Pei Ran said patiently, "I'm not going back. Put Lin Kang on the phone."

"Why?" Luo Qingshan rambled drunkenly. "No, if you don't come back, I'm going to die."

The background noise grew louder and louder, giving Pei Ran a headache.

He didn't want to become a joke for the others to watch any longer, so he could only soften his tone. "Will you listen to me?"

Yan Zhun had his hands in his pockets, leaning back in his chair and watching him.

Luo Qingshan thought for a moment. "I'll listen."

"Then give the phone to Lin Kang," Pei Ran said. "Be good."

Finally, Lin Kang took the phone back. Pei Ran explained to him that he wouldn't be coming back tonight and hoped Lin Kang could help take Luo Qingshan back to the dorm.

As he hung up, he could still hear Luo Qingshan shouting his name.

"'Be good?'" Yan Zhun's lips curled into a sarcastic sneer. "Are you coaxing a child?"

Pei Ran said, "There's not much difference between a drunkard and a child."

"There's a big difference," Yan Zhun said coolly. "A child wouldn't cheat."

Pei Ran frowned slightly. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt that Yan Zhun's tone had changed after he finished the call.

Although Yan Zhun was right, saying something like that at this moment was undoubtedly like tearing open Pei Ran's wounds.

Pei Ran twitched the corner of his mouth. "That's true."

The phone on the table suddenly vibrated. It was a voice message from Luo Qingshan.

Pei Ran tapped open the voice message. Because he didn't have time to put it to his ear, most of it played out loud. It was all illogical nonsense.

The key thing was, behind Luo Qingshan's voice, Su Nian's voice could be faintly heard, his calls of 'Brother' intimate and cloying, making it sound like the two of them were very close.

"What is it now?" Yan Zhun said. "A child who can't find his toy?"

Many people who have been cheated on like to confide in their friends about their experience, eager to hear them complain and stand up for them.

But Pei Ran wasn't like that. He didn't like to display his wounds for others to see. He was used to digesting and relieving his feelings on his own.

Moreover, in Yan Zhun's analogy, he was a toy. Although it was probably just a slip of the tongue from Yan Zhun, and normally wouldn't be a big deal, Pei Ran still felt some resistance to it under the circumstances.

Only then did he suddenly remember that he and Yan Zhun weren't close, not even considered regular friends.

"Perhaps." Pei Ran put away his phone and stood up. "It's very late, so I'll be heading back. Let's talk some other time. Thank you for your help tonight."

Pei Ran went to the counter to pay the bill. The owner handed him the receipt, and Pei Ran casually stuffed it into his pocket.

He pushed open the door of the coffee shop and had only taken two steps when he heard the wind chime on the door ring again. Immediately after, his arm was grabbed.

The palm of Yan Zhun's hand was very hot. Pei Ran was stunned at being grabbed by him.

"I'm sorry." Yan Zhun still had a cold expression on his face, but his words were an apology. "I said the wrong thing."

Pei Ran blinked, a little bewildered by this. "It's fine, you don't need to apologize..."

Yan Zhun pulled out all the White Rabbit Creamy Candy from his pocket and placed them all in Pei Ran's palm.

"These are all for you," he said. "Don't be angry."

-

Pei Ran returned to his dorm and poured all the milk candies from his pocket onto the desk next to his computer.

His roommate heard the sound, turned to look, and laughed. "White Rabbit has fallen on hard times, they're selling them loose now?"

"No, someone gave them to me."

The roommate drew out a long "Ohhh."

"Luo Qingshan is so stingy, he only bought you a few."

Pei Ran wasn't keen on public displays of affection. Usually, when his roommate mentioned Luo Qingshan, he would just give some noncommittal hums and grunts to brush it off, worried the topic would drag on endlessly.

He grabbed his pajamas and walked towards the bathroom, explaining, "It wasn't him, another friend gave them to me."

"I see. By the way, I'm going out to stay over tonight." The roommate's grin nearly reached his ears. "It's Luo Qingshan's birthday today, I thought you wouldn't be coming back either."

Pei Ran smiled but said nothing.

After taking a shower and coming out, his roommate had already left. Pei Ran lay down on his bed and only then discovered his phone screen was flooded with messages.

Luo Qingshan had sent him countless voice messages, some long, some short, as well as several sticker packs.

When Luo Qingshan got drunk, he was different from others. Other people would pass out and sleep, but he would just get more and more energetic.

Pei Ran swiped casually across the screen, not wanting to open a single voice message.

He didn't want to hear Luo Qingshan's voice, nor did he want to hear Su Nian's. He still wanted to get a peaceful night's sleep tonight.

Pei Ran exited the chat window. Just as he was about to close WeChat, he saw a big "1" on the friends icon.

【Zhun Le has requested to add you as a friend. Additional message: Yan Zhun】

They were surrounded by mutual friends, so Pei Ran didn't dwell on where he got his WeChat ID. He directly tapped "accept" and changed his contact name on the side.

【Yan Zhun: [Voice Message]】

In the light of his phone, Pei Ran pursed his lips and tapped open the two-second voice message.

"Don't be angry. Go to sleep early."

Yan Zhun's voice was low and deep, and it was mixed with the sound of running water. He was probably taking a shower.

Pei Ran suddenly found it funny. It was clearly Luo Qingshan who had cheated, so why was it Yan Zhun who kept apologizing?

Besides... Yan Zhun hadn't actually done anything wrong.

【Pei Ran: I'm not angry. You should go to sleep early too.】

On the other side. Yan Zhun stood under the showerhead, reading and rereading the message several times.