Chapter 114

On the first day of school, the Weibo pages for the Mathematical Sciences Department and the Computer Science and Technology Department exploded.

[Ahhh! I was at the new student reception today and saw two super handsome guys in the Mathematical Sciences Department and the Computer Science and Technology Department!]

[Oh my god, they’re so handsome! Do they have partners?]

[Protect the girls in our major! They look like total playboys! Look at those eyes, they could steal your soul!]

[I think it’s you who’s about to be bent straight. Could a real playboy even get close to our school?]

[They’re seriously so handsome! Are they sure they didn’t come to the wrong place?! Is this a level of attractiveness the Mathematical Sciences Department and the Computer Science and Technology Department are allowed to have?!]

There were no classes for the first two days of school. The freshmen shuttled between various department meetings. Good-looking people drew attention wherever they went. Even before anyone had learned all their names or felt bold enough to strike up a conversation, everyone had already memorized their… faces. The two seemed to have a particularly good relationship, apparently having graduated from the same high school. They were always together on campus, coming and going as a pair when they didn’t have meetings. After a tour around the school, they appeared in succession that night on the school’s confession wall, handsome guys wall, looking-for-someone wall, and campus heartthrob wall.

Seeing the handsome guys from their own departments suddenly being targeted by girls from the entire university, the few girls in the two departments felt a wave of panic.

We don’t even know their names yet!

How can we let girls from other departments make the first move?

Thus, the girls from the two departments, along with their upperclassmen, reached a consensus. Regardless of the future, they had to get their hands on whatever information they could right now!

But asking for personal information directly seemed too forward and possibly rude. So, they put their heads together—

The two handsome guys are so close, they must know about each other! A guy will say more about his brother than about himself!

During a meeting, Jiang Zhihuo had taken a seat in the middle and was playing on his phone, chatting idly with Yan-ge.

A few girls sat down next to him. Jiang Zhihuo proactively scooted over, giving them the spot with a better view.

The upperclassmen hesitated for a moment before patting Jiang Zhihuo’s shoulder and making small talk. “Hey, classmate, meetings are pretty boring, right? We should be mostly done after the freshman assembly this afternoon.”

Jiang Zhihuo smiled, the corner of his brow lifting slightly. “Yeah, these past two days have been nothing but being herded around. I haven’t even learned everyone’s names yet.”

The upperclassmen’s hearts fluttered at his smile. After more than a decade of burying their heads in books, they had never seen such a good-looking guy!

They continued to chat idly with Jiang Zhihuo, casually trying to pry out his personal information. When they heard his name, one of the girls thought for a moment but couldn’t place it, only saying, “Your name sounds a little familiar?”

“Does it?”

The conversation was going smoothly, so the upperclassmen subtly shifted the topic from Jiang Zhihuo to Yan Mu.

Who would have thought that Jiang Zhihuo, who had been an open book about himself, would stubbornly refuse to reveal any more information about Yan Mu? 

“Don’t ask anymore. I’m not going to say.”

That wouldn’t do. They had promised the girls from the Mathematical Sciences Department they would exchange information.

When hinting didn’t work, the upperclassmen asked bluntly, “We just want to know, does that guy from the Mathematical Sciences Department have a partner?”

Jiang Zhihuo: “He does.”

?!

He has a partner?!

The upperclassmen clutched their chests.

If he has a girlfriend, then even crushing on him wouldn’t be proper!

“Can you tell us who it is? Is she pretty?” they asked, heartbroken.

Jiang Zhihuo: “It’s me.”

The upperclassmen: “???”

That one sentence left them completely dumbfounded. When they met up with the others later, they saw the same bewildered expression in their eyes.

“Jiang Zhihuo has a partner!”

“Yan Mu has a partner!”

“It’s Yan Mu!”

“It’s Jiang Zhihuo!”

Everyone: “…”

And so, the news that the two handsome guys were actually a couple exploded on their respective department Weibo pages once again.

School had only been in session for a few days, and they had already caused two explosions. Weibo and the various campus walls were all about them. Some people were annoyed. After all, they were all top students who had tested into B University, used to being admired and worshipped as exam gods in their own high schools. They had arrived with high expectations, only to find themselves ignored while two ridiculously good-looking guys stole all the limelight.

[What’s the deal? Are they here for study or to debut as celebrities?]

[How did they even get into B University?]

[I heard they don’t even live in the dorms, right? Who knows what they’re going out to do at night?]

[And they’re gay, seriously…? Isn’t their lifestyle a bit of a mess?]

Of course, the people saying these things were either using alt accounts or were anonymous. Few dared to actually start a fight in person.

But no sooner had their words been spoken, before the girls could even launch their protective counterattack, they were slapped in the face that very afternoon.

At the freshman assembly that afternoon, Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu were the invited freshman representatives for their respective departments!

One was the provincial top scorer in the college entrance exam, with a near-perfect score. The other was the national competition champion, directly admitted into B University’s Mathematical Department.

The girls from the Computer Sciences and Technology Department finally understood why Jiang Zhihuo’s name had sounded familiar.

Wasn’t he that ‘most handsome top scorer’? The super handsome guy who had been trending for two hours!

From the first day of their freshman year, Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu never had a quiet moment. Their names were constantly on everyone’s lips.

Jiang Zhihuo led the university team to win the gold medal at the ACM, the International Collegiate Programming Contest. That same year, Yan Mu took part in the IMC, the International Mathematics Competition, and he also won a gold medal. With two major international competitions as their starting point, the years that followed felt almost unreal. They joined projects, entered competitions, published papers, and kept collecting achievements one after another. By their junior year, professors from their respective schools had already set aside graduate admission places for them. Yan Mu accepted. His personality suited continuing down the academic path. Jiang Zhihuo, however, chose to decline guaranteed admission. Once one of his projects began to show results, he left the university and went straight into building his own company.

At the time, most people in the department were not optimistic.

In truth, computer science majors weren’t well-suited for entrepreneurship right out of school. First, they lacked experience, so their vision inevitably fell short of industry veterans. Second, the relevant industries were fiercely competitive. Without enough money, it didn’t matter how smart you were. Who would blindly invest so much money in a student who hadn’t even graduated from university, with no telling which direction his future would go?

In short: not enough money, not enough foresight. How could it possibly have long-term prospects?

He would have been better off joining a major company right after graduation. The prestige of a top university and his achievements during his college years were enough to give him a much higher starting point than others.

But just as the doubts were voiced, they were slapped in the face once again.

The group that said he didn’t have enough money watched, wide-eyed, as the Qin Group invested a huge sum. At the same time, the Bai Group, an industry newcomer from a few years prior that had been restructured after its former chairman was investigated, also provided a large-scale investment.

The people who had claimed the team had no top-tier figure and lacked long-term vision were left stunned again when they saw another genius from the industry in recent years. Li Muhe, a newly rising big name, announced that he was joining the company.

And the group that said it wouldn’t last and he’d be better off working for a big company watched step-by-step as Jiang Zhihuo’s small company grew, developed new research, opened up new markets, and, a few years later, became a pioneering force in the domestic AI industry, mastering core technologies and capturing a majority of the market share.

During university, Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu contacted the classmate recommended by the doctor back then. They used a fusion therapy based on their pheromone genes, and Yan Mu’s symptoms improved significantly. Except for special circumstances, the symptom of being unable to be touched by others never occurred again.

University life seemed to pass even faster than high school. It was too busy and too fulfilling. There were countless choices and new things to see. In the dazzling array of possibilities, they searched for their path forward, with no time for anyone to linger in one place for long.

When it came to graduation, Jiang Zhihuo never really felt it.

After completing his required credits, he rarely returned to campus. Even when he did, he would either hole up in the computer lab or consult with his advisor. The graduation project, the thesis defense, the graduation photos—none of it stirred much emotion in him.

Until one night, he clicked on the graduate registration form sent to the class group chat.

He entered his personal information, his awards, and then his academic history.

Six years of elementary school, three years of middle school, three years of high school, and four years of university. Finally, he typed in the name of his academic advisor.

Only at that moment did his heart suddenly tremble, like the resonant clang of a struck bell echoing in all directions.

His life as a student, it seemed, was truly over.

It seemed… he really didn’t have to go to class anymore…

…

When Yan Mu returned to their apartment, he found the light in the study still on. Jiang Zhihuo was asleep, slumped over the desk, a cup of cold coffee beside him.

Jiang Zhihuo had been pulling all-nighters for a project recently. He was so exhausted that even coffee had next to no effect on him.

Yan Mu carefully carried him back to the bedroom.

In his sleep, Jiang Zhihuo felt someone move him. His muscles first tensed in alert, but then he nuzzled into Yan Mu’s shoulder. His nose twitched, catching the familiar scent of pheromones. He shifted into a more comfortable position and proactively wrapped his arms around Yan Mu’s shoulders.

Yan Mu laid him on the bed. The silk pajamas clung to his body; Jiang Zhihuo had clearly lost weight. Yan Mu sighed softly. His fingertips brushed lightly through Jiang Zhihuo’s hair, his palm then sliding to the side of his face, his thumb caressing his earlobe.

Yan Mu’s movements were gentle. When he came out after a shower, he found that Jiang Zhihuo was already awake. The bedside lamp was on, and under its light, his eyelashes were slightly lowered, his eyes reflecting a field of stars.

“You’ve been coming back so late recently,” Jiang Zhihuo said.

“Sorry.” Carrying the warmth of a fresh shower, Yan Mu kissed his forehead.

Jiang Zhihuo hummed softly, his beautiful eyes fixed on Yan Mu. In the lamplight, his gaze was limpid, the meaning in his eyes completely unconcealed.