After bidding farewell to Chen Tu, Qiao Muyu and Lu Zhen had officially completed their mission with honor. They headed back toward their classroom to resume their lessons.
Since the self-study period hadn’t ended yet, the stairwells were quiet, without a single soul in sight.
Qiao Muyu was still reflecting on whether he had misspoken during the interview when he felt a light hook in his palm—the person beside him was trying to hold his hand.
“Tsk, don’t touch me.” Qiao Muyu dodged his hand.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Zhen asked.
“What do you think?” The more Qiao Muyu thought about it, the angrier he got. He had been holding it in for the cameras, but now he could finally vent. “How could you talk so recklessly in front of the lens?”
Lu Zhen looked puzzled. “What did I say that was reckless?”
Qiao Muyu almost laughed in frustration. “Baby, which sentence wasn’t reckless? Especially that bit about applying for the same university.”
Lu Zhen pursed his lips, his expression turning serious. “That wasn’t reckless talk. I want to attend the same university as you so I can see you often. We wouldn’t have to deal with a four-year long-distance relationship. If you’re willing, we could rent an apartment together near campus—somewhere quiet that you like. It would be peaceful, and convenient for classes.”
He spoke fluently and naturally, as if he had envisioned this future many times over. Finishing, Lu Zhen looked down at him and asked, “Don’t you want that?”
Qiao Muyu blinked. What is happening? How did we suddenly jump to planning our future life together?
He was still struggling to adapt to Lu Zhen’s sudden “pro-level” flirting skills. He had to grit his teeth and play along, doubling down on the act. “Of course I want that, baby. Not just university—I want to work in the same city as you, preferably in the same company and the same department, being with you forever and ever.”
After saying something so sappy, Qiao Muyu’s scalp felt a wave of pins and needles.
Lu Zhen, however, looked satisfied. He lifted the corner of his eye and took Muyu’s hand. “Mhm. Me too.”
This time, Qiao Muyu gave up and didn’t pull away. He sighed inwardly. Sigh, what can I do? I chose this boyfriend, so I have to coax him.
“But you should just tell me these things in private. Don’t say them to others! There was a camera recording everything. I felt like Reporter Chen was looking at us weirdly.”
“Was she?” Lu Zhen seemed completely oblivious. “You’re overthinking it.”
Qiao Muyu nodded, hoping he was indeed overthinking. He comforted himself: That last question wasn’t that important; Chen Tu will probably edit it out.
Probably… right?
The answer to that question was revealed two days later.
During lunch study, Xu Rongcan—a 10G internet surfer—shared a link to an official WeChat article in their three-person group chat, @-ing Qiao Muyu multiple times. Qiao Muyu was busy organizing notes and didn’t see the message until twenty minutes later.
He clicked the link. It was a post from the Municipal Education Bureau’s Publicity Department. They had published the interview article that morning, including the video. It already had tens of thousands of views.
Qiao Muyu quickly put on his earphones and ducked his head behind his desk to watch.
The first thing he saw was the title: “The Nanjian Gemini.” What the hell is that?
Secondly, Chen Tu hadn’t edited out a single question. Everything was in the final cut, exposing all the interaction details between him and Lu Zhen. Watching from a third-person perspective, Qiao Muyu realized that Lu Zhen spent the entire interview looking at him rather than the camera.
Furthermore, the way Lu Zhen looked at him while speaking was… a bit too clingy.
Qiao Muyu shook his head, telling himself it was just his guilty conscience making him see things. Everything was surely normal. With a heavy heart, he scrolled down to the comments.
The comment section was bustling. Many parents and students were “worshipping” the top students for good luck on the Gaokao. But scattered among them were comments with a completely different vibe:
Did No. 3 High send two school hunks for this interview?
How can top students be this handsome? Leave some room for us slackers to live! [Crying]
Both of them are so handsome [Star eyes]
Nanjian Gemini? I’m investing in this Top Student CP (Couple) [Salute]
I smell the scent of bromance…
“Our relationship is extraordinary.” Who else understands how good that sentence tastes? [Face palm]
Help! I came for study tips, but my CP radar is screaming!!!
Reading these, Qiao Muyu wanted to find a wall to bang his head against. He regretted it—deeply. He should never have agreed to Wan Qianghai’s request. Now he had a digital permanent record of this “black history.”
In the group chat, his two “bad” friends were busy making fun of him.
[Du Jingfei]: Your Majesty, I must report that Concubine Yu is having an illicit affair with the Scholar-God Lu! This is a scandal for the whole school!
[Du Jingfei]: [Meme: Scarlet Death Warning.jpg]
[Xu Rongcan]: Concubine Yu, be honest. Since when has your relationship with Lu-God been so “extraordinary”?
[Qiao Muyu]: …
[Qiao Muyu]: Your friend “Tapping the Wooden Fish” has left the chat. [Bye bye]
The first period that afternoon was PE. After a simple warm-up, the teacher let them have free time. Knowing Du Jingfei and Xu Rongcan would hunt him down to mock the interview, Qiao Muyu hid behind the gymnasium on a secluded patch of grass.
He hadn’t even warmed the grass with his seat before he heard footsteps. A shadow fell beside him. Qiao Muyu turned to see Lu Zhen.
“How did you know I was here?” Qiao Muyu was surprised.
Lu Zhen sat down naturally. “I saw you walking this way earlier, so I followed.”
The spot was hidden and quiet—a perfect “secret meeting” spot for a couple. Usually, Qiao Muyu would have put on an act to flirt, but now, seeing Lu Zhen’s face just reminded him of that cursed interview.
He didn’t want to snap, so he just lay back on the grass and closed his eyes. “I’m tired. I’m going to nap. Play by yourself.”
Lu Zhen gave a disappointed “Oh.” A few seconds later, he took out his phone. Soon, Qiao Muyu heard a familiar voice coming from Lu Zhen’s speakers. His eyes snapped open.
It was an interview video.
“Baby, can you wear earphones?” Qiao Muyu asked, his head aching.
“Earphones are in the classroom. Didn’t bring them.”
“Then turn it down.”
“Okay.”
So Qiao Muyu was forced to listen to the interview again. When it finally ended, the video immediately started over from the beginning. Qiao Muyu thought Lu Zhen had forgotten to turn off auto-loop, but seconds passed and Lu Zhen just kept watching it intently.
By the time the self-introduction part finished again, Qiao Muyu couldn’t take it. He sat up. “Why are you watching it again? How many times have you seen it?”
Lu Zhen actually tilted his head to think. “Five or six times.”
Qiao Muyu: “…” This guy is so boring!
Suddenly, Lu Zhen’s phone pinged. He checked the notification and his lips curved into a smile. He looked in a great mood as he typed a reply. Qiao Muyu, rarely seeing him smile at anyone but himself, asked curiously, “Who are you texting?”
“My mom,” Lu Zhen said. “I sent her our interview video. She said you’re cute.”
Being unexpectedly praised by a parent made Qiao Muyu pause awkwardly. He instinctively replied politely, “…Thank you, Auntie.”
Then he saw Lu Zhen type: “He says thank you,” and hit send.
“You!” Qiao Muyu was speechless. He lunged to grab the phone. “Why would you tell her that? Unsend it!”
But before he could, a flurry of notifications from group chats popped up—all @-ing Lu Zhen. Qiao Muyu’s finger accidentally clicked into one. It was the Class 1 group chat (the one without teachers).
The usually quiet group was exploding with “?” and scrolling so fast he couldn’t keep up. He caught glimpses of his and Lu Zhen’s names, along with “Hahaha” and “99” (a slang for “stay together forever”).
Qiao Muyu had a bad feeling. He snatched Lu Zhen’s phone and scrolled up to find the source of the explosion: a picture sent by Xu Rongcan.
Qiao Muyu clicked it and nearly blacked out.
It was a screenshot of them sitting together in the interview, but the background had been Photoshopped into a solid red cloth. Since they were both wearing white school shirts, it looked exactly like a marriage certificate photo.
The culprit, Xu Rongcan, had already apologized: “Sorry, my hand slipped. [Tongue out]”
Is “hand slipped” the point?! Qiao Muyu was fuming. He grabbed his own phone to yell at her, but saw a private message from Du Jingfei first.
[Du Jingfei]: Bro, not gonna lie, you two look quite a match in this photo. Why do I feel like I’m giving away my daughter in marriage?
Qiao Muyu sent back three rows of middle-finger emojis. Ridiculous.
He turned to see Lu Zhen admiring the “marriage photo” and silently saving the original image to his phone.
“Don’t save that! Delete it!” Qiao Muyu reached for the phone, but Lu Zhen hid it behind his back.
“No,” Lu Zhen said. “It looks good.”
“What looks good about it?”
“You look good.”
Qiao Muyu choked. That wasn’t what I meant!
Lu Zhen looked at the photo with a tender gaze for a moment longer, then set it as his chat background for his conversation with Qiao Muyu.
Watching Lu Zhen’s profile, Qiao Muyu felt the situation was getting weirder and weirder. He finally asked the question that had been bothering him: “Do you… really like me that much?”
Lu Zhen looked up, confused by the sudden question, but answered firmly: “Mhm. I like you.”
“But last time someone confessed to you at the Sports Meet, you said you already had someone you liked.”
“When?” Lu Zhen thought for a moment. “Oh. I was talking about you then.”
“Huh?” Qiao Muyu was stunned. “But we barely knew each other then!”
Lu Zhen went quiet for a moment, then suddenly began to recite with deep emotion: “Classmate Qiao Muyu, do you believe in love at first sight? Before I met you, I always thought it was the world’s biggest joke. How could a person—”
The cringey lines were far too familiar. Qiao Muyu’s face exploded into a bright red. He slammed his hand over Lu Zhen’s mouth. “Holy crap, stop reciting!”
The sudden attack caught Lu Zhen off guard. Because Qiao Muyu was so agitated, he used too much force, knocking Lu Zhen off balance. They both tumbled onto the grass.
When Qiao Muyu came to his senses, he realized he was pinned face-down on top of Lu Zhen. His lips were pressed right against the back of his own hand, which was still covering Lu Zhen’s mouth.
He felt a soft sensation against his palm, sending a wave of itchiness through him. Looking into Lu Zhen’s eyes at point-blank range, his only thought was:
Damn, if my hand wasn’t in the way, we would have just kissed!
The atmosphere was dangerously charged. Qiao Muyu hurriedly looked away, scrambled off Lu Zhen, and pretended to be very busy fixing his hair and uniform. The palm that had “kissed” Lu Zhen’s lips was burning.
Once his face cooled down slightly, he forced the conversation back. “How… how bored are you? You actually memorized that letter?”
Lu Zhen raised an eyebrow. “Your writing is so good, I’m just learning from it.”
“Liar,” Qiao Muyu muttered. “You’re clearly making fun of me.”
“I’m serious,” Lu Zhen said. “You wrote it better than many high-rated templates online.”
Qiao Muyu shivered at the thought of his nonsense letter. “Your ‘lover’s filter’ for me is just too thick.”
Lu Zhen shook his head. “It’s not a filter. My ‘Little Fish’ is just that good.”
Zap!
Qiao Muyu’s heart took another direct hit. This guy… he flirts with zero cooldown. It’s terrifying. No one told him that this “Strong Bro” was a natural-born straight-shooter…!
…
Our little fish baby is such a “high attack, low defense” dating rookie—loves to flirt but can’t handle it himself.
Happy New Year’s Eve, babies! [Heart]