“Aren’t you going to put on some clothes?”
Lin Mingxin had already finished dressing for his date.
He practically pressed his face against the mirror, meticulously adjusting his hairstyle.
“Why bother? It’s hot as hell,” Qiu Ye replied dismissively.
He sat in his chair, drying his damp, short hair with a towel.
Lin Mingxin turned to look at Bai Yao, who was still hanging clothes on the balcony.
He opened his mouth, but paused.
‘Don’t you think Bai Yao is basically like a girl? Isn’t it weird being half-naked in front of him?’
The words never left his throat.
Seeing Qiu Ye’s nonchalant expression, he began to wonder if there was something wrong with his own way of thinking.
“Fine, whatever,” Lin Mingxin muttered.
Once he was finished, he gave a quick wave and prepared to head out.
“I’m leaving now.”
“Take care of yourself! Don’t go getting anyone pregnant.”
“Screw off!”
Watching Lin Mingxin close the door and leave, Qiu Ye stretched his limbs.
He grabbed a bag of chips from the table, leaned back in his chair, and leisurely ate snacks while scrolling through videos.
A moment later, Bai Yao finished hanging all the clothes and returned to the dorm room.
He seemed a bit hesitant, frequently glancing at Qiu Ye as if he wanted to say something.
He wanted to find an excuse to reject the earlier invitation to go out and play, but he felt too embarrassed to speak up.
Since he had failed to reject the idea at the start, doing so now felt like backing out halfway — as if he were untrustworthy.
He had never been good at saying no.
‘Whatever. At least I have the cash from the System Rewards.’
Qiu Ye noticed Bai Yao’s gaze.
He turned his head and saw the fellow’s eyes darting away, looking clearly conflicted about something.
Perhaps it was because Lin Mingxin had left, leaving only the two of them in the dorm, but facing those round, wide eyes made Qiu Ye feel a faint sense of awkwardness as well.
It had been several days since he moved in, and he had been shirtless like this after showering for the past two days, yet he hadn’t felt this kind of pressure then.
Now, however, he inexplicably felt as though Bai Yao had become even prettier, looking more like a girl than ever.
“What is it?”
Qiu Ye asked, taking the initiative to break the tension.
“Where are we going later?”
“Hiking? Just near the school, it’s pretty close.”
‘Give me a break… Who goes hiking in the middle of summer? It’s too exhausting!’
Bai Yao kept a straight face and couldn’t help but say, “How about we just stay in the dorm and play games…”
“Playing too much is boring.”
“…”
Resigned to his fate, Bai Yao pulled a pair of dusty sneakers from under the table.
He usually wore slippers or casual shoes to class, so his sneakers had been neglected for over one month.
As he lightly wiped the dust off his shoes, his eyes darted over, stealing another look at Qiu Ye.
He had wanted to criticize him for a while now… wasn’t that bulge a bit too noticeable?
It was unsightly!
Qiu Ye finally couldn’t take it anymore.
He grabbed a T-shirt and shorts, pulled them on, and urged, “Change your clothes so we can head out. We’ll grab a meal off-campus while we’re at it. My treat.”
“Oh.”
Bai Yao grabbed his clothes and ducked into the bathroom.
“He’s so secretive just to change clothes…”
Qiu Ye muttered as he bent over to put on his shoes.
“It’s not like anyone wants to look at another man.”
Although Bai Yao did have straight legs and a slim waist, he was still a man.
It wasn’t like Qiu Ye was some kind of pervert.
“Alright, let’s go.”
The prospect of a free meal significantly improved Bai Yao’s mood.
The two of them cleaned up a bit, took out their respective trash bags, and walked out the door.
Since starting university, this was the first time he was going out on a date… no, going out with a classmate.
While he had been a bit resistant back in the dorm, now that he was out, his heart began to fill with anticipation.
He truly didn’t like going out, and he never knew what to do when he did, especially hating hiking.
However, whenever he saw friends hanging out together, he often felt a sense of envy.
Qiu Ye walked ahead in his casual shorts and T-shirt.
Bai Yao followed closely behind, his shoulders hunched slightly and a cold, cautious expression on his face.
“What do you want to eat?”
Qiu Ye turned back to urge him.
“Walk a bit faster. It’s a pain to talk to you when you’re all the way back there.”
“Anything is fine.”
Bai Yao quickened his pace with small steps until he was beside him.
“How about ramen then?”
Qiu Ye boasted proudly.
“I’ve tried every place near the school. If you want something good, you can’t go wrong asking me.”
‘He’s such a foodie!’
He loved snacks and he loved good food.
Bai Yao was quite casual about eating; he had almost every meal at the cafeteria and only occasionally ordered takeout to improve his diet.
He hummed in response.
Out in public, he was even more taciturn than in the dorm, quietly looking down at his phone.
Every so often, if Qiu Ye walked too fast, he would hurry to catch up.
He was getting a bit hungry…
If he skipped breakfast, Bai Yao could last on one meal a day.
But if he did eat breakfast, he would be starving before noon.
Bai Yao followed Qiu Ye out through the back gate, crossed the road, and reached the street opposite the food alley.
He had walked this path before while cross-dressed, which made him feel instinctively nervous.
“This place. Both the Dao Xiao Mian and the ramen are pretty good.”
Qiu Ye stopped in front of a Noodle Shop.
It was clearly an old, established place.
The grease on the walls was so thick it looked like a glaze, and there was absolutely no interior decor — just a few tables.
A large pot for boiling noodles sat right at the entrance, where a middle-aged man was holding a massive lump of dough, making Dao Xiao Mian.
“There aren’t many people since it’s the holidays,” Qiu Ye said as he stepped boldly into the shop.
“Boss, one order of pork rib Dao Xiao Mian, and add a fried egg.”
“I’ll have the same.”
Bai Yao followed closely behind Qiu Ye and found a seat directly in front of a fan.
As he sat down across from Qiu Ye, his mouth twitched.
His rear still hurt from the fall earlier that morning.
He had to sit down slowly and carefully.
He pulled out two tissues and wiped the table in front of him, surprised to find that it was actually quite clean.
However, Qiu Ye glanced at him and plopped down right next to him, causing Bai Yao’s body to stiffen.
‘Don’t sit so close!’
“Does it still hurt?”
“A little…”
“My bad, my bad. The Dao Xiao Mian is on me.”
Qiu Ye pulled out his phone.
“I found a new book. It’s a power fantasy. It’s actually pretty good if you turn your brain off.”
He enthusiastically recommended the webnovel to Bai Yao.
“I’ll check it out later…”
Bai Yao inconspicuously shifted his body to put some distance between them, but the fellow threw an arm around his shoulders.
This forced his back to press against Qiu Ye’s body, making him feel incredibly awkward.
‘Agggh! This is why I don’t like overly enthusiastic friends!’
Brother Long was like this, and so was Qiu Ye!
‘I can’t imagine how my future self, or the me in a parallel world, could accept doing “intimate exercise” with so many people! Even a hundred-man streak!’
Yet, Bai Yao felt too embarrassed to give him the cold shoulder.
His lips twitched into a slight, forced smile as he played along and acted interested.
“It seems alright…”
He stared down at Qiu Ye’s phone screen, trying his best to ignore the sense of repulsion inside.
“This one made it onto the monthly vote rankings. Have you voted for it? Oh, wait, you read the pirated versions.”
“Do you play Que Hun? It’s Japanese Mahjong. Let’s find one more person so we can play at a private table during class later.”
Bai Yao felt like he was being clung to by a large, enthusiastic dog…
Qiu Ye paused his sales pitch.
His nose twitched as he looked down at the head near his chin.
He caught a delicate fragrance that was different from shampoo… Having used Bai Yao’s shampoo for a few days, he was very familiar with its scent.
Looking down, Qiu Ye saw the smooth skin of Bai Yao’s neck, which didn’t have a single wrinkle.
His collar was slightly open, revealing the faint, delicate protrusion of his collarbone.
As if possessed, he gave Bai Yao’s shoulder a squeeze.
It felt soft and supple, and the shoulder was so thin it felt like he could easily crush it.
Bai Yao looked up and glared at him in annoyance, raising a hand to push his arm away.
“That hurts!”
He hadn’t even used much force, yet the guy really was like a porcelain doll.