“We’re living together, but…” Fei Bai paused in his eating.
Having grown up together, Qiao Li could almost guess what he wanted to say from his expression. “But it’s not cohabitation?”
Fei Bai nodded.
[TN: Fei Bai meant that while they may share a living space, it’s not in the sense of a romantic relationship or formal cohabitation. ]
Qiao Li felt that the logic of “living together but not cohabiting” was extremely bizarre. He blinks a few times. “Fei Bai, are you kidding me?”
Fei Bai glanced at him, sighed, and lowered his voice. “Being kept.”
“What the hell!” Qiao Li’s voice made several people in the classroom turn to look at them.
Fei Bai kicked him. “Can you keep it down?”
Qiao Li made an apologetic gesture to the people around him, then looked at Fei Bai with a face full of shock and asked in a hushed tone, “Has he made you do any weird stuff?”
Fei Bai shook his head. “Luo Yusen isn’t that kind of person.”
After a pause, he added, “I owe him.”
After hearing this, Qiao Li frowned and scrutinized Fei Bai for a while. He had originally wanted to ask if Fei Bai liked him, but considering Fei Bai probably hadn’t figured it out yet, he changed his approach.
“Then it’s pretty much like living together. I think Luo Yusen probably likes you a lot.”
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.
Fei Bai paused. Would Luo Yusen still like him?
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“Hey, I think being kept by Luo Yusen isn’t bad at all. Many people can’t wait to climb up. If it were me, I might not refuse him either.”
Fei Bai said, “I think before you consider this matter, you should first think about what he wants in exchange for sponsoring you.”
“For benefits, of course,” Qiao Li said with a playful smile.
Fei Bai was choked for a moment. He glanced at his watch. It was almost time for class. Suddenly, he realized something. “Hey, where’s Yan Yan? Why isn’t she sitting with you today?”
Qiao Li sighed. “Yan Yan is sitting at the back. She doesn’t know if you’re still willing to talk to her after hearing that it was her who told Luo Yusen about you mistaking him for someone else. So she asked me to find out first, but I feel like it’s all my fault.”
“Alright, stop apologizing.” Fei Bai interrupted him with a wave of his hand. “I’ve played tricks on you a lot when we were kids. It’s not fun to talk about these things.”
After a brief pause, he added, “Actually, I’ve already talked to Luo Yusen about it.”
Qiao Li was taken aback for a moment but didn’t inquire further. He just nodded and said, “Okay, then I’ll treat you to lunch. Just the two of us. There’s a newly opened smoked pancake place next to our school. Have you tried it?”
The smoked pancake shop was small in size, with no formal kitchen. They simply placed the pancake-making machine next to the dining table, allowing Fei Bai and Qiao Li to observe the entire process of making smoked pancakes. When it came time to add the meat inside, Qiao Li spoke up to the chef and owner, “Put in a bit more, a bit more.”
He repeated it several times until the owner looked up irritably and said, “Young man, why don’t I just stuff a whole pig in for you?”
Indeed, it had been a while since Fei Bai had eaten with Qiao Li. Suddenly, the two of them squeezed together, the chilly weather outside contrasting with the warmth of the food in front of them. The wind whistled against the windows, but it only made Fei Bai feel the solidity of their brotherly relationship even more.
Qiao Li noticed two crates of beer stacked in the corner and casually asked, “Hey, wanna have a couple of drinks?”
Fei Bai initially wanted to decline, thinking he still had classes in the afternoon, but for some reason, he found himself agreeing.
“Sure, why not?”
Perhaps due to the recent emotional ups and downs and feeling like riding a roller coaster, his mind was fuzzy, and he felt the need to relax.
“Alright,” Qiao Li called out, raising his head. “Boss, bring us two bottles of beer!”
Two glass bottles were placed crisply on the table, white foam trickling down from the bottle’s neck. Fei Bai grabbed one bottle and took a couple of swigs straight from it.
Qiao Li knew Fei Bai had a very low alcohol tolerance and just wanted him to have a little to ease his emotions. Seeing Fei Bai’s reaction, he immediately panicked and reached out to take the bottle. “Hey, hey, hey, take it easy. Fei Bai, have you forgotten what you’re like when you get drunk?”
Fei Bai actually had an idea. He hadn’t drunk much before Qiao Li took the beer bottle away. The cold liquid flowed down his throat, wetting his internal organs and spreading warmth wherever it went.
People tend to get emotional when they drink. Fei Bai took a couple of bites of the smoked pancake and suddenly blurted out, “Why is it that when I get into a relationship, it always ends up in chaos? Why can’t it be smooth like others?”
Qiao Li’s chopsticks paused. He said firmly, “It’s not your fault. Blame it on Xu Geyang. He’s a scumbag. Why didn’t the King of Hell keep an eye on him and stop him from stealing someone else’s identity?”
Fei Bai’s attention had already shifted away from Xu Geyang. His mind was filled with thoughts of Luo Yusen, but he knew he shouldn’t expect anything, especially after what he had done to him.
Qiao Li felt like Fei Bai might as well have “lost and confused” written on his forehead. He cleared his throat, trying to divert Fei Bai’s attention. “By the way, when does that alumni lecture start? We’re already halfway through the semester. Don’t forget, or you won’t graduate if you don’t get those credits.”
“Hmm, it should be this Saturday,” Fei Bai said absentmindedly. However, when he mentioned the word ‘Saturday’, he snapped back to reality. Saturday was the day he taught Luo Feifei. He needed to ask for leave from Luo Yusen.
Worried he might forget later, Fei Bai immediately took out his phone and sent a message to Luo Yusen, explaining that he had lectures on Saturday mornings for the next month or two and couldn’t go to the Second Ring Villa to teach Feifei.
After a while, Luo Yusen replied, asking which lecture Fei Bai had chosen.
Though Fei Bai didn’t understand the purpose of his question, he obediently replied, “Big Data and Literature Visualization Analysis.”
When Luo Yusen saw the message, he raised his eyebrows slightly. Fei Bai had chosen his lecture, and it seemed like he hadn’t realized it yet.
He deliberately didn’t tell Fei Bai, only replying with a simple “Okay.” He wondered what Fei Bai’s reaction would be when he saw him at the lecture.
Fei Bai and Qiao Li had dinner for quite a while. With no time to go home and rest, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment before heading back to class.
The first class in the afternoon was the elective he shared with Zhong Yi. As soon as Fei Bai entered the classroom, he spotted the half-blue, half-green head at the back.
He was surprised. Wasn’t Zhong Yi supposed to be rehearsing for the New Year’s Eve party? Why was he here for class?
What Fei Bai didn’t know was that in recent days, Xu Geyang had become increasingly annoyed with Zhong Yi, always finding excuses to argue with him. Zhong Yi’s entire demeanor visibly deteriorated, and during rehearsals, he kept forgetting his lines, eventually getting replaced.
As Fei Bai stared at Zhong Yi’s head, Zhong Yi suddenly turned around, and they locked eyes for a few seconds, both caught off guard.
Zhong Yi’s gaze shifted from calm to angry. He stood up and walked over to Fei Bai, gritting his teeth, seemingly about to say something.
However, Fei Bai cut in before him. “Junior brother, can I have a word with you?”
A minor name typo : Lu Yusen
Thanks for the chapter~
Hmm hmm finally a true confrontation with the actual third wheel 😒
Thank You for the new chapter ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)˚๐*˟ ♡
This guy should grow, seriously
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙