Qin Fang stood across from Xing Yan, with a book on the table between them. Qin Fang kept his voice extremely low and deliberately asked, "Handsome, is anyone sitting here?"

Xing Yan raised an eyebrow and replied, "Aren't you?"

Qin Fang chuckled and sat down.

He had thought that meeting again might be a bit awkward, but since Xing Yan had actively invited him over to sit, Qin Fang cared even less. He was a carefree person to begin with.

Qin Fang reached into his bag to grab a notebook, but after rummaging for a while, he couldn't find it. He hadn't brought one today and only managed to fish out a pen. Qin Fang looked around and saw that the girl sitting to his left was studying too intently, so he didn't want to disturb her.

After some thought, Qin Fang took out his phone from his pocket, pulled up his WeChat QR code, and pushed the phone across to Xing Yan.

Seeing the QR code on the phone, Xing Yan glanced up at Qin Fang, then picked up his own phone beside him and scanned it.

A faint "beep" sounded upon successful scanning, and Xing Yan pushed Qin Fang's phone back.

—"Xing Yan" has requested to add you as a friend.

The profile picture was a black motorcycle, which Qin Fang found amusing as he clicked "Accept". The avatar suited Xing Yan's temperament perfectly.

Qin Fang: Did you save this seat for me on purpose?

Xing Yan's phone vibrated. He read the message and replied: If I say no, won't you be embarrassed?

Qin Fang: Haha, then I won't ask. Anyway, thanks.

Xing Yan didn't respond further. Qin Fang sent a message in the dorm group chat: Deng Ke, fourth floor, found a seat.

After sending the message, he put his phone aside, not wanting to disturb Xing Yan's reading any longer. As a poor student, Qin Fang was self-aware. He grabbed a book and sat there reading quietly without making a sound.

When Shen Dengke arrived, Qin Fang packed up his things and left. As he passed by Xing Yan, he lightly tapped on the table with his bent finger as a way of saying goodbye.

After adding each other on WeChat, Qin Fang had wanted to check Xing Yan's Moments, but he couldn't tell if Xing Yan had never posted anything or simply hadn't made them visible to him. Regardless, it wasn't important. Adding Xing Yan on WeChat made Qin Fang feel at ease.

On a morning without classes, instead of diligently waking up early to contribute to his roommates, Qin Fang grabbed his phone after waking up and sent Xing Yan a message: Handsome, are you going to the library?

Xing Yan replied: Yes.

Qin Fang: Then can you save me a seat?

Xing Yan: OK.

Qin Fang had wanted to send an emoji, but their relationship wasn't close enough yet, so sending emojis felt awkward. In the end, he simply sent: Thanks.

After sending the message, Qin Fang recalled the diagonal line Xing Yan had drawn when passing him the notebook in the library last time. He thought to himself, let's see how you act cool without paper or pen this time.

Indeed, without a pen, Xing Yan couldn't draw a line, so he didn't reply.

Qin Fang had expected not to receive a response after expressing his gratitude. He locked his phone, set it aside, and went back to sleep.

However, Qin Fang didn't just leave it at that and never go again. Sometimes, when Xing Yan had classes and couldn't go, Qin Fang would still go and save a seat for him in return.

When Qin Fang told Hua Tong about this, Hua Tong nearly died laughing. Who would have thought that the two of them would end up as library friends who saved seats for each other?

Qin Fang didn't think it was a big deal. They were both guys, and friendships between men tended to develop quickly.

Qin Fang brought two cups of orange juice, each filled with half a cup of ice cubes. He sent Xing Yan a message from downstairs in the library: Fourth floor?

Xing Yan: Second floor.

Qin Fang: Haha, no seats on the fourth floor today?

Xing Yan: Yeah.

Around noon, Xing Yan packed up his things to leave. Qin Fang said in a low voice, "Hold on, warrior."

Xing Yan looked at him, and Qin Fang waved his phone at him.

Qin Fang: Going to eat?

Xing Yan: Yeah.

Qin Fang: Together?

Xing Yan: With you?

Qin Fang: Yep.

Xing Yan glanced at him again, then replied: Let's go.

Qin Fang also stood up to pack his things, and they left together.

"Sitting for two hours is quite tiring," Qin Fang said, lightly swinging his arms as he walked with Xing Yan. "I got hungry just now."

Xing Yan turned his head to look at him. "Don't you need to wait for your roommate?"

"Who would go grab seats at noon? Besides, your spot is now empty, right?" Qin Fang smiled and said, "I've been wanting to treat you to a meal for a while."

Xing Yan had very fair skin, and his eyebrows and eyes were dark. When he looked at someone, even without any particular expression, he still appeared a bit fierce.

"Have you always been like this?" Qin Fang poured himself a glass of water and asked.

Xing Yan leaned back in his chair and looked at him. "What am I like?"

"Just..." Qin Fang thought for a moment. "Just like this, kind of aloof."

Xing Yan suddenly chuckled and asked him, "You mean pretentious, right?"

Qin Fang was quite surprised to hear him say that, and he couldn't help but laugh. "If you know it in your heart, that's enough. Did you have to say it out loud?"

"Being honest," Xing Yan said, then shook his head. "I wasn't like this when I was young."

The two handsome guys looked at each other and laughed. The scene was so pleasing to the eye that a girl sitting at a nearby table kept glancing at them from time to time.

Her gaze was quite obvious, and Qin Fang turned his head to look at her.

The girl was quite bold and called out to him, "Handsome, can I take a photo of you two?"

Qin Fang didn't mind and pointed at Xing Yan across from him. "You'll have to ask him."

The girl then turned to look at Xing Yan, clasping her hands together. "Handsome, can I take a photo, please?"

Xing Yan spread his hands, then turned his head to look out the window.

The girl was quite excited and took out her phone to snap a photo. She captured Qin Fang's side profile and the back of Xing Yan's head, along with his extremely beautiful jawline. After taking the photo, she put down her phone, still a bit thrilled, and said to them, "Thank you, handsome guys. Sorry for the disturbance."

Qin Fang gave her a faint smile, then turned back to talk to Xing Yan.

The girl left not long after, satisfied with the photo and not wanting to make them feel uncomfortable by staring too much. After she left, Qin Fang chuckled and said, "Girls these days are quite polite."

Xing Yan asked him, "Do you know why she took the photo?"

Qin Fang said, "She saw handsome guys and wanted to take a picture, that's all."

Xing Yan didn't respond to his comment. After a while, he let out a "tsk" and called Qin Fang "...a naive idiot."

"What? I'm a naive idiot now?" Qin Fang looked puzzled. "Then what is it?"

In the end, Xing Yan didn't explain, and since it wasn't a big deal, Qin Fang didn't press further.

The meal went quite harmoniously, but when Qin Fang went to pay the bill, he discovered that Xing Yan had already settled it. Qin Fang was both amused and exasperated. "What are you doing?"

He stood there and turned to look at Xing Yan, who was walking ahead. Xing Yan placed a hand on Qin Fang's back and gave him a light push.

Qin Fang was pushed out of the restaurant by him, still saying, "I said I wanted to treat you to a meal."

Xing Yan said, "Next time."

A single meal wasn't worth making a fuss over. Qin Fang shook his head with a smile. "Alright, we'll talk about it next time."

They had already eaten, so this could be considered officially establishing a relationship. But throughout the entire process, Qin Fang never mentioned Zhou Shiming. He really didn't want to bring him up, it was too annoying and he disliked him. He felt that if he mentioned him, he and Xing Yan wouldn't be able to establish a relationship, so let's just pretend the two of them didn't meet because of Zhou Shiming.

After eating, Hua Tong and Qin Fang returned to the dorm to play games. Qin Fang pushed open the door, saw him, glanced at the other desks and said, "I thought you went to my dorm."

"I'm here to kidnap someone," Hua Tong said, turning his head.

"Kidnap who?" Chen Ke was also in the dorm, Shen Dengke had gone to the library and hadn't returned. Qin Fang sat in Shen Dengke's chair, "Kidnap Ke'er? Do you two have some impure relationship?"

"Get lost," Hua Tong said, "I'm kidnapping you."

"Kidnapping me?" Qin Fang laughed, "That's even more impossible, you can't beat me."

"I don't care," Hua Tong closed his computer, turned around and said, "Anyway, you have to come back to my dorm to stay tonight."

"What for?"

"They're setting up a memorial hall and blowing horns in the neighborhood behind our building." Hua Tong frowned, looking very miserable, "It's making me feel uneasy."

Chen Ke said from the side, "Then why don't you just sleep here, I'll tidy up the empty bed for you."

Qin Fang's dorm had four beds, but one had always been empty with no one living there, so they used it to store things. It was full of stuff and a bit troublesome to tidy up, and there was no bedding either.

Hua Tong said, "No need, just let Qin Fang come back and sleep with me."

Qin Fang teased him, "Your courage is too small, Tong Ge, it doesn't match your imposing aura."

"What the hell am I imposing anymore, I'm just a little white rabbit, a little lamb now." Hua Tong picked up a throat lozenge from Qin Fang's desk and sucked on it, "I'm so scared my throat is sore from getting inflamed."

Chen Ke couldn't help laughing from the side, "Too funny, Tong."

"You're still laughing," Hua Tong sighed, "Your happiness is all built on my pain."

Qin Fang laughed, but he couldn't let Hua Tong shiver alone in the dorm out of fear. He took his toiletries and clothes to change and went over with him. Hua Tong had no classes for the next two days, and then it was a holiday, so Qin Fang had to stay in his dorm for four nights.

Qin Fang came from the prestigious International Exchange College, condescending to come to the men's dorm slum. There was no air conditioning and no hot water. The bathroom had only a shower hose, full of cold water.

In the evening, Qin Fang took a shower with cold water. As he came out wiping his hair, he said, "I'm really puzzled, what's the point of having a shower if there's no hot water?"

"I couldn't figure this out at first either," Hua Tong said, "But if there wasn't this hose, you'd be completely clueless now, with no cold water to rinse. In the men's dorms on the south side, they have to use basins to scoop water from the hallway bathroom to pour on themselves."

Qin Fang almost suffocated listening to this, "Then even if you fought me, there's no way I could come back and stay with you."

"You can't, Fang Ge values relationships, you can't not take care of me," Hua Tong smiled ingratiatingly, "Fang Ge protects me."

Qin Fang really couldn't not take care of him. He estimated that he would have to take Hua Tong out to stay in a hotel. In such a hot summer, not being able to shower before bed was equivalent to suicide.

"You sleep in my bed, Fang Ge, I changed new sheets for you. I'll sleep in my roommate's bed." Hua Tong said.

"Mm." In the dorm without air conditioning, Qin Fang lay on the bed not daring to move. He had to consider turning over, afraid that moving too much would make him sweat. Hua Tong set up a small fan for him. Qin Fang lay there in shorts, arranged in a clear posture.

Before going to sleep, Qin Fang took out his phone and posted a Moments: Brothers in this dorm, you've worked hard.

He also took a photo of the pink mini fan clipped to the iron railing by the bed.

Hua Tong saw his Moments, lying on his roommate's bed and laughing, "Experience the hardships of the world, young master. All universities are like this. Your tuition is high, several tens of thousands a year, it's inexcusable not to install air conditioning for you, right?"

Qin Fang said, "Experience my feelings for you, a brother so good that all of China would be moved."

"I feel it," Hua Tong said with a laugh.

Qin Fang casually browsed Weibo, then looked at a bunch of messages in Moments. Amidst countless comments and likes, Qin Fang actually saw the black motorcycle.

— Xing Yan had liked his post.

Qin Fang raised his eyebrows with a smile. Not so aloof anymore, huh, cool guy.