The computer class had also just ended not long ago, and only a few students who stayed behind to do their classwork were left in the classroom.

Lu Yan arrived at the classroom door and found that Yellow T-shirt had already left.

Trying to find one person on such a large campus was like finding a needle in a haystack, but the matter of clarifying that he wasn't Xiao Heng couldn't be delayed.

Lu Yan recalled the two shocking headlines from before. If he dragged this out any longer, the reputation of the senior surnamed Xiao would probably be truly ruined.

So, Lu Yan picked one of the remaining people, sat down next to him without any hesitation, and started chatting: “You haven’t finished either?”

That classmate was typing away at the last two lines of code. He clicked run, and nothing happened on the screen.

“Yeah,” the classmate said, grabbing his hair in frustration. “Have you already submitted it?”

The class was large, and everyone usually went back to their own dorms after class, so it was normal not to recognize all of your classmates. Therefore, the “unfamiliar classmate” Lu Yan striking up a conversation didn’t arouse any suspicion.

Besides, this unfamiliar classmate's attitude was overly natural, as if he were really part of the computer science department.

“The content of this class is pretty difficult,” Lu Yan said with a nod. “Hard to digest.”

Just like that, Lu Yan chatted with the person off and on, and in less than three minutes, Lu Yan got all of Yellow T-shirt's personal information out of that classmate.

“You’re talking about Xu Ye, right? He went to the cafeteria to eat. He usually loves the big plate chicken from that place on the first floor of the cafeteria. That big plate chicken is really delicious. After eating, he might go hang out at an internet cafe for a while. I don’t know how the internet is in your dorm, but our building’s internet has been acting up recently...”

Yellow T-shirt was indeed in the school cafeteria waiting for his big plate chicken.

But as he was waiting, his left shoulder suddenly felt heavy. An arm rested on it, extremely naturally and casually. Then, he met a face he would probably never forget for the rest of his life.

Xu Ye: “...”

Lu Yan: “Hey.”

Xu Ye was on the verge of a breakdown. He wanted to turn and run, but his big plate chicken wasn't ready yet. For a moment, he was caught in a dilemma: “Bro, what the hell do you want?”

Lu Yan pressed down on his shoulder, turning his entire body to face him, and tried to explain: “Friend, listen to me—”

Xu Ye wanted to say, ‘Who the hell is your friend, I’m really not interested in men,’ but Lu Yan directly covered his mouth, stopping the words before they could come out. “Shut up for a bit.”

“...”

People were coming and going in the cafeteria.

By the time Lu Yan had finished his simple explanation, Xu Ye was about to faint. “Wait, so you’re not? You’re just his stand-in, ah no, his substitute... Then those things you said to me...”

“I really don’t have any improper thoughts about you,” Lu Yan removed his arm from his shoulder and pointed at the service window. “Your chicken is ready.”

Xu Ye carried his big plate chicken and found a seat. Lu Yan sat opposite him.

“Our band is currently still in its underground phase. We’ve released three albums before.”

“Besides rehearsals, we also take on commercial gigs.”

Although Lu Yan usually seemed a bit unreliable, tailoring his words to whomever he was talking to, his expression became serious as he said this. “It might be a bit abrupt, but I’m serious about inviting you to join. If you’re interested, just think about it. Have you ever been in a band before?”

Xu Ye’s hand, which was picking up a piece of chicken, paused. It took him a while to say, “No.”

“I just play bass for fun on my own. It’s like how I enjoy playing games but have never thought about becoming some esports pro,” Xu Ye said with his head down, only looking up at Lu Yan after he finished. “Sorry, I don’t think I’m interested.”

Lu Yan didn’t press further.

He couldn’t pull the same scammy tricks as Scar: Have you ever felt like you couldn't find your purpose in the classroom? Have you ever felt lost? Is there a musical dream hidden in your heart too?

Brother, come work with me.

Saying any more would be redundant. Lu Yan handed Xu Ye a business card. “It’s fine. If you change your mind, give me a call.”

Xu Ye took the business card and found it was densely packed with words: Ghostwriting/Ghost-singing/Music Transcription/Customization.

A good song! Is written with heart!

Professional team, affordable prices, you can’t be cheated, you can’t lose out, let us show you what a real bargain is!

“...”

“It’s the wrong side,” Lu Yan said. “It’s on the other side.”

Xu Ye flipped the card over. The other side simply said: Lead singer of Vent Band, Lu Yan.

He didn't get the bassist.

And the job of attending class for someone else had also failed miserably.

Lu Yan felt that he might be going through the legendary Mercury retrograde* recently.

*T/N: A phenomenon of ultra-bad luck

The weather, however, remained great. The bright sun lasted until five or six in the evening before it slowly set.

Lu Yan sat on the bus back, leaning against the bumpy window and taking a nap.

The scenery outside whizzed by. As the sunlight grew dimmer, the Lower District was also coated in a layer of gray.

The nap wasn’t very comfortable.

After he got off the bus and returned home, he tore a page off the calendar hanging on the wall while rubbing his neck and realized that only six days had passed since World Environment Day.

Huang Xu and the others arrived at the station the following night. After getting off the train, they even sent a photo of themselves outside the station to their four-person group chat. The slogan at the train station entrance read, “Qingcheng Welcomes You.” They then said in a voice message, “Don’t worry, Yaoming and I have arrived.”

Lu Yan crumpled the torn calendar page in his palm, rolling it into a paper ball. He looked at the new page behind it and said to himself in his heart: 'This is just the beginning.'

There’s still a long road ahead.

This is nothing.

He threw away the torn page and decided to cook some noodles. While waiting for the water to boil, he leaned against the wall and opened the C University forum, discovering that the post that had been floating at the top with three little flame icons next to it was gone.

In its place was a clarification post.

Lu Yan thought for a moment, then opened his WeChat interface and transferred the two hundred he had received yesterday back to the young master.

[Lu Yan]: [Transfer].

[Lu Yan]: I won't take this money.

Xiao Heng was slow to reply.

Half an hour later, he returned the money with two additional words.

[Xiao Heng]: No need.

As a substitute with principles and a moral bottom line, Lu Yan was insistent on returning the money. He had made the guy an overnight sensation on the school forum; how could he have the nerve to accept the fee for substituting.

The two went back and forth, one transferring and one returning. This extremely childish behavior was repeated three times.

[Lu Yan]: Take it.

[Xiao Heng]: I said no need.

[Lu Yan]: Just take it.

[Xiao Heng]: Are you annoying or what?

[Lu Yan]: [Transfer].

[Xiao Heng]: Fuck.

After a few more times, when Lu Yan tried to send the transfer again, a small red exclamation mark popped up directly in the chat box.

[Friend verification has been enabled by the user. You are not his (her) friend yet.]

“...” This young master is quite ruthless.

He must be truly annoyed.

Lu Yan casually tapped ‘Send Friend Request’. After the request was accepted, he didn’t mention the transfer to Xiao Heng again.

While waiting for the water to boil, a message came from Xiao Heng on his own initiative. It was a screenshot of a chat with someone named Old Man Hu.

Old Man Hu: Xiao Heng.

Old Man Hu: Come to my office tomorrow.

Old Man Hu: I saw your classwork. It was very moving. I never knew your admiration for me was like a surging river...

Then Xiao Heng sent another message: What the hell did you write?

What else could he write.

Flattery will get you everywhere.

Lu Yan rubbed his nose. He had just written a thousand-word essay full of all sorts of fancy praises for Professor Hu, straying from the class content and just ad-libbing compliments.

Lu Yan replied: I wrote an ode to the engineer of the human soul.

[Xiao Heng]: ...

[Xiao Heng]: Give me back the money.

Before, he had gone as far as to delete him as a friend just to not accept the two hundred. Now, the words ‘Give me back the money’ popped up. The contrast was too obvious. Although it was mean, Lu Yan still felt a little like laughing.

He transferred the two hundred over again.

He discovered that Xiao Heng was just saying it out of anger and didn’t actually accept it.

[Xiao Heng]: What else did you do?

[Lu Yan]: Nothing.

Fearing he wouldn’t believe him, Lu Yan used his integrity as a guarantee and repeated: Really, nothing else.

Xiao Heng didn't reply to this message immediately. About another half hour passed. As Lu Yan was washing dishes in the sink, his phone screen lit up. Since it was locked, only a small box popped up on the lock screen. Inside the box were a few familiar sentences: [Xiao Heng]: I have many years of part-time experience.

[Xiao Heng]: Responsible for substituting in class, ensuring client satisfaction.

And finally, a cold smile: [/smile].

“...”

It was the onboarding declaration he had sent to Xiao Heng before.

That emoji, overlapping with the sneer the guy had given him during the day after he finished saying “guitar,” made Lu Yan feel like he was being mocked.

He turned off the faucet and was about to put the bowl away when he looked at the bowl in his hand and remembered something.

He still hadn't returned the bowl he had borrowed from 601 next door.

He had heard a little about the woman from 601 from other neighbors these past few days. Last time, that strange woman had come to bang on the door, kicking and making a scene. The commotion was so loud the whole building knew about it.

Although none of the residents in the building said anything openly, there was no shortage of discussion behind her back.

The most common rumor was that she worked at a foot massage parlor.

The kind of small foot massage parlors you could see everywhere on the streets at night. Looking from the outside, the entire shop was covered in blue-tinted film made of a special material, and the female technicians would be sitting on the sofa or standing by the door in short skirts.

Lu Yan hesitated for a few seconds.

He wasn't the type to meddle in other people's business, but with this happening once, then twice, he owed too many favors.

In the end, he unlocked his phone and typed a line: By the way, the woman from 601 usually only comes back around noon. If you want to find her, you can come in the afternoon, or I can let her know for you.

This time, Xiao Heng didn't say no need.

Lu Yan figured it was probably because they had run into each other a few times by accident, so they weren't complete strangers anymore. After all, they had shared the same name.

[Xiao Heng]: Okay.

[Xiao Heng]: Got it.

After Xiao Heng replied, he lowered his head to look at the small head leaning against his leg. Having just finished its milk, the child was sound asleep, its eyelashes like little fans. With each soft breath, those fans would flutter gently.

The huge house was cold and empty, completely devoid of life.

He frowned, wanting to push the little head away, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He placed his hand on the back of the child's head and patted it gently.