Chapter 13

Li Yan returned with his food tray, only to find Lin Qiuzu sitting alone at the table, sulking.

Setting his tray down, Li Yan glanced around, but there was no sign of Mi Zhao. His expression tensed.

“Where’s Mi Zhao?”

His tone carried a hint of accusation, instantly fueling the anger already simmering in Lin Qiuzu. But considering the number of people around—many of whom he knew—he forcibly swallowed his temper.

“He left.”

“Left?” Li Yan froze. “Where did he go?”

Lin Qiuzu’s face was dark, his lips curving into a half-smile as he motioned with his chin toward a table ahead on the right. “What, are you blind? Can’t you see for yourself? He went over there. Where else could he go? Back to his rural hometown?”

Following Lin Qiuzu’s gesture, Li Yan turned his head—

And there was Mi Zhao, sitting at a four-person table with Yan Qinting and two unfamiliar girls, already eating.

But Mi Zhao was eating slowly. Between bites, he kept glancing at his phone. Sometimes, he even set his chopsticks down entirely, as if replying to someone’s messages.

Li Yan felt his chest tighten.

After dating for over six months and sharing dozens of meals together, he knew well that Mi Zhao wasn’t someone who played with his phone while eating.

More precisely, Mi Zhao wasn’t even that interested in using his phone.

Aside from his roommate, Yan Qinting, Mi Zhao had no particularly close friends, nor did he have anyone he chatted with regularly. The only people he ever contacted were tutoring students and their parents—but his part-time teaching job had long since ended, hadn’t it?

“Li Yan.”

Lin Qiuzu’s cool voice snapped him back to reality. He turned to meet Lin Qiuzu’s mocking gaze, his own face darkening.

“Did you piss him off again?” Li Yan demanded. “What the hell is wrong with you? You dragged me here, and now you’re the one stirring up trouble!”

All the frustration that had been bottling up inside him since stepping into the cafeteria finally exploded.

He took two quick steps toward Lin Qiuzu, barely restraining the urge to grab him by the collar. His bloodshot eyes glared menacingly, looking downright terrifying.

Lin Qiuzu stiffened in his seat, instinctively feeling a chill. But his mouth was still as sharp as ever.

“What does that have to do with me? He left on his own!”

“Or maybe it’s because of something you said?”

“I didn’t say anything!” Lin Qiuzu’s eyes flashed with something unspoken, and he blinked rapidly. His voice rose in disbelief. “Li Yan, you just told me yesterday that you wanted to be with me—is this how you treat me?”

The bluntness of his words made Li Yan’s expression shift.

His initial aggression vanished in an instant, replaced by panic. His gaze darted around, ensuring that no one had overheard, before locking back onto Lin Qiuzu with gritted teeth.

“I’ve already been more than generous with you,” he growled. “I didn’t even hold you accountable for what you did to my uncle.”

“Oh? And I haven’t been good to you?” Lin Qiuzu let out a sharp laugh. “You sure looked happy driving my car yesterday. And when you asked me for money—was that not good enough for you?”

“…”

Li Yan’s lips parted, as if he wanted to say something—

But in the end, not a single word came out.

—

Meanwhile, Mi Zhao, for the first time ever, spent his entire meal distracted by his phone.

Eventually, even Yan Qinting had had enough.

With a swift motion, he snatched the phone away.

“Focus on eating!” Yan Qinting scolded righteously. “Whatever it is, it can wait until after you’re done!”

Mi Zhao hesitated, then pursed his lips.

Yan Qinting raised an eyebrow.

“…” Mi Zhao immediately surrendered. “Fine.”

—

Back in their dorm, Yan Qinting finally returned the phone.

Mi Zhao checked his messages—Li Sipei hadn’t sent anything else.

But before he could do anything, Yan Qinting leaned over curiously, mumbling, “What were you talking about? Kept going nonstop.”

Mi Zhao answered simply, “Just something important.”

This time, he didn’t put his phone away immediately.

Yan Qinting, knowing better than to pry, only glanced briefly at the screen before standing back up. Then, raising an eyebrow slightly, he made a teasing observation.

“You’re going to see him?”

“Mm.” Mi Zhao set his phone down and opened his wardrobe, picking out clothes to shower. “This weekend.”

“…”

Yan Qinting fell into a brief, strange silence.

When he spoke again, his tone had shifted.

“What for?”

Mi Zhao paused.

A faint red hue crept over his fair ears.

After a moment, Yan Qinting sighed and patted his shoulder.

“Well,” he said, “you did spend the money. Might as well enjoy all the benefits that come with a sugar baby, right?”

“…”

Expressionless, Mi Zhao swatted his hand away. “Shut up.”

—

Early Saturday morning.

While Yan Qinting was still curled up in bed, enjoying his sleep, Mi Zhao got up just as the alarm rang.

By the time he finished washing up and stepped out of the bathroom, Yan Qinting groggily peeked his head out from under the covers. Without even opening his eyes, he mumbled hoarsely,

“You still going to that dinner with the dance academy?”

Mi Zhao paused.

Oh—he’d almost forgotten about that.

Back in freshman year, he and Yan Qinting had joined the Publicity Club, mostly out of peer pressure. The workload was light most of the time, but when it got busy, they were constantly running around.

Last semester, their club had partnered with the External Relations Club to collaborate with the neighboring Dance Academy on a charity event. The project was still in progress, and members—around thirty people—often met up to discuss it.

Just a few days ago, their club president had announced in the group chat that a dinner was scheduled for this weekend at 7 PM.

Both he and Yan Qinting had been selected as participants, so attendance was expected.

Without hesitation, Mi Zhao replied, “Yeah. I’ll be back before 7 PM on Sunday.”

“Ooh~” Yan Qinting leaned against the bedframe, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. “So tonight you’re not coming back, huh?”

“Not dealing with you.”

Mi Zhao pulled on his jacket and left.

—

The address Li Sipei had sent was in the West Second Ring—an apartment complex, complete with building and unit numbers.

Mi Zhao checked the map. The subway led straight there. Just a thirty-minute ride.

Not bad. Pretty convenient.

It was still before 10 AM.

No idea if Li Sipei was awake yet—going over now might be too early.

So Mi Zhao decided to first visit a nearby mall and pick up a small gift before meeting him.

The mall was just a few hundred meters from campus. No need for a ride—he could walk there easily.

Mi Zhao had been studying at A University for two years and was thoroughly familiar with the layout of this mall—he used to come here often to buy gifts for Li Yan.

Taking the elevator straight to the third floor, he stepped into an area filled with men’s clothing and accessories. A men’s fashion store that Li Yan particularly liked was also on this floor.

Unfortunately, after browsing for a while, he didn’t find anything suitable.

Feeling a little tired, Mi Zhao went to the restroom and then found a seat to rest. As soon as he sat down, his hand instinctively reached into his pocket for his phone.

A moment later, his right thumb swiped across the screen, opening WeChat.

He had never been in the habit of constantly checking his phone. Even when dating Li Yan, he rarely spent time chatting on WeChat. After all, their dorms were in adjacent buildings—it was easy enough to meet in person anytime.

But ever since confirming that kind of relationship with Li Sipei, he found himself unconsciously glancing at his phone whenever he had a free moment, even though he knew Li Sipei rarely took the initiative to message him.

After confirming that he hadn’t missed any messages—aside from the Student Union group chat, which was buzzing with early birds excitedly discussing tomorrow night’s gathering—Mi Zhao put his phone away and stood up to enter the store he visited most often.

—

Across the railing from a distance, a girl suddenly nudged her boyfriend’s arm excitedly.

“Look! Isn’t that Mi Zhao who just walked in?”

The boy looked around in confusion. “Who?”

“The one inside.” The girl pointed at the clear glass window beside the store entrance. “The guy looking at clothes.”

The boy squinted toward the store.

The glass was spotless, with only a row of hanging clothes partially obstructing the view. But they didn’t do much to hide Mi Zhao’s tall figure and long legs.

He was wearing a short-sleeved, thin-striped shirt with the buttons undone, revealing a white undershirt. His pants were mostly hidden by the racks but the exposed portion of his calves was slender and fair. As he walked through the store, he carefully examined the racks, occasionally flipping through the clothes with focused attention.

“Huh, it is Mi Zhao—” The boy let out a surprised sound, quickly pulling out his phone to snap a picture through the glass. His thumb then flew across the screen as he typed furiously.

The girl tried to peek over his shoulder. “Who are you messaging?”

“Li Yan,” the boy replied without looking up. “That lucky bastard. He’s got a generous brother like Mi Zhao, waking up early to buy him clothes.”

The girl pursed her lips. “How do you know he’s buying them for Li Yan?”

“Come on, isn’t it obvious? Most of the clothes from this brand in Li Yan’s wardrobe were gifts from Mi Zhao. Plus, isn’t Li Yan’s birthday coming up soon?”

Watching as the boy confidently sent the photo, the girl remained skeptical. “You better not be running your mouth for nothing. If you guessed wrong, you’re going to embarrass yourself.”

“Trust me.” The boy smirked, shaking his phone. “Li Yan’s been in a bad mood lately—this should cheer him up a little in advance.”

—

After exiting the subway station, Mi Zhao followed the GPS directions to the main entrance of Longwan Community.

The entrance wasn’t particularly grand, but it was subtly stylish. Located only about a hundred meters from the subway exit, it had a large supermarket right across the street, office buildings to the left, and a lush green park to the right. The location was ridiculously good.

Which meant the housing prices were probably ridiculously high, too.

After registering his name and phone number at the gate, Mi Zhao couldn’t help but wonder—just how rich was this friend of Li Sipei’s, to have an extra apartment in such a prime area and lend it to him for free?

The apartment building also required a keycard for entry. Standing at the entrance, he dialed the intercom number listed for Li Sipei’s unit.

The line rang for over ten seconds before connecting.

“Hello.” A completely unfamiliar male voice came through the speaker.

Mi Zhao double-checked the number he had dialed. Confirming it was correct, he spoke with slight awkwardness.

“Hello, is Li Sipei there?”

“…” The person on the other end seemed momentarily choked up, then abruptly raised his voice. “Who are you looking for?”

“Li. Si. Pei.” Mi Zhao repeated each syllable clearly. “Is he there?”

“…”

A brief silence followed. Then, a familiar voice replaced the stranger’s.

“Come up.”

Click.

With that, the electronic lock on the building’s entrance unlocked.