There were a lot of times when Xu Tangcheng couldn't understand why some people would have such an unreasonable attitude—I don't really want anything, I just want to see what you will do.

He was completely unprepared for Yu An revealing this facet of himself. Right now, he was being watched intently with a pair of eyes, yet his mind seemed to be filled with a heap of rundown spare parts, forced together to assemble a creaky machine that was straining to process his thoughts, but still failing to follow this bizarre way of thinking.

It was not the right time to yell at him; he couldn't even find the words to yell at him amidst this incomprehensible logic. Xu Tangcheng looked very calm when he nodded but on the inside, he was suppressing his anger into small pieces and squeezing them out of himself bit by bit.

"Then why are you doing this?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

Every action came with a motivation. As long as their mental state was normal, no one would target another person for no reason.

He asked without thinking, yet Yu An seemed to be seriously pondering it. In actual fact, Xu Tangcheng didn't care about his answer. He could roughly guess what was in Yu An's mind that triggered him to target Yi Zhe. He had no intentions of disliking another person's feelings for him but when these so-called "feelings" threatened Yi Zhe, he couldn't help putting those feelings and their owner into the category of "nuisance."

"Tangcheng, I will prove some things to you."

The look Yu An was directing at him was also resolute and blazing, but when it came to the feelings in that gaze, Xu Tangcheng's reaction was to frown, to avoid as soon as possible.

He didn't speak anymore and turned to leave. But Yu An suddenly opened his mouth and called him to a stop.

"You want to help him but he doesn't want to apologise to me. In this situation, the matter cannot be resolved the way you wish it to be. He will be sued by me and will go to jail. Let's put aside his postgrad acceptance for now; it's currently May, he hasn't graduated yet, has he?"

Xu Tangcheng turned around and saw the peculiar look on Yu An's face. There were injuries on his face and right now, he was forcibly holding back the smugness creeping up his face, causing the corners of his mouth to be pressed into a strange angle.

"So?"

"He won't even get his undergrad graduation cert. Of course, I know that you definitely don't want him to ruin his future. You're kinder than anyone." Yu An chuckled. "So, because of you, I am offering another choice. He doesn't have to apologise and I will settle it peacefully, but you have to give me something."

Those words were beyond Xu Tangcheng's expectations. He thought that no matter what, Yu An would insist on Yi Zhe apologising. And, perhaps because Yu An had said those words in a very measured tone, Xu Tangcheng could see that he was prepared. His heart jolted fiercely, waiting for the rest of Yu An's words.

But Yu An seemed to have decided that he must wait for Xu Tangcheng's response before opening his mouth. After saying the first half of his words, he put a hold on his tongue like he was keeping Xu Tangcheng in suspense. He didn't look at Xu Tangcheng either, leaning back slowly against the headboard.

"What do you want?"

After a while, Xu Tangcheng asked.

Yu An tapped a couple of times on the blanket with his uninjured hand. "Data."

Xu Tangcheng was stunned.

"I've seen the two SCIs you published. I want the data you used for them and also all the data in the follow-up calculations." Yu An muttered to himself for a couple of seconds. Then, like he had thought of something, he added, "Oh, give me your design for the model too. I think the way you built it is very reasonable."

Xu Tangcheng almost couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Are you mad?"

Yu An was one level ahead of him. As far as he knew, Yu An had already submitted all the theses he needed to submit and the draft of his dissertation for his PhD was also complete. The reason why he was still on campus now was just to help his teacher finish up all the projects he was in charge of previously. Furthermore, the direction of their research was naturally not completely the same. For Xu Tangcheng, that data was the lifeline running through his dissertation but for Yu An, it wasn't of much use.

"Nope." Yu An seemed to expect his reaction and was still smiling. "Why do you think I've let it drag out until now and still haven't graduated? Because I'm helping my boss with that project?"

Xu Tangcheng felt a chill run down his spine. He remembered clearly that Yu An had once asked him about the progress of his research topic and he had also once shown Yu An all the data he had gathered.

"No, it's because I still lack a little." Yu An looked at him. "Even though my current progress is totally enough to graduate, it's not what I want. With your part to add a crowning touch, I think it would be better. Of course, that item belongs to you. You can choose not to give it to me. I am just giving you one more option to solve this problem."

"Crowning touch? Those data of mine are-"

"Tangcheng," Yu An cut him off. "You don't need to persuade me. When it comes to specialist knowledge, I believe that what I know is no less than you. I have my own reason."

Xu Tangcheng had never met someone like this before. Angered beyond words, he let out a scoff and turned around.

"And here I was thinking that you would agree without hesitation." There was surprise in Yu An's voice, as well as unconcealed delight at watching someone's misfortune. "Looks like you don't love him that much."

"Senior."

Xu Tangcheng stopped walking and turned to look at him. That one term of address for him was filled to the brim with sarcasm but the person on the bed seemed to not notice it and answered as before. "Hmm?"

"How lacking of love must you be to always be questioning other people's feelings?"

Hearing that, Yu An wasn't angry either. As before, without losing his temper, he looked at Xu Tangcheng with a smile.

"You seem to be a little angry now," Yu An said. "When your emotions are unstable, it's not the right time to make decisions. If you still want to continue discussing this with me, you can come visit me another day."

The response he got was the slamming of the door. Xu Tangcheng took large strides towards the elevator and pressed the button. The cold touch unexpectedly led him to calm down, so his finger remained there for a while without moving away. From the corridor at the side came the sound of a stretcher being pushed. In Xu Tangcheng's mind, only four words appeared: A calamity from nowhere.

Provoking a madman who had hidden himself very well had incurred this disaster.

For two entire days, Xu Tangcheng basically didn't sleep.

It wasn't as though he hadn't gone through difficulties before. His father undergoing surgery, Xu Tangxi falling severely ill—he had basically been the one running to and fro contacting doctors, arranging treatment and also comforting his family members. But when he returned home late at night that day, from the moment he saw the rug, he realised that he was having great difficulty controlling his anxiety and also could not completely persuade himself not to panic. Again and again he mulled over Yu An's words that day, getting desperately caught up in many of the finer details. Slowly, he could deduce a little of Yu An's objectives. But what made him feel the most hopeless was that there were too many factors that could not be openly talked about in this matter. Why Yu An had a bone to pick with Yi Zhe, why Yi Zhe disliked Yu An, and also the spark that directly set off the fire that Xu Tangcheng himself didn't know. All the conflict between those two could not be explained clearly without bringing up his relationship with Yi Zhe.

Furthermore… Yi Zhe had indeed single-sidedly beaten up Yu An. The CCTV installed in the lab captured everything clearly, the people in the room also saw everything clearly.

Xu Tangcheng asked the students who witnessed the incident and the juniors who got along somewhat better with Yi Zhe. After spending a day, he still could not find any useful breakthrough. Various fated coincidences plus a deliberate setup made it so that Yu An had an impenetrable barrier.

The development of the events did not leave Xu Tangcheng with much time to think. On the afternoon of the second day, he received a call from Zhao Weifan. She told him that in just the space of a day, the video of Yi Zhe hitting someone was already blowing up in their school forums and even University B was aware of it. Yi Zhe's course mentor and the university heads also talked to Yi Zhe, all with the same intention: for him to think about his actions, apologise and come to a peaceful settlement with Yu An.

That night, Xu Tangcheng didn't pull the curtains close. He lay down on the new rug for an entire night. In his hand was a USB drive, in the drive was his sweat and blood for the past three years.

When it was nearly dawn, he finally recalled. Not long ago, he had asked Cheng Xu whether or not it was worth it. At that time, he had even felt that no matter what it was that had happened, one shouldn't use their future in exchange.

Yi Zhe came home two days later. Xu Tangcheng picked him up. When he came out, his brows furrowed and he stared at Xu Tangcheng. It was only after the two of them had bought groceries and Xu Tangcheng was asking him seriously if he wanted tomato-and-egg noodles or zhajiangmian that Yi Zhe finally couldn't hold himself back from asking, "Why was it settled peacefully all of a sudden?"

Xu Tangcheng picked out two tomatoes that were already soft from the bag and put them on the table, then put the rest in the fridge.

Before he went to Japan, the fridge had been all stocked up. There might not have been many ingredients for cooking but there were at least many types of fruits, as well as some yogurt and vitamin water. But right now, it was completely empty. The few tomatoes occupied an entire shelf.

"Let's go buy some things this afternoon."

Perhaps it had something to do with the household he had grown up with, Xu Tangcheng didn't like seeing the fridge look so desolate.

"Okay." After a long while, Yi Zhe finally answered.

Xu Tangcheng turned and entered the kitchen. Yi Zhe very quickly followed after him, continuing to ask without letting him off. "Tell me, why did he suddenly settle it peacefully?"

"I went to look for Yu An."

Xu Tangcheng didn't plan to keep it from him. He had been preparing to graduate, this was something Yi Zhe was aware of. Now, he needed to delay it. He couldn't keep it from Yi Zhe.

Yi Zhe was no fool. He very quickly grabbed Xu Tangcheng's wrist, his breathing even becoming rather panicked.

"What did you agree to him?"

Xu Tangcheng was arranging his words, hoping to explain in a more gentle way so that Yi Zhe could accept it easier.

But before he could reply, Yi Zhe was already pressing in, asking him in an even louder voice, "What did you agree to him?"

Xu Tangcheng was rather startled. He knew that Yi Zhe was anxious but after being together for so long—after knowing each other for so long—Yi Zhe had never spoken to him in such a loud voice.

"Nothing. I gave him some data in exchange."

When it came to their field of study, once data was brought up, they knew what it meant.

"The data for your dissertation?"

"Yi Zhe." Xu Tangcheng didn't answer his question and instead, said softly, "I only want to see you come out safe and sound."

But Yi Zhe seemed to not hear him. He only stared into Xu Tangcheng's eyes, asking again with abnormal persistence, in a tone that was close to certainty.

"You gave him the data you need to use in your dissertation."

Yi Zhe's grip was tightening. Xu Tangcheng guessed that Yi Zhe himself was unaware of that. His wrist hurt a little from being gripped. Xu Tangcheng felt the pain but he did not have the time to bother with that.

"Only a portion," he explained.

"You're already preparing to graduate." Yi Zhe's words seemed to be squeezed through his clenched teeth, "Do you know that?"

"It's not a must to graduate in five years."

The pain in his wrist reached the level where he could not remain unmoving. He struggled a little but when he looked up, he saw that Yi Zhe's eyes were red. Xu Tangcheng tugged on Yi Zhe, trying to calm him down. But unexpectedly, Yi Zhe was completely beyond his control. His voice was trembling, perhaps due to anger or perhaps due to something else.

"I've told you before not to bother with this. Don't bother with this!"

Xu Tangcheng remained silent. He didn't say anything.

"I will take responsibility for my own actions. If you do this, if you do this…"

Towards the end, Yi Zhe's words were nearly incoherent.

"How much time have you spent gathering the data, do you still remember? If you give him that data, how much of your content will you have to throw out? I told you that you don't have to bother with this, why didn't you listen to me?"

"Yi Zhe." Xu Tangcheng interrupted him, looking right at him. "Then do you know, if you're sued, with these facts and circumstances, what will happen to you?"

"I know."

"Do you really? Your postgrad acceptance will be withdrawn, you will be expelled, and you also won't get your undergrad graduation cert. When the court determines your sentence, the place you will go to is prison and not the detention center where you were for the past few days." At this point, Xu Tangcheng took a long pause before asking, "Do you really know all this?"

"I know! But all these means nothing to me, they-"

When Yi Zhe questioned him just now, Xu Tangcheng had not been angry. But when Yi Zhe said the words "means nothing" just now, Xu Tangcheng suddenly couldn't bear it anymore and a burst of anger surged in him. This was not the same as when Yi Zhe had jokingly said to him "I only like you" in the past. He could see that Yi Zhe truly did not care. Because of this single line from Yi Zhe, his exhaustion from the past few days, his powerlessness, seemed to truly become meaningless.

"Means nothing?" Xu Tangcheng asked in return. "That is your future."