Lu Yuan fell asleep that night, mainly because Ning Guiqu faced the wall and behaved himself. He even had a dream where, after graduation, he really started a company. Ning Guiqu was wearing a hoodie and told him they would sleep together at night and repay him for a lifetime by sleeping with him forever.

Lu Yuan jolted awake from the dream. Upon waking, Ning Guiqu hadn’t turned into a koala.

After recovering from the absurd dream, Lu Yuan climbed down from Ning Guiqu’s bed in the dark to use the bathroom, quietly opening the bathroom door. When he came out, Lu Yuan hadn’t even closed the bathroom door when he suddenly saw Ning Guiqu standing at the entrance in his pajamas.

Lu Yuan was startled again. Was he dreaming again?

No, it wasn’t a dream.

“What are you up to now?” Lu Yuan asked warily in a low voice.

The light from the bathroom spilled out, allowing Lu Yuan to see the innocence on Ning Guiqu’s face. Ning Guiqu even spoke righteously, “I can’t sleep.”

Lu Yuan: “…….”

Lu Yuan closed the bathroom door, “You’re scaring me because you can’t sleep?”

Ning Guiqu’s face reddened even more at Lu Yuan’s words.

With the door closed, light only seeped through the crack. Ning Guiqu could no longer see Lu Yuan’s expression clearly. He whispered, “I can’t sleep because of you. Lu Yuan, can we talk?”

At four in the morning, Lu Yuan followed Ning Guiqu to the balcony.

The campus was silent at four o’clock, with only a few rooms still lit in the dormitory across from them. The sky had begun to lighten slightly. Lu Yuan leaned against the balcony, looking down at Ning Guiqu, whose face was still flushed.

Although Ning Guiqu’s expression was very odd, Lu Yuan wasn’t worried about him confessing. Ning Guiqu still needed a favor from him; now wouldn’t be a good time to confess.

“What do you want to talk about?” Lu Yuan’s voice was still hoarse from just waking up, breaking the strange atmosphere between them.

Ning Guiqu looked up again, blinked his eyes, and ruffled his hair, fidgeting constantly. Just as Lu Yuan was about to lose patience, Ning Guiqu finally spoke, “Why did you agree to pretend to be my boyfriend?”

It was a question. Why? How dare Ning Guiqu, the one who begged for his help, ask why?

He wanted to know why, too! How could his heart be so kind! He wanted to refuse now. He even started having strange dreams at night. His heart was still racing!

Lu Yuan replied irritably, “Didn’t you beg me?”

Ning Guiqu didn’t catch the tone and asked with wide, sincere eyes, “You agreed just because I begged you?”

Lu Yuan, caught in Ning Guiqu’s clear gaze, was stumped by the counter-question, his expression turning unpleasant.

If someone begged him… couldn’t he agree?

Lu Yuan restrained himself, trying to maintain his composure, “…What are you trying to say?”

Ning Guiqu took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. Yet his cheeks inevitably grew redder.

Lu Yuan: ?

Given Ning Guiqu’s reaction, could he really be confessing? What about Song Huai? Did he no longer like Song Huai? Well, Song Huai had a partner, so liking him instead made more sense. After all, he was a fickle snail with many options.

But he couldn’t confess to him either!

They were roommates. Did Ning Guiqu consider what would happen after a confession? Did he think that just because they slept together, he would agree?

After a confession, he wouldn’t help Ning Guiqu anymore!

Lu Yuan warned, “Ning Guiqu, you’d better not—”

“Do you like me?”

Lu Yuan and Ning Guiqu spoke simultaneously. Lu Yuan, realizing halfway what Ning Guiqu was saying, closed his mouth.

Lu Yuan’s eyes were filled with disbelief.

Ning Guiqu was rather nervous, exhaling again, with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

“Lu Yuan, is it true? You don’t need to be nervous. If you really… I can give it a try with you!” Ning Guiqu even added this sentence thoughtfully, afraid Lu Yuan might feel embarrassed.

???

Lu Yuan: ???

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but retort in a low voice, “Are you delusional?”

How did he act like he liked Ning Guiqu??

Ning Guiqu froze for a second. Was Lu Yuan just being stubborn? But it didn’t seem like it. There was no embarrassment of having his feelings exposed in Lu Yuan’s eyes; instead, he was looking at him with an exasperated gaze.

Ning Guiqu’s heart tightened. Could he have misunderstood?

Ning Guiqu’s face flushed even redder. He unconsciously wrung his hands, his eyelids trembling, and his voice stammering, “No, I felt it in my heart. If you like me, I…”

Would agree.

But under Lu Yuan’s increasingly strange expression, Ning Guiqu fell silent, unable to finish.

Let… let Lu Yuan speak!

Lu Yuan… remained silent.

He suddenly understood Ning Guiqu’s intention. Ning Guiqu wasn’t being narcissistic; he was being clever.

First, ask if he liked him. If he did, Ning Guiqu could naturally confess. If he didn’t, Ning Guiqu hadn’t actually confessed, so they could continue their current relationship. If he wanted to distance himself from Ning Guiqu, Ning Guiqu might say, “Can’t we even be friends?”

As Ning Guiqu waited for Lu Yuan’s response, with Lu Yuan staring at him calmly, Ning Guiqu’s lips began to quiver slightly. He felt so embarrassed he wanted to jump off the balcony.

His mind, which had been excited all night, finally cleared.

Lu Yuan really didn’t seem to like him.

Ning Guiqu had no choice but to break the awkward atmosphere with a forced laugh, “I was just joking. Can’t sleep, you know? Shall we go back to rest?”

Lu Yuan saw right through it.

Ning Guiqu’s intelligence had truly kicked in, even learning to use “just joking” to smooth things over. He’d even put so much thought into testing him.

Lu Yuan almost couldn’t bear to expose Ning Guiqu’s intentions, but some things needed to be said.

Lu Yuan spoke slowly, “It’s best if it was a joke. But I’m pretending to be your boyfriend purely out of kindness, no other reason. If this has led to a misunderstanding, I’ll sleep in my own bed.”

Frightened, Ning Guiqu rushed forward and clung to Lu Yuan’s arm.

Lu Yuan stiffened, his breath catching.

Ning Guiqu spoke pitifully, “I’m sorry, I was wrong! I won’t make jokes like this anymore. I’m not smart, you know. I don’t even know how to joke properly.”

Lu Yuan: “…….”

Not smart? Yet he constantly called himself a little genius.

Lu Yuan tried to pull away slightly, but Ning Guiqu held on tightly. His arm couldn’t move at all.

Lu Yuan looked down.

His heart beat even faster.

This time, he didn’t mistake Ning Guiqu for a girl.

Ignoring his own heartbeat, Lu Yuan spoke as if telling Ning Guiqu, but also himself.

Lu Yuan said word by word, “At most, I see you as a friend, now and in the future. Similarly, I’m straight, now and in the future. Ning Guiqu, do you understand?”

Ning Guiqu nodded obediently, answering meekly, “I understand.”

He understood?

Just like that?

Lu Yuan thought he must be ill. Wasn’t Ning Guiqu’s reaction perfectly normal?

Lu Yuan tried to free his arm again, and this time, Ning Guiqu let go.

Lu Yuan said, “Let’s go back to sleep.”

Ning Guiqu followed behind Lu Yuan with unsteady steps.

After lying down on the bed, Ning Guiqu faced the wall voluntarily, his eyes wide awake. His mind kept replaying the words he had just said to Lu Yuan.

“Do you like me?”

“You don’t need to be nervous. If you really… I can give it a try with you!”

Ning Guiqu’s eyes reddened.

Why! Why did he have to embarrass himself so much! That stupid Jiang Xu made him lose all face! He should have stayed true to himself, growing old alone. Wouldn’t that have been better?

Why did he have to entertain such foolish thoughts!!

“Ning Guiqu, your breathing is a bit heavy. Is it because you’re nervous or angry?”

Ning Guiqu suddenly heard Lu Yuan’s very low voice. Although it was quiet, it struck Ning Guiqu like a thunderbolt.

His breathing was heavy, he… he should try to control it, control it! Steady his breathing! Wait, wasn’t this what he had said to Lu Yuan last night!

It was… thrown back at him…

But last night, he had simply been asking Lu Yuan. Was Lu Yuan doing the same? Ning Guiqu innocently thought that Lu Yuan wouldn’t be so mean.

Ning Guiqu whispered, “I’m not angry or nervous. I’m going to sleep. Good night, Lu Yuan.”

But Lu Yuan wasn’t innocent. He listened to Ning Guiqu’s breathing, which was steady for a while, then became irregular for a second. Though it was cruel, he felt satisfied.

The next day was Saturday. Ning Guiqu slept until he woke up naturally. When he woke up, Lu Yuan was no longer in his bed. He wasn’t in his own bed either; he had gone out. Ning Guiqu sighed in relief. The events of last night were still so embarrassing!

Ning Guiqu sat up in bed, and as he turned his head, he saw Shi Wen leaning against his bed, playing with his phone.

Stupid Shi Wen! If he hadn’t taken those photos and sent them to Jiang Xu, would Jiang Xu have said such nonsense? If Jiang Xu hadn’t said nonsense, would he have believed it!

Ning Guiqu glared fiercely at Shi Wen.

Shi Wen felt a malicious gaze on him. He turned his head to see Ning Guiqu propped up on his bed, looking at the ceiling.

Shi Wen thought he must have been mistaken. In the dorm, it was just him and Xiao Qu; Xiao Qu wouldn’t glare at him. Seeing Ning Guiqu’s expression, Shi Wen asked with concern, “Xiao Qu, are you feeling unwell?”

Ning Guiqu shook his head, “No. Are you playing a game? Let me help you rank up.”

Ning Guiqu planned to play games to alleviate his embarrassment.

But Shi Wen suddenly said, “No need, Xiao Qu. My rank is higher than yours now.”

Ning Guiqu: !!!

What!

His rank was higher than his own??

Shi Wen noticed Ning Guiqu’s surprise and said while playing the game, “I told you in a message last night. You should be eating breakfast now, not playing games.”

Ning Guiqu responded with a noncommittal “Mm” and glanced at the messages he had exchanged with Shi Wen the night before.

[No need, I’ll explain to him myself. Xiao Shi, I’ll help you rank up tomorrow night.]
[That friend of yours has been willing to help me rank up lately. His skills are really good. My rank is already higher than yours now, hehe!]

Ning Guiqu: “……”

That friend of his must be Li Mu, right?

Suddenly, it dawned on Ning Guiqu. Yesterday, Li Mu had sent him a message saying he had obtained a key to their dorm room and could come peek at him and Lu Yuan anytime. He had assumed Li Mu had secretly made a copy of the key!

But Li Mu adamantly denied doing such a thing. He even asked Shi Wen if he had lent Li Mu the key to make a copy, but Shi Wen hadn’t admitted to it either.

Now Ning Guiqu understood!

He confronted Shi Wen, “Did you give Li Mu your key?”

Shi Wen remained silent.

Ning Guiqu: “……”

“You gave him your key? Aren’t you worried he’ll cause trouble in our dorm?” Ning Guiqu was exasperated. Their dorm had produced such a traitor. For the sake of a game, he actually gave away the dorm key!

Shi Wen sheepishly explained, “He said he’d only come to our dorm late at night when we’re all there, just for a moment, then leave. He won’t come if no one’s around. If anything goes missing from our dorm, he’ll compensate us tenfold. He’s always wearing designer brands, so we don’t need to worry about that. Besides, isn’t he your childhood friend?”

What childhood friend!

Such a disgusting description.

“He’s not. How do you get back without your key? You can’t expect me to open the door for you every time you return, can you?” Ning Guiqu’s voice grew slightly harsher in his frustration.

Shi Wen had a plan ready. “I intend to ask Xiao Jiang for one on Monday. He doesn’t stay in the dorm anyway.”

Ning Guiqu fumed.

He skillfully opened his alt account and furiously tapped at his phone screen.

[Stupid Shi Wen! Games are all you think about. You’ll be the death of yourself one day!]
[Idiot Jiang Xu, making Genius Xiao Qu lose face like that. I’ll kick you to the desert! Go plant some trees!]
[Big idiot Shi Wen! Huge idiot Jiang Xu! Biggest idiot Li Mu! Little idiot Lu Yuan!]

Ning Guiqu couldn’t help but curse Lu Yuan as well!

After cursing, he felt a twinge of guilt, as Lu Yuan had helped him considerably, yet he was still secretly insulting him. But then he rationalized that he was only venting on his alt account. After all, what happened late at night really embarrassed Genius Xiao Qu!

Lu Yuan didn’t give any face to Genius Xiao Qu at all.

It was Genius Xiao Qu cursing, not Ning Guiqu himself.

Ning Guiqu thought, feeling justified. Having cursed everyone, his mood improved significantly. However, his good mood was short-lived.

He received a message from Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan’s message was concise: [Are you cursing me?]

!!

Ning Guiqu’s heart raced as he tremblingly typed: [N-no, of course not! Why would you say that?]

[Cat with flower.jpg]

Lu Yuan replied: [Nothing, just a guess]

Ning Guiqu was really scared to death! How could Lu Yuan be so perceptive??

The crucial point was that he had actually cursed him!

It had been over two minutes since he sent the message on his alt account, so Ning Guiqu couldn’t retract it. Feeling guilty, he sent another message from his alt: [I’m so ungrateful, how could I curse Lu Yuan!]

After sending it, his conscience was somewhat appeased.

However, upon logging into the game, he discovered that Shi Wen’s rank was indeed higher than his! Coincidentally, Li Mu was also online, probably having just finished a game with Shi Wen. Upon seeing Ning Guiqu, he sent a message in the game: [Xiao Qu, want to rank up together? Your roommate’s rank is already higher than yours]

Ning Guiqu immediately refused: [No need. I can rank up on my own]

Li Mu: [This is your peak rank now. If you don’t let me carry you, you won’t be able to rank up]

Ning Guiqu was furious. He replied: [None of your business!]

Ning Guiqu immediately started playing solo queue, but before playing, he set his status to invisible. He planned to rank up secretly, without Li Mu and Shi Wen noticing.

However, sometimes, the more desperately you try to rank up, the harder it becomes.

Ning Guiqu won some and lost some, his head spinning from playing. Finally, when Lu Yuan returned to the dorm at noon, Ning Guiqu quit the game.

Damn it, he didn’t gain a single star after playing all morning! He even lost two. But at least he played while invisible, so Li Mu and Shi Wen didn’t know about his morning record!

[Stupid game, uninstalled!]

After venting, Ning Guiqu planned to buy lunch at the cafeteria and asked Shi Wen what he wanted to eat. Shi Wen asked for a stone pot bibimbap.

But as Ning Guiqu was climbing down the ladder, having only descended a few steps, his head still fuzzy, suddenly everything went black. Ning Guiqu missed a step and fell from the ladder.

“Thud!”

Lu Yuan, who had just returned, was startled. Shi Wen also heard the commotion and looked over, “Xiao Qu, are you alright?”

Ning Guiqu lay sprawled on the ground, hissing in pain and clutching his leg with an agonized expression.

Lu Yuan quickly went to check on Ning Guiqu.

Lu Yuan: “……”

The person who had shamelessly asked him last night if he liked Ning Guiqu now wore a mask of pain.

“Can you get up?” Lu Yuan asked.

Ning Guiqu couldn’t.

Not only did his leg hurt, but his head also felt like it was exploding. Suddenly, an image flashed in his mind.

In the image, “he” sat on the bed, holding a phone, cheeks flushed, tapping the screen while muttering to himself, “The moonlight is beautiful tonight. Would you like to admire it with me?”

This seemed to be a memory of the original host. The same text was being edited on the phone screen, but Ning Guiqu couldn’t see who it was meant for.

What an embarrassing memory!

Who was he planning to admire the moon with?

The protagonist gong???

Ning Guiqu’s face turned pale at the thought. Had he already been in contact with the protagonist gong this early?

Had the message been sent?

Seeing that Ning Guiqu couldn’t get up, Lu Yuan tried to help him to his feet, but Ning Guiqu’s legs gave way, and he collapsed against Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan stiffened. He then hoisted Ning Guiqu onto his back, muttering, “Just this once. I’ll take you to the infirmary. Falling off a ladder, honestly.”

Shi Wen quickly got down from his bed and opened the dorm room door.

Ning Guiqu didn’t hear a word Lu Yuan said. He lay lifelessly on Lu Yuan’s shoulder, still thinking about the phrase that had flashed through his mind. He wasn’t sure exactly when they had met, but one thing was certain: the original owner hadn’t just met the protagonist gong in university. They had probably known each other since high school.

Perhaps even earlier – middle school? Elementary school?

Whether the message had been sent or not wasn’t important. As long as he avoided contact with the protagonist gong now, everything should be fine. The events four years from now wouldn’t happen with him here.

But then again, Ning Guiqu thought, if he could transmigrate into this novel’s world, who could predict what would happen in four years? What if he really fell in love with the protagonist gong? He hadn’t inherited the original cannon fodder’s memories now, but what if he inherited them four years later? Along with that chaotic love! He might fall in love, too.

Love could easily cloud one’s judgment, and he didn’t want to go to prison.

Ning Guiqu felt he was overthinking things. But he couldn’t help but consider all these possibilities. After all, the original cannon fodder’s fate four years later was imprisonment!

“Ning Guiqu, did you hit your head?”

Suddenly, Ning Guiqu heard a cool, pleasant male voice – Lu Yuan’s.

Ning Guiqu’s eyes lit up. There was still Lu Yuan!

If he could fall in love with Lu Yuan, the protagonist gong wouldn’t matter. Even if he inherited the original cannon fodder’s memories later, loving the protagonist gong would just be the original’s memory. His love would be for Lu Yuan.

So even if the two loves collided, with his consciousness taking precedence, he’d still love Lu Yuan most! As long as Lu Yuan didn’t find a partner, he wouldn’t be a homewrecker, and he wouldn’t do anything illegal!

But Lu Yuan was so aloof, and straight, and had warned him last night. If he showed any affection, wouldn’t Lu Yuan beat him up?

He could love secretly! Lu Yuan was tall and handsome. Though cold, he had a good personality. He could secretly nurture his love! As long as he fell in love, it didn’t matter if Lu Yuan reciprocated. After all, he planned to grow old alone.

So, all that was left was for him to fall in love!

However, after last night’s events, Ning Guiqu didn’t want to interact with Lu Yuan for now.

“Have you gone stupid?”

Hearing Lu Yuan’s voice again, Ning Guiqu craned his neck to see Lu Yuan’s expression. Lu Yuan tilted his head slightly to the side. “What are you doing?”

Ning Guiqu quickly retracted his head.

Lu Yuan’s expression was normal, and he didn’t seem bothered by last night’s events. He was even taking him to the infirmary now, so as long as Ning Guiqu didn’t act awkward, everything would be fine!

Having figured this out, Ning Guiqu said with a blush, “No, my head’s fine. Lu Yuan, you’re so kind to me, taking me to the infirmary.”

Lu Yuan’s indifferent voice replied, “It’s not kindness. If you died in the dorm, we’d all be in trouble.”

Ning Guiqu: “……”

Growing a love brain was going to be more difficult than he thought.

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