C City, Tsinghua Medical School.

It was nearly midnight, but a few lights were still on in the building. The sound of footsteps gradually broke the silence of the once-empty corridor as two female students conversed in low voices: "...Let's go, I'm dead tired. We still have to write our reports when we get back."

"Okay, I'll go change my clothes."

The other student stopped mid-sentence. "Hey—isn't that our Medical School's Central Air Conditioner?" The kind that cools you down.

As they spoke, they slowed their pace and, through a window, pretended to glance casually inside, though they were actually staring intently. They didn't dare make a sound for fear of disturbing the person in the lab.

The entire laboratory was spotless, almost excessively neat.

The person inside was tall with long legs and had an exceptionally eye-catching appearance; you couldn't find another like him in the entire Medical School. But for some reason, he gave off an unapproachable air. The white lab coat he wore, in particular, created a strong sense of distance.

When he reached out to grab something, half of his wrist was revealed from the wide sleeve cuff. The boy's fingers were long and slender, with prominent knuckles.

This was a rather famous figure in their Medical School.

Not long after enrolling, his title as the provincial top scorer, combined with his face, made his name spread throughout the entire campus. The very next day, he began to sweep through all the major school forums.

The Medical School had never been so lively.

He was practically the top celebrity of the Medical School. The amount of buzz he generated was on par with a certain freshman from the neighboring School of Economics and Management who, during an interview at the entrance on the first day of school, had arrogantly declared he 'just casually took the test and got in'.

At first, some people were captivated by his face and frantically sought his contact information, taking the initiative to approach him. But after half a month, they all gave up.

The tone on the school forums immediately shifted in another direction.

—No, no, no, not human.

—Too terrifying. Can't afford to provoke him.

—I went to check out the forum of his old school. When they described him, they said it was like stepping into the Arctic Circle with one foot. That's no lie.

—Replying to the post above. That guy from the School of Economics and Management next door seems like they both came from the same school.

—Speaking of the School of Economics and Management, does anyone have that guy's contact info? He's really handsome ORZ. Even though his interview was a bit punchable, the response it got after being posted was even more enthusiastic than the admissions office's promotional materials...

Xie Yu didn't notice that someone was watching him from the window.

A while ago, he had been pulled into Old Professor Yang's experiment group to help out. He was so busy he didn't even have time for lunch, let alone anything else. It was only after he finished recording the last piece of data that he felt a little hungry.

He raised his hand to press the spot between his eyebrows and took out his phone to check the time.

00:38.

Besides the time, a few text messages in the notification bar were also very conspicuous.

-Are you done yet?

-Did you skip your meal again? You looking for a spanking?

After He Chao sent those, he sent another one five minutes ago:

-Come downstairs.

Xie Yu left the lab and immediately called him. "You're downstairs?"

He Chao was sitting on the steps downstairs. Beside him was a lawn, and a few stray cats had cautiously approached, meowing a few times. He beckoned to them with his finger and said, "If you don't come down soon... these little guys are going to fight you for your food."

The cats were indeed eyeing the takeout container by his hand, their gazes wary as they looked from him to the box beside him.

Xie Yu undid a button. After several straight days of experiments, he was exhausted, but hearing this person's voice, he unconsciously relaxed.

Early on, the two of them had even had an argument over the matter of eating meals.

Strictly speaking, it couldn't be called an argument. One was simply too busy to guarantee three meals a day, while the other believed that one's health was the bottom line, no matter what, and stubbornly refused to back down.

It was the first time he had ever seen He Chao with a stern expression. "Is the first lesson for you medical students to run yourselves into the ground?"

Xie Yu knew he was in the wrong and patiently tried to coax him. "Brother."

"Calling me 'brother' is useless," He Chao said, though his tone softened involuntarily. He finally sighed, lowered his head, and kissed him. "You just know I'm helpless when it comes to you, don't you."

After changing his clothes and hanging up, Xie Yu was about to go downstairs. As he exited the call screen, his fingertip unintentionally tapped an app on the side, and a chat group called 'Class 3 Never Disbands' came into view.

The group's profile picture was a class photo.

Xie Yu leaned against the wardrobe, tapped the photo, and zoomed in to look at it for a moment.

There were four rows of people in exaggerated poses, every single one of them looking like a reaction meme. Some were frozen mid-air, having jumped up with their arms raised high, while others had their arms slung around each other's shoulders, mock-fighting in public. Liu Cunhao had been particularly punchable that day, yelling 'I'm the most handsome!' before being held down and playfully beaten up by two people next to him.

When they were arranging themselves for the photo, Xie Yu had been pulled to the side by the dean of students, separating him from He Chao by several people. While the others were still fooling around, He Chao discreetly reached out and pulled him over. "Come here."

This picture wasn't the final, formal graduation photo. Because it was too chaotic, Old Tang had to restore order several times. The photographer had probably never encountered a "Monkey Class" like this before. "Stop moving around! Three, two, one..."

The frame froze.

For almost everyone, the impression of their entire third year of high school was of endless mock exams, the resonant sound of reading aloud, and chalk dust filling the classroom. When they had nothing to do, they would collect their used-up pen refills one by one, ending up with a large bundle by graduation.

The only other impression was of sleeping.

When you couldn't stay awake, you'd just flop onto your desk. Above, the ceiling fan swayed, creaking as it blew the corners of the exam papers.

And yet, it also felt like it had all been just a nap.

On the night before the college entrance exam, Old Tang had repeatedly reminded them, "Go to bed early tonight, adjust your mindset, and don't be nervous." The students of Class 3 weren't nervous, but as it turned out, he and Wu Zheng were the ones who couldn't sleep all night.

On the day of the exam, Old Tang deliberately wore an all-red outfit.

At his age, wearing a bright red short-sleeved shirt, he stood at the entrance of the examination site, asking with trembling hands, "Did you all bring your admission tickets? Don't be nervous, please don't be nervous."

He Chao smiled and comforted him in return, "We brought them all, don't worry. Teacher, you're the one who shouldn't be too nervous."

Old Tang said "Good" three times in a row.

When the results of the college entrance exam were released, a previously unknown regular high school shot to fame.

—Liyang No. 2 High School produced a provincial top scorer.

On a scorching summer day, this news was more sizzling than the thirty-nine-degree Celsius heat.

"Brother Chao, you've disappointed me so much. You were off by just two points! Do you know how much money I bet on you? I bet ten yuan!"

In the end, everyone in Class 3 did well on the college entrance exam, and several even performed exceptionally. Xu Qingqing's score was a full twenty points higher than her mock exams. When she returned to school to pick up her student file, she was in a particularly good mood. "You've betrayed my trust in you!"

Someone else shouted, "The worst part is that we all believed in you, but you yourself bet on Brother Yu!"

He Chao said with a smile, "I believe in my deskmate."

Compared to the unexpectedly good grades, the shock of Xie Yu choosing to study medicine was even greater.

He Chao had started looking for a direction long ago. He compared various popular majors, and was also more or less influenced by Old He from his family. After looking into them one by one, he applied for the School of Economics and Management.

The cold-blooded killer became an angel in white, while the one whose schemes were as deep as the sea ran off to study finance.

The classmates of Class 3 were all grief-stricken. "It's over. One will swindle for money, the other will take lives."

"..."

Xie Yu went downstairs and, through the glass door, saw He Chao sitting on the steps, teasing a cat. He was wearing a simple black shirt, and his hair was cut short, making his facial features stand out even more.

Xie Yu sat down beside him. "How long have you been waiting?"

"Not for more than a few minutes."

Only after the other had sat down and started eating obediently did He Chao speak again. "How much longer is that darn experiment of yours going to take? You were supposed to be an assistant doing odd jobs, so how come you're the one carrying all the weight now? And that Old Professor Yang..."

Xie Yu picked a piece of chicken breast from the meal box and stuffed it into his mouth.

"It's been so long. Are you ever going to stop?"

He Chao slowly swallowed the piece of meat, propping himself up with a hand on the step. "Trying to steal my man? This matter isn't over."

Old Professor Yang was a celebrity in the Medical School.

Back in his first year, Xie Yu had chosen a few elective courses. Old Professor Yang, who had come to sit in on a class, took a liking to him at first sight and directly pulled him into his experiment group to be specially mentored. Xie Yu was a fast learner, so his tasks became increasingly heavy.

Because he really took a great liking to him, and also because Professor Yang was getting old, he had started to worry about the love lives of those around him. "That child, Xiao Fang, she has a good heart, she..."

Xie Yu knew that quite a few girls had a crush on him. Hearing this, he caught the drift. "Professor, I'm already in a relationship."

Old Professor Yang let out a surprised "Ah." He sounded a little disappointed, then asked, "Is she also from our school?"

"Mhm."

Old Professor Yang sighed. "What is her major?"

Xie Yu: "Selling insurance."

Old Professor Yang didn't press the matter further.

It was only much later that he learned that the "insurance salesman" his prized student was dating was none other than He Chao from the School of Economics and Management—the one who treated projects like games, who was already making a name for himself at a young age, and who was a source of both pride and headaches for every teacher who mentioned him.