Song Shi'an put on his mask and followed Chi Xun out of the dorm building.
Jingchen University's campus was much larger than he had imagined. Getting from the dorms to the nearest cafeteria meant crossing an entire avenue lined with plane trees. Shared bikes filled the roadside, and students carrying books passed them in twos and threes.
Song Shi'an pulled his mask up a little while Chi Xun chattered beside him as they walked.
"It's seriously weird that I never heard of you at school before." Chi Xun pushed up his glasses and looked him up and down. "In this age where looks are everything, someone like you... ahem, it just doesn't make sense."
"I didn't live on campus before. I was basically only here for classes," Song Shi'an said.
Chi Xun nodded, more or less accepting that explanation.
He glanced toward the cafeteria in the distance, and his expression suddenly changed. Grabbing Song Shi'an by the wrist, he broke into a sprint. "Hurry, hurry! It's almost time for that place's amazing ribs. If we're late, they'll be gone!"
Song Shi'an was dragged along the sidewalk at a run. This guy looked so skinny-how was he this strong?
They charged all the way to the entrance of Cafeteria Six. Song Shi'an braced himself against the doorframe, panting, while Chi Xun had already slipped deftly into the food line.
Cafeteria Six had newer decor than the other cafeterias, with rows of serving windows offering stir-fries, noodles and other flour-based dishes, teppanyaki, malatang-everything.
The sweet-and-sour scent of sweet-and-sour ribs hung in the air.
When their turn came, Chi Xun's sharp eyes and quick hands snatched up the last serving of ribs. Holding his tray, he gave it a smug little waggle at Song Shi'an.
Song Shi'an ordered two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, glancing at the price as he swiped his card.
He stared at the number that popped up on the card reader, tears streaming down his face on the inside.
Two meat dishes and one vegetable dish for ten yuan. He was going to eat cafeteria food for the rest of his life.
They found seats in a corner. Song Shi'an had just taken off his mask and picked up his chopsticks when two girls suddenly appeared beside them.
A girl with a high ponytail nudged another, blushing girl half a step forward. The blushing girl kept her head down, her eyes fixed on the tips of her shoes.
"Hi, would you mind exchanging contact details?" the girl with the high ponytail asked openly.
Song Shi'an set down his chopsticks. "Sure."
The blushing girl visibly froze, probably not expecting it to be that easy.
She fumbled for her phone, her fingers trembling even as she scanned the code. Once she had added him, she murmured a thank-you and was pulled away by the girl with the high ponytail.
As they walked out of the cafeteria, the high-ponytailed girl's lowered voice was still audible. "I told you he'd definitely be even hotter with his mask off!"
Chi Xun poked at the ribs in his bowl, looking at Song Shi'an with an expression that was hard to put into words. "You just give out your contact details that casually?"
Song Shi'an tucked his phone back into his pocket. "What's wrong with that? One more friend, one more road open to you."
The girl playing the prime minister's daughter whom he had added last time had recommended an audition for a new drama to him the very next day. Knowing a few more people could never hurt.
Chi Xun put down his chopsticks. "Do you genuinely not see it, or are you pretending? She was obviously trying to flirt with you."
Song Shi'an's chopsticks stopped in midair as he reached for some food. "Huh? Was she?"
"Giving her your contact details like that is basically hinting that you're okay with her taking things further with you, isn't it?"
Song Shi'an nearly dropped his chopsticks. It meant that too?
"Then I won't add people so casually anymore."
Chi Xun pressed a hand to his forehead. "How have you managed until now? Have you never had these problems growing up?"
Song Shi'an thought about it. In his previous life, he had just been an ordinary person, with ordinary looks and ordinary grades. Nobody would give him a second glance in a crowd. What problems could he possibly have had?
Although the original owner was good-looking, his old hairstyle had bangs so long they poked his eyes. Draped over his face, they had sealed his good looks away completely. Nobody at school had given him a second glance either.
"No. Maybe I was a little different before."
Chi Xun's eyes widened. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "You had plastic surgery! But it doesn't look like it. I can't tell at all."
Song Shi'an put down his chopsticks. "What plastic surgery? I'm a natural beauty."
Chi Xun visibly relaxed and leaned back in his chair. "Good, good. Don't ever touch that face of yours. It's God's most perfect creation. I'll fight anyone who dares mess with it."
Song Shi'an didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You're exaggerating way too much."
Chi Xun sat bolt upright, the look behind his glasses allowing no argument. "Have you never looked in a mirror? You have absolutely no idea how attractive you are. Walking around campus looking like that, the whole university will know you within two weeks."
After returning to the dorm, Song Shi'an dug his bottle of cooling two-in-one shampoo and body wash out of the cabinet and prepared to take a shower.
Jiang Ye happened to pass him, his gaze caught by the bottle of two-in-one. "Shi'an, what's that two-in-one stuff you've got?"
Song Shi'an held the bottle up for him to see with complete confidence. "Simple and convenient. Shampoo and body wash in one. You deserve to have it."
Jiang Ye stared at the bottle of two-in-one for two seconds, his expression bouncing back and forth between "Bro, are you serious?" and "I guess it could work." In the end, all he managed was, "Awesome."
When Song Shi'an came out of the shower, he wore a little white tank top and loose athletic shorts, with a towel draped around his neck. His hair was still wet, and droplets trickled down the back of his neck.
As he walked, he gave his hair a couple of rough rubs with the towel, the contours of his shoulders and arms fully exposed beneath the fluorescent lights.
Chi Xun was sitting in his chair scrolling through his phone. At the sound, he looked up and nearly dropped it on the floor. "Whoa! Shi'an, have you been working out? Those shoulder proportions, that waist-unbelievable!"
Song Shi'an looked down at himself. The original owner's body really did have a good foundation. After delivering takeout for an entire summer and climbing stairs all day, his muscle definition was more pronounced than before.
He draped the towel over the back of his chair. "No workouts. Just delivering takeout."
"Delivering takeout can do that?" Chi Xun looked down at his own flat stomach and sank into thought.
Pei Zhiyan had been reading materials at his desk. At Chi Xun's exclamation, he glanced over out of the corner of his eye.
His gaze lingered on Song Shi'an for less than a second before he withdrew it as though nothing had happened. But his fingers had rested motionless on the keyboard for over ten minutes, and the cursor in the document on his screen was still blinking in the same place.
Jiang Ye came out of the bathroom and glanced at Pei Zhiyan's computer screen as he passed behind him. "Pei, you've been staring at that screen for ages," he said casually. "What are you looking at so intently?"
Pei Zhiyan lifted his hand and moved the mouse, his tone utterly level. "Reading materials."
That evening, Chi Xun was lying in bed doing his usual Weibo browsing. As he scrolled, he suddenly shot upright, nearly tumbling off the top bunk. Holding up his phone, he shouted to the entire dorm, "Xu Che's new drama has a release date!"
Song Shi'an was drying his hair. At that, he looked up. "The one he just filmed?"
Chi Xun nodded furiously, his fingers swiping rapidly across the screen. "Yes, yes, yes! I didn't expect it to be this soon! There's one character I'm really looking forward to. I saw a behind-the-scenes photo on Weibo before-absolutely stunning, with that sense of brokenness dialed all the way up!" He held his phone in front of Song Shi'an, its screen displaying a screenshot of a nine-image grid.
Song Shi'an looked down. Wasn't that the photo of him from Weibo?
Keeping his expression steady, he nodded. "Really nice."
Praising himself felt so strange.
Along with the release date announcement, a promotional video came out that very evening.
The production team had cut a two-minute trailer, with Xu Che's shots taking up more than half of it. The music was grand, the visuals exquisite, and fans shared it like mad the moment it was posted.
The comment section was as lively as New Year's. Fans filled the bullet comments with row after row of Xu Che's name. Some discussed the plot adaptation, others praised the costumes, makeup, and props-there were comments about everything.
Song Shi'an spotted himself flashing past in the trailer: a fraction of a second, a profile shot that flickered behind Xu Che and vanished. The director really had included him in the edit.
He watched that shot twice, then put down his phone, unable to suppress the upward curve of his lips.
Even a fraction of a second was enough to satisfy him.