Chapter 53
"Xiaotian!"
In the height of summer, there was no shade at the entrance of the library, and the air was distorted by the scorching heat. Hearing someone calling him, Zhang Xiaotian turned around and saw it was Xu Yan.
"Why are you standing at the door? Why don't you go in?" Xu Yan was also carrying a schoolbag. When he saw Zhang Xiaotian, he ran a few steps quickly.
"I just came out." Zhang Xiaotian turned to him, "We're late, there's no seat left inside."
Xu Yan was surprised and said, "Really? I came here right after class!"
"Isn't it exam month now?" Zhang Xiaotian took out his phone and opened the mini program. "Let me see if there are any vacancies."
"There are no empty classrooms." Xu Yan said, "I just came out of the teaching building. There are not many classrooms where you can study quietly. They are either occupied by classes or used to highlight key points for students."
"Not even one?"
"There isn't a single one." Xu Yan sighed, "It's exam month."
What should I do then?
Zhang Xiaotian was in a dilemma. Ever since the fight with Lu Bai on the court that day, he and Lu Bai had rarely seen each other except in class. In this situation, he could have gone straight back to the dormitory to review, but there was no guarantee that Lu Bai would be there right now.
Zhang Xiaotian bit his nails and glanced at Xu Yan secretly through the reflection of the phone screen.
What should I do? Should I ask Xu Yan to ask who is in the dormitory right now?
"How about we both go study outside of school?"
Xu Yan slapped his head and said, "I know a milk tea shop. It's very quiet and has a good environment. It's perfect for reviewing."
As he spoke, Xu Yan found a picture of the milk tea shop on the app and showed it to Zhang Xiaotian. Zhang Xiaotian looked down and saw that it was indeed a very clean and tidy place, with a bookshelf as big as an entire wall. It looked like it had a good learning atmosphere.
"Do you want to leave?" Xu Yan asked him.
"Let's go." Zhang Xiaotian nodded.
The shop was tucked away in the pedestrian area of an old shopping mall in City B. The old mall had fallen behind the trends of the young, with businesses closing down and fading. Only a few stores selling clothing for middle-aged and elderly people remained, and they all had a fading, almost detached air. But for two college students approaching final exams, it was a pleasant place to unwind without distractions.
As soon as Xu Yan entered the store, he started chatting with the owner. He seemed to be a regular here. Zhang Xiaotian didn't join in the conversation, but quietly called up the payment code and paid after Xu Yan finished placing his order.
"Hey! You're really quick!" Xu Yan was caught off guard. "Then I'll transfer it to you."
Zhang Xiaotian shook his head.
"It's okay. You've already introduced students to me, how can one cup of milk tea be enough?"
"Then I won't be polite to you."
Xu Yan smiled and took him into the inner room.
There were four empty tables inside, a spacious space. Atop the yellow wood-grained table was a green glass-shaded table lamp, reminiscent of the Republic of China era, with a metal cord dangling from below. Zhang Xiaotian walked over and pulled it, flooding the table with warm yellow light.
"It's daytime now, try again after dark." Xu Yan blinked. "That little feeling suddenly came over me. It's as if I'm not reviewing anymore, but traveling through time and space to become a general reviewing a military report."
"That's quite interesting." Zhang Xiaotian put down his schoolbag, and the two sat face to face and opened the book.
Time passed quickly, and several hours went by in the blink of an eye. If Xu Yan hadn't gotten up and turned on the light, Zhang Xiaotian would have almost forgotten where he was.
"You're really focused."
Xu Yan picked up the milk tea and took a sip.
"I wanted to slack off several times, but when I looked up and saw you were still studying, I felt too embarrassed to play with my phone."
"well enough."
Zhang Xiaotian also picked up his own cup. It had been sitting there for so long he'd forgotten to drink it, the ice in the milk tea had melted long ago. A layer of mist had formed on the outside of the paper cup, making it damp in his hand.
It was common to study face to face with someone like this, but every time this happened, Zhang Xiaotian would think of the day when he and Lu Bai were in the city library during high school, how happy he was that day, and then he would think of what he and Lu Bai said that day, and the awkward situation they were in now.
At this point, he couldn't say whether it was luck or misfortune that he was reunited with Lu Bai. There were some things that he desperately wanted to avoid and didn't want to face, but it just went against his wishes.
"that..."
Xu Yan drank milk tea for a long time. Seeing that Zhang Xiaotian didn't continue, he said to him, "You actually guessed why I brought you here today, right?"
"What?" Zhang Xiaotian looked at him in confusion.
"Oh, nothing much." Xu Yan hesitated. "It's just... you and Lu Bai have been having a lot of trouble lately, so I wanted to ask you what's going on..."
Seeing that Zhang Xiaotian didn't react, he quickly added: "Don't worry, if you don't want to say it, then don't say it. I won't let anyone else know what you said! I just... seeing you two like this, I feel a little..."
"I finally understand why Zhou Bin calls you Aunt Xu." Zhang Xiaotian chuckled, "You're really destined to worry."
Xu Yan felt a little embarrassed.
"We're fine." Zhang Xiaotian took a sip of milk tea. "I'm sorry to have made you worry."
"No..." Xu Yan said helplessly, "You really think everyone is a fool. Lu Bai used to cling to you so much that he wanted to tie himself to your belt. Look at you now. Can you two say five sentences a day?"
Xu Yan patted the table lightly.
"We see each other every day. Not only you two, but Zhou Bin and I feel embarrassed too!"
"Don't talk nonsense." Zhang Xiaotian said, "Zhou Bin is busy dating his senior, maybe he didn't feel anything."
As soon as the words came out, before Xu Yan could react, Zhang Xiaotian laughed first. Xu Yan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that this was a disguised admission.
"So, what happened to you two?"
Zhang Xiaotian still had a smile on his face, but he didn't say anything.
How could he explain this? Lu Bai was already giving him enough headaches, and if Xu Yan couldn't accept it either, how would he live in the dormitory from now on?
Seeing that Zhang Xiaotian still didn't speak, Zhou Bin became a little anxious. He looked at Zhang Xiaotian's expression, pondered for a moment, and said, "I won't beat around the bush with you. I'll ask directly. Are you and Lu Bai having a quarrel, or are you breaking up?"
Zhang Xiaotian suddenly raised his head.
"You're paying attention to me?" Xu Yan looked at him. "So are we breaking up or are we in a cold war?"
"you..."
"What do you want to say? You want to ask me how I saw that?" Xu Yan laughed. "Brother, it's really hard not to see, right? Whenever you two are together, it's as if everyone else doesn't exist. For example, take Lu Bai. As long as you're in the same space with him, has he ever taken his eyes off you?"
Zhang Xiaotian was really embarrassed now. He hesitantly put the milk tea back on the table and rubbed his hands on his pants.
"that..."
"Wait!" Xu Yan also realized something, "Don't tell me you two aren't!"
Zhang Xiaotian gave an awkward smile under his gaze.
"Oh my god!" Xu Yan yelled, falling backwards with all his strength, his back hitting the back of the chair hard. "Oh my god! Oh my god! Sorry, oh my god!"
"Is it you?" Zhang Xiaotian asked, finding him so funny.
"Yes, that's why I thought I was right!" Xu Yan was so embarrassed that he almost dug a hole and ran away. "Damn it, I was wrong. You thought I didn't say anything!"
"It's okay." Zhang Xiaotian also leaned back in his chair, "You're not completely wrong."
Xu Yan looked at him.
"I should... sort of. After all, apart from Lu Bai, I don't have any feelings for other boys." Zhang Xiaotian said, "But Lu Bai doesn't have that kind of interest in me."
"Are you kidding me?" Xu Yan was speechless. "You're talking about Lu Bai? If you said that Lu Bai forced you to do it, I might believe you."
"Lu Bai is really not him." Zhang Xiaotian explained, "Lu Bai is him. He hasn't seen me for a long time."
Xu Yan had an expression of "I don't believe it" on his face.
After much hesitation, Zhang Xiaotian finally told Xu Yan briefly about his past with Lu Bai. He also simplified the part about his family, saying only that his mother was very angry and was going to go to Lu Bai's house.
"You can't call your own son a pervert, right? That's too much!" Xu Yan was furious. "When I came out to my family, my mom cut off my living expenses for a month. Later, she felt sorry for me and made up for it."
"That's good." Zhang Xiaotian nodded.
Xu Yan weighed Zhang Xiaotian's expression and asked him, "Then why don't you try to confess to Lu Bai? What if he can accept it?"
Zhang Xiaotian was a little amused when he heard this.
"Really? Try it." Xu Yan urged, "I think Lu Bai is quite generous in agreeing to this!"
"Forget it." Zhang Xiaotian shook his head. "I don't dare. Besides, it's too late now."
"It's not too late."
"Have you read a novel called "Summer Ending"? " Zhang Xiaotian asked Xu Yan.
Xu Yan shook his head: "I don't read novels."
"I didn't watch it at first, but I remembered it later." Zhang Xiaotian threw the empty milk tea cup into the trash can. "Lu Bai and I met in the summer, so it's better to end in the summer too."
“It’s so hot.”
The boulevard at B University was packed at the end of class, people barely maintaining social distance, and the hot air streamed through the crowds, like a large-scale dried meat production line. Xu Yan fanned himself with a flyer he'd forgotten where he'd gotten it from. After a long moment of thought, he tentatively said to Zhou Bin, "Bin'er, have you noticed the air conditioning in our dorm lately? It's pretty good, huh?"
"What air conditioning?" Zhou Bin was texting with his girlfriend. He tilted his head and looked at him, puzzled. "Where is the air conditioning in our dormitory?"
"No." Xu Yan was speechless. "Oh, forget it."
"Just kidding, do you really think I'm stupid, Xu Ma?"
Zhou Bin couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Why do we need air conditioning in our dorm anymore? With those two here, even the hottest weather can feel like an ice cellar."
Xu Yan raised his eyebrows: "Oh? It seems that you are not completely blind to see things."
They both had a unhappy dormitory life these past two days.
Previously, Lu "Qiannu"'s harassment of "Zhang Wenju" was a daily fixture in their dorm, but since the game, the show had been off the air for several days. Even Zhou Bin, whose heart was completely tied to his partner, felt awkward, let alone Xu Yan. He had long intended to help them smooth things over, but he had been unable to find the right path.
"I don't even dare to go back to the dorm anymore. I have nowhere else to go, so I can only wander around the school with my boyfriend every day. I'm getting bitten by mosquitoes and I'm about to become a walking map of our school!"
Zhou Bin complained to Xu Yan. "Mother Xu, you're the mother of our dormitory. Please think of a solution! Your son can't even go home now!"
"I had that plan, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you today." Xu Yan rubbed his chin and let out a long sigh. "But now, the two of them, let alone being in the same frame, are so far apart from each other even in class that it's like there's a huge chasm between them. Not to mention in the dormitory, they don't even make eye contact, it's like the other person doesn't exist!"
"I'm really at my wit's end!" Xu Yan finally understood what it meant to be on the verge of tears. He'd never experienced the cold family atmosphere described online, but now that he was in college, he was experiencing it. If the school hadn't been so frequent in checking dormitories, he'd have wanted to move out, just to avoid the annoying feeling of seeing two cold faces every time he returned to the dorm.
"Tell me first what you have thought of?" Zhou Bin asked.
Xu Yan counted on his fingers: "I forced them to have dinner together, threw topics at them, and later talked to Xiaotian alone, but it was useless! It's driving me crazy!"
"Oh, look how anxious our mother is!"
Zhou Bin quickly took the flyer from Xu Yan's hand and fanned him, and the two of them sighed again.
"When do you think these two will end..."
"If it really doesn't work, I'll just sacrifice it."
Xu Yan looked at Zhou Bin.
"You? Sacrifice what?"
Zhou Bin's eyes rolled: "Let me tell you..."
Zhang Xiaotian had just finished his part-time job when he received the call, and he was startled the moment he answered. There were clearly only three voices on the line, but the noise was like boiling water at the market, or at the entrance of a kindergarten during school hours.
"Oh, stop drinking, my ancestor!" Xu Yan's voice sounded quite embarrassed. "Come here quickly! Don't forget to buy some hangover sobers... Ah! Lu Bai! What a terrible drinking habit you have! Why are you biting people when you're drunk!"
"Where are you guys?" Zhang Xiaotian held up the phone, his brows furrowed like a QR code. "What happened? Why are you so drunk?"
"Zhou Bin had a fight with his girlfriend and insisted on going out for a drink! Lu Bai and I thought we couldn't let him drink alone, so we came out to keep him company. Who would have thought these two would end up drinking so much? It's a good thing they didn't check in today."
"No, I can't take care of it. We're just going to the store where you used to work. Come quickly!" Xu Yan just said this and then hung up the phone.
Zhang Xiaotian had no choice but to buy something and rush over. As soon as he arrived, Brother Liu recognized him.
"Hey, Xiao Zhang! I haven't seen you in a long time!"
"Brother Liu!"
Zhang Xiaotian greeted him with a smile. "I have too many classes, and I have a lot of other things to do."
"Yes, studying medicine is a bit busy, and you also have to work." Brother Liu nodded and asked, "Then how come you have time to come today?"
"My classmate called me and said he was having dinner at your place."
"Oh yeah, I saw it! Over there, in the private room inside." Brother Liu said cheerfully, "It seems like your classmate encountered something. The guy was crying, it was scary! I just went in to take a look while the food was being served."
Still crying? Zhang Xiaotian was a little embarrassed and scratched his eyebrows.
"I'm sorry, Brother Liu." Zhang Xiaotian asked Brother Liu, "They...didn't break anything in the store?"
"Not really!" Brother Liu smiled and shook his head, "It was just a little loud. The guys are all nice people!"
"That's good."
Zhang Xiaotian looked at the private room. Even from a few steps away, he could sense the people around him toasting and drinking. Brother Liu's description of the three of them being "loud" was absolutely true.
"Then go quickly!" Brother Liu saw that he was worried and patted him, "They have been here for a long time, and they are probably waiting for you."
As soon as Zhang Xiaotian pushed the door open, the sounds from the room came flooding in like a tide. Even though Xu Yan's phone call had already made him expect it, Zhang Xiaotian was still speechless when he saw the scene before him.
Inside, coats and backpacks were scattered across the floor. Zhou Bin was clutching the single coat hanger, howling like a ghost, singing a few lines while pouring wine into his mouth, half drinking and half pouring, until his front was soaked and his hair stuck to his face in wisps. Xu Yan, holding a piece of paper in one hand and wrestling with Zhou Bin for the bottle in the other, the two of them scurried around the coat hanger like the Emperor of Qin circling a pillar. The scene was reminiscent of a parent feeding a kindergartener.
How much did you drink?
Zhang Xiaotian looked around the room, but only saw a few lonely empty wine bottles in the corner.
Xu Yan and Zhou Bin were bustling with activity, while Lu Bai seemed quieter, just quietly eating his food. Seeing that Lu Bai didn't need to worry about it for the time being, Zhang Xiaotian thought about rushing to help Xu Yan. He walked over to Lu Bai and put his things down. Just as he was about to go to Xu Yan, he felt someone tug at his clothes.
Zhang Xiaotian turned around and saw Lu Bai holding the chopsticks and putting the food into his mouth, and he didn't know when the hem of his clothes was also grasped in his hand.
"Let go, Lu Bai."
Zhang Xiaotian pulled at it, but it didn't budge. He patted Lu Bai's hand and said, "Lu Bai, let me go. Xu Yan is too busy over there, I'll go help him."
"I'm drunk." Lu Bai answered irrelevantly without loosening his grip.
"Yes, I noticed." Zhang Xiaotian pointed to the plastic bag he brought with him, "I bought some hangover sobering stuff, you can take some out first."
"Get it for me."
The drunk Lu Bai started pestering him again, which was very troublesome. Zhang Xiaotian wanted to help Xu Yan quickly, so he put the bag directly in front of Lu Bai.
"Here, take whatever you want." He was about to leave after saying that, but before he took a step, two warm arms wrapped around his waist.
"Where are you going?"
Lu Bai put his face on Zhang Xiaotian's lower back, and the hot air he exhaled surged up along Zhang Xiaotian's spine. Zhang Xiaotian couldn't help but shiver.
"You, stop messing with me." Zhang Xiaotian wanted to break free, but was afraid that if he moved too much, he would hurt Lu Bai, so he didn't dare to move at all. "I'll go see Zhou Bin."
"Don't worry about him, I drank more than him." Lu Bai didn't realize Zhang Xiaotian's awkwardness at all, and even rubbed his face to add fuel to the fire, "Tian'er, deskmate, Tian'er, I feel uncomfortable..."
It's uncomfortable, but you still drink so much.
Zhang Xiaotian patted his hands: "I know you're upset. Let me go first, I'll open a bottle of water for you...Ah! Lu Bai! Let go!"
Lu Bai's bite nearly made Zhang Xiaotian jump onto the beam. Zhang Xiaotian slapped Lu Bai on the head in pain, which probably woke him up, and Lu Bai finally let go of Zhang Xiaotian.
The pain in his lower back was throbbing, and Zhang Xiaotian didn't even dare to touch it. He remembered that Xu Yan had just called on Lu Bai to let go on the phone. It turned out that Lu Bai was just being honest on the surface, but actually biting people everywhere.
What a dog.
After Lu Bai bit the man, he seemed to calm down a little and picked up the chopsticks to pick up the food again. Seeing this, Zhang Xiaotian took the opportunity to take something and walked over to Xu Yan.
"How is Zhou Bin?" he asked Xu Yan.
Xu Yan had already grabbed Zhou Bin without knowing when. He now pressed Zhou Bin onto the stool. Zhou Bin didn't say a word, just lying on the table, looking like a completely different person.
"It's okay now. Just now, he was like a live fish." Xu Yan waved his hand. "I'm enough for Zhou Bin. You go take care of Lu Bai."
"Give him some water." Zhang Xiaotian handed him the water and other things, then looked at the wine bottle in the corner. "How could he be so drunk... I don't think there are many bottles. Lu Baigang just told me that Zhou Bin didn't drink as much as him..."
"Ugh!" Before Zhang Xiaotian could finish his words, Zhou Bin suddenly bent over and started to dry heave. "Ugh... No, Mom Xu, I want to vomit..."
"What?! Don't vomit here! Go to the bathroom!"
Xu Yan quickly helped him up, turned to Zhang Xiaotian and said, "Sorry, Xiaotian, I'll leave Lu Bai to you. I'll take this kid to the bathroom first!"
After saying that, he carried Zhou Bin out of the door like a whirlwind, so fast that it seemed as if he had not drunk any alcohol.
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