After he talked about it with Xu Tangcheng the other day, Yi Zhe's interactions with his roommates remained in the same lukewarm state the whole time. He had always been an early riser and even made sure to run a few rounds in the sports field at least three times a week, taking advantage of when there were less people in the morning. Sometimes, someone in his dorm woke up late and asked him to help them buy breakfast; he would always agree. But other than that, probably because their personalities were not compatible, their friendship did not go any deeper.

On the other hand, Zheng Yikun would frequently come to the dorm to look for him. The first time was at night. When their dorm was about to switch off the lights, Zheng Yikun suddenly knocked on the door and asked to borrow his phone. He said that his own phone was spoiled and he had an urgent call to make.

Yi Zhe passed his phone over and only then recalled that his wallpaper was a little inappropriate. However, seeing that Zheng Yikun was already walking out with his phone, Yi Zhe thought that it wasn't a big deal anyway so he didn't say anything.

Even though the phone he was using at that time wasn't some kind of smartphone with a large screen, the picture he was using as the wallpaper was clear enough, enough for someone to tell that it was the back profile of a man, and that the man wasn't Yi Zhe himself.

When he was nearly at the door, Zheng Yikun came to a stop and Yi Zhe saw him turn back to look at him. He met his gaze boldly and openly. Their eyes met in midair for a while, then Zheng Yikun smiled and left.

Later on, every time the bell signaling the start of classes rang, Zheng Yikun would swagger in through the back door and sit right beside Yi Zhe.

Despite that, Yi Zhe did not take the initiative to interact with him. It wasn't that he felt that this person wasn't good; he just kept feeling that they weren't the same type. At that time, he had yet to understand where on earth his conclusion came from. It was only later on that he came to a sudden realisation one day that Zheng Yikun's lackadaisical attitude, like he didn't care about anyone, was surprisingly rather similar to Xiang Xiyi. It was just that Xiang Xiyi's uncaring attitude had a sharper edge while Zheng Yikun leaned towards maintaining a peaceful front.

That day when he bumped into him and Cheng Xu together, Yi Zhe was very surprised. There was a fallen bike next to them and books were scattered over the ground. Zheng Yikun was bending at the waist and peering at Cheng Xu's face from below. Meanwhile, Cheng Xu was red-faced and avoiding his gaze.

Yi Zhe couldn't be any more familiar with that teasing look on Zheng Yikun's face; after all, every three to five days, the next door dorm would start a racket and throw chairs and flip tables. He called out to him and rushed over.

"What are you doing?" Yi Zhe shielded Cheng Xu behind him and looked at Zheng Yikun with a frown.

His sudden appearance gave Zheng Yikun a surprise. He moved his head back and blurted out, "Since when do you poke your nose into other people's business?"

Yi Zhe ignored him and turned to ask Cheng Xu, "Senior, are you okay?"

"He's really a senior?" Zheng Yikun was stunned. Then, all of a sudden, he was amused. He bent his head to the side, his gaze going past Yi Zhe to look at Cheng Xu.

Cheng Xu avoided his gaze and said to Yi Zhe, "I'm fine."

Yi Zhe shot a glance at Zheng Yikun, then bent down to help Cheng Xu pick up his bike. After that, he also picked up the books on the ground. Only then did Cheng Xu also crouch down with him, half a beat late.

"Senior, let me help you."

Being called "senior" made Cheng Xu very discomfited. Finally, he told Yi Zhe that he was leaving and then fled in a fluster.

After Cheng Xu's panicked departure, Yi Zhe asked Zheng Yikun crossly, "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. I crashed into him on the street and said a few words to him, that's all." Looking like there was more he wanted to say, he smiled. "He's really a senior? Isn't he too young?"

For some unknown reason, the way Zheng Yikun acted made Yi Zhe a little uncomfortable. He had seen the way Xu Tangcheng protected Cheng Xu like he was protecting a little chick so naturally, he had also adopted that conduct himself.

Before turning to leave, he couldn't stop himself from grabbing the person beside him and giving him a warning. "Don't cause trouble for him."

These words were rather sudden. Zheng Yikun was stunned. He looked at Yi Zhe, then muttered to himself in a soft voice, "But it's not him."

Yi Zhe very quickly realised what he was talking about. That photo he had set as his wallpaper—it wasn't that Zheng Yikun had failed to see something in it, he was just keeping it in his heart and had not brought it up all this while.

"You." Yi Zhe came to a stop. After a pause, he said placidly, "Don't go around talking nonsense."

Like the first time they met, Zheng Yikun looked at Yi Zhe without saying a word. After a while, he finally let out a soft snort of laughter.

"I'm not that tattler in our dorm." He patted Yi Zhe on the shoulder. His eyebrows raised, he looked around them, the same half-smile still on his face. "However, bro, let me give you a word of advice. It's best if you change it."

After saying that, Zheng Yikun left. Yi Zhe stayed where he was, watching his retreating back.

Inside Cheng Xu's stack of books was a maths book that was quite some years old. That fall ended up loosening a few pages in it. He sat in the dorm, looking at the yellowing pages and fretting. When Xu Tangcheng came in, he gave him a curious look.

"What happened to it?"

"I fell from my bike." Cheng Xu looked up. His eyes that were swollen from staying up late looked pitifully at Xu Tangcheng. "I borrowed this from someone. What should I do now?"

"You fell?" Xu Tangcheng immediately asked. "Are you hurt?"

Cheng Xu shook his head, looking as listless as ever.

Xu Tancheng put down the things he was holding and walked over. He picked up the book carefully and turned a few pages.

The type of binding used on the book was sewn binding which was already a more secure method. However, it still could not weather the passage of time. The paper was fragile and the body of the book rather loose.

"Would it work if I glue them back?" Cheng Xu looked up and asked.

"It's not easy to glue." Xu Tangcheng shook his head. Seeing Cheng Xu's crestfallen eyes, he thought and said, "I'll help you try that. Even though it's impossible for it to be completely unnoticeable, it'll at least look better than it does now. You can apologise to the owner when you return it."

Cheng Xu immediately nodded.

If he wanted to restore it to its former state as much as possible, the difficulty level was quite high. After washing up, Xu Tangcheng prepared the tools he needed, then hurried Cheng Xu to bed. Cheng Xu naturally felt that it would be rude to and kept saying that he wanted to help.

"I need a quiet environment. You'll disturb me if you're beside me." Xu Tangcheng gave him a push. "All right, hurry up and sleep. Just look at how bad your eyes look now."

Cheng Xu had always had complete trust in Xu Tangcheng. Since Xu Tangcheng was saying that, he could only scratch his head and say, "Then, I'll have to trouble you."

He climbed into bed and lay in the darkness beyond the reach of the desk lamp. He turned over, then suddenly recalled what happened in the afternoon.

"Oh, right." He sat up and looked at the person in the lamp light, below and to the side of him. "I saw Yi Zhe today."

Xu Tangcheng very quickly turned around. "You did?"

"Yeah." Cheng Xu propped his head on his hand and made a sound of admiration. "Why do I feel that he's gotten taller again?"

The person below chuckled and asked, "Did he?"

"I think so," Cheng Xu said very confidently.

"It's possible. He started school early. He's still growing now."

"I'm so jealous."

The rustling sound stopped. Looking at the spine of the old book, Xu Tangcheng suddenly remembered something that had happened a long time ago. Yi Zhe's father was frequently out of town for work while his mother didn't care about him no matter what happened. The small child was thrown to school early on and even on the first day he went to school, he had gone alone, carrying his school bag on his back.

He was in Year 1, he was in Year 6. The half-grown kid had just bought a bike and when he met the little child running on the road, he called out to him.

The child stopped and looked at him. On the tip of his nose, his sweat reflected the light.

At that time, the bike he had bought was a mountain bike that didn't quite meet the standard, and also did not have a pillion seat. He took down the child's obviously oversized bag and hung it on his own arm, then picked him up and put him on the crossbar.

The crossbar.

This faraway scene that he had almost forgotten suddenly evoked in him those emotional thoughts of how fast time had flown by. The little shorty back then was now half a head taller than him, and the person sitting on the crossbar had also changed to him.

As time passes, fortunes rise and fall?

He shook his head with a sigh.

Yi Zhe's scatterbrain habits ended up causing trouble for himself. Barely a few months after school started, he lost both his commuter card and his phone. Most dreadful of all, near New Year's Day, he also lost his I.D. Most of the time, this wouldn't be a big deal but the problem was that he had contacted his father a while ago and had just said that he would go to Shanghai to visit them during the New Year's holiday. He didn't shift his household registration when he came here to study; he would need to go home to replace his I.D. but without his I.D., he could not buy a train ticket. Yi Zhe mulled over the matter in his dorm for a long while. In the end, he still gave Xu Tangcheng a call.

Over the phone, Xu Tangcheng said that he happened to be planning to go home that weekend. Yi Zhe didn't know if his words were true or false, but with certain other intentions in mind, he went along with those words and made plans with him.

Friday evening.

He had just gotten in the car when Xu Tangcheng started rebuking him gently. Yi Zhe listened obediently, pulling the seat belt over and fastening it. By the time Xu Tangcheng was done talking and started driving, he realised that the direction they were heading was not right.

"We'll pick someone up first." Before he could ask, Xu Tangcheng explained. "My schoolmate. She said she had something to bring home. We'll take her along."

Spoken Chinese did not differentiate between she and he. Hence, it was only when the car stopped at the gates of a university that Yi Zhe knew they were picking up a girl, and she was the one he had met twice. He stared distractedly at the girl smiling brightly outside the window. Xu Tangcheng had already gotten down from the car and was helping Wan Zhi move her luggage to the car trunk. The two of them were talking about something and were both laughing very freely. Yi Zhe turned his head and saw Xu Tangcheng help Wan Zhi open the back car door.

Wan Zhi was also rather stunned to see him. But very quickly, she gave him a friendly smile. Xu Tangcheng got into the car and introduced the two of them to each other.

"Hello." Wan Zhi was the first to greet him. Then, she said to Xu Tangcheng, "We've met before, once at the train station, and also that day when we had a meetup and you drank too much. It was he who went to pick you up."

"Oh, that's right." When she mentioned it, Xu Tangcheng finally remembered.

When they reached the tollbooth to exit the highway, out of habit, Yi Zhe helped Xu Tangcheng look for spare change in the little box between the front seats. Unexpectedly, there was only a five yuan note and two coins left in the box. He hurriedly patted his pockets, then very quickly recalled something and stopped. He was incredibly vexed.

"There's not enough money in the car. I didn't bring money either."

There weren't many cars at the tollbooth, only two cars were waiting to pay in front of them. Xu Tangcheng stopped the car and took out the five yuan from the box, then started to search his own body.

"I've got it." Wan Zhi immediately passed a ten yuan note over from behind. "It's fifteen yuan, right?"

"No need, no need," Xu Tangcheng quickly refused. "I have enough. I've been really busy lately and forgot to keep some spare change in the car."

"It's fine, stop searching." The car in front had already driven off and the person waiting behind them was honking impatiently. Wan Zhi smiled and urged him, "There are people waiting behind."

Fifteen yuan was paid out. Yi Zhe watched the entire time.

After exiting the tollbooth, Xu Tangcheng finally shot Yi Zhe a glance and asked, "Where's your wallet?"

Yi Zhe coughed. "I lost it together with my I.D."

All at once, Xu Tangcheng was torn between laughing and crying.

He looked at Yi Zhe and opened his mouth. He wanted to give him a lecture, but felt that it was inappropriate when there was an outsider there. In the end, he restrained himself and didn't say anything. However, Wan Zhi let out a soft laugh behind them. "When I first entered university, it was also very bad. Someone slashed my school bag on the bus and my wallet was stolen. My I.D. and all my cards were also inside. I lost all of them in one go."

Her words were obviously intended to make him feel less embarrassed.

Throughout the journey, it was mostly Xu Tangcheng and Wan Zhi chatting. Even though he already sensed that this girl obviously had feelings for Xu Tangcheng, Yi Zhe could not deny that Wan Zhi was someone who was very easy to get along with. She actually couldn't be considered to talk a lot and was far from being a chatterbox but as the conversation ebbed and flowed, she could always find some topics to prevent boredom and awkwardness. And even to Yi Zhe, she expressed complete kindness and just the right amount of concern.

And look at yourself. Yi Zhe turned to the window.

You don't even know how to talk to people.

T/N:

It's never explicitly described but based on context, the beds in the university dorms are likely to be loft beds that have desks underneath.