Qin Fang couldn't come up with a story about how he got that bruise from bumping into something. To get a bruise there, someone would have to pick him up horizontally. Even banging on drums wouldn't cause a bruise in that spot.

So Qin Fang laughed and stopped struggling, directly saying: "...I can't make up a story, I just got into a fight with someone."

Xing Yan withdrew his hand and asked him: "Who?"

Qin Fang shook his head and said: "I don't know them, it's in the past so let's not bring it up."

As they walked out together, Qin Fang added: "I didn't get the short end of the stick, you know me."

Xing Yan nodded slightly. When Qin Fang looked at him, Xing Yan had no expression. Qin Fang had already put his mask back on. The two walked together to the Fourth Teaching Building. Xing Yan said: "Go on in."

"Alright I'm going in then, you can go." Qin Fang lifted his chin as a way of saying goodbye, then one went inside to study while the other turned to leave the campus.

Si Tu had started coughing badly again recently. He never had it easy, only feeling a bit better during the warmer seasons in the middle of the year.

When Xing Yan arrived, Si Tu was coughing with his mouth closed, a muffled sound that seemed to come from his chest cavity, making the listener feel stuffy and uncomfortable hearing it.

Xing Yan frowned and asked him: "You went out?"

Si Tu chuckled lightly and nodded.

Xing Yan said: "Can't you just not go out?"

Si Tu smiled helplessly: "But I can't always stay inside, right?"

Xing Yan took the things Si Tu had asked him to buy into the kitchen, putting some in the fridge. After a while he said: "Don't come here next year."

Si Tu only said: "We'll see, I'm the same wherever I am."

Han Xiaogong had left, so now Si Tu was alone at home every day. Si Tu said to Xing Yan: "Actually, I really want to play the piano, my hands are itching for it."

Xing Yan glanced at the two guitars beside them. Si Tu said: "It's not the same."

Xing Yan nodded, he knew it wasn't the same. Si Tu had played piano since he was little, his father was originally a piano teacher. That old piano in the old house was what he had moved over later. Si Tu expressed his emotions through playing the piano much of the time.

Now there were only two guitars here, sometimes they could serve as a substitute, sometimes not.

Si Tu said: "A person needs to have something they love, like an emotional outlet. Always thinking about it, then you won't feel lonely."

He said this while sitting cross-legged on the edge of the rug on the balcony watering the plants. Xing Yan looked at him. The balcony was bright and had ample light. Si Tu really liked it there, and Han Xiaogong liked it too, so later they laid a long-haired rug there as well.

Xing Yan asked him: "Do you feel lonely now?"

"Not now..." Si Tu thought for a moment, shook his head and smiled, "Now every day feels very content."

It was unclear where this contentment he spoke of came from, and Xing Yan wouldn't ask him either. The two of them rarely chatted about anything. Xing Yan wasn't someone who loved to chat, he was closed off most of the time. Si Tu appeared cheerful and gentle on the surface, but who had actually heard him talk about himself? They were the same in that regard.

With Han Xiaogong gone, Zhou Siming came over often. When he came at night, Xing Yan would leave. Qin Fang went straight back to the dorm after studying, without coming over.

The two of them had previously been in infrequent contact because Xing Yan had things going on. Now that Xing Yan was free, Qin Fang had to study for exams every day, holing up with Hua Tong in the study rooms and library without seeing the light of day.

Before, it seemed the two of them were just one step away from kicking open the door on their ambiguous relationship. But later it felt like they were a long ways off again. Qin Fang filled his time studying for and taking exams one after another, and had no mental space to think about other things.

Qin Fang would occasionally send Xing Yan a message, then put down his phone without looking at it again for several hours.

For example, one day at noon while eating, he saw photos a friend posted on WeChat Moments of a newly opened restaurant. He forwarded the pictures to Xing Yan, saying: Let's go try it out when we have time.

Xing Yan replied with an "Okay". Qin Fang said something else, then went back to studying. By the time he picked up his phone again it was already past 6pm, he hadn't touched it all afternoon.

Xing Yan sent him a message that Qin Fang only replied to hours later. Xing Yan asked him: Back at the dorm?

Qin Fang: Yep.

Xing Yan: Get some rest early.

Qin Fang: Will do.

Occasionally exchanging a few bland messages like this, after a few days the distance between them grew again. The ambiguity from before was gone too. Just looking at their current state, this thing between them would probably fizzle out.

Qin Fang had originally planned to wait until after exams to deal with it, to go out and have fun together or something once exams were over and the break had fully started. But sometimes things pile up and don't go according to your plans.

With exams approaching, study rooms and the library weren't so easy to get a spot in. Later even cafes and the cafeteria were filled with students studying. It got too crazy so Qin Fang stopped going.

The past two days, Qin Fang had been going to a teahouse off-campus, about a 15-minute walk from his dorm, which was quite peaceful. He went out every day carrying the books he needed to review, slinging on a backpack and heading over.

He invited Hua Tong to go with him, but Hua Tong thought it was too far and didn't like moving around, preferring to make do studying in the dorm.

Qin Fang had an exam the next afternoon, but he really wasn't confident about this subject. The past few days he had been reviewing other subjects, only getting to this one after the others were done, so time was quite tight.

Qin Fang stayed at the teahouse until 9pm before packing up his things to head back to the dorm.

Their university was in the suburbs, quite a remote and quiet place to begin with. The small path between the teahouse and dorm was deserted at this hour, no one around. He walked this road every day, anyone from their dorm area wanting to go out to eat or sing karaoke had to pass by here.

Qin Fang pulled his hat down and stuck his hands in his pockets, strolling along unhurriedly. There was snow on the ground that crunched underfoot. The sound of his footsteps mixed together rhythmically with those of a few people behind him. Qin Fang glanced back and smiled.

He took out his phone and sent Xing Yan a location share.

Xing Yan didn't reply. Qin Fang put his phone back in his pocket and continued walking leisurely, not too fast or slow.

When the people behind him quickened their pace, Qin Fang maintained his original speed, not even changing his breathing rate.

Until suddenly the people behind him lunged forward. Qin Fang dodged with a bend of his waist. The people behind him lunged at air. Qin Fang swiftly removed his backpack and swung it behind him, the bag containing a few thick books. This swing hit one of the men right on the ear. The man cried out and cursed.

"Where are you from?" Qin Fang asked.

"Heard you're pretty wild, wanted to see for ourselves," one of them said.

Qin Fang sniffed and nodded, saying: "Have a look then, how do you want to do this?"

"We're already having a look--" the man said as he abruptly charged over. Qin Fang was already on guard, simultaneously kicking out his leg into the man's stomach.

He looked back while walking just now, a total of three people, and they didn't look like students. It was too late to run. If he encountered three people from outside the school by himself, he would definitely suffer.

Qin Fang was mentally prepared. He could hold on for a while but there was no way he could walk back unscathed.

These three were no good, with sinister moves. Qin Fang dodged the leg that was about to kick his stomach, while also being punched in the neck. This punch made Qin Fang's breathing halt for a moment, his vision going black.

When Qin Fang fought with people, he wasn't afraid of being hit, but he also wanted to hit the other party well. After taking a punch, he had to return it. When he grabbed the other person's neck and threw them out, he even heard that light sound from the neck, definitely a twisted neck, temporarily losing combat effectiveness.

What Qin Fang hated most was being hit in the face during a fight. When he was caught off guard, he was punched in the face again, from the side to the chin. His teeth collided, and the inside of his lip was hit, instantly tasting blood in his mouth.

Qin Fang frowned, very annoyed, cursing in his heart.

"Aren't you good at flirting with girls?" The other party's fists were all aimed at Qin Fang's face. "You chase people relying on this face, right?"

Qin Fang blocked his arm, elbowing the other party's face, his eyes almost bursting with anger.

"You'll hit on anyone, you're cheap!" Another person pounced over, grabbing Qin Fang's shoulders, trying to control him. "Do you know who you've offended?"

With people in front and behind, Qin Fang was held from behind with an arm around his neck. The one in front was also holding back, trying to sneak attack him. Qin Fang kicked out, the other party dodged, spat on the ground, and cursed something dirty.

When Xing Yan arrived, Qin Fang was grabbing someone's hair and kneeing their face. There was a person behind him holding a stick, about to hit Qin Fang.

Qin Fang dodged it himself once. The second time, he no longer had a chance to put his hand down. The stick in Xing Yan's hand whipped down on his shoulder with full force, not holding back at all. Half of this person's shoulder was directly disabled.

Qin Fang looked up, his vision a little blurry. He squinted and saw Xing Yan, letting out a long breath. He let go, no longer caring about the others, releasing his strength and directly lying down on the snow, sprawled out looking at the sky.

The other party kept cursing non-stop. Xing Yan didn't say a word, his hands even more ruthless than the other party's. Qin Fang didn't hear what they said, and even if he did, it didn't register. All the strength in his body was drained, too tired, and it fucking hurt too much.

He had taken quite a few hits just now. Now his chin, neck and stomach all hurt a lot. Qin Fang completely relaxed himself lying there, his chest heaving violently.

The beating of his heart and pulse seemed to carry his whole body. Even the vision in front of his eyes was shaking with the rhythm of his heartbeat, and the veins on his forehead were also trembling with the same rhythm.

Qin Fang didn't know how Xing Yan dealt with the others. He kept lying there looking at the sky. The chaotic sounds of fighting and cursing beside his ears didn't stop, and the dull thuds of fists landing on people were also quite frequent. Among these, what he heard most clearly was Xing Yan's panting. He must have run over at full speed.

After everything quieted down, Xing Yan walked over and stood beside him, looking at him. The two looked at each other, one looking down and one looking up. Qin Fang couldn't see Xing Yan's eyes clearly.

Later, Xing Yan threw away what was in his hand and also released his strength, lying down beside Qin Fang.

He was panting even more heavily than Qin Fang. For several minutes, only their heavy breathing and heartbeats were left around them.

When Qin Fang had recovered enough, he exhaled first and opened his mouth to speak to Xing Yan. As a result, as soon as he opened his mouth, his face was pinched by Xing Yan who suddenly sat up beside him.

Xing Yan's grip was very strong, pinching his cheeks on both sides. The flesh inside his cheeks pressed against his teeth, making Qin Fang frown in pain.

Qin Fang looked at him. Xing Yan's eyes were red. Qin Fang had never seen such a look in his eyes before.

Xing Yan propped himself up with one hand on the ground, the other tightly pinching Qin Fang's face, his eyes fiercely shooting into Qin Fang's.

Xing Yan was even speaking through gritted teeth. If others heard it, their bones would probably feel chilled. He squeezed out words from between his teeth and asked Qin Fang—

"I told you not to flirt with girls, not to chase girls, can't you remember that?"

Qin Fang's face was pinched by him and couldn't speak. He didn't want to say anything either, just looking up at Xing Yan's face from below.

Xing Yan's face was uninjured and unmarked, still fair and clean until now, but his eyes were too fierce. Anyone else wouldn't dare to look at him like this.

Compared to Xing Yan, Qin Fang was much more disheveled, his whole body bruised. The bit of bruising on his face from a few days ago had just faded, and now there was even more. His eyes were also red, but it was brought out during the fight just now. Until now, his blood was still hot.

"Can't you remember?" Xing Yan loosened his hand that was cupping his chin and pinching both sides of his cheeks, changing to firmly pinching Qin Fang's chin with his thumb, his voice even hoarse.

Qin Fang still looked at him quietly like that, blinking his eyes. His mouth opened with difficulty and only said one word: "Hurts."

"It hurts?" Xing Yan's fingers pressed on the wound on Qin Fang's face without loosening any strength, hurting Qin Fang so much that his heart trembled. Xing Yan asked him through gritted teeth, "If it hurts, can you remember it?"

When Xing Yan spoke through gritted teeth, the lines of the bones and muscles on the sides of his cheeks tensed, making him look very sharp and also very...sexy.

Qin Fang closed his eyes and took a deep breath. How could this grip be so fucking strong?

He frowned, raised his hand to forcefully remove Xing Yan's hand, finally freeing his chin. Afterwards, without giving Xing Yan any time to react, Qin Fang grabbed Xing Yan's collar and pulled him down.

When their chins collided, Qin Fang was in pain again. Qin Fang fiercely closed his eyes.

Fuck the pain, let's all be in pain together.

Qin Fang bit Xing Yan's lip, using the last bit of strength he had left. The taste of blood immediately burst out between their lips and teeth.

He bit down and wouldn't let go, just fiercely biting Xing Yan's lower lip like that—

"What flirting with some random girl...I fucking want to flirt with you."