Around 7 PM, Brother Long finally returned to the dormitory.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw Qiu Ye shouting at him excitedly.
“Brother Long! Tonight, I’ll warm your bed for you!”
He took a startled step back.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I spilled cola on the quilt.”
Qiu Ye turned helplessly toward his bed, which was empty except for the pillow and the bedboard.
“The mattress really can’t be washed clean, and the quilt is still drying on the roof.”
“Then freeze with the air conditioning on.”
Brother Long pushed Qiu Ye aside without hesitation.
“I have a fracture, you know.”
“The bed is so small; why do you have to sleep with me? I’ll end up squashing your hand later.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Why don’t you go squeeze in with Bai Yao?”
“Bai Yao won’t let me.”
Brother Long hesitated, imagining the two of them squeezed into one bed… they would probably have to sleep on their sides all night just to fit.
“Then sleep on the floor.”
“Brother Long~”
Feeling a massive headache, Brother Long scratched the back of his head and had to help Qiu Ye communicate.
“Bai Yao, how about you squeeze in with him? Or does anyone have an extra quilt? Just to let Qiu Ye get through the night? Even a winter one is fine?”
Wang Zuhao opened his wardrobe, revealing a thick winter cotton quilt stored inside.
“Are you sure?”
When school started, his parents and grandparents had all come to drop him off.
He had brought everything from home—clothes, bedding, and mattresses. He was very well-prepared.
“That’s too thick.”
Qiu Ye looked toward Lin Mingxin next.
“Don’t even think about it. I don’t sleep with men,” Lin Mingxin rejected him even faster.
“Actually, I can be a girl.”
“Get out of here!”
Seeing Qiu Ye miserably rejected by everyone, Bai Yao became increasingly restless.
Earlier, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he had already hidden the mission rewards in an infrequently used cabinet.
He didn’t have to worry about Qiu Ye finding them.
“Bai Yao, want to play cards?”
After harassing everyone, Qiu Ye returned to his computer with a grin and called for Bai Yao to log in.
“We’re short one for a friend match. I also called an online friend.”
He could only play games that required one hand now.
“Oh.”
“You might as well play Valorant with us; we have exactly five people for a full stack.”
Wang Zuhao leaned behind Qiu Ye and asked, “What kind of mahjong is this?”
“Japanese mahjong. Want in? With you, we’ll have exactly three people for a match.”
“I’m patriotic; I only play Chinese Mahjong!”
Bai Yao peeked at Qiu Ye out of the corner of his eye, feeling a bit worried.
‘Doesn’t this guy worry at all about where he’s sleeping tonight? How can he just start playing games?’
Although it was midsummer and one wouldn’t catch a cold without a quilt, it would surely be uncomfortable to sleep, right?
By nightfall, the dormitory had turned into a small internet cafe, with almost everyone playing games or watching videos at their computers.
College life was much easier than Bai Yao had imagined.
Playing on the phone during class, playing on the computer after class, and occasionally doing some coursework.
z
He played until just after 9 PM before stretching and turning off the game.
He stood up and pulled the College English Textbook from the bookshelf, preparing to memorize a few words before the lights went out at 10 PM.
English had been his weak point during the Gaokao, but he still had to pass the CET-4 no matter what; otherwise, it seemed he wouldn’t be allowed to graduate.
Just as he turned to the vocabulary page, Wang Zuhao let out a wail as if he had seen a ghost.
“What are you doing?!”
Bai Yao turned back to him, confused.
“Holy crap! Is the dorm a place for studying? Stop acting like a good student! Are you trying to make us look bad?”
“Exactly!”
Lin Mingxin also pointed an accusing finger.
“The dorm is a place for sleeping and resting! Who told you to read books! You’re not allowed!”
These two academic slackers, who skipped class every day, couldn’t stand seeing someone study hard.
It was like a fat person who couldn’t stand seeing another fat person lose weight.
Stunned, Bai Yao rolled his eyes and closed the textbook.
“That’s our good roommate!”
“Chinese people don’t learn foreign languages!”
He picked up his toothpaste and toothbrush.
“Then I’m going to wash my face and go to sleep. Don’t bother me.”
He brushed his teeth, washed up, and then went to the toilet to avoid the hassle of climbing up and down later.
Then he drank some water to moisten his throat… Bai Yao made all his preparations for bed.
He returned to the room, climbed onto the bed, and crawled into the bed curtains.
Just as he was about to pull the zipper shut, Qiu Ye’s head poked in first.
“Going to sleep so early? Let’s do it together—I’ll warm the bed for you.”
Although Bai Yao looked cold, his personality was actually the softest in the dorm.
“…”
As expected, the guy eventually leaned on him.
Bai Yao had been a bit worried about Qiu Ye earlier, but now it seemed the guy had planned to shamelessly force his way into his bed all along.
Fortunately, he had put away the embarrassing things in advance.
He moved toward the inside of the bed to make room, and Qiu Ye slipped in nimbly.
The already small space was suddenly packed tight, shoulder to shoulder.
Fortunately, Bai Yao was small, so the space was barely enough.
It was easier to accept than he had imagined.
Although their bodies were almost pressed together, Bai Yao strangely didn’t feel disgusted.
“Are you sleeping on the inside? I’m afraid I’ll squeeze you.”
Qiu Ye moved outward as much as possible to give him more space.
“Yeah.”
Bai Yao plugged his phone in to charge and lay down on his side with his back to Qiu Ye.
He hadn’t even changed out of his regular clothes; he was still wearing the short-sleeved shirt and long pants from class, unlike his usual habit of taking off his pants to sleep.
Qiu Ye pulled at the bed curtains curiously.
“These curtains are pretty good; they’re basically light-proof.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t sleep so early. The lights aren’t even out yet. Want to sing?”
“I don’t know how…”
“Just sing along. Come on?”
Bai Yao could never win against Qiu Ye, and he was indeed a bit interested in singing.
He sat up and leaned against the wall.
Qiu Ye sat over and leaned against the wall with him, taking out his phone.
“Come on, come on. Whose songs do you like?”
“Jay Chou?”
“I like him too. How about Love Confession Balloon?”
However, Bai Yao had absolutely no talent for singing; he could go off-key to the heavens, but following the original singer was barely okay.
He was a bit shy, curling into a ball with his hands around his knees.
He poked his head out to look at the lyrics on Qiu Ye’s phone.
His voice was small, and he could barely open his mouth.
“By the banks of the Seine… Left Bank coffee…”
Compared to his usual weak boyish voice, he habitually pinched his throat when singing, making his voice much thinner.
Qiu Ye, on the other hand, wasn’t afraid of embarrassing himself.
“Dear, falling in love with you, from that day on, sweetness comes so easily…”
Huh?
The two of them singing a love song like Love Confession Balloon together? It felt a bit ambiguous.
‘Can you not look at me while you sing a love song? It’s very easy to be misunderstood, okay?’
Under the system’s influence, Bai Yao always felt that Qiu Ye might actually like him as the system claimed.
But rationally, he was certain Qiu Ye was a normal heterosexual who couldn’t possibly like him.
He gradually relaxed, and his faint voice grew louder.
At least his voice could be heard clearly in the duet.
Once the song was over, Qiu Ye opened the recording and listened to it again.
“Not bad! It’s just that your voice was too small; it didn’t get recorded.”
“Yeah!”
Bai Yao also felt good listening to it.