Yan Congyu was stunned for a moment. “No, I don’t want to trouble you.”
Xu Jingyin laughed. “What trouble? It’s just visiting the dorm. Feel free to come hang out whenever.”
Song Jinzhen crossed her arms and said, “You’re welcome to visit. Gu Ji’s friends are our friends.”
Cheng Zhou urged, “Come on, come on, let’s go play games together.”
Seeing Yan Congyu still hesitating, Gu Ji wrapped an arm around his shoulder and chuckled softly, “Don’t overthink it. Let’s go.”
…
This was Yan Congyu’s second time entering Gu Ji’s dorm.
The first time was when Gu Ji was sick, and Yan Congyu had come to take care of him. But back then, he had been too worried, focusing only on Gu Ji’s condition and not noticing anything else.
“That’s my chair over there, and this is my bed. Feel free to sit wherever.”
There wasn’t much to offer in the dorm. Gu Ji searched for a while and only found two packs of Cheng Zhou’s spicy strips.
Cheng Zhou said generously, “Go ahead and give them to Yan.”
Gu Ji thought for a moment, then put them back, muttering, “…I don’t think Xiao Yan would eat these.”
Cheng Zhou: “…”
In the end, Gu Ji ordered a bunch of milk teas through a delivery app.
Yan Congyu sat in Gu Ji’s chair and couldn’t help but notice the balloon tied to the head of the bed. He was momentarily speechless and couldn’t resist curling his lips into a smile.
After several days, the balloon had started to deflate a little and didn’t float as high as it did when it was first bought.
Yan Congyu hadn’t expected Gu Ji to keep the balloon for so many days, let alone tie it to his bedside like a child.
“Xiao Yan, feel free to play whatever you like. The computer’s over there, no password.” After giving a few instructions, Gu Ji added, “—I’m going to take a shower first.”
Yan Congyu paused. “…Okay.”
With Cheng Zhou around, Gu Ji wasn’t worried about awkward silences. He grabbed his clothes and headed into the bathroom with peace of mind.
Cheng Zhou eagerly turned on the computer. “Yan, what games do you like to play?”
Yan Congyu shifted his attention back. “I’m not really good at any of them.”
“No worries, we’ll show you the ropes.” Cheng Zhou said enthusiastically. “You can use Gu’s computer to get familiar with it. When he comes out, he can teach you.”
Yan Congyu responded after a moment. “…Okay.”
Gu Ji’s desk was neat and simple, with nothing on it besides a computer.
The weather was hot, and after playing ball, they were all sweaty. After his shower, Gu Ji stepped out of the bathroom. The dorm’s air conditioning was on, making it comfortably cool.
He glanced at Yan Congyu and saw that he had already settled in and blended well. Satisfied that there was nothing to worry about, Gu Ji went downstairs to pick up the milk tea.
When Gu Ji returned, he handed out the milk teas one by one.
Cheng Zhou had both hands occupied with the game and couldn’t free them. He opened his mouth wide and said, “Ah—”
Gu Ji patted his head and, without a second thought, inserted the straw for him.
A cup of milk tea was placed beside Yan Congyu’s hand. Gu Ji leaned against the desk, watching the computer screen, and reminded him, “…Dodge.”
Yan Congyu followed Gu Ji’s advice and maneuvered his character into a corner. A second later, a spray of bullets hit the spot where he had just been.
Once the area was clear, Yan Congyu let out a sigh of relief and stood up to offer the computer. “You take over.”
Gu Ji pressed a hand on his shoulder. “No need. You keep playing.”
Cheng Zhou shouted from the other side, “—Yan, come quick! There’s an airdrop package ahead, really close.”
Yan Congyu wasn’t very familiar with the game and slowly moved his character toward the airdrop package under Gu Ji’s guidance.
Gu Ji glanced around, feeling that everything was fine, then turned his head to look at Yan Congyu.
“Why aren’t you wearing your headphones?” Gu Ji reached over to pick up the headphones from the desk, gently smoothed the stray hairs by his ear, and helped him put them on, adjusting them slightly.
“Did it press on your hair?” he asked.
“…No.”
Yan Congyu’s eyelashes trembled slightly, his heart unsettled. The tips of his ears, hidden beneath the headphones, were already flushed bright red.
Gu Ji, tired of leaning against the desk, dragged a chair over from the side and sat down next to him, adding, “Don’t mind me, just focus on your game.”
Though he said that, Yan Congyu couldn’t ignore his presence. Not long after Gu Ji approached, he made several mistakes in the game due to his distracted state.
In the end, Yan Congyu couldn’t hold on. Before he could react, his character was shot down by an enemy, finished off with an extra bullet, and the screen turned gray.
Yan Congyu froze for a moment, feeling a bit dazed, and instinctively looked toward Gu Ji.
“It’s fine,” Gu Ji patted Yan Congyu reassuringly, then stood up and walked over to Cheng Zhou, saying simply, “Let me borrow your computer.”
Cheng Zhou’s in-game character wasn’t far from Yan Congyu’s. When Yan Congyu’s character fell, Cheng Zhou had already rushed over, but the enemy was too quick with the finishing shot, leaving no time to intervene.
On the screen, Gu Ji controlled the game character and returned to the spot where Yan Congyu’s character had been taken down. Hearing footsteps nearby, he knew the enemy who had shot Yan Congyu was still around.
After a few minutes of maneuvering, Gu Ji’s character climbed in through a window. Within seconds, a burst of gunfire sounded, and the enemy was knocked to the ground.
After accomplishing this, Gu Ji returned the computer to Cheng Zhou, who took over and finished off the enemy.
Yan Congyu, who had watched the entire sequence from the spectator view, felt his heartbeat inexplicably quicken again.
It seemed that with every step closer to Gu Ji, his feelings of affection grew a little stronger.
Gu Ji returned to Yan Congyu’s side and asked, “Do you want to keep playing?”
Yan Congyu slowly took off his headphones and shook his head. “It’s too hard. You take over.”
Throughout the entire game, his heartbeat had never steadied. He had to stay alert for enemies in the game while also trying to keep himself from being affected by Gu Ji’s presence.
Gu Ji, having just finished playing basketball, felt a bit weak in the arms and wasn’t in the mood for gaming. “Then let’s not play.”
Xu Jingyin, who also didn’t feel like gaming at the moment, took a deck of playing cards from the drawer and asked, “How about a game of ‘Fight the Landlord’?”
“Sounds good,” Gu Ji said, perking up with interest. He then turned to Yan Congyu. “Want to play?”
Yan Congyu nodded. “Sure.”
They rearranged the table simply, and the three of them sat down to deal the cards.
In the first round, Xu Jingyin was the landlord.
Xu Jingyin had a decent hand, but he made a careless mistake mid-game and ended up with two cards left in his hand.
At that point, Gu Ji also had two cards left.
When it was Yan Congyu’s turn, Gu Ji coughed lightly and gave him a meaningful wink.
Yan Congyu tilted his cards slightly to show them to Gu Ji.
Xu Jingyin stared at them. “…Could you two be a little less obvious?”
Gu Ji smiled faintly, reached under the table, took Yan Congyu’s hand, and quietly traced the character for “pair” on his palm.
The cool touch of his fingertips gliding over Yan Congyu’s palm sent a faint, tingling sensation spreading through his hand.
Yan Congyu let out a soft breath, understood Gu Ji’s hint, and played a “pair of threes.”
Gu Ji threw down his two cards, a pair of fives—just in time to win the round. “We win.”
In the second round, Gu Ji was the landlord.
Halfway through the game, Xu Jingyin, clutching his cards, recalled the previous rounds and cast a suspicious glance at Yan Congyu.
—Did he just feel like the other was deliberately feeding Gu Ji winning cards?
The thought flashed through his mind for a moment, but Xu Jingyin quickly dismissed it. How could anyone feed cards so accurately, as if they knew exactly what Gu Ji would play? It must have been a coincidence.
Besides, Gu Ji was the landlord this round, and even the most inexperienced player knew not to help the landlord.
In the next round, Yan Congyu became the landlord.
After the cards were dealt, Xu Jingyin looked at his hand and subtly shook his head at Gu Ji.
—His cards were terrible, all low and unconnected.
Xu Jingyin whispered, “It’s up to you.”
Gu Ji frowned and shook his head as well. His hand was just as bad. “…Don’t count on me.”
With both of them holding poor hands, it meant Yan Congyu’s cards were likely excellent.
Sure enough, from the start, Yan Congyu casually played a few pairs, and neither Gu Ji nor Xu Jingyin could beat them.
Yan Congyu paused, then played a small sequence.
Gu Ji and Xu Jingyin still couldn’t beat it.
By the time Yan Congyu had played half his cards, the two of them combined had only managed to play a few.
Gu Ji sighed helplessly. His cards were too scattered.
Resting his head on his hand, he muttered, “…If only I had a J.”
Then, Yan Congyu took a J from his own hand and passed it to Gu Ji.
Gu Ji froze for a couple of seconds before happily accepting it.
“…” Xu Jingyin couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted in disbelief, “Wait! Is this how you’re supposed to play Fight the Landlord?”
Even though Gu Ji was on his side and winning would benefit them both, this move was something he had never seen before.
Moreover, Yan Congyu was the landlord. Unless something went wrong, he should have won this round. Why would he give a card to Gu Ji?
For the first time, Xu Jingyin felt his brain couldn’t keep up.
Gu Ji patted Xu Jingyin and whispered, “Later, I’ll sneak a card to you too.”
Xu Jingyin’s expression was indescribable. Was this really about giving cards or not?
But he had to admit, the offer was tempting. Who could resist the allure of winning?
With the J, Gu Ji played a sequence of pairs, instantly reducing his hand by half.
After playing those cards, the rest of the game went smoothly. Gu Ji finished his cards before Yan Congyu and luckily won the round.
Yan Congyu stayed in Gu Ji’s dorm until evening before finally leaving.
Gu Ji stretched lazily. “What do you want to eat later?”
“Anything’s fine. Let’s go to the cafeteria.” Xu Jingyin casually poked the balloon by Gu Ji’s bed. “It’s a bit deflated. When are you getting a new one?”
At first, it had seemed a bit out of place, but now that he was used to it, it actually looked quite nice. It even provided some light when getting up at night.
“Yeah, a little.” Gu Ji glanced at it. It had been full before but was now somewhat deflated. “I’ll buy a new one in a few days.”
Xu Jingyin sat next to Gu Ji and chatted idly. “Yan Congyu’s personality isn’t what I expected.”
Curious, Gu Ji asked, “What did you think he’d be like?”
“I thought he’d be aloof,” Xu Jingyin said. “The kind of untouchable, lofty type.”
A slight smile touched Gu Ji’s lips. “What makes you say that?”
Xu Jingyin had always been good at reading people. For instance, he had sensed Lin Qingran’s greed at first glance. But he hadn’t expected Xu Jingyin to have such an impression of Yan Congyu.
When did Xiao Yan become aloof?
Xu Jingyin said, “He’s always kept to himself, rarely interacts with others, doesn’t spend much time at school, and even his classmates have barely spoken to him. Those are just comments from the forum.”
Gu Ji murmured, “Xiao Yan is so pitiful, he has no friends.”
Xu Jingyin: “…”
So, you’re just refusing to listen, huh?
Xu Jingyin tried to correct Gu Ji’s misconception. “There’s a huge difference between having no friends and not wanting any friends, understand?”
Gu Ji didn’t really take it in. Regardless of the reason, it turned out Yan Congyu actually had no friends.
Poor Xiao Yan.
A few days later, Gu Ji received good news from Yan Congyu.
The results of the painting competition they had participated in were out. Yan Congyu’s submitted work, “Miracle,” had won first place in the school competition, and the top three works would be submitted to the city-level competition.
Photos of all the outstanding works from the school competition were now displayed in the campus art gallery.
[Yan Congyu: Want to go see them together?]
Although Gu Ji had always known Yan Congyu was talented, he now understood just how exceptional he was and felt genuine admiration.
[Gu Ji: Sure.]
Yan Congyu sent Gu Ji the time, [I’ll wait for you downstairs at your dorm.]
After putting down his phone, Gu Ji wondered if he should do something to celebrate for Yan Congyu.
Xiao Yan had won first place. Such an impressive achievement and with no other friends, he wasn’t sure if anyone else would celebrate with him.
If anyone in their dorm had won first place in a competition, such an extraordinary event would have been celebrated with firecrackers to let the whole building know.
After some thought, he prepared a small gift before heading out.
As the meeting time approached, Gu Ji went downstairs early, but Yan Congyu was already waiting there.
Aside from the incident at the gym last time, Yan Congyu always arrived before him, no matter how early Gu Ji tried to be.
“Next time, don’t come so early,” Gu Ji said as he walked up to him. “How long have you been waiting?”
Yan Congyu shook his head. “Not long, I just got here too.”
Gu Ji didn’t know what to do with him. Yan Congyu always said the same thing whenever asked, yet he still showed up way ahead of time.
He made a mental note to stake out the spot an hour early next time to see exactly when Yan Congyu arrived.
On their way to the art gallery, Gu Ji took out his gift and handed it to Yan Congyu.
“This is for you,” Gu Ji said with a smile. “I didn’t have much time, so it was a last-minute idea.”
Yan Congyu was taken aback. After a moment’s hesitation, he accepted the small black box from Gu Ji.
Inside was a necklace with a delicate silver crown pendant, understated yet elegant.
Gu Ji tilted his head to look at him. “What do you think?”
When he had been at the mall, he had initially been drawn to a diamond-studded crown hair accessory, but it was too flashy and not designed for men. Its only practical use would be as a display piece at home.
After some consideration, Gu Ji settled on this small crown necklace. Not too extravagant, yet still symbolic of first place.
Yan Congyu could hardly believe it. His hand holding the black box even felt warm.
His throat tightened, and his heart softened abruptly. He let out a low, muffled laugh. “Thank you, I really like it.”
His gaze softened, the joy in his eyes impossible to conceal. Yan Congyu couldn’t tear his eyes away from Gu Ji.
Gu Ji felt relieved. “I’m glad you like it.”
Upon arriving at the art gallery, there weren’t many visitors at this time. School exhibitions generally weren’t well-known or widely promoted, but exceptionally outstanding works would be sent to higher-level competitions. If they won awards, they would receive significant attention.
To prevent damage, the exhibition didn’t display the original paintings but rather photographs of them.
The paintings that were rated as excellent each had their own unique characteristics. As the two walked along the corridor and looked around, Gu Ji still felt that Yan Congyu’s painting was the most beautiful.
At the end of the corridor was the painting titled Miracle, with a few students gathered around it.
“No wonder it won first place. This ranking is well-deserved.”
“The way the figure and the scenery blend together is amazing. Does the location look a bit like the back lake of our school?”
“Since when has the back lake ever looked this beautiful? It must be fictional. The boy in the painting is probably fictional too. Could a real person be this perfect?”
“It’s all probably imagined. Sigh, just in terms of imagination, we’re already a step behind. I couldn’t even dream up a scene like this.”
“Hey, why is this painting called Miracle? It doesn’t seem to have much to do with the image.”
“Maybe because the painting itself is a miracle.”
Gu Ji overheard the latter part of their conversation and, looking at the painting again, felt puzzled as well. “Why did you choose this name?”
Yan Congyu replied softly, “It just came to me suddenly.”
The name of the painting didn’t hold any special meaning. At the time Yan Congyu submitted the work, he happened to be thinking of Gu Ji, so he incorporated the character “Ji” into the title. But using just one character would have been too obvious, so he casually paired it with another word to form the title.
Just as the group of students viewing the painting were about to leave, they happened to run into Yan Congyu and Gu Ji. They seemed a bit surprised and glanced at them a few extra times, only looking away after the two had passed by.
Gu Ji didn’t pay much attention to it and wasn’t worried about being recognized. The painting only depicted his profile, and the artistic treatment of the painting differed from a photograph. Those who knew him might recognize him, but those who didn’t would at most find some resemblance.
After walking a few more steps, Gu Ji suddenly noticed a painting that looked very familiar. Without much thought, he asked, “…Did you submit two paintings?”
The painting in front of them, which had won third place, was a depiction of a starry sky. The reason it looked familiar to Gu Ji was that it closely resembled the one Yan Congyu had been working on during Gu Ji’s last visit to the art studio. At the time, Gu Ji had tried to replicate it, so he remembered the painting quite well.
“This one isn’t mine,” Yan Congyu said.
Gu Ji was taken aback. Although starry skies weren’t an uncommon theme, no two people would paint them exactly the same. Gu Ji particularly remembered some of the colors used in this painting, such as the pink planet in the upper right corner. When he had tried to imitate it, he had wondered why pink was used but couldn’t figure out the reason, so he had simply painted a pink circle as well.
Gu Ji guessed, “Were you copying it back then too?”
If both Yan Congyu’s painting and this one were copies of the same original, it might explain the high degree of similarity.
Yan Congyu looked up at the painting on the wall, his mood visibly dampened. “Do you think they look alike too?”
Gu Ji nodded. “About seventy or eighty percent similar—”
He suddenly thought of something. He remembered that Yan Congyu had painted it on the spot back then, without copying any other work. Tentatively, he asked, “…Was your painting stolen?”
“The painting wasn’t stolen,” Yan Congyu replied. “But this, does look very similar.”
Gu Ji took Yan Congyu’s wrist. “Let’s talk somewhere else, not here.”
…
In the café, Gu Ji listened as Yan Congyu recounted the entire incident.
The matter wasn’t particularly complicated. After Yan Congyu finished painting the starry sky, he took the time to frame both his and Gu Ji’s paintings and brought them home.
But before framing, the paintings had been left in the art studio.
At the time, the starry sky painting was just a product of inspiration. Yan Congyu hadn’t intended to enter it into any competition, so he hadn’t kept it confidential or worried about whether others might see it.
It wasn’t until the competition results were announced that Yan Congyu, upon seeing the third-place entry, connected it to his own painting.
The two paintings were strikingly similar—so much so that even Gu Ji, seeing it again after such a long time, found it familiar. As the one who had painted it, Yan Congyu recognized it at first glance.
He stared at it for a long time but could do nothing.
The problem was that Yan Congyu couldn’t prove his painting predated the one submitted to the competition. Without evidence, any accusation would be dismissed by the committee as slander, and he might even risk losing his own eligibility to compete.
After finishing his story, Yan Congyu pursed his lips and asked, “…Do you believe me?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Besides, I watched you paint that.”
Gu Ji frowned deeply, never expecting someone would stoop so low as to steal a painting for a competition.
He asked, “Do you know who submitted that entry?”
Yan Congyu wasn’t particularly competitive. He could accept his work not winning an award, but he couldn’t bear the thought of his creation being credited to someone else.
With physical artworks, it was difficult to determine which came first. Though frustrated, Yan Congyu felt there was little he could do but accept the situation.
Perhaps the only consolation was that Gu Ji believed him.
The committee wouldn’t accept accusations without evidence, but Gu Ji trusted him unconditionally.
Yan Congyu answered, “…You know this person too.”
In the entire art department, Gu Ji only knew two people.
His expression darkened. “Lin Qingran?”
Given Lin Qingran’s character, it wasn’t surprising he would do something like this. But even hearing the name again made Gu Ji feel disgusted.
He had initially considered confronting the person directly, thinking it might yield results. But with someone like Lin Qingran, who lacked any sense of ethics, that approach was almost certainly futile.
Gu Ji clenched his brows. “But your painting is much better than his.”
When comparing the two side by side, it was obvious whose skill was superior. The difference was clear.
Yan Congyu shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”
Being the better painter didn’t prove who painted it first.
“…What about the inspiration?”
“That won’t work either.”
“When was his painting created?”
Yan Congyu said, “The competition required entries to be works created after registration, so after September 25th.”
Feeling agitated, Gu Ji tried to calm down and think. “In terms of timing, were there any surveillance cameras in the classroom?”
“No, the art building doesn’t have surveillance cameras.”
Yan Congyu hadn’t expected Gu Ji to be this angry. Initially, he hadn’t planned to tell him proactively because, although Gu Ji and Lin Qingran had already broken up, he wasn’t sure how Gu Ji felt about Lin Qingran now. What if there were still some lingering feelings?
He didn’t want to bring up that name in front of Gu Ji again.
“Time…” Gu Ji closed his eyes, recalling the scene from that day, trying to remember what had happened.
Yan Congyu was a bit worried that Gu Ji might be too stubborn and wanted to say something.
As if struck by a thought, Gu Ji suddenly looked up at Yan Congyu, his eyes unable to conceal a delighted expression.
Yan Congyu was taken aback. “What’s wrong?”
Gu Ji, who had been sitting across from Yan Congyu, now moved to sit beside him, unintentionally leaning in quite close.
He took out his phone, pulled up a few photos, and showed them to Yan Congyu, asking with a hint of nervousness, “Will this work?”
Back then, it was Gu Ji’s first time completing a painting. After finishing it, Yan Congyu had asked if he wanted to frame it, but Gu Ji felt his painting wasn’t worthy of a frame and hadn’t considered preserving it.
Still, as it was his first work, Gu Ji had taken a few photos as keepsakes.
The photos on his phone were taken casually, with two of them accidentally capturing Yan Congyu’s painting in the background. Though not particularly clear, they were complete enough.
—The timestamp at the top showed September 19th.