Mai Dong’s heart was filled with honey, and he really wanted to agree outright, but he also wanted to feign a bit of reserve.
So he said, “Even if you come to me like this, I still need to think about it.”
Yan Xuming let out a slow “ah” and said, “It seems I do have a bit of an inflated ego. I should change my perception in the future.”
Upon hearing this, Mai Dong quickly changed his tone, “No… No need to change. If you come to me, of course, I’ll agree.”
After saying this, Mai Dong heard a burst of laughter from the other end of the phone, realizing that Yan Xuming was playing set-up with him again.
This wasn’t the first time Mai Dong willingly fell for it. Each time, he would lightly resent himself—How could he be so unprincipled? Yet, he also felt that Yan Xuming was bullying him, taking advantage of the fact that Mai Dong had no experience flirting with others, leaving him at Yan Xuming’s mercy.
Mai Dong asked again, “But… can I? Wouldn’t it be better to find a senior or senior sister in their fourth or third year? I’m afraid my knowledge in the field may not be enough.”
Yan Xuming once again adopted his helpless tone, “Xueba, what’s your self-perception? You were already fluent in German in high school. I didn’t know the reason before, but later you mentioned your grandmother being a diplomat, and I guessed it was because of that.”
Mai Dong nodded silently at first, then suddenly widened his eyes, “High school… Did you know me?”
After Mai Dong asked that question, there was silence on the other end of the phone for a while. Eventually, Yan Xuming spoke, “Hang up, go to bed early.”
Mai Dong hurriedly intervened, “Hey, wait a moment!” But before he could finish his sentence, the call had already been disconnected.
Yan Xuming simply hung up, and Mai Dong had a sleepless night.
He kept wondering if Yan Xuming really knew him from high school. He tried hard to recall, except for the time he fell during the sports day, the two of them had no real interaction. If there was any intersection, it was only the photos on the honor wall taken after the final exams for each grade.
High school only had a total of three grades and there were three people in the photo room.
Mai Dong pretended not to know Yan Xuming and Yan Xuming didn’t even bother pretending. It was evident that he had no recognition of Mai Dong, and the two never even exchanged a simple “hello.”
So, Mai Dong changed his approach to recall when he spoke German in high school. It should’ve been during a certain English speech competition in his first year, which the homeroom teacher had forced him to participate in.
Mai Dong had no interest in extracurricular competitions and activities from childhood to adolescence. However, in high school, he had no right to refuse, similar to how he and his deskmate were forced to participate in a two-man three-legged race.
Feeling dissatisfied, Mai Dong played around at the competition. While others were giving English speeches, he confidently delivered a fluent and authentic German speech with the topic being “The true meaning of education lies in respecting the students’ desire for free development.” The judges couldn’t understand a word, and he received zero points. Mai Dong was eliminated in the first round.
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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Early the next morning, Mai Dong woke up and saw a screen full of thank-you messages. The person who sent the messages was the senior who added him on WeChat a month ago. The senior had added him to the debate team’s group chat, where everyone group was brushing “Worship Xueshen.”
Mai Dong felt overwhelmed by such a situation and didn’t dare to speak in the group. Instead, he replied with a simple “You’re welcome” in private chat. He truly has social phobia and didn’t expect that in the eyes of others, he had firmly established the label of being a “gao leng.” Some individuals discussed him secretly, questioning each other if Mai Dong was really a gao leng. They all welcomed him so warmly, and yet he didn’t say a single word.
In the evening, the debate team invited him to dinner, mainly to express their gratitude to Mai Dong.
Mai Dong actually didn’t want to go. Some people enjoyed socializing; it was a way for them to recharge. However, for others like Mai Dong, socializing was merely a drain on their energy.
When Mai Dong mentioned this to Yan Xuming, he discreetly confessed that he didn’t want to go but felt awkward about declining because everyone was so enthusiastic.
Mai-zi: “If they want to thank me, they shouldn’t invite me to dinner ah ah ah T T”
Yan Xuming: “If you don’t eat with them, they might think you’re not genuinely willing to help.”
Mai-zi: “I know, that’s why I can’t refuse.”
Yan Xuming: “Shall I accompany you?”
Mai-zi: “Is that okay? Won’t you be very busy?”
Yan Xuming: “Not busy.”
Mai-zi: “Hehe, okay.”
Mai Dong was simply coaxed, thinking that if Yan Xuming was there for the dinner, it could serve as a form of recharging for himself.
Mai Dong then remembered the reason for his insomnia the previous night and asked Yan Xuming.
Mai-zi: “Did you know me in high school?”
Yan Xuming: “The one who spoke German in that English speech competition, the judges were all confused. Everyone knows you.”
Mai-zi: “Ah?”
It was only then that Mai Dong truly realized that his life trajectory seemed to have deviated a bit.
He had always considered himself a low-key and socially awkward passerby. However, he didn’t realize that was not how others perceived him. In fact, Mai Dong himself didn’t know how to adapt.
Imagine this: Even before he developed feelings for Yan Xuming, Yan Xuming, who always topped the class, already had a great halo. He became someone Mai Dong wanted to chase, while Mai Dong himself was also the first in the grade. How could he be seen as an ordinary passerby in the eyes of others?
He was so focused on chasing Yan Xuming that he completely overlooked the fact that he was also the target of many others.
In other words, Yan Xuming did know him from high school.
This feeling was quite strange. Mai Dong had always thought of himself as the one silently following, always in a corner never to be noticed. Now suddenly realizing that the other person had always been aware of him was akin to waking up from a dream and discovering that the other person had him in their dreams as well.
Having dinner with the debate team in the evening, everyone enthusiastically surrounded Mai Dong, bombarding him with questions about why he spoke German so well.
Mai Dong felt quite embarrassed and explained that everyone in his family could speak German and that his grandmother was a diplomat.
Everyone was amazed, looking at Mai Dong as if he were some kind of a master from another world. Most of the members of the debate team who joined for dinner were German exchange students. They excitedly communicated with Mai Dong in their mother tongue, and Mai Dong responded effortlessly. It seemed like shedding the shame of speaking one’s mother tongue had alleviated some of his social anxiety. Surprisingly, they had a rather enjoyable conversation.
Yan Xuming sat beside Mai Dong, appearing somewhat silent, perhaps because he couldn’t find an opportunity to join the conversation or didn’t understand the discussion.
One international student asked for Mai Dong’s contact information, and Mai Dong couldn’t refuse, but as he was about to share his QR code Yan Xuming blocked it.
Mai Dong didn’t catch on immediately and turned to Yan Xuming, “What’s wrong?”
Yan Xuming casually picked up a piece of food for him with a chopstick and said seemingly nonchalantly, “Handing out your WeChat so easily?”
Mai Dong blinked, “Is there a rule? Can’t I give it out?”
Yan Xuming, blocked by his slow response, didn’t say anything more and watched as the two successfully added each other on WeChat.
Everyone wanted Mai Dong’s WeChat, and someone took the initiative. A row of phones crowded around, and even those who were initially aloof had become familiar, saying, “Hey, Mai-zi, let’s add each other, too? I’ve heard about you for a while. Add me on WeChat, and if you need anything, just hit me up. I’ll definitely help.”
After the meal, Mai Dong had gained seven or eight new WeChat friends, all of them very enthusiastic.
On the way back to the dorm, Mai Dong was still busy replying to messages on his phone. He truly didn’t want to be forced into socializing like this, but one of the people messaging him was a friend of Yan Xuming, and Mai Dong wanted to establish a good relationship with him.
When crossing the road, Yan Xuming was still holding his wrist. Being led across the road was only the second time this had happened, but Mai Dong had already developed a somewhat dependent habit.
He was solely focused on being led forward by Yan Xuming, while burying his head in replying to messages from German exchange students: “It’s a Chinese New Year tradition to eat dumplings. I really like them, you can give them a try too. The cafeteria’s taste isn’t that great, but I can recommend nearby takeout options in the university town.”
As they reached the second half of the crosswalk, the green light suddenly turned red. Mai Dong was pulled, and his phone nearly slipped from his hand. In a daze, he ran a few steps with Yan Xuming before speaking, “Oh, sorry, I didn’t see the red light.”
Yan Xuming threw back a word, “En.”
Mai Dong quickly put away his phone, “Are you angry? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been looking at my phone while crossing the road.”
Yan Xuming threw back two more words, “I’m not.”
Mai Dong knew he wasn’t happy. He felt that allowing Yan Xuming to lead him across the road had probably caused him trouble. He felt a bit wronged because he didn’t like socializing in the first place; it was only because Yan Xuming asked that he agreed to do it. Yet, he also felt at fault, acknowledging that he hadn’t been paying attention to the road and had inconvenienced the other person.
He couldn’t say anything else, so he followed Yan Xuming back with his head stuffy.
Yan Xuming escorted Mai Dong to the dormitory entrance. Mai Dong eagerly looked at him, wanting to say goodnight, but Yan Xuming kept a cold face, still seeming angry.
Mai Dong held back his words, hesitating to leave directly. After some thought, he remembered a way to appease Yan Xuming and said, “Do you… want to read my diary? The old one, I can show it to you, okay?”
Mai Dong thought Yan Xuming would definitely agree. After all, hadn’t he been saying he wanted to read Mai Dong’s diary? However, to his surprise, Yan Xuming refused, using a very indifferent tone, “No need, go back.”
Unable to hold back, Mai Dong finally asked, “Are you still angry? I’ll be more careful next time and cross the road by myself. You don’t have to lead me.”
Yan Xuming glanced at him. Despite the two-meter distance between them, he suddenly waved to Mai Dong, making a gesture similar to “come here.”
Mai Dong took two steps forward.
Yan Xuming extended his hand, “Phone.”
Though Mai Dong didn’t understand what was going on, he obediently handed over his phone. Yan Xuming pressed something, then returned the phone. Mai Dong looked at the WeChat chat interface, and Yan Xuming’s account was now pinned at the top.
Mai Dong couldn’t grasp the situation and asked along, “Does this mean you’re not angry anymore?”
Mai-zi, the slow on uptake boy 😂 he’s definitely very jealous of you exchanging wechat contacts with others!! XD
so naive, so slow, so cute 🤣
Oho, I feel someone turned into jelly~
Thank You for the new chapter (ෆ❛ัᵌ❛ัෆ)°
Thank you for the new chapter 😀
Tsk, tsk, for being a student council leader Yan Xuming is pretty shit at communicating.
I like that he understand everything, he’s just inexperienced babyboy
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚