Fei Bai pulled out his keys and inserted them into the lock, turning them twice before opening the door. Then, with a guilty conscience, he took out the box of condoms from his pocket.
Even he, as foolish as he could be, understood that Luo Yusen was hinting at something.
Fei Bai suddenly remembered a quote he had read on some emotional blogger’s page, saying that the best time to be in a relationship is when you know you’ll definitely end up in bed, but you don’t know when it’ll happen.
After a pause, he felt that this quote didn’t quite apply to him and Luo Yusen.
After all, they weren’t in a relationship.
Fei Bai tossed his backpack on the floor, walked to the bedroom to change his clothes, and sat cross-legged on the bed, playing with the small box for a while. He couldn’t help but recall the night in the convenience store when Luo Yusen pressed against his neck and called him “Xiao Shidi” in an ambiguous tone, his breath tainted with alcohol, releasing waves upon his skin.
He couldn’t dwell on it. If he kept thinking about it, he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. Fei Bai shook his head, opened the bedside table drawer, and tossed the small box inside.
The next day was Tuesday, and Fei Bai had an early class at eight with Lan Mao and Zhong Yi. Since returning from the mountain marathon, Zhong Yi has been quiet for a while, probably feeling awkward about performing for everyone after getting drunk. He hadn’t had the face to bother Fei Bai again.
When Fei Bai arrived at the elective class classroom, he saw only half the usual number of people. It wasn’t surprising. It was midterm season, and many people couldn’t be bothered to attend these elective classes, which were essentially just easy credits. They only showed up before exams to hear the professor highlight key points.
He scanned the classroom and didn’t see Zhong Yi. It was already 7:58. He figured Lan Mao was probably part of the truant crowd today as well.
If only the professor would take attendance today, Feibai thought somewhat uncharitably.
As it turned out, the professor did take attendance. After reciting a string of names from the School of Arts and Communications, hardly anyone was present. Fei Bai suddenly felt a sense of vindication.
He wasn’t the only one who knew Zhong Yi hadn’t attended class. When he went to his major course next, Qiao Li asked him, “Zhong Yi didn’t go to your elective class today, did he?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Qbeiv P ybatfg?” Hljb Ol rtgeuufv. “Ktf ifjvfgr lc atf Vmtbbi bo Cgar jcv Jbwweclmjalbcr jaajmt ugfja lwqbgajcmf ab atf Rfk Tfjg’r Snf qjgas. P tfjgv Itbcu Tl kjr rfifmafv jr atf tbra, jcv tf’r yffc yers klat gftfjgrjir obg atf qjra akb wbcatr. Lf qgbyjyis vbfrc’a tjnf alwf ab ybatfg sbe jcswbgf.”
“Oh, then I should thank the New Year’s Eve party in the School of Arts and Communications. Indeed, art is people-oriented. I feel the humane care from their leaders towards me,” Fei Bai said sarcastically.
At this moment, Qiao Li revealed a mysterious smile. “Let me tell you, Fei Bai, I played a little trick on Zhong Yi at this party. You’ll definitely be delighted to hear it. You know I have a friend who plays the drums, right? He formed a band to perform heavy metal at the party, so I persuaded them to change the band’s name.”
“What did you change it to?” Fei Bai asked casually.
“Huī huàfēi huīfā huì fāhēi,” Qiao Li said with a grin. “Since Lan Mao is the host, let’s make things difficult for him.”
Fei Bai couldn’t help but chuckle. “Isn’t that a bit inapt? They’re a heavy metal band, and you made them changed their name like that.”
“I think it’s quite appropriate and very unique,” Qiao Li insisted.
Fei Bai nodded. “It’s definitely unique. After all, there’s no other heavy metal band in the world that would name themselves after a tongue twister.”
After class, Fei Bai and Qiao Li went to the cafeteria together for lunch. While waiting in line, Fei Bai glanced down at his phone and saw a notification in the school’s research project group reminding them to submit their midterm reports next week.
Fei Bai was stunned for a moment, realizing he had remembered the time wrong. He thought the midterm check was half a month away, so he hadn’t been particularly diligent during this time. He had been procrastinating on the task of researching CiteSpace diagrams, hoping that Yuan Zidan would have a change of heart and voluntarily complete the task he had assigned him with quality and quantity.
Seeing the reminder in the group about the midterm report, he suddenly felt a heavy burden on his shoulders, not even hearing Qiao Li discussing the pineapple rice at the window beside him.
Qiao Li waved his hand in front of Fei Bai’s eyes. “Hey hey hey, not enthusiastic about eating, got some problems with your thoughts…”
Fei Bai opened his hands and went straight to the point, asking, “Have you heard from Yuan Zidan lately? How’s his progress with the drawings?”
Seeing Fei Bai inquire about Yuan Zidan, Qiao Li wore an expression of “what do you think?”
Fei Bai felt hopeless seeing Qiao Li’s expression like that. He sighed and showed Qiao Li the message on his phone. “We have a midterm check next week, so we might have to stay up late these days to figure out what to do.”
Qiao Li, always carefree, glanced at it and said, “Okay, okay. Can we eat first? Don’t bring this up when I’m in the best mood of the day. It ruins my appetite.”
Fei Bai got his food with a heavy heart, thinking Yuan Zidan was probably not reliable. He’d better quickly figure out how to use this software. Otherwise, if the project got rejected during the midterm check, all his previous efforts would be in vain. Not only would it not help with his graduate school application, but all the time and effort he invested would also go to waste.
So Fei Bai skipped all his afternoon classes and sat in the library, starting to self-study the software. He had just opened a webpage called “Introduction to CiteSpace” when his phone, placed on the table, started buzzing.
He shifted his gaze from the computer to his phone and was surprised to see “Luo Yusen” displayed on the caller ID.
Luo Yusen had never called him during his class time before, so it must be an emergency this time.
Fei Bai picked up his phone and walked to the library restroom, answering, “Hello, Shixiong.”
Luo Yusen cut straight to the point. “Can you come over and accompany Feifei for a while?”
There was a rare hint of urgency in his voice.
Fei Bai quickly asked, “Has something happened to Feifei?”
“I’m not with her right now, so I’m not sure about the specifics. Auntie Zhang said her emotional fluctuations are more severe than before, and the team treating her told me that she needs someone close to her by her side now.”
Luo Yusen pressed his temples and continued, “I’m at a technology forum right now, and I’m about to speak. I can’t leave. If you can go…”
Fei Bai thought about his pending midterm report and hesitated for a moment.
In fact, saying he still had classes wouldn’t be a problem at all. After all, Luo Yusen had told him before that it was a flexible work system and he wasn’t required to be available at all times. It would be perfectly reasonable for him to refuse.
“Fei Bai,” Luo Yusen called out to him, his tone trailing off, sounding somewhat like a sigh.
Fei Bai suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Luo Yusen always seemed invincible, never having a moment of needing his help like now.
“Okay. Shixiong, wait for me,” he said.
_________________________________________________________________
Thanks so much for the chapters! This is a great story.
Thank you for the chapter! 💖
These two… I really thought something was going to happen…
+1 I also wish they do it sooner too… From the synopsis I thought it should have been done already, but apparently not yet 😭
+1!!
+1!! I so thought the story would kinda start with that, like in chapter 2 or 3…
Thanks for the chapters!!!!
Thank You for the new chapter ❤⃛ヾ(๑❛ ▿ ◠๑ )
Our Fei Bai is a really good boy 🥺🤧🤧🤧❤️
Thank you for your translation 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Fei bai jiayou!! Hopefully shixiong can help him with the citespace thingy
thanks for the chapter!