Mai Dong’s battle with the cold lasted quite a while, taking half a month to fully recover.
Initially, he had a fever for two days. After the fever subsided, a prolonged period of cold symptoms followed, with dizziness, nasal congestion, and the most troublesome of all, a persistent cough that took half a month to improve.
Throughout this half-month period, Mai Dong kept thinking about the missed meal, hoping that Yan Xuming would suggest going out for a meal together. However, it seemed like Yan Xuming had forgotten about it. Well, for Yan Xuming, it was truly a trivial matter, easily forgettable. He certainly wouldn’t anticipate it for a whole week like Mai Dong did.
Mai Dong was getting anxious by himself, wanting to bring it up but also fearing it might trouble Yan Xuming.
Recently, sightings of Yan Xuming were rare. It had been two months since the new students enrolled, and last week, there was a change in the student union leadership. The new students who joined the student union were handling the foundational tasks, while the senior students from the second and third years were all promoted. Yan Xuming successfully became the president of the latest term of the student union.
Naturally, he was busier than before. Managing third-year academics, student union responsibilities, and preparing for an internship in the second half of the year made his schedule even more hectic. Despite the workload, many students with connections started seeking internships in the first half of the year.
Mai Dong hesitated to disturb him, enduring until November when the weather had turned thoroughly cold.
A new hot pot restaurant had opened near the school. Du Chuan managed to snag a 9.9 discount voucher with a 50 yuan cap and proudly showed it off in the dorm. This gave Mai Dong an idea, and he decided to take the initiative to message Yan Xuming.
Ma-zi: “Senior, there’s a new hot pot restaurant near the school, and I accidentally grabbed a discount voucher. It would be a shame to waste it. Do you want to have hot pot?”
It was evening when he sent the message, just after dinner. Yan Xuming didn’t reply.
Mai Dong held his phone, eagerly awaiting a response, feeling quite anxious.
During dinner, the two ran into each other in the cafeteria. Yan Xuming was sitting with a guy, enjoying clay pot rice together. Mai Dong had never seen this guy before but guessed he was a new member of the student union.
Given Mai Dong’s level of peeping, he knew everyone close to Yan Xuming. The guy had a bright smile, and most of the conversation seemed to be initiated by him, with Yan Xuming occasionally responding with a smile.
Mai Dong lost the courage to greet them and slinked past them quietly.
Yan Xuming didn’t notice Mai Dong either, he was fully focused on listening to the guy.
In the past, when Yan Xuming got a bit closer to some guys, Mai Dong didn’t feel jealous. However, ever since he suspected Yan Xuming might be gay, whenever Yan Xuming was with a guy or a girl, Mai Dong subconsciously paired them up, comparing whether they looked good together.
Mai Dong knew this was very impolite, but he couldn’t help himself.
The guy seemed to have a lively personality, with a beautiful smile that made Mai Dong think of the popular “happy puppy” circulating online recently. Mai Dong could tell he was gay with just one look; the confidence and brightness in his eyes when looking at Yan Xuming were unmistakable.
Mai Dong couldn’t help but compare himself to the guy, always feeling like he fell short in some way.
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.
So, his grip on the phone loosened a bit, wondering if Yan Xuming had lost interest in replying to his messages because he had a more outstanding pursuer by his side. He now regretted not making more effort to join the student union earlier; then, he might have been the one by Yan Xuming’s side.
Fcali atf fnfclcu, Tjc Wewlcu’r wfrrjuf olcjiis jgglnfv.
Tjc Wewlcu: “Ktlr qijmf?”
Yan Xuming: [Link]
Zjl Gbcu: “Fw, vb sbe kjca ab ub?”
Tjc Wewlcu: “P tfjgv atf ajraf lr vfmfca.”
Zjl Gbcu lcrajcais rqfmeijafv, mbeiv la yf atja rbwfbcf firf tjv lcnlafv Tjc Wewlcu ab atlr tba qba qijmf? Pr atja tbk tf xcfk la ajrafv ubbv? Qjr la atf ues tf rjk lc atf mjofafglj abcluta? Zjl Gbcu tfrlajafv obg j ktlif, ecregf bo tbk ab gfrqbcv. Lf yfujc fvlalcu jcv vfifalcu lc atf mtja ybz, mbcafwqijalcu tlr gfqis.
At one moment, it was “Do you want to go with me?” Then it became “Oh, have you already eaten?” And then, “Okay, forget it.” Mai Dong was still hesitating when Yan Xuming sent another message.
Yan Xuming: “A friend happened to mention it today, saying the taste is good, and I wanted to invite you to eat together.”
Mai Dong’s hesitation and overthinking vanished in an instant. He immediately reflected on himself, thinking, ‘Heavens ah, Mai Dong, are you turning into someone with a love brain? Why do you believe whatever Yan Xuming says, no matter what you were thinking a moment ago? As long as he says something, you’re easily coaxed.’
Mai Dong admitted defeat to himself and replied happily, “Really? That’s too coincidental!”
Yan Xuming: “Really, tomorrow night?”
Tomorrow is Tuesday, and Mai Dong didn’t expect that Yan Xuming would propose to meet tomorrow.
Last time, they scheduled their meal for Friday. For this reason, Mai Dong waited anxiously for a whole week, only to be ultimately disappointed. He thought Yan Xuming only had time on weekends, so he asked him.
Mai-zi: “Is it convenient for you? Friday night or the weekend works for me.”
Yan Xuming: “I don’t want to wait another week just to miss it at the end, Student Xiao Mai.”
Mai Dong’s heart was about to pop out of his chest, like Tom the cat in cartoons seeing a beautiful white cat—his heart would fly out of his chest so high.
To the extent that he had to place his phone on the table, and take a few deep breaths before he could regain composure to continue chatting with Yan Xuming.
But he didn’t know how to respond.
Mai Dong wasn’t a fool. He could now be sure that Yan Xuming was flirting with him. However, Mai Dong lacked dating experience, let alone experience in flirting.
After he vigorously rubbed his face several times, trying not to smile too exaggeratedly, and steadied his breathing, Mai Dong picked up his phone again, only to find that Yan Xuming had retracted that message.
“Huh???”
Dr. God Mai couldn’t hold back and exclaimed in the dormitory.
Not for anything else, he just hated himself for not taking a screenshot in time! The evidence was gone! The proof that Yan Xuming was flirting with him was gone!
“I f*kng, you scared me! What’s wrong?” Wu Zimo who was playing games on the side was startled, causing his gun to misfire.
“Nothing.” Mai Dong replied weakly.
Yan Xuming sent another new message.
Yan Xuming: “I’m free tomorrow night, is it convenient for you?”
Mai Dong wanted to ask him why he retracted the message when he clearly saw it. But since Yan Xuming retracted it, there must be a reason. Perhaps he wanted to flirt but regretted it afterward, or he no longer wanted to flirt. Asking would only add to the sadness.
Mai-zi: “Um, tomorrow night!”
Yan Xuming: “Okay, go to bed early. Good night.”
Mai-zi: “Good night.”
Mai Dong couldn’t believe this ghost. Clearly, Yan Xuming was about to flirt with him, so why the sudden change of heart?! He inexplicably recalled the bizarre dream he had last night, prompting Mai Dong to jolt upright from his seat.
He had already scared Wu Zimo beside him twice this night with his startling behavior.
Wu Zimo’s in-game character had just been shot in the head. He sighed, pushed his mouse away helplessly, and looked at Mai Dong. “What’s wrong with you ah!”
Mai Dong looked at Wu Zimo solemnly, “What do you think of my figure?”
Wu Zimo’s eyes widened. He slowly reached out to touch Mai Dong’s forehead, and muttered to himself, “No fever, did your brain burn from the previous fever?”
Mai Dong removed his hand and asked him very seriously, “Am I too thin? Do you think it would be good for me to go to the gym and work out a bit?”
Wu Zimo’s expression twisted. Upon hearing Mai Dong’s words, he automatically imagined Mai Dong’s face on a muscular man’s body. Shocked and speechless for half a day, he finally waved his hand, “Too scary, what happened to you all of a sudden?”
After asking, Wu Zimo realized his sudden anxiety about his figure. Most likely, he thought, he is in love or, at the very least, has someone he likes. He squinted, “Oh, last time you denied it, now you have to admit it. You definitely have someone you like. What’s wrong? Is the person’s figure too good, and you feel you’re not worthy of them ah?”
Mai Dong thought for a moment, how was Yan Xuming’s figure?
As he thought about it, his face turned red, recalling the day when Yan Xuming pulled him into his arms downstairs from his dormitory building.
At that time, Mai Dong’s face did indeed hit Yan Xuming’s chest muscles… Help ah. Back then, he didn’t think much of it, but now, it felt so shameful.
So, Mai Dong shook his head seriously and lied, “I don’t have anyone I like.”
Wu Zimo: “…”
No, has anyone ever told Mai Dong that he really can’t lie? His face turned this red and he was shaking his head. Who the hell would believe that ah!
The news that Mai Dong was in love quickly spread throughout the dormitory.
Du Chuan, the only one in the dorm with a girlfriend, came over and playfully put his hand over Mai Dong’s shoulder, “Mai-zi, tell your ge about it, hm? I’m not saying I’m great at relationships, but at least I have some experience. You, as a xueba, there’s no need to guess. I’m sure you haven’t been in a relationship.”
Mai Dong didn’t know why everyone in the dorm refused to believe he wasn’t really in love. He decided to give up resistance, “There’s really no… Yes, I like him.”
Several people in the dorm gathered around, “Huh? She doesn’t like you ah? Why?”
Mai Dong blinked, “It’s normal not to like me. Why does someone have to like me? He’s excellent, and many people like him.”
Du Chuan furrowed his brows in thought, “From our school?”
Mai Dong nodded. He knew his roommates assumed that the person he liked was a girl, but he didn’t explain. As long as he mentioned it was a guy, it would undoubtedly be guessed as Yan Xuming.
Wu Zimo also pondered, “I haven’t seen you getting close to any girl ah. Wait, are you just silently admiring from a distance? Could it be that the person doesn’t even know you exist?”
Mai Dong was inclined to nod a bit, considering that this was indeed the situation before Yan Xuming found his diary. Back then, he silently admired, and Yan Xuming didn’t even know there was someone like Mai Dong in the world. But now, things have changed, and Yan Xuming was almost getting involved in ambiguous feelings with him.
Mai Dong was torn for a long time, and when Du Chuan noticed, he asked, “Chatting?”
Mai Dong nodded, “Sort of… We chat occasionally. It’s just, sometimes I feel like he treats me as a good friend, sometimes I feel like he wants to flirt a bit, and sometimes I feel like he doesn’t want to bother with me.”
Du Chuan had a look of understanding and made a surprising comment, “Isn’t it obvious ah? She uses you as a spare tire!”
Du chuan you’re not making it any better 😩 maizi better not let it get to his head or else~ yan xuming probably thought maizi didn’t like his flirting since he took a long time to reply lol
I love Mai Dong but so far I know very little about the ml but I get the feeling he’s black bellied and I hope I’m wrong (or at least about HOW black bellied he is).
Thanks for the chapter!
I want to hit Du Chuan 😑
Thank you for the update! This story is so cute
❤
Oh my, what a conclusion!
Thank You for the new chapter (๑˙❥˙๑)
Aaaaa, this is a catastrophe
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
I laughed so hard DU CHUAN 😭😭😭😭😭
Fight for your spare tire place Mai Dong!! Do your best!