Gu Zhuoyan hadn't replied for a long time. The group chat was getting a little anxious, and the three of them were once again bogged down in a dispute about how to arrange their National Day holiday. He came back to his senses. He had originally blamed them for revealing the reason for his transfer to Zhuang Fanxin, but it was a happy accident. For now, it seemed to be a blessing in disguise.

But they were still a bit annoying. Gu Zhuoyan said with disdain, "I really want to sew your mouths shut."

Lu Wen said, "Does our arguing from a thousand miles away annoy you too?"

Su Wang said, "This is just the solo act being jealous of the group."

When it came to arguing, Gu Zhuoyan was no match for this group, so he had no choice but to mute them for the time being. As for the progress of his relationship with Zhuang Fanxin, he didn't tell them. If he were to reveal the words "mutually in love" right now, by tomorrow, rumors would spread through his old school that he had already secretly pledged his life to someone in Rong City. And the story would be embellished to be quite vivid, like kissing under a banyan tree, proposing in a beef hotpot restaurant, and taking a detour to Xiamen's South Putuo Temple to promise each other a lifetime together.

He'd leave it at that for now. It was getting late. Gu Zhuoyan went back to his room to shower and read. He felt uncomfortable all over if he didn't study for at least five hours on his own every day.

On rainy days, there was water everywhere, and the German Shepherd was filthy enough. Gu Zhuoyan thought about giving the dog a bath too. He strolled to the edge of the stairs, whistled towards the first floor, and called out, "Bond, come up!"

Gu Baoyan's voice was even louder, "No! We're on a video call!"

'What kind of video call is a person having with a dog?' Gu Zhuoyan leaned over the staircase and waited. He heard Gu Baoyan laughing one moment and acting cute the next, and realized she was on a video call with their family. Thinking back, it had been over a month since he came to Rong City. He had made one phone call each to Gu Shibo and Xue Manzi, but other than that, there had been no contact at all.

"Brother." Gu Baoyan ran to the bottom of the stairs holding the phone. "Coming down for the video call?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "No."

"Okay then." Gu Baoyan didn't insist and ran back to the living room. "Mom, I twisted my ankle in ballet class today..."

Gu Zhuoyan couldn't hear what they were chatting about, but it was all trivial stuff anyway. He didn't have the patience to wait for Bond to come up anymore, so he went to take a shower himself.

The hot water showered down. Gu Zhuoyan stood under the showerhead for half a minute, then wiped his face and opened his eyes. He stared at the checkered tiles on the wall, recalling the brief conversation he had with Gu Shibo when he called home before the placement exam.

At that time, Gu Shibo had told him that as long as he stopped fooling around, any of his requests could be met.

Back then, he had planned to pursue someone and get into a relationship with them as a way to get back at his parents. But now, he had indeed pursued someone, and that person was interested in him too, yet he felt not the slightest bit of triumphant pleasure in his heart.

Just like how he had exposed his sexual orientation while eating junk food, he was now changing his original plan while taking a shower. What was the point of trying to anger them? How could any of that be as meaningful as being in a relationship with Zhuang Fanxin?

Gu Zhuoyan's palms were full of foam. Thinking of Zhuang Fanxin, he couldn't help but smile as he scrubbed himself clean.

The sound of water stopped. Gu Zhuoyan dried himself off and got dressed, picking up a clean but unfamiliar pair of underwear from the hanger. After a moment of inspection, he confirmed it was from that pack of four for thirty yuan. 'Did Sister Hu get it wrong?'

He couldn't just go commando. Gu Zhuoyan put them on as if he had been greatly wronged. Black, briefs, but unexpectedly, they were surprisingly soft and comfortable. He had a sudden realization. No wonder Zhuang Fanxin had conducted that little underwear survey on him the other day. He was interested in him, so of course he'd care about this kind of ambiguous little secret!

It was just that Gu Zhuoyan was a little surprised. Zhuang Fanxin was thin-skinned and easily embarrassed, but once he fell in love, his boundaries seemed to expand quite a bit. Even though he himself was a bit of a devil-may-care type, he was still a little too embarrassed to ask about things below the belt so soon.

'Maybe... he should ask too?'

Whether a relationship can develop successfully depends largely on whether both parties interact.

Gu Zhuoyan stood in front of the sink, looked at himself in the mirror like a bit of an idiot, then put on his pajamas and returned to his bedroom. He deftly sent Zhuang Fanxin a message: "How many corners does your underwear have?"

Zhuang Fanxin was working on a sketch. When he was focused, he usually didn't touch his phone, so he didn't see it for a long time. Gu Zhuoyan went to study. When he still hadn't received a reply in the early hours of the morning, he thought, 'He's embarrassed.'

When Zhuang Fanxin got into bed a little after one, he pulled out his phone and saw the message. Startled, he touched his own underwear under the covers. He replied, completely baffled, "Briefs. Good night, uh."

Gu Zhuoyan stopped writing and looked. Briefs, same as him. Even their underwear preferences were so compatible. He was in a good mood, so why sleep? After two nights of insomnia, he studied until three tonight.

The week passed quickly, probably because they had just switched from vacation mode to school mode and it was over before they could get used to it. Gu Zhuoyan was calm and low-key every day. Besides his proper business, he would monitor Zhuang Fanxin with a few glances from time to time, so much so that even his eyesight had improved.

Zhuang Fanxin's attitude was the same as before; the intimate actions from the day they went grocery shopping never appeared again.

Gu Zhuoyan understood. Since Zhuang Fanxin was a thin-skinned and easily embarrassed person, after giving one obvious hint, he would naturally revert to his usual attitude.

Besides, in a relationship of mutual affection, he also hoped to be the one taking the initiative.

Gu Zhuoyan believed that being proactive didn't mean loving arduously, and being passive didn't mean not caring enough. To walk over step by step with ease and grace, turning the initiative into the "upper hand," was what suited him best.

The weekend afternoon was extremely restless. The teachers had their weekly summary meeting in the evening, so no one was supervising the evening self-study session. Discipline in the classroom slipped, and there were no more than twenty people seriously doing their homework.

Zhuang Fanxin was one of the twenty. Despite Qi Nan's ADHD-like interference, he persisted in studying meticulously. He had no choice. He was going to the art studio tomorrow, so most of his homework had to be finished tonight.

"Desk-mate, look at Zhao Ning!" Qi Nan slapped him, laughing wildly. "Zhao Ning is wearing Lin Xiao'an's hair clip!"

Zhuang Fanxin was doing his English reading comprehension. He had no mind for seeing a boy in drag. Qi Nan, finding it boring to play by himself, had a mischievous idea. He beckoned to Zhao Ning and asked for the hair clip.

He touched Zhuang Fanxin's hair and said, "Desk-mate, your hair is so soft."

Zhuang Fanxin's head was down, not paying attention at all, and he didn't move. Qi Nan lifted a lock of Zhuang Fanxin's bangs, gently clipped the hair clip on, and clamored, "Wow, you're so beautiful!"

The Sports Committee Member in the front row turned around, "It looks better on you than on Lin Xiao'an. Just wear it!"

Lin Xiao'an collapsed on the desk laughing, threatening to give the hair clip to Zhuang Fanxin. The surrounding group of people roared with laughter. Zhuang Fanxin finished the last English reading passage in this festive atmosphere and only then did he raise his head in confusion.

The Sports Committee Member held up his phone and accurately snapped a picture of Zhuang Fanxin's face.

To punish the root of all evil, Zhuang Fanxin took out his biology worksheet and, before starting to write, gave Qi Nan a beating first.

When he got home that night, there was a reason Zhuang Fanxin was so thin. He had a couple of sips of soup, then left the dining table and went straight upstairs to do his homework. He studied until almost midnight. His homework was mostly done, with only one or two difficult problems left.

He was exhausted. He lay down on his bed, took out his phone to relax, and only then did he see that everyone in the group chat had called to meet in the game. He belatedly sent a message: "Wait for me."

Zhuang Fanxin was no longer the simpleton he once was. Before, his friends list only had Gu Zhuoyan, but now he had to scroll. He could turn any game into QQ. Seeing that the Sports Committee Member was online, he initiated a chat: "Got any spare energy packs?"

The Sports Committee Member sent him one without a word. Zhuang Fanxin accepted it and asked, "Wanna do quests together?"

"No," the Sports Committee Member said. "Qi Nan destroyed the big fountain in my garden. I'm waiting for him to come online so I can get revenge."

Zhuang Fanxin was a noob and never dared to provoke others. He belonged to the player class of "if the enemy chases, I run; if the enemy attacks, I surrender." What he yearned for most was to give an opponent a good thrashing, and the only way to achieve that was to find a strong teammate and ride on their coattails.

This was a good opportunity. He said, "Take me with you!"

The Sports Committee Member politely refused, "Didn't you say Gu Zhuoyan is really strong? You should ask him to carry you."

Zhuang Fanxin replied, "Your English notebook is missing a unit. When are you going to copy it?"

He used threats and bribes to make the Sports Committee Member agree, and then just waited for Qi Nan to come online. Compared to Gu Zhuoyan, he preferred playing with other classmates. Because Gu Zhuoyan's level was too high, the gap was too wide, which easily made him feel inferior. He was too embarrassed to tag along.

Three minutes later, Qi Nan came online.

The Sports Committee Member and Zhuang Fanxin formed a team. Qi Nan randomly pulled in the Class Monitor to form another team.

Five minutes later, the Sports Committee Member and Zhuang Fanxin were wiped out.

Zhuang Fanxin stared at the screen and swallowed, not daring to make another sound. He silently went off to do quests. A message notification popped up, but he didn't look, too busy playing the game in frustration.

That message was posted by the Sports Committee Member in the group chat. He couldn't resolve the trauma brought on by his pig teammate without posting it.

Gu Zhuoyan had just finished listening to a lecture from some prestigious university and was shutting down his computer. He casually clicked on the group chat message and glanced at it. It was a photo sent by the Sports Committee Member. In the photo, Zhuang Fanxin was sitting behind his desk, looking at the camera with a slightly dazed expression. His hair was soft, and a small bear-shaped hair clip was pinned to his bangs.

It was a candid shot, so he looked especially naturally cute.

Gu Zhuoyan opened the picture, completely unable to stop himself from pressing the save button.

He scrolled through the previous chat history and found that the boys had arranged to play a game, and Zhuang Fanxin was even trailing behind them, shouting for them to wait. He hadn't logged in for several days and originally thought mobile games were pointless, but now he hypocritically opened the app.

As soon as he was online, Gu Zhuoyan saw Zhuang Fanxin's avatar lit up, seemingly doing nothing.

Zhuang Fanxin had just finished a quest. He had been killed by the Class Monitor's ultimate move earlier and was truly pitiful, so Qi Nan decided to help him level up. He eagerly followed him, but after only a few levels, Qi Nan asked him to send the answers to the English multiple-choice questions.

"..." Zhuang Fanxin wasn't stupid. "You carry me for one round first."

Just as he sent the message, a system notification popped up: "GZY" has invited "Annoyed Again Today" to form a team. Zhuang Fanxin didn't want to drag him down and be looked down upon, so he directly rejected the invitation.

Gu Zhuoyan was stunned. He was rejected by that little noob? Huh?

On second thought, he considered caringly, 'Maybe Zhuang Fanxin doesn't have enough health?' So he went to the store, bought five energy packs, and sent them with a single click. Since he had rejected the team invitation, how could he have the nerve to accept a gift? Zhuang Fanxin clicked reject again.

Gu Zhuoyan thought even more considerately, 'Looks like he doesn't like to battle, he just wants to play casually on his own.' He had just finished consoling himself when "Annoyed Again Today" entered battle mode. He took another look, and the teammate was "The Disastrous Life of Saiki K."

So it turned out he just didn't want to play with him.

Gu Zhuoyan had never been given the cold shoulder like this before. He patiently waited for the battle to end and then declared war on Qi Nan. Qi Nan, with Zhuang Fanxin, fought two against one. Their deaths were relatively peaceful.

The screen was silent. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. spoke first: "Bro, what do you want?"

GZY: "Your teammate."

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: "You didn't have to kill me for that, did you? If you had said so earlier, I would have given him to you and thrown in some gold coins!"

"Annoyed Again Today" stood rooted to the spot, having lost all say in the matter, transforming from a free noob into a captive noob. Zhuang Fanxin curled up in his blanket and hammered the bed. How could he be so miserable? Did playing games feel even less fun than doing homework?

After "Annoyed Again Today" was led away by "GZY," both of them fell silent again. After a stalemate, Gu Zhuoyan said, "Accept the energy packs."

It was like a command. Zhuang Fanxin clicked accept, was revived with full health, and, with the full awareness of a captive, said politely, "Thank you, Master."

Gu Zhuoyan's heart skipped a beat. 'Master' and all that, it was quite... suggestive... He took a long while to recover, then asked, "Why did you reject the team invite just now?"

Zhuang Fanxin answered, "You told me before to improve myself first and not to aim too high."

He did seem to recall saying that. Gu Zhuoyan changed his tune, "I was teasing you. I don't mind that you're a noob."

These words had absolutely no comforting effect. Zhuang Fanxin rubbed his eyes. It was past one, and he had to go to the art studio for class tomorrow morning. He chose to sleep and replied, "Some other day. I'm logging off now."

Having been rejected three times, Gu Zhuoyan secretly wondered, 'Is Zhuang Fanxin angry?'

Outside of his feigned pursuit, he rarely placated people in real life, let alone in a game. He closed the chat window, feeling uncharacteristically at a loss for a moment, and then opened the store.

Just as Zhuang Fanxin was about to log out, the screen erupted with a huge shower of peach hearts and flower petals, the pink color almost bursting out of the screen. He had bought them before; they were called "Giving You My Heart" and "Giving You My Love."

After the hearts and petals had all fallen, Gu Zhuoyan sent, "Good night."

Zhuang Fanxin pressed his face into his pillow, lost in thought. Quietly, his face also turned inexplicably pink.

The author has something to say:　Some students see others playing games and play too, but they don't know that those people only play for a little while after studying until the early hours of the morning. (Words from Xia Wei)