“I saw it. You went to the TZG match together.” Luo Qingshan suppressed his emotions. “A streamer was filming a celebrity and caught you in the background.”

Yan Zhun started the game update, ignoring him.

The sound of a lighter flicking came from behind him, and the smell of smoke slowly filled the entire dorm room. Luo Qingshan asked, “Are you two together? …When did it happen? Recently… or before we broke up?”

“We’re not together,” Yan Zhun said in a faint voice.

Luo Qingshan’s clenched fist relaxed slightly.

Yan Zhun said, “I'm pursuing him, one-sidedly.”

Luo Qingshan pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek and ground out the half-smoked cigarette on a piece of paper, burning a hole with a blackened edge.

“Yan Zhun, that's not how you fucking act as a brother,” Luo Qingshan said through gritted teeth.

Yan Zhun raised an eyebrow. “Me and you, when were we ever brothers?”

Luo Qingshan cursed, “Fuck,” and turned back to stare intently at the back of Yan Zhun’s head. “Who do you think you are? You think you can get Pei Ran? Do you really think he'll start liking you just because you played a few games with him?”

“Let me tell you, Yan Zhun, the occasional quarrels between Pei Ran and I are our own special kind of fun. I can indulge him in his little tantrums, but it's impossible for anyone else to get involved.”

Luo Qingshan’s every word was sharp, and his voice was loud. Only he himself knew how flustered he was right now.

What he said was half-truth, half-lie. It was true that many people, both men and women, were pursuing Pei Ran. Luo Qingshan had always been confident about this—Pei Ran never gave anyone false hope. His rejections were always direct and left no room for ambiguity.

But this time was different.

The way Pei Ran treated Yan Zhun was different from how he treated everyone else.

This was also the reason for Luo Qingshan’s fury.

Yan Zhun said, “Are you done? Can you shut your mouth?”

Luo Qingshan was seeing red, and the coldness and contempt in Yan Zhun’s words made him lose all reason.

As if remembering something, Luo Qingshan sneered, “You’re really something. Just for holding his hand, you have the gall to challenge me. When he was fucking lying in my bed…”

The legs of the chair scraped against the floor, making a piercing sound.

Before Luo Qingshan could finish, his collar was yanked forward. The force was so great that he leaned forward uncontrollably, almost falling over.

Yan Zhun looked down at him, his lowered eyes as cold as ever, radiating a vicious aura.

Normally, Luo Qingshan wouldn't be afraid of him, but for some reason, his body felt like it was out of his control, unable to move.

“Let me hear you say that one more time,” Yan Zhun warned him, word by word, his voice as if laced with ice, “and you can say goodbye to that mouth of yours.”

Only after the dorm room door was slammed shut with a dull thud did Luo Qingshan feel as if his soul had returned to his body, and he panted with a mixture of shock and anger.

It was November, and the weather had already turned cold. After going downstairs, Yan Zhun turned a corner into a supermarket, bought a pack of cigarettes, and sat down on an empty bench.

The flame of the lighter flickered for a moment in the dark. Yan Zhun tossed the lighter aside, his hand resting casually, the cigarette held lightly between his teeth.

After a while, he took out his phone to make a call.

The call connected, and Pei Ran said a very soft, “Hello?”

Yan Zhun pressed the phone to his ear, listening to his faint breathing, and didn't speak.

After a long moment, Pei Ran put down his pen. “Yan Zhun, what’s wrong?”

Yan Zhun said, “We left in such a hurry today, I forgot to pick up the match merchandise.”

He controlled his voice, trying not to let any emotion show.

Pei Ran paused for a moment, then asked, “There was merchandise?”

“Yeah,” Yan Zhun said. “Keyboards, models, team logo keychains, things like that. Do you want any? I can get a set from Lin Xuhuan.”

Pei Ran shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I don’t need a keyboard, and as for keychains… I have one too.”

Yan Zhun let out a soft breath.

Pei Ran paused. “Are you smoking?”

“Just one, occasionally,” Yan Zhun said casually. “I’ll quit.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Yan Zhun closed his eyes.

What was their relationship, anyway? Pei Ran didn’t care whether he smoked or not.

As expected, the other end of the line fell silent.

Yan Zhun extinguished his jealousy along with the cigarette.

“Okay.”

Yan Zhun’s movement paused, his lowered eyelashes trembling slightly. “What?”

Pei Ran opened the window beside him and reached out a hand to feel the temperature outside. “Smoking is bad for your health, you should smoke less… Are you still outside?”

Yan Zhun hummed in agreement. “The dorm supervisor is strict at night, so I came out to smoke.”

“Then… you should head back early?”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Pei Ran stared at his screen for a long time before closing the window, intending to continue with his draft.

He absentmindedly traced the line art for a while, when his nose suddenly started to itch. He couldn't help but turn his head and let out two sneezes in a row.

When he looked back and saw his drawing clearly, Pei Ran’s pen tip froze. His eyes widened slightly, and he looked a little lost.

He had only drawn a rough sketch, thinking he would continue to refine it if the client was satisfied.

The draft did indeed have a gaming chair, a computer, and a TZG uniform.

But the facial features and outline, drawn with just a few strokes… were Yan Zhun’s.

It was Yan Zhun, wearing headphones and a TZG uniform, sitting at the tournament.

The next day, Pei Ran went to class wearing a mask.

As soon as class was over, the teacher stopped him and asked, “What’s wrong? Did you catch a cold?”

“A little,” he said, his voice a bit heavy from under the mask.

The teacher had always liked him. Staring at the dark circles under his eyes, he asked, “You youngsters, staying up late again, weren’t you.”

Pei Ran hummed in agreement. “Rushing to finish a commission.”

It was perfectly normal for university students to do part-time work, but the teacher hadn't expected someone from Pei Ran’s family background to take on commercial commissions.

&nbsp_nbsp; “There’s no need to damage your health for that little bit of money. Getting proper rest is what’s important,” the teacher said.

Pei Ran nodded. “Okay, thank you, Teacher.”

After the day’s classes ended, Pei Ran returned to his dorm and took two cold pills.

Just as he swallowed the medicine, the girl who had commissioned the art from him sent a message.

[TZG Saigao: Dada! Just poking for a progress update qaqa (timidly)]

[Fei Yu Yi: Sorry, I haven’t started drawing yet.]

[TZG Saigao: That’s great!! Dada, I was wondering if you could help me draw this trophy in as well, is that possible? I can add more money!!]

[Fei Yu Yi: Sure, no need to add more money.]

The girl was so excited she sent countless cute emojis.

Looking at these emojis, Pei Ran thought of his own drawing that had gone off-track and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

After drawing for two hours, Pei Ran got up to take a break. He had just made a cup of coffee when his computer chimed with a WeChat notification.

It was Lin Kang. He had sent a video, the preview of which was too blurry to make out the content.

As soon as he opened the video, he was hit with loud, chaotic music. The scene was dim and intimate, and he could only vaguely make out the silhouettes of people.

After a moment of commotion, Pei Ran finally saw clearly who Lin Kang was filming.

It was Luo Qingshan. He was holding a small shot glass and chugging alcohol, downing a glass in one go. The people around him immediately erupted in gasps and applause. A few seconds later, the video ended.

[Pei Ran: ?]

[Lin Kang: He's drinking distilled spirits. It's fucking terrifying.]

Luo Qingshan had been the type to party hard back in high school, hitting the clubs almost every night. His alcohol tolerance was pretty good.

[Pei Ran: Oh, you guys have fun.]

When Lin Kang saw this reply, his head throbbed.

He glanced at the alcohol on the table. How was this drinking? This was dicing with death.

Luo Qingshan’s face was already flushed from drinking. He picked up a pair of dice and said to the person next to him, “I drank. You dare to continue?”

Yan Zhun didn’t even look at him. “Bring it on.”

A friend couldn’t help but nudge Lin Kang’s shoulder. “Those two… what are they doing?”

Lin Kang said, “I’d like to know, too.”

Tonight was a friend’s birthday, and he had invited everyone out for drinks. As the night went on, those two had somehow started going at it.

By the time everyone realized what was happening, the waiter had already brought over the distilled spirits.

Lin Kang watched them, perplexed. Luo Qingshan always liked to have fun, so it wasn't strange for him to challenge someone to a drinking contest. What was strange was that Yan Zhun was actually joining in on the chaos.

The two went back and forth for another ten minutes. Luo Qingshan was so drunk he couldn’t tell his east from his west and started spouting nonsense.

Yan Zhun leaned back on the sofa, coldly watching him go crazy.

“My head hurts, damn it… Hiss.” Luo Qingshan bumped his leg against Lin Kang’s. “Help me… Help me call Pei Ran.”

Lin Kang said, “You two already broke up, why call him now?”

“I told you to call, so just call,” Luo Qingshan said. “He’ll come. He’ll come… He can’t bear to leave me.”

Lin Kang was getting extremely annoyed. Thinking that letting him continue drinking wasn’t a solution, he had no choice but to pick up his phone and make a video call directly to Pei Ran.

Luo Qingshan smiled. He tilted his head, his eyes filled with mockery as he asked tauntingly, “You think he’ll come or not?”

Yan Zhun sat there quietly, not making a sound.

“I… I can call him when I’m drunk because… we have a history. Even if we broke up, our feelings are… are still there…” Luo Qingshan asked, “What about you? When you're drunk, do you dare to call him? What fucking right do you have to make him come and clean up your mess?”

Lin Kang held up his phone, showing Pei Ran the scene. “Look, he keeps shouting for you, I’m really at my wit's end… Can you come over?”

“The whole world knows about my relationship with him.” Luo Qingshan stared fixedly at Yan Zhun. “Who the hell are you?”

Lin Kang ended the video call and moved their glasses away. “Pei Ran said he's on his way. Stop acting crazy, Luo Qingshan.”

Luo Qingshan closed his eyes, a victorious smile on his face.

Pei Ran rarely came to places like this.

He walked through the crowded booths towards the private rooms, taking out his phone midway to check the room number Lin Kang had sent.

Someone bumped into his shoulder hard. A waiter hurriedly apologized, “I'm so sorry, so sorry. Did I hurt you? I'm truly sorry.”

Pei Ran said, “It’s okay. Could you tell me where room 103…”

Seeing that the customer in front of him had suddenly fallen silent, the waiter said, “Room 103? Shall I take you there?”

Pei Ran dazedly came back to his senses and averted his gaze. “No need, I see my friend. Thank you.”

After the waiter left, Pei Ran looked up again. Yan Zhun was standing in the direction the waiter had come from. He had just washed his face, which was still wet with water, and his eyes were dark and unreadable.

Yan Zhun was also looking at him.

Pei Ran was wearing a gray sweater, his hair was a bit messy, and he was wearing a mask, showing that he had come in a hurry. The mask added a touch of frailty to his appearance, making him look lazy yet warm.

As soon as Pei Ran got close to Yan Zhun, he smelled a mixture of smoke and alcohol.

He frowned slightly and said, “Luo Qingshan, he…”

Before he could finish, his wrist was seized. Yan Zhun’s grip was so strong that he even felt a bit of pain.

Pei Ran was caught off guard and pulled into an empty private room next to them. Before he could react, he was pushed onto the sofa.

The private room's door closed automatically. The lights inside weren't on; only the faint light from the corridor filtered in through the small window on the door, allowing him to barely make out Yan Zhun's face.

Because of the alcohol, Yan Zhun’s eyes had a glint in them. He braced his hands on the sofa, trapping Pei Ran in the space he had cordoned off.

Pei Ran felt like he was surrounded by Yan Zhun’s presence, and his heart once again began to pound uncontrollably.

Yan Zhun looked down at him. After what felt like an eternity, he asked, “Why did you come?”

Because of the alcohol, Yan Zhun’s voice was extremely hoarse, and the sound of it made Pei Ran’s ears burn.

Pei Ran’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Just as he was about to answer, Yan Zhun suddenly leaned down—

And bit his lips.

It was a real bite, but not a forceful one. With a layer of mask in between, Pei Ran didn't feel much pain. He slowly, slowly widened his eyes, too shocked to speak.

Outside the door, deafening music blared, interspersed with the intimate whispers of men and women.

Inside the room, apart from their heartbeats and breaths, there was no other sound.

Seeing his panicked expression, Yan Zhun wanted to bully him even more.

He wanted to go back to high school, grab him, and not care whether they were in love or happy. He wanted to lock him in his room and not let anyone else touch him. He wanted to kiss him.

Yan Zhun reached up, swept all the hair from his forehead, and lowered his head again.

Pei Ran used all his strength to raise a hand and press it against his chin.

The palm of Pei Ran’s hand was scorching hot, and his fingers still carried a faint fragrance, likely from having just used hand soap.

Pei Ran's voice was very soft, and a little shaky. “The mask… is dirty.”

Yan Zhun hummed in acknowledgement and lowered his head to take one of his fingers into his mouth.

Then he pulled off his mask, bent down, and kissed him again.