The curtains had been left open, and moonlight spilled over the blanket. Ji Zhaoxi lay on the bed, sleeping deeply, her breathing so light it could barely be heard.
She had only meant to take a short nap, but unexpectedly fell straight asleep. Her phone lay quietly beside her, its screen long since gone dark.
In a dormitory several buildings away, shadows from the trees dappled the walls.
Lu Huainan lay on his bed, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone.
Listening to the chirping of insects outside, he couldn’t remember how many times he had opened the chat between them.
The sourness in his heart began to rise again.
He remembered that she usually stayed up very late. Was she ignoring him again? Or did she think he was annoying…?
He wanted to retract the voice message of him singing. It had been so stupid. But now it was already too late to take it back.
Before dawn the next morning, Ji Zhaoxi was awakened by the sound of birds.
She gazed sleepily out the window. It seemed she had gone to bed far too early the night before—she had barely used her phone at all!
As soon as Ji Zhaoxi opened WeChat, she saw the message Lu Huainan had sent her. Looking utterly puzzled, she tapped open the voice message, and Lu Huainan’s low singing voice came through the phone.
Ji Zhaoxi was stunned.
That was Lu Huainan, wasn’t it?
She scrolled through their chat history above. It really was Lu Huainan?!
Unable to resist, Ji Zhaoxi listened to the recording again. She hadn’t expected Lu Huainan to sing so well. His level was about the same as hers.
[Thank you, Lu Huainan! I fell asleep last night, so I didn’t reply to you in time. You didn’t overthink it, did you?]
Ji Zhaoxi thought Lu Huainan seemed a little sensitive.
On the other end, the notification sound from WeChat abruptly woke Lu Huainan. He had deliberately turned the volume all the way up before going to sleep.
He shot upright in bed. When he saw the message Ji Zhaoxi had sent, he finally relaxed.
He knew it! She hadn’t replied because she had fallen asleep!
He stared hesitantly at her message. The truth was, he had overthought it. He had thought about so many things, and then he had remembered high school…
But he still gave a simple reply.
[No.]
He stared at the two characters and the period, pressing his lips together. Then he added another message.
[I didn’t overthink it.]
Ji Zhaoxi was brushing her teeth while scrolling through her phone when she was startled by how quickly Lu Huainan replied.
[Lu Huainan, you’re up so early? Didn’t you go to bed really late last night?]
She watched the screen as it displayed, “The other person is typing…”
Five minutes passed, and he still hadn’t finished.
Ji Zhaoxi washed her face while keeping an eye on the screen. Why was Lu Huainan typing so slowly? Was he writing her an entire essay?
By the time she had finished washing her face, Lu Huainan finally replied.
[Yeah.]
Ji Zhaoxi: ?
He had taken that long to think of one character and a period?
Ji Zhaoxi arrived at the lab early. Lu Huainan was already there, and the sound of snoring filled the room.
When Lu Huainan met Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes, he was afraid she would think the snoring was coming from him, so he hurriedly explained, “That’s not me.”
He didn’t snore.
Ji Zhaoxi quietly walked over and saw their senior lying on a folding bed, sleeping soundly.
She quickly woke him. Their senior sat up groggily.
“So tired…”
He covered his face and let out a miserable groan.
He had worked on the experiment until three in the morning the night before, then simply slept in the lab.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him sympathetically as he staggered over to his locker to get his toiletries.
“Have you eaten breakfast?” Ji Zhaoxi asked, her voice slightly hoarse.
She had talked too much the day before.
Lu Huainan’s body stiffened slightly. “I have.”
He was worried that Ji Zhaoxi might ask about those two messages. When she didn’t, he felt inexplicably disappointed.
The lab soon grew lively. Everyone was yawning that morning, and their advisor came in carrying her thermos.
“Professor, could you take a look and see if this is right?” The moment their senior saw the advisor, he immediately began asking questions.
Ji Zhaoxi was certain that she would never pursue a doctorate, but their senior planned to do so. That was why he worked much harder than the others and couldn’t slack off like they did.
“I’ll take a look. You adjust it,” Ji Zhaoxi said softly.
Lu Huainan gave a low hum in response.
During a break, Lu Huainan went out. After quite some time, he returned with a thermos and casually placed it in front of Ji Zhaoxi.
Ji Zhaoxi was watching clips from her livestream the previous night. Her clarification livestream seemed to have worked.
She glanced at the thermos, then at Lu Huainan, and asked uncertainly, “Is this for me?”
Lu Huainan nodded awkwardly. “It’s good for your throat.”
To make his words sound more authoritative, he added, “The doctor said so.”
When Ji Zhaoxi opened it, she found several soothing herbs steeping inside. She took a small sip.
“Thank you, Lu Huainan.”
The affiliated hospital of A University was quite far away.
She looked at Lu Huainan, suddenly unsure of what to say.
So Lu Huainan was actually this warm once he got familiar with someone? Back then, when she had dropped her books on the floor, he hadn’t even been willing to help pick them up…
Lu Huainan said nothing. When he saw that Ji Zhaoxi hadn’t continued drinking, he couldn’t help adding, “The thermos is new. I’ve never used it.”
He wasn’t that unhygienic.
The lab was quiet. The people nearby were talking, but their gazes kept drifting over despite themselves.
Their senior looked utterly shocked. Was this really Lu Huainan? Had he been possessed?
Their senior sister pursed her lips, turned their senior’s head back around, and lowered her voice. “Don’t make it so obvious.”
His eyes were practically shooting holes through the younger students.
A few of them whispered among themselves, but no one could come up with an explanation.
Not long ago, the two of them had been unwilling to work on experiments together. And now, in the blink of an eye, their relationship had become this good?
At noon, their advisor magnanimously let them go to lunch early.
Ji Zhaoxi was thrilled.
Beef noodles! Beef noodles!
She hadn’t had them in ages.
The auntie at the beef-noodle counter was excited to see Ji Zhaoxi too.
“Student, you finally came! I thought you didn’t like my beef noodles anymore.”
“I do, Auntie. But this cafeteria is too far from the lab, so I only come when I have time.”
The moment she mentioned it, her spirits drooped.
Aside from having a single dorm room and receiving six hundred yuan a month, there were no benefits to being a graduate student.
But her unhappiness didn’t last long. The moment the beef noodles entered her mouth, her mood was completely replaced by delight.
Lu Huainan, who was sitting not far away: …
Wasn’t her throat feeling uncomfortable? How could she still eat beef noodles? He had seen her add chili with his own eyes.
Without saying a word, Lu Huainan took out his phone, typed rapidly, packed up a serving of beef noodles, and left the cafeteria.
Before the class bell had even rung, a burst of hurried footsteps sounded at the cafeteria entrance as everyone rushed toward the beef-noodle counter.
By then, Ji Zhaoxi had already finished eating.
As soon as she opened her phone, a Weibo post immediately popped up.
[Ji Zhaoxi is eating spicy beef noodles again—her carefully crafted image has collapsed!]
Ji Zhaoxi choked.
Who exactly was this L?
Hadn’t they already made up? He had sent her so many Carnival gifts the day before.
So he was still one of her antis after all?
