TT 1. My Name Is Chen Ting

On an autumn evening, the setting sun traced the shapes of the old green trees, each stroke like ink on rice paper.

It was the end of the school day. Students came and went, breaking the quiet of N University’s campus. The basketball court beside the tree-lined avenue had long since been claimed by eager players, and not even the scent of dinner wafting from the cafeteria could lure them away.

Above the noise, warm and gentle piano music flowed softly through the campus speakers. Perhaps this was the final touch of dignity left in this century-old school.

Along a small path far from the basketball court, the noise faded into the distance. Only the sound of the piano remained. A tall, striking young man stood behind a large plane tree. He looked tenderly at the girl across from him and said, “I like you, Su Luo.”

It was the kind of moment that could have come straight out of a romance drama. A man happened to be sitting just behind the tree, reading while waiting for someone. He could not help but smile.

He had sat there by chance. A row of tall shrubs separated his bench from the tree, and the two sides faced away from each other. They were also on different paths, so neither party could see the other. Still, once he heard their voices, he immediately recognized them. One was Zhou Cheng, the campus heartthrob. The other was Su Luo, the campus beauty.

The heartthrob and the beauty. A picture-perfect match.

But Su Luo did not follow the script. She gave him a classic rejection.

Zhou Cheng was caught off guard. “Why? Do you like someone else?”

Su Luo shook her head, then hesitated as if unsure.

Zhou Cheng took her silence as a sign and clenched his hands slightly. His expression showed unwillingness as he pressed on. “Who is it?”

Su Luo said, “I can’t tell you.”

What had begun as a sweet campus love story had now taken a turn for the worse. The man behind the tree found it a bit disappointing. He picked up his thermos and his book, planning to leave quietly. As juicy as gossip was, eavesdropping still felt wrong. Even if it had been unintentional.

But the next second, he heard something completely unexpected.

“I like Chen Ting from the English department.”

The book in his hands slipped and hit the ground with a loud smack, giving him away instantly.

“Who?” Zhou Cheng pushed aside the shrubbery and looked over. His expression froze, caught between anger and humiliation. His eyes landed on the man behind the tree. Across from him, Su Luo’s surprise slowly gave way to disbelief, and then to something plainly awkward.

In just a few seconds, the man understood everything.

“Who are you? Why are you here?” Zhou Cheng demanded. Su Luo tried to stop him from asking, but she failed.

“I… my name is Chen Ting,” the man replied.

As soon as the words left his mouth, an autumn breeze swept through. The warm piano music on the speaker abruptly shifted into Symphony of Fate. The chords struck hard and thunderous, echoing like a blow to the chest.

Chen Ting. Male. Sophomore in the English Department at N University. Twenty years old and single since birth. Certified golden-class bachelor. As for everything that had just happened, he had only one thought. This was outrageous.

Su Luo clearly did not know him. She had probably only heard his name once and decided to use it as a shield. The only small comfort was that Zhou Cheng was not stupid. He quickly pieced things together based on their reactions and figured out the truth.

In short, this situation had absolutely nothing to do with Chen Ting.

He assumed that as long as he kept quiet, neither Zhou Cheng nor Su Luo would talk about such an embarrassing scene. But by the next day, word had already spread. The story of how Su Luo rejected Zhou Cheng because she liked Chen Ting had taken on a life of its own.

It was Saturday. Chen Ting was holed up in the dormitory and had not gone out. Before noon, his roommate Yang Shulin burst in like a storm, hugging his laptop as he rushed inside.

“Ting Ting! Ting Ting!”

Chen Ting was in the middle of a game when Yang Shulin burst in. The sudden shout startled him. His hand slipped, and Bayek, the hardened warrior, fell from the tower and hit the ground in a burst of blood. Chen Ting turned around and looked at the sweat-soaked Yang Shulin.

“Ting Ting is dead.”

“Oh, forget your game for a second. The whole school is talking about how Su Luo confessed to you. How are you still so calm? Don’t tell me you actually don’t know.”

“She confessed to me?”

“Yes!”

Yang Shulin saw that Chen Ting still had no idea what was going on, so he opened his laptop and pulled up the campus forum. Chen Ting leaned over for a look. The screen was covered in red-highlighted threads, and nearly all of them had his name in the title. Out of ten posts, nine were about him.

Yang Shulin saw that Chen Ting still had no idea what was going on, so he opened his laptop and pulled up the campus forum. Chen Ting leaned over for a look. The page was flooded with red-highlighted threads, and nine out of ten had his name in the title.

At the very top was a headline that stood out for how ridiculous it sounded.

Breaking news. The campus beauty turned down the devastatingly handsome Zhou Cheng from the Business School for him. Everyone is losing their minds.

He clicked into the post. The comments had already exploded, packed with opinions from every department on campus.

Wu Yulun
Is the goddess blind? Why didn’t she just pick me?

A Lian Baijiang
Who even is Chen Ting?

Ahhhhh
He’s the pride of the English department.

My Big Aunt’s Baby
Chen Ting has a cute face, but compared to Zhou Cheng? Not even close. And he and Su Luo do not match at all.

Fruit Brain Freak
Zhou Cheng thinks he has a shot with our goddess? What a pretty boy.

Paradise
No. Chen Ting is the pretty boy.

An Sai Donghu
Zhou Cheng is done for. Pei Yiyao is the real king now.

Zhe Tang Tie
Chen Ting with the goddess? That just does not work.

Triangle Hairtail
Chen Ting cannot hold a candle to Zhou Cheng. If Su Luo was not going to pick him, she should have gone for me.

DDW
What is wrong with our Ting Ting? He is flawless.

xxNet
Exactly. We all kept our hands off out of respect. Who even is Su Luo? If you have no proof, shut up.

Silly Silly
Chen Ting? No way. You are telling me it is that guy from the English department? He and Su Luo make no sense. She is taller than him in heels.

Chen Ting stared at the screen in silence for a long time. Yang Shulin could not hold back anymore.

“What actually happened? Did Su Luo really confess to you?”

“No.” Chen Ting gave him a rough summary of what had happened the day before. He had not intended to talk about someone else’s private matters, but now that it was already all over campus, there was no point in keeping quiet.

Yang Shulin was furious. “Who started the rumor? I swear I’m going to smash his stupid face in.”

Chen Ting spread his hands. “Maybe there was a fourth person listening. Maybe Su Luo or Zhou Cheng let it slip. Either way, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter? How can you be so calm? Even the Buddha was never this unbothered.”

“No matter what I say right now, it’s just going to make things worse.”

Yang Shulin thought it over. That actually made sense. At this point, anything Chen Ting said would only add fuel to the fire. Zhou Cheng, who had just been rejected, might still win a bit of sympathy. But Chen Ting? Not a chance.

Chen Ting added, “Actually, I do have a great solution. If I say it out loud, no one will question whether I have anything going on with Su Luo.”

Yang Shulin perked up. “What is it?”

“Come out.”

“…”

“I was kidding.”

“Screw you, man!”

Yang Shulin truly had a love-hate relationship with Chen Ting’s deadpan humor. And in the few seconds it took for their exchange, Chen Ting had already pushed aside Yang Shulin’s laptop and pulled his own back in front of him. His character had respawned and was climbing back up the tower.

But deep down, Chen Ting felt anything but calm.

It was not the leaking of the gossip that got to Chen Ting. What truly wrecked him inside was how everyone had reacted. It felt like a category ten typhoon sweeping through an open field. Nothing was left standing, and in the aftermath, all that remained was overwhelming despair.

This is the thing about growing up. The older you get, the more you have to accept that some things in life simply cannot be changed. You have to face it.

For example, people say boys keep growing even in college. That is a lie. Chen Ting had been 173 centimeters in his freshman year. He was still 173 now.

And even that number was deceptive. Chen Ting had a baby face with a bit of natural chubbiness, and his hair was a soft ash-brown with a natural wave. All of it worked together to visually shave off at least three centimeters. Then, whenever he stood next to girls who always looked taller, he lost another two.

So even though he had outshone every other guy in the English department with looks alone, he still had not become the department heartthrob. The girls gave him a different title instead. They called him the department treasure.

Other guys in the department got cool nicknames like “Brother X” or “X-dog.” He was just “Ting Ting.”

Fake. All of it was fake.

This whole life was a farce.

If he was not going to transcend right then and become a living Buddha, then he might as well blow himself up and ascend on the spot.

Chen Ting let out a long breath and steered his game character toward the sea. Peaceful waves. A wide blue sky. The kind of fake serenity people liked to talk about. Then the character leapt off the cliff and dove straight into the water with a splash. Perfect.

Yang Shulin had been standing behind him the whole time. Sometimes, he truly believed that his roommate’s inner world was a complete mystery.

Just then, footsteps echoed from outside.

Chen Ting lived in Building 4, a mixed dorm shared by students from different departments. He and Yang Shulin were in the same class, but their English major cohort was almost entirely female. The entire class had only three male students. One of them shared a room with someone from the neighboring class, and their two other roommates were both from the physics department.

Yang Shulin often joked that their dorm had mastered both the arts and sciences, and could sweep the floor with any other building on campus.

The footsteps sounded familiar. Chen Ting guessed that their other two roommates were back. He quickly shut his laptop and grabbed his jacket. Patting Yang Shulin on the shoulder, he said, “I told you yesterday I’ve got something to do this afternoon. I might be back late. If anyone asks about me and Su Luo, help me hold them off.”

And just like that, Chen Ting was gone like the wind. His legs were short, but he could really run.

Yang Shulin called after him. “You forgot your wallet.”

Chen Ting called back, “I’ve got Alipay.”

Yang Shulin shouted, “There are coins in that wallet. The ticket machine won’t take mobile payment!”

Yang Shulin ran after him while shouting, but by then, Chen Ting was already downstairs. So he gave the wallet a good throw. It arced cleanly through the air and flew toward Chen Ting.

Chen Ting picked up speed, timed his leap perfectly, and caught the wallet mid-air. He looked up and raised the wallet in his hand.

“Thanks!”

Yang Shulin stared at that baby face, red from the run, framed by soft, tousled curls in the sunlight. That fluffy ash-brown hair made him look like he had just walked out of a manga. In that moment, the fatherly part of Yang Shulin’s heart swelled to the brim.

Ah, this curly little cabbage. Who knew when he would finally be picked by a pig, or wait, was he the one who was going to pick the pig?

No, that still didn’t sound quite right.

While Yang Shulin stood there confused by his own logic, Chen Ting had already raced out of N University and hopped on the subway toward the city center. University towns were always some distance from downtown, so by the time he picked up what he needed and came back out, it was already past one in the afternoon.

That timing worked out just fine. Chen Ting grabbed a quick bite from a nearby food stall, then made his way to the address his mom had given him. His mother had an old friend in N City named Ruan Xin. In previous years, she had been living abroad, so they never had the chance to meet. She had finally returned recently.

Ruan Xin had just returned to China and was still getting everything in order, while Chen Ting’s family had also been busy. That was why the two of them had not been able to meet until now.

It was now October, the perfect season for harvesting crabs. Chen Ting’s family lived by Yangcheng Lake, and Chinese mitten crabs were their specialty. His mother had asked Uncle Chen, who ran a crab shop next door, to bring along a box of them while making deliveries, so she could send a taste of home to an old friend.

Back when he was home, Chen Ting often helped his mother with deliveries and early morning market runs, so this felt normal to him. Still, he had never met this Aunt Ruan before, or at least, not since he could remember. Naturally, he was a little curious, and a little nervous.

The address his mother gave him was located in an area that clearly was not cheap. It was the kind of place where people were either rich or very rich.

An hour and a half later, Chen Ting stood in front of the Banshan Villa entrance, holding a box of crabs bubbling away in their container. He felt like a food delivery guy, and all he was missing was the electric scooter.

Before he could even press the doorbell, the front gate opened from the inside. A radiant face appeared before his eyes, paired with a gentle, warm voice.

“You must be Ting Ting. Come in, come in.”

“Hello, Aunt Ruan.” Chen Ting greeted her politely.

Ruan Xin seemed to truly see him as a little boy. She kept calling him Ting Ting this and Ting Ting that. Even after they had both sat down in the living room, the smile on her lips never faded.

“She should have called me earlier. I would’ve gone to the university to pick you up. N University isn’t exactly close to here, and you’re carrying something so heavy. You must be exhausted.”

Ruan Xin was just as Chen Ting’s mother had described her. Bright but not overpowering, warm and gracious. The way she looked at him was especially gentle.

Before he knew it, the table in front of him was covered with snacks and fresh juice. Ruan Xin moved like a magician, opening hidden drawers from every corner of the coffee table and pulling out one treat after another.

“Come on, have some. I’ve been saving these. Good thing your uncle isn’t home today, or he would have confiscated all of it,” she said, half grumbling, half laughing.

Chen Ting picked up a piece of chocolate and started nibbling. As he chewed, his gaze drifted toward a family photo not far away. Something about the person in the photo looked strangely familiar.

“By the way, did your mother mention that my son is also studying at N University. He’s a freshman this year, one year below you.”

“A freshman?” Chen Ting raised his eyebrows slightly.

“Yes, his name is Pei Yiyao. He’s in the physics department. If I’d known you were coming, I would have asked him to bring you home. I don’t know what’s going on with that boy. He always has a serious face, all cold and stiff. I wonder if he’s making any friends at all. But knowing that you’re there too makes me feel a lot better…”

When it comes to mothers talking about their sons, the complaints are endless.

Chen Ting listened while instinctively glancing back at the photo. No wonder it looked familiar. The name Pei Yiyao also rang a bell, but he still could not recall exactly where he had heard it before.

Just then, a small shadow leapt onto the coffee table. Before Chen Ting could react, the glass of juice tipped over and spilled onto his clothes in a cold, sticky mess.

“Beef Noodle!” Ruan Xin cried out and rushed to grab the culprit. It was a corgi, short-legged just like Chen Ting. To make it up onto the coffee table, it must have used every ounce of strength it had.

Chen Ting quickly stood up to keep the juice from soaking into the couch.

Ruan Xin’s face had gone red with frustration. She jabbed the dog’s head a few times with her finger, then hurriedly brought Chen Ting upstairs to change. “You’re soaked. You have to change quickly. My son’s clothes should fit you. I’ll go find something.”

Once they were in the room, Ruan Xin glanced toward the bathroom and told him to take a hot shower while he was at it.

Chen Ting started to say that wiping off was enough, but the apologetic look in her eyes left him with no choice but to agree.

“Aunt Ruan, I can handle the hot water myself,” he said as gently as he could. After a bit of coaxing, she finally left the room. Chen Ting grab the change of clothes and head into the bathroom. The juice had made everything sticky. It really was uncomfortable.

After showering, he reached for the T-shirt she had left out and pulled it over his head. That was when things started to feel off.

Ruan Xin had said her son was a year younger. Was that really true?

This shirt was a full size larger than his. It fell all the way to the tops of his thighs.

Then there was the underwear. Ruan Xin had thoughtfully provided a brand-new pair, but even so…

Chen Ting would never admit he was the smaller one, not even to himself. He picked up the gym shorts, which were far too loose, and frowned. His own pants were soaked and out of the question. But this pair barely clung to his hips. Was it really going to stay on?

If only it had a drawstring…

That was all he could think as he stepped out of the bathroom with the shorts in hand.

He wanted to find a better-fitting pair, but it felt wrong to go digging through someone else’s wardrobe. Should he go back and ask Aunt Ruan?

Click.

The door opened.

Chen Ting jumped in shock and stood frozen. For a moment, he genuinely thought Aunt Ruan had come in. His body tensed from head to toe, and his mind went completely blank.

Then a face came into view. It was unfamiliar, but vaguely familiar too. The young man frowned slightly, his expression cool and distant. His voice was low, almost wintry.

“You are…”

“I’m Chen Ting. You can call me Ting Ting.”

Chen Ting blurted it.out before he could think. Then, he remembered he was wearing someone else’s clothes, and worse, he had not even put on any pants.

And the person standing in front of him was almost certainly the owner of those clothes.