Jiang Yu clearly didn’t believe him.
“Then why did you come to the infirmary?”
Shi Jing coughed and replied sincerely,
“I got too into gaming last night and didn’t go to sleep until two in the morning.”
So after standing at attention for an entire morning, he had become dizzy and lightheaded. He genuinely couldn’t endure it any longer.
Jiang Yu: “…”
Looking at the dark circles beneath Shi Jing’s eyes, his lips moved slightly.
He wanted to say something.
But in the end, he swallowed the words back down.
After all, he had no standing to show concern.
Shi Jing had only come to the infirmary to sit down and rest for a while.
Just as he was about to find an empty bed, a head suddenly popped up from the innermost bed.
A gentle voice called out,
“Shi Jing.”
Shi Jing: “?”
He looked over.
The person was wrapped tightly in a blanket. Sweat covered his forehead, and damp hair clung to his skin.
Blinking repeatedly, he gazed at Shi Jing with exaggerated affection.
Shi Jing: “…Tao Qi’an, did a donkey kick you in the head?”
Walking over, he yanked the blanket away.
The infirmary blankets were fairly thick.
Staring at Tao Qi’an’s flushed face, Shi Jing pondered for a moment before making a guess.
“Is this some new way of avoiding military training?”
Noticing that the person in the neighboring bed was looking over, Tao Qi’an instantly became nervous.
“W-Why would you say that?”
Shi Jing tested a theory.
“First, you suffocate yourself to death under the blanket.”
“Then you don’t have to do military training anymore.”
Laughter suddenly erupted nearby.
Tao Qi’an glanced sideways.
Jiang Yu sat in his chair, looking at his roommate.
Only the corners of his lips had curved slightly.
The one who had actually laughed out loud was that damned Chen Zhiyan.
How could someone be so annoying?
Tao Qi’an puffed out his cheeks.
Shi Jing sat down beside the bed and lowered his head to play on his phone.
After entering university, everyone naturally ended up joining hometown group chats.
In the Lingcheng Group Chat, the group owner had tagged everyone two minutes earlier, announcing a hometown gathering after military training so everyone could get acquainted.
A spreadsheet had been posted for attendees to fill out.
Shi Jing was still hesitating.
When he opened the form, he discovered someone had already signed up.
The moment he saw the name of the first person on the list, he lowered his head and stared at Tao Qi’an.
Tao Qi’an was scrolling through Douyin.
Sensing Shi Jing’s gaze, he looked up warily.
“What?”
Shi Jing pursed his lips awkwardly.
“You’re from Lingcheng?”
“Yeah.”
After nodding, Tao Qi’an noticed the registration form on Shi Jing’s phone.
A ridiculous possibility suddenly entered his mind.
“Wait… don’t tell me you’re from Lingcheng too?”
Shi Jing didn’t even know what to say.
They had already been roommates for nearly a week.
And Tao Qi’an hadn’t even realized they were from the same hometown.
Tao Qi’an sighed emotionally.
“Look at this fake friendship of ours.”
Shi Jing paused.
He wanted to say something but held back.
Tao Qi’an clicked his tongue.
“If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”
Since Tao Qi’an had invited him to speak freely, Shi Jing didn’t bother holding back.
“When exactly did we ever have a friendship?”
“…”
A strange silence followed.
Then laughter rang out again from nearby.
Tao Qi’an lay back down on the bed.
Closing his eyes peacefully, he smiled and said,
“It seems I was being sentimental all by myself.”
A few seconds later, however, he suddenly sprang upright again.
“No way. Shi Jing, hurry up and fill out that form. You have to come to this gathering.”
“Why?”
“To cultivate our friendship.”
Tao Qi’an pointed dramatically at him.
“From scratch!”
Shi Jing: “…”
After sitting around for another half hour, Shi Jing felt much better and prepared to return to military training.
Tao Qi’an eagerly followed him out.
Once they left the infirmary, Shi Jing shot him a strange look.
“Weren’t you supposed to have diarrhea?”
Tao Qi’an answered honestly,
“I was faking it.”
He had simply been too lazy to attend military training.
Who would have thought he would run into Chen Zhiyan there?
The regret nearly turned his intestines green.
Although he constantly cursed Chen Zhiyan behind his back and had even infiltrated the man’s anti-fan group, when they met face-to-face, Tao Qi’an didn’t dare utter a single word.
Back in the infirmary.
Chen Zhiyan snapped his fingers.
“Stop staring, bro. They’re already gone.”
Jiang Yu returned to his senses.
“You know him?”
Chen Zhiyan let out a sigh.
“Open your phone. Open WeChat. Then take a look at your chat background.”
Jiang Yu’s fingers paused on the screen.
Inside the chat window was a photograph.
A boy in a school uniform leaned against a railing.
Apparently someone had said something amusing.
His eyes were narrowed into crescents as he smiled.
When he smiled, he looked exceptionally good.
His eyes curved beautifully.
“The night before last when we were drinking, you got wasted. You didn’t do anything except pull out your phone and stare at this picture without blinking. Lu Laosan and the others were completely dumbfounded. You really are ridiculously devoted.”
Chen Zhiyan couldn’t help complaining.
He had grown up alongside Jiang Yu and knew exactly what kind of person he was.
The pampered young master of the Jiang family had always been able to get whatever he wanted.
He was proud.
Fearless.
Someone who never hesitated.
Yet that night, he had remained completely silent, spending the entire evening staring at a single photograph.
Jiang Yu merely hummed in response.
He didn’t deny it.
“After all, I’m a hopeless romantic.”
Half a month later, military training finally ended amid the eager anticipation of all the students.
The Lingcheng hometown group scheduled their gathering at the seaside.
Early in the morning, Tao Qi’an rushed into the bathroom to wash up.
After finishing, he moved to the wardrobe and began carefully selecting an outfit.
Gao Lang sat up and asked in confusion,
“Isn’t the gathering at nine?”
He was also from Lingcheng and planned to attend.
Tao Qi’an spoke confidently.
“This is everyone’s first meeting. You absolutely have to leave the impression that you’re a handsome guy.”
“This will determine your future dating opportunities throughout university.”
“So we need to dress up properly and become refined boys.”
Gao Lang felt that this statement made perfect sense.
He immediately got out of bed.
Then he noticed that Shi Jing, across from them, was still sleeping soundly.
He hesitated.
Torn between waking Shi Jing up and letting him sleep, he ultimately decided to gently wake him.
However, the moment he reached Shi Jing’s bedside, Shi Jing seemed to possess mind-reading abilities.
One eye slowly opened.
His voice carried the hoarse rasp of someone who hadn’t fully awakened.
“Get lost.”
“Don’t annoy me.”