Chapter 22

Chu Ci really must be very busy lately, He Yuxuan guessed.

After that last call was hung up on him, he’d sent Chu Ci several more messages.

LittleHeWakeUp: Young Master, was there something you needed when you called me earlier?

An hour later…

LittleHeWakeUp: I’m back at the dorm to wash up and rest now, goodnight!

The next day…

LittleHeWakeUp: Early class again, so tired I could die 555555

On the Nth day…

All of them sank like stones into the ocean, with no reply.

Given Chu Ci’s family background, He Yuxuan even wondered if his family had dragged him home to inherit the family business, so he wouldn’t need to attend school anymore! As an underachiever, he felt a moment of glee on Chu Ci’s behalf.

But thinking it over, He Yuxuan couldn’t really say which was more tiring, going to school or working, especially since he’d seen Chu Ci’s exhaustion with his own eyes. Since the other was busy, he didn’t pester him too much, but whenever anything interesting happened, he would still send it to him.

He Yuxuan completely missed the possibility that Chu Ci was angry. After all, even if he racked his brains, he couldn’t figure out how he might have offended the other man, so it was definitely not his problem.

Meanwhile, during this period, what He Yuxuan didn’t know was that the rumors about him and Bo Yuanyuan were growing noisier and noisier, and they even had CP fans on the forum now.

Jinghai University Forum.

I ship the Campus Belle and Hunk forever!: So happy~ The CP I ship comes and goes together every day. They’re clearly a sweet little couple.

Post 2: Stop fantasizing, the OP above. They’re just in the same club! Plenty of people come and go together. I really don’t get what’s going on in you CP fans’ heads!

I ship the Campus Belle and Hunk forever! (reply to Post 2): Nya nya nya~ I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. The two of them also stroll around campus together and even go out to eat together!

Post 3: Don’t know if they’re really together, but it’s definitely confirmed they’re in the ambiguous flirting stage!

Post 4: Happy to see it happen~ Finally, a beauty isn’t paired with a Kappa-looking dude! The Campus Hunk probably gets even more love letters now.

In many people’s eyes, they were already an item.

He Yuxuan never read the forum, so naturally, he had no idea. He still went about his business as usual. It was just that even when he went to his part-time job at the milk tea shop on the back street, it seemed more and more people recognized him.

At first, when people called him Campus Hunk, He Yuxuan would be modest, but later he grew numb to it and just let them call him whatever.

His days were full. The situation in the dorm room remained pretty much the same. The Academic God, Tang Yi, was in the library from morning till night, as always. Jiang Lu was like any ordinary college student, studying when he had to and playing when he wanted; he talked a bit more with He Yuxuan.

When he was bored and idle, He Yuxuan occasionally wondered why it seemed like the plot hadn’t really started yet; the protagonist Gong and Shou weren’t even that familiar with each other.

But then he thought, time passed slowly. A mere few hundred thousand words in a book could cover two people’s entire lives. He had only been transmigrated here for a few months. It had gone from short sleeves being too hot to now needing a jacket.

Besides, what occupied his heart most right now was his relationship with Chu Ci. He couldn’t worry that much about others anymore.

The absence of Chu Ci’s presence was the only void in He Yuxuan’s life.

Until one day, during an early morning class, He Yuxuan spotted that familiar figure in the very back row.

The other man wore a black leather jacket, his head turned to the side and resting on the desk as he slept. His high nose bridge and lips, neither too thick nor too thin, were very striking. His appearance with eyes closed was much more peaceful than when they were open. His hair had grown longer, no longer short and prickly. The fringe on his forehead could now cover part of it, though it was a mess at the moment, probably not having been tended to.

In that instant, He Yuxuan felt quite happy.

Coincidentally, no one dared to sit next to the Young Master, so He Yuxuan naturally sat down. Although he had quite a lot he wanted to say, he had no intention of disturbing someone’s sleep.

So for almost the entire class, Chu Ci caught up on sleep, while He Yuxuan propped his head up on the side and played on his phone. It was actually a bit boring; the things he liked, he couldn’t afford at all. Moreover, with Chu Ci right beside him, He Yuxuan naturally paid more attention to him after not seeing him for so long, and wasn’t that focused on his phone.

He occasionally glanced at Chu Ci. Whenever the other man’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly, He Yuxuan’s heart would tense, thinking the person was about to wake up.

It was a false alarm every time.

Finally, the long class ended. One by one, students trickled out. Chu Ci opened those dark, deep eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, He Yuxuan showed him a smile.

“You’re finally awake.”

His tone was light and cheerful, and his smile was as healing as ever. Chu Ci almost stopped being angry, almost forgot everything from before.

But when he came back to his senses, He Yuxuan’s oblivious reaction made him feel even worse.

So what if he’d acted so obviously, even ignoring messages all this time? Did this guy not think anything was wrong at all?

Chu Ci stretched lazily, turned his head away, his expression indifferent, and didn’t respond to what He Yuxuan said.

He picked up his own shoulder bag, slung it over his back, and walked straight out of the classroom, acting as if he wasn’t very familiar with He Yuxuan.

It was at this moment that He Yuxuan finally sensed something was off.

So Chu Ci wasn’t just too busy, but was actually angry at him?

He Yuxuan was full of question marks. He searched his memory and couldn’t recall doing anything to wrong his buddy! He couldn’t figure it out, and he certainly couldn’t let things develop like this. Regarding friends, he wasn’t that proud. At the very least, he needed to go ask Chu Ci clearly.

If it really was something he did wrong, he would definitely correct it in the future.

After all, that scene where Chu Ci grabbed his wrist and said they would be best friends forever was still etched in He Yuxuan’s mind. One could say that since he transmigrated into the book, Chu Ci was the first person to actively approach him and truly care about him.

“Chu Ci? Wait up.” He Yuxuan shouldered his own backpack and caught up in a few strides.

He was getting more and more agile now, completely trained by running around everywhere every day. He Yuxuan had sometimes thought that if he had transmigrated a few years earlier, he might be a top athlete by now. Constant dripping wears away a stone.

Chu Ci heard that clear, bright voice. He didn’t walk any further, but stopped to wait for He Yuxuan, ready to give this guy a chance.

If the other could figure out what the problem was.

“Chu Ci, did I do something to piss you off?”

Mhm, that’s right. Chu Ci told him so with his eyes.

He Yuxuan scrunched his face. “Then could you tell me? I absolutely cannot think of what I did…”

He thought he was a pretty good friend, right? He hadn’t failed in his duties.

Chu Ci looked at He Yuxuan racking his brains. Although still angry, he figured the guy was slow to begin with, and it wouldn’t help to keep holding a grudge.

“Think about what you’ve been doing around school lately,” Chu Ci prompted him in a low tone, patiently waiting for He Yuxuan to remember.

He Yuxuan thought about it but still felt it had nothing to do with Chu Ci at all. It was impossible he’d offended Chu Ci.

Every day, he was either in class, at his club, practicing piano, or at his part-time job.

A very healthy routine.

“Huh?” He Yuxuan counted on his fingers, still not quite getting it.

Chu Ci was at his wit’s end and was about to give a couple more hints.

Just then, a female classmate walked towards them, clutching a small gift box in her hands. The scene was very obvious; it was probably meant to be given to one of them.

The Young Master was used to being fawned over, and right now, his mind was solely focused on resolving the issue with He Yuxuan. He simply had no patience for others.

As the girl approached, he opened his mouth and said, “Sorry, I refuse. Can you please not disturb us right now?”

The girl froze. It took her a moment to realize that this handsome guy was Chu Ci, and she was instantly startled.

But even though she was misunderstood, she still nervously said to Chu Ci first, “Sorry, sorry.”

Then she shoved the item into He Yuxuan’s hands. “Classmate He, this is for you. I really enjoyed your last performance. You have to open it.”

And because she was afraid of Chu Ci, she immediately trotted away.

He Yuxuan didn’t even have time to refuse before the thing was stuffed into his hands. He was almost used to this kind of thing, though he basically never accepted them. From his experience, there was probably a love letter inside.

Generally speaking, most people came to ask for his WeChat, which He Yuxuan always refused to give.

But some classmates were more thoughtful and would write love letters and give gifts. Although moved, He Yuxuan’s decision was the same. After all, he was once a top-tier male idol, and a fanatical fan had once bought a planet and named it after him. But He Yuxuan had said more than once that the money would be better spent on themselves; if they wanted to support him, just buying his albums was fine.

The person had already vanished. He Yuxuan had no choice but to hold onto it. Throwing it in the trash wasn’t his style.

And Chu Ci, witnessing this from the side, felt his chest grow even tighter.

It wasn’t awkwardness from his misjudgment. It was that during these days of stewing in silent anger, He Yuxuan was still attracting bees and butterflies every day, his life completely unaffected. Meanwhile, Chu Ci was thinking every day about quickly finishing his project so he could return to school and spend time with He Yuxuan.

Who knew the guy didn’t lack for company at all and was actually incredibly popular?

Chu Ci turned and walked away, his expression souring more and more.

He Yuxuan stopped in place and sighed. Although he still didn’t understand what was going on, he was certain of one thing: Chu Ci was really pissed at him.

Was he about to lose a friend? He Yuxuan felt a little downcast. Slowly fiddling with the item in his hands, he headed back to the dorm.

~

Young Master Chu had actually moved into the dormitory!

For Jiang Lu, this was both surprising and troubling. Didn’t the Young Master look down on the dorms? Why would he suddenly want to come back and live here?

God knew he really didn’t know how to interact with someone like that. He was afraid that if he accidentally offended Chu Ci, the other would make things hard for him.

What was even more baffling was that He Yuxuan, who used to be so buddy-buddy with Chu Ci, was also acting like he’d taken the wrong medicine, not saying a single word to Young Master Chu.

Jiang Lu could only say, this guy was also a ruthless character…

So a dark and gloomy atmosphere hung over Dorm 201. Jiang Lu couldn’t stand it and didn’t even dare to play games in the dorm anymore, finding ways to stay out and have fun every day.

He Yuxuan didn’t know what he’d done wrong, and Chu Ci wouldn’t tell him, so he had no solution. He could only just go with the flow, doing what he had to do every day.

Occasionally, when their eyes met, He Yuxuan would still feel a bit uncomfortable, but he could reconcile with it most of the time.

Actually, he didn’t really give Chu Ci any bad looks, just a normal expression. It was mainly the other guy whose expression was bad. If Chu Ci took the initiative to offer an olive branch, He Yuxuan would immediately go back to how things were before, without any hard feelings.

Chu Ci really was a moody guy.

Chu Ci was about to die from stifled frustration. He didn’t like living in this crappy dorm in the first place, but he forced himself to stay.

Every day, he watched He Yuxuan go to class, eat, go out… So where exactly was he going out?

A date with someone? Or continuing to exude charm to other people?

He Yuxuan actually had the nerve! Even though their relationship was so tense, he was eating well, sleeping well, going out to socialize every day, or maybe going on dates with god-knows-what kind of random people.

Heaven knew Chu Ci was suffering from insomnia night after night.

Chu Ci felt like his chest was about to explode.