Chapter 67: 8 AM

For some reason, Bai Yao felt the atmosphere between him and Qiu Ye was a bit awkward.

Technically, he should be the one who felt awkward, right?

Qiu Ye had been sleeping at the time, and he had accidentally pressed his backside against him…

The scalding, clear outline made him feel uncomfortable and embarrassed even now.

Fortunately, he was the only one who knew.

Following Qiu Ye into the Cafeteria, Bai Yao ordered a five-dollar breakfast and then turned to look at Qiu Ye.

Qiu Ye’s gaze immediately darted away as he pulled out his phone to pay.

“Is that all you’re eating?”

“Are you really not going to eat?”

The two spoke almost simultaneously and then froze at the same time.

“I’m not hungry,” Qiu Ye said.

Qiu Ye scanned the code to pay and took the initiative to pick up the tray for Bai Yao, heading toward a dining table.

Bai Yao’s outstretched hand froze in midair.

“Eh?”

Bai Yao looked at Qiu Ye’s back in confusion, scratched his short ponytail, and followed him with small steps.

This atmosphere was both awkward and felt a bit like Qiu Ye was intentionally trying to please him.

‘Did Qiu Ye do something behind my back that he feels guilty about, so he’s taking the initiative to be nice to me?!’

‘Did this guy do something last night? Did he mess with me while I was sleeping?’

Bai Yao looked down at himself suspiciously.

Either way, he didn’t feel like anything was wrong with his body, and he certainly didn’t wake up with a sore backside.

Besides, when he woke up this morning, he saw Qiu Ye pressed pitifully against the bed railing.

It was obvious the guy had nowhere else to hide from him.

Combined with his usually upright behavior, he didn’t seem like the type of person who would do such a thing.

Bai Yao followed Qiu Ye to a corner table and sat opposite him.

Because he was afraid Qiu Ye didn’t have enough money to spend, he only ordered soy milk, a meat bun, and a shrimp ring, but it was enough to eat.

There were only ten minutes left before the class roll call.

Bai Yao buried his head and ate rapidly.

He stuffed the meat bun into his mouth in three or four bites, his cheeks bulging as he chewed a few times before swallowing.

However, it got stuck in his throat, causing him to hiccup several times.

He quickly took a gulp of soy milk to wash it down.

“No rush,” Qiu Ye said.

“Mm.”

Qiu Ye yawned incessantly while checking the weather forecast on his phone.

It was overcast and might rain.

His quilt was still drying on the roof of the dormitory building.

He had originally planned to go back and get it at noon…

‘If I don’t get it and let the rain soak it?’

The thought was discarded as soon as it appeared.

He didn’t want to be tortured by another sleepless night.

“I’m going back for a bit. It looks like it’s going to rain, so I need to get my quilt.”

“Huh? Is it going to rain?”

Bai Yao looked out of the Cafeteria.

It was 8:00 AM, and while there was no sunlight, there were no signs of rain either.

He watched as Qiu Ye hurriedly stood up and ran out of the Cafeteria, leaving him alone.

Suddenly, he felt a bit unaccustomed to it…

Having been with Qiu Ye every day recently, it felt a bit strange to be apart.

After finishing his soy milk and shrimp ring, Bai Yao stood up and headed toward the teaching building alone.

Since it was class time, groups of students were walking along the path to the teaching building, chasing each other, chatting, and playing around.

Bai Yao was the only one alone.

Even before this, he used to follow his roommates to and from class.

No matter how cold of an expression Bai Yao put on, deep down, he was someone who craved companionship and friends.

He played with his phone expressionlessly as he followed the crowd up the large stairs of the teaching building, heading toward the lecture hall where the English class was held.

‘I hate English class…’

But the Level 4 English exam would be mandatory in the future.

‘Maybe I should just memorize some vocabulary in class?’

Bai Yao was lost in thought when he was suddenly called out to.

“Bai Yao!”

Hearing that unfamiliar female voice, he turned his head in surprise.

Gu Wanwan, with her long black hair draped over her shoulders, came rushing toward him.

His expression turned even colder.

He didn’t know where to look or where to put his hands, staring at Gu Wanwan like an iceberg.

The girl ran over panting.

Seeing Bai Yao’s cold and aloof appearance, she was momentarily too nervous to speak.

She hesitated awkwardly for a moment before saying, “Um… are you really not free this weekend? You and Qiu Ye?”

“No.”

Under the pressure of Bai Yao’s gaze, she sold out her best friend without hesitation.

“My best friend wanted to ask Qiu Ye out for dinner and shopping. Ah — if you’re not free, then never mind. Ha… ha…”

“…”

Gu Wanwan laughed awkwardly, her face turning red.

“Your ponytail, the hairstyle looks pretty good…”

Although the compliment made him feel delighted inside, Bai Yao only gave a nod.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran away.

‘???’

‘Is this girl a bit too introverted?’

Bai Yao felt that even he wasn’t that introverted! At least he wouldn’t be so awkward talking to a stranger that his words became incoherent and stuttered.

So it turned out that Gu Wanwan’s best friend liked Qiu Ye…

In the end, they found Gu Wanwan as a middleman, and Gu Wanwan found Bai Yao, who seemed easy to talk to.

They went in a massive circle; wasn’t that just looking for trouble?

Bai Yao grumbled in his heart, checked the time, and quickened his pace toward the classroom.

Entering the classroom, he went straight to sit beside Chen Zhilong.

The bell rang right as he sat down; his timing was perfect.

“Where’s Qiu Ye?”

“He went back to get his quilt. He said it was going to rain.”

“Then are you going to answer for him during roll call?”

“This…”

Chen Zhilong gave a bitter smile.

“I still have to answer for Brother Hao and Brother Shizhan, plus myself.”

It was the first time Bai Yao had ever covered for someone.

He leaned over the desk nervously, using the student in the front row to hide himself, and asked in a low voice, “What if I get caught?”

“Then just toughen up and refuse to admit it.”

“At most, we’ll both be counted as truant.”

Bai Yao pursed his lips.

He didn’t want to experience that kind of awkward scene at all.

He could only pray that the English Teacher would be late or wouldn’t take attendance immediately.

“How did you and Qiu Ye sleep last night? Was it cramped?”

“It was okay…”

In any case, Bai Yao didn’t feel it was cramped at all.

The English Teacher arrived.

Fortunately, she didn’t take attendance as soon as she entered.

She simply began her boring and tedious English lecture.

Bai Yao felt like his head was going to explode.

He flipped to the vocabulary page and lowered his head to memorize words.

As for the grammar and such… he couldn’t even memorize the words properly, so he didn’t bother looking at them.

Qiu Ye acted sneakily, taking advantage of the teacher turning around to write on the blackboard to dart inside.

He quickly scurried over and sat down next to Bai Yao.

“How is it? Did she take attendance yet?”

“Not yet.”

“That’s good then.”

Qiu Ye finally felt at ease.

“My quilt is dry too. I expect the mattress will arrive tonight.”

“Mm.”

Bai Yao hesitated, then looked up at Gu Wanwan sitting in the front row and identified the two girls sitting next to her.

Although he was a bit jealous that Qiu Ye was liked by others, he didn’t dare hide such a life-altering matter.

He whispered to Qiu Ye, “That Gu Wanwan said her best friend likes you and wants to ask you out shopping.”

“Huh? Who?”

“The two next to her?”

Qiu Ye followed Bai Yao’s gaze.

“Oh — the one who’s pretty cute?”

“Maybe?”

“I’ve got a fracture. I’m too lazy to go out.”

Seeing that completely indifferent attitude, Bai Yao was filled with envy —

Being popular meant one could be so fearless.

In the future, if he wanted to date, he could probably find a partner whenever he wanted.

Unlike himself.

Since he was a child, he was only liked by teachers, and that was probably just because they saw him as an honest person who didn’t cause trouble.