At the start of the semester, most of the courses hadn’t begun yet. Occasionally, there would be early classes at 7 a.m., but no one in Gu Zhifei’s dorm had ever experienced someone knocking on their door at 6 a.m.
All four roommates lay in bed, pretending they didn’t hear the persistent knocking.
After five minutes of constant knocking, Roommate A sighed heavily and yelled, “Who is it?!”
A voice from outside replied, “Is Gu Zhifei in this dorm? I tried calling him, but he didn’t answer.”
Roommate A grumbled, “Hey, Gu Zhifei! Someone’s looking for you.”
Gu Zhifei groggily reached for his phone and saw several missed calls, realizing he had left it on silent.
Slowly, he pulled on his pajama pants, got out of bed, and asked, “Who is it?”
The voice outside responded, “It’s me! Jiang Yang! Don’t you remember? We agreed to go for a run this morning.”
Gu Zhifei froze for a second at the door. “Give me a minute.” He turned left and went into the bathroom, brushing his teeth, washing his face, putting in his colored contacts, and using a hot towel to flatten his messy hair.
Fifteen minutes later, Gu Zhifei finally opened the door. “Come in and have a seat while I change.”
Jiang Yang, smiling brightly, nodded and stepped inside. He placed a bag of breakfast on the table. “You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, right? I bought soy milk, buns, and fried dough sticks.”
Gu Zhifei interrupted, “But I prefer pancakes.”
Jiang Yang froze for a moment. “Should I go buy some?”
Gu Zhifei raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond. Instead, he picked out a veggie bun from the bag and took a bite—it was still warm.
“Why did you come over? Didn’t I tell you yesterday not to?” Gu Zhifei asked while munching on the bun, his cheeks puffing up with the food.
Jiang Yang was about to respond when Roommate A sniffed the air. “Smells so good. Is there any for me?”
Gu Zhifei replied coldly, “Of course not. Go back to sleep.”
Roommate A: “…”
Finishing half of his bun, Gu Zhifei quickly changed into his running clothes and muttered, “Let’s talk outside.”
Jiang Yang nodded, picked up the breakfast bag, and quietly followed Gu Zhifei outside.
They found a bench to sit on and resumed their conversation.
Jiang Yang explained, “I have a high school friend in your department. I asked him about you.”
Gu Zhifei nodded and poked a straw into the soy milk, taking a sip.
Jiang Yang looked at him admiringly. “Turns out, you’re pretty famous in your department. My friend said you were the top scorer and could’ve gotten into A University.”
A University was the best in the country.
Gu Zhifei, chewing his food, replied in a muffled voice, “Z University’s electrical engineering program is better than A University’s. It’s always been my goal. But what about you? How did you end up at our school?”
Jiang Yang smiled. “I didn’t have as much of a plan as you. My grades were good enough for finance, so I went for it.”
Gu Zhifei nodded. “Not everyone can be as brilliant as me.”
Jiang Yang: “…”
After wiping his mouth, Gu Zhifei said, “I’m full, but there’s still half a dough stick left.” He glanced around for a trash can but couldn’t find one.
Jiang Yang took it from him and pointed to himself. “I’ll be your trash can.”
Gu Zhifei looked surprised. “You haven’t eaten yet?”
“I have,” Jiang Yang replied. “But I eat a lot. Half a dough stick is no big deal.”
Gu Zhifei asked, “Are you a germaphobe?”
Jiang Yang blinked. “No… but weren’t you full?”
Gu Zhifei leaned in and took another bite of the dough stick. Normally, he tore it into pieces when eating.
“One more bite and I’m done,” Gu Zhifei said, straight-faced.
Jiang Yang stared at the obvious bite mark on the dough stick, then without hesitation, finished it off.
Well, that’s basically an indirect kiss, Jiang Yang thought.
Gu Zhifei, his expression neutral, continued walking with Jiang Yang.
“Let’s run together every morning,” Jiang Yang sincerely suggested again.
This time, Gu Zhifei didn’t refuse. “Alright, call me.”
By Saturday noon, Yao Qing had dragged a still-sleepy Gu Zhifei out for lunch. Yao Qing scolded him for wasting such a beautiful weekend by being lazy.
Yawning, Gu Zhifei said, “I’ve been getting up at 6 a.m. for five days straight. Let me catch up on sleep.”
“No way! Everyone’s here, let’s hang out,” Yao Qing insisted.
“Didn’t we just meet up a few days ago? Why again?” Gu Zhifei asked.
“It’s still the start of the semester, so there’s not much to do,” Yao Qing explained. “Plus, Fang Shucheng said today’s an important anniversary.”
Gu Zhifei raised an eyebrow. “Anniversary?”
Yao Qing nodded. “It’s the anniversary of the first time we all watched the sunset together. Maybe it was during the play rehearsals? I don’t really remember.”
Gu Zhifei: “…”
Fang Shucheng and his strange reasons for get-togethers are getting more and more ridiculous.
Despite his complaints, Gu Zhifei still ended up hanging out with everyone for the whole day. By evening, they were having barbecue at an outdoor stall.
Just as they were grilling bacon and pork belly, Gu Zhifei heard a familiar voice.
“I really can’t drink.”
Turning around, Gu Zhifei saw Jiang Yang trying to shield his cup from the chubby guy holding a beer bottle.
What’s he doing eating with those people? Gu Zhifei wondered, frowning as he noticed the blond guy lounging with a mocking grin on his face.
Yao Qing nudged him. “What are you staring at?”
“Hold on, I have something to deal with,” Gu Zhifei said as he stood up and walked over to the blond guy’s table.
Yao Qing quickly signaled the others, and they all turned to watch.
Gu Zhifei walked up behind Jiang Yang and patted him on the back. “What’s going on?”
Jiang Yang turned around, pleasantly surprised. “You’re here too…?”
Gu Zhifei knocked him lightly on the head. “Shut up, you idiot. Can’t even tell they’re messing with you?”
The chubby guy, not wanting to be left out, chimed in, “Why are you everywhere? We’re just having drinks with Jiang Yang. What’s it to you? Stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong!”
Before Gu Zhifei could respond, Jiang Yang’s expression darkened. He turned to the chubby guy and said sternly, “You can’t insult my friend like that. He’s just looking out for me. Apologize to him.”
The chubby guy, startled by Jiang Yang’s sudden change in tone, hesitated before getting angry. “What’s with the tough act? You think I’m scared of you?” He slammed his beer bottle on the table, and the other guys, sensing a fight, straightened up and glared at Jiang Yang.
Jiang Yang stood up and stared down the chubby guy. “Are you going to apologize?”
The chubby guy sneered, “And what if I don’t? I’ll say it again, mind your own business… Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go! You’re breaking my arms! Someone help!”
Before anyone could react, Jiang Yang had already sprung into action, twisting the chubby guy’s arms behind his back and slamming him face-first onto the table.
As the chubby guy let out several wails, the blond guy and the rest of the group finally caught on and stood up, rolling up their sleeves.
Jiang Yang squared off against them.
Gu Zhifei naturally stood beside him.
He slowly rolled up his sleeves, removed his glasses, and calmly wiped the lenses before—
Turning around and shouting, “Wei Jie! Xie Jun! Come help out.”
Blond guy: “…”
Chubby guy: “…”
Yao Qing, Wei Jie, Fang Shucheng, Xie Jun, and Zhuang Yi all joined them, no hesitation.
Zhuang Yi, looking excited, said, “If we’re gonna fight, let’s do it quickly before the meat burns.”
Xie Jun, still holding a freshly grilled piece of bacon, offered it to Zhuang Yi. “Here, have a taste.”
Zhuang Yi took the bacon straight from Xie Jun’s chopsticks.
Blond guy: “…”
Chubby guy: “…”
Tears welled up in the chubby guy’s eyes as he desperately signaled the blond guy for help: Save me!
The blond guy quickly counted the numbers on both sides—his group had one more person! Feeling a bit more confident, he figured there was still hope. Plus, there was a girl on the other side, and even if a couple of them were tall, that didn’t mean they could fight.
As he calculated his chances, Yao Qing suddenly turned and glanced at the group. When she turned back, her face darkened menacingly. “Xie Jun, that bacon you just gave to Zhuang Yi—did I grill that?”
Xie Jun: “…”
Zhuang Yi: “…”
With a loud cry, Yao Qing pounced on Xie Jun, and the two began wrestling. Zhuang Yi quickly finished the bacon to hide the evidence, then rushed over to break them up.
Blond guy: “…”
Wait, this girl can actually fight too.
Glancing over at the tall, well-built Wei Jie and Xie Jun, the blond guy hesitated, then quickly made a decision.
“Sorry, this was all a misunderstanding.” He bowed deeply, signaled his group to stand down, and promptly fled with his buddies.
Chubby guy: “…”
Jiang Yang, turning to the chubby guy still pinned on the table, asked, “Are you ready to apologize now?”
The chubby guy sobbed pitifully, “I’m sorry! I was wrong!”
Jiang Yang calmly asked, “Who’s the real dog here?”
Chubby guy whimpered, “Woof! Woof woof! Woof woof woof!”
