Chapter 81

Mi Zhao wasn’t surprised at all that Lin Qiuzu kept getting caught up in dramatic incidents every other day. In the past, he had wished for Lin Qiuzu’s downfall, hoping karma would catch up to him. But now, upon hearing Lin Qiuzu’s name again, he realized he hadn’t thought about him in a long time.

Of course, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t enjoy the drama.

“What happened to him this time?”

“I actually heard about this from my friend,” Yan Qinting said, downing half a cup of tea before taking a deep breath. “Remember my childhood friend, Lian? The one we had dinner with during Labor Day? He’s got a distant cousin who, like you guys, is into men. But he has no morals—he’s slept with more people than we’ve drawn sketches. A while ago, he got together with a dancer.”

Mi Zhao raised an eyebrow. “Lin Qiuzu?”

“That’s right!” Yan Qinting smacked his thigh, looking excited.

“But didn’t Lin Qiuzu just get a new boyfriend? He broke up that fast?” Mi Zhao still remembered that on the day he moved out of the dorm, Lin Qiuzu had said a bunch of strange things to him, even mentioning some guy. He’d already forgotten the guy’s name—just that it had two characters.

Then again, considering Lin Qiuzu’s lack of integrity, it wasn’t hard to imagine him cheating. To him, it was probably as simple as eating or drinking.

“He had a boyfriend? How come I never heard about that?” Yan Qinting scratched his chin, then waved it off. “Eh, doesn’t matter. My childhood friend’s cousin has always been open about his preferences at home. His family let him mess around for years, but now that he’s getting older, they want him to settle down, get married, and take over the family business. So, they started setting up blind dates for him.”

“And he agreed to that?”

“How could he go against his parents? Even if he’s unwilling, he still has to put on a show.” Yan Qinting continued, “Here’s the key part—his family matched him with a newly graduated girl. She’s an only daughter, but they said she’d be easy to control. The poor girl had no idea he liked men and actually developed feelings for him after a few dates.”

“And then?”

“Then Lin Qiuzu found out. He was furious and went to confront the guy. But my friend’s cousin isn’t one to be messed with—he actually hired some thugs to beat Lin Qiuzu up. Lin Qiuzu didn’t show up to school today, and I heard he’s still in the hospital.”

Mi Zhao frowned. “Is he seriously hurt?”

“Not sure. But Lin Qiuzu’s dad has already confronted my friend’s cousin’s family. This won’t be over anytime soon—it might escalate further.”

A sense of discomfort settled over Mi Zhao.

As much as he disliked Lin Qiuzu, objectively speaking, what that man did was disgusting. He not only deceived Lin Qiuzu but also tricked an innocent girl. If anyone deserved karma, it was him.

Seeing Mi Zhao’s serious expression, Yan Qinting patted his shoulder. “It’s just dog-eat-dog drama. No need to feel bad for anyone. Besides, Lin Qiuzu’s father isn’t someone to mess with. Right now, Lin Qiuzu’s lying in the hospital with all the evidence on him—his dad won’t let this slide.”

Mi Zhao exhaled and scoffed. “Serves him right.”

“Exactly.” Yan Qinting spat in disgust. “Fucking deserved.”

Not long after the food was served, a black Range Rover pulled up outside the bustling street food stall.

Having just returned from the holiday, Li Sipei had been tied up at work today. As soon as he finished, he headed straight here, still dressed in his formal suit, with only a camel-colored coat thrown over it.

But even with that, his polished appearance was completely out of place.

Ruan Xin, who had helped open the car door, felt a headache coming on. Ever since their Third Master Li met Mi Zhao, he had been to more places in a few months than he probably had in the past thirty-something years.

Oh, wait.

He wasn’t “Third Master” anymore.

Last time, Mi Zhao had laughed about how the nickname “Third Master” sounded like a cringy Japanese mobster name in front of her and Li Zhixuan. After that, “Third Master” became two words Li Sipei never wanted to hear again in his life.

It was kind of funny…

“Mr. Li, do you want me to go in and call Mi Zhao for you?” Ruan Xin asked.

“No need.” Li Sipei glanced inside through the glass. “You can head back. We’ll drive home later.”

“Got it.” Ruan Xin parked the car properly, handed the keys back to Li Sipei, and left.

With countless eyes on him, Li Sipei walked into the street food stall, unfazed.

The owner took one look at him and thought some big shot from the health department had come for an inspection. But who would do that at night?

Then, a young man sitting by the wall waved at him. “Over here.”

At the sound of his voice, the sharply dressed man’s cold expression softened into a gentle smile as he turned and walked over.

Watching him pull out a chair and sit down, the stall owner finally realized—ah, he’s just a customer.

Jeez.

Who wears a suit this formal just to grab a meal?

“You came straight from work?” Mi Zhao gave Li Sipei a once-over. Even though his outfit clashed with the environment, there was no denying that his man looked insanely handsome in anything.

“Mm.” Li Sipei nodded. “I came as soon as I saw your message.”

Mi Zhao handed him a set of clean utensils and poured him some tea before motioning toward Yan Qinting, who had suddenly gone quiet. “Yan Qinting, my roommate—you remember him, right?”

Li Sipei looked at Yan Qinting. “I remember.”

“……” A chill ran down Yan Qinting’s spine. Being remembered by Li Sipei didn’t feel like a good thing.

However, Li Sipei seemed approachable enough, even greeting Yan Qinting politely.

Yan Qinting quickly responded, “Hello, Brother Li.”

Now that Li Sipei was here, they naturally couldn’t continue discussing Lin Qiuzu. Instead, they started chatting casually about school and the upcoming suspension of classes in their senior year for job hunting.

Mi Zhao planned to travel and do plein-air painting as soon as classes stopped. After returning, he wanted to set up his own studio and take advantage of his online popularity to work independently. As for Yan Qinting, he was almost certainly going back home to prepare for graduate school exams—he had no desire to face the grind of the real world.

Time had flown by, and the three years of university were almost over. Somehow, it had never felt like time moved this fast before.

After drinking a few rounds, Yan Qinting lay slumped on the table, feeling both melancholy and sentimental. “If only time could rewind. We could go back to our freshman year, all clueless newcomers, without having to worry about graduation or separation.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘if,’” Mi Zhao said with a smile, glancing at Li Sipei. He figured Li Sipei wouldn’t be pleased with that kind of talk—after all, just recently, Li Sipei had been lamenting about not meeting him earlier.

He stole a peek.

Sure enough, Li Sipei was staring coldly at the flushed and drunken Yan Qinting.

Under the table, Mi Zhao tugged at Li Sipei’s hand.

Li Sipei turned to look at him.

He whispered, “He’s drunk.”

Li Sipei let out a soft huff. If not for the fact that Yan Qinting was wasted, he would’ve held onto that comment for the rest of his life.

Yan Qinting had drunk quite a lot, and by the time they called the owner to settle the bill, he was already fast asleep on the table.

Mi Zhao had no intention of dragging Yan Qinting back to the dorms. If the dorm supervisor caught them, even though he no longer lived on campus, he’d still get an earful.

After thinking it over, he discussed with Li Sipei and decided to just take Yan Qinting back with them.

Li Sipei, who had just finished paying, looked displeased. But seeing that Yan Qinting was too drunk to walk, he reluctantly agreed.

Luckily, their new place had plenty of rooms. Mi Zhao quickly tidied up a guest room and let Yan Qinting sleep there.

As for washing up—

A wet towel to wipe his face would have to do.

—

The next morning, they had no classes. Mi Zhao slept in, unwilling to get up. Li Sipei lazed in bed with him, habitually wrapping an arm around him.

These days, Mi Zhao had a terrible sleeping posture—he had to cling to Li Sipei like an octopus, using both arms and legs to entangle him. If not for the fact that the room was warmed by central heating, he would’ve woken up in the middle of the night to find himself shivering, having kicked the blanket off somewhere.

Yan Qinting woke up with a pounding headache and stared blankly at the unfamiliar room for a while. He had no memory of being brought here the night before, but he didn’t need to think too hard to guess where he was.

Once the pain eased a little, he got out of bed.

The guest room didn’t have a bathroom, so he needed to go outside to wash up.

Yan Qinting wasn’t sure if Mi Zhao and Li Sipei were awake. If they weren’t, he could just wash his face and head back to campus. This was, after all, Li Sipei’s place, and he didn’t want to overstay his welcome.

Since it was his first time here, he had no idea about the layout and just followed his instincts.

All the doors along the hallway were closed except for one near the living room, which was slightly ajar. Assuming it was a study or something similar, he walked toward it—only to hear a hushed conversation before he even reached the doorway.

“I told you, I dreamed of someone strangling me with a rope last night. Next time, don’t hold me so tight. I could barely breathe.” Mi Zhao’s voice carried a hint of complaint.

“You lost your memory?” Li Sipei’s voice followed. “Who was the one clinging first?”

“You hugged me first,” Mi Zhao declared righteously.

“…” Li Sipei said nothing.

A moment later, Mi Zhao huffed in frustration. “Hey, hey, hey, why are you pushing me? Are you getting up?”

“No.”

“Then why push me?”

“You just said not to hug you.”

“Ugh, I didn’t mean now! I was talking about when we sleep.”

“Fine, then let’s just stop hugging altogether. I’ll have someone sew a divider right down the middle of our bed, and neither of us will cross it.”

Yan Qinting: “……”

Are they kids or what…?

Mi Zhao had the same thought. After a moment of silence, he deadpanned, “Li Sipei, did you just graduate from kindergarten? No, wait, I saw your ID—aren’t you already in your thirties?”

Li Sipei’s tone was icy. “Apologies. I spent over thirty years in kindergarten.”

Mi Zhao burst into laughter. It was unclear what happened next, but the bed creaked slightly.

Realizing he had woken up at the worst possible time, Yan Qinting hesitated for a moment before deciding to just walk past.

Inside the bedroom, Mi Zhao was straddling Li Sipei, playfully pressing a pillow against his face. Despite his tall and strong build, Li Sipei, in this moment, resembled a helpless little animal, entirely at Mi Zhao’s mercy. He could only cross his arms over his face in a weak attempt to defend himself.

Yan Qinting covered his mouth with a hand and coughed twice.

The two on the bed instantly froze and turned to look at him.

Though Mi Zhao enjoyed teasing Li Sipei in private, he always made sure to give him face in front of others. Immediately, he rolled off, got out of bed, and quickly picked up the blanket that had been kicked to the floor, tossing it over Li Sipei.

Fortunately, they hadn’t done anything last night, and both were still dressed in their sleepwear.

Mi Zhao felt relieved.

Besides, knowing that Yan Qinting might get up in the middle of the night, they hadn’t even dared to close the door. Under such circumstances, there was no way they could’ve done anything.

“You’re up?” Mi Zhao’s face burned with embarrassment, but he tried to act nonchalant. “Hungry? Go wash up first. I’ll head out to buy breakfast.”

As it turned out, Yan Qinting had a thicker skin than he did. Without a change in expression, he simply asked, “Where’s the bathroom?”

“I’ll take you.”

As Mi Zhao led him away, he made sure to shut the bedroom door behind them. Before leaving, he glanced back at the bed and winked at Li Sipei.

Li Sipei, still sulking, turned his head away with a scowl.