“No, no, no!”
Luo Yikang shuddered instantly at the overly coquettish tone, waving his hands frantically.
“Daji-no, I mean, Hu Li-no, Brother Hu, stop it! Seriously, man, I can’t take this, I really can’t!!”
If a pretty girl had called him “dear brother” in that sweet voice, Luo Yikang would have been so excited he might have fallen off the bed.
But the one doing it now was his roommate-though undeniably good-looking, he was still undeniably male!
“Then stop calling me nicknames!!”
Hu Li widened his eyes, puffing his cheeks angrily.
“My name is Hu Li, stop giving me nicknames!!”
Luo Yikang quickly apologized with a grin, “Yes, yes, Hu Li, Brother Hu, please, I beg you, spare me this torment.
I don’t want to turn gay…”
On the beds in the dorm, Ji Yuenian and Yao Shiming exchanged glances, both seeing the same thought in each other’s eyes: He brought this upon himself.
The four roommates: Ji Yuenian, head of the sports department, loved working out, lifting weights, and playing basketball-half a jokester at heart.
Yao Shiming, deputy head of the arts department, was a full-blown drama queen with an overflowing desire to perform.
As for the other two-Luo Yuenian, born with a face that could “topple nations,” had his flirting skills maxed out.
He was either hitting on girls or on his way to hit on girls, and combined with that face, he was practically a lady-killer.
Then there was Hu Li, a somewhat delicate-looking boy who could easily be mistaken for a short-haired girl at a glance-leading to quite a few misunderstandings.
As for the relationship between Hu Li and Luo Yikang—well, Luo Yikang had dug his own grave.
With his silver tongue and endless flattery, Luo Yikang had taken to teasing Hu Li daily, calling him “precious fox” or “Daji-meimei.”
Eventually, he pushed Hu Li too far.
And that was when Ji Yuenian and Yao Shiming learned that when a guy decides to act coquettish, he can outdo even the most flirtatious girl.
“Hey, Hu Li, why are you back so early today?”
Ji Yuenian, sipping lemon juice, steered the conversation elsewhere.
“Fell at work and bruised my butt. The manager gave me half a day off,” Hu Li replied, walking to the water dispenser to pour himself a cold drink before downing it in one go.
“Nice, paid leave,” Luo Yikang chimed in with a cheeky grin, perfectly embodying the phrase “never stop courting death.”
He plopped onto Hu Li’s bed, crossing his legs like a boss.
“So, tell me, which bar are you working at? I’ll bring some girls over tomorrow to boost your sales.”
“Get lost,” Hu Li rolled his eyes.
This guy was a textbook playboy-give him three days without discipline, and he’d be tearing the roof off.
But then-
“What happened to your face?”
Hu Li finally noticed the red handprint on Luo Yikang’s cheek, slightly swollen.
“Did you crash and burn?”
He raised an eyebrow, then clicked his tongue twice at Luo Yikang’s gloomy expression.
“Justice is served-the playboy finally got what was coming to him.”
The jab only deepened Luo Yikang’s sulk.
Just then, Yao Shiming finished his noodles, tossed the takeout box into the trash, and proposed to the group,
“Since we’re all free, how about a round of PUBG?”
“Perfect.”
“Let’s go.”
The other two agreed, and Ji Yuenian naturally went with the flow, closing his short-video app and sending a message to his fan group: Baoyue: “@everyone, streaming’s canceled tonight. Next time.”
Before the fan group could explode with messages, Ji Yuenian took the initiative by sending a series of small red packets, instantly pacifying everyone.
“Then what are we waiting for? Log in, log in! Let’s play PUBG!” he shouted, putting down his lemon water and rolling off the bed to sit at his desk, turning on his computer first.
“By the way, tomorrow’s Monday-we have an 8 a.m. class. Someone set an alarm.”
Not only was there an early class on Monday, but the entire morning was packed with lectures—though they were all easy ones, just something to breeze through.
For lunch, he had some braised chicken rice and packed an extra iced bayberry juice.
Returning to the dorm to find it empty, he first did some quick dumbbell reps-fifty with each arm-then took a quick shower.
At 17, his body was in top shape.
Even though it was only March, after the shower, he didn’t feel cold at all-instead, he felt a comforting warmth.
Ji Yuenian picked up the hairdryer to dry his short hair when his Weixin notification chimed.
He glanced at his phone—it was a message from his junior, Su Tian.
Sixth Heaven Support: “Bro Ji, the photography club is here. We’re waiting for you downstairs.”
Moonlight Eternal: “Be right there.”
Under the bright sunlight and dappled shade of the trees outside the boys’ dorm, Ji Yuenian hurried downstairs and spotted Su Tian and two members of the photography club—a guy and a girl—waiting under the tree.
“Liu Mengyun.”
“Lu Liuli.”
Both were first-year juniors.
After introductions and handshakes, Ji Yuenian asked about the shoot details before following the two photographers to the preselected location.
Tall, sturdy poplar trees stood lush and full, their branches rustling with the chirps of sparrows and cicadas.
The four arrived at the spot.
On a thick tree trunk lay a blue-and-white striped cat, its eyes half-lidded, basking lazily in the sun.
Among the branches, a few sparrows and turtledoves flitted about some hopping up and down in play, others lounging leisurely.
The No. 1 feline celebrity on campus-Blue-and-White.
Ji Yuenian swiftly climbed the tree and, with lightning-fast reflexes, snatched the drowsy cat before it could react!
“Little guy, wake up. I brought you something tasty.”
He held out a starch sausage near its mouth.
The scent of meat wafted under its nose.
The cat sniffed, its half-lidded eyes flickering with interest-until it saw what it was.
With a disdainful “meow,” Blue-and-White turned its head away.
For the first time, Ji Yuenian saw such a human-like expression on a cat’s face.
His lips twitched as he cursed inwardly:
Damn, even cats look down on starch sausages now.
He tossed his meal card to Su Tian and told him to buy a chicken drumstick. Soon, Su Tian returned with one.
The moment the rich aroma of chicken hit its nose, Blue-and-White’s eyes snapped open, fixed on the drumstick as it meowed insistently.
Ji Yuenian held the drumstick, placing the cat on the ground with a faint smile.
Liu Mengyun and Lu Liuli took their positions—one adjusting the lighting, the other snapping photos.
In no time, several heartwarming photos and short clips were freshly produced.
“Thanks, you two! Let me know if you ever need a favor!”
After warmly seeing off the two helpers, Ji Yuenian admired the photos and videos on his phone with satisfaction.
Last year, Jiang Chi had effortlessly topped the campus heartthrob rankings with a random snapshot.
This year, why couldn’t he recreate that miracle with his own “casual shot” and achieve glory once more?
What was that saying again?
Learn their tricks to surpass them!
“Ah Tian, gather everyone up! Tonight, your big brother’s treating you all to a restaurant feast!”
Ji Yuenian threw an arm around his little brother’s shoulders and announced excitedly with a grand wave.
Bro’s gonna lose so badly he will be crying