Chapter 72

The supermarket was bustling with people, noisy and lively.

But the moment Qi Luo spoke, it felt as if the atmosphere around their small corner had frozen, as if an invisible barrier had risen between them and the crowd.

For a brief moment, no one said a word.

It was Li Sipei who reacted first, suddenly stepping forward.

Mi Zhao’s heart tightened—thinking that Li Sipei was about to do something in public, he quickly grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers.

As he pulled Li Sipei back, he rejected Qi Luo without hesitation, “Sorry, but you should find someone else. I don’t have the time.”

At this point, Qi Luo would have to be a fool not to realize something was off. His face paled slightly, and his gaze landed on their joined hands.

After a long pause, he finally spoke hesitantly, “He’s… your…”

“My boyfriend.” Mi Zhao tightened his grip on Li Sipei’s hand and smiled casually. “We’ve been together for a while now. Didn’t people at school gossip about me before?”

Qi Luo let out a soft “ah,” his frozen mind slowly starting to process things. A moment later, his expression turned a little strange. “But last time I asked you, you said you weren’t dating anyone.”

Mi Zhao was taken aback. “When did you ask me that?”

“Last time.”

“Last time?”

Mi Zhao tried to recall but couldn’t even remember when he had last spoken with Qi Luo. His life had been so chaotic lately that he barely paid attention to things he considered unimportant.

Qi Luo stared at him blankly and murmured, “It was in front of the dorm building. We talked for a bit. I asked if you were going to the end-of-year gathering, and you said no. I thought you had a date, but you said you didn’t have a boyfriend…”

Mi Zhao remained completely puzzled.

As he spoke, Qi Luo’s voice grew smaller and smaller, until he swallowed the rest of his words. He forced a bitter smile.

That day, he had been overjoyed for several days after hearing Mi Zhao say he didn’t have a boyfriend. But now, it seemed like Mi Zhao had just been in a fight with his boyfriend at the time and didn’t want to admit it.

Whether Mi Zhao remembered or not no longer mattered.

“If you don’t have time, I’ll just find someone else.” Qi Luo forced a small smile. He knew his expression must look worse than crying, so he just wanted to leave as quickly as possible. “I’ll go now. I need to grab something from the break room.”

Mi Zhao nodded. “Alright.”

Qi Luo hesitated for a moment before turning away. His gaze lingered on Mi Zhao and Li Sipei, and out of the corner of his eye, he studied Li Sipei.

From his clothes to his aura, the man was clearly much older than them. He hadn’t spoken a single word this entire time, yet his presence was impossible to ignore.

Tall, strikingly handsome, dressed in a light gray coat over black pants that accentuated his long legs—many passing young men and women were sneaking glances at him.

Compared to him, Qi Luo felt as insignificant as a speck of dust on the roadside.

He knew that Mi Zhao wasn’t a materialistic person, so this man must have had something special that made Mi Zhao willing to openly acknowledge their relationship. But even knowing that, seeing the obvious advantages the man had on the surface, Qi Luo couldn’t help but feel a wave of inferiority.

Lowering his gaze, he murmured, “I wish you both happiness.”

With that, he turned and quickly walked away.

Mi Zhao scratched his head. He still couldn’t remember what he had said to Qi Luo before, but judging from the situation, it probably wasn’t anything good.

He had no time to dwell on Qi Luo, though. Feeling a bit awkward, he turned to look at Li Sipei—only to find him staring back at him expressionlessly.

“…,” Mi Zhao suddenly felt guilty and muttered, “I…”

He had barely uttered a single word when Li Sipei shook off his hand, grabbed the shopping cart, and headed straight for the checkout.

Mi Zhao had expected Li Sipei to be upset, but he hadn’t anticipated him being this upset. Even after they got home, Li Sipei still wasn’t talking to him.

There had been too many people at the supermarket to explain properly, but now that they were home, Mi Zhao clung to him and tried to justify himself. “We were fighting at the time, remember? He suddenly came up and asked me, and I didn’t want to talk about my personal affairs with him.”

On the way back, Mi Zhao had finally recalled the brief conversation. It had been just a few casual words—who would’ve thought it would cause such a mess today?

Even he was speechless.

They had walked a lot that evening, and since Li Sipei had stormed home in a huff, he had practically speed-walked the entire way. Now, his legs ached as he silently sat down on the couch, turning his head away from Mi Zhao.

Luckily, Mi Zhao was thick-skinned. Ignoring the silent treatment, he shamelessly stuck close to him and patted his shoulder. “Come on, say something.”

Li Sipei took a deep breath and finally turned to look at him. His expression was still cold, but his voice sounded relatively calm. “You really couldn’t tell that he likes you?”

“I just figured it out today.”

Li Sipei said nothing.

Mi Zhao could tell he didn’t believe him, so he quickly held up three fingers and swore earnestly, “We’re just classmates, that’s all! I helped him out with a small favor once, so we were a little closer than other classmates. But I seriously had no idea he liked guys. He used to be terrified whenever another guy hit on him—I thought he was homophobic!”

Li Sipei’s gaze was cold, his expression unreadable. The overhead lighting cast shadows on his face, making his sharp features even more striking.

His thin lips remained lightly pressed together.

Mi Zhao kept staring at him, and suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. Unable to resist, he leaned in slightly.

Just as his lips were about to touch Li Sipei’s, a hand reached up from below and pinched his cheek. The fingers applied slight pressure, instantly making his lips pout.

“Hmm?” Mi Zhao furrowed his brows, his round eyes darting up and down before he glared at Li Sipei. “What are you doing?”

Li Sipei didn’t move away, keeping them in their close, almost face-to-face posture.

“What favor did you do for him?”

“He was being harassed by a guy from the neighboring dance academy, so I helped him talk to that guy.” Mi Zhao spoke with his lips still pursed. “Let me tell you, that guy was really over the line. When he couldn’t win him over, he started playing dirty tricks behind his back. Originally, he and I both earned money through drawing—I get my clients from the internet, but he relied on teacher and friend referrals. After that guy messed things up for him, everyone was too scared to approach him. But he’s stubborn, so instead of bowing down, he just went elsewhere for part-time work. His family situation seems pretty average, so he works a lot harder than the rest of us to make money.”

Li Sipei’s expression shifted slightly, as if he was deep in thought. “No wonder there are still students from your school working part-time at the supermarket.”

“He won’t be doing it for long. Once things settle down, he’ll be back to making money from drawing. That pays way more than part-time jobs.”

Li Sipei lifted Mi Zhao’s chin slightly, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds like you know him quite well.”

“…” Mi Zhao’s expression stiffened, alarm bells ringing in his mind. “No, I—”

Before he could finish, the light in front of him suddenly dimmed.

Something warm and soft pressed against his lips.

For a moment, Mi Zhao was stunned. But as soon as he realized what was happening, he instinctively wrapped his arms around Li Sipei’s neck, pressing his chest closer as well.

The hand that had been holding his chin slid silently to the back of his head, gripping it firmly in place.

By the time the kiss ended, both of them were breathless.

Mi Zhao gazed at Li Sipei with sparkling eyes. His messy black hair, flushed cheeks, and slightly dazed expression made him look unexpectedly adorable. “You’re not mad anymore?”

Li Sipei pinched his cheek. It was hot, but the texture was nice—soft and smooth.

“I was never mad.” Now that he had calmed down, his tone was rather stubborn.

“You call that not being mad?” Mi Zhao grabbed Li Sipei’s hand and rubbed it against his own cheek. “I should’ve given you a mirror—your mouth was practically pulled down to your chin.”

Li Sipei fell silent for a moment before saying, “Stay away from him from now on.”

Mi Zhao burst into laughter and patted Li Sipei’s shoulder like a buddy. “Don’t worry. I’ve already moved out, so aside from seeing him in class, we won’t have any private contact. Once classes end next year, we won’t even run into each other.”

Li Sipei let out a low hum in response, still looking a little displeased.

After the two of them finished sorting the groceries, his expression finally eased a bit. Feeling rested, he got up to take a shower.

Today was their first day in the new apartment. Normally, Mi Zhao would have pestered Li Sipei for a while before letting him go. But after the earlier events, he was unusually well-behaved, simply watching as Li Sipei entered the bedroom.

Not long after, the sound of running water came from inside.

Mi Zhao also changed into his loungewear and sprawled lazily on the sofa, playing on his phone.

Around 9 PM, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Mi Zhao sat up abruptly, blinked in confusion, then slipped on his slippers and went to open the door.

Outside stood Ruan Xin, holding a medium-sized cardboard box. “Mr. Li left some things behind over there, so I packed them all together.”

“Oh.” Mi Zhao quickly took the box—it was heavier than he expected. “Thanks. Want to come in and rest for a bit?”

Ruan Xin wiped the sweat off her forehead and glanced at his clothes before shaking her head like a rattle drum.

No way.

If she dared to interrupt Third Master’s business tonight, he’d probably twist her head off and kick it like a soccer ball tomorrow.

“It’s late. I should head back.”

“Alright.” Mi Zhao thanked her again. After Ruan Xin helped close the door, he carried the box back to the living room.

He placed it on the coffee table.

The box was sealed tightly with clear tape.

Mi Zhao sat back down on the couch and was about to continue scrolling through Weibo when he caught sight of the box out of the corner of his eye. He hesitated, then straightened up.

After thinking for a moment, he grabbed a utility knife and swiftly sliced through the tape.

Inside, there were various miscellaneous items, neatly packed.

Feeling bored, Mi Zhao rummaged through them for a while and unexpectedly found a booklet. It didn’t look like a book—more like a self-printed document.

It was at the very bottom of the box. When he pulled it out, a few other items shifted and rustled.

“Is this a document?” he muttered, inspecting it.

There wasn’t even a cover—how could it be a formal document?

It probably wasn’t anything important; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been buried at the bottom of a box of junk.

Relaxed, Mi Zhao flopped back onto the soft couch, crossed his legs, and casually flipped it open.

But as soon as he saw the first page, his expression darkened.

His fingers clenched around the booklet.

The next second, he shot up from the sofa as if he’d been burned, striding toward the bathroom with urgency.

“Li Sipei, you better explain this to me!”