Although Cheng Zhen's invitation was sincere, Li Shu firmly declined and headed for the bathroom, carrying his little yellow dog washbasin.
"You play. I'm not into that."
Hot water gushed from the showerhead. Li Shu pumped two squirts of jasmine-scented shampoo onto his head and scrubbed away, working out what he should do next.
He was occupying someone else's place now, and sooner or later he would have to pack up and leave. But while he was living as the original owner, he would inevitably need support from his family. Li Shu felt a little guilty spending money someone else's family had worked so hard to earn.
"System, sophomores can change majors, right? What major did the original owner's eldest brother want him to apply for again?"
[You want to change majors?]
"Yeah, yeah... gurgle, gurgle... pfft..." Li Shu rinsed his mouth and spat out the toothpaste foam.
[Physical education. Li Shu doesn't need to worry about the Li Family. His eldest brother set up a trust fund when Li Shu came of age. Besides the money his eldest brother deposits each year, it also receives company dividends.]
Li Shu dried himself off, his face contorting with envy. "I mean, with a life this good, if he didn't suffer a little for love, I'd honestly tear myself up over it."
[Still, that aside, I support your decision to change majors.]
"Oh, get lost. Like I need your support. I'll do whatever I want."
The system ignored him and continued: [According to the plot hints, Pei Song'an studies economics at university, then goes abroad after graduation to systematically study international relations. The physical education faculty building you've chosen is right next to the economics building, which will make your missions easier.]
[However, to change majors at your university, you need to rank in the top 20% academically and pass CET-4.]
[Can you... manage that?]
Li Shu: "?"
Who are you looking down on?
A mere CET-4 exam. Piece of cake.
Seeing his baseless confidence, the system suddenly posed a question: [The language barrier makes communication difficult.]
"Huh?"
"What's all that gibberish?"
The system gave two stiff laughs. [Nothing. Find some time to study English, Shu.]
That really did shut Li Shu up.
By the time he came out in his floral shorts, he still hadn't figured out what that foreign gibberish meant.
Cheng Zhen was in the middle of an intense 5v5 match. Hearing the bathroom door open, he had no time to look up. Unable to take his eyes off the screen, he gestured with his elbow.
"Did you order takeout? I put it on your desk. Looks like there's soup in there too. Not sure if it spilled. Check it."
Li Shu looked it over from left to right. The notes section on the takeout receipt was empty too.
Great. First, we can rule out me ordering it.
He opened the containers, and a delicious aroma greeted him: lotus-leaf chicken, seasonal vegetables stir-fried with button mushrooms, white rice with each grain distinct, and a bowl of sweet-and-sour hangover soup.
Not bad. This pleases His Majesty greatly.
Whatever.
Time to dig in! Yes!
Li Shu had barely eaten anything at the banquet that evening. Ever since he had transmigrated here, he had been like a drenched, homeless dog. Only now had he finally sorted out the situation, and he was plenty hungry too.
The chicken was tender, the mushrooms refreshing. He paired them with a mouthful of rice and chewed away, taking a sip of soup whenever the food caught in his throat.
He wouldn't trade this heavenly life for anything.
He had just finished eating, patted his belly, and let out a satisfied burp when his phone rang. Looking at "Brother Yannan" on the display, then at the messy takeout containers on his desk, Li Shu suddenly realized something.
Li Shu sighed, pulled on a jacket, and pushed open the balcony door to step outside. The cold wind made him shiver.
Not answering was out of the question, especially after realizing that Chen Yannan had ordered the food.
In fact, Li Shu and Chen Yannan's relationship wasn't strained yet. Searching through the original owner's memories, Li Shu found that he had never verbally confessed his feelings. As an older-brother figure and childhood friend, Chen Yannan was excellent, even more attentive than Li Shu's actual eldest brother.
Put plainly, Chen Yannan knew perfectly well how Li Shu felt about him. He had simply never addressed it.
Perhaps it was that indulgence, that care beyond normal boundaries, that had given Li Shu the illusion that he could cross the line.
The call connected.
"Shu, are you back at your dorm?"
Chen Yannan's voice came through the phone slightly distorted. It was quiet on his end, offering no clue what he was doing.
Li Shu didn't know whether his personality and tone resembled the original owner's, so he stuck to the principle that saying less meant fewer mistakes. "I'm back."
Chen Yannan hummed in acknowledgment. "Have you eaten?"
Li Shu nodded furiously, forgetting that the person on the other end couldn't see him. "I have. Thank you, Brother Yannan."
Chen Yannan caught the distance behind that thanks, his eyelids lowering slightly. He said nothing more about it and changed the subject instead.
"How did your clothes get wet?"
Li Shu picked at the seam of his shorts. "It was an accident."
Chen Yannan sighed, taking those words to mean that Li Shu didn't want to talk about it, and asked instead, "Shu, how did you end up with Pei Song'an tonight?"
After the question, the other end suddenly went silent. Several seconds passed before Li Shu's guilty stammer came through.
"Ah... that... it was just a coincidence..."
Just as Li Shu was thinking about how to bluff his way through, a young man's clear voice suddenly came through from Chen Yannan's end.
"Brother Yannan, the hot-water temperature isn't showing anymore. The water's so hot. Can you help me?"
The voice wasn't loud, but somehow Li Shu heard it with perfect clarity.
"Go take care of that, Brother Yannan. I won't keep you." Without waiting for Chen Yannan to speak, Li Shu hurriedly hung up.
The cold wind lashed his face, chilling and painful. That uncontrollable ache returned, like a sponge lodged in his throat, stuck halfway and tormenting him.
Li Shu himself had no feelings for Chen Yannan, but the original owner's emotions weren't something that could vanish completely in an instant just because he said, "I don't like him anymore."
Cold wind whistled down the collar of his down jacket, making Li Shu shudder. The disjointed emotions instantly fell away.
Li Shu picked up his hot chocolate milk, tipped his head back, and gulped it down, boldly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"That was close. One second later and I'd have slipped into the tragic lover role."
He patted his chest, not knowing who he was talking to. "Don't worry. Daddy's here. I won't let anyone wrong you again!"
Meanwhile, after his shower, Pei Song'an opened the email Zheng Linchuan had sent him. Besides the investigation into Li Shu, it contained a video from that evening's banquet.
The security camera had caught Li Shu and the pretty young man beside Chen Yannan. His name was Xue Chen, and he was the same age as Li Shu. He had transferred to Hong Kong City because of his parents' job transfers and would also be attending A University next semester.
In the footage, Li Shu and Xue Chen had a disagreement and exchanged a few words. Li Shu turned to leave, but seeing no one around, Xue Chen pulled him straight into the pool.
Li Shu seemed quite angry in the pool, but whatever Xue Chen said, the angry puppy immediately wilted. He climbed out himself, shook the water from his head, and left the camera's view.
Pei Song'an tapped his fingertips idly against the desk. He wasn't interested in Li Shu and Xue Chen's conversation, but what puzzled him was that, at least up until that moment, Li Shu's attention should have been on Chen Yannan.
That behavior contradicted what Li Shu had said in the car.
Dreaming that he was in danger? Utterly mystifying.
Perhaps the key lay in the moment he fell into the water. Only Li Shu himself could explain exactly what it was, but Li Shu clearly didn't want to say, or couldn't.
There was nothing else worth examining.
Pei Song'an was about to shut down his computer, but just before he closed the laptop, his fingers paused. Looking at the screen as it lit up again, he sent the video to Chen Yannan.
The puppy had been soaking wet and full of grievances, huddled pitifully in the car, bawling his eyes out. At the thought, Pei Song'an's jaw tightened slightly.
It was a small favor.
This didn't count as meddling.
Before you continue