Upon Qiao Li’s words, Fei Bai immediately proceeded with caution, deciding to download the file first to ensure it wasn’t some sort of inappropriate content before expressing appreciation to Yuan Zidan.
After unzipping the compressed file, he discovered that it indeed contained the requested literature analysis charts. Everything from the annual trend of published literature, and network analysis of citations, to the frequency of keyword appearances was included. Fei Bai suddenly felt as if he were witnessing a miracle firsthand, and tears almost welled up in his eyes.
Clearly, Qiao Li had done the same thing, as he sent an exclamation mark before flooding the group chat with a long string of “awesome” emojis.
Fei Bai also praised Yuan Zidan and then shared half of the images with Qiao Li, with both of them dividing the work of writing and analyzing the charts.
Qiao Li called him directly, which was their usual practice when working together. It helped to keep each other accountable and allowed for immediate discussion if any issues arose.
After finally completing their work around half past twelve, Fei Bai let out a yawn, ready to go to bed. At that moment, Qiao Li stopped him and said, “Fei Bai, can I discuss something with you?”
Fei Bai, hearing the seriousness in his tone, thought perhaps Qiao Li was in some sort of financial trouble. He stifled his yawn and replied, “Sure, go ahead.”
But then Qiao Li mentioned, “It’s about Yan Yan,” and Fei Bai let out the remainder of his yawn before responding, “You don’t need to consult me about your personal matters. Am I your cheap advisor or something?”
“No, I’m serious, Fei Bai. I want to confess my feelings to her in the next few days. What do you think?” Qiao Li hurriedly explained.
“Confess?” Fei Bai paused for a moment. “I don’t think my opinion matters much in this case. It’s more about how you feel. But… don’t you think it’s a bit too soon?”
If he remembered correctly, just two days ago, during their Monday class quiz, Qiao Li was still at the stage where he needed excuses to sit next to the girl. How did things progress to the point of confessing feelings in just two days?
“Ah, it was an impulsive decision for me too. You see, Yan Yan is such a great girl. If I don’t make a move quickly, what if she ends up with someone else?” Qiao Li justified his actions, sharing his plan with Fei Bai in the process.I’ve already thought it through. I’ll buy a bunch of little candles and set them up in the shape of a heart below her dorm building, then use a megaphone to call out her name.”
Listening to this instantly cringeworthy plan, Fei Bai thought to himself that instead of worrying about whether Yan Yan would run away with someone else, Qiao Li might end up scaring her away himself.
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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“Why are you being so polite? I’ve already eaten at home.” Fei Bai pretended to reach for the plastic bag.
Qiao Li opened it with a slap and said, “Nah, this is for Yan Yan.”
Fei Bai rolled his eyes and pulled his hand back. “You’re forgetting your friends for a girl.”
After a while, Yan Yan arrived. Fei Bai watched Qiao Li’s eager demeanor, almost wishing he would peel the tea egg shells for her, and couldn’t help but make a face of disdain towards him.
Pretending not to notice, Qiao Li asked while watching Yan Yan eat, “Hey, Yan Yan, what do you think of me?”
Yan Yan casually replied, “You’re pretty good.”
“Just ‘pretty good’?” Qiao Li wasn’t quite satisfied with that answer.
Yan Yan smiled and teased him, “Okay, then let’s say ‘exceptionally good’, almost as good as my dad.”
Qiao Li’s eyes lit up. “Yes, exactly! You’re absolutely right. There are only two men in the world who would treat you this well, you know? One is your dad, and the other is your boyfriend.”
Yan Yan coughed and gave him a wary look. “What are you trying to say?”
Qiao Li said, “What do you think I’m trying to say, Yan Yan? Just think about it. Do you have a boyfriend?”
“None,” Yan Yan interrupted him, “Okay, I get it now.”
Qiao Li nodded and didn’t continue speaking. Instead, he looked at her expectantly.
“You want to be like my dad,” Yan Yan said.
Fei Bai couldn’t help but laugh out loud at this, then patted Qiao Li’s arm, feeling that his confession journey might still have a long way to go.
After class, Qiao Li accompanied Yan Yan to an elective class, while Fei Bai reserved a seat in the library, planning to study for a while. As he passed by the art building, he saw many people carrying musical instruments in and out, and he remembered Qiao Li mentioning that the School of Arts was preparing for a New Year’s Eve party.
He took a few steps and suddenly felt his shoe was loose. Bending down to retire it, he noticed several guys walking nearby. One pair of feet stopped abruptly.
Fei Bai thought it might be someone he knew, so after tying his shoe, he looked up. But before he could fully see, he instinctively stood up straight and quickly stepped back two paces.
Fei Bai wondered if he knew them, but as he finished tying his shoelace and looked up, he immediately stiffened and took a step back. It was Zhong Yi with his half-blue, half-green hair.
Fortunately, there were many people around, including many students from the School of Arts. Fei Bai figured that Zhong Yi probably wouldn’t dare cause trouble here. He decided to act like he hadn’t seen him and go in a different direction toward the library.
After the group of guys walked away, they noticed Zhong Yi still standing there. Someone called out to him, “Zhong Yi! What are you doing? Aren’t you going to rehearsal?”
Zhong Yi probably thought it wasn’t appropriate to do anything to Fei Bai in broad daylight. He stared at him for a moment with a complex expression, then stomped on his foot and walked past him. At the same time, he said fiercely, “Can you have some dignity and stop pestering others?”
Fei Bai was stunned. Wait, did this guy have some mental issues?
Isn’t he the one who’s been inexplicably bothering me all this time? Do you have any shame? Do you? Fei Bai felt that Zhong Yi really should go see a doctor about this peculiar condition of his. If any doctor could cure him, they’d probably become famous.
Feeling thoroughly disgusted by Zhong Yi’s antics, Fei Bai skipped the elective class he had in the afternoon. He felt like if he ran into Zhong Yi again, he might not be able to resist rolling up his sleeves and confronting him.
With the afternoon unexpectedly free, Fei Bai spent it idly. He thought he’d been quite busy lately, so he decided to go out and relax. He took a bus to a commercial area a bit further from the school.
This commercial area was built around the nearby science park and several universities, so it was bustling with people and had plenty of places to explore. After getting off the bus and crossing the pedestrian bridge, he walked along the street. After a while, the sunlight became too harsh for his eyes, so he entered the nearest Starbucks. He ordered a Starbucks and sat on a high stool by the window, gazing outside absentmindedly.
Suddenly, a familiar figure entered his field of vision. Fei Bai widened his eyes, confirmed he wasn’t mistaken, and instinctively tapped on the window.
He called out, “Shixiong.”
_______________________________________________________
t/n: Here’s an extra update! Thankyou Flowersky for the kofi ♡
btw guys! we are back with daily updates ~
I think it should be soon.. 🤩
Thanks for the chapter~~
Oh the misunderstanding 🤣
Thx for the chapter! 💜
Some mischievous part of me can’t wait to ‘see’ FB’s face after realisation he messed up, haha 😂
Thank You for the new chapter (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)
Thanks for the chapters! I’ve missed these two!
Thank you for the chapter 💛
Thank you for your translation 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
🙏🙏🙏 Thank you for translating this story! I appreciate your hard work!🙏🙏🙏
thanks for the chapter!