“Brother Feng!”
As soon as they got close, Lin Xinyuan happily threw herself into the young man’s arms, rubbing her head against Qin Nanfeng’s chest with endearing obedience.
With a look of indignant grief, she turned her head to glare at a certain someone nearby and grumbled dissatisfaction, “Someone bullied me! …She pinched my face…”
Li Tang was just heading over to her own boyfriend when she sensed the girl’s gaze. Looking over, she saw Lin Xinyuan snuggled in Qin Nanfeng’s embrace, staring at her resentfully.
Li Tang giggled and gave a simple nod to the young man as a greeting. Then, she pulled down her mask, made a silly face at Lin Xinyuan, and skipped off to find her boyfriend, laughing all the way.
Seeing this, Lin Xinyuan grew even angrier, her cheeks puffing up like a steamed bun.
It was rare to see the girl act so spoiled, which surprised Qin Nanfeng, but mostly it filled him with tenderness. He wrapped his arm around her slender back and shot a cold, indifferent glance at the gloating girl walking away. Looking down at his little girlfriend’s pitiful expression, he reached out to tidy the bangs that had become messy during the playfight.
Qin Nanfeng nodded to show he understood and let out a soft laugh. “It’s okay. I’ll get revenge for you on the court in a bit, alright?”
Hearing this, Lin Xinyuan’s eyes instantly lit up. She nodded her head like a little chick pecking at grain, her almond eyes sparkling as if they were glowing. “Mm!”
Seeing her like this, Qin Nanfeng’s heart softened. He reached out to pull down her mask. This time, Lin Xinyuan didn’t stop him; she only looked around shyly, afraid someone might be watching. Fortunately, being tucked into his embrace blocked most of the surrounding view, allowing her to relax.
With the mask removed, her fair, delicate face appeared slightly flushed, looking as though it had been “ravaged.” His eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing, choosing instead to gently rub her cheeks while lost in thought.
Feeling the warmth from his hand, Lin Xinyuan instinctively tried to lower her head in embarrassment, but Qin Nanfeng held her chin in place. Forced to tilt her head up, she let him knead her cheeks, occasionally letting out involuntary, comfortable “cooing” sounds.
The sound made the tips of her ears turn crimson.
“Achoo!”
On the other side, Zeng Yan suddenly felt an itch in his nose and couldn’t help but sneeze.
“Whoa! Old Yan, you haven’t ‘turned positive,’ have you? Don’t scare me!” Xu Wentao cried out dramatically. He stared at Zeng Yan in horror, taking several steps back as if he were looking at a monster.
Beside him, Chen Ze also looked terrified. “Back! Back! Back!”
Seeing the two of them treat him like a plague, Zeng Yan was speechless, though he knew they were joking. He spread his hands helplessly. “Yeah, I’m positive. So? Are you guys going down with me?”
Hearing this, Xu Wentao’s expression immediately returned to normal. He smirked, scanned the surroundings, and had a sudden epiphany. “We’re at the court now. If we’re all ‘positive,’ doesn’t that make us all sheep? If so, isn’t this ‘Goat Adventure’? We could film a few episodes of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf!”
As soon as he said this, the court went silent. Everyone stared at him with looks of utter speechlessness; the atmosphere became quite awkward.
“Uh… is it not funny?” Xu Wentao felt his scalp tingle under their stares, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“Funny! Of course it’s funny!”
Xu Wentao looked toward the voice and saw, miraculously, that Chen Ze was actually clapping and playing along. His heart warmed; he almost shed “tiny pearls” (tears) of emotion. Good brother! I didn’t misjudge you! You really gave me face!
Just as Xu Wentao was feeling moved, his “good brother” suddenly leaned in with a mischievous grin. “Because I’m Pleasant Goat, and you’re Fit Goat! How can I not laugh? Hehehe~”
At those words, even the usually quiet Wen Yuanshan and the gloomy Sun Ce couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Screw you! You’re the Fit Goat! I haven’t forgotten about you simping for your club president for over a year!”
“But I succeeded~ Hey, you mad? Blah blah blah~”
“The King’s Code!” (Gamer slang/slur)
“Slap slap slap…”
The group finally lost it and burst into laughter. For a moment, the space was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
“Hey, I’m stepping away for a second. Call me when the others arrive.” Amidst the laughter, Zeng Yan heard someone calling him. He turned and saw his girlfriend waving at him. He gave the group an apologetic smile and quickly walked away.
“Sigh…” Seeing this, Xu Wentao shook his head, his tone full of disappointment. “Bros before hoes, man…”
He scanned the group and realized with a start… it seemed like he was the only one there without a girlfriend!
Except for the leader Xiong Wei, whose girlfriend was at the nearby Foreign Languages College and couldn’t make it, everyone else playing today had their partners present. Only he, Mr. Xu, was lonely and cold.
As he was wallowing in self-pity, wondering why a handsome guy like him hadn’t been approached by any girls, the villainous Chen Ze struck another deep blow.
“Hilarious. If you had one, you’d be the same. Sour grapes, much? You’re probably the only one here like that!”
Xu Wentao was choked up by the remark. He wanted to talk back, but he couldn’t find a single reason to. “Ahem… nonsense! I call this being upright and pure!” He puffed out his chest and tried to look composed, but his eyes darted around to hide the awkwardness.
His gaze fell on Wen Yuanshan, who was still looking at his phone. His eyes lit up, but then dimmed again. Sigh… stupid 2D otaku… hopeless!
Then, Xu Wentao thought of someone else. He looked straight at Sun Ce, who was sitting on the ground quietly smoking. He took a giant step forward and squatted down like a lackey, hooking an arm around Sun Ce’s neck. “Besides, I’m not the only single one! Isn’t Brother Ce still here? Right, Brother Ce?”
“Get lost!” Sun Ce’s mouth twitched. He cursed under his breath and pushed Xu Wentao’s hand away without another word.
He wasn’t in a great mood and didn’t want to get pulled into this topic.
Chen Ze snorted disdainfully. “Give it a rest, Number Two. Plenty of girls like Ce! He gets tons of love letters. He just doesn’t want to date. That’s not the same as you.”
“Hmph, I don’t care, it’s the same!” Xu Wentao, having no comeback, started acting like a rogue. He shook his head and made a solemn vow: “I’ve decided! I will be in a relationship within two months!”
“Tch, I don’t believe you. You said that last time.”
“I’m serious this time! Just you wait!”
“Heh.”
“Heh heh!”
“Heh heh heh!”
Xiong Wei watched the two bickering and didn’t think much of it. No matter how rudely they argued, this was actually quite restrained for them. They’d be back to being best friends in no time. It was a cycle.
Xiong Wei felt a bit bored. He didn’t know what was up with Sun Ce’s two classmates; they had been here for a while, but the others were nowhere to be seen. They had said “within half an hour” when asked.
In his boredom, Xiong Wei scanned the basketball court. Other games were in full swing. On one side of his court, Zeng Yan and his girlfriend were still holding hands. Moving his gaze, he saw the girl nestled in the tall youth’s arms.
He couldn’t help but marvel at how strange the world was—even his former “brother” had turned into a girl and ended up with another of his “brothers”…
Thinking of this, Xiong Wei thought of his own girlfriend, and a smile touched his lips. It was a pity that because of the pandemic, they couldn’t see each other whenever they wanted. They could only wait for things to improve.
As he pondered, he looked at his friend next to him. He noticed Sun Ce’s gaze was fixed on the bleachers while he smoked, lost in thought. Xiong Wei followed his line of sight and saw a girl sitting quietly in a dark corner of the nearly empty stands.
Because the lighting was poor over there, he couldn’t see much, only a slender silhouette. Xiong Wei didn’t know the story behind it, and he didn’t intend to ask. Relationships were complicated; unless necessary, it was best not to interfere, lest it affect the friendship.
He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and patted Sun Ce on the shoulder. Feeling the movement, Sun Ce turned to look at him, knowing Xiong Wei was worried.
“I’m fine…” He shook his head. But then he paused, looking at the hand in front of him. “Huh?”
“Seeing you so gloomy, I’ve decided to show some mercy and join you for one,” Xiong Wei said with a laugh.
“Doesn’t your girlfriend hate it when you smoke?”
“It’s fine, she’s not here, so she can’t scold me,” Xiong Wei said with a shrug. “Besides, I’ll just tell her later. It’s no big deal.”
“Fair enough.” Sun Ce smiled, his mood lifting slightly. He pulled a pack from his pocket and handed a cigarette over.
Xiong Wei put the cigarette in his mouth, and Sun Ce lit it for him.
“Inhale… cough, cough, cough…”
Having not smoked in a long time, Xiong Wei was choked by the strong tobacco and began to cough.
“Did you turn positive?” Sun Ce joked, holding his cigarette between his fingers and gesturing with his chin.
“Exactly.”
“Haha… Come here, you little ‘positive’ sheep!”