After lingering outside for too long, when Shi Jin returned to school, the second afternoon class was about to begin. He called Liu Yong and asked him to bring his textbooks, then carried his takeout box and gift straight to the classroom.

As he entered the classroom, the bell for class rang. He quickly walked over to sit next to Luo Donghao, took the book that Liu Yong handed him, and waited for the teacher to start the lesson. He then took out the gift that Lian Jun had given him from his pocket and gently opened it - he had come back in a hurry and hadn't had a chance to see what gift Lian Jun had given him.

As he opened the box, a black and gold steel pen was revealed. He was a bit surprised that the gift from Lian Jun turned out to be a pen. He took out the fountain pen and turned it around. Soon, at the very top of the pen cap, he saw a carved golden floral character - "Jun".

This guy...

He couldn't help but smile, touched the character, opened the pen cap, and saw ink inside. He took out a notebook and wrote down the character "Jun" on the paper.

A light fragrance of ink spread out, very similar to the occasional scent that would drift from Lian Jun's study.

He laughed even harder, immediately understanding the meaning behind Lian Jun's gift - to hold onto "Jun" even during class, to feel the aura of "Jun".

What a cunning man.

Suddenly, Luo Donghao turned him around.

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Luo Donghao with confusion. Luo Donghao gestured towards the teacher on stage, feeling speechless. He then pointed to the corner of his mouth, indicating that he had just laughed too foolishly.

He quickly composed himself, glanced at the teacher who was writing on the board, cleared his throat, and put his pen back in the box, focusing on the lesson.

After the afternoon class ended, Shi Jin called Liu Yong and Luo Donghao over and borrowed the microwave from the cafeteria to heat up their takeout. They shared the food together.

"Wow, your boyfriend is so thoughtful. I envy you," Liu Yong exclaimed while eating.

Shi Jin felt delighted in his heart and smiled shamelessly, "Yes, he is indeed very thoughtful."

Liu Yong choked on his food and decided to let it go, no longer bothering with this silly guy who only had his boyfriend on his mind. He changed the subject, "The final physical fitness test is about to begin, but the weather forecast says it's going to snow. What are we going to do for the long-distance run? Are we going to run in the snow? Our school doesn't have an indoor track."

This was indeed a big problem.

Shi Jin took out his phone and checked the weather forecast for the next few days. He said, "It might be postponed. The school probably won't make us take the exam in the snow."

"I hope so." Luo Donghao glanced outside at the gloomy sky, feeling a bit worried.

......

As the students worried, the snow began to fall heavily and soon covered the ground. The school had to swap the exam times for outdoor tests like long-distance running with indoor written exams, hoping for better weather after the latter.

With the adjustment of exam times, the students had much less time to review, and they complained bitterly.

Upon seeing the school notice, Shi Jin immediately entered "hell mode" to avoid failing. He dragged Liu Yong and Luo Donghao to the library every day, highlighting key points and reviewing the courses. On weekends, he even called them for video chats to exchange study tips.

Under Shi Jin's guidance, Liu Yong and Luo Donghao also became tense, burying themselves in their books day and night. Time flew by quickly during the review, with heavy snowfall coming and going. Finally, when all the written exams for every grade had ended, the sun came out.

Liu Yong was so moved that he almost cried. He hugged the ugly snowman at the entrance of the dormitory and wept bitterly, "Oh, devil! You are the devil, Shi Jin! I will never study with you again during finals. Where did you get all those review materials? There were too many, it was too scary."

Shi Jin, who had finally finished his exams, regained his composure and awkwardly pulled Liu Yong off the snowman. He explained, "That was the review outline my private tutor made for me based on my textbooks. He said that as long as I memorized the key points, I could pass any exam... Alright, alright, it's my fault. The written exams are over, we don't have to review anymore."

Liu Yong was just making a fuss to express his joy after finishing the exam. Upon hearing this, he immediately returned to normal and said, "You actually have a private tutor even though you're in college. Don't let your dorm mates know about this, or they will definitely gossip about it."

Shi Jin nodded, feeling a headache about his dorm mates. He could sense that they didn't have any ill intentions, but the subtle feeling of not being able to get along and the feeling of being spied on was really unpleasant.

If only he could change his roommates, but even if he wanted to, he would have to wait until his junior year to move dorms...

"The physical fitness test will last for two days. Our class's long-distance running is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. I hope it won't snow again that day," said Luo Donghao, still worried about the weather. He then turned to Shi Jin and asked, "Are you going out to play during the winter break?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yong also became excited and grabbed Shi Jin's collar, intentionally speaking in a fierce tone, "Don't tell me you're going to spend the winter break with your boyfriend. There should be a limit to valuing love over friendship."

Shi Jin looked up at the sky and sheepishly said, "Actually...after the break, I might immediately leave B city and go to an island to spend the winter...B city's winter is too cold, you guys understand."

Liu Yong and Luo Donghao: "..."

"Ah! You damn rich person!" Liu Yong let go of his collar, turned around, picked up a snowball from the ground, and threw it at him.

Shi Jin quickly dodged and ran away. Liu Yong roared and chased after him.

Looking at the two childish boys, Luo Donghao was speechless.

......

On the last day of the physical fitness test, the weather was not on their side. Halfway through the run, snow began to fall.

Liu Yong gritted his teeth and cursed, "Luo Donghao, you jinx! It's all because you kept talking about it. When we left, the sun was still shining!"

Luo Donghao retorted, "The weather forecast said it might snow today."

"But the weather forecast said it would be at night!"

Shi Jin quickly intervened between the two, soothingly saying, "Alright, alright. Talking also consumes energy. Let's finish the run quickly. It wouldn't be good if the snow gets heavier."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yong and Luo Donghao shut their mouths and silently increased their speed.

......

The exams ended smoothly, and on the first day of winter vacation, Shi Jin, who had been excited all night after the break, suddenly fell to the ground while running to build a snowman. He was hurriedly sent to Uncle Long's medical room by Lian Jun and Number One.

"Running around in the snow, sweating all over, and not even thinking to take a shower and change into warm clothes before coming back. You even had cold drinks at night and stuck your head out the window to look at the snow in the yard in the morning. With all this fuss, who wouldn't get sick!" Uncle Long checked Shi Jin's temperature with a stern expression. Then, his face turned black in an instant, "39.6 degrees, go lie down on a bed and get an IV."

Shi Jin obediently found a bed to lie down on and glanced at Lian Jun, who was standing outside the door with a worried expression, his eyebrows furrowed. He squeezed out a smile towards him.

"Why are you laughing? Young Master Jun, you're also too much. Didn't you go pick him up yesterday? Why did you let him come back in sweaty clothes? And this morning, his face is so red, didn't you notice something was wrong?" Uncle Long blocked Jun's view as he scolded Lian Jun while adjusting the water support bracket.

Lian Jun's hand, resting on the armrest of his wheelchair, tightened unconsciously as he replied, "It's my fault. I wasn't paying attention. He's always been healthy, so I was careless. Earlier, I saw his face was a little red and thought he was just excited to go build a snowman."

Shi Jin quickly spoke up, "No, it was me..."

"Shut up," said Uncle Long as he lifted the blanket to cover the person speaking, cutting off his words. "If you're sick, be honest and follow Number One to disinfect Young Master Jun's room. Young Master Jun, from today onwards, until Shi Jin's illness is completely cured, you must live separately and avoid close contact as much as possible. Try to minimize the time spent in the same room to prevent infection."

Lian Jun looked at Shi Jin lying on the sickbed, his face expressionless.

"Young Master Jun, I'm fine. My fever will go down after a nap. Just wait until I'm better and we can build a snowman together." Shi Jin coaxed Lian Jun with a tilted head, his face still red, looking both silly and pitiful.

Lian Jun tried to move his wheelchair closer, but was firmly blocked by Uncle Long's assistant at the door. He didn't want to give up, so he forced himself to calm down and said to Shi Jin, "Rest well, I'll be outside watching over you."

Shi Jin wanted to say it wasn't necessary, but seeing his unhappy expression, he swallowed his words and instead said, "Let's play mahjong together later."

Lian Jun felt some resentment towards his own physical condition, but didn't show it on his face and replied, "Okay."

......

Illness came like a landslide, and Shi Jin couldn't wait for Lian Jun to bring the tablet over before he tilted his head and fell into a deep sleep. He frowned in his sleep, clearly in discomfort.

Lian Jun put down the tablet and, under the glare of Uncle Long, slid his wheelchair into the medical room.

"Young Master Jun," Uncle Long disapproved.

"I'm just checking on him, won't stay too long," Lian Jun insisted. In the end, Uncle Long compromised and pulled out a mask, saying, "Don't get too close. You can't be careless now. If you get sick again, all the previous efforts will be in vain."

Lian Jun nodded in understanding, took the mask and put it on, then slid his wheelchair to the bedside and reached out to touch Shi Jin's overheated face.

Perhaps feeling the coolness of Lian Jun's fingers was very comfortable, Shi Jin's furrowed brow relaxed a bit, and he instinctively leaned towards him.

Lian Jun's heart softened, and he leaned in closer, wanting to kiss him but holding back. His other hand reached out to the hand that was receiving the IV drip, gently stroking it and saying, "I'm sorry I didn't take good care of you...you have to get better soon."

"Bamboo rice..." Shi Jin suddenly mumbled, and even smacked his lips. Lian Jun was taken aback, looking at Shi Jin, and suddenly laughed. He touched Shi Jin's face and said, "Good, when you get better, we'll make bamboo tube rice ourselves."

......

Shi Jin had another dream. In the dream, he was lying on the hospital bed with a numb face, and Li Jiuzheng, dressed in a white coat, stood by the bed. Li Jiuzheng didn't speak, and neither did he. The two of them were like two statues, alive but without the breath of living people.

As the sky gradually darkened, no one turned on the lights. The night was filled with darkness, making Li Jiuzheng's sharp surgical knife even more terrifying.

"Will you make it to your 19th birthday?" Li Jiuzheng suddenly spoke, his voice low and hoarse, with a strange sense of emptiness. "The family has come again, arguing over the inheritance in front of my patient's bed," Li Jiuzheng played with the surgical knife in his hand, his fair and slender fingers beautiful yet dangerous. "They all think my patient is going to die, but unfortunately, I saved him. They were very disappointed, and I like to see them disappointed."

Finally, he was no longer numb, and he shifted his gaze to Li Jiuzheng by the bed.

Li Jiuzheng also looked down at him, his beautiful face expressionless, his lips opening and closing as if a demon was chanting: "I can save you too. I won't let you die. You'll never die."

As he spoke, his eyes were filled with boundless cold killing intent, and he lowered his hand, pressing the surgical knife closer.

"Goodnight, Fifth Brother," he spoke against the other's murderous intent, his voice also numb, slowly closing his eyes. "We'll meet in hell."

The hospital room returned to silence. After a while, footsteps could be heard fading away, and the demon finally left.

He released his tightly clenched fists, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably. He opened his eyes and looked towards the door of the hospital room - he wanted to leave this place, to escape this tomb, to save...

Beep...

The life support machine emitted a mournful sound of life termination, as if the pain of separating the soul was spreading throughout his body.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Shi Jin woke up and stared blankly at Li Jiuzheng, who was peeling an apple by the bedside. His mind had not yet caught up, but his body had already taken action. He pounced directly, snatched the knife from Li Jiuzheng's hand with a grappling move, and held it in reverse, pointing the tip of the knife down towards Li Jiuzheng's neck, exerting force downwards...

"Xiao Jin!"

Suddenly, Xiang Aoting's voice came from behind, and then a strong hand grabbed his wrist. The tip of the knife hovered dangerously close to Li Jiuzheng's neck. Shi Jin's body froze, his eyes widened as he stared at Li Jiuzheng, gasping for breath with a crazed look on his face.

Li Jiuzheng was pinned beneath him, staring blankly at Shi Jin's current state. Suddenly, he pursed his lips and grabbed Shi Jin's hand holding the knife, continuing to bring it down towards his own neck.