Xu Yecheng felt speechless. Lately, he couldn’t shake the feeling that He Xiaohan’s words always carried a barbed edge aimed at him.
Sure, he and Ji Qingying rarely touched—it was precisely learning about He Xiaohan’s past with her that had ignited his anger.
Immature jealousy, perhaps…
Xu Yecheng sighed inwardly.
Zheng Wenxuan wasn’t much of a smoker. He barely had a habit—just enough to avoid coughing fits. Their dormmate didn’t smoke either. He Xiaohan was the undisputed chain-smoker.
Xu Yecheng had frozen when he saw He Xiaohan pull out a cigarette pack and head to the balcony.
Honestly, he’d never pictured someone so strikingly handsome smoking. Zheng Wenxuan avoiding cigarettes? That felt far stranger.
Though Zheng Wenxuan had picked it up because of He Xiaohan.
Xu Yecheng still remembered that scene.
While He Xiaohan was buried in the lab, a lazy Zheng Wenxuan turned to him in their dorm: “Dude, smoking looks insanely cool.”
Xu Yecheng frowned. “So you wanna copy He Xiaohan?”
Zheng Wenxuan nodded. “Seriously cool. That aloof god vibe.”
“And what would you be? An aloof loser?” Xu Yecheng shot back bluntly.
Zheng Wenxuan flinched, stung.
“What? Do I really look that creepy?” he grumbled, scowling.
Xu Yecheng cleared his throat lightly—he’d gone too far.
“Smoking’s bad news. Only idiots rush to shorten their lives,” he said firmly. “It’s the person who makes it cool. Don’t jump on the bandwagon.”
Yet Zheng Wenxuan still got hooked. Xu Yecheng never knew why. One day, he just saw Zheng take a cigarette from He Xiaohan, and the two stood together on the balcony.
“I’m heading out,” Xu Yecheng said, rising to leave.
Zheng Wenxuan lit his cigarette, took a drag, and immediately scrunched his brows. “Tastes weaker than last time.”
He Xiaohan chuckled. “This is Hua Zi. Last pack was cheaper.” He flicked ash off the tip. “Why don’t you buy your own? Got a thing for my smokes, Wenxuan?”
Zheng Wenxuan clicked his tongue. “I’m a good kid. Never buy cigarettes.” He grinned at his own lie, then studied the cigarette. “Yours just… tastes better. Carries your vibe.”
He Xiaohan’s laughter deepened. “If I supply your smokes forever, will you fall for me?”
Zheng Wenxuan waved him off, then spotted Xu Yecheng exiting the dorm building below.
“Hey, doesn’t Yecheng look… sharper lately?”
He Xiaohan paused, considering.
“Not really.” He exhaled smoke.
“He’s paler, though?”
“Can’t tell.” He Xiaohan’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Crushing on him?”
“Shut up!” Zheng Wenxuan snapped, but a flicker of unease crossed his face.
Weird. Why did Xu Yecheng keep growing on him?
He couldn’t figure it out.
“Speaking of which,” Zheng Wenxuan changed the subject, “you snagged the department beauty, right? Ji Qingying?”
He Xiaohan arched a brow. “She came to me.”
“Holy crap! How’d you even meet?”
He Xiaohan frowned, searching his memory. “Some event… shared a meal. Got acquainted.”
Zheng Wenxuan’s eyes widened. “The social practice thing? Yecheng was there too.”
“Yeah.” He Xiaohan took another drag. “Didn’t last long. About a week.”
Zheng Wenxuan wiped mock tears. “Elite move—campus queen chasing you.”
He Xiaohan clapped his shoulder. “Ditch the white tees and black pants. Get a clean haircut. You look like a rockstar reject.”
Zheng Wenxuan perked up instantly, eyes shining. “Go on, He-shifu!”
Maybe he could become a romance master too!
“Nothing fancy. Neat hair. Stay tidy. Be genuine—real hearts attract real hearts.”
The light in Zheng Wenxuan’s eyes died at “real hearts.”
Not that he doubted He-shifu’s wisdom. It just sounded… off coming from He Xiaohan.
Still, he needed a change.
No more drifting through days.
He didn’t aim to be a campus legend like He Xiaohan. Zheng Wenxuan’s only goal now? Stop finding Xu Yecheng so damn likable…
Xu Yecheng sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he stepped off-campus, ID in hand.
Even as a sophomore, he rarely left campus. Classes and part-time jobs filled his days; he’d never tasted the city’s glittering nightlife.
He’d grown up in a small county town, an ordinary kid crushed under his parents’ academic expectations—their ticket to “making it big.”
But Xu Yecheng hated those borrowed dreams.
They only cared about grades, never his heart. Now, he felt utterly average, drifting without purpose.
Ji Qingying had given him direction, briefly.
Small things: working overtime to buy her snacks. Big dreams: could he support a family after graduation?
That was the old him.
After their sudden breakup, he’d sunk back into numb survival.
His gaze skimmed a bubble tea shop, then drifted down the street.
He walked one block, then spotted the café.
“Candy Day.” The decor radiated sleek sophistication.
As Xu Yecheng snapped back to attention, a girl in a maid dress stood before him.
“Sir, don’t miss out!”
Before he could react, she thrust a flyer into his hand.
