Chapter 52

Jiang Zhihuo clutched his phone, rolling from the head of the bed to the foot.

The screen was paused on a chat interface.

Yan Mu had just confirmed their meeting place and added, “See you tomorrow, Huo-ge.“

Jiang Zhihuo turned off the screen and rolled back to the head of the bed.

Heehee!

Realizing he had accidentally laughed out loud from excitement, Jiang Zhihuo cleared his throat and forced himself to suppress his smile.

Stay calm.

Don’t act like someone who’s never been in a relationship before.

When one is excited, one should find someone to chat with.

After the sports meet ended, Yan Mu and a few other students who were preparing for an upcoming competition were locked in at school for a meeting. He definitely couldn’t bother him.

Jiang Zhihuo opened Zong Bei’s chat window.

Jiang Zhihuo: Bei Bei.

Jiang Zhihuo: Xiao Bei Bei.

Jiang Zhihuo: Bei Bei Bei.

Jiang Zhihuo: I’m so happy, I really want to talk to someone!

Zong Bei was probably busy with something, so there was no response for a long time.

Jiang Zhihuo then clicked on Li Muhe’s profile picture.

Since their brief contact after the midterm exams, Li-ge had disappeared again, probably called away by his mentor for some project. Most of their projects were under confidentiality agreements, so it was normal to lose contact until they were released.

Jiang Zhihuo sent a few howls into Li-ge’s chat window, knowing Li-ge wouldn’t reply at this time, and then exited.

Just as he was about to make a prank call to Zong Bei, a guy from the relay team sent Jiang Zhihuo a message.

The guy was from Class 2, named Hou Jue, and he was also in the competition class with Yan Mu, still at school.

Hou Jue: Check out this hottie!

Hou Jue: [Image]

Jiang Zhihuo opened the picture.

It was clearly a candid shot, taken at a skewed angle, half obscured by a desk, and the other half showed Yan Mu.

At that moment, he was looking down, focused on writing an exam paper, his left hand’s knuckles bent, pressing down on the corner of the paper.

Jiang Zhihuo: “!”

He zoomed in and out of the photo several times, saved it with a long press, and then replied.

Jiang Zhihuo: Why are you sending me this picture?

Hou Jue: Because he’s handsome! What do you think?

Jiang Zhihuo: Not bad.

As soon as he typed those three words, the girl next to Hou Jue asked, “What’s Huo-ge‘s reaction?”

Hou Jue showed her the chat log. “Here.”

Huo-ge‘s reaction was quite calm; it could be said that there was hardly any reaction at all.

Hou Jue adjusted his glasses. “I told you, Huo-ge and God Yan are pretty close. Even though the forum says he’s pursuing him, it’s really their private business. We should be rational about shipping them. Let’s not do these reaction tests next time.”

“Ugh…” The girl pouted, thinking she had finally stumbled upon some sweet gossip.

The competition class was scheduled for Saturday evening, with only a ten-minute break. The girl returned to her seat and used the last two minutes before class to scroll through her Moments.

As soon as she opened it, a familiar profile picture appeared at the top of the feed.

Jiang Zhihuo: Ahhhh so freaking handsome!!!

The girl had added Jiang Zhihuo, but she was just one of those who liked his posts without much interaction.

Seeing this post, her eyes lit up.

What does ‘so freaking handsome’ mean? What else could it mean?!

She had just asked Hou Jue to send God Yan’s photo and ask, “Do you think he’s handsome?” This post was definitely a response to that question!!

The girl walked over to Hou Jue, shaking his shoulder. “Hou Jue, Hou Jue, check your Moments!”

“What?” Hou Jue opened it as instructed but saw nothing. The most recent post, made two hours ago by a junior school classmate, complained about having to attend extra classes on a Saturday night, describing it as exhausting.

“Pfft!” The girl covered her mouth, laughing.

Hou Jue asked, “What’s so funny?”

The girl showed him Jiang Zhihuo’s post, trying to hold back her laughter: “You’ve been blocked by Huo-ge, hahaha!!”

Hou Jue: “?!”

“Why would he block me?!”

“Probably to save face!”

Pretending not to care on the surface but secretly overjoyed—this was definitely some sweet gossip!

As they spoke, the girl glanced over at Yan Mu.

God Yan, who had been focused on his exam paper, tapped on his phone, his lips curving into a subtle smile.

The girl refreshed her Moments again.

In the list of likes, the God of Learning Yan’s profile picture had appeared!

Ah!

This is candy! Candy¹[T/N: In modern Chinese slang, especially in the context of CP (couple shipping) or romantic moments, 糖 (táng) is a metaphor for “sweet moments” or “sugar”—meaning cute, romantic hints or actions between a ship.]!!!

She took a screenshot and shared it in a group chat named ‘I Only Ship, Don’t Screaming.’

Girl: Ahhhh, sisters!!!

Girl: [Image]

Girl: I stumbled upon some sweet gossip! Suddenly, today’s competition questions don’t seem so hard anymore!!!

Girl: I had a classmate from the competition class take a picture of God Yan and send it to Huo-ge, asking if he was handsome! His reply was so bland, I thought it wasn’t sweet at all, but then Huo-ge posted on Moments and even blocked that classmate!

Morning Meow: Is it this post? I saw it too! I saw it too!!

Morning Meow: Awwww! So that’s the real story!!

Jiang Zhihuo had no idea that a single post on his Moments and a like could be interpreted as sweet gossip, spreading through multiple group chats—from large ones to smaller ones, and then into private messages—stirring up a frenzy of ‘Ahhhh, they must be together!’

All he knew was that Zong Bei hadn’t replied yet, so Jiang Zhihuo decided to call him.

No response to messages for ages, but the phone was picked up immediately.

Zong Bei’s voice sounded especially urgent.

“Hello? Huo-ge? What’s up? I’m in the middle of a competition question. Is it an emergency?”

There were quite a few competitions in the latter half of the semester. Aside from the students chosen by the school to join the competition class, others could also participate. Zong Bei had been working hard to get in. Even if it didn’t lead to a recommendation, it’d still be something he could put on his resume. Right now, he was solving problems in a dedicated app.

“Ah, it’s nothing really; I just wanted someone to talk to,” Jiang Zhihuo said.

He was about to say, “If you’re busy solving problems, I’ll just talk to you later,” but before he could even start, Zong Bei hurriedly said from the other end of the line, “I want to talk to someone too, but I might not have time right now, unless you can tell me how many different 8-digit numbers can be formed by arranging the six numbers 2, 0, 1, 9, 20, and 19 in any order. If you can tell me that, I’ll chat with you right away!”

He had spent over half an hour wrestling with the question, coming up with seven or eight different answers, but every time he entered one, the app said it was wrong.

He was doing challenge mode, where one wrong answer meant he couldn’t move on to the next level. He had checked it over and over countless times but still couldn’t figure out which possibility he’d missed. His brain felt swollen and he was on the verge of exploding with frustration.

Jiang Zhihuo quickly listened to the problem and immediately had an idea. He confirmed the conditions and asked, “Can the first digit be zero?”

Zong Bei: “Nope! Ahhh, I’m seriously going bald! Huo-ge, I have to go. I’ll come back and talk to you once I solve this!!”

And with that, he hung up.

Beep beep—

The busy tone rang in Jiang Zhihuo’s ear.

Jiang Zhihuo: “?”

That problem’s not that hard?

Is it really worth losing your mind over?

Zong Bei tried a different method, but the answer was still marked wrong!!

“Ahhh!!” Zong Bei yanked the hair from the top of his head and roared.

Just then, Jiang Zhihuo sent him a photo. A handwritten solution on a piece of scratch paper.

[Let the entire set be A. In A, the set of arrangements where 2 is followed by 0 and 1 is followed by 9 is denoted as B. The set of arrangements where 2 is followed by 0 but 1 is not followed by 9 is denoted as C…]

[It is simple to see:

|A| = 5 × 5!

|B| = 4!

|B| + |C| = 4 × 4!]

…….

[Each 8-digit number arranged from B corresponds exactly to 2 × 2 = 4 permutations in B…]

A whole series of deductions, assumptions, and logical steps, finally summed up into a formula composed of sets A, B, and C, including their unions and intersections.

The final answer was 498.

Jiang Zhihuo: If you can’t solve it, don’t pull at the hair on top of your head—you’ll end up with early-onset balding.

Zong Bei took a bit of time to understand the logic, then skeptically typed ‘498’ into the answer box.

The screen popped with a little firework, crackling as the next level automatically loaded.

Holy crap! It was actually right!

Zong Bei: !

Can’t let his ‘dumb student’ persona fall apart, so Jiang Zhihuo typed: I asked Yan-ge.

Zong Bei: Yeah, that makes sense. There’s no way someone like you could solve that kind of problem.

Jiang Zhihuo: ?

Having understood the approach, Zong Bei finally stopped overthinking, decided to relax for a bit, and called Jiang Zhihuo back.

“Huo-ge, why did you suddenly want to talk with someone?”

“I’m happy!”

Huo-ge was carefree as always, his mood consistently good. Zong Bei sipped warm water, lazily listening to Huo-ge explain why he was in such a good mood and then suddenly sat bolt upright.

Zong Bei: “What?! You’re going on a date with God Yan tomorrow?!”

Jiang Zhihuo: “?”

A date?

Jiang Zhihuo corrected him. “It’s just hanging out together.”

Zong Bei set his cup aside to avoid spilling water on his tablet if he got too shocked. “God Yan already confessed to you and you’re still ‘hanging out’? Fine, but when did you two get so close?!”

During the sports meet, he and Xie Qiu had been worried the two of them might start fighting, so they insisted on tagging along to dinner.

That night, the two were hit with mental trauma.

The kissing photo on the forum—others couldn’t recognize the appearance, but Xie Qiu, who was always with Yan Mu, immediately recognized him and asked directly in front of them. However, the situation was so chaotic that Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu left without answering.

Later, their attention was completely diverted by He Xiezhou’s slander, and by the time they thought to ask Huo-ge what exactly his relationship with God Yan was, God Yan had already boldly confessed on the forum.

Zong Bei hadn’t had a chance to ask before, but today Jiang Zhihuo delivered himself right into his hands, so of course he had to get answers.

“When did you two get so close? Weren’t you arguing every day a while ago? How did it suddenly go from that to a confession and a freaking date? Huo-ge, I thought you liked girls? Huh? How did you suddenly turn gay?”

Jiang Zhihuo automatically ignored the long string of questions—it would be too complicated to explain. He only answered the first one. “When did our relationship get better? It seemed pretty okay from the beginning?”

This was like saying nothing at all; he didn’t answer anything. The words passed by his ears, looped in his mind, and then suddenly a realization popped into Zong Bei’s head.

The CP girls on the forum had always said that after Huo-ge got drunk, he’d asked Chang Luo and the others—

If you’ve held hands, kissed, and slept in the same bed, can you still be friends?

At the time, everyone was too busy shipping the CP to seriously connect those words to Yan Mu.

Until Jiang Zhihuo said this, Zong Bei’s eyes widened, and he asked, “The person you mentioned before about holding hands, kissing, and still wanting to be friends—wasn’t that God Yan?!”

Jiang Zhihuo: “Hahahahaha, yeah.”

Zong Bei: “You two were already together back then?”

Jiang Zhihuo paused for a moment. “Actually, even earlier.”

Even earlier?

A scene flashed through Zong Bei’s mind.

In the empty classroom, Jiang Zhihuo had pinned Yan Mu against the wall with one leg bent.

At the time, he thought Huo-ge was about to fight God Yan. He’d even assumed a grappling stance.

Now that he thought back on it…

A wall slam looked exactly like that pose too!!!

That early?!

Zong Bei was shocked. “During tutoring?”

Jiang Zhihuo: “Hahaha, you still remember!”

It really was that freaking early?!

Pei!

Zong Bei felt like he’d been force-fed a mouthful of dog food.

He huffed angrily. “You lovebirds! Stop trying to feed me dog food!”

Then he hung up again.

Jiang Zhihuo: “?”

What dog food? There wasn’t any!

He clearly hadn’t said anything!

Forget it, whatever!

Having solved a competition question and chatted for a bit, his excitement calmed down considerably. Jiang Zhihuo changed into pajamas, washed up, and went to sleep.

The next day.

Jiang Zhihuo glanced in the mirror.

As a qualified, good-looking guy, clothes didn’t have to be super expensive, but they definitely had to be the trendiest styles of the season.

White T-shirt, black windbreaker jacket, carrying a utility crossbody bag.

Handsome!

He and Yan Mu had agreed to meet at the school gate.

Yan Mu clearly chose his clothes carefully, opting for a more formal look than usual. He wore a light-colored shirt paired with a dark jacket, which gave off a boy-next-door vibe and a much gentler aura.

Once they met, they didn’t overthink it. As they’d discussed the day before, they headed straight to Haidilao for lunch.

The bubbling red broth rolled and steamed, releasing pale, fragrant vapor.

Tender, pale meat slices were dunked into the pot, cooked in an instant, dipped into sauce, and popped into their mouths, deliciously satisfying.

Jiang Zhihuo asked, “Where should we go afterward?”

Yan Mu cooked a piece of tripe for him and placed it in the strainer near his side.

“Do you have places in mind?” He asked, but in reality, Yan Mu had made a very detailed plan for today. No matter what Jiang Zhihuo said, he could go along with it. If he said, “I don’t know,” that would be even better; they’d follow his plan.

However, Jiang Zhihuo picked up the tripe and said, “Yeah, let’s go to the library?”

Yan Mu: “?”

Yan Mu was visibly stunned. Jiang Zhihuo blinked, puzzled. “What’s wrong? You don’t want to go?”

He thought about it. That made sense. The god of learning studied every day, so it was normal he wouldn’t want to go to such a place during his break.

Yan Mu hesitated for a moment, then found his voice. “Actually, I made a plan.”

Jiang Zhihuo: “What kind of plan? Let me see?”

Yan Mu paused for a moment.

Jiang Zhihuo put down his chopsticks, tapped the table, and held out his hand, palm up.

Yan Mu sighed softly, opened the document, and handed it to Jiang Zhihuo.

Jiang Zhihuo was genuinely curious about what the god of learning’s plan would look like. The moment he saw the screen, he couldn’t help but laugh—

Yan Mu had actually made a complete mind map!

Right at the top, there were sixteen or seventeen options.

Internet cafe, bar, haunted house, amusement park, anime convention, Studio Ghibli concert—even attending a court trial as an observer was listed.

Each option branched out into follow-up activities that matched the mood, including transportation, meals, and every detail imaginable.

It could be said that this was an incredibly detailed date plan—no matter where they went, it guaranteed a perfect ending to the day, one that could make any girl fall head over heels in a second.

However, among the sixteen or seventeen options, there wasn’t a single one for the library.

“Hahahahahaha!!!” Jiang Zhihuo handed the phone back to Yan Mu, laughing wildly without the slightest bit of restraint. “It’s only a day out, why so serious?”

Yan Mu set his phone aside.

Having shown the plan, he felt a bit embarrassed.

He lowered his gaze, not looking at Jiang Zhihuo, and said, “Of course I have to take it seriously.”

Steam rolled and mixed with the fragrant aroma, creating a thin mist between the two of them.

The once fair tips of Yan Mu’s ears gradually turned red. He paused and said in a low voice, “I told you I’m pursuing you. I’m serious about it.”

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  [T/N: In modern Chinese slang, especially in the context of CP (couple shipping) or romantic moments, 糖 (táng) is a metaphor for “sweet moments” or “sugar”—meaning cute, romantic hints or actions between a ship.]