The afternoon featured a basketball game, and there was still some time left. The production team had prepared nap dorms for the guests.
Wu Zhiqi and Wen Yimeng got single rooms, while Fang Peng, Fu Le, Yu Xi, and Yi Chen were assigned to the same men’s dorm.
The nap time was quite long. After discussing with the guests, the production team launched another midday welfare livestream. In their respective dorms, each guest had about ten minutes of airtime to interact with the audience.
During the wait for the livestream, Fu Le’s phone vibrated nonstop as his friends kept sending him messages.
[Friend: Lele, I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.]
[Friend: You spoke so well, and you nailed the vibe perfectly. This shouldn’t have been the feedback.]
[Friend: It’s all because of Yu Xi.]
[Friend: I think he’s deliberately holding back malice, hyping his education at a time like this. If he’s really that impressive, why hold off until now?]
[Friend: Otherwise, coming from an ordinary family, how could he compete with you? He always makes you come out on the losing end.]
Fu Le’s expression darkened.
Seeing Yu Xi still smiling so happily in front of the camera made his mood even worse.
Lately, the sugar daddy behind him seemed a bit fed up with him.
He would always light a cigarette afterward and say to him, “I feel like you haven’t been as soft as before. I mean your vibe. It looks fine now, but when you’re with Yu Xi, I always feel like you’re not shining as brightly.”
“You shouldn’t have gone on Weekend Go Where. It didn’t do you any favors at all. Instead, it made you look utterly ordinary. Your skills can’t match his, and your family background? Do you even have one? Keep your secondary gender hidden. If it gets exposed, I won’t be able to save you.”
Tch.
Fu Le ground his molars hard.
He had to save himself. He absolutely had to find a way…
–
After nap time ended, the basketball game began.
The format was simple: each guest joined a class team as opponents and played against each other. Once all matches finished, they paired up for a friendly game.
Among the six guests, Wu Zhiqi didn’t know how to play basketball and couldn’t join a boys’ team, while Wen Yimeng was pregnant and couldn’t do intense exercise. The two served as hosts on the sidelines.
B University’s outdoor basketball court for the event had several teams playing at once, surrounded by circle after circle of spectators.
Playing ball with college students was incredibly relaxing—no societal rules or obligations holding them back. The goals were always clear and straightforward. Shuttling across the court, wind blowing from behind, teammates waving, coordinating, high-fiving—it was an exhilarating, unrestrained thrill.
One game ended, and Yu Xi’s team won. His student teammates ran around excitedly, and Yu Xi hugged them. With some time before the next match, he stepped back to the spectator seats.
“Brother Yu, Brother Yu.” A logistics team member tossed him a bottle of water. “Grab a water before you go!”
The cool water landed in his palm, and Yu Xi flashed a smile. “Thanks, bro!”
The production team’s livestream camera stood at the court edge. The basketball court didn’t restrict entry, but with so many people around, staff had pulled up a yellow warning line to prevent accidents.
A crowd gathered outside the warning line.
The academic stars loved studying, but they weren’t offline. Weekend Go Where had been super hot lately, so whether they were fans or not, most recognized the guests to some degree.
When Yu Xi appeared, the crowd buzzed. Some tiptoed or craned their necks to see him, while many girls waved their fan peripherals excitedly, calling Yu Xi’s name.
Yu Xi waved to everyone, then turned to the cameraman. “Could you help us take a group photo? I want to bask in some academic star vibes too.”
Yu Xi stood at the front of the crowd.
“Don’t squeeze!” the cameraman shouted. “Hey, yeah, like that. Three, two, one!”
The shutter clicked, freezing the moment: the clean, breezy university campus, energetic college students, teams scoring in the background with cheers erupting everywhere, clear sunlight, Yu Xi holding icy cool water in his ball jersey, a flush at the corners of his eyes from the exercise. He spread his arms, blending into the group.
“Thanks for the support, everyone.” Yu Xi bowed to them all.
Another wave of excitement.
He really wanted to hear every voice clearly, but they all blended together indistinguishably. However, a fan in the front row stood out.
It featured two chibi figures snuggled close, seemingly kissing.
The girl noticed Yu Xi’s gaze and waved it even harder.
“Hey, sis! That fan! Is it Geng Shanglou’s merch?” Someone nearby spotted it too and excitedly squeezed over. “Did you snag one?”
“Yeah, yeah!!” The girl nodded vigorously. “Geng Shanglou is top-tier! She commissions, designs, contacts factories, ships it herself, and even covers shipping!! Just set your profile pic and bio to the CP, and you get a merch bundle!”
The two girls, strangers otherwise, chattered like old friends about it.
Yu Xi couldn’t catch everything from the front row, but he picked up “Geng Shanglou.”
Merch from Geng Shanglou?
Given Geng Shanglou’s style…
Those two kissing chibis on it were clearly him and…
Yu Xi: “.”
The two girls didn’t know each other but lit up like longtime pals, chatting nonstop.
Yu Xi waved to the crowd and returned to his seat inside the court. Once sure no one was looking, he quietly opened Geng Shanglou’s V Blog.
Two hours earlier—that was right after the welfare livestream ended, when they’d hit the beds and drawn the curtains to sleep.
Geng Shanglou had posted a link priced at 1 yuan.
[Geng Shanglou: Sisters! Last batch wasn’t enough, so new stock here! Platform min price is 1 yuan, nothing we can do. Crop pics in the description below. Set CP pfp and bio for shipping! Details via admin DM.]
[Geng Shanglou: Our goal! Everyone gets to eat delicious CP rice!!]
[Geng Shanglou: I’ll be sad if anyone doesn’t know Dawn CP, OK?]
Scrolling down revealed Geng Shanglou’s merch pics—various items, packaged in stunning CP-themed boxes that were visually and collectible gems. CP fans went wild.
Yu Xi tapped through the images, zooming in.
Geng Shanglou’s taste was spot-on; the commissioned art was high-quality. The couple shots captured tense, dynamic moments with fluid, gorgeous color schemes full of atmosphere.
“What are you looking at?” Yi Chen’s voice suddenly came from beside him.
Yi Chen’s game had just ended; he was steaming hot, his voice carrying slightly uneven breaths.
Yu Xi: “!!”
He hadn’t applied a privacy screen; screened ones were dim and eye-unfriendly.
Not wanting Yi Chen to see, Yu Xi quickly pocketed his phone.
“Nothing.” His expression stayed perfectly casual. The noise around drowned out the “ding” of a notification as he stashed it.
Beside him, Yi Chen chugged several gulps of water and sat in Yu Xi’s spot.
Yu Xi: “?”
Yu Xi reminded him, “That’s my water you’re drinking.”
“Grabbed the wrong one.” Yi Chen didn’t care. “No big deal if I drank it.”
“No big deal between good bros.” Yu Xi looked at the court. Matches varied—some ended, some had minutes left. Sneaker squeaks on rubber mixed with excited shouts, carrying far.
It masked their voices too.
“Not necessarily with exes.” Yu Xi said.
Yi Chen’s eyes curved. “What are you gonna do to me?”
Yu Xi turned to him expressionless, raised his hands, pinched Yi Chen’s cheeks, pulled outward once, twice, then let go and turned back just as blankly.
A bit random.
A bit cute.
Yi Chen burst out laughing, slinging an arm over Yu Xi’s shoulder, shoulders shaking.
Yu Xi’s ears heated from Yi Chen’s laughter.
He shoved Yi Chen off. “What are you laughing at?!”
“Laughing at how cute you are.”
“Suggest not calling a guy cute.”
“Fine, you’re lively, enthusiastic, and fun.”
Yu Xi: “.”
It felt weird coming from Yi Chen.
He shrugged his shoulder. “Don’t lean on me. Scoot.”
“Not moving.” Yi Chen grinned. “Know what your face looks like right now?”
“No clue, but I think you’re picking a fight.”
Yi Chen pulled out his phone and opened the camera. “See for yourself.”
The screen was a bit far; unsure of Yi Chen’s intent, Yu Xi leaned in instinctively. A “click” by his ear—Yi Chen snapped a quick photo and darted away.
Yu Xi: “?”
Yu Xi: “Are you nuts?”
Yi Chen ignored him. Teammates called for him on the court; he waved at Yu Xi and jogged over.
A long whistle blew, and the game resumed. Yu Xi stared at the court as Yi Chen glanced back, their eyes meeting across half the court.
The scene seemed to overlap with memories.
Back then, they’d leap over crowds on the court to meet eyes, share a water bottle, high-five in perfect sync, embrace with ragged breaths.
Amid full-court cheers, they’d lock gazes; after games, they’d sneak to empty corners to kiss.
The boy was always like summer wind—fierce, with sun-hot body temp and passion, sharing breaths and heartbeats.
“Teacher Yu Xi, time to play!” A staffer reminded him nearby. “Second match is starting.”
“Got it.” Yu Xi stowed his phone in a nearby storage box and joined his team.
The games were intense, cheers constant, and online, data surged wildly.
[Vocal, real or fake?]
[What’s going on?]
[No way I saw that right? It’s really Yu Xi?]
[How could it be wrong?! Buyer can see V Blog, and Yu Xi’s V verification is still there!]
[He’s not shipping CP too, is he!!]
[So, Yu Xi’s been following Geng Shanglou, shipping himself with Yi Chen, and even snagged her CP bundle?!]
[Spread the word: Yu Xi and Yi Chen are married!!!!]
