Lin Chengxuan’s name was one Qiao Ning had heard before—a junior schoolmate from the finance department at the same university, a famously rich second-generation heir. Donating buildings to the school was supposedly routine for his family.
The year he enrolled, the old dormitory building he was assigned to had no air conditioning, so he had the entire building fitted with AC units and instantly became famous at school. The dorm buildings still lacking air conditioning were green with envy.
Qiao Ning had never interacted with Lin Chengxuan personally, but his roommates knew him. Zhang Bowen had played ball with him, and Lu Zeyu had gamed with him—they’d even been in some game guild together once.
But that was all in the past. There was some rapport, but nothing deep, and they hadn’t been in touch for ages.
As the dorm’s eldest brother, Zhang Bowen took it upon himself to make introductions: “These are my roommates—Qin Hao, Qiao Ning. You know Lu Zeyu.”
Lin Chengxuan’s gaze shifted away from Qiao Ning’s face. He smiled and greeted them, but didn’t introduce the young man beside him.
“What were you saying just now, about something being too expensive?” Lin Chengxuan asked again.
Qin Hao, indignant, was about to recount the whole story, but Zhang Bowen subtly tugged at him, and the words on the tip of Qin Hao’s tongue were swallowed back down.
Lu Zeyu held up the bag he was carrying for Lin Chengxuan to see. “Cherry tomatoes. Special variety called Ruby, absurdly delicious. Someone with no taste thought they were too expensive.”
Lin Chengxuan glanced at Qiao Ning again and asked, “So you’re… doing a fruit-selling side gig?”
Though Lu Zeyu hadn’t said it, he guessed Qiao Ning was the seller. After all, at school, Qiao Ning’s poverty was as famous as his face.
Such a small amount of fruit hardly counted as a business, but Lu Zeyu still grinned and said, “Yep. We’re graduating soon, so earning a bit of living money.”
Lin Chengxuan said, “Perfect, I need to buy some fruit. Why not sell it to me?”
“All of it?” Lu Zeyu asked.
Lin Chengxuan nodded. How much could there be, really?
Lu Zeyu immediately pulled out his phone. “A hundred eighty-eight a box. That comes to five hundred sixty-four. WeChat or Alipay, either works.”
Lin Chengxuan froze for a moment. It wasn’t that he lacked the money—he just hadn’t expected it to be this expensive.
His family was rich, but he lived at school like everyone else and interacted with classmates daily, so he knew ordinary prices. Self-packaged boxed cherry tomatoes like these would go for a dozen or so yuan a box at the fruit shops outside the school.
While he was hesitating, the young man beside him suddenly spoke up. “What’s your deal? Young Master Lin is treating you as classmates and trying to help you, and you’re fleecing him like a sucker?”
“Shut up!” Lin Chengxuan’s expression changed instantly, and he said coldly, “Did I say you could talk?”
The young man flushed red with shame and lowered his head, looking wronged.
Before Qiao Ning’s group could even get angry, Lin Chengxuan had made his stance clear and quickly transferred the money to Lu Zeyu via WeChat, leaving them nothing to say.
Zhang Bowen explained, “This variety of cherry tomato really is delicious. Absolutely worth the price.”
Lin Chengxuan’s attitude toward them was actually quite warm. He said with a smile, “I know. You’re not the kind of people who’d cheat classmates.”
He exchanged a few more pleasantries, saying the seniors were about to graduate and they’d rarely have the chance to meet again, that running into each other today was fate, and that he’d treat them all to dinner that evening.
Lu Zeyu refused flat out, saying they had things to do that night. Just as Lin Chengxuan was about to press further, his phone suddenly rang.
He took the call, then helpfully explained that something had come up—they’d have to meet another day—then pulled out his phone again to add Qin Hao’s and Qiao Ning’s WeChat.
A famous rich second-generation kid at school, polite, and a junior schoolmate besides—there was no reason to refuse. Qin Hao and Qiao Ning both took out their phones and added him.
Then Lin Chengxuan said a couple more polite words and hurried off, the young man trailing after him at a jog.
Only after the two left did Qin Hao say, “Who was that guy? Does he go to our school? Lin Chengxuan didn’t even say anything, and he’s the one yapping.”
Zhang Bowen, more observant, frowned at Lu Zeyu. “Is something wrong with Lin Chengxuan? I played ball with him before—he seemed fine.”
Qiao Ning also looked at Lu Zeyu, waiting for his answer.
Lu Zeyu wasn’t the type to steal the spotlight in social situations—only in games.
Just now, during the exchange with Lin Chengxuan, he’d been at the front the whole time. He’d even deliberately had Lin Chengxuan transfer the fruit money to him instead of Qiao Ning, who was standing right there and could have just had his payment QR code scanned.
Lu Zeyu forwarded the money Lin Chengxuan had sent him to Qiao Ning before saying, “Lin Chengxuan likes men. Fifth Brother, keep your distance from him.”
Zhang Bowen was shocked. “Wh—no way. I couldn’t tell at all! He doesn’t act feminine.”
Qiao Ning: “?”
Lu Zeyu rolled his eyes. “Who says liking men means you have to be feminine? Ugh, it’s useless explaining this to you two. Anyway, Fifth Brother, be careful. If he invites you to dinner or whatever, don’t go.”
Qin Hao, catching up belatedly: “He likes men? Then that guy next to him…”
“New boyfriend, probably,” Lu Zeyu said. “He swaps boyfriends faster than we swap phones. Back when I played that game with him, he was the guild leader. Our guild went through five guild leaders’ consorts in half a year—all men.”
“Jesus…” Qin Hao stared blankly. He knew gay people existed, but he’d never actually encountered one in real life.
“So that’s why he kept looking at Fifth Brother,” Zhang Bowen said.
Our brother’s handsome enough that passersby take second glances, so Lin Chengxuan staring is only natural, he figured.
“It’s fine,” Qin Hao said. “Our Fifth Brother is a straight guy. Just ignore him and we’re good.”
Qiao Ning: “I’m not.”
“Right, just ignore him—wait, what did you say?” Zhang Bowen whipped his head around, staring at Qiao Ning in shock.
Qiao Ning remained perfectly calm. “I’m not straight. I like men.”
Fine to hide it from everyone else, but his roommates were friends. He hadn’t told them before simply because he never planned to date at school.
Now they were all about to graduate. If they couldn’t accept his orientation, they could just gradually drift apart—no awkwardness, since they’d been friends once.
All three: “…?!”
“You like men?!” in unison.
Qiao Ning said, “Let me state upfront: I’m not interested in Lin Chengxuan. Since we’re on the topic anyway, might as well come out of the closet while I’m at it.”
Qin Hao: “That was WAY too casual.”
Zhang Bowen suddenly understood. “No wonder so many pretty girls confessed to you and you turned them all down… wait, didn’t some guys chase after you too?”
Qiao Ning knew they didn’t get it and didn’t take offense. He explained, “Liking men is just a different orientation. It’s not like I accept every guy who confesses to me. I don’t like them.”
“Then what type do you like?” Lu Zeyu suddenly crossed his arms and said with an exaggerated expression, “Don’t tell me it’s someone like me. I knew it—natural beauty can’t hide itself…”
Qiao Ning smiled and spat out one word: “Get lost.”
Lu Zeyu: “Okay!”
“Serves you right!” Qin Hao cackled. “Look at yourself—are you even worthy of our Fifth Brother?”
Lu Zeyu: “Qin the Second, talk properly! Am I ugly? I’d barely qualify as tall, rich, and handsome, wouldn’t I? Eldest Brother, back me up.”
His family was fairly well-off, he was tall and decent-looking, and over four years of college several girls had shown interest in him. He’d never dated purely because he was too absorbed in gaming.
“You’re not ugly,” Zhang Bowen said. “But our Fifth Brother’s handsome to an unfair degree.”
Lu Zeyu: “…”
Zhang Bowen asked Qiao Ning curiously, “Then how handsome will your future partner have to be? No exaggeration—I’ve genuinely never seen anyone better-looking than you in real life.”
Qiao Ning thought about it carefully and came up empty. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“You can’t pick someone based on looks alone,” Qiao Ning said. “Of course, you can’t ignore looks either. At the very least, they can’t be ugly.”
Too ugly, and he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to kiss them.
“As for the rest… I’ll go by feeling, I guess. Anyway, I haven’t met anyone who made me want to date yet.”
Qiao Ning was actually somewhat pessimistic about love. His family environment growing up had been anything but harmonious, he’d never received proper guidance, and he’d always lacked a sense of security—he didn’t know how to build an intimate relationship with anyone.
In his past life it wasn’t that no outstanding men had pursued him. He even got along well enough with people, but the moment things threatened to go further—to become an actual relationship—he would instinctively flee, even developing a kind of aversion to that person’s very existence.
All he could do was work harder, telling himself it was enough to have a home of his own. A house for one person was still his home.
“That’s way too mystical,” Qin Hao said. “You’d be better off just listing a few clear criteria.”
The other two echoed him. Feeling? Feelings about what? Feelings could land you a relationship?
They discussed this all the way to the hotpot restaurant.
Qiao Ning suddenly asked, “Does it bother you? At all?”
“Bother us about what?”
Qiao Ning: “My orientation.”
Zhang Bowen: “What’s there to be bothered about? There are people who spend their whole lives with a dog. At least the guy you find will be human.”
Qin Hao: “Exactly. It’s not like you like me, so what business is it of mine?”
Lu Zeyu grinned playfully: “Fifth Brother, if you liked me, I could suffer through it.”
Qiao Ning laughed and cursed, “Suffer through your ass. I’m not blind.”
“Hey, that’s a personal attack!”
Laughter drowned out laughter as the big boys walked into the hotpot restaurant, arms slung over each other’s shoulders.
