Of course, Gu Shiying could guess why Fu Huan had been stunned for a moment.
Tactfully, he didn’t point it out, instead breaking the silence with playful words.
“It’s nothing super expensive. You can’t turn your nose up at it.”
Fu Huan responded hastily, “I won’t.” He would treasure it forever.
Fu Huan’s hand trembled slightly. He wanted to see the gift immediately, but he was afraid Gu Shiying would notice something was off.
“What is it?”
Gu Shiying absolutely did not dare meet Fu Huan’s scorching gaze. He averted his eyes. “Don’t you play basketball a lot? Wrist guards and knee pads. I figured you could use them.”
Fu Huan: “Yeah, I was just needing some wrist guards.”
Gu Shiying: “Glad you like them.” So awkward. He needed to find something to do, fast. “Well, uh, hope they come in handy.”
He retreated to his own desk, opened his phone, and started looking through the footage they’d shot today. But he couldn’t focus, couldn’t concentrate at all.
Could Fu Huan please stop turning his head? Did he think Gu Shiying wouldn’t notice?
Gu Shiying felt an allergic reaction spreading over his entire body, a profound sense of unease.
When it came down to it, giving that gift had definitely made Fu Huan’s day.
This slightly stifling atmosphere only dissipated when Yang Shuheng returned, guitar in tow.
His channels for gossip were always remarkably timely. “Brother Huan, you and Ying’er were out doing good deeds again tonight?”
Gu Shiying didn’t quite catch on for a second. “Good deeds?”
Yang Shuheng: “Yeah, didn’t you guys send that drugging vendor to the police station? There’s a post on the forum telling everyone who bought fried rice from Wang’s Fried Rice stall not to eat it, and to take it to the police station for testing ideally.”
“That’s right.”
Gu Shiying had almost forgotten about it. Du Zhihan had probably made the post. He hadn’t paid much attention after she took care of it, and the police station would also communicate with the school. He was just a bystander in the whole affair.
Yang Shuheng: “Hehe, you two are famous again.”
Curious about his own notoriety, Gu Shiying checked the link Zhang Zhi had sent him to the forum post. Browsing through, he found several related threads.
Du Zhihan’s post had become a hot topic. Fellow students were actively trying to locate anyone who had bought the fried rice, helping each other out. The campus atmosphere was heartwarming. There were one or two posts criticizing street food vendors in general, but they were quickly drowned out.
At the same time, another post was just as lively.
【Looking for the tall hottie who did a good deed at Boss Wang’s Fried Rice stall tonight!】
OP: [picture] I want to hit on him, want him to be my boyfriend. Which sister has his WeChat, please share!
– What, what? Another hottie I missed?
– Holy crap, that takedown was so cool. Is he a sophomore?
– How can someone this low-key exist? I’m a junior and I’ve never seen this model. His proportions are insane, damn. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was a celebrity.
– Isn’t this the guy from the legendary photos during last year’s military training?
– The poster above, Legendary Photo Hottie, please elaborate!
– His name is Fu Huan, a super-hot guy from the Finance Department. He’s really low-key. During freshman military training, the instructors kept pulling him out to demonstrate because of his height and looks. Tons of legendary photos came out then. Lots of girls were posting them on the forum constantly. Later, it seemed like it disturbed his life, because he reported and had every single related post deleted. Friendly warning to OP: this Fu Huan is super cold and aloof, not easy to approach. When we were in training, quite a few girls boldly asked for his WeChat, but basically all of them came back empty-handed.
Gu Shiying had been too busy during his own military training to pay attention to that sort of thing. Besides, he was in a different department than Fu Huan. Girls might have gossiped more, but among guys, talk was more about which girl was hot, especially from Zhang Zhi, who told him stuff daily.
So Fu Huan had been that big of a deal back then?
The forum post featured a candid photo of Fu Huan pinning Boss Sun to the ground. His movements were clean and efficient, his technique looked trained, his gaze sharp—a stark contrast to his usual listless, uninterested demeanor.
“Damn, Brother Huan, that takedown was so badass. Did you train in something?” Yang Shuheng had also seen the forum post.
Gu Shiying, having just finished reading the post, looked up at Fu Huan. He wanted to know the answer too. The way Fu Huan had subdued that guy earlier, and the male student before him, was genuinely enviable—a straight guy’s admiration.
Fu Huan looked at Gu Shiying, then answered, “Trained a bit before.” He didn’t specify what.
Fu Huan was the type who looked lean in clothes but muscular underneath. Gu Shiying couldn’t deny he was envious. At the pool, he’d gotten a clear view. Well-defined muscles, beautiful lines, every muscle perfectly proportioned. One bit less would be too thin, one bit more too bulky. They both ate cafeteria food—how were they so different?
He clearly needed to work out more.
Yang Shuheng was curious about Fu Huan, but the man’s aloof demeanor tended to kill any conversation.
Seriously, some people just looked like they had zero desire to chat.
Yang Shuheng gave up.
Just as he gave up, Gu Shiying asked Fu Huan, “What did you train in?”
Fu Huan’s voice was much softer than when he’d answered Yang Shuheng. “Sanda. Want to learn?”
Gu Shiying shook his head. “I couldn’t learn it.”
Indeed, as Fu Huan had pointed out, his limbs really were a bit uncoordinated. Even if he wanted to learn, to build some abs, he couldn’t learn from Fu Huan.
Fu Huan nodded, saying nothing more. He opened the wrist guard he’d been holding and tried it on for size.
Yang Shuheng, done gossiping, gathered his clothes for a shower. Passing by Fu Huan, he spotted the unfamiliar wrist guard.
“Brother Huan, that’s a nice color wrist guard. Where’d you get it? Send me the link. I made plans to play ball with friends this weekend.”
Fu Huan slipped the blue-and-white wrist guard onto his wrist. “Nice? A friend gave it to me. I don’t know the link either. Or I can ask them for you.”
Yang Shuheng’s collector’s itch flared up. “Sure.”
Gu Shiying silently stared at the material on his phone, seeing none of it.
Why hadn’t he noticed before that Yang Shuheng had a thing for collecting little accessories?
Fu Huan took the wrist guard off and placed it in the most prominent spot on his desk, then picked up his phone to send a message.
Buzz.
Gu Shiying saw the message Fu Huan sent him.
【Fu Huan: You heard that? Yang Shuheng wants the link for the wrist guard.】
【Gu Shiying: I’ll send it to you.】
【Fu Huan: The wrist guard fits perfectly. You have good taste.】
Gu Shiying found the link and sent it, replying in a deliberately detached manner.
【Gu Shiying: [Thanks for the compliment.jpg]】
Fu Huan’s previous chat logs with him were never long. He was concise. Now, his messages exceeded ten words.
It felt strange. Something they could easily discuss face-to-face had become a private chat, and it inexplicably felt… illicit. Like secretly dating one friend behind the other friends’ backs.
Realizing his thoughts were spiraling because of Fu Huan again, Gu Shiying forced himself to stop. It was all Fu Huan’s fault for constantly thinking about romance.
Time to finish reviewing this footage and go to sleep.
The next two days, Gu Shiying was busy with his group project. The subsequent material filming went smoothly, without encountering anyone like Boss Sun. They spent two more evenings capturing excellent footage.
The assignment was due Sunday evening. That Saturday, Gu Shiying didn’t go anywhere. He stayed in Zhang Zhi’s dorm room, working with him to edit their footage.
Zhang Zhi showed him a first edit. “How’s this look?”
Gu Shiying: “Overall, it’s great. Maybe we can add a bit more detail. See the interaction between the mom and her daughter at the second shop? It’s so heartwarming. How about you splice in the part where the mom takes a moment to tie her daughter’s hair? It highlights the connection between food and people, blending warmth and good food. It’ll give the video more of that street-food vibe, make viewers resonate more.”
Zhang Zhi: “Alright. That part moved me, too, when I saw it.”
As they were deep in discussion, there was a knock at the door.
Only Gu Shiying and Zhang Zhi were in the dorm. Both turned toward the entrance.
A tall figure blocked the light spilling in from the hallway. It was Fu Huan.
Fu Huan: “Gu Shiying.”
Gu Shiying: “What’s up?”
Fu Huan: “You didn’t pick up your phone.”
Only then did Gu Shiying realize his phone was lying face-down on Zhang Zhi’s desk, on silent.
Gu Shiying: “Sorry, I didn’t hear it. Was working on an assignment. What’s going on?”
Fu Huan: “Remember Guoguo?”
Gu Shiying: “Yeah, I remember. What about him?”
Fu Huan: “When we left, we gave Grandma Lin our numbers. The community office just called me. The old lady fell and twisted her ankle.”
Gu Shiying: “Is it serious?”
Fu Huan: “Affecting her daily life a bit. I don’t know the specifics. They asked me to come take a look. Are you coming?”
Gu Shiying didn’t hesitate. “I’ll go.”
Fu Huan: “Then let’s go.”
Gu Shiying patted Zhang Zhi on the shoulder. “Old Zhang, something came up. I gotta go. Can you ask the others for their opinions on the rest?”
Zhang Zhi: “No problem. Go handle your stuff.”
Just like that, Gu Shiying left with Fu Huan.
After they were both gone, Zhang Zhi belatedly realized he knew absolutely nothing about what they’d just discussed.
He scratched his neck. “Hey, wait a minute? There are things happening that I don’t know about? Who’s Guoguo?”
A few minutes later, Gu Shiying found himself sitting in Fu Huan’s car.
It slowly dawned on him that maybe he shouldn’t have agreed. How was he alone with Fu Huan again?
Fu Huan was focused on driving, his expression as bland as ever.
As long as he wasn’t touching him, he wouldn’t hear his inner voice. No big deal.
It took Gu Shiying a full second to pull himself together.
Fu Huan asked him, “Is your group project done?”
Gu Shiying: “Almost. Just the final edit, then it’s finished.”
Fu Huan: “When it’s posted, I’ll like and bookmark your video.”
Finishing up replying to the group chat, Gu Shiying turned his head to respond to Fu Huan. “S…”
He saw Fu Huan’s right hand resting on the steering wheel, the blue-and-white wrist guard snug around it.
Wait, he was just… wearing it out like that?
The calm Gu Shiying had just managed to assemble wavered slightly again.
An inexplicable sense of shame washed over him.
“Grab me a tissue, please. In the box in front of you.”
Gu Shiying grabbed a tissue and handed it to him. Fu Huan’s palm was wide, his fingers long. The handoff naturally involved touching Gu Shiying’s hand.
Again? Again!
【The wrist guard Gu Shiying gave me.】
【The wrist guard Gu Shiying gave me.】
【The wrist guard Gu Shiying gave me.】
Gu Shiying: “…” He could practically hear the joy hidden beneath Fu Huan’s calm facade.
