Ten minutes before class, Bai Yao followed his roommates into the classroom.
The moment he stepped inside and was exposed to his classmates, his nerves tightened like a bowstring.
He lowered his head guiltily, slightly hunching his back and pulling in his shoulders, trying to hide the increasingly noticeable undulations of his chest.
It felt as if anyone who spared him a second glance would discover his abnormality.
Bai Yao followed Lin Mingxin to the third row from the back.
Only after sitting down did he let out a shallow sigh of relief, reaching down to rub his still-aching thighs.
“Are we playing?”
Lin Mingxin pulled out his phone as soon as he sat down.
“This…”
Bai Yao looked hesitant.
He wanted to get along with his roommates, but he truly had zero interest in mobile games.
Accustomed to a keyboard and mouse, he simply couldn’t get used to controlling a game with just his thumbs — it felt too awkward.
“I think I’ll pass. I’m not used to it.”
Seeing Bai Yao lower his head to read a webnovel instead, Lin Mingxin turned to Wang Zuhao.
“Did you buy your ticket yet?”
“My home is close. I’m just taking a taxi back.”
“That close? I have to take a plane,” Lin Mingxin complained while fiddling with his phone.
Suddenly curious, he asked Bai Yao, “Where’s your hometown? Is it far?”
“Rongcheng. It’s a few hours by bullet train.”
“Then why aren’t you going back for National Day?”
Bai Yao explained casually, “It’s too much trouble. Plus, with the transfers, it would take over ten hours.”
When the bell rang, the teacher, Chen Zhilong, and Qiu Ye all arrived at the classroom at almost the exact same time.
Bai Yao didn’t even look up, continuing to read the historical novel he was following.
The author was lazy as hell, only updating once a day, but surprisingly, they had posted three chapters last night! It was enough to keep him occupied for nearly half the period.
“You read this novel too?”
Bai Yao froze and turned his head, only then realizing that Qiu Ye had sat down next to him and was leaning over to peek at his phone screen.
He immediately felt uncomfortable; although they knew each other, they weren’t exactly close.
“Uh… yeah.”
“Are you reading a pirated version?”
Embarrassed, Bai Yao closed his browser and explained sheepishly, “The official version is a bit expensive…”
His living allowance was barely enough to get by, so he naturally wanted to save where he could.
However, now that he actually had money, reading pirated copies did weigh on his conscience.
“I’ll tip the author to make up for it once I have more money,” he added, trying to justify himself.
Qiu Ye leaned in with interest.
“I noticed this book when it only had a few tens of thousands of words. The author does their research while writing. Their foundation is very solid.”
“Ah?”
‘He clearly looks like someone who’s hard to get along with, so why is he being so friendly to me?’
Bai Yao remembered hearing that Qiu Ye had gotten into a fight with his own roommate right at the start of the semester.
‘Is my charm still there?’
For a “transparent person” who had struggled to fit into social circles his entire life, the feeling wasn’t bad.
He felt a secret surge of joy…
Although Bai Yao loved historical novels, he mostly read them for entertainment.
He played along with Qiu Ye’s comments.
“I just feel like this novel… at least it doesn’t write historical rumors as if they were facts.”
“Yeah! That alone makes it better than most!”
Bai Yao kept his head down the whole time, only catching glimpses of Qiu Ye out of the corner of his eye.
‘Even though he looks a bit fierce, he’s surprisingly easy to talk to.’
Once they hit on a topic of interest, Qiu Ye wouldn’t stop talking.
He was like a chatterbox, and the aggression in his expression faded.
The contrast made him seem like a big bad wolf who had suddenly transformed into an enthusiastic, tail-wagging wolfdog.
[You are over thirty, but your charm remains undiminished. Your crush has actually approached you! Your heart is racing with excitement. Perhaps you should seize this opportunity and at least become friends first?]
Bai Yao slumped onto the desk in despair.
‘I knew I shouldn’t have talked to Qiu Ye! I should have stayed away!’
[Become friends with Qiu Ye. Reward: 100 Cash]
It was one thing to mess with Lin Mingxin; he had a good personality, was easy to talk to, and had been his roommate for a month.
But Qiu Ye actually hit people!
What if things went too far and he got beaten up?
Would the system pay for his medical bills?!
Seeing Bai Yao suddenly collapse onto the desk as if he didn’t want to talk, Qiu Ye turned to chat with Chen Zhilong instead.
This classmate had always seemed cold and distant, so the fact that they had even managed a few sentences today was quite surprising.
Underneath Bai Yao’s cold exterior, however, was a soul that had lost all hope.
He thought back carefully and realized he had never actively tried to make a friend in his life…
It felt too forced! Usually, people just naturally played together, talked, and transitioned from strangers to friends over time, didn’t they?
‘It’s only a hundred bucks anyway…’
The mere thought of actively approaching someone to strike up a friendship made Bai Yao’s toes curl in embarrassment.
“You guys play. I’m not interested in mobile games.”
“Why are you acting like Bai Yao?”
Bai Yao pricked up his ears, eavesdropping on the conversation between Qiu Ye and Chen Zhilong while face-down on the desk.
“I’m used to PC games. I can’t handle rubbing a screen.”
‘Even the excuse is the same!’
But listening to his tone, it sounded more like he looked down on mobile games.
After all, most mobile games had high-definition versions on PC anyway.
Bai Yao couldn’t help but interject, “Uh… then what do you usually play?”
Qiu Ye and Chen Zhilong both turned to look at him in unison.
His expression froze, and he awkwardly slumped back onto the desk.
His mind began to spiral into an internal conflict.
‘Did I say something wrong? It really is impolite to interrupt when others are talking…’
“I’ve been playing Ninja Gaiden 4 lately. It just came out.”
Bai Yao weighed his words carefully, speaking with caution.
“I’ve heard of it. Is it fun?”
“It was dead on arrival. Nobody plays action games anymore.”
“I guess that’s true…”
The conversation was so awkward that Bai Yao felt like he could have excavated a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.
Chen Zhilong picked up the thread and complained, “The stuff Bai Yao plays is even more niche. I always see him staring at a map for ages, or watching pixel people run around.”
‘Those are Paradox’s Big Four and RimWorld, okay?! Plenty of people play them!’
Bai Yao sighed inwardly.
He really wasn’t suited for forced socialization.
After just a few sentences, the internal mental drain had already exhausted him.
“Brother Long.”
Wang Zuhao leaned forward and flashed a peace sign at Chen Zhilong.
“Wanna head to the restroom?”
“Let’s go! What about the Big Star?”
“Go, go, go! Maybe we can hit the cafeteria after?”
While the teacher’s back was turned to write on the blackboard, the three smokers snuck out through the back door.
Bai Yao watched them leave and then glanced at Qiu Ye, who was still sitting beside him.
“You’re not going?”
“Me? I don’t smoke.”
‘He clearly has the face of a smoker!’
Even Bai Yao knew how to smoke.
Back in middle school, he had a bout of “eight-grade syndrome” and learned from a few hoodlums in his class because he thought it looked cool.
He had hoped smoking would help him fit into their little gang, but he had long since quit.
Qiu Ye glanced at Bai Yao, and the latter hurriedly averted his gaze again.
It made Qiu Ye feel as if he were some kind of man-eating beast.
Halfway through the class, the teacher looked at the significantly emptier room and suddenly picked up the attendance sheet.
“I almost forgot. Let’s do roll call.”
“!!!”
In an instant, the entire class jolted awake.
Bai Yao almost laughed.
He pressed his lips together, his eyes curving into crescents as he felt a wave of schadenfreude toward his roommates who had snuck out for a smoke.
Still, he picked up his phone and sent a message to Lin Mingxin.
“Get back here fast! The teacher is taking attendance!”