Ning Guiqu saw that there was no hope that Lu Yuan would pay attention to him, so he prepared to sleep around midnight. As he lay in bed, he felt uneasy, as if he had forgotten something. After thinking for a moment, Ning Guiqu reached for his phone and sent a message to his “alt account”: [Goodnight, Genius Xiao Qu!]
After bidding himself goodnight, Ning Guiqu felt he had taken care of everything and closed his eyes. As he dozed off, he heard what seemed to be the sound of a key turning in the dormitory door. Ning Guiqu’s eyes flew open, and he scrambled up from his bed. Before he could process what was happening, the door burst open, and the lights flicked on.
His eyes, which had adapted to the darkness, struggled to adjust to the sudden brightness. Ning Guiqu shielded his face with his hand, squinting, when he heard a familiar, arrogant voice.
“Hahaha! I knew you two weren’t sleeping together!”
It was Li Mu’s voice.
Ning Guiqu’s body tensed. He slowly lowered his hand to see Li Mu standing there in a sleeveless T-shirt, seemingly impervious to the cold. His hands were on his hips, and he flashed an evil grin at him.
Ning Guiqu: “…”
He remembered! This was what he forgot! Xiao Shi told Li Mu about his conflict with Lu Yuan tonight. And now, here he was…
“Why are you barging into our dorm in the middle of the night?” Shi Wen sprang up from his bed, clearly startled by Li Mu’s sudden appearance.
Li Mu waved dismissively at Shi Wen, obviously not interested in explaining himself. His gaze shifted to the bed opposite Ning Guiqu’s, where Lu Yuan calmly sat up. Li Mu’s attention was drawn to a pile of stuffed animals in the far corner of Lu Yuan’s bed, and he couldn’t resist mocking, “You’re a grown man, and you still like these childish toys? No wonder you’re so unreliable.”
Ning Guiqu interjected, “Those are mine.”
Li Mu fell silent, then resumed his exasperated tirade.
“Xiao Qu! How can you still be such a… beep! What am I supposed to say to you? You’re just so… so… Fuck! Xiao Qu, you have me!” Li Mu thumped his chest, assuring Ning Guiqu, “I’ll save you!”
Shi Wen listened, confused.
What ‘beep’? Did he just censor himself?
Ning Guiqu’s face gradually reddened. He was grateful that Li Mu had the decency to give him some face. Ning Guiqu stole a glance at Lu Yuan’s bed. At that moment, Lu Yuan rose from his bed and locked eyes with Ning Guiqu. Ning Guiqu wanted to explain, but Lu Yuan averted his gaze and climbed down the ladder.
The cocky Li Mu suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head to see the aloof Lu Yuan. Li Mu believed that Xiao Qu had been deceived by that face! Li Mu continued to provoke, “See? I caught you not sleeping together. What, you want to hit me?”
Lu Yuan hummed.
Li Mu’s eyes widened. He was about to complain to Ning Guiqu, to show him Lu Yuan’s violent nature. But in the next second, Lu Yuan told him to go outside, following him out as well.
Li Mu thought Lu Yuan wanted to fight him and wasn’t intimidated at all.
Ning Guiqu panicked and quickly got out of bed. As he was about to follow them out, the dormitory door slammed shut.
Shi Wen also climbed down from his bed, and the two of them reopened the door.
Lu Yuan and Li Mu had walked to the end of the corridor. They weren’t fighting; it seemed they were just talking. But Ning Guiqu and Shi Wen couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Ning Guiqu kept a close eye on them. If a fight really broke out, he would join in and take the opportunity to hit Li Mu a few times. If the dorm administrator came, he would take full responsibility and claim he was the one who had hit Li Mu, not Lu Yuan!
Ning Guiqu had already made up his mind.
He had to do something for Lu Yuan.
Shi Wen did not know what was going on in Ning Guiqu’s mind. He leaned against the doorway, peering at the two distant figures. He felt something was off. “Xiao Qu, if you were a girl, I would think they were fighting over you.”
Ning Guiqu: “…”
“I’m a boy.”
Shi Wen: “I know. What’s going on with you guys? Xiao Li said a bunch of weird stuff earlier. He even said he ‘got you’. What are you three up to? And this Xiao Li, he’s always asking me if you two sleep together. Tonight, seeing you’re not sleeping together, he looked so gloating. Hmm…”
A sudden realization struck Shi Wen.
He quickly grabbed Ning Guiqu’s arm. Ning Guiqu’s eyes were fixed on the other end of the corridor, but he could still respond. “What is it?”
Shi Wen whispered, “I suspect he’s gay!”
Ning Guiqu: “…”
He was gay, too.
Ning Guiqu vaguely replied, “Don’t make wild guesses. Even if he is, there are so many gay people nowadays. It’s normal.”
Shi Wen released Ning Guiqu’s arm and stroked his chin. “I’m not discriminating against gays. But if Xiao Li is gay, it explains everything. He must like you.”
Ning Guiqu: “…”
Ning Guiqu pretended to be calm. “Xiao Shi, don’t jump to conclusions.”
Shi Wen continued speculating, “It’s not just guessing. If he’s not gay, why is he so concerned about whether you and Lu Yuan sleep together? We’re in the same dorm. Do you see me caring whether you and Lu Yuan sleep together?”
Ning Guiqu felt guilty.
“Sleeping together” – such an ambiguous phrase.
Shi Wen hissed as he made another realization, “If he’s gay, I’ve been playing games with a gay guy all this time. That’s scary.”
Ning Guiqu finally looked at Shi Wen.
Shi Wen’s brow was furrowed.
Ning Guiqu hesitated, “Are you homophobic?”
Shi Wen thought for a moment, then nodded, “I guess I am a bit. Even though same-sex relationships are legal now, I still can’t understand why a man would like another man.”
Ning Guiqu’s face was clouded with worry.
But he quickly brightened up. Since he had already chosen to remain single for life, Xiao Shi would never have the chance to discover he was gay! Lu Yuan and Jiang Xu were both tight-lipped, and they probably wouldn’t randomly tell Xiao Shi he was gay either.
Li Mu was just… a big idiot. Ning Guiqu would definitely find a way to get rid of him!
So, Ning Guiqu replied understandingly, “It’s fine to tell me. But if others heard you, they might think you’re discriminating against homosexuals.”
Shi Wen nodded solemnly, saying something Ning Guiqu didn’t catch. Because he noticed that Li Mu left and Lu Yuan came back.
Ning Guiqu’s eyes were fixed on the tall figure of Lu Yuan as he approached unhurriedly.
Lu Yuan reached the door and looked at the two “door gods.”
Shi Wen came to his senses and made way. Ning Guiqu also stepped aside, asking curiously, “Li Mu just left like that?”
Lu Yuan walked into the dorm and said in a flat voice, “He won’t bother you anymore.”
Ning Guiqu was surprised. He followed closely behind Lu Yuan. Shi Wen, however, wasn’t so thick-skinned as to trail after Lu Yuan.
Ning Guiqu asked curiously, “What did you say to him?”
Lu Yuan: “Nothing much.”
Two words, effectively dismissing Ning Guiqu.
But Ning Guiqu was still burning with curiosity. Li Mu’s skin was much thicker than his; what could Lu Yuan have said to make Li Mu stop bothering him? Could Lu Yuan have told Li Mu that he loved Ning Guiqu deeply?
Ning Guiqu thought again and realized it was impossible.
Asking a straight man to express so much love would be like asking Lu Yuan to hang himself. But Ning Guiqu was dying to know.
Given the awkward atmosphere between him and Lu Yuan, although Ning Guiqu was thick-skinned, he had already decided not to be friends with Lu Yuan anymore. Naturally, he couldn’t keep pestering Lu Yuan.
He… wasn’t curious!
[What on earth did he say? Genius Xiao Qu is about to explode with curiosity!]
When Monday’s classes came around, Lu Yuan opened WeChat to see Ning Guiqu’s message of curiosity. Still curious.
Explode. Better to explode and blow up the whole school.
As Lu Yuan was reading the message, another WeChat notification popped up on his university account. It was from his roommate, Jiang Xu, who was sitting next to him.
Lu Yuan opened it.
[Did you and Xiao Qu have a fight? Last night when I returned to the dorm, Xiao Qu was arranging the stuffed animals on your bed, looking a bit pitiful. And you’re not talking to him.]
Lu Yuan replied with two words: [We didn’t]
Through these two words, Jiang Xu clearly felt that they did!
Jiang Xu asked Ning Guiqu first, questioning him directly. Not only did he get nothing out of it, but Ning Guiqu also asked for his help, “We didn’t fight. Can you help me ask Lu Yuan how he’s feeling right now?”
Jiang Xu observed casually, then informed Ning Guiqu, “He’s in a bad mood.”
Ning Guiqu’s eyelids drooped as he mumbled, “It’s my fault.”
Jiang Xu couldn’t understand, and when he asked Ning Guiqu again, he stopped talking.
How big of a conflict could there be between roommates? Xiao Qu had a gentle personality, and Lu Yuan was aloof. How could they have a conflict?
Jiang Xu couldn’t figure it out, and Shi Wen was even more clueless.
So Jiang Xu decided to arrange a gathering, inviting both of them to dinner to talk things out.
Monday evening
At the Mao Buli Restaurant, only Jiang Xu and Shi Wen showed up.
In the dormitory group chat:
[Lu Yuan]: I have something to do tonight. You guys go ahead.
[Ning Guiqu]: My stomach hurts, so I won’t be going.
Jiang Xu and Shi Wen looked at each other, confused.
The dinner plan was a failure.
Around 7 p.m., Ning Guiqu, who lied about his stomachache, was again arranging Lu Yuan’s stuffed animals. That rabbit, because Lu Yuan often manhandled its ears, had already lost one. Last night, Ning Guiqu originally planned to throw it away secretly, but Lu Yuan caught him and called out.
“What are you doing?”
Ning Guiqu held the rabbit doll, “Its ear fell off. It’s useless.”
Lu Yuan said coldly, “Put it back.”
Ning Guiqu: “…”
Ning Guiqu put the tattered rabbit back on the bed. Then Lu Yuan tied a knot in the remaining rabbit ear and continued to manhandle it.
Ning Guiqu felt that the rabbit was too pitiful!
After tidying up Lu Yuan’s stuffed animals, Ning Guiqu had just returned to his own bed when Lu Yuan came back.
Lu Yuan, who said he had something to do, and Ning Guiqu, who claimed to have a stomachache, locked eyes for a second before looking away.
Lu Yuan was busy with something below, and Ning Guiqu didn’t know what he was doing. Suddenly, while playing his game, Ning Guiqu heard Lu Yuan speaking.
“How long do you plan to keep this up with me?”
Ning Guiqu even rubbed his ears, about to lean down to look.
“I’m talking to you. No need to look at me.”
Ning Guiqu heard Lu Yuan’s voice again.
Ning Guiqu sat up straight on his bed and said softly, “I really hate Song Huai.”
Yes!
Genius Xiao Qu had given up on telling Lu Yuan that he was a transmigrator.
Lu Yuan remained silent for a while.
“So even if I start a company in the future, you won’t join?”
Ning Guiqu felt very sad. He really wanted to go to Lu Yuan’s company! But he had to stay away from the protagonist gong!
Ning Guiqu once again blamed himself, “I’m too stupid. I’d drag your company down.”
Lu Yuan’s steady voice came through, “Why do you hate Song Huai so much? What did he do?”
Ning Guiqu rubbed his nose and said sincerely, “We just don’t get along.”
How could a villain get along with the protagonist! Genius Xiao Qu wasn’t lying.
Lu Yuan fell silent again.
After a while, as Ning Guiqu was secretly playing his game, there was a sudden knock on the edge of his bed. He looked down to see Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan looked up, hands in his pockets, expressionless as he said flatly, “He is him, and I am me. I’ll only ask once. If you plan to keep this up, then keep it up. I won’t say anything more.”
Ning Guiqu froze. Then he realized Lu Yuan was actively trying to reconcile with him!
Ning Guiqu’s eyes widened, showing a hint of shock but mostly touched! Lu Yuan was such a cold penguin! If that was the case, if he really couldn’t escape fate, then jail it would be.
Just as Ning Guiqu was about to speak.
“Forget it. Pretend I didn’t say anything. Ning Guiqu, you’d better pray that you, as a villain, can survive till the end.”
Lu Yuan’s threat fell timely, and then he left.
Ning Guiqu’s mood had been lifted, then stuck in the middle, extremely depressed.
Wait, couldn’t he wait for a response? Besides, didn’t Lu Yuan not believe in villains transmigrating into books?
Ning Guiqu lay on his bed, super depressed. He felt that Lu Yuan had actively tried to reconcile, but because he hesitated for a few seconds without answering, Lu Yuan couldn’t save face and directly threatened him. So, should he now take the initiative to reconcile with Lu Yuan?
Lu Yuan was Lu Yuan, and Song Huai was Song Huai. Moreover, these days, Ning Guiqu felt that Lu Yuan and Song Huai’s friendship was actually just average. From dawn to dusk, according to Genius Xiao Qu’s observation, they hadn’t even hung out together.
So, maybe in the future, they would drift apart! Friendship needs maintenance, too.
And he really wanted to continue being friends with Lu Yuan! He also wanted to ask Lu Yuan what he had said to Li Mu! Of course, there was another reason – Lu Yuan seemed a bit neurotic now!
As Ning Guiqu was thinking, he casually scrolled through his phone and saw photos on a forum of Lu Yuan playing basketball with the protagonist gong. The caption said that watching handsome guys play ball was a feast for the eyes. There were also pictures of them with their arms around each other’s shoulders.
Ning Guiqu: “…”
He missed that in his observations! He tried not to think about it.
That night, Jiang Xu returned to the dorm with Shi Wen and noticed the completely off atmosphere between the two.
As Jiang Xu pondered how to break this weird tension, he happened to see the class group chat discussing this Saturday’s sports meet. Jiang Xu remembered, “Xiao Qu, didn’t you sign up for the sports meet?”
Ning Guiqu listlessly hummed in agreement.
“Long-distance running.”
Jiang Xu: “Then our whole dorm will go watch your competition. Whoever doesn’t go is a puppy!”
Shi Wen secretly gave Jiang Xu a thumbs up.
Ning Guiqu thought that Lu Yuan wouldn’t care about such childish things!
Before Saturday arrived, that rabbit had completely lost its ears. But Lu Yuan still didn’t throw it away. With no ears left, there was still the tail, and Ning Guiqu discovered that Lu Yuan was now pulling the rabbit’s tail!
The other stuffed animals were all fine. Only the rabbit had become a wreck.
Ning Guiqu didn’t dare say anything. Since the day he was threatened, he had barely spoken to Lu Yuan. But this rabbit was really in tatters now, and there wasn’t much fun left with such a rabbit. So Ning Guiqu asked dryly and cautiously, “Lu Yuan, should I buy you another rabbit?”
Lu Yuan finished manhandling the rabbit and tossed it aside, his voice icy, “No need.”
Ning Guiqu, enduring the coldness, continued, “But its ears are gone. It’s already broken and can’t be broken anymore. If you don’t want me to buy it, how about I give you a link?”
Ning Guiqu thought Lu Yuan must really like this rabbit, like it… in a perverted way.
“No need.”
Rejected again.
Ning Guiqu sighed deeply. Shi Wen felt a bit sorry for Ning Guiqu and sent him a message: [Xiao Qu, don’t bother buying. The way Lu Yuan is now, even if you buy him a hundred rabbits, they’ll all end up earless. Who knows, they might even form an Earless Rabbit Alliance]
Ning Guiqu gasped, feeling that Shi Wen’s words made some sense.
Ning Guiqu quietly crawled into his blanket, imagining an Earless Rabbit Alliance. His own ears started to ache sympathetically.
Perhaps it’s better to just let him ravage that one rabbit.
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