Chapter 70

The Next Day

Mi Zhao overslept.

He called Yan Qinting to ask for a leave. After a long silence, Yan Qinting said helplessly, “Do you want to record your own voice and listen to what it sounds like?”

Mi Zhao coughed twice, cleared his throat, and asked, “What’s wrong with my voice?”

“What else? It’s turned into a raspy duck voice.”

“…”

Mi Zhao felt that Yan Qinting would be much better off without a mouth.

Yan Qinting sighed in exasperation. “Mi Zhao, oh, Mi Zhao, you’re really something. Be careful when you go out picking wild vegetables. Falling in love is one thing, staying out all night is another, but now you’re even skipping class?”

Feeling guilty, Mi Zhao shrank his neck. “I’m not skipping…”

“Then hurry up and get back here.”

“Fine,” Mi Zhao sighed in surrender. “I’ll be back right away.”

“You’ve got thirty minutes. Move fast. I’ll take your stuff to the classroom first.”

“Okay.”

Mi Zhao rolled over and got out of bed, only to remember that someone else was still in it. He pounced on Li Sipei, hugging his head and planting two loud kisses on his cheek.

Li Sipei had woken up while listening to Mi Zhao’s phone call. He squinted at him, caught off guard by the sudden attack. Though a little startled, he didn’t dodge.

Mi Zhao pursed his lips and stole a few more kisses from Li Sipei’s lips.

“I’m heading back to school,” he said, stroking Li Sipei’s face, thoroughly enjoying the moment. “Take care of yourself.”

Li Sipei remained unbothered by his teasing. “Will you make it in time?”

“I will,” Mi Zhao said. “Our school is just behind here, isn’t it?”

The biggest perk of living here was having more time to spend with Li Sipei.

But staring at his face, Mi Zhao had to remind himself—beauty is a distraction!

Academics come first.

—

By the time he rushed to the classroom, the bell hadn’t rung yet. The students were chatting noisily, and the warm air from the heater made his face flush. He took off his jacket and walked to his seat.

Yan Qinting was still fiddling with his art supplies. When he looked up and saw Mi Zhao, he exclaimed, “That fast? Did he have someone drive you over?”

Mi Zhao hung his jacket on the back of his chair and sat down to check his art tools. “I walked.”

Yan Qinting’s face was expressionless. “Bullshit. You might as well say you flew here.”

“Oh, right, I forgot to tell you,” Mi Zhao turned his head with a cheeky grin and added, “He bought an apartment near the south gate. I’ll be living there from now on. Walking to school takes about ten minutes.”

At those words, Yan Qinting froze, and the paintbrush in his hand slipped to the floor with a clatter.

“You’re moving out?!” His sudden outburst drew several curious glances from the class.

Yan Qinting looked utterly betrayed, like a child abandoned by their best friend.

“Keep your voice down,” Mi Zhao said, setting up his easel. Once the attention on them faded, he explained in a low voice, “I have to prepare for my travels next year. I’ll be gone for at least six months, I can’t no longer stay in the dorm. I’m just moving out a little earlier.”

Hearing this, Yan Qinting slowly calmed down.

Mi Zhao bent down, picked up the fallen paintbrush, and handed it back to him.

Yan Qinting puffed up his cheeks before reluctantly muttering, “Oh.”

“You can come over whenever you want. It’s so close, just a few steps away,” Mi Zhao offered.

“Absolutely not.” Yan Qinting shook his head like a drum, as if exorcising the thought itself. He used to be curious about Mi Zhao’s boyfriend and had wanted to meet him. But after that one encounter, he immediately scrapped the idea.

After some thought, he solemnly patted Mi Zhao’s shoulder. “I have only one thing to say.”

Mi Zhao lazily lifted an eyelid. “What?”

“Take it easy,” Yan Qinting said seriously. “Do you even realize you look like you’ve been overindulging lately?”

“…”

The next second, a pained yelp echoed from the corner of the classroom, once again drawing everyone’s attention.

—

After class, Mi Zhao went to speak with his advisor about switching to commuter status. Since he was already a junior and his major was unique, the advisor readily approved his request and asked about his travel plans for next year.

Mi Zhao answered honestly.

The advisor nodded. “Make sure to check the group chat while you’re away so you don’t miss any class or school updates.”

Mi Zhao obediently agreed. “Got it.”

As the conversation wrapped up, he politely bid farewell and was about to leave when the advisor suddenly called him back.

“Oh, right. I heard you’re in a relationship.”

Mi Zhao was surprised. “Professor Zhang, you even know about that?”

“I’m working at a school, not living in a cave,” the advisor replied dryly. “Plus, there’s been a lot of talk about you. Some say your boyfriend treats you poorly, others say he’s generous and wealthy. So, which is it?”

There was always a barrier between teachers and students, so the counselor hadn’t probed too directly.

At first, the school gossip painted Mi Zhao’s boyfriend as broke, irresponsible, and uneducated—someone already in the workforce yet still relying on a student like Mi Zhao for financial support. But somehow, the rumors took a complete 180, claiming that Mi Zhao’s boyfriend was not only rich but also ridiculously handsome, to the point where Mi Zhao, a self-made success, seemed unworthy of him.

These rumors had been circulating so much that the counselor herself was getting a headache. She had assumed that Mi Zhao, as the one at the center of it all, must be troubled by the gossip as well, but to her surprise, he didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

The counselor was both amused and exasperated.

As it turned out, Mi Zhao truly hadn’t taken those words to heart. He scratched his head and said, “My boyfriend is just an ordinary person. I don’t know how these rumors got so exaggerated.”

The counselor asked, “Where did he go to school before?”

“He went to elementary school here, then studied abroad for middle school and stayed there until he finished his master’s degree before coming back.”

The counselor raised her brows in surprise. “What does he do now?”

Mi Zhao thought seriously for a moment before answering, “He’s inheriting the family business?”

“…” The counselor fell silent for a moment before continuing, “And before inheriting the family business?”

“Preparing to inherit the family business?” Mi Zhao was uncertain. From what he could recall, Li Sipei had never really worked. Even the companies under his name were managed by others. After thinking it over, he nodded firmly. “Yep, that’s about right.”

“…” The counselor wanted to say that this didn’t sound very reliable, but after hesitating, she held back her thoughts. Instead, she simply reminded him, “Always keep your guard up. You can’t truly know someone’s heart. Being a little cautious isn’t a bad thing. When you move out, you won’t have classmates around to look after you, so if anything happens, call me or your parents.”

Although Mi Zhao wasn’t sure why she suddenly brought this up, he still appreciated the concern and sincerely replied, “Okay, thank you, Director Zhang.”

The paperwork for his off-campus living arrangement was quickly completed, and Mi Zhao also registered with the dorm manager. Now, all that was left was packing his things.

But before that, he called his parents to let them know.

Mi Bin and He Linfang had never tried to control Mi Zhao in such matters. They knew their son had his own opinions and had always been independent.

With Yan Qinting’s help, Mi Zhao finished packing everything in just two hours. He bought two cloth bags from the campus supermarket, filling them with his essentials while discarding everything else in the dormitory’s trash bins outside.

After living in this dorm for over two years, it only took two cloth bags and two suitcases to erase all traces of his presence. The bed, desk, and wardrobe were suddenly empty.

Yan Qinting said, “You have a lot of stuff. I’ll help you carry it over.”

“He’s coming to pick me up,” Mi Zhao replied, but noticing Yan Qinting’s face change slightly, he quickly added, “You can come over too, check out the place, so you’ll know where to find me later.”

Caught off guard by this unexpected display of affection, Yan Qinting rolled his eyes. “You two really can’t be apart for even a second, huh? It’s just a short distance, and he still has to come pick you up!”

Mi Zhao thought to himself that it was Li Sipei who had insisted on coming, but he decided against saying it out loud—otherwise, Yan Qinting would have even more to complain about.

“Forget it, you can go by yourself. I’m too lazy to help,” Yan Qinting grumbled. He was already exhausted and planned to order takeout, eat, and go straight to bed.

Mi Zhao stacked the cloth bags on top of his suitcases and grabbed the handles, pushing them downstairs.

Luckily, the dormitory had an elevator, saving him from the trouble of hauling his luggage up and down.

As he stepped out of the building, he unexpectedly saw a familiar face.

Lin Qiuzu stood outside with his arms crossed, dressed in a white down jacket. A gray knitted beanie covered his lightly made-up face.

At a glance, Mi Zhao could tell that Lin Qiuzu was here to meet someone. He only dressed this simply when he was looking for a friend.

It seemed that the recent rumors hadn’t affected him much—after all, he still had the energy to visit their school.

The two made eye contact.

Mi Zhao had no intention of acknowledging Lin Qiuzu and simply pushed his suitcases forward.

But Lin Qiuzu quickly walked over, looking surprised. “Are you moving out of the dorm?”

Mi Zhao didn’t even bother to lift his eyelids. “None of your damn business.”

Lin Qiuzu wasn’t fazed by his rudeness. Instead, he asked good-naturedly, “Li Yan said you rented a place outside. Are you moving into that apartment now?”

Mi Zhao’s brow twitched.

For a moment, he considered telling Lin Qiuzu that he was moving in with Li Sipei. After all, Lin Qiuzu had attended Li Sipei’s birthday party, so he definitely knew who he was. It would be a perfect chance to flaunt his relationship.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he dismissed it. He didn’t want Lin Qiuzu knowing too much about his personal life. Li Sipei was his—he wanted to hide him away, not even letting Lin Qiuzu catch a glimpse of a single hair.

“Lin Qiuzu, you seem really interested in my business lately,” Mi Zhao said, gripping his suitcase handles and lazily gazing at him with a smirk. “Since when were you so curious about me? Could it be that you and Li Yan had a falling out because you fell for me instead?”

Lin Qiuzu was stunned for a second, then his eyes widened in shock and anger as he took a step back. “You’re way too full of yourself! How could I ever like you?”

Mi Zhao raised an eyebrow and smoothly changed the topic. “By the way, did you get a new boyfriend?”

“…What new boyfriend?”

“At the Li family’s banquet, I saw you leave the hall with some man,” Mi Zhao said casually, though he had no intention of mentioning how that man had tried to chat him up.

He wasn’t saintly enough to warn Lin Qiuzu about anything. Considering how many times Lin Qiuzu had stabbed him in the back, not retaliating was already being generous.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiuzu’s face turned pale. His first thought was—did Mi Zhao see everything that night?

But that couldn’t be right!

If Mi Zhao had witnessed him with his boyfriend, would he really be this calm? The last time he saw Mi Zhao reacting to him and Li Yan, he had looked furious, as if he was ready to kill someone.

Was Mi Zhao just testing him?

Lin Qiuzu’s mind raced, but before he could speak, Mi Zhao chuckled. “I think you two make a great match.”

“…” Lin Qiuzu frowned, sensing that something was off.

Since he had only approached that man to provoke Mi Zhao, he didn’t particularly care if Mi Zhao knew about it. After a brief pause, he suddenly let out a laugh and stared directly at Mi Zhao.

“Are you being sarcastic, or are you just pretending to be ignorant?” Lin Qiuzu asked. “You really didn’t recognize him?”

Mi Zhao blinked. “Recognize who?”

“Lin Bin.” That was the man’s name.

Mi Zhao showed no reaction whatsoever. Instead, he tilted his head slightly and asked, “Who’s Lin Bin?”

At that moment, Lin Qiuzu was completely dumbfounded.