ABMSI Chapter 65

On Lantern Festival day, as soon as classes ended, Duan Wei rushed home to freshen up. By the time he finally stepped out, it was already afternoon. Fengjing Lake was far from the city center, so the group decided to take shared bicycles part of the way, then catch a taxi.

The driver dropped them off near an amusement park close to the lake. Peng Yan scanned for four shared bikes, and they pedaled toward their destination. Along the way, Duan Wei noticed something odd—Peng Yan and Xu Jianian were talking much less than usual, barely even exchanging glances.

But he quickly tossed that observation aside, because he had more urgent business: helping Fu Duqiu confess his love.

Of course, this was entirely his own one-sided plan. The person in question had absolutely no idea.

This year’s Lantern Festival event was larger than ever. The enormous lake and its surrounding parks were decorated from shore to treetop, covered with strings of lights. Yet despite all the ornamentation, nothing looked messy—there was a distinct sense of order and depth to the scene.

At the entrance, reporters with cameras were already setting up, preparing for evening interviews. Although Lantern Festival was a traditional holiday, plenty of young people came to enjoy it. Some were even dressed in hanfu, blending beautifully into the scenery.

All of the activities at the venue were based on traditional customs: making tangyuan^[1], eating tangyuan, admiring lanterns, solving riddles, and releasing sky lanterns… Duan Wei glanced over the schedule and realized the main event—sky lanterns—wouldn’t happen until night. So he turned to the others and asked, “We’ll stay late, yeah?”

Peng Yan and Xu Jianian both shook their heads to indicate they were fine with it. Fu Duqiu also replied, “Whatever you want. Up to you.”

“Great.” Duan Wei grabbed a map and pointed toward the area where people could make tangyuan. “Let’s go.”

There was still time before evening, and rumor had it there wasn’t any other food sold here besides tangyuan. So Duan Wei figured they’d better solve dinner first.

But the moment they approached the spot, they found it packed—three layers of people inside and out. The tangyuan-making master was completely surrounded.

Fortunately, Duan Wei was tall. Standing on his toes, he managed to get a glimpse. The man inside wore a Zhongshan^[2] suit, with ingredients neatly laid out before him. He was at the step of sealing filling into the dough; glossy, perfectly round tangyuan appeared one after another in his hands, placed gently into a woven basket until it looked mouth-watering even to someone who disliked sweets—like Duan Wei, who embarrassingly swallowed hard.

It took the four of them quite a wait before they finally got seats, though even choosing seats became a minor incident.

“Xiao Yanzi, sit over here!” Duan Wei called quickly to Peng Yan, the second he saw Fu Duqiu about to sit next to him.

Fu Duqiu lowered his eyes and glanced at Duan Wei’s expression, while the latter remained blissfully oblivious. Poor “tool-man” Peng Yan looked painfully at Duan Wei, then at Fu Duqiu, and finally followed his brother’s order, obediently sitting beside him.

The four sat facing each other, with Xu Jianian and Fu Duqiu naturally ending up across from them. The master sat to their side. Up close, Duan Wei noticed the man had an otherworldly, elegant air—his classic clothing seemed to suppress rather than soften that faint sense of immortality.

Following the master’s instructions, Duan Wei began crushing peanuts and black sesame, while Peng Yan rolled out glutinous dough beside him. As they worked, Peng Yan glanced at the opposite side, looking conflicted. He muttered under his breath, “Bro, something feels wrong.”

“What?” Duan Wei looked up, bowl in hand.

Peng Yan paused, embarrassed. “I think the school prince keeps staring over here…”

“No way.” Duan Wei lifted his head and immediately met Fu Duqiu’s eyes. The latter smiled at him—just a small smile, yet it made nearby girls stifle squeals.

Seeing everything calm, Duan Wei shrugged. “You’re seeing things.”

“…”

Peng Yan: Bro, wake up! His eyes are practically glued to you!

Only after making tangyuan himself did Duan Wei realize how much skill it required. Too much force and the dough warped; too little and it wouldn’t take shape. By the time evening approached, they had finally filled a whole basket, and the tangyuan plopped into the boiling pot one by one.

After that long session of cooking, Duan Wei’s bubbly charm naturally won over the immortal-like master, who grew fond of the cheerful young man. When it was time to pay, the master smiled and held up a sign: Single: 80 RMB. Couple Duo: 50 RMB.

The instant the sign appeared, Peng Yan and Duan Wei instinctively exchanged a look—pure telepathic understanding flashing between them. Ever since they grew up, they’d been pulling this stunt every holiday event. Pretending to be a couple and getting a discount was practically routine for them.

At that time, because Duan Wei was still a “Beta,” quite a few vendors didn’t believe them. But the two of them cried and spun a tragic AB love story so convincingly that they managed to fool everyone. Now that he had differentiated into an Omega, things were obviously even easier.

“We!” Duan Wei instantly wrapped his arm around Peng Yan’s shoulders with practiced ease, grinning. “Us! Couple!”

The old master was probably an honest man. He didn’t even question it. He nodded cheerfully, then looked toward Fu Duqiu and Xu Jianian. “And these two are…?”

“They’re not—” Peng Yan had just opened his mouth to explain when he suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Across from him, Fu Duqiu’s eyes were practically sharp enough to stab a hole straight through the hand that Duan Wei was draped over Peng Yan’s shoulder with. His face looked calm enough, but between Alphas, emotions were easy to sense.

Peng Yan suddenly realized that Fu Duqiu cared—a lot—about that one little word Duan Wei had just said: “couple.”

But Duan Wei always had a knack for surprises. Right as Peng Yan was about to deny it, Duan Wei seized the moment like a triggered trap and nodded. “Yes, they’re a couple!”

Xu Jianian: ?

Peng Yan: ???

Fu Duqiu: …

Even the slowest person in the world could sense something was off. The old master raised an eyebrow. “Really? These two are a couple?”

“We—”

Xu Jianian felt awkward and was about to explain, but Duan Wei cut her off first. “Yes, they’re a couple.”

Then he even had the audacity to smile at Fu Duqiu, who kept a completely blank face. And yet, somehow, the cold air radiating from him was impossible to ignore.

All four of them were caught in their own thoughts. Peng Yan stood there, fully realizing that love triangles were a straight-up hazard to human health. He’d assumed Fu Duqiu would deny it, but instead the guy stayed silent, paid the bill, and sat down.

Only later did Peng Yan understand why. If Fu Duqiu had denied it on the spot, it would’ve made things even more awkward for Xu Jianian—two sides stuck, no clean escape. Realizing that, Fu Duqiu’s image instantly rose several tiers in Peng Yan’s heart.

Once the payment was settled, the glutinous rice balls they’d made were quickly served. Most of Duan Wei’s dumplings weren’t wrapped properly, so they fell apart in the water. But since he didn’t like the chewy skin anyway, he just scooped up the mashed sesame filling and ate it happily.

By the time they finished eating, evening had arrived. The sunset spilled gold across the sky, birds streaking through layers of clouds. In the center of the lake, the music fountain erupted, rising and falling with the melody—beautiful even from afar.

As soon as Duan Wei stood up, he spotted riddle tags hanging from nearby trees. People crowded beneath, guessing the answers. He turned to the others. “Let’s go take a look!”

The four made their way over. Once night fell, all the lights on the trees switched on—bright, colorful, but not chaotic. Like a sea of glowing blossoms. Duan Wei glanced at the prize table beneath the riddle zone, eyes sparkling at the unfamiliar trinkets.

Just ahead stood a couple. The boyfriend held a tag in one hand and his girlfriend’s hand in the other, muttering, “A bright moon shines by the window… what courteous phrase does this refer to…?”

His voice drifted right into their ears. Duan Wei glanced casually at the bamboo slip and tried to think. A bright moon shining at the window… the only thing in his head was “Before my bed, the moonlight glows.”

The stall owner smiled. Seeing the couple confused, he prompted, “If you can’t solve it, you can give up.”

The boyfriend clearly didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of his girlfriend, but no matter how hard he thought, nothing came. He was about to put the slip back when suddenly a voice behind him said:

“Welcome to our humble home.”

“Correct!” The owner clapped and stood up.

The boyfriend turned. Half of Fu Duqiu’s face was hidden in shadow, but his eyes were bright as he studied the bamboo slip, then turned to Duan Wei. The latter blinked in surprise. “Why is that the answer?”

“The moonlight shining into the house means light has entered someone’s residence. So the phrase is ‘welcome to our humble home.’” Fu Duqiu explained simply. Everyone around instantly understood. The couple collected their prize and left.

The four wandered forward again, idle and aimless. Then Duan Wei’s scheming mind stirred. “Let’s split up!”

“Why?” Peng Yan frowned.

Because we’re blocking the lovebirds! Obviously!

But Duan Wei didn’t say that. He simply smiled. “Each person can only guess once, and the rest have to wait. If we stick together, it’ll take forever.”

Xu Jianian considered it and nodded. “Then let’s split.”

“Right—pair up,” Duan Wei replied. His eyes slid to Peng Yan. And poor Peng Yan sensed doom. Before he could protest, Duan Wei grabbed him. “I’ll go with Xiao Yan!”

The intention was as clear as the moon above. Even Xu Jianian could sense it, much less Fu Duqiu. Fu Duqiu stared at Duan Wei with a complex look, unreadable and deep.

Duan Wei completely ignored it, dragging Peng Yan along. But before they could take a step, his clothes were suddenly grabbed.

Fu Duqiu’s hand seized the corner of his jacket. His eyes were stormy, but his voice was flat—brooking no refusal.

“I’m going with you.”

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Author’s note:
Confession bar: 75%
If nothing goes wrong, confession at the end of next chapter.