Pei Xi felt like he must be going crazy.
He stared at the few lines of search history in his browser, his finger hovering over the screen, unable to tap.
His browser history was filled with a long list of questions he had just searched:
[What bad things can happen if a streamer dates their top fan?]
[How to politely reject advances from a top fan?]
[How to tell if a top fan is supporting for career reasons rather than romantic interest?]
[What impact does announcing a relationship have on streaming?]
[How to cope mentally with a large number of fans leaving?]
[Can you return only half of the gift donations?]
Flustered, Pei Xi closed the browser, turned off his phone screen, and clenched it in his hand.
What was he even thinking?
His relationship with User-ge was just that of a top fan and a streamer. Was he overthinking things?
Pei Xi stuffed his phone into his pocket. On the way back to the dorm, he was absent-minded, as if a tangled mess weighed on his heart. He couldn’t sort through these complicated emotions right away.
When he returned to the dorm, Lin Shaojun was sprawled in a chair eating a pear, while Zhai Jiarui leaned against another chair playing on his phone. The two had just finished lunch, and the takeout boxes on the table hadn’t been cleared yet. Seeing Pei Xi walk in, Lin Shaojun waved at him with a gossipy expression. “Third Bro, come sit for a bit.”
Pei Xi put down his backpack and walked over to sit. “What’s up?”
Lin Shaojun, chewing a large piece of pear, mumbled, “I heard that after class today, some guy cornered Lu Gou at the classroom door and confessed to him. Is that true?”
Pei Xi was taken aback and instinctively glanced around, but he didn’t see Lu Li anywhere.
“Don’t bother looking,” Lin Shaojun waved his hand. “He’s not here. He went out for something.”
Pei Xi could only nod. “Yeah, something like that happened.”
“Tsk,” Lin Shaojun clicked his tongue and scoffed. “I’ve said he’s straight. Why are people still not giving up? Do they really think they can turn Lu Li gay? No way. Lu Li is iron-straight. He’ll never bend in this lifetime.”
Zhai Jiarui chimed in from the side, “As long as he doesn’t get into a relationship, these annoying things probably won’t stop.”
Lin Shaojun snorted. “Maybe he’s already dating someone.”
Pei Xi looked up in surprise, then quickly lowered his gaze, trying to hide his reaction.
Zhai Jiarui exclaimed, “Huh? Lu Li? When did he start dating?”
Thinking about how Lu Li had been blowing him off lately, Lin Shaojun grumbled, “Who knows what Lu Gou has been up to recently? During the break, I asked him to duo rank in games—he didn’t come. Asked him to play basketball—he didn’t come. Asked him out for drinks—he didn’t even bother. Every day, he’s staring at his phone with this creepy smile. I’m starting to suspect he’s in an online relationship.”
Pei Xi’s breath hitched, and he stared at Lin Shaojun in disbelief. “An online relationship?”
“Yeah,” Lin Shaojun nodded. “A few days ago, I saw he changed his phone wallpaper. It looked like a girl’s photo, but before I could get a good look, he snatched it away. You know Lu Gou, that old man stuck in the 2G era—he’s always used the default system wallpaper. Even if he changed it, it’d be some landscape or something. There’s no way he’d switch to a girl’s photo.”
Zhai Jiarui raised an eyebrow, hesitating as he said, “That can’t be right. Lu Li doesn’t seem like the type to do online dating. With his looks, does he even need to?”
Lin Shaojun shrugged and pursed his lips. “Who knows? We can ask him for the gossip when he gets back.”
Zhai Jiarui, lacking enthusiasm, opened the Alliance mobile game. “I’m two stars away from Master rank. Wanna play?”
Lin Shaojun quickly followed suit, opening the game. “Coming, coming! I’m pushing for Master too.”
Pei Xi wasn’t interested in games. He glanced blankly at Lu Li’s bed, where the bedding and luggage were neatly arranged. During their time living together, it wasn’t hard to notice that Lu Li had a slight case of OCD and was a bit of a neat freak.
Thinking about what Lin Shaojun had just said, Pei Xi felt a wave of confusion wash over him. It was as if a corner of his heart had slowly caved in.
So, he has a girlfriend.
A faint, sour feeling spread through his chest, lingering and refusing to fade.
Pei Xi admitted he was shallow. Lu Li was the best-looking guy he had ever met so far. Both his physique and appearance were Pei Xi’s ideal type.
From the moment he first saw Lu Li, that flutter of excitement had been quietly brewing in his heart.
But he hadn’t realized it at the time.
Still, none of that mattered anymore.
After learning that Lu Li was straight, Pei Xi had deliberately kept his distance.
He didn’t initiate conversations or try to get close.
Hearing Lin Shaojun say that Lu Li had a girlfriend left him with a sense of emptiness, as if he had lost something.
But he had never truly had it in the first place. Maybe he was just feeling a little disappointed.
He took a deep breath, pushing down that sour feeling.
It really wasn’t a big deal. He had never expected to develop anything beyond a roommate relationship with Lu Li. That vague fondness didn’t even qualify as a crush.
Lying in bed, Pei Xi couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. He decided to get up, change his clothes, and head to the library early to study.
As he stepped out of the dorm, the wind in the hallway felt a bit chilly, gradually calming his restless emotions.
Lately, he had taken to spending hours at the library. The atmosphere there was serious and quiet, with everyone focused on their own tasks, undisturbed by others.
He first returned the books he had borrowed the day before, then headed up to the third floor. Recently, he had developed an interest in astronomy and planned to read more about galaxies and the universe.
Pei Xi walked slowly along the bookshelves, his fingers gliding over the spines of each book. Whenever a title caught his eye, he would pull it out and skim a few pages. If it looked interesting, he kept it; if not, he returned it to its place. He was so absorbed in his search that he didn’t notice how close he was standing to the guy next to him until he accidentally bumped shoulders with him. Startled, he quickly apologized, “Sorry about that.”
“No problem.”
The familiar voice made Pei Xi freeze. He looked up abruptly.
It was Lu Li.
At that moment, they were standing side by side, so close that Pei Xi could even catch a faint whiff of mint from the other’s scent.
Pei Xi subtly took half a step back, putting a little distance between them.
Flustered, he lowered his head, pretending to search for a book as he randomly pulled one from the shelf.
His heart inexplicably began to beat much faster.
He stood there awkwardly, unsure whether to leave or stay, or if he should say something before walking away.
The library was quiet, with only the sound of pages turning and the occasional distant footsteps.
Sunlight streamed through the window, falling onto the aisle between the bookshelves and stretching the shadows of two people long across the floor.
After a while, Lu Li passed by him. He walked slowly, and as he passed Pei Xi, he glanced down at the book in his hand, a faint, almost imperceptible smile flickering in his eyes. “Your book is upside down.”
Pei Xi: “!!”
He immediately looked down—the book in his hand was indeed upside down.
His face flushed bright red in an instant, spreading from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears.
Even as Lu Li’s footsteps gradually faded into the distance, Pei Xi still hadn’t recovered from the overwhelming sense of embarrassment.
In a fluster, he shoved the book back onto the shelf, closed his eyes, and slowly crouched down.
So embarrassing.
How could he have done something so stupid right in front of Lu Li?
It wasn’t until his legs grew numb from crouching that the awkwardness slowly began to fade.
Distractedly, he found a book about cosmic black holes and carried it back to the library’s reading room.
He opened the book and stared at the words, but not a single one registered in his mind. Instead, Lu Li’s words echoed over and over in his head:
“Your book is upside down.”
Though Lu Li had spoken softly, Pei Xi couldn’t help but sense a hint of amusement in his tone, as if teasing him.
Pei Xi took a deep breath, deliberately pushing aside the distracting thoughts, and tried to focus on reading.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when students in the library began leaving in twos and threes.
He closed the book, stretched lazily, and prepared to leave.
Only when he reached the library entrance did he realize that the once bright and sunny weather had turned gloomy and gray without warning. Rain had begun to fall.
A crowd of people stood huddled under the eaves, seeking shelter from the sudden downpour.
The abrupt change in weather had caught everyone off guard—no one had brought an umbrella, leaving them stranded at the library.
Rain poured from the sky, crashing onto the ground and splashing into tiny droplets.
The air was thick with the damp, earthy scent of rain.
Pei Xi stood in a corner, quietly watching the rain.
The cold wind that swept in with the heavy rain sent a slight chill through him.
Perhaps after this rain, Ningcheng City would officially step into autumn.
The rain fell heavily, blurring the distant teaching buildings into gray, shadowy outlines.
It seemed he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.
Lost in thought, he suddenly felt a shadow fall over his head.
An umbrella appeared above him.
Pei Xi froze for a moment, then turned to look.
Lu Li was standing right beside him, holding a black umbrella.
“Want to walk together?”
His expression remained as calm and unreadable as ever, revealing neither joy nor amusement.
Pei Xi stared at him blankly, his heart flooded with a mix of surprise and confusion.
Thump-thump—
It felt as if even the loud, relentless patter of rain against the ground couldn’t drown out the frantic beating of his heart.
Noticing Lu Li’s slightly raised eyebrow, Pei Xi snapped back to reality. Flustered, he hugged the book in his arms tightly and whispered, “Th-thank you.”
“Let’s go.” Lu Li tilted the umbrella slightly toward him, and the two of them stepped into the rain together.