Just after eleven, the dorm’s main lights were replaced by smaller ones. Ning Guiqu tucked himself in, ready to drift off to sleep. Suddenly, he felt his bed shake, but he didn’t move.
Ning Guiqu’s eyes flew open to find Lu Yuan climbing onto his bed.
Startled, Ning Guiqu sat up quickly, resembling a frightened rabbit. “What are you doing?”
Lu Yuan deftly lifted Ning Guiqu’s blanket. In contrast to Ning Guiqu’s panic, Lu Yuan calmly stated, “Sleeping with you.”
Ning Guiqu: “…”
Ning Guiqu watched helplessly as Lu Yuan lay down on his bed, using his pillow.
Ning Guiqu glanced at Shi Wen.
Although Shi Wen was still engaged with his screen, he held his phone vertically, likely chatting with someone.
Ning Guiqu whispered to Lu Yuan, “It’s not necessary. I can sleep on my own!”
Lu Yuan brought up old accounts. “You said you’d feel safe with me sleeping next to you.”
Ning Guiqu: “…” This was indeed something he had said when he asked Lu Yuan to accompany him in order to grow a love brain. The words had come back to haunt him.
Ning Guiqu could not reveal his true intentions from back then, so he could only respond meekly, “I feel very safe now.”
Resting on Ning Guiqu’s pillow, Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered with a hint of expectation as he said earnestly, “But I don’t. Ning Guiqu, will you sleep with me?”
Catching that glimmer of hope, Ning Guiqu froze.
Was Lu Yuan… was he actually being coquettish with him?
Dazed and stiff, Ning Guiqu lay down next to Lu Yuan.
“I-I’m here now,” he stammered.
Having achieved his goal, Lu Yuan suppressed a smile and hummed in acknowledgment.
Lu Yuan quietly snuggled up to Ning Guiqu, closed his eyes, and made no further moves. Ning Guiqu inwardly sighed with relief. Genius Xiao Qu was really guilty!
Ning Guiqu slowly turned his back to Lu Yuan, reaching for his phone to message his alt account.
Lu Yuan wanted to tell Ning Guiqu not to use his phone in bed, but realized he had no right to do so. He kept quiet. However, moments later, Lu Yuan got up from the bed.
Ning Guiqu quickly turned off his phone and did not dare to breathe. His small back looked extremely pitiful.
Lu Yuan couldn’t bear it and explained, “Just getting some water.”
Ning Guiqu responded with a dry “Oh.”
Lu Yuan, who had gone for water, did indeed pour himself a glass, but more importantly, he picked up his phone from his bed and opened it.
[Why is Genius Xiao Qu so nervous!]
[Lu Yuan suddenly coming to sleep with me, he’s not going to try to kiss me, is he? How perverted!]
[Or maybe he wants to steal my phone! Last night when I was drunk, I could’ve hidden my phone in my butt, definitely! This definitely means Lu Yuan is trying to snoop through my phone!]
[Pervert penguin!]
[Super pervert penguin!]
Lu Yuan gripped his phone tightly. This secret account was truly a godsend. If he could keep it hidden forever, he’d never want to delete it.
Lu Yuan casually took a sip of water and climbed back up the ladder.
Ning Guiqu hurriedly turned off his phone again. This time, his hunched back didn’t look pitiful to Lu Yuan but rather slightly annoying.
After lying down, Lu Yuan deliberately moved closer to Ning Guiqu, his shoulder touching Ning Guiqu’s back. He asked innocently, “Are you scared?”
Ning Guiqu stiffened. “Not at all.”
Lu Yuan pressed on, “Really? Then why are you huddled in the corner?”
Ning Guiqu explained, “I’m using my phone. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
Lu Yuan coaxed, “But the dorm light is still on. How would that disturb me? Ning Guiqu, you’re not afraid I’ll kiss you, are you?”
Ning Guiqu’s face turned bright red.
How did Lu Yuan know what he was thinking? He couldn’t have really looked at his phone, could he? But even if he had, he wasn’t looking now. This could only mean one thing: the penguin was both perverted and smart!
“No!” Ning Guiqu denied stubbornly.
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Then turn around and use your phone normally.”
To prove he wasn’t afraid of Lu Yuan kissing him, Ning Guiqu started to turn over. Halfway through, he realized he couldn’t complete the turn. Lu Yuan… Lu Yuan had trapped him in the corner!
As Ning Guiqu froze, unsure what to do, he suddenly heard Lu Yuan’s muffled laugh. The space beside him widened, allowing Ning Guiqu to turn fully.
Ning Guiqu: “…”
After turning, Ning Guiqu abruptly sat up and glared at Lu Yuan. “You did that on purpose!”
“Did what on purpose? Xiao Qu, you two just made up, and now you’re sleeping in the same bed again!”
Because Ning Guiqu didn’t control his volume, Shi Wen from the opposite bunk looked over at the commotion.
Ning Guiqu obediently lay back down. “It’s nothing,” he mumbled sullenly.
Lu Yuan even laughed out loud. Although it was just once, when Ning Guiqu looked over, Lu Yuan blinked at him, trying to appear innocent! But his mouth was clearly turning up at the corners!
Ning Guiqu was furious. How annoying!
Didn’t this guy say he liked him? Was this how he showed his affection?
“If you laugh again, I’ll get angry.”
Lu Yuan stopped laughing, but the amusement remained in his eyes. How could Ning Guiqu be so adorable when he was sulking?
Although Lu Yuan controlled his smile, the embarrassed Ning Guiqu was still unhappy. He continued to face away from Lu Yuan and added glumly, “I’m going to sleep, not play on my phone.”
Lu Yuan glanced at Ning Guiqu and the usual spot where he kept his phone, the wall shelf, but saw no phone.
“Where’s your phone?”
Ning Guiqu didn’t respond.
Lu Yuan asked considerately, “Phones emit radiation. Don’t leave it lying around. Where did you put it?”
Seeing Lu Yuan’s concern, Ning Guiqu explained obediently, “Under the sheet. It won’t radiate to me.”
Under the sheet?
“Why did you put your phone there?”
Ning Guiqu grumbled impolitely, “That’s none of your business.”
Although the words were rude, his whiny voice made it sound almost like he was pouting.
Lu Yuan really couldn’t care. But a hint of concern flashed in his eyes.
Suddenly, Ning Guiqu poked his arm.
Lu Yuan looked down. Ning Guiqu, huddled in the blanket, asked curiously, “Did you really delete Song Huai and stop contacting him?”
Lu Yuan hummed in agreement. “No contact until you stop hating him.”
Ning Guiqu frowned. “But I’ll hate him forever. Forever.”
Lu Yuan replied nonchalantly, “Then we’ll never contact him again.” He looked ready to choose his lover over his friend without hesitation.
Ning Guiqu hissed, scratching his chin. He quickly tucked his arm back under the covers, leaving only his head exposed as he continued, “Are you sure about this? I’m not worth you abandoning your good friend for me.”
Lu Yuan sighed softly.
Ning Guiqu sneered inwardly, thinking he’d hit the nail on the head.
Suddenly, his head was roughly tousled. Not just his head, but his face too was thoroughly rubbed, and his cheeks were even pinched!
Ning Guiqu was dazed and stunned.
What was Lu Yuan doing?
Lu Yuan then whispered devilishly, “When you were drunk last night, you said he wasn’t worthy, but you were. You told me to kick him out. Those were your true feelings, so stop saying those fake ‘I’m not worthy’ lines now.”
Ning Guiqu hid his entire head under the covers. Lu Yuan’s words made him forget about the earlier teasing. He thought miserably, what on earth did he say when he was drunk last night?
How infuriating!
In the middle of the night.
Ning Guiqu, who was half-asleep, suddenly felt his pillow disappear. Not only that, but his head seemed to be moved around, which was very annoying and noisy. Ning Guiqu yawned and opened his eyes a crack.
The next moment, his head was gently lowered.
His head rested on the pillow, with his phone hidden in the sheet beneath.
The bleary-eyed Ning Guiqu soon noticed a faint light. He opened his eyes in horror.
Around 3 a.m., Lu Yuan opened his eyes, completely awake. He carefully disentangled himself from the koala-like Ning Guiqu. He groped around in the dark under Ning Guiqu’s sheets, searching from top to bottom but finding nothing.
Then he tentatively lifted Ning Guiqu’s head, trying to feel under the pillow. There, he found the hard shape of a phone.
Without thinking, Lu Yuan leaned against the bed, intending to delete Ning Guiqu’s two WeChat accounts. Just as he successfully entered the password, someone poked his arm.
Lu Yuan froze.
He looked down. He couldn’t see clearly.
He turned on Ning Guiqu’s phone flashlight, revealing Ning Guiqu staring at him with wide eyes.
“What… are you… doing?” The voice was eerily ghost-like.
Lu Yuan: “…”
Lu Yuan turned off Ning Guiqu’s phone flashlight and placed the phone on the shelf next to Ning Guiqu. He whispered extremely softly, “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Ning Guiqu was now wide awake.
He sat up in bed and patted Lu Yuan’s arm. Although they couldn’t see each other clearly in the dark, Lu Yuan understood Ning Guiqu’s meaning: follow me.
Lu Yuan had no choice but to follow Ning Guiqu to the balcony.
Genius Xiao Qu, who was now fully alert, crossed his arms and stared intently at Lu Yuan, all traces of his earlier shyness gone.
“You were stealing my phone…”
Lu Yuan: “…”
Lu Yuan calmly defended himself, “I wasn’t stealing, just taking a look.”
Ning Guiqu narrowed his eyes. “Looking at what?”
Was he checking his alt account?
Ning Guiqu was incredibly calm now, but simultaneously, his mind was racing with excitement at discovering Lu Yuan had taken his phone. Under these two extreme emotions, Ning Guiqu thought, if his alt account had been seen, then let everything be destroyed!
Blow up the Earth!
Lu Yuan had an explanation, “To see if you were chatting with Song Huai.”
Ning Guiqu frowned.
“Why would you look at that?”
Sure enough! No matter what Ning Guiqu was thinking, as soon as Song Huai was mentioned, his thoughts immediately focused there. Lu Yuan was extremely displeased, but he had brought it up himself this time, and he had been caught doing something wrong.
Lu Yuan showed no panic at being caught and calmly lied, “I wanted to know if you were two-timing.”
Ning Guiqu was stunned for a second, then gasped.
Two-timing?!
“I’m not! I’m not even in one relationship. We’re not even together!” Ning Guiqu wasn’t led astray by Lu Yuan!
Lu Yuan’s eyes darkened as he gradually immersed himself in the role.
“Is that so?”
Ning Guiqu was furious. He paced back and forth, then walked up to Lu Yuan, anxiously saying, “We’re not even together, but you’re stealing my phone and falsely accusing me of two-timing. If I agreed to be with you, wouldn’t you… wouldn’t you try to impri-”
Before his brain could even process it, Lu Yuan covered Ning Guiqu’s mouth, awkwardly saying, “Don’t talk nonsense. I wouldn’t.”
Ning Guiqu’s mouth was covered. He pointed at Lu Yuan’s hand.
Lu Yuan let go.
Ning Guiqu complained, “Now you’re even restricting my speech!”
Lu Yuan deadpanned, “…Say whatever you want.”
Ning Guiqu didn’t say anything more. He went straight back to his own bed, seeing Lu Yuan follow him there. Ning Guiqu moved the phone beside him away, lifted the covers, and whispered to Lu Yuan, “Don’t follow me. You’re too dangerous.”
Then he went to Lu Yuan’s bed.
Lu Yuan: “…”
Lu Yuan realized that stealing the phone to delete the alt account was no longer feasible.
The next morning, Ning Guiqu woke up in Lu Yuan’s bed. He didn’t notice in the dark last night, but upon waking up, he found a black rabbit plush next to the pillow, which startled him.
Shi Wen, who was stretching lazily on his bed, asked curiously, “Xiao Qu, why did you end up sleeping in Lu Yuan’s bed again?”
Ning Guiqu tidied the bed, muttering, “It’s complicated,” before getting up. He went to the sink and saw Lu Yuan holding his familiar toothbrush and toothpaste.
Ning Guiqu glanced at Lu Yuan, the thief, then at Lu Yuan’s toiletry cup on the sink, and his… missing toothbrush and toothpaste. Ning Guiqu’s expression grew serious. Was Lu Yuan apologizing for last night’s incident?
Ning Guiqu cautiously accepted the toothbrush with toothpaste that Lu Yuan had prepared and started brushing his teeth.
After brushing for a while, he noticed Lu Yuan was still beside him. Ning Guiqu quickly rinsed his mouth. Just as he was about to question Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan handed him his face towel.
Ning Guiqu was confused.
“Are you atoning?”
Lu Yuan replied gently, “I learned it from you.”
Ning Guiqu: ?
Learned from him?
It wasn’t until after Ning Guiqu finished washing his face that he recalled this inexplicable statement. Back then, when Lu Yuan slept with him to help drive away Li Mu, Ning Guiqu tried to hand Lu Yuan a face towel the next morning to make up for it.
But he didn’t squeeze toothpaste for Lu Yuan.
“Ning Guiqu, you wanted to. You just didn’t get the chance.”
Before Ning Guiqu could say anything, Lu Yuan had already guessed his thoughts and voiced them.
Ning Guiqu: “…”
Seeing Shi Wen approaching to use the sink, Ning Guiqu naturally stopped chatting with Lu Yuan there. While packing his schoolbag, he said to Lu Yuan, “But back then, you snatched your towel right out of my hand! That proves this method doesn’t work.”
Lu Yuan, who was also packing his books, replied logically, “But the fact that you came up with this approach means you must like it, right? Since I’m pursuing you, I should cater to your preferences. Unless you did it to me to mock me?”
Of course, Ning Guiqu didn’t mean to mock Lu Yuan! He genuinely wanted to make it up to Lu Yuan then. But now… now that Lu Yuan was doing the same thing, Ning Guiqu felt very uncomfortable.
Under Lu Yuan’s meaningful gaze, Ning Guiqu reluctantly admitted, “I do like it. But let’s not do this anymore. It’s too lazy as a courting method.”
He unconsciously scratched his head again.
This time, Lu Yuan didn’t point it out. He couldn’t always deny Ning Guiqu a way out. Besides, it seemed Ning Guiqu had forgotten about Lu Yuan taking his phone last night.
Even until they reached the classroom, Ning Guiqu didn’t mention it.
Lu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
However, as he watched Ning Guiqu head towards the back row, Lu Yuan promptly sat down next to him. Since they hadn’t sat together for a while, Lu Yuan noticed that Ning Guiqu had started secretly fiddling with his phone during class, as if sending messages. But Lu Yuan’s phone didn’t buzz, which meant it wasn’t rant messages.
Perhaps it was something fickle!
Lu Yuan darkly thought that he must check Ning Guiqu’s WeChat someday, even without the alt account. He needed to see just how many people were in Ning Guiqu’s pond, and then make Ning Guiqu delete them one by one!
But Ning Guiqu himself was quite innocent. He was just contacting Xu Zhi.
Ning Guiqu now needed to know Song Huai’s whereabouts to secretly stake him out. The only places Ning Guiqu knew the protagonist gong frequented were the gymnasium or the basketball court, since he was occasionally photographed there when he appeared on the forum.
Of course, there was also Xu Zhi’s dormitory.
However, knowing just these few locations wasn’t very useful. Ning Guiqu didn’t know the protagonist gong’s schedule, when he went to the basketball court or gym, or when he visited Xu Zhi. If he just staked out these places, it would be too much of a matter of luck. With good luck, he might spot him immediately; with bad luck, he’d exhaust himself!
So, asking Xu Zhi was the most convenient option!
But directly inquiring about someone else’s boyfriend’s whereabouts was too presumptuous. So Ning Guiqu planned to approach it gradually, starting with Lu Yuan deleting the protagonist gong’s WeChat. He would use this opportunity to mediate, arranging for them to play basketball together. In reality, he wanted to obtain the protagonist gong’s class schedule to stake him out!
Genius Xiao Qu, so smart!
Ning Guiqu carefully typed: [Classmate Xu Zhi, are things okay between Lu Yuan and your boyfriend?]
Ning Guiqu wasn’t sure if Xu Zhi knew about this, so he didn’t state it outright. If Xu Zhi wasn’t aware that Lu Yuan deleted the protagonist gong’s contact, Ning Guiqu planned to switch strategies.
Genius Xiao Qu, so resourceful!
After sending the message, Ning Guiqu intended to focus on the lecture, but Xu Zhi replied instantly. So, he had to continue messaging discreetly.
Xu Zhi: [What happened between them?]
He doesn’t know!
Either the protagonist gong hadn’t messaged Lu Yuan, so he didn’t know he’d been deleted, or he had discovered it but hadn’t told Xu Zhi. Regardless, Ning Guiqu needed to change his approach.
Ning Guiqu glanced at Lu Yuan the thief and found him looking sideways at him. Ning Guiqu slightly moved his phone away. Lu Yuan’s desire to peek was too strong!
Keeping his phone at a safe distance from Lu Yuan, Ning Guiqu replied to Xu Zhi.
[Nothing, I just wanted to know if they’re close. I often see them playing basketball together]
Xu Zhi: [We all have a good relationship with Lu Yuan. Classmate Ning Guiqu, if you have something to say, just tell me directly]
Seeing this, Ning Guiqu decided to be straightforward: [I want to know when your boyfriend plays basketball. I’m planning to surprise Lu Yuan at the basketball court that day!]
Xu Zhi’s reply came quickly: [I’m a bit confused. If you want to surprise Lu Yuan, why do you need to know when Song Huai plays basketball?]
Ning Guiqu glanced at the professor again and typed rapidly: [Because it’s a surprise, and it has to be at the basketball court or gym. And Lu Yuan can’t know about it. But I know your boyfriend plays basketball with Lu Yuan. So if I know when your boyfriend goes to the court, I’ll know when Lu Yuan goes too. However, there might be times when your boyfriend plays, but Lu Yuan doesn’t show up. So, could you let me know when your boyfriend goes to play? Oh, and please don’t tell your boyfriend about this!]
Ning Guiqu anxiously waited for a response. After a while, Xu Zhi’s message arrived.
[I think I understand what you mean. But if Song Huai doesn’t invite Lu Yuan, you’ll go for nothing. Why don’t I tell Song Huai to invite Lu Yuan to play basketball, without mentioning you? Lu Yuan won’t guess you’re planning a surprise]
Ning Guiqu hurriedly replied: [No need. I prefer the surprise of waiting patiently]
Xu Zhi: [I don’t quite understand, but I respect it. Don’t worry. I’ll contact you when Song Huai plays basketball]
Ning Guiqu was secretly happy.
Ning Guiqu had considered every possibility. There was also the scenario where the protagonist gong wants to play basketball and invite Lu Yuan, only to discover he’s been blocked. Xu Zhi would surely tell him that Lu Yuan and the protagonist gong had a falling out, so he shouldn’t go.
But! He could take the opportunity to ask if the protagonist gong was still going to the basketball court.
If he went, Ning Guiqu would stake out that day.
If not, he’d implement his Plan A: help them reconcile and obtain Song Huai’s class schedule! Then stake out.
To be clear, Genius Xiao Qu would at most just get excited. If he didn’t achieve any effective results, he wouldn’t do anything more extreme.
The protagonist gong had his shou now!
He wouldn’t be the immoral gay person Lu Yuan accused him of being!
Thinking about how Lu Yuan firmly believed he liked the protagonist gong, Ning Guiqu felt uneasy. The protagonist already had a partner, how could he possibly be an immoral person? Clearly, the immoral one was Lu Yuan, stealing his phone at night!
The more Ning Guiqu thought about it, the more he felt he couldn’t let Lu Yuan off easily for stealing his phone. It wasn’t easy to catch Lu Yuan in an embarrassing situation.
So, after class, Lu Yuan felt his arm being poked, followed by Ning Guiqu’s low voice, “Phone thief, do you really want to see my phone that badly?”
Lu Yuan: “…”
Lu Yuan turned his head to see Ning Guiqu’s innocent yet mischievous smile.
He hadn’t forgotten; he’d been waiting for this moment.
Lu Yuan admitted directly, “So, will you let me see it now?”
Ning Guiqu raised an eyebrow, even more mischievously. “Of course not. I’ll always remember what you did last night. I’ll remember it till I die. Phone thief~”
Lu Yuan could even hear the tilde in Ning Guiqu’s voice.
Lu Yuan was… amused and annoyed.
He really deserved a beating.
Just you wait, Ning Guiqu. There’s plenty of time ahead.
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