TITCFRIBN 3

 Chapter 3

This basketball game had been organized around An Cheng from the start. When An Cheng said he was done, there was no way the game could continue.

Qi Le was a bit unwilling to stop, but seeing that An Cheng wasn’t in high spirits, he didn’t make a fuss. Instead, he hooked his arm around An Cheng’s shoulder as they walked back.

“What happened? You look so upset. Don’t tell me you got scolded by the counselor at your very first class meeting?”

An Cheng let out a light snort and playfully punched Qi Le in the chest. "You're the one who got scolded."

Qi Le clutched his chest, pretending to be in pain, and laughed while cursing An Cheng for being a brute and hitting people.

At least he confirmed that An Cheng hadn’t run into any real trouble. They parted ways at the stairwell.

When An Cheng and the others returned to the dormitory, Wang Qimeng was sitting at his desk reading, with a damp cloth on his head and dressed in loose cotton pajamas. It was clear he had already showered.

Hearing the door open, Wang Qimeng turned to look. "You guys are back."

An Cheng nodded, while Bai Qing, more enthusiastically, responded, "Yeah, we just finished playing basketball. It was so hot out there!"

Wang Qimeng adjusted his glasses. "Sounds good."

He wasn't very tall, just over 173 cm, and sat alone at his desk reading, immersed in the soft glow of his lamp.

Bai Qing naturally walked over to him, though he still had sweat on him and didn’t want to make contact, so he just stood beside him.

In a cheerful tone, Bai Qing said, "Qimeng, join us next time. It's more fun with more people, and it's not as tiring."

As soon as he said it, Bai Qing realized that this wasn't something he could decide on his own. He raised his voice and asked, "Brother Cheng, Brother He, what do you guys think?"

An Cheng was at the sink, splashing water on his face.

Cold water trickled down from his forehead, across his sharp brow bone and straight nose, before finally dripping into the sink.

An Cheng’s cool and intimidating aura was largely due to his sharp, cold facial features.

Hearing Bai Qing, An Cheng replied, "Sounds good."

Chen He naturally agreed as well. After responding, he realized the reason Bai Qing didn't call him "Brother Chen" was because of An Cheng, and he frowned slightly.

Wang Qimeng, caught off guard by the question, smiled awkwardly. He felt tense all over and stuttered, "B-but I'm not very good at it."

From the sink, a cold voice responded, "I'll teach you."

This surprised not only Wang Qimeng, but also Bai Qing and Chen He.

An Cheng had made this decision after thinking it through.

Because of his mission, he would always be around Bai Qing. Naturally, Chen He would also stick close to Bai Qing. This would leave Wang Qimeng isolated.

Just based on how Wang Qimeng had defended Bai Qing against Chen He earlier that afternoon, An Cheng decided to include him.

Chen He stood by his bed for a while, tapping his foot. After scuffing his expensive sneakers against the floor for a bit, he finally made up his mind.

He walked over to An Cheng. "An Cheng, I need to talk to you. Can we step outside for a minute?"

An Cheng draped a towel over his face, his voice muffled as he replied, "Say it here."

Chen He smiled. "It's a bit inconvenient."

The towel slipped from An Cheng's face and landed in his hand. He turned to look at Chen He, his eyes slightly narrowing in a questioning gaze.

An Cheng’s features were already sharp and striking. With this expression, he looked downright fierce, like someone who could freeze you with a glare.

Chen He had faced many intimidating people before, yet he still felt a bit uneasy now.

"It'll only take a moment, I promise," Chen He insisted.

An Cheng was curious to see what Chen He had to say. "Alright."

The two walked to the stairwell, where An Cheng leaned casually against the handrail, his shoulders slightly hunched.

The light in the stairwell was dim, and the noise from outside the dorm was distant, making it a good spot for a private conversation.

"What do you want to say?" An Cheng asked.

Chen He wasn’t one to beat around the bush. "An Cheng, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about me?"

"No," An Cheng denied flatly.

It wasn’t a misunderstanding—his bad impression of Chen He was because Chen He was genuinely annoying.

"If there's something about me that you don't like, just tell me. I'll consider changing. We're roommates, after all. We'll be living together for the next four years."

An Cheng was silent for a moment before replying, "Sorry, I’m straight."

Chen He: ...

"You could tell?"

In this circle, there’s often a certain signal that those in the know can pick up on. But Chen He hadn’t sensed anything from An Cheng—in fact, An Cheng seemed very straight. How could a straight guy, who typically wouldn't think twice about these things, figure out that Chen He was gay?

An Cheng didn’t respond, and the stairwell fell silent again.

Chen He hadn’t really come to resolve any misunderstandings or make friends.

"Since you’ve figured it out, then you should also know that I'm interested in Bai Qing. Could you keep your distance from him? Otherwise, I..."

An Cheng cut him off, amused by the remark. He almost broke character and revealed his true nature.

"You’re already trying to control him before you’re even dating?"

Chen He quickly denied it. "Of course not, but if you two are always together, I won’t have any chances to pursue him."

"That's your problem."

Chen He sighed. "Then I have just one request. Could we switch beds? That way, it'll be easier to discuss things in the future."

An Cheng’s bed was right next to Bai Qing’s. If Chen He moved there, who knows what he might do, something that would likely destroy all sense of decency.

An Cheng silently reminded himself not to hit anyone, keeping a cold expression as he prepared to refuse.

Suddenly, a phone rang.

Chen He had been holding his phone the whole time. When the ringtone went off, he instinctively flipped it over to check the screen. Upon seeing the caller ID, his expression changed.

"Sorry, I need to take this call."

Without waiting for An Cheng’s response, he covered the phone with his hand and walked up the stairs, lowering his voice as he answered.

An Cheng had also seen the name on the screen. He chuckled coldly and patiently waited for Chen He to return.

Chen He didn’t keep An Cheng waiting long. After about a minute, he hurried back down the stairs. "So, what do you think of my proposal?"

An Cheng left him with just one sentence before walking away.

"Tao Tao—is that your girlfriend or boyfriend?"

After An Cheng left, Chen He remained where he was, half of his face hidden in the shadows. The darkness concealed the twisted anger on his face.

When An Cheng returned to the dorm, Bai Qing was still in the shower.

An Cheng pulled out a chair and sat down, unlocking his phone. There were several unread messages on WeChat. When he opened them, he saw they were from the original owner’s younger brother.

Brother: How’s university, big bro? Do you miss me?

Brother: Look at this Ultraman I drew!

Brother: [Ultraman.jpg]

Brother: Come back for National Day, okay? [crying emoji]

Human children were so adorable. Even someone as cold as An Cheng replied to the messages.

"Nice drawing."

"Yes, I’ll be back."

If he was still worried about Bai Qing by then, he could bring him along. It wasn’t uncommon for classmates to visit each other’s homes during breaks.

After a short while, Bai Qing stepped out of the bathroom, enveloped in steam.

Fresh from the shower, his skin looked dazzlingly pale, and the warmth had flushed his delicate face with a soft red hue.

His legs, slender yet muscular beneath his shorts, displayed a perfect balance of lean muscle and smooth lines.

Even An Cheng couldn’t help but glance up from his phone to steal an extra look at Bai Qing.

No wonder he always ended up being the main protagonist in steamy novels. His looks were truly enchanting.

Just then, Chen He walked in and, upon seeing Bai Qing, smiled. "All done with your shower?"

Bai Qing nodded. "Yeah."

An Cheng quickly looked away, grabbing his change of clothes and heading to the bathroom.

The next morning, at a time when even dogs weren't awake and birds hadn’t started chirping, the blaring sound of the "March of the People’s Liberation Army" suddenly erupted from loudspeakers all over the campus.

An Cheng instinctively frowned, his hand fumbling across the bed in search of his phone. Unable to find it and check the time, he lay there, torn between getting up or staying in bed.

He was in agony. Before his death, he had endured military training once, and since then, in ten different worlds, he had participated in military training again and again.

Military training—a torment he had undergone more than ten times. And now he had to go through it once more.

Even half-asleep, his brow was furrowed tightly in frustration.

A light laugh suddenly floated down from above him, a clear voice coming from nearby.

"Brother Cheng is having a nightmare, his face is all scrunched up like a steamed bun."

Alarms went off in his mind—his character setting was at risk of being out of character! The cool guy couldn’t allow his face to be compared to a steamed bun!

An Cheng snapped awake, locking eyes with Bai Qing, who was leaning over him with a smile. Maintaining his composed demeanor, An Cheng greeted him in a low, magnetic voice, "Good morning."

Bai Qing suddenly burst into laughter but quickly covered his mouth to avoid waking their other two roommates. He laughed so hard his stomach hurt.

It seemed he had discovered a side of Brother Cheng that wasn’t so well known.

An Cheng: ...

"System, my character setting is still intact, right?"

The system wiped its brow. "If the host pays more attention going forward, it can still be maintained."

Thus, An Cheng got out of bed with an air of aloofness, maintaining his cool-guy persona all the way to the bathroom and then onto the training field.

This time, Chen He wasn’t with them. He had left early, so instead, Wang Qimeng accompanied them.

Wang Qimeng sensed that An Cheng was in a bad mood today and didn’t dare say much. The walk to the field was rather quiet.

All four roommates were in the same formation.

Since there weren’t many male students in the finance department, the school conveniently separated the boys into their own formations during military training.

This meant that An Cheng's entire formation consisted of boys, which wasn’t ideal for him. He had to constantly keep an eye on Bai Qing with his eagle-like gaze, watching for anyone who displayed any worldly desires toward him.

The instructor assigned to their group arrived late, walking briskly to the front of the formation and ordering everyone to line up by height.

The boys, too proud to admit they were short, all tried to stand further back, but their actual height betrayed them, and the instructor pulled them to the front.

Already in a bad mood from being assigned to the male group, the instructor was further irritated by the boys' thick-skinned attempts to stand at the back.

He grabbed Chen He by the collar and pulled him forward.

"Stand in the front. You’re not even 180 cm tall, what are you doing standing in the back row?"

A wave of laughter rippled through the formation, and Chen He’s face flushed with anger, nearly losing his usual smile.

An Cheng had been internally laughing as well, but in the next moment, the instructor turned to Bai Qing and grinned. "You look good, kid, and you’re tall too. You’ll be the face of our formation."

An Cheng was no longer laughing.

The plot of the novel flashed through his mind.

In the story, the instructor developed an immediate interest in Bai Qing, but couldn’t find an opportunity during the training period. Fortunately for him, the rules about adding male students as friends weren’t strictly enforced, so he managed to add Bai Qing on social media under some pretense.

About a semester after the military training, he asked Bai Qing out and, with the help of his friends in the team, became yet another one of the countless men who pursued the original novel's protagonist.

The instructor looked at Bai Qing, very satisfied with what he saw.

Before, his vision had been limited. Turns out, boys weren’t off the table either.

An Cheng observed the instructor—a man standing at 175 cm with awkward proportions, a rough square face, and skin so sallow it looked like it had been coated in a layer of plaster.

Standing next to Bai Qing, the contrast was striking.

An Cheng sneered inwardly. What a shameless toad trying to get its hands on a swan.

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