They took more than half an hour to finish their meal, and then walked towards the student dormitory.
— Ji Leyu and Lin Fei did not live on campus, they just took a nap during lunch break.
When they reached the entrance of the dormitory building, they happened to meet Jiang Jingshuo.
Jiang Jingshuo was pleasantly surprised, “You guys live here too?”
Ji Leyu calmly walked to the middle, separating him and Lin Fei, “We take our lunch break here.”
Jiang Jingshuo understood, “So which dormitory are you in? We could go to school together in the afternoon.”
Ji Leyu started to find him annoying again.
“Room 303,” he replied gently, “but we prefer to come in later.”
Jiang Jingshuo nodded, then took out his phone and friendly suggested, “Let’s exchange WeChat.”
“Sure,” Ji Leyu didn’t refuse.
He took the initiative to scan Jiang Jingshuo’s QR code and said gently, “Since you’re new here, if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to message me on WeChat.”
“How could I impose like that?”
Ji Leyu smiled warmly, “It’s okay. Since you know my brother, naturally you’re also my friend. No need to be so polite.”
Jiang Jingshuo was genuinely surprised by Ji Leyu’s kindness and courtesy. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “You’re much nicer than your brother. When I first met him, I’d say eight sentences and he’d just reply with ‘Hmm’, it was so frustrating.”
Ji Leyu chuckled, “He’s not much of a talker.”
“Not much? He hardly talks at all.”
As they continued chatting, they unexpectedly hit it off. They kept talking until they reached the third floor. Ji Leyu bid farewell, and Jiang Jingshuo finally let the topic drop, watching them walk deeper into the corridor while he headed towards the fourth floor.
A passing classmate saw him and asked, “Jiang Jingshuo, do you know Ji Leyu?”
“Just got to know him,” Jiang Jingshuo replied.
“Really? You two seemed to be having a good time chatting. I thought you knew each other before.”
“Not really,” Jiang Jingshuo explained, “I knew Lin Fei before.”
The classmate paused, “Lin Fei?”
“But you were talking to Ji Leyu the whole time?”
“Well, Lin Fei has always been quiet. It’s normal for him not to talk.”
The classmate nodded and walked with him towards the fourth floor.
Meanwhile, Ji Leyu entered the dormitory, thinking again about what Lin Fei had mentioned earlier about inviting Jiang Jingshuo to have lunch. Half the noon had passed and Lin Fei hadn’t discussed the timing with him yet. Was it because he didn’t think it was important or was he not ready to invite Jiang Jingshuo?
He wasn’t eager to ask Lin Fei about it himself, afraid of hearing an answer he wouldn’t like and more afraid of letting slip his hostility towards Jiang Jingshuo to Lin Fei.
Forget it, Ji Leyu thought. Lin Fei wouldn’t secretly invite Jiang Jingshuo to have lunch behind his back. When Lin Fei figured out the timing, he would surely let him know.
No rush.
Jiang Jingshuo clearly wanted to befriend Lin Fei. After waking up at noon, he didn’t rush out but instead sent Lin Fei a message on WeChat, letting him know to inform him when he woke up and returned to school.
Lin Fei looked at the message, then glanced at Ji Leyu who was still asleep.
Ji Leyu was sleeping peacefully, his feather-like eyelashes gently resting, his rose-like lips hidden under the thin blanket. He was facing towards Lin Fei’s direction, as if wanting to open his eyes and see Lin Fei.
[You can go ahead.]bLin Fei replied to Jiang Jingshuo, [No need to wait for me.]
Even though Jiang Jingshuo had long understood that Lin Fei’s personality was different from others, seeing this reply still left him feeling a bit helpless.
Rarely did he have a friend he had known for a long time in the newly transferred class, and he was eager to establish offline friendship with him. However, Lin Fei remained unrushed, maintaining his own pace.
What kind of person is Lin Fei?
This question had been on Jiang Jingshuo’s mind ever since they met online three years ago.
Later, after three years, Jiang Jingshuo finally figured out the answer.
Lin Fei was someone with strong personal thoughts and principles in how he handled things. He was very slow to warm up, to the point where it almost seemed indifferent. Even if someone took ninety-nine steps towards him proactively, he wouldn’t take a step closer in response to that person’s initiative.
He clearly lived in the mundane world, yet he seemed to live in his own world. When others approached him, he didn’t become happy; when others left, he didn’t become sad.
Just like back then, Jiang Jingshuo was eager to bridge the distance between them, turning their online friendship into an offline one.
But Lin Fei continued to manage the distance between them at his own pace.
After more than a thousand days and nights, Jiang Jingshuo finally earned a step from Lin Fei — they exchanged WeChat, allowing Jiang Jingshuo to get closer.
But that was all.
Lin Fei didn’t give more.
Jiang Jingshuo shook his head, feeling that his friend was indeed rare in this world. He always had patience with Lin Fei, so he didn’t say much more. He just replied with a simple “okay” and left the dormitory with his roommates.
By the time Ji Leyu woke up again, Jiang Jingshuo had already returned to class.
Ji Leyu followed Lin Fei downstairs, noticing that Lin Fei was walking ahead the whole time, completely forgetting about Jiang Jingshuo. He pretended that he didn’t remember either.
They walked all the way to the school gate, when Ji Leyu suddenly seemed to remember something. “We forgot to call Jiang Jingshuo.”
Listening to Ji Leyu’s feigned words, Lin Fei responded calmly, “He’s already left.”
“Oh?”
“You were still asleep, so I let him go ahead.”
Ji Leyu instantly felt relieved.
“Really?” A gentle smile appeared on his face. “Then why didn’t you ask him to wait a bit?”
“Oh, I’ll tell him next time,” Lin Fei replied smoothly.
Ji Leyu: !!!
‘No, I was just saying that casually. Why did you take it seriously?!’
‘No way!’
Ji Leyu couldn’t help but feel agitated.
Seeing Ji Leyu’s face change as he spoke, Lin Fei’s mischievous curiosity was satisfied. He spoke nonchalantly, “Just kidding.”
Ji Leyu: ???
Ji Leyu looked up to see Lin Fei calmly looking at him with a hint of a smile in his eyes.
A smile unconsciously spread across his face, and the dark clouds that had just lingered in his heart vanished in an instant.
But as he smiled, he realized he was showing his happiness too obviously. He quickly explained, pretending, “It’s not that I don’t want to go to school with him. I just haven’t adjusted yet. I’ll be fine in a few days.”
Hmm, Ji Leyu nodded to himself. It’ll be fine in a few days.
Lin Fei: … Does he even believe this himself?
Lin Fei looked at Ji Leyu, who was trying hard to appear sincere, and helplessly raised his hand to pat his head. “There’s no need to force sincerity like this.”
Ji Leyu felt his body freeze for a moment.
He looked up, staring blankly at Lin Fei.
The sunlight was good, casting a golden glow on Lin Fei’s face, making him look pristine and noble.
“He goes his way, we go ours, and that’s fine.”
He gazed at him, soothingly adding, “Do things as you like.”