Pei Ran wanted to retort, but he took a look, and compared to Yan Zhun, they really were a tiny bit smaller.

He didn't say anything and quietly drew his feet back.

Yan Zhun chuckled, stopped teasing him, and took out his phone to check his messages.

[Lin Xuhuan: Boohoohoo, bro, wait for me, I'll change and head out! Damn, I'm way behind on my streaming hours, the Coach just dragged me back and lectured me for ages... Dinner is on me today!]

[Yan Zhun: Wait, don't change yet]

[Lin Xuhuan: ?]

[Yan Zhun: How much is a rocket on your streaming platform?]

[Lin Xuhuan: 2000, why?]

[Yan Zhun: Transferred 2000 yuan to the other party.]

[Lin Xuhuan: ?]

[Yan Zhun: Something came up. Go have fun by yourself.]

Lin Kang returned quickly. He was restless while eating, having to open his mouth to talk after every couple of bites.

"It's been raining this whole seven-day break, I didn't go anywhere. I was about to get moldy at home." Lin Kang wiped his mouth. "Where did you go during the break?"

He was asking Yan Zhun. Pei Ran was so focused on eating with his head down that he didn't have the heart to interrupt.

"Nowhere," Yan Zhun said. "Busy making money."

Lin Kang asked, "Making money? Did you get a part-time job?"

"Sort of," Yan Zhun said nonchalantly. "I was a game companion for a few days."

Lin Kang was too busy being shocked to notice that the other person beside him had frozen for a moment, and then even his chewing slowed down considerably.

"You... were a game companion?" Lin Kang said. "Like on Bixin?"

Yan Zhun said, "Something like that, on a different platform."

Lin Kang's expression was complicated. He and his friends always hired game companions when they partied up, so you could say he was well-versed in the world of game companions. You could be a noob, you could play passively, but your voice had to be pleasant, and you had to know how to sweet-talk people.

After all, you're just playing games for fun. If you really wanted to rank up, you might as well just hire a booster, which would save time and effort.

But Yan Zhun... forget sweet-talking, it wasn't even certain if he'd acknowledge people.

So Lin Kang asked cautiously, "So, did it go well?"

"It was okay." Yan Zhun casually glanced at Pei Ran. "I only took one person's order."

Pei Ran: "..."

He had already planned it out. If Lin Kang asked him in a bit, he would just truthfully say he spent the entire break playing games—it was very normal for two guys to play games together.

But with Yan Zhun's few sentences, the matter suddenly seemed not so innocent.

As expected, Lin Kang was stunned for a few seconds, then asked, "Just one client? Then how many hours did she buy?"

"Sixty," Yan Zhun said.

Lin Kang took a deep breath and started calculating. "Sixty hours... your rate must be at least a hundred an hour, right? That's six thousand yuan. For just a seven-day break, she was willing to book you for sixty hours... You're being kept by your client!"

Pei Ran choked and couldn't help but cough a few times. The two people beside him turned to look at him in unison.

Under their gazes, Pei Ran forced out with a deadpan expression, "It was just a transaction... I don't think it counts as being kept."

Yan Zhun leaned back in his chair and chuckled lazily.

Lin Kang didn't notice the subtle atmosphere between the two. He earnestly explained to Pei Ran, "You've never hired a game companion, so you don't understand. When we hire them, we usually pay as we go. But big-time clients are different. They deposit the money directly with the companion, who then deducts the cost themselves. Sometimes, even if they over-deduct, the client won't say anything."

After speaking, he asked Yan Zhun, "Did you guys play the full sixty hours?"

"No, the client was worried I wouldn't get the money, so they paid me in advance." Yan Zhun asked back with great interest, "What do you think they were thinking? Weren't they afraid I'd run off?"

"This means she has already become your regular client and will definitely continue to book you in the future," Lin Kang answered confidently. "She's interested in you!"

The table fell silent.

After a long moment, Yan Zhun let out a short laugh. "Is that so? But my client is a man."

Lin Kang: "..."

Yan Zhun's "regular client" picked up his coffee, calmly took a sip, and finished his meal.

When it was time to pay, Yan Zhun was the first to open his payment QR code, his tone natural. "I earned a little from my part-time job. It's on me."

After dinner, the three left the restaurant together. After walking a short distance, Lin Kang turned into a nearby supermarket to buy cigarettes.

Pei Ran hesitated for a long time before speaking. "I didn't mean it in a 'keeping you' way. I was just worried I wouldn't have time to play games once school started, which would affect your payment. If I offended you... I'm very sorry."

Yan Zhun had wanted to say 'you could offend me a little more', but on second thought, decided not to tease him. "It's fine."

Pei Ran breathed a sigh of relief and took out his phone. "How much was dinner? I'll transfer it to you."

That western restaurant was quite expensive; a set meal cost two to three hundred.

Yan Zhun, with his hands in his pockets, said, "No need."

"But you're not making money," Pei Ran insisted. "Can I transfer it to your WeChat?"

Pei Ran had just opened the WeChat interface when a call from his roommate came in. He said he was moving out to rent a place with his girlfriend tonight and wanted to discuss the money for the appliances they had bought together, asking Pei Ran to come back to the dorm.

Just then, Lin Kang came out of the supermarket. Seeing that he was on the phone, he didn't disturb him and just pointed towards their campus area. "Yan Zhun and I will head off first. You can take this small path back, it's closer."

Although they went to the same school, their campuses were different, separated by a street that took ten minutes to cross.

Pei Ran wanted to call out to them, but his roommate kept asking on the phone, "Can you hear me? Is it convenient for you to come back now?"

Pei Ran could only reply, "It is, I'm coming back right now..."

Yan Zhun suddenly took two steps closer, pulled something out of his pocket, and gently tucked it into Pei Ran's sweatshirt pocket.

By the time Yan Zhun's back had melted into the night, his roommate finally hung up the phone.

Pei Ran turned off his phone, turned and walked a few steps, then reached into his pocket.

He pulled out a few pieces of candy.

-

At noon on the day of the sports meet, Yan Zhun was woken up by a call from the Class President, reminding him not to forget the 1000-meter race in the afternoon.

Yan Zhun gave a perfunctory reply and hung up. He lay in bed for a while longer before lazily sitting up.

Luo Qingshan, who was wearing sneakers, said, "I was just about to wake you. Want to go for a run together to warm up?"

Yan Zhun replied that he wasn't going, then asked after a moment, "What event did you sign up for?"

"The 3000-meter race." Luo Qingshan sounded a little excited. "I had someone ask, Pei Ran also signed up for the 3000-meter race. Wish me luck, bro."

Yan Zhun frowned for a second, then quickly relaxed his brow. He pulled his phone out from under his pillow and didn't respond to him.

Ever since being stood up by him that day, it was as if Lin Xuhuan had gotten a taste for it, messaging him every day to ask him out for a meal.