Shang Shujue sat on the edge of the bed, holding a book in her hands. Her slender fingertips lingered on the pages, and she hesitated to turn to the next one. It was quiet all around. Song Yanqing had fallen asleep under the influence of the medicine, and his fever had long since subsided.
Shang Shujue's gaze wasn't on the book, but rather on Song Yanqing's fingers gripping his wrist. The fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles, and the fingertips were rosy and full, well-maintained, without a single hairline, though the nails were a bit long.
"Whoosh..."
Shang Shujue closed the book in his hand with a soft swishing sound. After putting the book down, he unconsciously reached out and grasped Song Yanqing's hand, pulling it off his wrist and placing it on his lap. Then he took out his keys from his pocket and removed his nail clippers.
" Song Yanqing, your nails are so long, let me trim them for you. If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."
Shang Shujue muttered these words to himself, but he never expected Song Yanqing to agree. He took Song Yanqing's hand and bent down to trim his nails.
His movements were light and precise, cutting carefully yet precisely. He didn't cut directly along the swim line, but left a small section untouched.
The room was filled with the snip-snip sound of nail clippers cutting nails. Shang Shujue lowered his head, revealing a section of fair and translucent neck skin. The warm yellow light in the room fell on him, giving him a soft glow.
This was the scene that greeted Zhang Zhichen as he pushed open the door. He paused involuntarily for a moment, then composed himself and went inside.
Hearing footsteps, Shang Shujue stopped, looked up and saw Zhang Zhichen. She raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at the clock on the wall.
"It's already 10 PM, Zhang Zhichen, you didn't just finish your work and come back, did you?"
"Yeah, on the way back I saw that barbecue stall that tasted pretty good was open, so I went in and got some food to bring back. Yu Zeqi said you wanted some, do you want some?"
Zhang Zhichen hadn't expected Shang Shujue to even know about her busy schedule, but she quickly realized that the other party had a system, so it was easy for him to find out what he wanted, and it wasn't so strange anymore.
"Okay, but you eat first. I need to finish trimming Song Yanqing's nails before I go over. His nails have grown so long, and he never seems to bother to trim them. It's such a worry for me."
Although Shang Shujue complained, his eyes were filled with undisguised joy and doting affection when he looked at Song Yanqing.
Zhang Zhichen looked away, laid out the barbecue, sat down, and casually steered the conversation, "I heard before that you liked Su Youchuan, but now it's Mr. Song? Have you fallen for someone else?"
Shang Shujue paused in her nail-trimming motion, unconsciously glancing up at Zhang Zhichen before bending down to gather the nail clippings from her leg, throwing them into the trash can. She then grabbed a tissue and continued picking up the nail clippings from her other hand, seemingly unconcerned.
"Who hasn't made a foolish mistake when they were young? I don't like Su Youchuan anymore, but I haven't fallen for someone else either. Song Yanqing and I are just buddies, don't get the wrong idea."
[Oh my god, is Zhang Zhichen jealous? Did she come all the way here in the middle of the night to confront me? Otherwise, why would she suddenly Su Youchuan? And she even accused me of having an affair. Who did I have an affair with? Song Yanqing and I are just buddies!]
Zhang Zhichen's lips twitched. "..."
The early risers, who were about to fall asleep, suddenly sat up abruptly upon hearing Shang Shujue's thoughts, their eyes wide open, as if afraid of missing out on some fresh gossip.
"Huh? What's going on? How could Zhang Zhichen be jealous of Su Youchuan?"
"Am I the only one concerned about whether Brother Jue's thought process and cognition are flawed? He's already been involved with Mr. Song like that, how can he still consider him a good brother?"
"Is it possible that they haven't switched to a straight male mindset yet? Or maybe Brother Jue and Mr. Song haven't officially gotten together yet?"
"Huh? Is that so? Then what have I been shipping these past two days? Industrial saccharin? I don't believe it!"
"I don't believe it either! Brother Jue's eyes were practically drooling when he looked at Mr. Song, he definitely likes Mr. Song! Good thing we're brothers! Anyway, my brothers and I don't kiss!"
"..."
At this moment, everyone, whether they were practicing dance, playing on their phones in the dormitory, or preparing to sleep, excitedly sat up and started discussing Shang Shujue and Song Yanqing.
As for whether Zhang Zhichen is jealous of Su Youchuan, is there even a need to discuss that? Of course not, since Zhang Zhichen and Bai Zhiyi will be a couple in the future.
"Is Zhang Zhichen with Brother Jue Ge right now?"
Bai Zhiyi came out of the room and saw Yu Zeqi and Xu Jiaqiao. He couldn't help but purse his lips, but still asked the question knowing the answer. His mood was a little messy, but he couldn't say why.
"Yes, that should be it. Brother Zhichen probably went straight there as soon as his schedule ended. He probably had something to ask Su Youchuan, which is why he called ahead of time. Don't overthink it."
Xu Jiaqiao could roughly tell what Bai Zhiyi was thinking with her brows furrowed, so he couldn't help but say a few words. After hearing Bai Zhiyi felt a little better, nodded, and didn't blame him.
"I didn't think much of it, but thank you for your concern. I'll go upstairs and check. Le Tianyu and the others should have already gone. Brother Jue was busy before, but now that he's more focused, he's probably free. They're going to say goodbye."
As soon as Bai Zhiyi speaking, he turned and walked towards the elevator. Xu Jiaqiao and Yu Zeqi followed in his footsteps. Yu Zeqi thought of Le Tianyu and the others, and then looked at the time. He couldn't help but worry about their safety.
"I know that, but isn't it a bit unsafe to leave the training camp at this time?"
"They must have told Shang Shujue in advance that they might leave tomorrow morning. After all, leaving now is a bit unsafe."
"Yes, I know."
Xu Jiaqiao gently patted his shoulder, his words carrying a strong sense of reassurance. Yu Zeqi nodded slightly, and the three of them went up the elevator together.
Zhang Zhichen glanced at Song Yanqing on the bed without making a sound, and seeing that he was sleeping soundly, as if he hadn't heard Shang Shujue's thoughts at all, she looked away and changed the subject.
" Le Tianyu and the others originally wanted to say goodbye to you, but you haven't been feeling well these past two days, Mr. Song, who just woke up and took care of you for a day and a night, has fallen ill again, so they haven't left yet. I reckon they'll be coming up to say goodbye to you soon."
Shang Shujue put down her nail clippers, took out a wet wipe and dried Song Yanqing's hands. She was a little surprised when she heard his words, "I thought they had left long ago? Coming to say goodbye at this hour, isn't it unsafe to walk alone at night?"
"I'm not sure, they were probably traveling together."
As soon as Zhang Zhichen finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. The door was pushed open, and Le Tianyu and the other eight people were indeed standing outside. Shang Shujue looked up at them and raised her eyebrows slightly.
"We were just talking about you, and here you are. Come in, all of you. Say what you want to say, but keep your voices down and don't disturb Song Yanqing. He just fell asleep not long ago."
So everyone nodded and tiptoed in. Shang Shujue tucked Song Yanqing's hand under the covers before sitting down on the sofa and drinking a cup of hot water.