CH 52

Chapter 52: A New Gift

Lin Rong was always joking, saying she didn’t know who Song Yu resembled. She always said this child’s heart was harder than a rock — it wouldn’t move even if it was poked, and it wouldn’t react even if it was knocked.

Stone-hearted Song Yu always appeared to be satisfied with what he had, never showing any interest in other people and the outside world. He never expressed his emotions and never showed his thoughts, and Yue Zhishi thought he liked living hidden away like that — he truly was like a buried piece of rock.

So whenever he expressed anything, it looked visibly, particularly out of place.

In the darkened dorm room, Yue Zhishi again and again turned on his phone, clicked into that Moments update, looked at it and closed his phone. These meaningless and repetitive actions weren’t able to dispel the pleasure boiling over in his heart, and he had no way to peacefully fall asleep.

His intellect weakened under his pleasure, and so Yue Zhishi no longer thought about why Song Yu acted so differently, forcing himself to close his eyes and sleep while he hugged this fickle happiness.

Song Yu came back from his field operations on the day Yue Zhishi needed to attend the tryouts for the basketball main team. He initially hadn’t had any confidence, but Qin Yan pulled at him, saying he may as well try it out and it was fine even if he didn’t get in. He’d agreed, and one hour before he needed to meet Qin Yan in front of the university gym, he received Song Yu’s phone call.

“I’m almost at your faculty.” Song Yu asked where he was.

Yue Zhishi didn’t say anything further, running directly to look for his gege. It was a very sunny day, the shadows of the trees interlacing with bright spots of sunshine, and Yue Zhishi was wearing a white, yellow-trimmed basketball jersey. He ran past some girls carrying parasols, a breeze following behind him.

Song Yu stood next to the clear glass doors inside the ground floor of a classroom building. He was looking at his phone, head half lowered, and there were clearly people going to and fro — and yet it was like he was surrounded by an aura naturally isolating him from the rest of the world. Yue Zhishi saw him as soon as he arrived.

He pushed open the door and went in. The aircon was turned on very highly, and he was unable to stop himself from shuddering from the sudden change in temperature. He happened to be seen just as Song Yu raised his head, and affection very clearly entered Song Yu’s indifferent eyes as he walked towards Yue Zhishi from the pillar in the hall.

“How come you’re dressed like this?” Song Yu looked at his jersey. Yue Zhishi’s collarbones and arms were both exposed, and with a white coloured jersey, his innately pale skin made him look like a little porcelain man once he stood underneath the sun.

“I need to go the gym in a bit, Qin Yan gege said he’s taking me to the tryouts.” Afraid Song Yu would laugh at him, Yue Zhishi decided to attack himself first. “I know I definitely won’t be chosen, I just want to go have a look.”

Once he was closer, he smelled a light lemon fragrance from Song Yu’s body. It was the fragrance of his usual shower gel, and he realised Song Yu was wearing a loose white t-shirt without any decorations on it. He wasn’t wearing a backpack, his hair loose and relaxed, and he looked almost lazy. He didn’t look tired or worn out from coming back from his outside field operations at all.

“It’ll be very dangerous for your body to compete,” Song Yu still decided to say.

Yue Zhishi said, changing the conversation topic, “Did you shower after coming back?”

Song Yu paused, saying after a long while, “Mn.” His facial expression looked a bit awkward. “I feel more comfortable after showering.”

“You smell really nice.” Yue Zhishi took a step closer. “I especially like the smell of this shower gel. It’s a bit like that boyfriend cologne my previous high school desk mate gave me to smell.”

Yue Zhishi’s unexpected statements frequently interrupted the rhythm of Song Yu’s talking. Sometimes, he needed to bring the rhythm back himself.

He first said Yue Zhishi could buy the same one if he liked it, and then he lowered his head, stretching his hand into his pant pocket. “I picked up something this time.” He spoke very casually, as if he’d picked up a useless ball of paper or empty drink bottle that no one wanted. But when his hand finally came out of his pocket, Yue Zhishi realised — it was a very striking piece of stone. The surface was black, and it looked a bit like a piece of coal despite Yue Zhishi not having seen a real piece of coal before.

He carefully picked up the stone resting in Song Yu’s hand. It wasn’t a large piece at all, only about the size of a mangosteen, and it looked a bit strange. The outer layer was black, and Yue Zhishi only noticed one side had been sliced after turning the stone around. Lustrous and beautiful blue-coloured stone could be seen from the cut, dark-coloured lines crisscrossed on top.

“What’s this? It’s so pretty!” Yue Zhishi raised his head to look at him, his amber eyes glowing.

Song Yu pulled out a transparent little bag. It held a very thinly sliced stone specimen, and a label was stuck onto the bag. ‘Turquoise’ was written on the label, as well as the time and place it was found.

“The mountain area we went to seemed to produce these kinds of stones. I just happened to see them during our field operations, so I picked up a piece and cut off a fragment as a specimen. I don’t need the leftover stone, so I can give it to you, if you want it.”

He continued to sound as if this didn’t matter to him at all, but Yue Zhishi was extremely happy. “Of course I want it!” His gaze shifted from the stone to Song Yu’s face. “Did everyone find some too?”

Song Yu moved his eyes away. “Not really.” Just him.

“That’s what I thought.” Yue Zhishi stared at his gift. “This looks so dark and dirty, it must’ve been really hard to recognise in the mountains. You’re so amazing.”

His praises were always without any reservations.

“It’s nothing special. It’s just because I’ve studied a bit about it.”

“Are you giving this whole piece to me?” Yue Zhishi held onto the stone, looking towards him. “The entire piece?”

Song Yu nodded and shook the specimen bag in his hand. “I just need a small fragment, everything else is yours.”

“And in the future? You might continue finding many special little stones in the future, can you give them all to me too?” It was habit for Yue Zhishi to reach out a hand and touch Song Yu’s wrist whenever he started feeling anxious. His hand was very hot, Song Yu’s skin cool, and it wasn’t only their body temperatures that were transmitted across this touch — but also many vague and indistinct feelings.

“My job isn’t to find stones. This was just a coincidence.” But Song Yu still added, “If I see any, I’ll still bring them back.” He glanced at Yue Zhishi. “Why do you want so many stones? Are you going to sell them?”

Yue Zhishi shook his head. “Of course not, I’m keeping them all for me. This is a memento from an earthwalker.”

Song Yu’s face once again looked awkward. He changed the conversation, asking when Yue Zhishi was meant to meet with Qin Yan. Only then did Yue Zhishi startle awake, and he grabbed Song Yu’s hand, looking at the time. “It’s okay, it’s okay, I still have half an hour.”

Song Yu originally said he wanted to go back to his dorm and sleep, but Yue Zhishi said he wanted Song Yu to go with him, to give him some courage — so Song Yu gave up and agreed to go.

“But other people don’t know you’re my little brother.”

“That’s fine.” Yue Zhishi said very innocently, “It’ll be easier for me to get distracted if you’re standing there. I won’t be so nervous.”

It was very hot the entire way to the gym from the classroom building, and Yue Zhishi looked at the girls carrying umbrellas with a touch of envy. “I want an umbrella too.”

Song Yu looked at the pale, almost blinding skin he exposed. “You should’ve worn some sun protection clothing.”

Yue Zhishi slid over his suggestion. “Let me tell you, Jiang Yufan’s always showing off in front of me every day, saying it’s so good to have a girlfriend. He can use her as an excuse to hold up an umbrella and doesn’t need to burn under the sun. He even said his girlfriend’s hand is so small it’s particularly cute — and that it’s really comfortable to hold.”

Listening to this, Song Yu held up Yue Zhishi’s hand and said, a bit ill-timed: “Yours isn’t large either.”

Yue Zhishi frowned at hearing this, thinking this was a type of mocking. He pulled away his hand. “My hand’s quite large, I can hold a basketball with one hand for ten seconds.”

“Very amazing,” Song Yu flatly praised.

The two of them saw Qin Yan in front of the gymnasium building. He was playing games, squatting on the steps, and looked just like a down to earth youth. Song Yu climbed up the steps, and Qin Yan only lifted his head when Song Yu was standing right in front of him. “Yo, you’re back. You’re here with your brother?”

He looked at Yue Zhishi. “Le Le looks so handsome in that jersey.”

“Am I not allowed to come?” Song Yu asked.

Qin Yan stood up, stretched out his neck and brought the two of them into the building. “No one said that. You scum man may have let me down, but our team will always remember your contributions.”

His words were very funny, and Yue Zhishi took the chance to ask, “Then have you guys seen any suitable new members? Ones who can compare to my ge.”

“Just look at how Le Le phrased his words — are you trying to say no one is as good as your brother?” After teasing him, Qin Yan then seriously said, “We actually did find someone suitable. His physical fitness and innate explosive power are all pretty good, and even though there’s still some space for him to improve his skills, he should luckily have no problems taking care of Song Yu’s empty spot.”

Yue Zhishi nodded, saying that’s good. He could hear the sounds of basketball shoes squeaking against the floor as he walked in the corridor. Qin Yan pushed open the door, and there were quite a few people inside, the already established team members and new members here for the tryouts split into two separate areas. Qin Yan walked in front, many people greeting him and Song Yu face to face, and Yue Zhishi found it a bit uncomfortable — it felt like he was walking in, framed between two big bosses, and everyone took the chance to give him a look.

So he retreated slightly backwards. Qin Yan saw someone and twisted his head over, telling them, “Hey, that’s the new guy I said would replace Song Yu.” He then whistled at someone’s back.

The other person turned around, and Yue Zhishi was a bit astonished. “Shen Mi?”

Shen Mi saw them as well, and he enthusiastically and happily ran over after he threw his ball to someone else. Utter satisfaction covered Qin Yan’s face, and he crossed his arms over his chest, nudging Song Yu’s shoulder with his own. “What do you think? The successor I found for you isn’t too bad, right?”

“I really do have to thank you.” Song Yu’s gaze darkened, his tone strange enough for Qin Yan to give him a sideway glance.

“What’s wrong with you? You learn how to mask-change in the mountains?”

Arriving in front of them, Shen Mi warmly greeted them. “Senior Qin Yan, senior Song Yu.” And then, smiling at Yue Zhishi, “Le Le, you’re here too.”

“I came to have a look.” Yue Zhishi was a bit unconfident, but he still smiled at Shen Mi. “Congratulations, I hear you got into the main team.”

Shen Mi rubbed the hair at the back of his head. “Ah, it was mostly coincidence. Senior Song Yu just so happened to be leaving.”

“Who said I’m leaving?” Song Yu raised an eyebrow. “I only said I’m falling back to second string, I don’t have any intention of leaving the team.”

Qin Yan pivoted his head over to him, his eyes as wide as copper bells. “Big bro, are you joking with me.”

“Are you really not dropping out?” Yue Zhishi grabbed hold of Song Yu’s arm, unbelievably happy. “Then gege, you’re going to stay in the basketball team? Will it be too hard on you?”

Song Yu was clearly answering Yue Zhishi’s questions, but his eyes flicked over at Shen Mi. “It’s fine to play occasionally.”

Shen Mi didn’t look too disappointed. “That’s really good, I was always regretful that I was never able to learn from senior Song Yu before.”

Yue Zhishi nodded his head again and again. “My ge really is really good at basketball, you’ll definitely improve if you train with him.”

No matter what, Song Yu not leaving the team was fantastic news to them. Even though Qin Yan felt he had been mercilessly played around with, he still shared this news to the other team members with great enthusiasm.

“He’s really not leaving! That’s great, that’s great!”

“I was even sad for a bit too.”

“Sad that half the girls won’t be watching anymore?”

“Hahahaha! But how come senior Song Yu suddenly changed his mind?”

“I’m curious too!”

Everyone was gossiping when the gym’s inner doors were once again pushed open, and Yue Zhishi looked over. “Eh? Senior Nan Jia?”

Nan Jia’s appearance excited all the guys in the gym, including Qin Yan. Only Song Yu looked at Yue Zhishi. “Are you familiar with her?”

“Ah?” Yue Zhishi blinked. “It’s a bit of a long story. Senior Nan Jia helped me out a lot, and she’s a super nice person.”

There wasn’t too high of a risk factor in his evaluation, so Song Yu decided to put it aside for the moment.

Contrary to usual, Nan Jia wore a slim black tracksuit, her hair tied into a ponytail. She looked full of energy, and she greeted everyone with warmth and enthusiasm. The popularity of a beautiful senior sister in the midst of the all male team went without saying. “You guys must be tired. I bought you guys some milk tea, and the drinks will arrive in a bit.”

“Thank you senior!”

“Senior’s such a good person!”

“You’re all very welcome.” Nan Jia finally arrived next to Qin Yan, and her eyes were visibly pleasantly surprised when she saw Song Yu. “Didn’t you say you were leaving the team?”

“This little shit keeps changing his mind. He says he’s not leaving,” Qin Yan ridiculed.

Song Yu threw him a look in disdain. Nan Jia then said, “Then that means you’ll be coming back too?”

“Too?” Yue Zhishi looked at Nan Jia in doubt, suddenly thinking of that time he’d been hit with heat exhaustion and Nan Jia had carelessly talked about her history of being a manager in the basketball team.

Qin Yan startled. “Fuck, are you returning back to the main team?”

“Yes.” Nan Jia curved her head down, a very playful expression on her face. “I’ve finished my previous law popularisation volunteer work. I still have time to spare this semester, so I applied to transfer back to the main team as the manager.”

“Wait here, I need to tell everyone about this inspiring piece of news.” Qin Yan ran off as soon as he finished speaking, and not much longer after, the entire gym full of guys learned of this news — they only managed to just hold back from shouting and jumping for joy.

“Senior, you’re so popular.” Yue Zhishi watched that crowd of feverishly excited guys from far away and couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

Nan Jia patted Yue Zhishi’s shoulder. “Le Le, are you participating in the tryouts today? I’ll measure your arm span for you, let me experience the superior proportions of a mixed race person.”

“His legs are super long,” Shen Mi couldn’t help but praise.

“I know you.” Nan Jia stretched out her hand in a fist, and the two of them bumped their fists together. “Diamond in the rough. Work hard.”

Yue Zhishi realised every popular person seemed to have a natural affinity for others. Just like Nan Jia — she could skillfully and easily interact and talk with anyone with sincerity, and her kind of relaxing, soothing personality was entirely suited to be the basketball team’s manager.

With two good news coming right after another, Qin Yan made a decision there and then. “We’re having a dinner party after the tryouts, no one’s allowed to leave! Two of our great generals have returned to us today, and so many new friends have also joined us — we need to celebrate!”

As soon as the topic turned to the tryouts, Yue Zhishi’s stomach started to ache; that was how his body reacted to stress whenever he was nervous. He clutched Song Yu’s arm and very quietly whispered: “I’m a bit worried.”

Song Yu lifted his hand and patted Yue Zhishi’s back twice like a kind senior, but he didn’t take his hand back immediately. He left his hand on his shoulder blades as if he was reluctant to move away, stroking a few times very slowly.

This method of diverting his attention was very effective. In a moment, Yue Zhishi once again smelled the very light shower fragrance on Song Yu’s body, and in this gym full of hormones and sweat, this subtle smell silently wrapped around his entire body — it was like a transparent barrier, protective and possessive.

The tryouts went by much faster than he’d imagined. Nan Jia measured their weight, height, arm spans and other kinds of body data, leaving the actual skills tryout to the team captain.

“I actually didn’t grow,” Yue Zhishi grumbled, coming off of the body weight and height scale. He refused to believe it and went back on again — the numbers remained the same. Nan Jia found him particularly cute. “What’s wrong?”

“I haven’t grown, I’m still one centimetre away from 180cm.” Yue Zhishi’s face was full of bewilderment. “I feel like I have, it’s almost been three months. How come it’s so hard to grow one single centimetre.”

Qin Yan said maybe his bones were already fused together, but Nan Jia interrupted him and said, laughing, “It definitely must be our machine’s fault. I’ll give you 180cm.”

“Aren’t you making a false report then?” Qin Yan said loudly on purpose. “Where’s your moral fortitude as a basketball manager.”

“What’s wrong with doing so?” Nan Jia recorded down the data as she continued to banter. “You have 170cm guys reporting themselves as 175cm, and 180cm guys report themselves as 183cm. If someone actually did get to 185cm, I bet they’d engrave it onto their faces as an admission pass.”

Yue Zhishi laughed in amusement and turned his head around to look at the 186cm Song Yu, who was helping out in the tryouts. He carried the ball through the crowd, going up to the basket with movements as natural and smooth as water and his face clear of any waves. In a crowd of basketball team members, none of whom were short, he completely stood out like a crane among the chickens.

Everyone left the gym after the tryouts ended. Because of his unique body, Yue Zhishi wasn’t able to enter the main team, and Nan Jia kept comforting him the entire way. But Yue Zhishi had already predicted this from a long time ago, and the result matched his predictions entirely — so he wasn’t all that disappointed.

Qin Yan, Song Yu and the rest of the old team members walked in front, chatting with the new recruits as they walked out the campus. They wanted to throw a dinner party, and Yue Zhishi, who had failed to be chosen, didn’t actually want to follow along. But with Song Yu there, he still slightly wavered — and since Qin Yan and Nan Jia had both told him to come along, Yue Zhishi wasn’t able to escape.

“It’s okay, Le Le. You can still come to train with the main team.” Nan Jia said, “You can come whenever you want, especially since your senior Qin Yan will be there too.”

“Then……” Yue Zhishi hesitated a bit over his wording. “Will senior Song Yu train too?”

“Him?” Nan Jia smiled. “Very rarely. But Song Yu came every day when we were in first year, and he always stayed until he was the last one to leave.”

Yue Zhishi very frankly asked, “How do you know?”

A hint of nostalgia appeared on her face. “I had just started working as the basketball manager at that time. I needed to help out every day with sorting out the basketballs, ordering the jerseys and all kinds of very minor odd jobs. Sometimes the team wouldn’t pack up after training, so I needed to stay behind and clean. I was in the gym every day with a lot of spare time, and sometimes I’d do my homework as I sat in the benches. Song Yu didn’t even know I was there in the beginning — he’d thought there was no one else in the gym, and he’d practice shooting by himself again and again.”

Nan Jia smiled. “I didn’t understand why he needed to practice so often. His shooting accuracy was already so high. One time, I couldn’t hold back anymore and asked him why he kept shooting as I sat in the benches. It was the first time he saw me, but he didn’t speak to me at all — he grabbed his clothes and immediately left.” Nan Jia looked at Yue Zhishi, her face carrying an emotion she usually didn’t show. It looked a bit like she was cutely whining, and the tone of her voice was very cute. “He was super cold.”

Yue Zhishi wanted to say Song Yu wasn’t someone like that at all, but he faintly felt Nan Jia actually was aware of that — so he didn’t say anything. An absurd thought suddenly appeared in his mind: he wanted to be that person sitting silently, soundlessly in the benches at that time.

Socialising expert Qin Yan chose one of their usual barbecue restaurants, its atmosphere very suitable for parties. Nan Jia seemed to abruptly think of something when they reached the entrance of the restaurant. “Oh yes, I saw Song Yu replied to your Moments update yesterday. Your relationship with him…”

A guy entered in front of them, and he cared only for himself, not thinking of the people behind him — the heavy glass door slid backwards, about to close, and Yue Zhishi grabbed the edge of the door. He pulled it open again and let Nan Jia in first. Qin Yan was yelling out her name inside, asking her to pick the tables.

In the midst of all these things, Nan Jia rushed inside in a hurry and forgot to continue what she was about to ask.

Yue Zhishi didn’t know when Shen Mi first appeared next to him, but his eyes remained only on Song Yu, who seemed to be enclosed by a crowd. A tall and sturdy senior headed towards the two of them and very heavily smacked Yue Zhishi’s shoulder, his words brash and like a hooligan. “Hey, they say you’re mixed. What countries are you mixed with?”

Yue Zhishi felt like this guy was a bit impolite, but he still sincerely replied, “My mom’s from England.”

“Oh, England. Ladies like the way you mixed guys look.” The senior’s words seemed to be praising him, but his face carried a hint of condescension. “Are you close with Nan Jia? Are you from the law faculty too?”

Seeing Yue Zhishi didn’t want to speak, Shen Mi answered for him. “Yes. Senior, are you from the same faculty?”

“Yep, I’m your dear old faculty senior.” He stretched out a hand, looking as if he wanted to grasp Yue Zhishi’s shoulder, but Shen Mi looked like he had no idea what was happening and stuck himself in between them. He even smiled and said, “Senior, then does that mean I can ask you questions if I have any problems in the future?”

“Sure.” The senior glanced at him. He jerked his chin over when he heard the tables were ready. “Let’s go. Law faculty kids should sit together.”

Yue Zhishi didn’t like these kinds of arbitrary commands — he only wanted to sit together with Song Yu, but it felt like he would look very childish if he directly asked to do so. And besides, this entire affair actually didn’t have much to do with him; he was really only here to freeload some food and didn’t have much right to ask for anything.

There were too many people, so they needed to be split between two large tables. His momentary hesitation meant he was forcefully brought to one of them, and half the people at the table were from the law faculty, the other half from either the electrical or civil engineering faculties. Luckily, Shen Mi and Nan Jia sat next to him on his left and right sides, or else he might’ve actually ran away.

After sitting down, Yue Zhishi kept sending messages to Song Yu; he would then lift his head and look in his direction, but Song Yu was being bothered by the guy sitting next to him. The guy kept asking him questions, and it looked like Song Yu didn’t have any time to look at his phone. Yue Zhishi reached into his pocket, clutching the small stone Song Yu gave him.

Everyone was chatting as they waited for the food to be brought up. A guy suddenly raised his phone in the midst of their conversation. “Hey, someone posted in their Moments saying senior Song Yu came back for sister Nan Jia.”

And then very quickly, all the guys on the table started to hoot, and someone even turned around to the other table, joking with a teammate. Both tables started to make a fuss.

Shen Mi peeped at Yue Zhishi, thinking he looked calmer than he’d expected.

Nan Jia, the person in the centre of all the fuss, kept trying to stop their teasing. “That’s not true, can you guys please not spread rumours? Neither of us knew the other was coming back, it was solely a coincidence.”

The first guy to make a fuss started to tease again. “Tsk tsk, already using the word ‘us’.”

“Can you not take it out of context.” Nan Jia severely said, “Seriously, don’t be like this, this has nothing to do with anything. You guys seriously have nothing better to do.”

Right then, Yue Zhishi really wanted to leave. He not only wanted to leave, he even wanted to take Song Yu away.

The senior who’d make things a bit difficult for Yue Zhishi pressed down the guy who was making a fuss. “Eat your food. I want to see if I can plug up your broken mouth later when the alcohol’s here.”

The aircon was set to a very low temperature, and Nan Jia asked Yue Zhishi if he was cold. During the tryouts, she learned Yue Zhishi had a serious allergy, his body relatively fragile, so she paid particular attention to him. But her actions seemed to really annoy that large and bulky senior.

The alcohol arrived earlier than the food, and it came over in a large box. Yue Zhishi looked over — Song Yu was being held by Qin Yan, not saying a single word. He also turned his head over to look in Yue Zhishi’s direction, and their gazes just happened to meet. Both sides were very noisy, and with the two tables separated, neither of them knew what was happening on their respective tables.

Yue Zhishi mouthed the word ‘phone’ to him, but Song Yu squinted, looking a bit puzzled.

Yue Zhishi did it again, exaggerating his lip movements, and looked a bit cute. Song Yu seemed to finally understand, and he lowered his head to look for his cellphone.

“Okay okay, I’m not going to talk nonsense. Let’s just welcome everyone by having a good drink — no one’s allowed to escape today.” The bulky senior opened a bottle of alcohol one by one, sending the opened ones around. He made it look like everyone was to have their own bottle.

Yue Zhishi couldn’t drink beer, so he specifically told him, “Senior, I’m allergic to beer. No need to open one for me.”

“Bullshit. Nine out of ten people who say they’re allergic to alcohol are lying.” The senior forcefully pushed the bottle in his hand to Yue Zhishi. “Hold it.”

Nan Jia was slightly unhappy. “Wang Zhi, what are you doing. He’s already said he’s allergic. He’s not joking.”

“Nothing’ll happen to him with just a bit.” Wang Zhi spoke a bit softer to Nan Jia, but he didn’t change his attitude at all. “Hold the bottle. I’ve already said no one’s allowed to run today.”

Yue Zhishi didn’t reach out to grab it, and the atmosphere turned very rigid. Knowing very well how to take a hint, Shen Mi took the bottle. “Senior, look, I’ll drink for him. What do you think — I can match you bottle for bottle.” He immediately started to gulp the beer down, and over half of the bottle disappeared in one go. Yue Zhishi didn’t manage to stop him in time, saying, “There’s no need for you to drink.”

Shen Mi wiped away the alcohol on his mouth and placed the bottle back on the table. He said, smiling, “Senior, he’s just…”

“Just what? You’re pretty good, hey. It’s only your first day, and you’re already trying to act like a hero. Did I agree for you to drink?” The longer he spoke, the harder it was to hold Wang Zhi back. He grabbed a newly opened bottle, left his seat and circled around to stand next to Yue Zhishi. He ignored Nan Jia and Shen Mi, directly saying to Yue Zhishi: “You have no choice but to drink today. This is basic courtesy — you need to respect your elders, understand? You’ll only be considered a man if you drink. I’ll admire you then.”

Yue Zhishi raised his head and gazed at Wang Zhi. His voice was very calm, his words very direct. “But I don’t need you to admire me.”

“You!” Wang Zhi wanted to reach out and grab his hand, prepared to force him to hold the bottle — but very quickly, his hand was grabbed by another person and was very rudely flung away. He wasn’t able to touch Yue Zhishi’s arm.

Yue Zhishi saw Song Yu as soon as he looked up. Just by looking at his face, he could tell that he was extremely angry.

Wang Zhi had never liked Song Yu. “What? You here to fight me too?”

Song Yu spoke coldly, indifferently. “He can’t drink.”

Wang Zhi laughed in anger. “What a joke. He’s a new student in our law faculty. I’m teaching my own junior brother how to act like a proper person, so what are you, a geomatics student, doing here?”

Song Yu sneered and lightly repeated, “Junior brother…”

He looked at Wang Zhi, his gaze cold and stern. “What a coincidence. Guess who he is.”

The look on Wang Zhi’s face started to change as he stared at Song Yu’s colder than usual face.

“Who are you to teach my little brother?”

The author has something to say:

Senior Nan Jia is a very good person (strongly stressing this). I really don’t like writing poisonous female supporting characters, and I also don’t like it when girls are ‘identified’ as something hhhh. There’s nothing wrong with liking someone. If she had really wanted to cling and stick onto SY, she would’ve done it already in the last three years of university. She’s the faculty flower too, and til now, Song Yu still hasn’t felt her arrow (he’s actually worried she likes Le Le). You can tell senior hasn’t done anything.

(spoiler)

She’s the most important assist to Le Le. She’ll trigger his change of mentality, where he realises he actually likes gege.

(/end spoiler)

From her head to her toes, she’s a very good girl.