Chapter Summaries

Xie Zhou and Pei Zhengdu spent time together, and Pei Zhengdu hinted to his teammates that Xie Zhou was his partner. After Xie Zhou transferred to university, gossip that Pei Zhengdu was dating someone left him distressed, and he blurted out that it was impossible.

• Xie Zhou asked Pei Zhengdu whether he was seeing anyone, and Pei Zhengdu said he was not as they parted outside Xie Zhou’s residence.
• Pei Zhengdu gave Xie Zhou’s pastries to his teammates and jokingly called Xie Zhou their brother-in-law, then displayed the souvenirs they had bought together.
• As TCG advanced to the Summer Split semifinals, Pei Zhengdu kept in touch with Xie Zhou between practices.
• Xie Zhou transferred into sophomore year in September and grew closer to his roommate Ji Shan over their shared interest in Pei Zhengdu.
• Ji Shan told Xie Zhou that fans suspected Pei Zhengdu was dating someone because of the ghost charm and aquarium souvenirs he treasured.
• Xie Zhou challenged Ji Shan’s theory, then exclaimed that it was impossible when Ji Shan suggested Pei Zhengdu might have had other partners.

Xie Zhou worried that Pei Zhengdu might be like the unfaithful celebrities Ji Shan described, but Pei Zhengdu reassured him that he valued professional standards and asked him to keep him accountable. After Ji Shan recognized Pei Zhengdu outside Xie Zhou’s dorm, he demanded an introduction, and Xie Zhou refused to share Pei Zhengdu’s private contact details.

• Xie Zhou told Pei Zhengdu about his conversation with Ji Shan, and Pei Zhengdu said fans should not excuse a player's moral failings and invited Xie Zhou to keep him in line.
• Pei Zhengdu walked Xie Zhou back to his dorm, where Ji Shan recognized him and asked for an autograph.
• Pei Zhengdu signed Ji Shan’s notebook but asked him not to reveal the encounter and defended his current TCG teammates.
• Back in the dorm, Ji Shan questioned Xie Zhou about Pei Zhengdu, and Xie Zhou objected when Ji Shan accused him of being selfish.
• Ji Shan asked Xie Zhou to introduce him to Pei Zhengdu on WeChat, but Xie Zhou firmly refused, prompting Ji Shan to accuse him of not being a friend.

After Xie Zhou clashed with Ji Shan over introducing him to Pei Zhengdu, he began avoiding attention by moving off campus while Pei Zhengdu kept visiting him. After TCG won the Summer Split, Xie Zhou brought pastries to the club and discovered Pei Zhengdu had told his teammates to meet his partner without explaining that Xie Zhou was a man.

• Ji Shan argued with Xie Zhou for refusing to introduce him to Pei Zhengdu, and Xie Zhou later told Pei Zhengdu what had happened.
• Pei Zhengdu reassured Xie Zhou that he could tell him what to do, while Xie Zhou left unasked whether he could influence Pei Zhengdu's love life.
• After Ji Shan spread word that Xie Zhou knew Pei Zhengdu, Xie Zhou moved into an apartment to avoid questions, and Pei Zhengdu began escorting him home.
• TCG won the Summer Split championship, and Xie Zhou brought homemade pastries to the club to congratulate Pei Zhengdu.
• Qiao Yue and A Luo mistook Xie Zhou's visit for another player's partner's arrival until Pei Zhengdu clarified that Xie Zhou was the partner they were there to meet.

Xie Zhou visited Pei Zhengdu’s esports club, where the teammates welcomed him after learning he was Pei Zhengdu’s boyfriend. As old memories stirred while Xie Zhou watched Pei Zhengdu play, the visit ended with A Luo suggesting they share Pei Zhengdu’s bed.

• Qiao Yue welcomed Xie Zhou to the club, and Xie Zhou gave pastries to Qiao Yue and A Luo.
• Pei Zhengdu returned with the players, coach, and manager, who learned that Xie Zhou was his boyfriend and awkwardly welcomed him.
• Xie Zhou stayed for lunch and watched Pei Zhengdu play, remembering the close afternoons they had shared as students.
• Pei Zhengdu offered Xie Zhou his room for a nap, and Xie Zhou asked where Pei Zhengdu would sleep.
• A Luo suggested that Xie Zhou and Pei Zhengdu could sleep together.

Xie Zhou spent the day with Pei Zhengdu and his teammates, learning how Pei Zhengdu had supported TCG through its lowest point. After dinner and karaoke, a tipsy Xie Zhou leaned on Pei Zhengdu and relied on him to get home.

• Pei Zhengdu tucked the sleepy Xie Zhou into bed, and Xie Zhou fell asleep while holding his hand.
• When Xie Zhou woke, Pei Zhengdu fetched him water after Xie Zhou realized he had been holding his numb hand.
• At dinner, A Luo and the teammates recalled TCG’s failures and praised Pei Zhengdu for refusing to give up on them.
• A Luo welcomed Xie Zhou into the team family, and Xie Zhou joined their toast with fruit wine.
• At karaoke, Xie Zhou leaned on Pei Zhengdu and asked for more fruit wine, while Pei Zhengdu gave him mineral water instead.

Pei Zhengdu’s heartfelt karaoke performance and tender care left Xie Zhou confused about his feelings, until Pei Zhengdu confessed that he liked him. Xie Zhou questioned the confession because he remembered Pei Zhengdu saying he did not like guys, prompting Pei Zhengdu to ask when he had said that.

• Pei Zhengdu sang “Can’t Help Falling for You” while looking at Xie Zhou, who wondered whether the song was meant for him.
• Xie Zhou insisted on going home after karaoke, and Pei Zhengdu carried him back to his apartment.
• Xie Zhou cried and complained that Pei Zhengdu would stop treating him well once he got a girlfriend, so Pei Zhengdu assured him there would be no girlfriend and confessed that he liked him.
• Xie Zhou asked when Pei Zhengdu had said he did not like guys, and remembered overhearing Pei Zhengdu reject a male student’s confession at their first meeting.

Pei Zhengdu explained how a childhood encounter and the name “Du Zhou” revealed that he had liked Xie Zhou for years. Xie Zhou happily accepted his feelings, and their memories of a stolen kiss showed how their romance had begun.

• Pei Zhengdu recalled gently rejecting a boy's confession while young Xie Zhou eavesdropped nearby.
• Pei Zhengdu remembered Xie Zhou collecting leaves and regretted that his words had made Xie Zhou afraid to confess.
• Pei Zhengdu told Xie Zhou that “Du Zhou” referred to him and that he had liked him since before they met as adults.
• Xie Zhou cried happily, and he and Pei Zhengdu kissed.
• Pei Zhengdu recalled that young Xie Zhou had stolen a kiss while he pretended to be asleep.