside him.
…
Would looking through a partner’s shopping cart be considered invading privacy?
Yun Ci watched for a while, thinking he should give up and find another method later.
Perhaps his gaze was too obvious, Yu Xun’s finger moved, he first unlocked his phone, then pushed it towards Yun Ci with his fingertip against the phone.
“You’ve recorded your fingerprint,” Yu Xun said, “look as much as you want.”
Yun Ci’s thoughts were exposed, but he still wanted to maintain some dignity: “I wasn’t looking at your phone.”
Yu Xun: “Hmm, you were just looking in the direction of my phone.”
Yun Ci: “…”
“So, still want to look?”
The slightly drooping end of his brow lifted a bit, seemingly pleased with the idea of his phone being looked through, cheekily said, “Start with WeChat, then check texts, and if you’re still not satisfied, you can even look through my game friends list.”
Seeing others dating online, everyone is very against checking each other’s phones.
But this person seemed impatient to do it.
In the end, Yun Ci couldn’t hold back and opened the orange app, quickly scanning through this person’s shopping cart.
Unexpectedly, the cart was filled with the word “couple.”
Couple T-shirts.
Couple hoodies.
Couple necklaces, bracelets, rings…
…
Similar items filled almost the entire shopping cart, too many for him to look through.
“…”
Yun Ci exited the app, emotionlessly and calmly handed the phone back to Yu Xun.
Yu Xun complained that he checked too quickly: “So fast.”
Yun Ci responded with an “Mm.”
With this shopping cart, you could close your eyes and still know what this person wants.
Hahaha Yu Xun just wants to announce to the world that they’re a couple!