“Do you feel it?”
“Huh?”
During Monday’s class, Lin Mingxin and Chen Zhilong whispered to each other.
“I’ve only been away for two days, but since I’ve been back, it feels like the atmosphere between Bai Yao and Qiu Ye is completely off.”
“Is it?”
Chen Zhilong looked dully at the two roommates sitting together, his eyes blank.
“I don’t think so. What kind of atmosphere? Did they have another fight?”
Lin Mingxin rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful.
“I am the Love Saint, after all. One look and I can tell there’s something between them.”
“Crazy.”
“No, didn’t you notice the way Qiu Ye looks at Bai Yao?”
Chen Zhilong turned his head to look again, focusing his observation on Qiu Ye’s eyes.
He had known Qiu Ye since the start of the semester.
Although he was tall and handsome, that “villainous face” of his was truly not very likable.
After getting to know him, he realized the guy was actually a goofball who spent all day grinning and being informal.
But now, Qiu Ye wasn’t being an informal goofball, nor did he have a poker-faced villainous expression.
His expression and gaze had softened considerably.
Especially when he looked at Bai Yao, his gaze was as gentle as… a father seeing his son!
However, Bai Yao seemed not to notice at all, preoccupied with playing on his phone.
“Isn’t it pretty normal?”
Chen Zhilong looked up at the blackboard, sounding a bit sour.
“They’ve just become better friends. Clearly, I knew Qiu Ye first, but the two of them ended up becoming best friends.”
“You were the first one here, right?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t get the reference.”
***
It was the end of the month again.
Bai Yao scrolled aimlessly through his phone screen, planning his remaining funds in his head.
All his money added up to nearly 2,000 yuan, which was definitely enough for the Physical Examination Package, but there wouldn’t be much left after that.
Furthermore, he planned to give up on the system after the physical exam.
Without the income from tasks, he would have to ask his family for money again.
He hated asking for money…
Even though his parents were his closest relatives, asking for living expenses gave him the illusion that he was begging.
After some thought, Bai Yao opened the School Forum.
He wanted to see if there were any part-time jobs available, even if it was just a job serving food in the cafeteria that provided meals.
Qiu Ye poked his head over and leaned in.
“A part-time job?”
“Yeah.”
“I heard that many leg and foot models are actually men working part-time —”
“Not interested.”
Bai Yao propped his chin on one hand, scanning the School Forum at a rate of ten lines per glance.
Suddenly, he noticed a familiar image appearing on the forum.
He froze for a moment, rubbed the corners of his eyes, and lowered his head to get closer to the screen for a better look.
The picture showed the back of a young girl.
She was wearing a short skirt and a white shirt, with a pair of beautiful long legs and a slender, graceful silhouette.
Although it was only from behind, it was obvious at a glance that she was a beauty.
**[Which class is this girl from? I’m in love!]**
Bai Yao’s eyelids twitched.
Wasn’t this the scene when he was cross-dressing and passed by the Open-air Basketball Court? When did someone take a photo?
‘It’s my first time seeing my own back… my waist is so thin.’
“Oh, I’ve run into this girl before.”
Qiu Ye was looking at the screen.
“Wait, it’s not you, is it?”
“…”
Qiu Ye gave him a frustrated look.
“I felt something was off yesterday, but I didn’t say anything.”
In fact, his head had been full of Bai Yao in women’s clothing all day yesterday.
He had been at a loss and his thoughts were a mess, so he had no room to think about anything else.
“I thought it was the first time you dressed up as a girl for me, but it turns out you gave your first time to someone else long ago.”
A hint of pink stained Bai Yao’s cold cheeks.
“What nonsense are you talking about…”
“If it had been the first time, I would have felt quite guilty,” Qiu Ye explained.
“But since it turns out you just enjoy cross-dressing to begin with, then it’s fine.”
“I don’t enjoy it.”
Bai Yao denied it flatly.
Even if he truly liked it, there was no way he would admit it.
“It’s all your fault.”
“What does it have to do with me…”
Qiu Ye muttered and flopped down on the desk, swallowing his teasing words.
After a night of rest, he still couldn’t treat Bai Yao like a normal man.
Certain teasing remarks now felt like harassment, making him feel too embarrassed to speak them aloud.
From teasing Bai Yao without restraint to being afraid of making him angry, he now didn’t even dare to say anything slightly out of line…
“I’ve seen this girl too.”
Wang Zuhao had just finished a round of a game.
He took off his headphones and turned around to see the familiar silhouette on Bai Yao’s phone.
Bai Yao and Qiu Ye both looked up at him in unison.
“I feel like she’s interested in me,” Wang Zuhao fantasized with a greasy expression.
“When I saw her at the convenience store, she was so shy she didn’t dare to look at me.”
Qiu Ye showed no mercy with his words.
“Is it possible that you were just so ugly you disgusted her?”
“Pfft!”
Bai Yao was nearly moved to laughter and buried his head to hide a giggle.
“How is that possible?”
Wang Zuhao argued his case.
“I’m not saying I’m super handsome, but I’m at least decent-looking, right? Look at my height! Look at these muscles!”
Wang Zuhao rolled up his short sleeves and flexed his arm, his biceps bulging high.
Looking strictly at muscles, it seemed he truly was much stronger than Qiu Ye.
After all, Qiu Ye only played ball occasionally and mostly preferred playing games.
Wang Zuhao was a member of the basketball team and trained regularly; their levels of physical activity weren’t even in the same league.
Bai Yao’s eyes fell on Qiu Ye’s arm.
Sensing that Bai Yao was clearly biased toward Wang Zuhao, Qiu Ye’s competitiveness and desire to show off surged.
He also rolled up his sleeves and flexed his muscles to compare with Wang Zuhao.
“In terms of muscle, I’m not lacking either, okay?”
Wang Zuhao challenged him.
“Come on then. How about an arm wrestling contest in a bit?”
“Bring it on!”
A few minutes later, class ended.
Qiu Ye and Wang Zuhao found a convenient spot.
They propped their right arms on the table, locked hands tightly, and prepared to exert force.
**[Arm Wrestling Contest]**
Seeing the tension between them, Bai Yao tried to advise him in a low voice.
“Don’t you still have a fracture?”
“It’s a left arm fracture, not the right arm,” Qiu Ye said dismissively.
“Consider it me giving him a handicap.”
Once he got serious, his brows furrowed deeply.
He looked fierce enough to eat someone, which dissipated Bai Yao’s thoughts of stopping him.
“I need you to give me a handicap? Bai Yao, you say when to start.”
The arm wrestling drew the attention of many classmates.
A circle quickly formed around them, and the cheering was loud enough to lift the ceiling.
“Zuhao, don’t lose! You didn’t grow that big for nothing!”
“Qiu Ye, take him down in one go!”
“Start?”
Following Bai Yao’s command, Qiu Ye and Wang Zuhao exerted force simultaneously.
The muscle lines on their forearms were clear and prominent, and the table shook slightly.
**[Arm Wrestling Contest]**
After a brief stalemate, Wang Zuhao’s strength began to fade.
Qiu Ye seized the opportunity, exerted force again, and pinned the back of Wang Zuhao’s hand against the table with a thud.
“Ohhh!!!”
Like a boxer who had won a match, Qiu Ye raised both arms high and cheered with the crowd.
He looked triumphantly at Bai Yao.
He saw Bai Yao looking up at him with his lips slightly parted; his large apricot eyes seemed to be sparkling with admiration for him.
“Who’s next!”
Wang Zuhao looked dejected.
“Damn, he’s so strong! I didn’t eat breakfast!”
“Me, let me try!”
Chen Zhilong joined the contest with great interest.
A moment later, he also declared defeat and walked away grumbling.
“Damn! I didn’t sleep well last night.”
After Qiu Ye had defeated four classmates in a row, Bai Yao finally couldn’t hold back anymore.
He asked eagerly, “Can I try too?”
“You?”
“Yeah!”
Qiu Ye hesitated as he grasped Bai Yao’s hand.
It was soft and cool, as if he were holding a bunch of cotton candy.
He looked down.
The fair, delicate little hand formed a sharp contrast with his own large, long-fingered, well-defined hand.
He was actually afraid that if he used too much force, he might break Bai Yao’s arm.
And that wrist was so thin it could be easily encircled and restrained.
He looked very fragile.
‘Brother, your hand is so small…’
“Go, Bai Yao!”
Despite pulling and dragging, Qiu Ye’s arm remained as stable as Mount Tai.
“Done.”
With a slight exertion from Qiu Ye, an irresistible force was applied, instantly pinning both of Bai Yao’s hands to the table.
“Tsk! No fun.”