The first thing he did when he woke up had become checking the date.

The words "Cheng Shuo's Dad" were still on the phone screen.

Opening WeChat, "Li Aimin Are You Even Human" had been accepted. The ID was Feng Shan, and the profile picture was a landscape photo.

There was only one message: Who are you?

Cheng Shuo looked at these three words and took a deep breath.

"I'm the friend of an undergraduate student Li Aimin recently took on," he replied.

The person on the other end was typing for a long time.

Finally, they replied: "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"I think you do understand, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have accepted my request. My friend is being PUAed by Li Aimin, and his situation is very bad."

"Don't ask," the person replied, "I have nothing to say..."

"But there are other victims now, can you help us." Cheng Shuo thought for a moment, then deleted the words "still alive." The person on the other end definitely wouldn't be able to handle that adjective.

"Don't guilt-trip me..." The person replied quickly. "I've been held hostage by myself for a long time, don't ask me..."

"Then can you provide the contact information for the senior brother's family?"

"Don't bother them." This time, it ended with a period.

Cheng Shuo stared at their conversation. How vague it was.

He replied, Okay, thank you.

This person had their Moments open to him. The latest post was of them snowboarding in California, with an orange-red snowboard, red ski goggles, a white down jacket, making a V sign.

They looked so happy, yet when talking about this matter, they still said they'd been held hostage by themselves for a long time.

Oh, of course, it was Cheng Shuo being presumptuous. He was the one holding onto past memories, thinking the other person had enough courage.

But Cen Zeng hadn't thought of leaving yet, so the world, as always, didn't love him, and as always, tormented those who were still alive.

He looked for a long time and left a like.

When he came back, Feng Shan had sent him several new messages.

Accompanied by three or four retractions.

"If..."

"If your friend decides to step forward..."

"Let your friend come find me."

There was another one that popped up and was immediately retracted, "I don't know how I can help, but."

Cheng Shuo stared at the only three remaining lines of messages and silently replied, I understand, thank you.

There was no response from the other side.

He got up, brushed his teeth, and went to the living room.

Cen Zeng had already left.

This time it wasn't toast, but a bowl of shredded chicken congee with a boiled egg on the side.

Cheng Shuo tapped the shell bit by bit, looking outside.

Late winter, early spring. All things were about to revive, but spring hadn't truly arrived yet. Cen Zeng was going to stew beef brisket today.

That would be very nice. He sighed.

That day, the campus beau from the Computer Science department messaged him again, complaining that C really wasn't a language written for humans.

Usually, he would just go along with it and ask if the person wanted to grab a meal together to change their mood.

If he got tired of it, he'd make a few more excuses to let it fade. Fading away but still having to meet was just hypocritical and sincere enough.

But for some reason, he felt numb this winter, tired of the routine. After thinking it over, he said, "Then you should go eat something nice."

After typing it out, he realized he couldn't even be bothered to type out the pleasantries.

He took a photo and sent it.

"Did you make it? I thought you couldn't cook?"

"My roommate made breakfast," Cheng Shuo replied. "I've been eating with him recently."

The other person typed an "Oh."

And didn't reply again.

Cheng Shuo stared at the chat box and sneered. It was better to be direct. The person had indeed gotten the hint.

Without stopping, he opened Chen Ziheng's chat box and asked for the details.

Chen Ziheng waited until he finished eating, then finally replied, saying, "I asked for you. His advisor's reputation is really a bit bad."

"That's why I'm so worried..." Cheng Shuo replied. "The people you know, can I meet them? I'll treat you all to a meal. If some things aren't easy to discuss on WeChat, would it be better to talk in person?"

Chen Ziheng sent back a surprised sticker.

"What's so surprising?"

"I'm surprised you actually learned a thing or two from Auntie Zhong's way of handling things."

"Piss off..." Cheng Shuo typed. "Help me set it up, please."

"Can you drop that disgusting tone? Otherwise, I'll really suspect your account has been hacked again."

Cheng Shuo was speechless: "Then set up a dinner for your dad, quickly."

The other side replied, "That's more like it. Wait for my message then.."

Cheng Shuo sent, "Chen Ziheng, are you a masochist?"

The reply was instant: "Don't judge others by your own standards."

He could never win an argument with Chen Ziheng. Cheng Shuo was used to this pretentious guy.

This big brother sent a message while Cheng Shuo and Zhang Yijie were having lunch. "Is tomorrow noon okay? My friend is pretty busy, no time to hang out with you guys after dinner."

"No problem..." Cheng Shuo ignored his sarcasm. "Thanks, and this thank you is for your friend, don't be narcissistic."

Chen Ziheng sent back a middle finger emoji.

"Screenshot taken..." Cheng Shuo typed. "Ready to post it in the Student Council group chat at any moment to ruin your reputation."

Chen Ziheng didn't pay him any mind, telling him to think about where to eat, preferably somewhere close to the university.

He typed back, choosing an affordable and tasty place. His childhood friend finished the last piece of fried chicken and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Setting up a meal with Chen Ziheng."

"Huh?" Zhang Yijie felt like he'd misheard. "With who?"

"Chen Ziheng..." Cheng Shuo patiently repeated. "And his friends from the School of Medicine."

"School of Medicine? What are you up to?" Zhang Yijie looked down at the sweet chili sauce he had dipped into. "After your unrequited crush on Xing Ji went nowhere, are you now turning to pursue Cen—"

He still hadn't remembered Cen Zeng's name.

"Cen Zeng," Cheng Shuo finished for him. "I already said I'm not pursuing him. I said yesterday that he was unhappy, so I want to ask around and see if there's anything I can do to help."

He was so serious and calm that Zhang Yijie was momentarily speechless.

It wasn't that he had never seen Cheng Shuo be serious, but he had never seen him this serious. Before, he was serious about winning over the campus beau, about making his parents proud, about winning a basketball game, never about—

About figuring out why a "mere roommate" was unhappy?

He stared at Cheng Shuo, trying to see any sign on his face that this guy was up to some new shenanigans.

But Cheng Shuo just met his gaze quietly, without even frowning.

"Dude, you're honestly a little scary," Zhang Yijie said, then lowered his head to put the lid back on the sweet chili sauce, but couldn't help raising his eyes to look at him again.

Scary? Whatever, not as scary as Cen Zeng.

"Mm..." Cheng Shuo accepted the assessment. "Do you want to come along tomorrow noon? You're better at getting close to people."

Zhang Yijie let out a sound, then said, "Alright, but you're treating."

"My treat," Cheng Shuo said. "You can help liven up the atmosphere."

Zhang Yijie, suddenly assigned this task, said, "What's going on anyway, making you so nervous?"

"It might be very troublesome." Cheng Shuo thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "I think he's being PUAed by his advisor."

Zhang Yijie processed this for a moment and said nothing more.

That day, Cen Zeng was terribly busy. When Cheng Shuo picked him up, they barely exchanged a few words. After picking out the beef brisket and putting it on to cook, Cen Zeng opened his laptop at the table.

Cheng Shuo leaned over and asked, "Are you busy? If you're busy, tell me in advance next time. I can just order takeout."

Cen Zeng subconsciously blacked out his computer screen. When he saw him, he turned the screen back on: "It's fine. It's some work from my advisor, pretty urgent."

He looked at Cheng Shuo, thought for a moment, and said, "Go help me mince some garlic. We're having water spinach today."

Cheng Shuo was sent away by him. While smashing the garlic, he studied the other person's face.

Cen Zeng's back was very straight, his fingertips moving rapidly. Amidst the tantalizing aroma of the beef brisket, the corners of his eyes and brows were slightly furrowed. The marks on his neck were so faint that he had to look hard just to catch a hint of a darker shade.

What on earth are you thinking?

What did your advisor say to you again today?

Under the kitchen's halo of light, Cheng Shuo inexplicably felt that the light was too bright, so bright that the face of the person at the dining table looked utterly pale.

It wasn't time to ask yet. He could only continue mincing the garlic. The sound of the knife falling was very light. Cen Zeng was engrossed in his computer screen, so of course, he couldn't hear it.